Chapter Text
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Brown eyes stared up at the circular white face that hung from the blank concrete wall, it’s long black arms motionless as if they were taunting him. They were taunting him. The clock ticked unbearably slow. The dark-haired boy groaned as he pulled the hood from his camouflaged hoodie up and over his head to essentially hide in, his forehead pressing into the surface of the desk. It was like cruel and unusual punishment; this modern concept called “detention”. And despite spending most of his weekdays after school in that same seat in that very classroom, it never seemed to get any easier. It was like a prison, the poor inmate trapped within his solitary confinement. And for what crime? Throwing an eraser at the back of the science substitute’s head. One hour in detention may have well been called a life sentence.
“Alright. That’s time, Mr. Decker. Grab your things; you’re free to go,” the supervisor in the front of the classroom announced, Jorel promptly picking his head up from the desk. His eyes checked the clock again, making sure his mind wasn’t playing any tricks on him; solitary was known to make men go insane, after all. “Thank fuck…” the high school junior muttered under his own breath, rising quickly from his seat at his desk and grabbing his bag and skateboard from the floor. “Language, Mr. Decker. Would you like to spend another hour in detention with me?” Tucking his skateboard underneath his arm, Jorel sighed, “No..,” shaking his head slowly and obediently. “No what, Mr. Decker?” His sigh became a bit more dramatic, eyes rolling as he spoke, “No, ma’am.” The supervisor, one of Jorel’s usual teachers, gave a confirming nod, accepting his corrected response. “Have a good rest of your day, Mr. Decker.”
Pushing through the classroom door, Jorel took his first breath of freedom. The hallways were bare, aside from other students who partook in extracurricular activities after school; the jocks on the basketball and football team, the nerds in chess and book club, the troublemakers like him, just getting out of their little makeshift prisons. Finally able to pull his phone out of his pocket, no longer being stared down on like a hawk at its prey, he checked his unread messages; finding several from his best friend.
(02:34:34 PM): r we havin’ band practice tonite?
(02:48:12 PM): r u in detention again?
(02:50:22 PM): did we have any hw in math class?
(02:53:38 PM): im fuckin’ bored, man!!! come over after your out
Jorel rolled his eyes. The messages were so typical of Aron, that they were painful. He was ninety-nine percent positive that he had already answered these verbally with him earlier in the day - once at lunch, and again just before school let out for the day. He swore that kid needed to go and get his head checked; it was like he was on another planet half the time. And considering how often Aron skipped class and neglected his school work, it would surely be proof of God’s existence if the senior even found himself graduating at the end of the year - not that Jay would complain if he didn’t - school would just be more painful if he didn’t have Aron there to suffer through it with him. Jorel smiled as he prepared his thumbs to answer the various questions in quicktime, the pads of his thumbs pressing to the keypad of his SideKick.
(03:43:13 PM): god you’re such a dumbass. jordon and dylan have basketball, george’s in book club, matt’s who the fuck knows. so no, yes, yes, and ok. in that order.
Jorel pushed through the front doors of the school, eyes squinting instantly as the hot Los Angeles sun glared down on him. What a great day to forget to bring sunglasses, Jorel thought as he held his hand up to his brows, using it as a makeshift visor despite already wearing his usual snapback backwards on his head. Dropping his skateboard to the ground, he stepped on with one foot, propelling himself with the other to gain momentum. It wasn’t too far of a skate from school to home, but it was still quite a distance. It was the only option Jorel had, considering his mother worked two jobs to make due, as well as his own inability to keep a job to be able to buy a car himself; and fuck if he’d be up in time to make the bus every morning. His other friends had cars, but his house was more out of the way for it to be even logical to hitch a ride. He was just used to it, just as he was used to being chased by the cops for “disturbing the peace” while skating the boulevards, or nearly getting hit by motorists who didn’t pay attention to where they were going. It was just a typical day - nothing new, nothing different.
Jorel headed straight to Aron’s house - which was conveniently positioned right across the street from his own. Stepping off of his skateboard and kicking it up, he tucked the board back underneath his arm as he walked the rest of the block towards Aron’s front door. Glancing across the street, Jorel watched as a moving van was positioned in the driveway of the house next door to his, boxes being loaded off and carried inside. Looks like someone’s finally moving into that shithole. Jorel dropped his board and bag on the porch of Aron’s home, allowing himself in through the front door. “Hi Mrs. Erlichman, bye Mrs. Erlichman!” Jorel called out as he ran up the length of the stairs, heading straight to Aron’s bedroom.
Opening the door to Aron’s room, Jorel grinned. His friend was positioned lying down on his stomach near the edge of his bed, propped up on his elbows with a Nintendo controller in hand. Large headphones covered his ears, his dark shaggy-like hair going in different directions, one of his hands occasionally pushing the longer strands out of his face. Aron’s eyes were glued to the old television screen, the tip of his tongue poking out at the corner of his lips as he tried to recover that last Triforce shard. He obviously didn’t even notice Jorel come in. Getting a running start, Jorel jumped to the bed, landing on the surface beside Aron with a heavy thud. “Shit!” Aron jumped in surprise, Nintendo controller falling right out of his hands and to the floor. “You scared me, fucker!” Aron whined, tearing his headphones off of his head in order to allow them to dangle from his neck. He reached out his arm, hand clenching into a loose fist to punch Jorel in the upper arm. “Look out,” Jorel laughed, pointing to the screen, just in time for Aron to watch Link meet his final demise. Game over.
