- Above song is the theme of this novel -

You taste like Mangos, I never liked Mangos but now I've never craved their taste so much.

♡ Red Jeeps ♡

"Get your ass to class." A few kids I knew shouted in the hallway. I laughed pushing past some other students, bodies were everywhere. I tried to find a path, to shoot through the middle of the crowds so I could get to the wall to chat with my friends. Two hispanic guys leaned against the bricks, acting as if there wasn't a care in the world.

"And what's your excuse?" I shouted back, teasing them in the same manner they had teased me. I pointed towards the open doorway of my final class of the day, "I'm just right here." They both rolled their eyes.

"Hey, I'm going I'm going." The shorter of the two muttered, he had a very unique voice. One that showed his ethnicity but was also so very different it was recognizable on it's own. His friend, had this high pitched laugh that he was known for throughout the school. These were two of my pals, as insane and weird as they were I loved these guys. I rolled my eyes in response before heading through the doors of my classroom.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." I smiled, waving before heading into the classroom. I sat in the only chair that rotated in the class. Papers strewn across the table in front of me, scattered into elegant patterns. Forcing my eyes to avoid the blank sheets screeching for attention, I  couldn't help but stare at the back of a skull. A head that I had never really seen around school before. His brown curls quietly begging for my attentive eyes. Long and pulled back in such a style they resembled that of the most eloquently created beach curls. A quiet boy, slightly older than I. He came off quite shy, only speaking when spoken to; captivating. He stole my attention, leaving me at a loss for words.

"Hey, are you going to check your scores or what?" The teacher shouted in the most obnoxious voice I've ever heard.  I was snatched from my silent thoughts, collecting the papers off the table. A silent growl was building in my throat. I wanted to scream at the teacher. He was always making comments that were just flat out rude. I shuffled all the papers neatly together setting them on the edge of the desk rolling my eyes in the process. I hated this class, hated it with such a passion that the only thing that kept me calm was him. Just looking at him made me feel better. He was like a rock, holding me back from uncharacteristically flailing across the room in anger.

I always found myself  staring at the back of his head. Always wondering what was going through his mind. I felt that if I watched hard enough or stared long enough, I would be able to figure out  what made him tick. I wanted to know so badly how to become a part of his life. There was this desire inside of me to be close to him. I couldn't recall a word of  that class, all I  could think about was the back of his head. His permanently dirty  hands; from working on cars. The same ones that ran through those brown curls. He was a car guy, I digged that. That was my type. I knew all about cars, sometimes outsmarting the men. More times than not in the class I would show  that my  knowledge was far more superior than the many guys around me. He was unimpressed by this though giving off the vibe that he felt everybody in the world should just know everything about cars.

I had talked to him for the last two months. Those conversations weren't long. They were small talk conversations. Conversations that began and ended with the same sentence. I hated that. It was a struggle to find other ways to get him to talk to me. I had to formulate a plan. I was going to make him mine one way or another. No matter how hard I had to fight, I was growing dedicated to getting that boy. He had filled my thoughts for too long as my grades were slowly slipping further into the pits. I talked to him only when able to, which wasn't often; for he had his own thoughts, ideas, and friends. It was a struggle to see the boy. I was purposely going out of my way as I found more info about him. Just trying to get a glimpse of him in the hallways. I would spend my entire day plotting, planning my next move and hoping it would happen in our fifth hour class. I had to find a way to make it happen even if I was in a completely different grade.

It was about halfway through the second trimester, some time in the beginning of January. We were coming up on my birthday, which was the 14th.  I pulled his best friend aside. A boy I had known for almost my entire life but wasn't really close to. He lived just down the road from me. My  words were brisk as I was filled with nerves. My question more like a statement. "If I ask him for his number, will you please keep your mouth shut." 

    A large gasp escaped from his lips, his over dramatic expression like the ones you would see on the t.v. "You like him!" He shouted, his hands rushing to his face to cover his pedo mustache. I nodded my head in response looking around at all of the other students.

    "I find him quite intriguing yes. I'd like to get to know him better so I need to ask him for his number and I don't want you making it more awkward than it will already be. I'm freaking out man." I shook my hands trying to get rid of the nerves. It didn't help much.

    "Okay yeah fine, I won't say anything. I'm going to smile like an idiot though because you guys would be so cute. It'd be perfect too."  He wrapped his fingers through the spaces between the hand of a tiny brunette. She laughed agreeing with her boyfriend.

