Sweet Like Candy

See you later?

JACK'S POV: 

       I awoke the next morning lying on the closet floor with the same clothes I wore yesterday. My neck and back muscles were screaming in agony. The events that followed last night played in my head. Nothing new I suppose. I guess you can't expect new beginnings for a crazy family. 

      When I pushed the closet door open and entered my room I noticed a plate of cake placed on my desk. It looked pretty stale and a note was sat next to it. "I'm so glad you made friends! I promise we'll celebrate another time. ~mom". A smile found it's way onto my face after I finished reading the note. I tucked it inside one of the empty drawers of my desk before digging into the cake. Whoever said you couldn't have cake for breakfast was dead wrong. 

      Both my parents were already gone to work when I decided to leave the house to school. The usual. I did not really care about changing clothes so I wore the same attire. My ginger hair stuck up in odd ways from sleeping on the floor. Maybe back then I'd care somewhat about my appearance, me being completely friendless and all. But knowing I had friends made me feel less insecure about my looks. So with day-old clothes, I entered into school. 

    I arrived to school a bit earlier than yesterday. The sugar from the cake gave me more energy than I'd normally would with a normal breakfast, meaning a faster walk. The halls were mostly empty. This gave me a great time to explore the school a bit more without the traffic jam of students hustling by. 

      I was at my locker, piling the books I'd need for the next few classes. I intended on going on my own exploration when I heard a familiar voice behind me. Jeff! I turned around to, indeed, see Jeff by his locker, throwing books into his own beaten backpack. There was a boy I think I recognized from yesterday beside him. Excited to see my friend, I exclaimed, "Hey Jeff!" Both boys turned to look at me as I approached them. 

      "Oh, hey." Jeff stammered. The boy next to him whispered something into his ear then left.

     As I got closer I asked, "Who is he?" 

     "My older brother." Jeff answered blankly. 

     "Oh." I simply said. Jeff had his back turned to me as he continued filling his backpack with more books. He didn't say anything more to me and I did not know what to say. His brown hair looked more messier than it did yesterday and his clothes looked disheveled. "You okay?" I hesitantly asked. Jeff did not immediately reply. I watched him as he zipped his backpack full of books and ruffled his hair. Then he shut the locker shut with a loud thud and turned to face me. My attention was turned towards the intense black circles under his eyes... it looked like he hadn't had proper sleep in years. Though his beautiful blue eyes almost took my breath away; I  never realized how mesmerizing they were till now. I felt myself blush.

     "Yeah, I'm okay." Jeff said. I did not comprehend the words he spoke as my mind was just focused on his beauty. "Jack... hello? You listening?" He waved a pale hand across my eyes, snapping me out of my daze. 

    "What?" I said totally confused. This made Jeff giggle. 

     "I said yeah, I'm fine." Jeff was smiling, but this smile somehow seemed fake. "Anyway, I have to go see a teacher for a meeting." The smile faded away. "See ya later." 

     "Okay. See you in math?" 

    Jeff was already walking away, but he turned back around to face me. "Yup!" 

     I watched as he left down the hall. I felt a tad sad when I couldn't see him anymore. But I wasn't alone for long when students started piling into the school and Toby greeted me. I could definitely tell there was something off with Jeff...