Tales of the Underground: Velocity - 8. Chapter 8

I woke up with the same energy I had felt when I fell asleep. I know I’ve said it before but things just felt like they were firing on all cylinders.

I went through my normal morning routine and headed off to school, still not brave enough to use my new license. As I approached my locker to prepare for the day I found Elijah sitting in front of it waiting for me.

“What did you camp out here overnight?” I asked. His face lit up when he saw me approach.

“Hey!” He squealed with excitement.

“Alright 50 shades of gay, let’s take it down a notch.” I really couldn’t help but tease him. I’ve never seen him like this happy.

“Sorry, I’ve just never felt like this before” he said not sure if I was actually upset with him or not.

“It’s all good, I’m glad to see you excited.” I said with a smile “Let’s just make it an actual challenge for everyone else to catch onto us, okay?” I whispered

“Don’t worry!” Elijah said slowly getting to his feet “If anyone can keep a secret, it’s me. After all I kept one for almost my whole life!”

“I’m doomed!” I sighed letting my head fall against my locker. I could hear Eli giggling at my goofy antics. Now that I’m starting to fall for him, I would do anything to hear that laugh.

“Good morning Sunshine!” Matty shouted pushing me fully into the locker “It’s nice for you to join us on time today!”

“God damn it Matty, its 7:30 in the morning.” I squeaked pinned between my locker and his body “Can’t you go and bother someone else?”

“Aww but you’re just so darn cute.” Matty said releasing me

“Christ man, what do your parents feed you in the morning? Cocaine?” I asked taking a step away from him.

“Possibly” he shrugged “What’s your problem?” Matty said now looking at Eli, who had been staring him down the whole time. I don’t know what pissed him off more the fact that Matty interrupted our little private time or that he called me cute. I couldn’t help but smile at the intensity in his eyes.

“Nothing” Eli muttered “I better go get ready for class, I’ll see you later Jamie.” Eli said with his voice getting louder and friendlier with each word. I couldn’t help but stare as he walked away.

“So are you guys back to being friends or something?” Matty asked with trouble in his eyes

“Yes, say something stupid and I swear I’ll punch you in the face.” I threatened

I could see him prepare a wisecrack but Jacob walked up before he could get it out.

“What’s up guys?” Jacob asked looking like he had just rolled out of bed.

“Nothing, we’ve just been replaced by a queer is all.” Matty said stepping back in case I decided to take a swing.

“You’re not being replaced.” I sighed “I can have more than 2 friends you know.”

“Not with your schedule.” Jacob replied not even hesitating. I gave him the same look Eli had given Matty earlier “Sorry. Sheesh you can make a thousand jokes but I make one, and its everyone kill the short kid” Jacob complained. Jacob wasn’t all that small but then again he was probably one of the shortest kids in the grade with Eli ranking only a few kids above him.

“That’s because your last big joke landed us all in lunch detention.” Matty reminded him

“Yeah, well you could stand to skip a meal” Jacob joked. Matty gave him a good punch to the shoulder for that one. “Fuck you!” he spit.

“You were asking for it.” I weighed in packing my bag for the day “That reminds me, we need you to come pick out a new car for me later.”

“What for you to hit me with?” he really enjoyed playing the victim today “Can we even afford one?”

“I got Pit to give one to us on the house.” Matty confidently bragged.

Jacob looked at him in disbelief “How the hell did you swing that?”

“I asked nicely” Matty replied not willing to share any more details.

The bell to signal the start of the day rang, putting an end to our conversation. We said our goodbyes and headed to our different classes knowing there would be more answers at lunch.

The day went on, same as every other. I slept, teachers yelled, I didn’t listen, rinse and repeat. When it finally came time for lunch I was surprised to find Stephanie standing at my table. She and Jacob were arguing about something and by the sound of it, it wasn’t anything important.

“Jamie! Finally!” Jacob said with a sigh of relief “Would you please make her leave already.” He pleaded

“I’d like to see him try.” She bickered back not even looking in my direction

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” asked Jacob

“No” Stephanie began to blush trying to figure out if he was being genuine or not.

“GOOD! And I never will!” Jacob spit back with nothing but venom and ill intent. He really was in a crappy mood today.

“Oh you mother--“started Stephanie

“Alright!” I interrupted “Well this has been fun. Let’s all do it again some time.” I started to walk away encouraging Stephanie to follow me. She tagged along but retained eye contact with Jacob the whole time.

“What could I have possibly done now?” I whined waiting for an earful. Why did she have to come and try to ruin my perfect day?