    "Thank you thank you." I mouthed quickly before leaving them to be. I walked through the hallways heading down one of the side halls. A group of about three girls were sitting quietly against the wall. They were all chatting about something that had happened earlier that day. I wasn't close to many of them. I began talking to the blonde one, the one I was closest too.

I was so nervous and the lack of food running through my system caused me to panic and eat whatever was in sight.   I Shoved a giant bag of skittles down my throat as I gossiped to my  friends about how I was going to ask this older boy for his number.  Do older boys even have phones? Questions as dumb as this flooded through my  head infecting every last blood vessel plausible. There was nothing I could do to get the thoughts to vanish. The bell blared through the hallway of the school and I was trapped.I had to head to class.

I threw my bag over my shoulder and rushed off to fourth hour on autopilot, I didn't even see the students as they rushed in every direction.  I was panicking and feeling sick to my stomach. I needed to heave. Stupid skittles. Stupid boy in my head every minute of the day.  I just wanted to get him out.

I suddenly ran into someone and nearly dropped my bag when I realized who it was. He was right there staring at me. I stared back but couldn't feel my knees. Don't fall. Look cool.    I tried to play it off by leaning on the nearest wall. Just then, my friend walked by, an idiotic smile plastered across her rounded face. I glared at her over the boy's shoulder.

"Hey, since I have you here, I have a question." I tried to smile but I felt sick. Thank God for this wall or I would be a puddle on the floor. I tried to get my legs to stop shaking.

"Sure," he quietly replied, a small smile teetering on his face. His side smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I wanted to bundle it up and bottle it. I wanted more than anything to cherish his smile for the rest of my life. I couldn't help but panic as I searched for the next words to say. All I had to do was ask him for the simple seven digit combination that was his phone number. That's all I had to do.

"So um...just going to throw this out there but I'm quite interested in an attractive guy like you, and I was wondering if I could get your number?" Smooth. I could feel the hard surface of the brick wall scratching at my skin. I tried to force a smile onto my face but I was so nervous that it probably came off a little strange.

He watched me, a cocky grin on his face. When he nodded I pulled my phone out. I quickly set it up so he could type his number in. Success.

    He mumbled a rushed goodbye, as the tardy bell blared through the school hallways. I watched as he walked away, my breath racing in my chest. I couldn't believe I had just successfully asked this guy for his number. Now the hard part was figuring out how long to wait before actually using it.

    "Hey, can I sit here?" I asked. I have been friends,  on and off, with this kid my entire life.  We've never fought, there were just times when we seem to drift apart then get really close again. We always had each others' back, though. He nodded his head yes so I proceeded to take the seat directly behind him.

For what felt to be a lot longer than what it actually was, I sat in silence. I didn't know how to start the conversation. His best friend's number was now stored in my phone and I had questions.  I wasn't sure how to just randomly ask him about his friend. I didn't know if I should even talk to him about it because maybe it was none of my business and I should just find out on my own.  It wasn't long before the curiosity became unbearable.

    I didn't know how to say it so I found myself just blurting it out.

    "So I asked him for his number today..." I began.

He turned quickly in his seat shooting me a smile. I could see he was very intrigued by what I had to say next.

"When do you think I should text him?" The look on his face was interesting. His eyebrows crinkled with confusion, his lip quivering slightly as he tried to find the words to say.

    "I don't know, I don't do these type of things. I just simply let what will happen take the route it was supposed to take." I rolled my eyes, there wasn't any other answer in the world that would be less helpful than the one he had given.

    "No, gosh. I mean should I text him now if I just got it? I feel like if I wait three days then he will just get over it. What if I texted him right after school? I have to work tonight so then if the conversation goes south I can use that as an excuse." He shook his head, craning it slightly the left.

    "Do whatever you want, I'd at least wait until after school." He mouthed as the teacher walked into the room, his booming voice pulling both of our attention from our previous conversation. I shifted in my seat, slouching down. Drifting off into my thoughts, I completely missed the whole lecture. It seemed like the more I thought about my next class with the sweet boy, the slower the clock ticked. All I wanted was to go spend that hour looking at his perfect features.

    The bell screamed through the building. Jumping from my seat, I was the first one bolting from the door and straight through the hallway. I had to get there before he did. I had no logical reason to be in a race with this boy. He was never on time to class. I was the first student to reach the classroom. I shot through the area until I reached the spinning chair I was known to get. I took a seat, prepping my bag, pulling the charger out of my backpack and plugging my phone into the outlet on the floor. I tried to keep my attention on the room but my patience was growing thin. Why wasn't he here yet? I looked around the room. Students were slowly filtering in. Many of them saying their hellos to other students in the room. I had the hardest time focusing on the stupid greetings. All I wanted was to see his face. That silly boy made my insides explode.

