I Thought I Knew You

Jaques lightly bobbed his head to the music only he could hear and scrolled through his phone as he walked to class. The words spoken to him through his headphones seemed understand him in ways that no one else could.

Even his siblings couldn’t seem to comprehend how hard it was for him to talk to others. His eldest sister, Ace, had no problem speaking her mind, especially when being accused of wrongdoing. His youngest brother never stopped talking, Tennessee could go on a rant about anything. Even if he barely knew anything about what was being discussed. This helped him keep a good report card when his ADHD caused his homework to be left unfinished.

Jaques on the other hand- sometimes he went a full day without ever saying more than fifty words. He wished he could be more like them, but the last time he tried to step out of his comfort zone he was forcefully thrown back into the box with a shattered heart. The broken pieces were still to sharp to pick up so Jaques left them on the floor and tried his best to ignore them.

He did not know that a few minutes later his heart would be stepped on once more and almost completely crushed to dust by a boy in Alexander McQueen sneakers.

Jaques was scrolling through his other sister’s instagram which was full of body positivity quotes, posts related to theater, and clips of her showing off new fashion designs. The backpack hit Jacques’s shoulder almost knocking him to the ground. The accidental attacker turned and reached out their hand before they realized who it was.

The hand snapped back as Jaques first looked down at the expensive shoes and then back up at the face a boy who unknowingly broke his heart at the end of summer break. Jaques jumped up, made sure to grab his things, and ran before he could embarrass himself any more.