No Guidelines

Chapter 11-2

Adrian
Yesterday afternoon

A gentle knock came from Adrian's door. It was his mom. As she slowly opened the door, Adrian rolled over in his bed to hide his bruised face.

"You feeling better hun?" She asked.

Adrian feigned a groggy voice. "A little bit, still feeling tired."

"Well someone came by to see how you were feeling."

He resisted the urge to turn around. Instead, he waited for his mom to be out. "Just let them in mom," he said. Must be Audrey, worried that I didn't show up to school today, he thought.

"Wazzup lil' bro!"

That most definitely wasn't Audrey's soft voice. It was Jacob. Adrian turned to him—he looked like he just ran a mile; he most probably did. Sweat beaded across his forehead, but he wasn't drenched. Must be because of the cold. "Did you run all the way here?" he asked.

"Forget about that! What happened to your eye!?" He asked, dropping any form of discretion. Adrian quickly hushed him, waving his hands down to get him to lower his voice. Jacob got closer. "What happened? Whose ass am I kicking?"

"No one, it's nothing," he said. He turned around, ashamed to have been seen. Jacob didn't question him further, instead opting to switch the topic—the reasoning for his appearance at his house.

"The girls are having a sleepover so I figured you and I could too. We need to hang out more," he said.

Adrian didn't turn around, he continued looking at the wall as he lay in bed. He could hear the creaking of his computer desk chair. Jacob sat on it waiting for his response. "A sleepover?" he asked.

"Yeah or a guy's night."

Why now? Was this Audrey's idea? One of the people he wanted to avoid was begging him to hang out. Adrian couldn't bring himself to face him. He took a deep breath and sighed. Jacob was still patiently waiting, probably looking at all the knick-knacks on his desks. Jacob blew air from between his lips as he waited for his response.

Adrian's phone buzzed. Audrey. Funny, I was just thinking about you.

Messages

Audrey: Hey, sorry I didn't show up to school today.

I guess she didn't go to school either. Of course, how could she? They were utterly humiliated yesterday. He continued to text Audrey as Jacob looked around the room. If Audrey didn't put him up to this, why was Jacob so adamant about a hangout?

"Hey J! Smile, I'm sending a picture to Audrey." Jacob did a 360 spin to face the camera.

"She wasn't at school today either, did you guys plan this?" Jacob asked.

"No, I was going to ask if she asked you to visit me."

"I don't need anyone to tell me to see my little bro."

Adrian rolled over just enough to lie on his back. He stared at the ceiling. "Why am I always little bro?"

Jacob laughed a bit, the kind of laugh that seemed in response to an outlandish question. Adrian didn't think it was that strange of a question.

"We both don't have siblings. Aside from some good friends back in Washington, you're the closest thing I have to a brother." Adrian smiled—a brother. Some brother I am, he thought. Jacob continued his sentiment. "Well, you know, aside from Looz."

Adrian laughed. "You jerk!"

"Hey! That's what I want to see, laughing and smiling!"

"Well, what did you want to do today?" Adrian asked.