Nowhere Kids

Chilling by the Fire

I followed Zach out into the hall where we met up with Eric and Barry.
"Brent's driving Courtney home, he said he'll meet up with us after" Barry explained.
"So what's today's plan? I hope you guys don't mind I invited Jamie along" Zach said, rubbing his hands together.
"I think we could hang out at my place. My parents won't be home until late" Eric said.
"Sounds good to me. Zach, Jamie, you two need rides?" Barry asked us.
"Yes, please" I said, making Barry smile.
"I'll go with Eric" Zach said.

We made our way out to the parking lot. I followed Barry to his car.
"So how are you liking our school so far?" Barry asked as we both got in the car.
"So far it's okay, and meeting you guys so quickly is great. Some other kids don't seem so nice"
"Yeah, every school has kids like them"
I guess he had a point.
"Well thanks for being so inviting. It really helps me settle in"
"No problem. Your so chill, it feels like your just one of the guys" I smiled after hearing that. I didn't mind being 'one of the guys', as long as they treated me equally.

Barry and I spent the rest of the car ride talking music. He said was wanted to drum professionally one day.
"I'd love to hear you play one day" I said, making him blush. We pulled up to his house where Eric and Zach were waiting in the yard.
" 'Bout time you got here" Zach said
"Sorry, must have lost you at that red light earlier" Barry got out of the car and headed towards the door with his keys. I followed, catching up with Eric and Zach as we waited for Bart to unlock the door.

"Welcome to my humble abode" Barry said as he pushed the door open. Zach rolled his eyes as we all walked inside.
"So now what?" Eric asked as he tossed his bag to the side. I gently placed my bag down next to the door.
"It's pretty nice out, let's go hang by the pit"

Barry lead us to his backyard. It was pretty nice.  A patio set sat by the door, he had a large pool with pool chairs off to the side, and a fire pit with chairs circling it on the opposite side of the yard. I took a seat next to Eric as we watched Zach and Barry get the fire started. Zach piled up the wood then stepped aside while Barry lit it up. It was relaxing to watch.

We all sat around the fire talking for a while. Suddenly Barry's doorbell rang.
"That must be Brent, I'll be back" Barry stood up and walked inside.
"Only half an hour with Courtney, that must be a record" Zach laughed.
"I know. She usually keeps him an hour or longer" Eric added. They were both laughing now. I watched the door until Barry came back with Brent following.
"What's up everyone?" Brent asked with a smile.
"What's up man" Zach replied. Brent looked at Zach, then Eric, and his smile disappeared when he looked at me.

I think the others noticed the tension between Brent and I.
"You guys want drinks? I'm going to run inside for a minute" Barry hurried back inside the house.
"I'll go help him" Eric said as he stood up, following him inside. Brent and I looked over at Zach.
"I, Uh... I have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back" he followed the others into the house in a hurry. I was now alone with Brent, the one person I didn't want to be alone with. He walked in front of me, blocking my view of the fire. I refused to look up at him.

"Jamie please, let's talk" his hand appeared in front of my face, so I turned away.
"You really told her we talked behind her back" I growled.
"Jamie I'm sorry. She pressured me to tell her" he was now kneeling in front of me. I still refused to look at him.
"She and her friends confronted me in the hall. I thought I was going to get jumped or something" tears formed in my eyes as I started to get angry.
"I'm sorry. I don't want her controlling me like she does, but she's got a lot of power" I finally faced Brent who was now crying. I started feeling bad so I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into me.
"It's okay Brent. I know your strong. I'd be scared of her too if I was in your position" I held Brent tightly as he cried. "But I'm not, so I'll stand up to her as long as I need to"
"Thank you" Brent whispered into me.

I ran my hands through Brent's long black hair, hoping to calm him before the others came back. I noticed that was pointless when I looked over and saw them watching us through the window. Brent stood back up once he was calm and wiped away his tears with his sleeve. The others came back out to join us again.
"You know, Courtney is going to kill both of you" Zach said as he reclaimed his seat.
"Yeah, Brent won't have to say anything. She just knows when he's around another girl" Eric added as he sat down.
"Good thing I'm one of the guys then. Right Barry?" I winked at Barry, making him chuckle.
"To is you are, I don't know if she'll understand that" Barry laughed as he handed Brent and I a bottle of water.

Barry sat back down, leaving no empty seat for Brent.
"I can grab one of the patio chairs and bring it over man" Barry suggested.
"Or I can get up" I also suggested, realizing I might hav been in his usual seat. I was still new after all, and still felt like I was intruding on their space.
"Nah, it's fine" Brent then sat in the dirt in front of me, leaning back against my legs. I smiled as he leaned his head back into my lap, flashing me a smile before leaning forward slightly and focusing back on his friends.

It was nice sitting around the fire with the others. I ran my hand through Brent's hair as we all talked, not even noticing I was doing it. We were having such a good time, I didn't even realize how late it was getting. I looked up to see the sun starting to set and panicked.
"I have to get home before my parents kill me" I jumped to my feet, scaring Brent.
"Alright, alright. I'll drive you home" Brent offered. We said goodbye to everyone before making our way through the house and to Brent's truck.

"So you have strict parents or something?" Brent asked during the ride.
"Yeah. They won't even be happy that I didn't come home straight from school" I stared out the window, watching everything go by.
"Well, I'm glad you hung out with us. I hope you do more often" I looked over at Brent who was smirking at me. I blushed and quickly looked away. Things would be so much easier if he was single. For now I would hide my emotions the best I could.

"Thanks for the ride" I said as Brent stopped the truck in front of my house.
"No problem. See you tomorrow" he said. I grabbed my bag and got out of the truck, waving goodbye before walking into the house. This time Brent waited out front until I got inside.

"Where have you been? And who was that?" Dad asked as soon as I stepped inside.
"Just a friend dad. We were hanging out as a group" I knew not to tell him I was the only girl there as he'd freak out.
"Tell is next time. And don't get in cars with guys you barely know"
"Whatever" I went up to my room to find Beau sleeping in my bed. I got into bed next to him, waking him up. He jumped on top of me and covered me with kisses.
"Hi buddy, settle down now" I pushed him off, laughing. He curled up in a ball by my side and we both fell asleep.