His Perfect Imperfections / boyxboy

His Perfect Imperfections / Chapter 17

My phone blared text after text as I leaned against the passenger side window. It was late. A lot later than I had hoped for, but not something I was all too bothered with. Jake's family was like a breath of fresh air in comparison to what I was used to.

It was nice having a friend that already knew my darkest secret. Someone who knew the entire story, didn't judged me, and was fun to hang out with. And, I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help but feel a tiny crush on him. I didn't want to, that'd just complicate things. He was my first real friend and I wasn't about to mess that up.

So I buried my feelings.

“You live on this street, right?” Casey asked.

I pulled out of my daydream and looked around. “Yeah. My house is the yellow one.”

“Here?” He started to slow down.

“Yup. With the grey Jeep.”

He pulled into my driveway, right behind my brother's car. “Well, hope ya had fun.”

I forced a smile. I wasn't really good at small talk, even though it was a huge part of our culture. As a kid I never really socialized so my skills were sub par. Not to mention I felt small talk only got in the way of getting things done. But every so often I wished I could easily chat with people.

Just as I was about to say something back, Jake kicked my seat. I jumped and looked back at him. He was asleep. This had me frowning as it was only 8 o'clock. “Is he serious?”

Casey laughed. “He usually goes to sleep super early so he can wake up and go on his early morning jog before class. He's got that zero hour thing at six.”

“He's pretty busy then.” That sounded like a well rounded person. Something I was definitely not. “We didn't do any homework, though.”

“Eh, it's fine. He never does it at home anyway. He has two study halls. Well, one, technically, he has honors in the cafeteria but he's also a teacher's assistant. But that teacher has little for him to do, but he gets a credit, so it's a better alternative to a regular study hall.”

“That's a lot for freshman year.” I wanted to leave. Damn, small talk.

He nodded. “Yeah, but that's how our parents are. Well, see you in school tomorrow.”

“Okay. Thanks for the ride.” I slid out of the car.

He waved. “You're welcome. Anytime.”

As I got closer to my front Casey started up the engine. I was just to the first step when my phone started going off again. I quickly checked it. There was one text from my mom saying, 'don't stay out past nine’. And about thirty from Trevor. I made it to the door and turned back to Casey, waving as I opened the door and he began backing out of the driveway.

In the living room, my brother was laying on the couch cuddled up with his girlfriend. I hadn't mentioned it before, but they were both in college. My brother waved to me and so did Emily. I nodded, walking between them and whatever it was they were watching on TV. Before going to my room I made sure my parents knew I was back.

I went into my room and fell against my bed. The phone went off again. Shakily, I dared to see what he had sent me.

'Answer the fucking phone slut.’

I turned the phone to do not disturb and took my shoes off. I didn't bother getting out of my clothes and curled up with my blanket. I'm usually not one to cry, especially twice in one day, but I couldn't help it. I just wanted all of what I started to go away. I didn't want to have to read any of his texts ever again. I wanted real friends, like Jake, and to feel that same happiness when I'm around other people.