Weightless [Jack Barakat]

Chapter Three

Jack's POV

I stood next to Alex by the front doors of the school, tapping my foot nervously. Ida were rushing last us, eager to get out of school.

"See her?" I asked, craning my neck to try and pick out her brown hair.

"Nope," Alex said, popping the p. "Maybe she changed her mind."

"Don't say that!"

He looked up at me, a smile tugging at his lips. "You really like her."

"No shit, man."

"Well," he said, shifting his feet. "She's got five more minutes before I lose interest and go get food somewhere."

"There she is! Hi Eleanor," I waved at her, and she smiled shyly with her backpack hanging down at her side. She slowly walked up to us.

"Hi," she said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"So here's the plan, Stan. We usually practice from around six in the afternoon until the sun goes down, otherwise our neighbors complain if we go any later," Alex explained. "You still want to come? No one else is going, it'd just be you and our other friends that are in the band."

Eleanor's face paled at the mention of it just being her, but quickly hid her fear. "Sure. Uh...what's your address?"

I was about to say Alex's street name, but he spoke before I had the chance to.

"Actually, we were thinking you could just come with us after school and hang out for a little while, first? Our friend Zack has a car, and he said he could give all of us a ride."

"Oh, um, maybe. Yeah, I guess I could...sure," she said, fumbling over the words.

She eyed me, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable and exposed in my black Blink 182 shirt and black jeans.

"What kind of music do you play?"

"Mostly alternative," Alex said, used to answering those kind of questions.

"Cool..."

We stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, and soon there were hardly any people left inside.

"I think I better go..." Eleanor said, before quickly walking outside and around the corner of the school.

I exhaled loudly, turning to Alex who had his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"...what just happened?" I asked.

He thought for a minute, but then he dropped his arms to his sides and sighed, relaxing his face. "I have no clue. Lets go. Zack's probably waiting for us."

I nodded, and we walked out to the parking lot. Sure enough, Zack and Rian sat talking in Zack's car. We slid into the backseat together.

"So, how'd it go?" Zack asked, looking in the rear view mirror at me.

I nodded. "Pretty good. Swell."

"It scared me. It was awkward. I talked and Jack stood there like an awko taco," Alex said in a scared voice, sounding like a small child.

"Hey!" I started, pointing my finger at him. "Not a taco-a burrito. I was like a burrito. Tacos are too mainstream."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I guess you're a burrito, then."

"One very cool burrito," I added, pinching his arm.

"Hey! Rian, Jack pinched me!"

Rian laughed. "Jacky, don't pinch your brother. You pinch him, he bites you, remember?"

"But he started it! Hey-ow!" I whined as Alex bit me.

Zack shouted playfully, "you kids knock it off or I'm turning this car around!"

We both out our hands in our lap and looked down shamefully.

"I need food." Alex lifted his head and stated bluntly as we drove down the street.

"Me too," Rian agreed. "Someone," he coughed, "stole my lunch."

Alex grinned sheepishly, and everyone waited for me to see if I was in or out.

"I've got to go home, sorry." Zack turned down my street and pulled in to my driveway.

"Bye, see you in the morning, guys," I said as I slammed the door shut and ran up to the front steps.