One•Shots

jared + zayden

z a y d e n *

"Good afternoon, everyone!!" Mrs. Barnes, my English teacher, says. "Today, we will begin a project! You will be working in groups, but I will be picking your groups!!" Most of the class groans, but I don't. I might be popular, but I prefer it when the teacher picks the groups we're supposed to work in--everyone always fights over who gets to be paired with me, and it's just really stupid.

"Alright...Zayden, you will be paired with Jared." Mrs. Barnes says, addressing me. I hear Andrew start to laugh and turn around.
"Shut up," I snap at him. "Just because you're a jerk who thinks everyone else besides you is a waste, doesn't mean I do." Andrew's face turns red as a chorus of "ooh" rings out through the classroom. I have a group of people that I hang out with, one of them is Andrew; I'd rather hang out with Jared and his friends then Andrew and the other idiots. Another thing, that no one knows, is that I like boys. I obviously haven't told anyone because I knew I'd hear about it from Andrew, and right now, I want nothing more than to drop-kick him across the football field; I feel a burning hatred inside of me towards him, and I'm unsure why.

"Hey," I say as Jared walks over to my desk and sits down.
"Hey," he says, his country accent popping out. I feel my stomach flutter; I love his accent.
"We can go over to my house after school today if you want,"
"Sure,"
"Do you need a ride?" I ask him.
"Yeah, my mama dropped me off this mornin', so I'll have to text her and tell her I got a ride," he says. My heart swoons at 'mama' and 'mornin''.

After school, Jared meets me by my locker and we walk to my blue sports car. My parents got it for me for my fifteenth birthday, but I'd really prefer a jeep or a truck. The first few minutes of the drive is silent.
"So," I say after a few moments, finally breaking the silence. "Are you going to prom?"
"Probably," he says. "I'll probably end up goin' alone, though..."
"You don't have your eye on anyone? No girl?"
"Nah, I don't 'swang' that way... I'm into guys," I almost lose it at the way he says 'swing', but my heart flutters when I learn he's into boys like I am. I look over at him.
When we pull into my driveway, Jared looks around.
"Whoa," he says.
"Yeah...it's too big and bland," I say. "Everything is very minimal and I hate it."
He looks at me. "Really?"
"Yeah, my parents are rich and snooty, they think they're better than everyone else who isn't rich, and I hate it."
"Well, you're not like that," he says.
"That makes me happy, I'm glad I'm not like that."

"Mom! I'm home, and I have a friend with me! We're working on an English project!" I say once we've walked inside the house.
"Alright, sweetie!" Mom calls, coming into the living room with a white pencil skirt on and a matching, flouncy blouse, and black pumps. She looks at Jared, taking in his jeans and cowboy boots. She glances at me as if saying 'don't let him ruin anything'. I nearly huff and roll my eyes, but instead, I gesture for Jared to follow me up the stairs.
"I'm sorry about my mother," I say when we've entered my bedroom.
"It's okay," Jared says softly.
"You wanna go on the roof?" I ask him. "We've got a rooftop patio up there, I go up there a lot, especially when I want to be alone. My parents wouldn't dream of going up there."
"Sure," he says.

Instead of working on the project, as we should be, we talk about anything and everything else.
"Hey, can I tell you something?" I say suddenly.
He looks up at me, meeting my eyes. "Yeah?" he says, a questioning tone in his voice.
"I like boys too," I say, almost silently.
"Wait, really?" he asks; I hear the shocked tone in his voice.
I nod my head. "No one else knows... I just never said anything because my parents are jerks and so is everyone else. I don't even know why I continue to hang out with those people, I guess because our parents all know each other, and if I stop hanging out with them they'll tell their parents and my parents will yell at me, and--"
I'm cut off by Jared pressing his lips against mine. I tense and he pulls away.
"I'm sorry," he says quickly, looking away from me.
"Why?" I ask him, grabbing his wrist, biting my lip gently as I look up at him, and pull him back towards me. I press my lips against his again, feeling his mouth jerk upward into a small smile against my lips.

"Thanks for dropping me off," Jared says as we pull up in front of his house.
"No problem," I say softly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He nods. "Yeah,"
I touch his hand before he gets out of my car. "Wait," I say softly, causing him to pause.
I lean forward and kiss his lips softly before he gets out.
I wait until he gets into the house before I pull off.

"I don't want to see you hanging out with that boy again, Zayden," Mom says when I walk back in the house from dropping Jared off.
"Why? Because his parents aren't rich? Mom, that's so shallow. You can't stop me from seeing him, he's my friend."
"Andrew is your friend, honey. He is--"
"What? He's what, Mom? Just because you don't like him does not mean that you can stop me from being friends with him." I snap and turn around, stomping up the stairs.
"Zayden!! You get back down here right now, young man!" Mom yells after me. I ignore her, and go into my bedroom, slamming my door and locking it behind me. I fall back on my bed and think about Jared. How he kisses me. How his accent makes me want to listen to his voice forever... I fall asleep thinking about him.

I leave the house early the next morning, getting to school extra early. I get my stuff from my locker and take it to my first-period class, and then go back into the hallway, watching for Jared. He comes in a few minutes later and I walk over to his locker.
"Hey," he says, seeing me.
"Hey," I say, looking at him.
"How was your night?"
"It was okay... how was yours?"
"It was good... I told my mama 'bout you,"
"You did?"
He nods. "Yeah," he says softly, a blush slowly beginning to creep into his cheeks. I smile at him.
"Can I kiss you?" I ask him softly, so no one else hears.
"But what about--?" he begins.
"Who cares what they think,"
He smiles at me and nods. I step forward and put my hand on the back of his neck, pressing my lips against his. The noise in the hallway stops. You can hear gasps, and people start to whisper. Jared puts both of his hands on my waist. I pull back a few seconds later, and everyone is staring at us.
"Walk to class together?" I ask, holding my hand out.
"Of course," Jared says softly, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers.

2/8/20