Frustration -SERIES- [Part 1] [boyxboy]

Chapter Fifteen

Soon we were walking briskly across campus and out through the wrought iron gates of the school; me tripping along after a very assertive and assured Jackson. He seemed pretty confident that tonight was going to go his way, and moreover, he was confident things would work out for me too.

'We'll just walk in, find them, and lay it all out,' he said definitively, still advocating for honesty and openness, but then he shook his head. 'Or do you think we should make some sort of grand gesture?'

'I think the White Horse Rental Store is closed at this time of night,' I said dryly, reluctantly pulling my phone out of my pocket. I had considered not telling Josh that I was making my way to Liquid Lounge, but I figured I might well need a shoulder in half an hour or so.

On my way. Don't you say a word.

Tyler Lincoln 19:12

Moments later my phone buzzed and I checked it:

Me? Say something? About being right? And you being wrong? Never. See you soon :)

Josh Davenport 19:13

I scowled and shoved the phone back in my pocket, jogging to catch up with Jackson and trying to plan out some kind of speech in my head, but all I was managing was some stream-of-consciousness style garbage. I could hear the sound of excited conversation becoming louder as we approached the centre of town; we were only a couple of blocks away from the bar now. I could feel butterflies erupting in my tummy.

'I can't do it.'

I turned around and stared at Jackson, who was standing still in the middle of the street, pale as a ghost.

'What?' I demanded.

'I can't do it. She rightfully hates me. It's unfair of me to do this to her right before she has to go on stage.'

'Come on, Jackson,' I groaned, stepping towards him and grabbing him by the arm to tug him down the street. 'You're the one that got me into this.'

'You're right,' Jackson said numbly. 'You're right.' Pause. 'You're wrong, this is insane.'

It didn't really matter what he was saying though, because I had a firm grip on his arm and he was panicking too much to fight me off. I pulled him around the corner and suddenly we were faced with the queue lining up outside the bar, a barely organised mass of people chattering excitedly and shifting from one foot to the other in the cold November air.

Waiting in line seemed like it would give Jackson way too many opportunities to change his mind so I ducked through the crowd to the front and shoved my Glenstal Abbey student card under the nose of the bouncer, escaping the cacophonous disapproval of those still waiting outside when he ushered us in.

'Nothing like adding names to the ever growing list of people who hate me,' Jackson muttered. 'I have to go to school with those people.'

'Fine, go back outside and wait,' I said archly, and he made a face, following me further inside. 'I need a drink before I do anything,' I told him, and he nodded in agreement. We made our way over to the bar and he sat down on a barstool while I waved at the girl to get her attention. She nodded at me and I ordered two shots, then leaned my back against the bar while I waited.

Jackson and I were both silent now; he was probably doing something constructive like formulating a plan while I was figuring out how to convince my dad to let me attend school in Switzerland after Conor shut me down hard tonight.

'Did you hear about Conor Archibald and the keyboardist?' a girl beside me was giggling to her friend, and I rolled my eyes. Not another Conor-and-Sally rumour.