***Trigger Warning: Intense bullying scene and dialogue that may trigger readers with similar trauma***
Alex Yates was a senior at Washington High School and one of the only seniors that didn't drive to school or, at the very least, ride with a friend.
Alex kept to himself, avoiding interaction with other students as much as possible. It wasn't that he thought he was better than everybody else or that he couldn't get along with other people. It was the result of childhood trauma and being severely bullied in middle school. So on this Friday, he was riding the bus to school as he always did.
Two days before, he'd had the best day in a long time. Perhaps, the best day of his young life. His science teacher had assigned the class a partnered project and Jacob Andrews, the most popular guy in school, asked him to be his partner.
He was pleased to have been asked but wasn't particularly excited about it like you would think. Jacob ran around with many of the boys that had bullied Alex in middle school. He worried that Jacob was planning a cruel joke on him but it became clear as they worked together on their project at Alex's house that Jacob wasn't like his friends.
Jacob spent time to just get to know Alex, find out about his life and interests. And both boys were happy to find that they had alot of common interests, though their life circumstances were drastically different.
But even better than the gorgeous, popular boy seeming to take an interest in his life, Jacob also took the time to teach Alex how to throw a football. Jacob was the starting quarterback on the football team and turned out to be a great teacher. Alex was a big football fan and he could catch pretty well and he was relatively athletic. Nobody had ever taken the time to teach him how to throw, though.
Jacob was very hands on, and it made Alex feel special in a way. He knew Jacob had to be as straight as they come but Alex couldn't help feeling a growing affection for him. Having grown up an only child, he'd figured maybe Jacob could be like a brotherly best friend or something. He felt silly hoping for such a thing but Jacob got him to come out of his shell a little and Alex couldn't deny that feeling was addictive. In all honesty, Alex was just starved for attention ever since his mother died and his father fell deep into alcoholism.
Alex realized as he rode the bus that morning that he didn't really know much about Jacob though. He decided he'd ask about his life when they got together to work on their project again on Saturday, the very next day.
Theyd texted back and forth some the previous night, but they only discussed football and made small talk. It was still really nice though, Alex rarely had people text him. Tonight, however, there was a big football game with cross-town rival Jefferson High though and Alex knew Jacob was fully focused on the game.
When the bus dropped the kids off at the school, Jacob and his friends happened to be sitting in the courtyard by the bus lot. Alex saw him and resisted the urge to wave to him. He didn't want to embarrass himself or worse, Jacob. He didn't want to risk ruining anything. But when Jacob saw him getting off the bus, he smiled and waved at Alex first. Alex's stomach did a flip and he waved back, perhaps too enthusiastically.
Alex felt incredibly embarrassed as Jacob's friends visibly started laughing at him. But he heard Jacob bark something at them and they stopped abruptly. It didn't stop Alex from feeling rather humiliated though. He was incredibly insecure and self-conscious as a result of the bullying he endured in the past.
Alex put his head down and instead of walking through the courtyard into the school, he took the long way around so as to avoid the group of jerks. He walked quickly, refusing to look back up until he was safely out of their sight.
**********
Alex struggled through his classes, his embarrassment fading only slightly with the passage of time. He had the habit of holding onto perceived slights a little too long, a common thing for victims of bullying.
When he got to his last class of the day, his science class with Jacob, he resolved to put his head down on his desk and sleep through it. The day before, Jacob hadn't really spoken to him much except to ask if they were still on for Saturday. This suited Alex fine because he didn't want to have the attention that Jacob talking to him was sure to bring. Every girl wanted him and every guy wanted to be his friend...or more in some cases.
However, when Jacob got to class, he walked straight up to Alex and leaned down to speak softly into his ear.
"I'm sorry about my friends this morning Alex, don't let it bother you. They are just assholes. Wait for me after class, I wanna talk to you."
Jacob said it kindly but there wasn't much room to interpret it as a request instead of a demand. Jacob didn't mean any harm by it, he was just so used to getting his way that he didn't really consider that there maybe someone out there that didn't want to do what he asked. Of course, Alex wasn't one of those people though.
And with that, he took his usual seat behind Alex. Alex sat up and felt a little better after Jacob's kind words of reassurance. When class was over, he took his time getting his things together. When he walked out of class, Jacob was standing there waiting for him. He was alone, presumably having told his friends to go on without him to the locker room.
"Are you coming to the game tonight?" He asked Alex as soon as Alex walked into the hall.
"Umm...I don't usually to be honest," replied Alex awkwardly.
