Chapter Text
Listening to the low growl of the car engine and the hiss of the heater forcing warm air through the vents, Monty closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing mind. He sat with his arm resting against the window, his palm propping his chin up so that he could rest his face against the icy glass in hopes that the chilled surface would ease his feverish skin. He tried to think of anything other than the sight he would inevitably see when he opened his eyes, but no amount of remembered jokes and moments of joy could sooth his nerves.
“Monty.”
At the sound of his mother’s voice, the boy let his eyes flutter open to take in the sight before him: the local high school that – despite living a couple miles away for his entire life – he had never attended before now. At the age of seventeen, Monty had his own car. In this moment, he longed to be in the driver’s seat so that he could have the freedom to drive away if his first day took a turn for the worst, but he knew that his mother took pride in driving her son to each of his first days. Or at least she used to, back when she was driving a bright, giggling child to his first days of elementary and middle school, his first day of summer camp, or his first day of advanced classes at the community college for pre-teens with academic potential. That pride seemed to have been replaced with shame and frustration whenever she drove him to his first days at the several boarding schools she had sent him to over the past few years.
After taking in the view of his new school (which wasn’t spectacular – Monty thought it looked more like a jail than a school, with its bleak white walls and dark, shuttered windows), Monty sighed, allowing his hot breath to fog up the glass and obstruct the scene outside. “Okay,” he began as he reached down to gather up his things. “I’ll see you later.” Slinging his bag over one shoulder, he gripped the car handle but didn’t pull. Instead, he turned to meet his mother’s eyes. She was watching him with her eyebrows knitted together, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
The silence hung in the air for a few moments before Mrs. Green spoke. “Have a good first day. Please try to make a good first impression.” She hesitated before speaking again. “This is your last chance to do that, after all.”
Monty grimaced and nodded. It was the January of his senior year. He had originally felt relieved that this was going to be his last first day before finally graduating, but his mother’s words filled him with a whole new sense of pressure to do well. Monty said a curt good-bye before opening the door and immersing himself in the cool winter air. He frowned at the ground as he made his trek across the parking lot, shivering slightly against the icy wind. It wasn’t like he had made particularly bad impressions at his previous schools. It was more like he hadn’t made any impression at all. He was exceptionally gifted, but as soon he was enrolled in that first boarding school, he no longer felt like drawing any attention to himself. He didn’t underachieve or overachieve; He simply did the bare minimum to keep his grades up. He avoided praise from teachers almost as much as he avoided socializing with his peers. He ghosted through his time at his past few schools, but in all honesty, he didn’t see what was so bad about that. She treats my lack of a social life like it’s as bad of a crime as what got me into this mess, he brooded silently.
Monty was so completely engulfed in his thoughts that he failed to notice that he had begun crossing the road that runs between the parking lot and the school gates.
“Hey!” A muffled yell snapped Monty out of his frustrations. Reacting almost instinctively, Monty stumbled backwards as a boy on a motorcycle sped in front of him, missing the toes of his sneakers by mere centimeters. Monty could hardly see the boy’s face – his eyes were hidden by goggles with a greenish hue and his lips and nose were neatly shielded from the cold wind by a black bandana. His unkempt brown hair whipped around in the wind, brushing against his high cheekbones. Rather than a jacket to protect him from the cold, he wore a thin, long sleeved baseball tee which the wind had pushed upwards, exposing the lines of his lower back as he drove away and turned a corner. Yet the most striking thing for Monty was the fact that even as he drove away, the motorcyclist continued to stare at him, as if he were analyzing Monty’s face. When the boy had driven into the parking lot and out of sight, Monty blinked himself back to reality. He hurried out of the road, fixing his bangs, which had been blown into disarray.
Walking up the steps to the school, Monty replayed the scene in his mind. God, I must have looked so stupid, just standing there like a dumbass. He shook his head in frustration. He was probably just watching my reaction so that he can laugh about it later. Another sigh forced its way out of Monty’s body as he made his way to the first class on his schedule, feeling as if any possibility of making a good first impression on his last first day had just withered away.
Monty’s first weeks at Arkadia High were spent giving halfhearted introductions, attempting to catch up on an entire semester of missed material, and praying that he wouldn’t run into the boy who drove the motorcycle. He was almost certain that he would die of embarrassment if he did. Monty wasn’t an unfriendly person under any circumstances. Whenever one of his new peers would approach him, he would oblige in their small talk, charming them with his warm smile. It wasn’t long before he had a few friends in each class. However, it was clear that he kept his friendships almost one-sided; when his personal life made its way into the conversation, he would always change the subject. There was only one person in his life that he would truly reveal himself to, and he had lost that person long ago.
As noon rolled around, Monty knew that was his cue to leave. He had enrolled in a few afternoon classes at the college, allowing himself to leave Arkadia while his peers were grouping up to eat lunch. Once in a while, he would notice a lanky figure making its way over to the motorcycle, but this occurrence only motivated Monty to drive away even faster.
