We Should Talk. (Book One)

First Day of School

"So... He hasn't called?" Gus asks me.

"Nope." As if I didn't care.

"Why don't you call him?" Ace suggests.

"Nope."

Ace looks at me as if I promised him a favor and went back on my word. "Come on Toby. Don't end your fake relationship like that."

"I'll end my fake relationship however I want. I'll end any relationship I want however I want!"

"Alright, Tiger!" Gus says. "If you want to be all upset about it then fine."

It's been 4 days since we visited Avi's mother in the hospital. Since we last spoke. I didn't get a text, a call, anything.

"It's 7:40, let's just go." Horacio says.

I can't believe class has already started. It seems like it was yesterday I was at the Family Christmas Party hearing Aunt Clark pretend to be drunk.

And now it's back with Math and Chemistry and all the annoying teachers.

The three of us get to school and split to our classes.

Gus and I have AP Quemistry as first period, and I have Drama with Ace as fifth period. After school we'll go to my house, as we usually do.

The bell rings. I look at Gus, who is sitting right beside me.

"Doesn't it feel like a fresh start? First day of our last semester, Toby. You can get through this." He says. I smile.

It does feel like a fresh start, and I'm in desperate need of one.

"Thanks Gus." I say, and he winks at me. The bell rings and suddenly storming through the door comes Jack.

He looks around the room and sees me.

"What the hell?" I whisper.

"Holy shit."

"What's up, Gustus?" Jack says, and Augustus looks the other way without answering. He is a loyal friend. If I didn't know better I'd think Jack broke his heart.

Jack takes a seat in the chair right behind me

I can't believe he's really back. Why would he transfer back in the second semester of Senior Year? None of this makes sense to me.

I guess that's a no for that fresh start now.

~

The bell rings announcing the end of the school day, and I feel like I should run home for Jack to not have a chance to approach me.

It was not fun spending the whole day avoiding him and spying on him at the same time. Specially since every time I saw him there were at least 4 girls on his tail, treating him like a Greek God.

I run to my locker to get my Math book and as soon as I slam the door...

"Hey, beautiful."

I sigh. Damn it. Not the British accent again.

"Jack, I'm actually in a hurry so--"

"Why are you running away from me? It's too late. I've already seen you." He tells me like when we first met.

He approached me and I told him I didn't understand why he came to me, after all, all of the girls in this school loved him, and at the time I had no self-confidence. He said he couldn't get me off of his mind, we had two classes together and he thought I was beautiful and smart, and that it was too late for me to hide from him, because he had already seen me and he wouldn't let me go.

That's how we met for the first time.

That's just how Jack is. He makes you fall in love for him. He makes you feel like you're the main character. Like you're all he needs. At least he made me feel that way.

"Do you want me to be honest? Okay. Honestly, I don't want to talk to you. Or see you. Or even think about you. In fact, you should leave me alone." I tell him, and start walking towards the exit.

"Toby please--"

"Hey, Jacky!" A girl shouts in the hallway, but Jack ignores her and runs to reach me.

"Toby, please give me a chance. Please! I owe you an explanation. Please. Just to talk... Please, Toby." He begs.

I open the door and he comes right behind me, when suddenly I see Avi in the parking lot, leaning over a red Ferrari with his arms crossed.

The girls that pass me whisper and giggle looking at him.

Avi sees me and jogs to where I am.

What does this even mean? Is the deal still on? Is this his way of apologizing?

"Hello, Jack." He says as they enter a staring competition against each other. "How's the nose?"

"It's fine." Jack answers coldly.

"Didn't know you were gonna go to this school." Avi says, throwing him shade.

"Yeah, well, I guess the note got lost in the mail." Jack responds.

"We should go." I say.

"Toby, I'll see you later, alright?" Jack says, gently touching my arm.

I turn around without responding and go to Avi's Ferrari.

He gets in the car and I tell him to just drive.

During the whole car ride home we don't exchange one single word.

We get there and he parks the car in front of my house.

"Can we talk?" He asks. I don't answer. "Look, I'm sorry if I crossed any lines talking about Jack. That wasn't my intention."

"Why did you say all that stuff?"

"That's just what I was thinking. But I won't say stuff like that anymore, I promise."

"Why do you think he still likes me?"

"I don't know, maybe because I'm a guy. I think we can see when another guy is into our girl. I mean, you'd know, right?"

"Sure, but I'm not your girl." I tell him. I've had enough of trying to be pleasant. I'm not. I'm rude and stressed all the time, and it's about time Avi accepted that.

"Do you want to cancel the deal?" He asks me.

"I want to make a new deal." I propose. "I'm still your girlfriend in front of your mother, but as for my friends and family, we broke up. I broke up with you, to be more exact." If my family members thought you broke up with me after what happened with Jack last year, they'd start treating me like if I were a grenade.

"Okay." He says.

"Just okay?"

"I'm clearly not happy about it but I'm not gonna force you into doing anything you don't want to."

I sigh.

"Listen, I gotta go. I have math homework to do." I say as I open the door. "Thank you. For helping me with everything these days and picking me up at school today. That was cool. Made all the other girls jealous, I bet."

He smiles.

~