Okay, you guys. Here it is. I'm really psyched for this one. There'll also be chapters from Jack's point of view [jsyk, if I say POV~ it stands for point of view. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, IN CASE WE DON'T HAVE SOME HXC FANFIC READERS IN HERE OK~]. Sorry if I make Alex out to be a total arse.

BUT HERE WE GO, Y'KNOW.
That's a Mike Carden quote.
JUST SO YOU KNOW.

ONE.

I grab my backpack from beside the front door, juggling an apple, my iPod, my blue wallet, and my History book, and struggle my way to my older brother's car. My younger sister follows me, too busy looking down at her cell phone to notice that I'm about to drop everything. My brother runs out of the house zipping up his pants and chucking his backpack as far as it can go, as if that will really help his situation. As he approaches his backpack, he picks it up, opens the trunk for himself and for me, tosses the backpack in, looks at me, and sighs.

"Help?" I ask. He grabs my backpack off of my shoulder and shuts the trunk door. On his way to the driver's seat, he opens the back door and I get in. Yes, I have to sit in the back seat, because our dearest friend who carpools with us, happens to be a senior along with my brother. According to them, they had seniority over the front seats. According to me, my parents bought the car, so I had dibs on it. I was younger, however, so I lost. My sister is still staring down at her phone, texting away as if her life depends on it. I drop my history book into the middle seat and she jumps.

"God, what is WRONG with you?"

I ignore her, place my wallet, and the apple, my breakfast, on top of the book.

"Who are you fucking texting at seven in the morning?" my brother asks my fourteen-year-old sister. I turn my music up so I don't have to hear her answer. As we drive to our next destination, which happens to be what I'm dreading the most, I remain silent. Surprisingly, I'm not talking about school. I eventually look up and into the rear-view mirror, to see my brother's lips moving. He must think I'm listening. I pause my music.

"...So I'm like, freaking out, cause her boyfriend is Kevin Fucking Mason. KEVIN. FUCKING. MASON. He will seriously beat the shit out of me if he finds out how loud I made her-"

"ALEX!" I scream.

"Exactly," he says, smirking a little.

I scoff. "There are virgin ears in here," I tell him, pointing towards our younger sister.

"Don't forget about yourself," he says, smirking again.

"No, those are just non-caring ears."

"You were AT the party, I thought you saw it." Finally, FINALLY, he was bringing up the party.

"Well, I didn't," I answer after a while.

"Pretty great party, huh?" He knew. He had to have known.

"Yeah, pretty great." I say, staring at him in the rear view mirror. His eyes are still on the road. I sigh in relief. If he had known he would've been laughing or smirking at me. As you've almost definitely figured out, Alex Gaskarth is my older brother. Go ahead. Fangirl out. I'm used to it by now.

Okay, that's enough.

At this point in time, Alex is a senior. I'm a junior. And our younger sister, Rebecca, is in eighth grade. She was and is probably the exact opposite of Alex and I. That's not to say that Alex and I get along well all the time, because we probably never will. But he's only a year older than I am, so we tend to have similar social arrangements. Rebecca, on the other hand, is the popular girl in her ridiculous middle school, and if I may say so myself, the leader of her preppy pack.

Anyway, the party was more than great; it was probably the best night of my life.

I look out the window and there we are. Alex beeps the horn and starts yelling at the house. "Cat, go get Jack," he sighs, after a while.

"He's your friend. You go get him." He looks at me through the rear-view mirror. I know better than to make him turn around. "Fine." I'm more than happy to drag Jack out of the house. It's the exact moment I've been fantasizing about the whole weekend. So far, it's going exactly as planned. I cut through the Barakat's dewy grass, and make my way up the few steps that lead to the front door. In the perfect version of this scenario, I go to knock on the door, but before my hand can make contact with it, the door swings open and standing there is Jack. He smiles at me and gives me a small "hey." We walk back to the car side by side, just happy to be in the others presence.

But of course, this is real life. I knock on the door and wait for a response. Nothing. I knock on the door again. Again, nothing. I turn around and look at Alex, shrugging as if to say "what do you want me to do?" Still turned around, I hear the door open, and before I know it, Jack is already ahead of me, on his way to the car.

"We're gonna be late if you keep standing there, kid," he says, glancing back at me a little. I follow him and make my way to the other side of the car. He doesn't even look at me. "Hey, gorgeouth," he says to Alex, with a lisp, when we're in the car.

