Alone With Your Smile [Jalex AU]

Alex

When Alex walked into Mr. Barakat’s –Jack’s? – classroom on the second day of school, he was pleasantly surprised. Various posters lined the once bare walls of the classroom, covering every available inch of wall. Some were for bands he knew, others for bands he had never even heard of before. The ones that stuck out the most were for Blink 182 and Green Day. Alex had looked up to those bands for as long as he could remember, and to learn that Jack also had an appreciation for them was nice, for some reason. Maybe because he didn’t meet many other people who were into the same music as him. He marveled at the posters for a moment before someone pushed him out of the way. It took him all of two seconds to realize that he had been standing in the doorway, blocking the entrance to the class.

                He muttered and apology to the students who were patiently waiting for him to move and made his way to the seat he had sat in the previous day. Jack hadn’t given out assigned seats, something he was thankful for. Nothing sucked more than having to sit next to a person you couldn’t stand, which, in his case, was a lot of people. Sure, he was highly sociable and really would talk to anybody, but that didn’t mean that he actually liked them. He just liked talking, is all.

                Rian and Cassadee came in a few moments later, this time opting to take the seats next to Alex rather than going to the back again. Alex wasn’t sure why they sat in the back yesterday, as they usually sit together in every class they have together, but he didn’t question it too much. At least they were sitting by him now. As soon as they sat, they scooted the two desks together slightly, not enough to completely close off the path to the other desks, just enough to where they were close to each other. They were always like that, trying to be as close to each other as they possibly could. The pair had started dating in eighth grade and had been inseparable ever since. Alex could distinctly remember the summer after Sophomore year when Cassadee went on a two week vacation to San Diego and all Rian did the whole time was complain about how much he missed her. It was clear how much they loved each other, and Alex hoped to have a relationship like theirs one day.

“I really love this class, don’t you?” Cass asked as soon as she was situated.

“I’m not sure yet. Jack’s cool, yeah, but I don’t know about the actual class. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Alex answered, though he had a feeling that he would like the class. He had taken Basic Creative Writing the previous year –his Junior year– and loved it, so there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he wouldn’t enjoy Advanced Creative Writing. There was something about writing that calmed him, but him in a serene place. He liked that.

“I think it’ll be fun. What about you, Ri?” She turned her attention to Rian, leaving Alex by himself again. He scanned the room for Jack, not seeing him anywhere. He wasn’t at his desk, and by the looks of it, he hadn’t been there at all this morning. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen, which was odd, seeing as how the final bell had rung a few minutes ago.

                He poked Cass in the shoulder, causing her to jump, and muttered a simple, “Where’s Jack?” She didn’t have time to answer, though, because as soon as the words escaped his mouth, Jack burst into the room, yelling a loud, “Sorry!” to everyone as he threw his bag on his desk.

“Traffic blows.” Were the first words that left his mouth as he situated himself on the stool in front of the white board. A few students muttered in agreement, Alex being one of them. Ever since he had started driving, traffic had been his biggest enemy. Nothing like a case of road rage to start off your day, right?

                He say there for a minute after that, trying to calm his erratic breathing. From the way he reacted, it was quite obvious he didn’t do a lot of running, or any exercising, for that matter. Alex found that quite hard to believe though, as he seemed quite fit. While he was composing himself, Alex took the time to take in his appearance. He didn’t dress like a normal teacher, that much Alex was sure of. While most teachers whore khakis and button up shirts, Jack chose to sport skinny jeans and t-shirts. He also had a leather jacket, something Alex thought to be odd, since it was nearly one hundred degrees outside. His hair was perfectly disheveled, in that ‘I-look-like-I-rolled-out-of-bed-but-this-really-took-an-hour’ kind of way. I was a wonder he managed to get hired with as unprofessional as he looked, but then again, what did Alex know about getting a job?