Opposites Do Not Attract
Kidnapping and Realisations
Ash’s POV
After school, Alex had promised to drive me home before he went over to Jack’s house. But that didn’t happen. He locked the doors as soon as I got in and drove the way to Jack’s house without saying a word. I was so confused; I heard about his outburst during lunch, but I didn’t know what it was about. Was it something about me? He hadn’t said a word to me since I left their table and went to sit with Lianne. Speaking of which, she seemed really happy that I came to sit with her. Nobody was with her and nobody came during the entirety of lunch. It was like I was the only friend this girl had. But I didn’t mind, she was also my only friend.
Jack was already at his house when we pulled up on the driveway. He opened the door for us before we could even step out of the car. Guess who was creeping out of the window, waiting for us to come. But he looked surprised when he saw me.
“Ash, weren’t you going to go home?” he asked me with his eyebrows raised.
“That was the plan, but somehow I ended up here. And I don’t know why,” I sighed and glared at Alex.
“Sorry,” he rolled his eyes, “I forgot.”
Rian joined us, “sure… you ‘forgot’.”
We were brought up to Jack’s room. There were a couple of guitars against a wall, tonnes of posters all over the wall, and stacks of CDs next to a CD player. Jack turned on the stereo and a song started playing, which I immediately recognized.
I put my bag down on the floor, “Blink-182, nice. I personally like Green Day and Sum 41 more.”
Jack and Rian seemed impressed, but Alex burst out laughing, “you don’t like this type of music.”
I shrugged, “if you say so.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him. If he was going to act like this, I wasn’t going to give him the reaction he wanted. Giving him what he wanted would only make him continue. It’s what I learned when I got bullied as a child. They would pick on me and make me cry and they would keep doing everyday. One day I just ignored them and they suddenly stopped. Now, I’m not saying this is how bullying always worked. It happened when I was 6, bullying in high school was probably a lot worse.
Just like I expected, Alex continued to try to bug me, “you like classical music.”
“Yep,” I kept ignoring him, “anyway, I really don’t have anything to do here. Can anybody drive me back to Alex’s place?”
“Can’t you just walk home?”
“You want me to walk home?”
“Yeah, it’s not that far away.”
“Fine,” I picked up my bag again.
“Fine,” Alex shouted a little louder to make sure he won the argument.
“Fine!” I screamed and slammed the door. If that wasn’t the reaction he wanted, then he would never be satisfied.
I ran down stairs and found Jack’s mom standing in the kitchen making me regret slamming the door shut. This was her house and I just made a lot of noise, probably scaring her. I could have broken the door or the wall. Oh, no, this wasn’t good.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I put some of my hair behind my ear, “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s ok,” she smiled at me and held out her hand for me to shake, “it’s nice to see a female here for once. I’m Joyce, Jack’s mom.”
I chuckled, “I’m Ash, I’m the exchange student that’s staying with Alex. He was supposed to bring me home first, because I wanted to do my homework, but he kidnapped me and brought me here instead.”
“I appreciate anybody who wants to do their homework, you barely get that in this house. Who were you shouting at, by the way?”
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, “Alex. It’s like he’s on a mission to annoy me as much as possible, it’s been like that since I came here. He told me to walk back to his house, but I really don’t know where that is.”
“Oh,” Joyce washed her hands and dried them with a towel, “that’s not nice of him. I could bring you there.”
“Oh no, I’ll just wait or find my way there. I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“No, it’s fine. I haven’t seen Isobel in a while anyway. I’ll be happy to bring you.”
“Really?”
I heard Jack’s door open again and footsteps came running down the stairs. Alex appeared while he tried to catch his breath, “thank god you’re still here. My mom would have killed me if I made you walk. Shit. Bye.”
He ran back upstairs and Jack’s door shut loudly.
“That’s what I mean with he’s trying to annoy me,” I pointed in the direction he came from.
“That’s weird. Alex is always such a nice boy, I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Joyce shook her head, making a mental note to tell Isobel what happened.
----
Alex’s POV
I watched Ash slam the door shut and I lazily fell back onto Jack’s bed. Rian and Jack’s gazes fell on me and they gave me judgemental looks. I looked back at them and raised my hand as if asking them what was wrong.