“What did you do to Eli? He’s been distant all day with a dumb grin on his face” She demanded finally looking me in the eyes. “All he’s been saying is Jamie this or Jamie that.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of him thinking about me. The truth is I couldn’t get him off my mind either.

“You said be nice so I was nice.” I said not willing to give her any more details on what happened between the two of us.

“I said be his friend, not make the kid fall in love with you” She argued. Woh, love?! She needs to pump the brakes a bit. “You’re gonna break his heart if you’re not careful.”

“I’ll go talk to him.” I said turning to walk away.

“No! That’s the last thing he needs right now” She protested, but I carried on pretending I couldn’t hear her.

When I finally got to Eli’s table I saw him sitting there staring off with the look Stephanie had described. One of the girls he sat with was chewing his ear off about some stupid class drama but it was obvious he wasn’t paying any attention to her.

“Can I borrow him real quick?” I asked the girl. She nodded and Eli got up. We walked to an empty part of the lunch room, far enough so no one could make out what we were saying but close enough so everyone could still see us. The last thing I needed were rumors about him and me sneaking out of lunch together.

“Everything okay?” Elijah asked with a concerned look on his face.

“Stephanie just swung by and chewed me out so that was fun.” I sighed “Would it be possible for you to dial it back even more?” I pleaded. I felt bad asking him to hide his feelings. Liking someone is something you should be able to scream from the rooftops, not something you should have to bury deep down.

Eli nodded and apologized for Stephanie’s beratement “She just gets a little carried away.” he said now starting to twirl his fingers. I could tell he was thinking something over in his head. “What do you think about stopping by tonight for dinner?” He nervously asked.

“Sure thing.” I answered without missing a beat “I’ve got to do something after school so I’ll swing by at around 6, if that’s okay.” I said with a smile

“Sound’s awesome” Elijah replied with a huge grin. We parted ways and each returned to our own lunch tables. It sucked not being able to sit with him, but at least he was always one look away.

Matty and Jacob stared at me as I took my usual seat.

“What was that about?” Jacob said suspicious about the whole ordeal

“Nothing important” I remarked “What about your argument with Stephanie?”

“Nothing important there either” he said not even looking up from his food. He was really bummed about something today. I just couldn’t put my finger on what.

“Everything alright?” I said giving him a friendly bump with my shoulder

“Yeah, seeing you and Eli become friends again just has me thinking about the past.” He muttered still looking down.

“We’re here if you need to talk.” I said reminding him that we’ll always have each other’s backs no matter what. This is what we do, we tease each other, hit each other and even annoy the shit out of one another, but most importantly we always pick each other up. He forced a smile and nodded but didn’t say anything.

We set our plans to meet at the bike rack after school, go get my car and head over to the junkyard. I’m not gonna lie, saying goodbye to my mustang is gonna be tough. I don’t have any true emotional connection to the thing. It was just a nice gift my uncle gave me after my mom passed, but boy have we had some insane times together. I don’t know how I’m gonna explain to my family how I traded it for something else, of course I don’t think they understand how much work goes into keeping the thing running. Jacob must stop at my house 4 or 5 times a week to work on it. Its crimson frame told stories of paint trading and speeding while the engine cried like a wounded animal begging to be put out of its misery.

When the final bell for the day rang we followed our plan and all piled in my car. I took off for the final ride with my baby. It was my turn to control the radio and boy did I let the music blast. Me and Jacob howled along with Motley Crue’s “Too Fast for Love” while Matty bitched about my music choices. I can’t say Jacob and I have a lot in common but we definitely both love rock n roll. When we finally pulled up the doorman let us in without even looking in my direction. I think I’m one more wise crack from getting the shit beat outta me.

As I parked I saw Jax walk up to the car.

“How’s it going, big man?” I shouted. Jax really was huge. I’m pretty sure he could pick me up and throw me across the lot if he wanted to.

“Nothing, just stuck babysitting…AGAIN.” He mumbled

“Oh, knock it off, it’s not that bad.” I said as we all made our way out of the car to begin the search. He nodded towards Matty but stared at Jacob. “This is my mech gears.” I proudly announced trying to clear the confused.

“Gears? Ughhh” Jax groaned “Your nicknames get worse and worse with each person I meet.”

“Yeah because the name Jax is so cool” Gears said with some fire.

“I like this one” Jax said laughing “Alright, let’s get this over with already.”

Jax escorted us around the lot, long and winding rows of car after car surrounded us. Finally a newer mustang caught my eye. I ran up to it excitedly circling it.

“This is perfect” I screamed with excitement looking at it trying to figure out what year it was.

