New Boy (A Javid Story)

Planning

Davey was supposed to be studying for his biology test when he got a seemingly frantic text from Jack.

Jack: Dave. Dave. Dave. Dave. Dave. 

Davey: Yes, Jack? 

Jack: Hi

Jack: So I need you to come to my place

Jack: Like right now

Davey: Why?

Jack: To study for biology

Davey: That's what I was doing anyways. I'll be over in a little bit. 

Fifteen minutes later, Davey was standing outside Jack's house with his backpack filled with the stuff they needed to study for biology. It was Crutchie who opened the door to let him in. 

"Hey, Dave!" The blonde boy grinned. "You here to help Jack too?" He checked. 

"Yeah, I guess." Davey nodded. 

"Great. Everyone is upstairs." Crutchie opened the door even wider and Davey stepped inside. 

"Everyone?" Davey raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Crutchie started up the stairs. Medda had offered to do something to make it easier for her son, but Crutchie refused. At this point, climbing the stairs with his crutch was second nature.

A bit confused, Davey followed after him. He heard two voices coming from Jack's room, along with what sounded like someone writing on a whiteboard. When he finally got inside, he saw Romeo sitting on a bean bag chair and Jack up at a whiteboard. 

"Davey! Welcome to the meeting!" Jack grinned, ushering the other boy to sit on his bed. "So, we isn't actually gonna study for bio, I just needed to get ya here." 

"Well, if this isn't for biology, what do you need me for?" Davey asked, a bit suspicious. 

"Ya see, Dave, my two year anniversary with Kath is comin' up soon, and I needs to plan out the perfect date." Jack informed. "That's why I called in the two love experts here." Jack pointed to Romeo and Crutchie. 

"So, once again, what do you need me for?" Davey asked again. 

"You is smart. So is Katherine." Crutchie explained. 

"Also, we need someone to calculate the price." Romeo chimed in. 

Davey nodded. "Got it." 

"So! This is what we has so far." Jack motioned to the whiteboard. On it was a giant circle with Katherine's name written in it, and there were smaller circles coming out of it. Some of them had details about Katherine while still others had ideas about what they could do. Some bubbles were connected to each other, and some had multiple connections. Davey scanned through each of them, and nodded. 

"It looks good. Do you have an idea of what exactly you want to do yet?" He checked. 

"Jack wants to do somethin' romantic, but we is just high school students. We can't afford anythin' much." Romeo shrugged. 

"An' he refuses to let mom pay." Crutchie added. 

"It's not her date!" Jack insisted. "Miss. Medda takes care of me enough, she shouldn't have to pay for my dates with Kath. That's my responsibility."

"Just call her mom." Romeo complained. "She's practically your mother." 

"This isn't about what I call Miss. Medda!" Jack shut down the conversation. "Dave, we have a few ideas that we is narrowing in on. Crutch, you got the list?" He asked.

Crutchie nodded. "Okay, the first one was to take her to a nice restaurant. But we think that would be too expensive." 

"Which restaurant?" Davey asked. 

"I dunno!" Jack sighed. "A decent one!" 

"Idea number two: surprise her with origami roses made of her articles from the school paper." Crutchie read off. 

"I think you should pair that with something." Davey commented, biting his lip.

"That's what I said!" Romeo threw his arms in the air. 

"What about this," Davey suggested. "You take her out for a picnic in Central Park and surprise her with the roses made of newspaper articles. Pack her favorite foods and maybe some sparkling cider if you can get it? Then take her to an old book store and let her pick out whatever book she wants." 

"Davey Jacobs, you is a genius!" A grin spread over Jack's face. "If you were Katherine, I would kiss ya!" He exclaimed. 

"I, uh, that's uh, that's okay." Davey blushed, nodding a little. Crutchie gave him a sympathetic look that he didn't seem to see. 

"But how much is it gonna cost?" Romeo spoke up. 

"Well, let's work out some calculations." Jack suggested and sat down on the floor, as did Davey. The four boys sat in a circle and worked out how much each thing would cost and, by the end of the night, had a pretty solid date planned. As Davey started to leave, Jack held him back. 

"Thanks for the help, Dave. We really couldn't have done it without you." He smiled a little, shoving his hands in his pockets. Jack's sweatshirt had spots of paint on it, and his hair was a little messy from running his fingers through it. The small details made Davey's heart flutter in his chest as a smile spread across his face. 

"It's no problem, Jackie." He responded. 

"Jackie?" The shorter boy raised an eyebrow. 

"No, I'm sorry, that just kinda slipped out. I'm sorry, if you don't like it I won't u-" Davey started to ramble, but was cut off.  

"It's fine, Dave. I like it." Jack nodded. 

"Really? Cause you can tell me if you don't." Davey insisted. 

"Dave, it's cool. Really it is." He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair again. 

"Jack! Come help me clean up!" Crutchie yelled from upstairs. 

"I gotta go." Jack laughed. "See ya later." 

"Yeah, I'll see you in school tomorrow." Davey waved a little as he started to walk away. He put his hands in his sweatshirt pockets as he walked through the busy Manhattan streets. His heart was still beating slightly faster than usual, and the smile stayed on his face as he walked home. Part of him was a bit upset that he had spent the evening planning a date for his crush that wasn't even with him, but Jack was his friend first. He could ignore his feelings if he got to see Jack happy. But as he walked home, he couldn't help but which that Jack was going on that date with him instead of Katherine. But the two made each other happy, and Davey was fine with that. 

Still, he couldn't help but wonder aloud as he was in the elevator up to his apartment. "What is this boy doing to me?"