“What was that?” Jack sneered and hit my hand away.
“What?” I asked him as if I didn’t know what he was talking to him.
“You can’t just shout at her like that!”
“Oh, so you’re the responsible one now?” I rolled my eyes and made a big gesture with my hands.
“What I do is just for fun. This is not just for fun.”
“Ugh, she’ll come back. Just wait and see, that’s what they always do.”
“You’ve got it bad, man,” Rian sat next to me and patted my shoulder.
I shrugged his hand off, “I do not have a crush on her!”
“Who said anything about a crush?”
“I know what you were implying, Rian. Don’t try to hear things I’m not saying! I do not. Have. A. Crush. On. Her!”
They both kept staring at me, like they were trying to crack me open and spill my guts. But there was nothing I was hiding. They could keep trying, but I wasn’t going to say anything. I knew I didn’t have a crush on her. But their stares were getting intense and I was starting to feel pressured.
I breathed out, “ok, fine. She’s hot, she plays the piano damn good, she likes punk music, but I do not like her. I would maybe fuck her, but that’s all.”
“Sorry to interrupt your fantasy of all the things you would do to her, but she still hasn’t come back,” Jack pointed at the digital clock, signifying me that more than 5 minutes had passed already.
“Shit, shit, shit. My mom is going to murder me!” I ran downstairs as quick as I could, hoping to maybe find her. Maybe she had already gotten lost. And it was raining outside. Shit! This wasn’t good, this wasn’t-
I saw Ash talking to Joyce and let out a sigh of relief while trying to catch my breath at the same time. Ash had this specific smile whenever she was meeting someone new. It was polite, but not fake; toothy, but not overdone. And the way her mouth moved while talking was like an art itself. Holy fuck she was beautiful. They looked at me and I panicked.
“Thank god you’re still here. My mom would have killed me if I made you walk. Shit. Bye,” was all that I could come up with before I ran back upstairs.
I slid down the door after I closed the door, “shit, shit, shit, shit. Fuck!”
Jack and Rian turned around to see me freaking out. Rian held out his hand to help me up, “dude, what’s wrong? Is she not there? Should we go out looking for her?”
I slapped his hand away and got up myself before pacing the room up and down, “no, she’s downstairs… Where’s Zack? I need Zack! I need the fucking shy skateboarder kid! Shit!”
“Alex, calm down!” Jack yelled while I continued swearing, “and tell us what the fuck is wrong!”
I shook my head and sat on the bed, “no. I need Zack.”
“Fine. I’ll call him to come straight from school. He should have just finished.”
Not being able to sit still, I stood back up and started pacing again. My hands were shaking and I tried to calm them down by writhing my left wrist with the fingers of my right. This was not good, not good at all. I was in some deep shit.
When Zack came over 15 minutes later, I was still walking around the room. He entered the room and looked at me before frowning, “aw, shit, man.”
I stopped patrolling around and looked at him, “I know. What do I do?”
“Shit, I don’t know.”
Rian interrupted, “wait, hang on, did Alex tell you or are we just missing something obvious?”
Zack shook his head and pointed at me, “I can just tell. He’s got the feelings for someone.”
“I knew it! Dude, this is awesome!”
I glared at him, “this is not good! I have to get over her. Besides, she hates my guts anyway.”
Jack poked me, “are you sure about that?”
“I’ve been a fucking douchebag to her. I just basically made her walk through the fucking rain and laughed at her because of her liking punk music. What the fuck is wrong with me!”
“Well, start off being nicer to her,” Zack suggested, “after that just ask her out.”
“That’s not how this fucking works!”
I was screwed. Now I was going to have to live with the girl I liked just across the hall. Most guys would love it, but I was terrified. How was I going to be able to act normal around her? I couldn’t just start being nice to her, it would be too suspicious, but being mean to her would kill me inside. Was I just going to have to act like a fucking idiot around her? My brain probably wouldn’t allow me anything else… Shit.