“You’re joking right” Gizmo said disappointed with my choice “Look at that exterior, it looks like hell!” He was right there were all types of rust and spots of paint missing but that’s not the reason I was checking it out.

“Nope” I said with a grin spanning my whole face “Gears, you know what I’m thinking?”

“Yes” he sighed picking up on where I was coming from.

“There’s no way” Gizmo remarked finally catching on

“What the hell are you kids going on about?” Jax asked unable to tap into our subconscious conversation

“Kid wants to replace the insides of his current car with this one’s” Gizmo sighed

“Hell Yeah I do!” I screamed getting more and more excited with the thought of being able to keep my old car, well, the interior and body of it at least.

“That’s impossible” Jax said looking at me like I was an idiot “This is a 2013 mustang, yours is a 2003. They’re cars not containers. You can’t just swap the insides.”

“He can’t but I can.” Gears said finally getting on board with the plan “Kid go get your car, I need to see something”

I excitedly ran down the lot and jumped in my car, there’s no way I’ll let her die if I don’t have to. I raced down the small path and finally arrived to where they were standing. Gears popped my hood and the hood of the newer car. He studied both carefully examining each part.

Gears began to laugh to himself “It’ll be like putting together a puzzle, but yeah I can definitely make it work. You just have to give me 2 or 3 hours.” It was good to see him smiling again. I know it’s hard work but Jacob truly does enjoy his part of the team.

“I’ll believe it when I see it” Jax remarked doubting Gear’s abilities.

“A few hours” I groaned. Shit! I’m supposed to meet Eli soon. “Can’t you hurry it up or something?”

“You’re joking right” Gears said rolling his eyes “You’re lucky I’m able to do this at all.”

“What’s your rush? You got a date or something?” Gizmo said teasing

“No, I promised Eli’s parents I’d stop by for dinner tonight.” There’s no way they could know it was actually Elijah who had invited me “I’m gonna go call him and let him know I’ll be late”

“Awwww” Gears mocked “tell your boyfriend we all say hi.” If only he knew how true those words were.

“Wait” Jax said confused “Kid’s gay?” I could feel my face turning a bright shade of red.

“No!” I shouted frustrated with the whole situation.

“but his boyfriend is!” Gizmo jumped in to kick me while I was down.

“Stop! I’m not gay!” I yelled “My best friend from when I was a kid is, and dumb and dumber over here can’t let it go.” I clarified

Jax nodded. I guess he just chalked it up to us being dumb kids. Although I swear I could see a look of suspicion in his eyes. Lovely, it hasn’t even been a full day since me and Eli kissed and I’m already under a microscope.

I went far enough away so I could still watch Gears work without them listening to me. He was really meticulous with the way he did things. I even heard him barking out orders at Jax to go and get him different tools or to help him move things around. I could tell Jax was annoyed at first but eventually he got over it, at one point he even seemed happy to help. I got my phone out of my pocket and called Eli. With each ring that passed my heart began to beat faster and faster. Finally he picked up

“Hey, cutie. My Mom’s super excited that you’re coming over.” I could hear him smiling through the phone

“Yeah, about that” I began to stutter, I heard him let out a sigh of disappointment to brace for any bad news. “I’m gonna be a bit later than I anticipated, but I’ll definitely stop by.” I said trying to lift his spirits.

“Oh, okay” he sounded even more disappointed than I expected. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” There he goes again, with no idea of how much he means to me.

“Of course I want to come dude! I just got caught up at work.” I said hoping he wouldn’t ask any questions.

“You have a job?” I could hear some confusion in his voice.

“Ugh Yeah, it’s at the junkyard on the edge of town.” I lied. Good going Jamie, just go ahead and lie to everyone who’s important to you. I’m sure that’ll end well.

“Ohhh Okay!” He sounded so relieved after hearing that “I had no idea you worked!”

“Yeah, things are pretty busy so I have to run” I said trying to end the conversation. Don’t get me wrong I’m dying to talk to him. I just can’t be on the phone too long around the guys. “Do me a favor and don’t change shirts, you looked really cute today.” I laughed

“Okay” he giggled, I could hear him blushing. I sharply hung up the phone without even saying goodbye. This sucks, I hate not being able to have a real conversation with him because of everyone’s stupid judgments’. I’ll make it up to him tonight, I swear.

“How’s the boyfriend doing?” Joked Jax as I approached. I could hear the other 2 laughing as he began to act like one of us.

“That’s not funny” I replied rolling my eyes. Jax let out a big laugh. I was beginning to think he really did enjoy hanging out with us.

Oh well, If I can’t spent time with Eli, at least I can help teach Jax how to be a teenager again.