Alan x Carl ~The Hookup~

Chapter One: Alan

   It was the first day of sophomore year at Edgewood High School. Every year had been the same, but something about today felt different. Maybe it was my approaching future or maybe it was the humid air, but something wasn't the same. I never really dressed up for school, but today was a special occasion. "First day! First day!" My mom chanted up the stairs. The bed rumpled under my weight as I pushed a blanket off my legs and grabbed my glasses off the side table. My room was a simple square. The only interesting thing being a guitar siting in the corner next to a desk that I just cleaned. My bed sits parallel to the desk but perpendicular to my dresser. I grabbed the outfit I had been planning on wearing and got dressed. It was a little smaller than I remembered, but that's just because of the growth spurt I had over summer. Along with getting taller, I had decided to start working out. I had always been a lanky person, but with some muscle, I could hide that.
   I flicked the bathroom light switch on and worked my hair with a comb. It used to be short and brown, but now it was longer and untamed. With weeks of practice, I took my glasses off and replaced them with new contacts. The aroma of blueberry pancakes crept under the door and into my nose. Nothing could beat dads pancakes, especially the blueberry ones. My shoes seemed to race to my feet just before going down the stairs three at a time. Like I said, something about today felt electrifying.
   Mom was already dressed for work, but Dad was still in his pajamas. He gets to work from home, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do work, mom makes sure of that. A stack of flapjacks were piled into something like The Leaning Tower of Piza on the countertop with a brand new bottle of syrup right next to them. Mom poured me a glass of milk while Dad went over and grabbed my new backpack he bought last week. I snatched three pancakes from the platter and doused them with the syrup. They were gone in two minutes flat(probably my new record). Mom was going out to her car while dad started to wash the dishes when the bus finally pulled up to my driveway. One of my closer friends— Elie Hosey— is already waiting on the bus for me. We chat about simple things, our schedules, friends, and how our summers went even though we spent more than half of it together. Everyone always thinks Elie and I are in some sort of relationship, but that will never happen. She's already in one. Besides, I've never developed feelings for her.
Cold mornings do not accompany this time of year in Indiana. Fall is already well on its way, but there is still time to relish in the radiant sun from dawn to dusk. It makes for some beautiful sunrises, and today seems to follow just that. Out the window on my left, clouds dot the uppermost part of visible sky like cotton candy leaving the lower half open to the gradient of pinks and purples along with some red and orange. I rest my head softly on the glass careful not to fog up the window. Elie is still going on about something with cheer and this stunt they've been working on. I honestly couldn't care less, but I continue to give her part of my attention if just to please her. She is also dressed up for today with a white tank tucked into a baggy pair of ripped jeans and a Jean jacket to match. Her lashes are full and bold with a dot of glitter in the inner corner of her eye. The blue of her eyes could instantly light up a room, a trait I've always admired of hers. My eyes on the other hand are brown and simple, ordinary you could say. That's one of my biggest insecurities, being ordinary, but there's not much I can do about that.
   "Are you even listening to me?" Elie asks. I snap out of thought in an instant. Elie stares at me sidelong with a suspicious grin. "Ok, I've been thinking about this for awhile now, but are you ever going to get in a relationship? Like seriously, I feel like I need to give your love life a little push. I think the last time you ever dated someone was back in seventh grade with Emily." Elie says desperately.
   It's true. Emily was the last person I dated, and that was a long time ago. In truth, I hadn't really thought about relationships. They just seemed like a waste of time at our age.
"Yeah, it has been awhile. I just haven't been attracted to anybody." I stated.
"You can't be serious. There's really no one you even remotely have a crush on?"
"Nope."
   Elie grabbed her phone from her bag with a sigh and played a game to signal the end of the conversation. I grabbed my phone as well and scrolled around on Instagram for the rest of the bus ride to school. Megan had posted something last night and the comments were quickly filling up. I left a stupid reply and continued mindlessly liking people's posts. When the bus pulled into the school parking lot, the sun was already well above the horizon. The doors to the bus opened and everyone immediately rushed out.
   The hallways were packed with students finding their way to unlearned classes and new teachers. My first period was ACP Social Studies. Tons of my friends have that class with me so it shouldn't be to bad. After rounding the corner to enter the class, someone calls my name from down the hall.