New Boy (A Javid Story)

The Rooftop

The next morning, Jack didn't show up at breakfast. Crutchie quickly became worried, even though Jack had specifically sent him a text that he was fine and that he shouldn't be worried. 

"Breakfast is his favorite meal, he never skips breakfast." Crutchie insisted. 

"Chill, Crutch, he's probably out by the lake or something." Race, who was shoving pancakes into his mouth, reasoned. 

"No, I went out to the lake this morning to make sure the fire was out. He wasn't there." Jojo debunked the theory. 

"Thanks, Mr. Positive." Race rolled his eyes. 

"No problem." Jojo nodded, taking another bite of his own pancakes.

"Check the roof." Specs spoke up. "He likes rooftops." 

"Good point." Crutchie nodded. "Dave, can you go up there and check for me?" He asked. "I can't make it up there with this." He motioned to his crutch. 

"I don't, well, I don't know if I'm the best option." Davey rubbed the back of his neck. "After all, he did kinda leave me last night. Send Race up, or Romeo." He suggested. 

"Nope." Race said as Romeo shook his head. "You go." 

"Ugh, fine." Davey stood and made his way upstairs to Mike and Ike's room. He climbed out their window and onto the roof, holding to the roof like his life depended on it. "Jack better be up here." He mumbled to himself, looking around a little. Davey crawled up a bit more until he could see over the top of the roof, where he found Jack sitting, looking at the pond. "Hey Jackie." He said in a voice just loud enough for the other boy to hear. He watched as Jack jumped, biting his lip. 

"Oh, hey Dave." Jack gave him a half smile, turning to face the pond again. "What are you doing up here?" He asked. 

"Looking for you." Davey sat down next to him, looking out at the lake. "Nice view." He commented. 

"Yeah. It's calming." Jack nodded. The two sat in silence for a bit, staring out at the water. Davey would later swear he saw a stork fly by, but Jack would forever deny it. After a few minutes, Davey spoke up. 

"Listen, Jack, about last night," He started.

"No, Dave, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have kissed you." Jack shook his head. 

"But I liked it." Davey admitted. 

"What?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I liked it. I really did. I like you." He confessed. After a few moments of shocked silence, Jack leaned forward and kissed Davey again. This time, the kiss lasted longer, both boys enjoying it. Jack didn't pull away as quickly and Davey eventually broke it from smiling too much. 

"Dave?" Jack asked, making eye contact with the other boy.

"Yeah, Jackie?" 

"I like you too." Jack's face cracked into a grin. Davey laughed, pushing Jack lightly. The two laughed for a minute, and Jack had his arm around Davey. They sat like that for awhile in a comfortable silence, both of them happy beyond belief. Davey nuzzled in close to Jack's side, and the two fit as though they had been a couple for ages. In that moment, they felt like they had been. It was peaceful and quiet and neither of them would change it for the world. 

"Hey, Dave?" Jack whispered, and Davey felt his breath against his neck. 

"Yeah, Jackie?" Davey asked, turning his head and looking down at Jack. 

"When did you know you liked me?" Jack asked, curious as ever. 

Davey let out a weak laugh. "The Christmas party. I got caught up in my thoughts and then it just kind of, y'know, hit me." Jack nodded, and the two sat for a bit longer. "When did you know you liked me?" 

"The first time you were tutoring Crutchie. I got so distracted, looking at your side profile and listening to you talk numbers with Crutch in the background. And deep down I just kinda...knew." Jack shrugged. Davey carefully took Jack's hand and squeezed it a little, watching as birds flew by. "I like it up here." Jack whispered. "Far away from anyone who can bother me, far from responsibilities, closer to peace. I want a house that has a view." He confessed. "When I grow up, of course. But I wanna take my husband or wife up to the roof and look at the stars, watch the sky. Just enjoy myself in general." A peaceful smile formed on Jack's face as he spoke, thinking of his future. "And maybe someday I'll get it. I've always been a dreamer. When I was a kid," Jack turned to look at Davey. "Medda thought that if she just got me to focus more on schoolwork, I could be a writer. But I turned out as an artist. And, if I'm being honest, art is the best possible outlet for my creativity. I can show the world the things I dream up. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get my work in a gallery." Jack shrugged. "What about you, Dave? Where do you wanna be?" 

"I don't know." Davey shrugged. "I never think about it much. I'm going to go to college to become a writer, but after that? I have no clue." Davey shuddered. "And that scares me. What if I never know what comes next?" 

"You'll find it, Dave." Jack nodded. "I promise." 

"Easy for you to say." Davey laughed a little. "You've got your future ready to go." 

"Well, who's to say it comes true? Maybe none of that happens." Jack pointed out. 

"At least you have a goal, Jack." Davey responded. 

"Everyone has a goal, Dave. I'm sure you do." Jack tried. 

"My goal is to graduate high school with good grades and get into college. Probably NYU if I can't get Ivy League." Davey admitted. 

"See!" Jack grinned. "That's a goal." 

"Yeah, well, it's not much." Davey shrugged. 

"It's something." Jack said. "You know what my goal is right now?" He asked.

"What?" 

"To sit right here, right now, and enjoy the quiet time with you." He grabbed Davey's hand again. "Who knows when we'll get this chance again." He laughed. So the two sat there for about an hour longer, talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves. Until, of course, there was someone there to break the moment. 

"Ay! Lovebirds!" Albert yelled from the backyard, looking up at the two. "Get down here! Race is starting a game of poker!" The two boys laughed, crawling back into the house through Mike and Ike's window. They sat down at the table, hand and hand, and started to play poker with the rest of their friends.