The Boy Next Door

"We're coming over in a few." I hear Jaz's voice from my phone

"Cool, my mom's not home. How many of you?" I ask while taking out some heated leftover from last night's dinner from the microwave

"Just the girls, we're planning to meet up with the boys at the party tonight, they're still down in the field." She says

I nod to myself, "Okay, I'll order pizza for us. Oh, and let me shower first, I just woke up."

"From a nap? It's 2 pm, Gail."

"Uh.. I know. I just woke up from a 15-hour sleep."

"Go shower you filthy ginger!" She says playfully

"I love you too. Bye, bitch." I jokingly say before closing the call.

After finishing a plate of lasagna, I head to the bathroom and take a quick shower before the girls come over. Call me lazy, but don't tell me how to spend my saturday morning by not sleeping in until noon.

They arrive just in time I finish cleaning up, and my room is quickly invaded by them. The pizza delivery guy also arrives not long after that and Jaz puts on some 90's chick flick to watch. We are all set.

"Hey, did you draw all of these?" Lillia asks as she scans the walls

I nod, "I did, I'm not really good though."

"Are you kidding me? These are fantastic! I maybe not be an art expert but I sure can tell you're one excellent artist. I bet you're planning for art school next year." She replies

"Thanks, but really, I only take art as a hobby. Nothing really serious." I say

"You have the talent, not many people have it. Where are you planning to go after highschool by the way? I heard Ms. Rosaline is starting to open up sessions for college application help soon." Holly says

I shake my head, "I.. Seriously don't know yet. I don't have anything planned for college. What about you guys?"

"Well, I'm hoping to get in NYU, me and Lillia actually." Jaz explains

"Forever stuck with this chick." Lillia throws a pillow at Jaz

"Holly?"

"London School of Economics! I want it that bad I've been practicing british accent so I can fit in easily then. Would you like a cup of tea, Your Highness?" She says in a fake british accent

We all laugh and Jaz throws a pillow at her. We end up ditching the movie anf just chatting about random stuff for hours, we don't even run our of topics to talk about. That's what I like about them, we always find out new things about each other. It feels like I've known them forever and I like the way they treat me as if I wasn't just a new comer.

"It's already 9!"

"Wow, it doesn't feel like it though." I check the time on my phone

"We should get going, I swear Steve's gonna make my phone explode if he sends another message asking us where we are." Jaz says as we head outside

After bidding good bye to my mom, we leave for the party. It's hosted by a kid from Towson High School who happens to be a friend of Chris'. It takes us about 30 minutes to get there since it's outside of our usual area.

"There you are!" Steve wraps his long arms around Jaz as soon as he sees her, pulling her into a kiss.

I can only smile, they make a good couple. I know that Jaz is crazy about him and the way Steve treats her lets everyone knows how madly in love they are at each other.

"Dearest Gail, come join me in this dark corner as we suffer together for being tonight's designated driver." Travis bows and asks for my hand

I laugh and accept his hand, "I'll try my best to stay sober for you, Trav. Trust me, I haven't been drunk since freshman year."

"And why is that so?" He questions

"Let's just say I ended up being grounded for almost 3 months. Hint: the police were involved." I confess

"Dang, I guess you're not such a goody goody after all." He slightly elbows me

"I never said I was. Well, excuse me while I go grab something to drink, Mr. DD." I say as I get up from my seat

"Hey! What happened to staying sober?" I hear Travis shouts but I'm already walking towards the kitchen where all kinds of booze are placed

I grab a cup and fill it with coke and vodka to get the night started. And when I get back to our seat, everyone's already got a drink in their hand except for Travis who looks at me with a made up look of hate and despise.

"One drink, I promise."

"Don't you dare, Olson." He shoots me a warning look. Of course, not meaning it.

We continue to laugh and dance, until someone suddenly has the idea to play a game of spin the bottle. Note that everyone's already drunk off their ass by this time.

"You first," Steve points at a girl next to Holly and spins the bottle. It lands at Travis' direction.

"I don't feel like playing." Travis stands up, the tone of his voice is rather harsh

"Come on, Trav. Don't back out." Chris says

Travis looks at me, the look in his eyes tells there's something not quite right happening. But I just can't make it out, I never thought of seeing him angry like this.

"Don't be a party pooper." I hear someone adds

"I'm out of here." He turns on his heels, leaving us with questions

"Go on, I'll try to go after him." I announce to the others.

I've literally scanned the whole place for Travis but yet he is nowhere to be found. I give up eventually, but I'm worried sick about him. I go to the kitchen once again to grab another drink, I really need to find him but I am just as clueless as the others. I pour myself another cup of coke and vodka, letting the sweet from the coke seeps through my tongue. But then suddenly someone pushes me from behind, making me choke on my drink. My shirt is now also wet from the spill too.

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry! I swear Matt just pushed me, I didn't mean to tackle you!" The person offers help and wipes the stain off my shirt

"Ah fuck." I curse

"I'm terribly sorry, I don't want to sound like a jerk. I'm Zack by the way, I don't think we know each other, do we?" He introduces himself. Weird, his name sounds familiar

"I'm Gail. I go to Dulaney High, that's why we probably never met before."