Rebecca, being the little flirt that she is, comments, with a giggle, "You're never going to get any girls, Jack." Ironic.

"You'd be surprised," he responds. He's still looking forward.

"Dude, that is my little sister, and you just implied that- okay, I'm not even gonna start with you. AND YOU," he says, turning to Rebecca, "-you, need to- you're in eighth grade. Enough said."

Jack laughs; Alex completely misunderstood.

I put my headphones back in, but I don't even dare to press the play button. I can't miss any of the conversation that's about to occur. "Anyway, bro, the party. Holy shit, bro. Holy shit. Emily Shay. You saw, right?" Alex starts off, and doesn't even wait for Jack to respond. "She thinks she's all intoxicated, right? Dude, I didn't give her ANYTHING. She's totally just going along with it. We're both pretending, but she's just blaming it on the drink, right? Right? So- oh my god, dude. Probably the best party of the year, so far."

"Not gonna lie, man, it was pretty lame." Exactly why I couldn't restart the music. I can't help but to smile just a little.

"What are you TALKING about?"

"I left early, man, it was THAT lame." Of course, I already knew all this. I mean, I WAS at the party. And happened to run into a bored Jack.

"No hook-ups?" Alex asked.

Jack sighs and shakes his head. His hair falls out of place, and he flips it right back to where it should be. I stop breathing. What? He still hasn't looked at me.

"Bummer," Alex says. "Cat, you thought it was good though, right? I mean, like, fun, right? It was killer, right?"

I'm too shocked to even be annoyed by Alex's over-usage of the word 'right'. I don't respond for a while, and Alex looks at me, again, through the rear-view mirror. "What?" I say, breathlessly.

"The party." He's still looking at me, waiting for an answer. When I don't give him one, he starts again. "When'd you get home, anyway?"

"Uhm, I...don't...know," I say, carefully, but truthfully.

"HELL YEAH!" Alex screams. "That's the way to do it," he says to Jack, proud of me. Jack laughs a little. I look at Jack. He has to acknowledge me some time soon.

Any minute now.

Pretty soon, he'll make fun of Alex about something and turn around and smile at me.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight-NOW.

Dammit.

"So, did Matt ever call back?" Jack changes the subject. All my chances are gone now. It's back to the band for the rest of the ride. Alex will never shut up, nor will Jack.

I hit the play button on my iPod, and bite my bottom lip, hoping that will stop me from either screaming or crying.

"It's time for you to understand," Will Pugh sings to me. "Stop getting up for the let down." Fuck you, Will Pugh. Fuck you. I say, switching the song. I mentally apologize to him, as I find a song that's better fitting of the mood.

We drop Rebecca off. Alex and Jack are still going on about the band. I put my feet on my seat. Alex stops and turns around. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" he asks. Jack finally turns around. I don't answer Alex, because I'm too afraid of what will come out. "WELL?" I take my feet off of the seat and place them on the section of the car that separates Alex and Jack's seats. Jack again lets out another small laugh. I smile at Alex. "You're not funny at all. Get your feet off of the seat before I fucking kung-fu chop them off." I turn my iPod screen to him so he can see that I'm turning my music up. His mouth moves, but I have no idea what he's saying. I shrug, and he lifts a hand up, and he seriously DOES fucking kung-fu chop my ankle.

"OW!" I yell, ripping my headphones out.

"You were warned," he sings, as I put my feet back on the floor. I don't respond to his idiocy.

Jack turns around again. "You're really quiet this morning," he observes. I don't know what to say to him, so he just says, "Exhibit Z", and turns around. They continue with their band talk. Before I know it, we're pulling into our usual parking spot at school. I open my door. Jack and Alex are already out of the car as I struggle to gather all of my shit belongings out of the car.

Alex places the keys on top of the car right next to me. "Lock up," he tells me, smiling. "GOOD DAY," he says in his real British accent that only appears every once in a while. Jack puts his hood up and starts walking with Alex into school, and again, I'm left behind.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bara[CAT],

I sort of meant to put this in Non-Panic. o.o
But whatever.
This can be the thread for it when it starts. :]

BB

I IS EXCITED!

o:

=D

AJLGSKJDgeo;aeijewwhao;weethOHOewa
I love it. o.o
It's amazing, Cat.

ILU. ='D

freaking awesome!! =D

TYSM =D

your welcome =], when's the next updatee???

Working on it right now. :]

and dis is why ily =D

It's gonna be the same situation from Jack's POV. :]

<3

BB BB BB

UPDATE NOWWWW 0:<