After school, Alex had promised to drive me home before he went over to Jack’s house. But that didn’t happen. He locked the doors as soon as I got in and drove the way to Jack’s house without saying a word. I was so confused; I heard about his outburst during lunch, but I didn’t know what it was about. Was it something about me? He hadn’t said a word to me since I left their table and went to sit with Lianne. Speaking of which, she seemed really happy that I came to sit with her. Nobody was with her and nobody came during the entirety of lunch. It was like I was the only friend this girl had. But I didn’t mind, she was also my only friend.
Jack was already at his house when we pulled up on the driveway. He opened the door for us before we could even step out of the car. Guess who was creeping out of the window, waiting for us to come. But he looked surprised when he saw me.
“Ash, weren’t you going to go home?” he asked me with his eyebrows raised.
“That was the plan, but somehow I ended up here. And I don’t know why,” I sighed and glared at Alex.
“Sorry,” he rolled his eyes, “I forgot.”
Rian joined us, “sure… you ‘forgot’.”
We were brought up to Jack’s room. There were a couple of guitars against a wall, tonnes of posters all over the wall, and stacks of CDs next to a CD player. Jack turned on the stereo and a song started playing, which I immediately recognized.
I put my bag down on the floor, “Blink-182, nice. I personally like Green Day and Sum 41 more.”
Jack and Rian seemed impressed, but Alex burst out laughing, “you don’t like this type of music.”
I shrugged, “if you say so.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him. If he was going to act like this, I wasn’t going to give him the reaction he wanted. Giving him what he wanted would only make him continue. It’s what I learned when I got bullied as a child. They would pick on me and make me cry and they would keep doing everyday. One day I just ignored them and they suddenly stopped. Now, I’m not saying this is how bullying always worked. It happened when I was 6, bullying in high school was probably a lot worse.
Just like I expected, Alex continued to try to bug me, “you like classical music.”
“Yep,” I kept ignoring him, “anyway, I really don’t have anything to do here. Can anybody drive me back to Alex’s place?”
“Can’t you just walk home?”
“You want me to walk home?”
“Yeah, it’s not that far away.”
“Fine,” I picked up my bag again.
“Fine,” Alex shouted a little louder to make sure he won the argument.
“Fine!” I screamed and slammed the door. If that wasn’t the reaction he wanted, then he would never be satisfied.
I ran down stairs and found Jack’s mom standing in the kitchen making me regret slamming the door shut. This was her house and I just made a lot of noise, probably scaring her. I could have broken the door or the wall. Oh, no, this wasn’t good.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I put some of my hair behind my ear, “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s ok,” she smiled at me and held out her hand for me to shake, “it’s nice to see a female here for once. I’m Joyce, Jack’s mom.”
I chuckled, “I’m Ash, I’m the exchange student that’s staying with Alex. He was supposed to bring me home first, because I wanted to do my homework, but he kidnapped me and brought me here instead.”
“I appreciate anybody who wants to do their homework, you barely get that in this house. Who were you shouting at, by the way?”
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, “Alex. It’s like he’s on a mission to annoy me as much as possible, it’s been like that since I came here. He told me to walk back to his house, but I really don’t know where that is.”
“Oh,” Joyce washed her hands and dried them with a towel, “that’s not nice of him. I could bring you there.”
“Oh no, I’ll just wait or find my way there. I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“No, it’s fine. I haven’t seen Isobel in a while anyway. I’ll be happy to bring you.”
“Really?”
I heard Jack’s door open again and footsteps came running down the stairs. Alex appeared while he tried to catch his breath, “thank god you’re still here. My mom would have killed me if I made you walk. Shit. Bye.”
He ran back upstairs and Jack’s door shut loudly.
“That’s what I mean with he’s trying to annoy me,” I pointed in the direction he came from.
“That’s weird. Alex is always such a nice boy, I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Joyce shook her head, making a mental note to tell Isobel what happened.
----
Alex’s POV
I watched Ash slam the door shut and I lazily fell back onto Jack’s bed. Rian and Jack’s gazes fell on me and they gave me judgemental looks. I looked back at them and raised my hand as if asking them what was wrong.
“What was that?” Jack sneered and hit my hand away.
“What?” I asked him as if I didn’t know what he was talking to him.
“You can’t just shout at her like that!”
“Oh, so you’re the responsible one now?” I rolled my eyes and made a big gesture with my hands.