"Well you should come watch me play tonight--I mean, to cheer the team on, you know?"
"Um okay but I don't know how I can get there...if I figure out a way, I'll come," said Alex nervously.
"Yeah, you ride the bus don't you?" asked Jacob, looking to be thinking a way around this.
"Yes," mumbled Alex, embarrased a little.
"Well...I'll have my cousin Savanna pick you up....she's cool, I promise!" he said, adding the last part when he saw the alarm on Alex's face. Jacob had suggested it with his usual air of "I won't take no for an answer."
Alex almost wanted to say no but he didn't want to disappoint Jacob so he just nodded and said okay.
Jacob smiled big at him and placed his big right hand up onto the crown of Alex's head in an affectionately brotherly way, ruffling his hair a bit. Alex couldn't help but to beam back up at Jacob.
Jacob was 6'4, almost a foot taller than 5'6 Alex so it was probably quite cute to see. They may be the same age but you'd think Jacob was at least couple years older if you didn't know any better. It honestly made Alex feel special in some way.
**********
Alex dressed up in his nicest clothes that he'd never wear to school for fear of looking like he was trying too hard. He had on his nicest green polo shirt that brought out his eyes and khaki shorts with long black Nike socks. For some reason, he felt like he'd be noticed less at the game than he would at school wearing the outfit. He was very nervous about meeting Savanna but Jacob said she was nice and for some reason he trusted Jacob implicitly.
Turned out, he was nervous for no reason. Savanna was so nice to him and even asked Alex to sit with her at the game. Turns out, Savanna was a senior at Jefferson but still really close to Jacob. They were the only family members that were their age and thus, spent all family functions together growing up. She was also very clearly a pretty blonde girl, this family had to have some sort of mutant genes.
He learned alot about Jacob through Savanna. Jacob's father was a big time lawyer in town and his mother was a retired schoolteacher. He had an older sister that was graduating college in the spring but they weren't very close at all. Jacob always wanted to be an older brother and, even though Savanna was his age, he treated her much like you would a little sister.
"But he always seemed to wish he had a little brother. He was always trying to get me to learn how to play football or basketball. He used to make me 'play wwe' with him," she said with a laugh as they sat down in their spot at the bleacher.
When the teams took the field, Jacob scanned the stands and found his girlfriend Kelly first. He waved at her, perhaps a little unenthusiastically. But then he kept scanning until he found Alex and Savanna. He smiled big and waved at the two of them too, with a little more enthusiasm. Alex and Savanna waved back.
"He's such a dork...God love him," said Savanna loudly over the crowds welcoming cheers.
Savanna's boyfriend showed up shortly before the game started. Even though they went to Jefferson, the three of them sat on Washington's side to support Jacob.
He was rather nervous when Savanna had told him her boyfriend was joining them. Meeting a girl he didn't know was one thing, but other guys intimidated Alex. Yet again, being bullied had ruined his ability to make male friends. Which was another reason Jacob was so special to Alex.
When he came up to them, his eyes found Alex and Alex felt a nervous bubbling in his stomach. Alex could tell he didn't know who he was and wasn't told he'd be there. Most importantly, he wanted to know why he was seated next to his girlfriend.
"Hey baby," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Who are you?" he asked roughly to Alex.
"Dustin, this is Jake's friend Alex...," said Savanna. Alex noticed her give Dustin wide eyes as she said it, as if to try to communicate something non-verbally to him.
"Ohhh...hey man, I'm Dustin! Nice to meet you!" replied Dustin, with a complete change in demeanor. It seemed he was no different than everybody else and wouldn't dare do anything to somehow offend Jacob. What Alex didn't realize is that initially, Dustin saw him as a threat because Alex was alot more attractive than Alex thought he was.
They had a good time, Alex's school won the game after Jacob led an 80 yard game winning drive with less than a minute left on the scoreboard. It was Alex's first time seeing Jacob in a game. He knew Jacob had to be pretty good but was still impressed. As the stadium began emptying out, Savanna spoke to Alex.
"So Jake told me he's gonna take you home himself, he wants us to walk you to his car!"
Alex was honestly thrilled, he couldn't wait to see Jacob. He didn't know that Jacob was going to take him home, but it made sense now that he thought about it. When they arrived to the car, Savanna asked if he wanted them to wait with him until Jacob came out.
Honestly, he did because sitting outside alone at night with all these high schoolers around made him nervous. But he told them no, he'd be fine. He hated to be a bother to others even more than he feared being bothered by others.
