That same night, Ralph and Jack swung as high as the tallest tree around the playground. Jack challenged Ralph to one of their competitions: who could go the highest for the longest? Ralph pointed out Jack's obvious disadvantage, but the older boy was sure he could still win.
"And don't go easy on me" Jack insisted.
Ralph was surprised by how much of a fight Jack could put up with an imobilized arm and leg. But of course, he still had double the amount of working limbs and Jack inevitably grew tired first. Jack was a fighter, but he wasn't invincible.
"Yo Ralph Langley!" a high-pitched voice caught the boy's attention from half a mile away. Ralph looked out into the field to see two of his friends from school running toward them.
The girl and boy panted heavily as they slowed down in time to stop in front of Jack and Ralph. The brunette boy pried himself off the hot plastic swing.
"Bella, hey" Ralph greeted the girl. Her dirty-blond hair was in a disastrous ponytail that was falling apart at the seems around her beat red face. The boy, a light haired brunette, came in tow behind her. He was tall, noticeably taller than Jack.
"Langley, how goes it?" the boy asked as he and Ralph bumped fists.
"I'm good, hot but good" Ralph smiled halfheartedly as the three laughed lightly. "Bella, Henry, this is Jack" he stepped back to grab ahold of Jack's hand from behind.
"Hey!" Bella smiled, staring down at their joined hands until Ralph pulled away.
"You go to Eastern?" Henry asked Jack.
"I'm not from here" Jack informed him. "I live in Dalton... usually."
"Oh! That's cool. What are you doing down here? Isn't Dalton kinda far?" Bella asked in a cheery voice that rubbed Jack the wrong way.
"Not really" Jack shrugged. "Ninety minutes. If they'd ever let me drive, I could do it in seventy-five."
Ralph shot Jack a disapproving glare and gently slapped him across the stomach with his arm.
"What?" Jack retorted, turning to Ralph. "I could!"
Ralph simply rolled his eyes as he considered the truth behind Jack's unfunny joke.
"You ready for the pre calc test on Friday?" Bella turned her attention back to Ralph.
"Not as ready as I should be" Ralph shamefully admitted. "It's been way too hot for me to focus. We don't have air conditioning at my house."
"Yikes" Henry pressed his lips together tightly. "You guys must be cooking over there."
"Except Jack, he's cold blooded" Ralph smiled smugly at the blond boy, earning a well deserved slap across the head.
"Don't make me take you down right now, Langley. It'll be damn embarrassing for you when you get your ass beat by a cripple" Jack threatened.
"What happened to you anyway?" Bella asked curiously as she studied Jack from head to toe.
"Jeez, Bell, you don't just ask someone that" Henry shot the girl a knowing glare.
"Why not?" the girl who seemed to lack a filter of any kind asked innocently.
"Cause maybe it's personal" Henry countered as Ralph and Jack stared awkwardly at each other.
"It's not" Jack stepped in to assure them. "It was a car accident. Nothing personal about getting crushed between shards of heavy metal" he lied seemlessly.
"Oh my god" Bella's eyes went wide. "Did anyone die?" she stupidly asked.
"Nah" Jack waved a dismissive hand at her. "Although I wouldn't've minded if my bitch of a sister ended up in a coma" he darkly joked.
YOU ARE READING
LOTF: Before and After
Fanfiction"𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝." "𝐍𝐨, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭... 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝." "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞." "𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡? 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮." E...