On the Monday of Monty’s third week, he woke up feeling a familiar ache just behind his eyes, reminding him that he had only gotten two hours of sleep. He had spent his entire weekend trying to catch up with the rest of his literature class in An American Tragedy. Mindlessly he performed his morning routine and drove himself to school. His tired pace brought him into the parking lot a few minutes later than normal and he realized that those few minutes had made all of the difference – he was suddenly battling what felt like the entire school for a parking spot.
Settling on a space in the back corner, he began to park, a yawn forcing his eyes almost closed as he turned the wheel. Squinting, Monty saw a dark blur speed in front of his car. Panic flushed through his system and he slammed on the breaks. As he was thrown forward, knocking his chest on the wheel, he could see that in the time he had taken to slowly park, the motorcyclist had cut him off, taking his parking spot. The boy with the shaggy brown hair had parked diagonally and was looking over his shoulder at a bewildered Monty. Gathering himself, Monty waved his hand as if to say “my bad” and continued his hunt for a spot.
After settling for a spot on the grass, Monty made his way up the steps and into the Arkadia High courtyard. He scanned the crowds as he passed them and noticed the motorcyclist he had just nearly run over. The boy was standing with his back to Monty. A heavier jacket had now materialized on his skinny frame – Monty assumed he kept it in his locker – and his goggles were pushed onto the crown of his head, causing his bangs to splay out in all different directions behind him. He was speaking to a shorter girl with coarse black hair. She wore a pastel blue dress draped with a heavy cable knit sweater, thick tights, and boots. She looked preppy in comparison to the grungy-looking motorcycle boy.
Monty silently chuckled at the idea of them dating as he walked past, but his smile suddenly dropped as the girl turned and made eye contact with him. Her eyes widened and she tilted her head to say something to the motorcyclist, keeping her gaze on Monty the entire time. Monty felt his face flush as he looked away and quickened his pace, assuming she was saying something about him. But a tentative voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Monty? Monty Green?”
Recognition immediately flickered at the other boy’s voice and a large smile appeared on Monty’s face before he had even finished turning around. “Jasper!”
Jasper pulled Monty into a long hug, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy’s shoulders and laughing into his dark hair. “Dude, I thought I would never see you again!” Monty felt a happy warmth blossom in his stomach as they broke the hug, his former best friend keeping both hands firmly on Monty’s shoulders, as if he was still testing to make sure that Monty was really there.
A playful flicker shot through Jasper’s eyes as he knitted his eyebrows together, pouting mockingly. “You almost hit me with your car this morning, you jerk!”
Monty gaped for a long moment as it dawned on him that Jasper was the one that drove the black motorcycle. Laughing, Monty ran a hand through his bangs as he spoke. “That was payback for nearly killing me with your motorcycle on my first day.”
Jasper released one of Monty’s shoulders and pointed his finger between Monty’s eyes. “Well that was just your bad karma from leaving me for so long. Seriously man, where did you go?” Monty’s smile faltered minutely at the question, but even after nearly four years Jasper still read Monty like a book. “Never mind that. I’m just glad you’re here.” He engulfed Monty into another big hug, patting his back as Monty closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Wait,” Monty started, gently squirming out of the embrace. “I thought you got into that magnet school? You know, the science-y one in the next town over?” He stared at his friend, confusion swimming in his widened eyes.
Jasper rolled his eyes. “Yeah, fuck that.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I stayed there for one semester and then transferred. The kids there were like – ‘whoa!’” He raised his eyebrows and threw his arms out in a confused gesture. “‘There’s no way a guy can have, uh, questionable hobbies and be good at chemistry!’” Monty laughed, knowing that Jasper must be referring to his affinity for any activity that resulted in getting high. Jasper folded his arms and continued. “So I got tired of being treated like an idiot and transferred here. I think I made out well in the end anyways.” He shot a warm look to the preppy girl next to him, who had stood smiling silently for the duration of the reunion.
Shit. Monty thought. She actually is his girlfriend. Icy jealousy began to prick at the edges of the happy warmth in his chest.
“I mean – I came here and found myself the most amazing girlfriend.” He wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulders, pulling her closer. “And I landed that internship with the big science and technology place down the street, Polaris. They gave me a real job too. I’m only a lab assistant, but still.” He smiled humbly, knowing that even after years of separation, his best friend would still be proud of his success.
“Wow,” Monty sighed. “That’s, uh, incredible. Really.” He looked between Jasper and the preppy girl before extending a hand toward her. “I’m Monty. Nice to meet you.”
“I know who you are,” She smiled sweetly and shook his hand. “I’m Maya.”
Before either of them could say another word, Jasper pulled the both of them into his chest, bobbing back and forth in excitement. “It’s not every day that my two favorite people get to be with me.” As he spoke, the warning bell rang, alerting Monty that he had two minutes to make his way to class.
Separating himself from the couple, Monty took a couple steps backwards. “I’ll see you guys around.” He waved to them before rotating on his heel and continuing along his way. A smile danced on the edge of his lips for the rest of the day as he reacquainted himself with joy he always felt when he was around Jasper. But in the back of his mind, a quiet voice would whisper, causing a small twinge of a darker feeling as it reminded him that Jasper had a new life that he was happy with – and it didn’t include Monty.