"Well Gail, once again, I'm sorry for spilling your drink, do you want me to get you another drink?" He kindly offers and repeatedly apologizes

"Chill, It's okay, Zack. I think it's just the night telling me to stop drinking and stay sober. I need to be somewhere else." I say referring to Travis, true, I still need to find him

"Hey, don't leave just yet! Me and my band, All Time Low are up in a few. Do you know Alex, Jack and Rian? They go to Dulaney too." He explains

"Yo Zack! What's taking so long? Get your ass up here so we can start!" Someone shouts calling for Zack

That's it! I remember Alex mentioning Zack's name that day during math quiz, I also once saw him in Alex's garage playing bass.

"Oh, that's my cue. Promise me to watch us play, will you? I look forward to having a real nice conversation with you, Gail. And also sorry for making you choke on your drink." He smiles once again

"See you, Zack!" I wave as he leaves

I grab a bottle water from the fridge and head out just in time to see Alex walking out with his guitar slung over his shoulder. He's put a big and wide smile which I rarely see him does that whenever he's around me.

"What's up, guys! We're All Time Low, thank you Flyzik for inviting and letting us play for you guys tonight. The first song's a cover by an amazing band, New Found Glory. It's called All Downhill From Here, if you know the words let's sing it!" He speaks into the microphone

They start to make some noise. Rian bangs the drums and is followed by Jack strumming the guitar. And as Alex starts singing, I gotta admit that he can sing very well and his voice really suits this type of music, despite how much I don't like him as a person. Zack sings back up vocals, his voice isn't bad too. I realize that this is the first I've seen them play.

2 songs later, one by a band called Blink-182 and one by Green Day, their show finally comes to an end. I can see Alex is hugging Jack, each of them has a smile of satisfaction on their face. But Alex's fades, when our eyes meet.

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I finally find Travis outside the house, he's sitting under a tree with a cigarette lit in one hand. He seems to notice me coming, but doesn't interfere as I come closer and take a seat beside him.

"Want a puff?" He offers his cigarette

"I don't smoke, thanks though."

We stay silent for a moment, the only sound that's audible is the crackling sound from the cig
"Do you believe in love, Gail?"

"I've learned to realize that love only brings suffer and pain to me and my family. So no, I don't. Love is all about making choises, you control your own decisions. Loving can hurt, loving can heal, you choose. I'd rather feel nothing at all than be hurt."

"Interesting,"

"Why did you leave, Travis?"

He exhales a puff of smoke, "I'm a fucking mess, Gail."

"We all are."

"You don't understand."

"Try me."

He puts out the cig and crushes it under his shoes, "I feel like I've known you forever even though it was only not over than 2 months ago that you stepped foot in my life."

"I do too," I say slowly

"Promise me if I tell you what's wrong that you're not gonna change whatever's going between us."

"I swear on my life, Trav."

"I.. I don't think I'm attracted to girls."

Oh,

"Are you saying that you're not.. Straight?"

Even in the dark, I can see him nod slowly.

"Yes, I'm not. God, it feels so good to finally let it out." He states once again

"You know that I'm not gonna judge you, right? This whole thing's not gonna make our friendship any difference."

He leans in to hug me, and we just stay there hugging for a long time. He just came out to me, I certainly didn't expect for a scene like to happen tonight. But I have much respect to him.

"Who else knows about this?" I ask

"You're the first." He confesses

"Thank you, for trusting me."

"I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be the first to know." He says

"I'm always here for you, you know that right?"

We then continue to talk about things like nothing just happened. Just two friends hanging out under a tree, at almost 1 am. At around 2, we finally get back inside and carry the others back in the car to get them home. Travis drops me in front of my house on his way home.

"Thanks for the ride." I say

"And thanks, for what you did back there. I'm so glad you don't look at me like i'm a kicked puppy or what." He smirks

"That's because you're not."

I lean into him to give him a hug through the car window, "You're a good friend, Gail."

"Good night, Trav." I smile as I pull back from the hug

I search for my keys and carefully unlock the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. Travis waves good bye one last time before leaving, and with that his car disappears into the night.

For a while, I just stand there on the front porch, trying to make out the things that just happened tonight. Travis coming out to me, meeting Zack, seeing All Time Low, and Alex. Why did his smile fade when he saw me? I get that I'm not his favourite person, but what have I ever done to him? It's been a few days since we last talked, after that math quiz. He is just so unpredictable.

I try to shake the thoughts away from my mind and get inside the house. But my eyes catch a glimpse of Alex's room which still has its lights on. And there he is, once again. Only this time, he's already looking at me before I did.

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Notes

Wow, a lot going in this chapter eh? Tell me what you think about it, don't forget to vote and comment! Song by New Found Glory just because they rock and they're one of the reasons All Time Low's here. And they rock. Did I mention that already? But seriously they rock
-M