Alan x Carl ~The Hookup~

Chapter Two: Carl

   Alan stood in the doorway with a backpack a bit to big hanging from his shoulders. I hadn't talked to him much over the summer because of basketball camp, but man did he look different. You could even go to the length of calling him attractive with his longer hair and muscles. "I see someone is ready to get all the girls this year." I snorted.
"No no no, just decided to work on myself a little over the summer." He replied.
"And you're actually wearing contacts?"
"I know right? Pretty weird."
"Well you look really good man. You want to try and find a seat by each other?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Let's just make sure it's not in the front row. I've heard this teacher is a little strict."
I nodded and set off to find two seats near each other. Most seats were taken by now with everyone arriving earlier than usual, but two are left untouched in the back left corner farthest from the teachers desk. Across the room, two snotty girls were eyeing the seats as well. They know they stand no chance against me and immediately back down to find other seats. I triumphantly place my backpack under the desk and plop down. Alan hurries over before another can claim the other desk with the same awkward energy he always has. His looks might have changed, but his personality definitely hasn't over the summer.
I've been friends with Alan since grade school. He's always sort of been the odd one out in my friend group though. He's like that supper smart nerd that has no athletic abilities but still hangs out with all the athletes. I've been told I'm probably the most well known guy in our grade, which is likely the reason Alan is also so well known. Everyone always jokes with Alan and treats him like a younger brother, but sometimes I think we hurt his feelings. Although I'm one of his closest friends, it's still hard to talk with him about girls and stuff solely because he doesn't really care about it. One time, I was hanging out at his house and was talking about Megan, my girlfriend at the time, and he just tried to change the topic. Maybe he gets nervous about that kind of stuff? I know he's sort of insecure about himself since he's only ever dated one girl. I don't know, but it's pretty easy to avoid those conversations with him since hanging-out is always so interesting.
Alan tells me all about the workout routine he's been doing and who he's hung out with recently before the bell rings the second time. Once he's finished, I tell him about everything I did over the summer. First, my family went to California. I guess my dad won some sort of Lily grant for teaching so we got to go on vacation to a bunch of different national parks in California. Then, when we got back, we stayed home for a couple more weeks. For the last month of summer, I went to basketball camp in Ohio. We camped out at my cousins house for a majority of the stay. We came back a week before school started and since then, I haven't really talked to any of my friends. The teacher finally entered into the classroom and introduced himself.
After 4 periods of awkward reunions and odd acquaintances, lunch finally rolled around. Most of my friends from last year gathered around me and waited for me to be seated for them to decide their own. Weird, I know. Lately, everyone has been acting like that and I kind of hate it. Everyone keeps pretending like I'm in charge or something but aren't friends supposed to be some sort of democracy? Hopefully it stops over time. I walk over to a round table with little cracks and room for twelve people. Once seats are decided, I notice Alan is missing. After a quick scan of the cafeteria, I can't seem to find him. Is he with Elie? I swear they are in a relationship sometimes. It's insane how close they are, and they still keep it to just friends which blows my mind. I turn to Luke, "Hey, have you seen Elie? I can't seem to find Alan and I think he might be with her."
"I think she wanted to eat in the commons so he might be there?" He replies.
"Ok, I'm going to try and find him. Can you save my seat?"
Luke gives a brisk nod then sets back to telling stories of his "most absolutely amazing summer ever". Luke has always been a good friend and he's crazy smart so he helps me sometimes. The rest of the table is seated with Owen McGovern, Caleb Webb, Gabe Drew, Mason Norton, Jackson Klinger, Carson Huttenlocker, and a couple other kids that I haven't really met. The scene around me changes as the lunch room turns into the commons. Instead of tables, kids sit and eat on the floor. Small circles dot the ground, one of them grabbing my attention. Over in the corner, Alan is sitting up against the wall beside Elie. A couple of Elie's friends are gathered around them like Megan, Leah, Daci, and a bunch of other girls. "Alan!" I yell across the room.
He tilts his head towards me and waves, suddenly aware he is the only boy in the group he's sitting with. He stands up and paces over to me leaving Elie behind. "I was wondering where you went" I said.
"Did you miss me or something?" Alan chuckled.
Maybe I had.
"I just wanted to make sure you got a seat at the table. You know how they are, acting like it's some sort of competition to sit or something."
"Yeah, I noticed how odd they've all been acting around you recently. Also, thanks for considering me."
"Yeah no problem. You're one of the most fun to sit with anyway. I don't think I could sit there all year without you."
   Alan responds with a smile then goes back to sit with Elie. You know what, I think I might just eat here. I sit down with Alan on my right and Megan on my left. My presence clearly doesn't have the same affect on them as it does to my friends. The commons are definitely different from the cafeteria; there is more floor space and a few tables lit by daylight from the huge windows on the front of the building rather than LED lights in the cafe. Kids I haven't seen since last year are dispersed around the room. Others boggle me with no knowledge of ever seeing them in school before. Teachers patrol the area in search of troublemakers while other kids leave in flocks for the bathroom. I look over at Alan to find a mystery of a person. He looks so different from last year, his longer hair fluffy with curls I never knew he had. His brown hair reminds me of fall. He isn't wearing his glasses anymore, instead replaced with strong brown almond eyes. He used to be so skinny, you would have thought he didn't eat, but now he actually has some muscle.
"So," he says turning to me, "what's up?"