Chapter Eleven

I wouldn't say I'm avoiding Dylan. I just have made it my personal mission to avoid eye contact at any cost and eat lunch in the library since that day in the mall two weeks ago. Destiny has been bothering me to disclose what happened, but I've dodged every question like a pro. She would just agree with everything that Dylan said and I need my best friend to be on my side for once.

It hasn't been hard avoiding Destiny because I barely see her outside of school since there's always an Uber driver waiting outside to take her to Jasper's house. I don't understand how she manages to pass any of her classes without doing any kind of homework and instead hanging out with her boyfriend until she stumbles in the door at midnight. She said the only days she needs to ride with me are on Fridays since I'm going there too. I've been dreading today since she told me to wait for her after school in the hallway after fifth period.

I'm leaning against my car door, soaking up the last few rays of sunlight before day shifts tonight and it's nearly forty degrees outside. I've already changed into a pair of mid-thigh shorts and a t-shirt with the famous Disney castle on it. I watched as Destiny exited the school building in a tight navy blue crop top and short black skirt. She squinted at the sun before putting on a pair of cat-eye sunglasses that she bought at the flea market last month for 15 dollars (a steal, apparently). She waved excitedly at me from across the parking lot before running; I mean fast- walking since she doesn't run. I got inside the car before she arrived and cold air blasted through the ducks since I turned the car on earlier. She clutched her shoulders and moved to turn the air down, but I swatted it away.

"Not today, it's almost eighty degrees outside. Should've worn something longer if you were going to be cold." She huffed and looked out the window.

"Hows Jasper?" I grit out.

Her mood instantly brightens and she shoves her phone in my face. Thankfully, I'm at a red light so I grab it and see it's her lock screen where there's a picture of the two in his living room. I roll my eyes at his shark tooth necklace, what is this middle school? I don't get to look any further because a car beeps at me. I throw the phone on her lap and continue driving.

"He's so sexy, Scar!" I raise my eyebrows, faking interest. "And strong!"

"So, basically he has no personality and good looks that'll go away in a few years," She glares at me. "Great! I have nothing to worry about."

"For your information," She starts. "He has a bomb ass personality. You just mad that you missed your chance with the brother."

"What are you talking about?" I question and she purses her lips. That's Jasmine telltale time that she's about to spill some tea.

"You ain't hear it from me, but," She looks around for any listening ears in the completely empty car. "I heard him late last night talking to some girl. He was laughing all loud and shit. Jasper even went in there and yelled at him for messing up our sex drive." I burst out laughing while keeping my eyes on the road. She looks at me weirdly, waiting for me to explain.

"That girl was me." She scrunches her eyebrows up in confusion. I laugh remembering when we were in the middle of watching Hairspray when Jasper came in screaming about Jace being too loud. Jace muted himself halfway through Jasper's speech on human decency and didn't come back on for another five minutes. When he returned, his mood was changed and he didn't speak until the end of the movie. Jace didn't even react to my awful rendition of Without Love.

"That's my girl! I knew you would find your very own white boy." I shake my head.

"I promise you, it's nothing like that."

"You've been begging for a boy like him for so long, but when he shows up out of the blue it's like fuck him," I let her keep talking, not bothering to entertain her with a remark. "You guys can be just like the people from that cancer movie-- umm..."

"Irreplaceable You," I finished her sentence. "And I don't think I'm aspiring to live her life." She ignores me and turns up the radio, marking the long-awaited end to this conversation

I don't want somebody else's story, I want my own. To be the main character in my own story.

"I haven't seen you and Dylan hang out in a while. What's up with that?" Destiny questions, a few minutes away from the twins' house.

"Nothing, we've both just been busy," I lie. "Homework and stuff." She nods, too preoccupied in her own world to notice when her best friend is lying to her. Not that I wanted her to question me anyway.

We arrive at the seemingly quiet house and before I can say bye, Destiny jumps out of the car and speed walks to the door. I'm not actually tutoring Jasmine today, instead, I'm just hanging out with Jace who promised that we could make Cinnamon swirl muffins. When I mean we I mean him because as I learned from the Microwave Ramen Noodle Disaster of 2016, I can't cook to save my life. Last night, before Jasper so rudely interrupted Jace told me about how much he loved to bake. Of course, I faked like I didn't believe him in an effort for him to prove me wrong and bake me a delicious dessert. I have only had the kind made out of the box, but he promised that he could make it from scratch which I actually didn't believe he could do.