The bell sounding once more meant  students should be rushing to their seats and they did. His stayed empty. My heart sank, suddenly I was in a terrible mood. Our teacher cleared his throat, heading for the front of the room. My eyes wandered  around. I was unsure if I'd be able to focus on anything other than thoughts of where that boy was. I tried so hard to think of anything else. To think of an unsolvable math equation so my brain would be distracted by useless numbers and letters all jumbled together with theorems I've never even heard of. I soon grew tired of this though, as any normal high school student would. There was nothing to keep my mind off the empty  seat across from me. The seat that was barren, staring right back, mocking me.

I turned from the empty seat to the large window in  the corner of the room. I watched the grass grow and tuned out the lecture. There were runners in the field beyond the science building moving steadily around the track to stay warm in the gray afternoon. The large tree in the courtyard caught my eye as the branches swayed in the breeze. The wind was gentle, but it was cold out there.

I knew it was him almost before I could see him. He walked elegantly with a sway that suited him perfectly.

His legs leading him straight to the classroom. Hands shoved in his pockets, his backpack hung low. He wore black sweats and the gray sweater I'd grown to know. There he was. He showed up afterall. My heart began to race as he vanished from frame. I began to count the seconds before he would arrive in the classroom.

20...19...18... I watched the door, my eyes violently covering every square inch of the hallway.... 17 ... 16 ... 15 ... 14... Still no sign of him. He must  have stopped at the drinking fountain, that was a common thing for him to do before walking into class. 13 ... 12 ... 11 .... 10 .... We were getting close, and the closer I knew he was the more excited I became. How could somebody make me so excited just by walking into a classroom. I grew uncomfortable in the seat I was in, shifting trying to find a position that was more satisfying. I was out of luck. 5 ... 4 ... 3... I was off. Before I could reach the final number in my head he entered. He silently slumped into his seat, his bag on his desk. His right foot bounced methodically against the carpeted floor of the classroom. His hands clasped in his lap. He looked so calm. The teacher didn't even notice him come in late. But I noticed. He was the only thing I noticed.

Class dragged on. I wasn't sure if I should text him in class or not. He had pulled his phone out at one point checking it for what looked to be messages before quickly sliding it back into the bag on the desk. No messages?

I pulled my phone towards me slightly; unlocked the screen.  I wondered what to ask, what to tell him, what I wanted to send him via these mini computers in our hands. I simply couldn't think of anything witty. Eventually I settled on sending him a simple message.

"This class blows doesn't it?" I quickly sent the message regretting it almost immediately. A few seconds past. My heart was beating in my chest rapidly. I knew it was too soon to text him. I knew I shouldn't have messaged him, especially not in the middle of class. He pulled out his phone again looking at the screen. This time it was lit up. He looked around the room, his eyes dancing over the faces of students in the classroom. They landed on me, stopping for only a moment before nodding and turning back to his phone.

His reply was quick and short. My name. I unlocked the screen once again to respond. A simple yes would do.

I watched the room. How could everybody in the classroom be so fucking calm? I was freaking out on the inside.  I was panicking. The whole room was just half asleep, students playing on their phones. The lecture being ignored in any and every way possible.

I wanted to jump out of my seat and run for the door, anything to get me out of this room. I wanted to both hug him and run away scared because I had no clue what I was doing. I held my composure though; acting as if I was just as bored as every other student in the room.  I couldn't focus for the rest of the class period. My eyes jumping from him to my phone screen. He didn't touch his phone once for the rest of the time being. It was driving me insane, every ten seconds unlocking my screen refreshing it only to realize he hadn't even touched his phone. It was simply put away in the front pocket of his bag. He hadn't even read the message I sent him.

    How the hell could he do that? I quickly packed all of the things scattered across the table. I needed to find something to distract myself. The clock was taunting and I was growing very weary from the seconds dragging endlessly. I felt so high, not from any beautiful substance but from the nerves snapping under my skin. Finally, the long hand reached its end goal, relieving us students from this  cage. I jumped out of mine, flinging my bag over my shoulder. I left the room, many students fluttering behind me. I rushed through crowds, bouncing off overfilled book bags. Students chatted, a chatter that didn't matter a single bit.