“What I do is just for fun. This is not just for fun.”
“Ugh, she’ll come back. Just wait and see, that’s what they always do.”
“You’ve got it bad, man,” Rian sat next to me and patted my shoulder.
I shrugged his hand off, “I do not have a crush on her!”
“Who said anything about a crush?”
“I know what you were implying, Rian. Don’t try to hear things I’m not saying! I do not. Have. A. Crush. On. Her!”
They both kept staring at me, like they were trying to crack me open and spill my guts. But there was nothing I was hiding. They could keep trying, but I wasn’t going to say anything. I knew I didn’t have a crush on her. But their stares were getting intense and I was starting to feel pressured.
I breathed out, “ok, fine. She’s hot, she plays the piano damn good, she likes punk music, but I do not like her. I would maybe fuck her, but that’s all.”
“Sorry to interrupt your fantasy of all the things you would do to her, but she still hasn’t come back,” Jack pointed at the digital clock, signifying me that more than 5 minutes had passed already.
“Shit, shit, shit. My mom is going to murder me!” I ran downstairs as quick as I could, hoping to maybe find her. Maybe she had already gotten lost. And it was raining outside. Shit! This wasn’t good, this wasn’t-
I saw Ash talking to Joyce and let out a sigh of relief while trying to catch my breath at the same time. Ash had this specific smile whenever she was meeting someone new. It was polite, but not fake; toothy, but not overdone. And the way her mouth moved while talking was like an art itself. Holy fuck she was beautiful. They looked at me and I panicked.
“Thank god you’re still here. My mom would have killed me if I made you walk. Shit. Bye,” was all that I could come up with before I ran back upstairs.
I slid down the door after I closed the door, “shit, shit, shit, shit. Fuck!”
Jack and Rian turned around to see me freaking out. Rian held out his hand to help me up, “dude, what’s wrong? Is she not there? Should we go out looking for her?”
I slapped his hand away and got up myself before pacing the room up and down, “no, she’s downstairs… Where’s Zack? I need Zack! I need the fucking shy skateboarder kid! Shit!”
“Alex, calm down!” Jack yelled while I continued swearing, “and tell us what the fuck is wrong!”
I shook my head and sat on the bed, “no. I need Zack.”
“Fine. I’ll call him to come straight from school. He should have just finished.”
Not being able to sit still, I stood back up and started pacing again. My hands were shaking and I tried to calm them down by writhing my left wrist with the fingers of my right. This was not good, not good at all. I was in some deep shit.
When Zack came over 15 minutes later, I was still walking around the room. He entered the room and looked at me before frowning, “aw, shit, man.”
I stopped patrolling around and looked at him, “I know. What do I do?”
“Shit, I don’t know.”
Rian interrupted, “wait, hang on, did Alex tell you or are we just missing something obvious?”
Zack shook his head and pointed at me, “I can just tell. He’s got the feelings for someone.”
“I knew it! Dude, this is awesome!”
I glared at him, “this is not good! I have to get over her. Besides, she hates my guts anyway.”
Jack poked me, “are you sure about that?”
“I’ve been a fucking douchebag to her. I just basically made her walk through the fucking rain and laughed at her because of her liking punk music. What the fuck is wrong with me!”
“Well, start off being nicer to her,” Zack suggested, “after that just ask her out.”
“That’s not how this fucking works!”
I was screwed. Now I was going to have to live with the girl I liked just across the hall. Most guys would love it, but I was terrified. How was I going to be able to act normal around her? I couldn’t just start being nice to her, it would be too suspicious, but being mean to her would kill me inside. Was I just going to have to act like a fucking idiot around her? My brain probably wouldn’t allow me anything else… Shit.
Notes
Oh no... Alex's got feelings for Ash, but Ash doesn't really like him. How is this going to go down? Will Alex be able to get over his feelings? Or will Ash like him back? Maybe nothing will happen and everything will stay the way it is now. Tell me what you think is going to happen.
By the way, I edited the short description and character descriptions. I've got a better idea for this story and know how I want things to go. Now all I have to do is write everything.
@Daydreamers
I happen to cringe xD
5/25/20