I entered the house from the back yard, where Jace texted me to meet him before I left school. When I opened the large gate, Jace was front and center without a shirt again lounging on the porch in a large rainbow-colored hammock. I walked over to him slowly and saw that he was asleep with a book discarded on the floor next to him and his arm hanging limply at his side. His face is more relaxed than I've ever seen, more childish than a teenage boy. His hair was pushed back to stay out of his face and his lip puffed out ever so slightly. I watched him for a while before shaking the hammock slowly back and forth.

His body must've noticed the change in motion because soon after his eyes blinked open. His hazy eyes squinted in the sun when he removed his black aviators. He registered his surroundings and turned over to lock eyes with me. His tired eyes shined in the sunlight turning to honey.

"Hey, where'd you come from?" He asked sporting an easy closed-lip smile.

"Hell," I pulled his legs off the hammock, forcing him to sit up. "Let's go. I'm hungry and a certain baker promised me muffins." I say poking his exposed stomach. He stands up and drags me by the hand into the house. The cold air hit me hard, causing me to shiver.

Jace ran off as soon as we got inside to find a shirt from his room. I was left alone in the kitchen sitting on a stool when Jasper came in with a mini speaker in his hand. He was bopping along to some music and opening and slamming kitchen cabinets until he found the box of Mini-Wheats. He stood across from me making a bowl of cereal at four in the afternoon.

"Are you trying to fuck my little brother?" Jasper asked casually, taking me by surprise.

"What are you talking about?" He picks up his bowl and slides into the seat next to me. I take notice of his crisp white wife beater and basketball shorts.

"Don't act dumb slick. What do you want with that little bitch upstairs?" He spits out less concerned and more demanding.

"You never heard of a girl and a guy being friends?" He chuckles before taking a bite of his cereal.

"Never in my experience sweetheart," He winks in my direction with food in his mouth and milk spilling out the sides. "But I do know one thing about you."

"And what would that be?"

"You're nothing, but a gold digger. I know that and my brother knows that-"

"What the hell are you getting at?" What did Destiny tell him? He ignores me and just laughs. I shove him roughly and he gets up with his bowl in his hand.

"Markland? I have some good sources up there," My eyes widen ever so slightly, but not enough for him to catch onto my surprise. "How you thinking about keeping this up? Cause we both know damn well that he's not as stupid as you think he is."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I state calmly. He stands next to me, so close that I can smell his minty-fresh breath and feel drips of water from his wet hair land onto my cheek.

"Oh, but I think you do," He softly whispers in my ear. "Don't worry I'm not going to tell him," I let out a breath of relief. Maybe, I had Jasper wrong. "Yet. I want to see how this plays out cause when he finds out I want a front-row seat." I flinch as he places his burly hand onto my shoulder.

"What's wrong with you?" He moves away from me and towards the open door leading to the living room.

"Many things, but at least I'm not a liar." He shoots me a sly wink before disappearing around the corner.

Jace returns not even ten seconds later, his hair now hidden under a beanie. I would've normally laughed at his Starbucks barista look, but what Jasper said shook me up. I can't keep lying to Jace. His lips were moving and I realized he was trying to tell me something.

"What'd you say?" I choked out. He looked at me weirdly.

"I said, do you want to help me with the batter?" I nodded my head, wordlessly. "Did Jasper say something to you?" His voice turned dark and cold as he said his brother's name.

"No, of course not," I choked out, slapping on a smile and joined him across the counter. He was still looking wary. "Come on, I'm hungry!"

Jace didn't say a word as he gathered the needed ingredients. He taught me how to make the batter. Explaining every element of the instructions to me slowly and carefully while standing close behind me as I stirred it with a wooden spoon. Apparently, I was stirring too rough and fast so he grabbed my hand and guided it with his rough one ever so gently. I can feel the blisters from many years of playing baseball move with my soft hands.

"Like this," He whispered as if we spoke any louder we would scare the batter. The batter turned from a mix of ingredients to a smooth and velvety mixture.

His warm breath fanned my neck creating goosebumps and his shaggy brown hair tickled my shoulders as he bent down closer to inspect the batter to make sure it wasn't lumpy. I've never been this close to a boy in all my life and if the butterflies attacking my stomach are any indicator I'm not very fond of the closeness.

When we finished mixing, he preheated the oven and pulled out a muffin pan from the cupboard next to the stove.

"How did you get into baking?" I asked as he poured the batter into the 12 open spots on the muffin pan.