“Damnit, Jay!” Aron groaned, grabbing a pillow from the top of the bed to smack against his friend. Making a face, Jorel moved and rolled over in order to lay down on his back next to Aron, sighing as he looked up at the ceiling. Aron scooted closer to Jay, looking down at him. “What were you in for this time?” Jorel wrinkled his nose, “Hitting the sub with an eraser. I was aiming for Matt. His head’s the size of a melon and I still missed.” Aron chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re going to get suspended one of these days if you keep all that shit up,” he smiled, hand reaching up to swipe at his hair again, a constant movement that occurred every few minutes. “And you’re not going to graduate if you keep skipping class,” Jorel retorted, Aron only giving a sly smile. “What’s wrong? You misssss me?” Aron teased, leaning his head down playfully to make kissy noises in front of Jay’s face. Jorel snorted, reaching a hand up to press against the other’s shoulder, pushing Aron back. “Remind me why I hang out with you again?”
Hearing a slamming noise coming from outside, Aron turned his attention towards the window, Jorel also moving to sit up, looking out at the moving van that had been emptied and closed up. “I was watching them earlier. Some kid and his mom. He looked around our age,” Aron shrugged, Jorel remaining silent as he continued to watch out the window, the new neighbor, assuming the mother, coming into view. Though despite their best efforts from Aron’s small window, the pair still wasn’t able to get the best view from their vantage point. “You’ve been watching them? Fuckin’ creep,” Jorel playfully accused, shifting where he sat when the kid that Aron mentioned emerged from the house; it wasn’t too often that someone new came on the block. The boy, who did appear to look around their age as Aron said, had short brown hair, wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a loose t-shirt. He was thin, though not nearly as thin as Aron, but had a decent build for a teenager. A bit good looking too - at least he didn’t have to live next to a gremlin. Grabbing something from the back of the other vehicle in the driveway, they watched as the boy carried a guitar case into the house, Jorel’s study of his new next door neighbor then coming to its brief end. “He looks weak.” Aron chuckled as he noticed Jorel watching,“He won’t last long on our streets.”
“Should we teach ‘im the ropes?” Jay finally voiced up, Aron raising a brow as he looked back to Jorel, his friend’s eyes finally meeting his after concluding his gaze out the window. “What? No. Let ‘im drown. I mean, we all had to before learning how to survive.” Jorel shook his head, brown eyes rolling at Aron’s quick and harsh response. “What’s wrong, Aron? Jealous that I might find a new best friend?” Jorel’s words caused Aron to slightly frown, though able to perk himself up moments later, moving back closer to Jay’s side. “Yeah, like that’ll ever happen. You’re stuck with me, Decker.” “Unfortunately,” Jorel muttered, smiling just before the pillow struck his face again.
“Dick!” Jorel laughed as he grabbed the pillow from Aron’s hands, tossing it off of the bed. The teenagers wrestled, until one pinned the other; Jorel didn’t have to put in much effort, considering Aron weighed ten pounds. “I’m fuckin' serious, dude. Let’s not get involved with that kid. There’s enough guys in our crew,” Aron sighed as he looked up at Jay. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he had a bad feeling about the new kid on the street. Aron wasn’t really one to like change, anyway. Besides, things were perfectly fine the way they were. “Relax, dude. It’s not like it’s a big deal,” Jorel reassured, his hands on Aron’s arms loosening after their playful tussle. The older friend pouted as he looked up at Jorel, his best attempt to strike him with a face the other couldn’t be able to say no to. Aron always thought he was a pro at mustering up the classic ‘puppy dog’ look; usually he just looked stupid instead. For his sake, however, his best friend just played along. “No, fuck, not the face. Alright, alright, fiiine,” the younger man groaned. Aron’s smile returned instantly, switching back on like a toddler would after feigning a cry or tantrum. Jorel rolled his eyes at Aron’s ever changing moods and personalities; it was something he was used to ever since meeting him at such a young age, however sometimes it was scary just how bipolar he was.
“Thanks, homie,” Aron muttered, nearly shyly, hiding his teeth behind his lips. The two paused for a moment. There was silence. Licking his lips, Aron slowly leaned his head forward; Jorel raised a brow, leaning his head back and away from his advancing friend. “What are you doing?” the younger asked, Aron instantly freezing and pulling away. “N-nothing!” he stuttered, playing it cool as he sat upright from where he laid, making a stretching motion with his arms before laying back down on his back. “Okay…” Jorel murmured cautiously while rolling off to the side, settling down beside his best friend. Allowing his head to tilt off to the side, Aron mentally kicked himself. Fuck, how embarrassing. That was way too close. Why did he suddenly feel the need to kiss the guy? Not like it would be too weird or anything; after all, Jordon and George were best friends and did that shit all the time. So, why couldn’t they? It’s not like he like liked the guy after being best friends for so long. Right?
“Hey, Jay?” Aron muttered quietly, Jorel tilting his head in a silent response. Aron blushed slightly, shifting a bit as he sat up from being on his back, his elbows propping himself up from behind. “What is it?” Jorel asked verbally this time, brows furrowing. “Can I...copy that math homework?” Groaning with a laugh, Jorel grabbed a second pillow, shoving it over Aron’s face before pretending to smother his best friend right then and there.