Why Don't We? // Jack Avery fanfiction

724 Cranberry Lane

"Woah. You guys live here?" I say, looking out the window, waiting for the car to come to a full stop. "Yup. At least for the rest of this year." Said Corbyn, smiling. I admired the cream coloured exterior walls, with the orange tiled roof. The house was so close to the water, I couldn't believe it. My family had never had a lot of money, so I wasn't used to seeing houses like this one.

As the car came to a full stop, Jack got out right away. He quickly opened the door for me and the boys, and then walked into the house, before I could even say thank you. There was something so mysterious about him. I was so drawn to him; I didn't even understand why. "Thanks." I whispered, knowing that he wouldn't hear me. This time Corbyn and Daniel heard. "Eh, don't worry about him, Emily. He's a really nice guy, I swear. He's just been supser depressed ever since his girlfriend dumped him. He hasn't been talking to us either. So, don't think he doesn't like you or anything. He's just been.. He hasn't been himself recently." Said Daniel, as he walked into the house, gesturing for me to follow.

When I got inside, I saw two more boys. One in the open concept kitchen, making a sandwich, and one in the living room, playing video games. Neither noticed me as I walked in the house. They both were focused intensely. "Zach, Jonah, this is Emily." Corbyn said, putting his arm around my shoulder. Jonah stopped making the sandwich and looked up. He was very attractive, and clearly a bit older than all the other boys. "Jeez Corbyn, first day of public school and you've already got a girlfriend?" Said Jonah, clearly trying to poke fun at Corbyn. "Yup." He said proudly. I felt weird. "Just kidding" continued Corbyn, probably because he felt me tense up. "I will tell you though, she's one of the only girls at that school who isn't totally crazy. Some girl jumped up and hug tackled me in the hall today. I swear, they're insane." Corbyn finished, taking a bite of Jonah's sandwich. "Hey!" Jonah said, smacking Corbyn lightly on the side of the head. "Here Emily, let's get you some food, since these guys clearly don't know how to share." Daniel laughed, and began to walk toward the kitchen. I expected I was supposed to follow him; so I did.

"So, why do you guys all live together?" I asked casually, as I took a bite out of the sandwich Daniel made for me. "Well, we kinda need to be together for work." Zach said. "Work?" I said, laughing slightly. "You're high school students! What work could you possibly do?" I continued. "I mean, Jonah isn't in high school. He's already 21." Daniel added. "We make music. We're in a band!" Corbyn said excitedly.

"What?? That's so cool!" I exclaimed. "What instruments do you guys play? I noticed a blush creep over Corbyn's face. "Okay.. Well, it's kinda a boy band. We all sing." I don't know why my body decided to do this to me, But I found myself laughing at this. "A boy band? So you guys have a following of 7 year old girls?" I laughed. "Hey, some are our age, and hot too. They dig a boy in a band." Said Zach, making a stereotypical cool guy face.

Slowly, it began to get darker, and darker outside. I had been with these boys for hours; just enjoying their company. It's been forever since I've made a new friend, so making 4.. maybe 5 in one day was one of the best things I could have wished for. The boys gave me dinner, and we played games on their PS3 for hours. They were all surprised by my knack for videogames. "I'm a pro." I told them. We all laughed. Shortly after saying this, I heard footsteps coming down the large, white railed staircase.  As I looked up, I made eye contact with Jack. I instantly felt a blush creep up my cheeks, just at the sight of him. "It's getting late. You should get home soon." Jack said, as he continued walking down the stairs until he reached the bottom. My heart fell, and I instantly felt embarassed.  All I wanted to do was to spend time with him, and all he wanted was for me to get out of his house. "Come on Jacky boy, it's a party down here. Join us!" Corbyn cheered. Zach whooped in agreeance, explaining how I'm the best at videogames. Jack let out a small smile. "Next time. I'm not feeling so great." Jack said, turning around to walk back up the stairs. "I'll see you around, Emily." He added, looking over his shoulder at me, before reaching the top of the stairs.

I was taken aback, and didn't have time to reply before he was already up the stairs, and gone. "He's actually right. I should probably be going." I said, standing up, and pulling my jeans down slightly, so they wouldn't rise above my ankes.
"Nah, don't listen to Jack. He's not being himself. We all want you to stay. It's a Friday night after all." Said Zach, which was surprising, since he originally seemed to dislike me after I beat him at Mario Kart not 3, but 4 times in a row. I smiled at this. "I really should be going." I said, as I grabbed my bag from the front of my house.

"Here, I'll give you a lift. It's too late at night for you to just walk home." Said Jonah. This was true. I was also really tired, so I decided to take Jonah up on his offer. "Thanks." I smiled

As we got in the car and began driving, I told him my address. He plugged it into the GPS, and we were on our way. The ride was quiet. Jonah gave off a serious older brother vibe. I knew I could trust him. "Hey, I have a question." I said, looking at Jonah who was focused on the road. He quickly glanced at me before looking back at the road. "Go for it." I thought for a few seconds about how I should phrase what I was going to ask.

"Do you think Jack likes me? It looked like he really wanted me to leave" I said, hoping Jonah would answer honestly. "Don't worry about Jack. Once you get to know him, he's the kindest guy you will ever meet. Trust me. He likes you, he's just not the best at showing it until he knows you well." I thought about his answer for awhile. We continued the quiet car ride until reaching my house. I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride" I said, poking my head through the window. Jonah's phone vibrated. After quickly scanning the screen, he showed me the message he has just received. It was from Corbyn. "Give Emily my number before you drop her off. Don't make it sound like I'm flirting with her. I'm just trying to make a new friend!!" I laughed at the last part, and added the number to my contacts. Jonah and I shared our goodbyes. "Thanks again!" I shouted, waving at Jonah as he turned his jeep around and headed back to his home. Before going in my house, I texted Corbyn's number.

"Hey it's Emily."

I pressed send, and walked into my house, chatting quickly with my parents, updating them on my day before running upstairs. My mom tucked her wavy brown hair behind her ear. I've always been very close to my parents, and I can tell they're happy I've made new friends.

I was happy too. There was just one thing I couldn't seem to get off my mind.

Jack.