"I was bored all the time after me and Jasper stopped hanging out and I spent a lot of time watching my old cook Beatrice bake," He said slowly without breaking concentration. "I asked her to teach me how to cook, but I proved terrible at that so she taught me how to bake." I nodded but realized he couldn't see me.

"And here you are an amazing baker supposably, while I-"

"It's supposedly with a d. I don't know what they're teaching you with private school education," He interrupted with a small smirk causing a massive eye roll from me. "If you roll your eyes again they'll roll-"

"To the back of your head. Shut up!" His lips curved up slightly while I wallowed in anger. He didn't speak or interrupt me with grammar checks so I continued, "While I can't bake or cook for shit. Everything turns out burnt or nasty." He finishes his task and sticks them in the oven and sets the timer on his phone.

"What's next Jacey?" I ask, waiting for him by the door.

A small middle-aged Hispanic woman appears to clean up our mess. Jace greets her but doesn't say much more than that before leading the way to the massive backyard. There's a large pool with a small house behind it (for guest changing Jace explained), a fire pit with comfortable looking chairs around it, a park set, and a trampoline. I dragged him over to the park set and forced him down on a swing.

"I'm not twelve, I don't use swings," He protests, attempting to stand up but I push him back down.

"So, you'll sing Disney movies and watch Hairspray with me, but draw the line when it comes to swings," He looks anywhere, but at me. "Just swing with me loser." I walk over to the second swing next to him and push off. He stares at me for a while before joining me in my soar to the sky.

I yelped in excitement as the sharp wind blasted me in the face. I can see above the neighbors' white picket fence to the tiny dog barking in the yard. Before I got on the swing I undid my ponytail so my hair was flying everywhere and pieces kept getting stuck in my mouth. I went up and down each time higher than the last and whenever I looked over at Jace it's like we were in sync. I saw everything on the swings, the clean sky, the fresh air, the birds chirping, and everything in between.

The only other swing I've ever been on was at my neighborhood park down the street from my house. Brielle and I used to hang out there every day in middle school and the only thing we saw was smog, the occasional pigeon, and the rundown McDonalds across the street. Here Jace is living in the suburban fantasy of America and I live in compared to him, a shithole.

I slow down and let myself glide to a stop and find Jace sitting on the bottom of the slide in front of me. "Hey, asshole when'd you get off?" I ask walking up the stairs to the top of the swirly slide.

"My legs started hurting," He replied looking up from his phone to me. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? Move out the way or you'll get hit!" I yell to the bottom before pushing myself off and closing my eyes. I scream as I twist in the slide and run into something hard.

"Damn, that hurt more than I thought it would!" Jace grunted from below me. I opened my eyes and noticed that I was laying on top of him. He was holding me tightly, his strong hands holding my waist so I would fall on my ass. "Why did I decide to do this?"

"I don't know," I rolled over landing on my stomach instead of my ass. "Why is the ground so hard?" I mutter to myself groaning and moving onto my back.

We lay out on the grass, arms, and legs wide trying to soak in the sunlight of the coming spring. Our bodies were opposite each other but our heads were inches apart.

"Should we try to have one of those deep outside talks?"

"What?"

"You know this in the movies where the two main characters sit outside and stare at the stars and talk about the big moment in their lives," I explain

"There are no stars out if you haven't noticed these are clouds," Such a smartass. "Besides I've never been much of a main character." He mentioned sadly.

"What are you talking about?" I find that hard to believe there's no way this guy isn't the main character. He's the epitome of a golden boy. Attractive (varying degrees), nice (when he's not a smartass), undeniably cool (like he's not even trying), and just simply a good guy.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm a side character to everybody else's story," He sighs heavily and pushes his hair out of his face. "Everybody is going through their lives and living out their stories, but I'm just here watching it all."

"That's how I feel every day of my life," It goes silent before I decide to break it. "We have each other, side characters for life." He attempts a smile at my attempt at humor but fails and produces a grimace instead.

"I didn't mean to get all emotional," How emotional is he getting, his face is as dry as the desert. "It's just... living in Jasper's shadow all these years, gets to me sometimes. He can do no wrong in everybody's eyes, the school, church," His voice gets lower as he whispers the last part. "My parents."

His parents?

I'm about to ask about what he's getting at, but the loud shrill ring of an alarm snapped us back to reality. Jace Kingston. Private School Golden Boy. The main character of his own story. Might be a little more complex than I thought.