I rushed to my car, running through the parking lot, fumbling with the keys in my bag; finally when I was safely in the  driver's seat I took a deep breath. I sat very still, calming my breath as much as possible. People flooded from the school like an ocean wave.  Only a few of the faces familiar.  I clicked through the settings on my truck lights while  waiting for my neighbor. He walked slowly down the long sidewalk, not a care in the world. I wanted to yell at him, tell him to hurry his ass up. I put my lights back to the needed setting, sliding my hand along the buttons; finding the one that unlocked the doors. He sloppily threw his bag on the back seat, slumping into the one beside me with a heavy sigh. My eyes danced across his features, trying to muddle up any clue as to why he was so distraught.

"What happened?" I question, my thoughts racing over every girl he has talked about in the last week and a half. My neighbor was one of those boys... He flirted with every girl til he finally got the chance, only to realize he really didn't want her. The last girl I could remember him complaining about was some blonde bimbo named after fancy dress material. She was long gone though.

"Just really done with school, you know? I should be riding, I should be at the dunes, I need to be doing things!" He was passionate about the words spewing from his mouth. I felt him wholeheartedly. High school felt like a waste of time, too. I could be working, making money. I could be doing so many other things that felt more meaningful to me. I switched my automatic truck into drive, slowly stepping on the gas, pulling us away from the curb.

"Almost there buddy." I sounded like a mother, though it was unintentional. He nodded his head fiddling at his phone. Once we were away from the crowds, I floored it down the road toward our houses. They were set nicely next to each other making him one of the kids I've known the longest in my life.

"So I finally nutted up." I smiled chuckling slightly as I pulled into my driveway.

"Oh yeah?" He looked at me sideways, barely shooting me a glance. I was unsure if he knew what I was talking about. Would he have known about me finally asking my crush for his number? There was no way.

"Yeah!" I reassured him, hoping he would ask more questions. Suddenly I was confused at what thoughts were cowering in his forehead. It must have clicked in his head because almost instantly he was smiling like a dork. I nodded with reassurance. Mostly for myself.

"Well by god, did you get his number or not?" He slapped his leg looking out the window before looking back towards me. I nodded my head smiling. His hand reached for the door handle, slowly tugging at it till it opened with a click. His brown eyes smiled at me before he exited the truck.

"Atta girl! Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." He swung his gray bag over his shoulder heading towards the gate leading to his house. I sat in the truck for a quick moment looking around at the screen in the dash. There was a tiny blue light in the corner, signaling that I had a text message on my phone. I turned in my seat reaching for my bag in the back seat. Pulling my phone out of the front pocket, I checked the screen to see the message.

    'Hey' It was from him. It was from the boy that had both frustrated me so much and made me so happy all in the same class period. I smiled to myself, locking the screen I grabbed my bag and headed  into the house. I set my bag  down on the counter and pulled my phone out of the pocket again before responding.. A simple 'hello' would suffice.

    'What's up?' He responded back. It scared me how quick it was, it was like I hadn't even sent my message yet.

~*~ 5 hours later ~*~

    I worked my ass off throughout the night. Throwing items on the shelves, making sure everything was neat and tidy, where it should be. I had cleaned things and finished all the required jobs an hour early. All that was left was a few closing tasks and my shift at the local grocery store would be over. It was around nine at night, the clock ticking faster and faster as it got closer to quitting time.

    I checked my phone for the time, noticing I had a message. I had talked to him for a little bit, telling him I would be off work at ten if he wanted to talk later. It was a message from him simply saying hi again. I have no clue what I was thinking when I responded but, whatever. My fingers flew across the keyboard.

    'If I was cuter, I'd say meet me at my job in thirty minutes and we could go on a cute date to Sonic.'

When I sent that message I didn't think anything would come from it. I walked out of the back door when my shift was finally over and was confused to see his red jeep parked right next to my truck. I was scared though. I wasn't sure what was going to happen tonight but  was excited to finally have some alone time with the guy I liked so much. He smiled at me, jumped out of his jeep and nodded his head as I walked toward our cars.

"Can we take your car? I'm out of gas in the jeep," was the first thing he said to me. I sighed, nodding my head. I guess it was alright. I unlocked the doors on my chevy. We jumped in and I started the engine, the music coming alive inside the cab. I turned it down to where we could barely hear it in the background. Without another thought I clicked my seatbelt and pulled out of the parking lot, heading off towards our first date.