As We Fall (A Trevor Jackson Story)

Starting From the Bottom

One thing that you should know about me, is that I rarely ever make friends. I'm just too awkward I guess. People usually just make friends with me, and no lie I would have absolutely no friends if my best friend Arissa hadn't decided to talk to me during a week of summer camp back in the fifth grade.

I can never get the hang of the whole "first impression" thing when it comes to my peers. I risk the chance of saying something weird or stupid or offensive in a way that may label me as "the girl you just don't talk to". But really once you get to know me, I'm a fairly great person. A little wierd, but great. And I'm not saying this in a cocky way or anything, I'm just saying.

I say all this to say that many of my friends are my friends because of the friends that have made friends with me. Therefore their friends have then become my friends in association. A mouth full right?

So, to no surprise, I'm starting off my first day of Junior year sitting at the long cafeteria table with Arissa, a couple of our friends, a hand full of her friends, and a bunch of their friends. It's a little snug, seeing that there's eleven people on either side of a table that only fits seven on each side comfortably. But it's all bound to dwindle a little by mid-october, when most of us decide to venture out to different tables with other groups of friends, or form other cliques that we're bound to spend most of our eleventh grade year hanging with.

My eyes scan the full table as I wonder who my particular lunch clique would be. Of course there's Arissa and my other best friend Jade, Jade's boyfriend Chris and Arissa's bound-to-be Aaron. But who else? I continue down the line of faces until I reach Trevor's. My eyes lock on him for a little while as my mind drifts to another thought.

Trevor Jackson... He's been in all of my classes so far, and actually most of my classes since freshman year. We're always in the same group of friends, even if a few slight changes are made to it every now and then due to a fight or break up. But I've never talked to him. Not once that I can recall at least. I take in his features as his jaw tightens, him listening closely to one of his friends going on and on about some basketball game from the night before, and he flashes a smile in agreement to one of the comments. My chest tightens just the slightest and I catch myself smiling too. I always thought he was cute, but the summer did him very well...

"Charityyyyy, helloooooo!" Arissa says, waving her hand in front of my face and taking me out of my daze. "Huh?" my eyes dart over to her, my lips spread apart slightly in probably the most unattractive way. "What's with the smily dazed face?" she asks. Apparently I'm not the only one to catch me smiling. I press my lips together and smile a quaint smile. "Nothing worth articulating," I respond.

She shrugs. "Meaning that it's something you'll eventually end up telling me once all the ears are away," she continues with a sigh, reaching into her tray for another fry. "It is not!" I rebut, I'm not that predicatable am I?

"Face it. I'm your best friend. You're gonna tell me sooner or later... And it better be sooner. Because I think I know," she smirks, lifting the fry up to her mouth with a satisfied look on her face. I shake my head and go back to eating my lunch. I know I'm gonna tell her, of course I am. But it really isn't worth saying. It's just a random thought in my head that willl eventually fly off and never come back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I knew it!" Arissa screams. "I knew it I knew it I knew it!!" she continues. "Know what?" Jade ponders, coming from behind us as we walk towards or next period classes. "You were staring all too hard for it to have been 'nothing'" Arissa emphasizes, making sure to use air quotes around "nothing".

"It is nothing," I tell her. "Just a thought that came across my mind that will quickly be ending, like now." I quicken my pace. "What's nothing??" Jade pushes herself between me and Arissa, demanding to know the topic of conversation. "Charity likes Trevor," Arissa blurts out. Jade gasps, a wide smile forming as her mouth hangs wide open.

"I do not!" I defend. "I just think he's cute. And he's changed a little since last year..."

"A little?" interjects Jade. "He's at least gotten three inches taller, and it looks like he's been at the gym every day of break," she exclaims, excited about her own observations. "Jade calm down. Don't you have your own boyfriend?" Arissa reminds her. "Whatever," Jade smirks, folding her arms. "And yes I do. And he happens to be friends with Trevoooor," she longates, unfolding her arms to grab my and shake it lightly.

"And?" I say. "It's not like I like him. I was just noticing him." They both give me that same look. "Mmhmm,' they both respond in unison. We all laugh. "Whatever!" I exclaim. "Anyway, this is my class. I'll see you guys later." "Byeeee," they harmonize in a teasing voice. Laughing as they walk further down the hallway. I roll my eyes and chuckle under my breath as I walk into the classroom and put my stuff down at a random desk.

I then make my way over to one of my friends on the other side of the room and slip between her and the two guys she was talking to. "Charityyyyyy!" she squeals, pulling me into a hug. I hug back and squeal with her. "Hey Avory! I haven't seen you all summer! Whatever happened to us hanging out? You just better had been with Q all summer." I demand of her teasingly. "Wellllll," she drags out, releasing me from the hug and looking past me with a smirk. I turn around to see our friend Quinten leaning against a desk. My eyes bulge open as he waves his fingers at me. I squeal again and hug him next. Our group of friends have been shipping those two since the beggining of sophmore year, but they just wouldn't budge. I guess summer has been eventful for a lot of us. Some in better ways then others...

Quinten chuckles and pats me on the back. "I've missed you too Charity." "Well apparently not enough to call me and tell me this was going on," I argue, whipping my finger back and forth from him to Avory. They both laugh at my commossion, followed by another voice from behind me. I turn around and see Trevor sitting next to Quinten, hanging of the side of the small brown desk. We lock eyes for a second, then I give him a small smile and dart my eyes away. Instead I turn my body to face all three of them, "So, who what when where how and why didnt I know!" I interrogate all in one breath. "Really? You want to know all of this now?" Q retorts.

"Of course I do!" I say, slapping him in his torso with the back of my hand. "I'm always so out of the loop!" I pout, my arms folded infront of me.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I didn't know about it either," Trevor chuckles. He shares an inquisitive look with Q, then Avory, and then brings his look back to me, making me laugh. Looking past the fact that that was the first thing he's ever directly said to me, and lift my hand to him in grand gesture. "So we've been keeping secrets from everyone I see." I fold my arms and wait for an explanation. Trevor is one of Quinten's closest friends, so its surprising that he didn't know either.

"He would've known if he wasn't at that d*mn studio all the time," He objects. My ears perk up at the new information. I never knew he sung. "Nah brah, we've both been at Studio 97 for majority of the summer. I only wasn't there when I did my tournaments," Trevor interjects. I know that dance studio, its only a few blocks aways from my house and I've been dying to go there... Wait he dances???

"Karate?" I ask almost unknowingly. He flashes me a smile. "No, capoeira. Another type of martial art," The humble grin on his face as he said that makes me want to smile along with him, but I simply press my lips together and nod impressively.

"Sorry class, I had to use the bathroom and I couldn't get anyone to cover while I was out," our english teacher Ms. Marrow says as she enters the room. "Everybody, butts in chairs, mouths closed, agendas open. You have ten seconds. Go, go, go," she rushes.

Though we do listen, we sluggishly get to our seats. I pull my bag off my chair and slip into my seat just as Trevor slides into the one next to mine. We exchange pleasent glances and as he turns to face the board. The side of my mouth turns up higher.

I open up my book to start copying the agenda, my thoughts wandering to Trevor dancing and singing in the big, mirror-walled dance studio. I gotta ask him more about that...