Jbennett: I got another note. Check your email
Snowdays4evr: lolol wut. This guy seriously is in love w/ u.
Jbennett: Do you think it's a joke? I doubt anyone likes me
Snowdays4evr: he's been giving u notes forever. He totally likes u.
Jamie lifted his fingers to type, but the sound of his door opening put him off track. He minimized the chat window and opened the internet browser. It was already opened to research websites; he couldn't take risks with anybody finding out about his friendship with Jack, his family most of all.
He could feel someone walking to his back. He opened another window and googled "jack frost origins". He searched for a reputable source and clicked it just as his mother dropped a small stack of white envelopes on Jamie's desk.
"College letters," she explained. She paid Jamie's screen no more than a few seconds of attention before she left. Until she shut the door, Jamie shuffled through the envelopes, pretending to be interested. Then he shoved them in his desk's top drawer and returned to the chat.
Jbennett: Sorry. My mom came in
Snowdays4evr: did u pull the classic?
Jbennett: You know me so well
Snowdays4evr: because ur my bestest friend, like, forever. I luvers u
Jbennett: I luvers you too. How's your sister doing? Still sick?
Eventually Jamie had to get started on his homework. He spread his homework out in front of him and worked as he chatted with Jack, getting the 411 on Jack's family. Jamie shared how his parents were still pushing him to go to an out-of-state college.
One would think it sad how Jamie's closet friend only contacted him through the internet. They never had met in person, phoned each other, shared pictures of each other; only chatted in chat boxes. The important thing was that Jamie felt comfortable with who he was when he communicated with Jack. He was never pressured to share personal photos or open a video chat. Jack never pressed for personal info either, though Jamie got many hints that Jack favored expanding their friendship.
Through their two years of chatting with each other, Jamie still hadn't followed up on any of the hints. Jack had often brought how fun it would be when they finally met in person, never giving an exact date. He never asked if Jamie wanted to meet up either.
Sometimes Jamie wondered if he should pop the question. They could meet at a mall or popular attraction, and neither would get an idea of where the other specially lived. Jack lived in the same time zone, so he couldn't be too far. It was possible that he was in another state, but Jamie had always hoped that Jack was closer than an hour's drive away.
Jamie quickly used the restroom, and when he ran back to his room he found the door open. Sophie was leaning on his desk, scrolling through his chat with Jack.
"What the fuck!" Jamie grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her back.
She choked on the bunched fabric around her neck. "What the hell Jamie?"
"How much did you see?" Jamie demanded, trying to access the damage through how far she'd scrolled.
"Enough to figure out that some guy at school likes you and you're friends with this Jack guy who also loves you."
"Don't tell anyone!" Jamie hissed. "I will kill you if you do."
Sophie blinked. "Mom! Jamie's giving personal info to a stranger online!" She ran through the hall, Jamie on her tail.
"Huh?" Their mother turned from the sink, a carrot in one hand and a peeler in the other.
"Jamie's friends with this guy online and he's giving personal info."
"I'm not! He just knows my name and that I'm a senior in high school."
"He knows your last name. It's in your username."
"I'm eighteen! I'm not stupid. There are a lot of Jamie Bennetts in the world." Jamie tried not to sound uncertain of that. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the refrigerator, trying to look confident and unaffected by the tattling.
"You don't act eighteen most of the time," his mother said. "How long have you been chatting with this guy?"
"Years," Sophie said.
"About two," Jamie corrected. "Can't you go and do your homework like kids are supposed to?"
"I finished – unlike you. He's doing his homework in front of the computer."
"Sophie, can you give your brother and me a moment alone?" Their mother placed the skinned carrot on a cutting board and dried her hands off with a hand towel. Sophie skipped out of the kitchen, and then Mrs. Bennett sighed and walked to the small dining table. Jamie sat across from her, his fingers crossed underneath the table. "Jamie, what is this online friendship you have?"
"We met on a school help forum. He helped me with some math and I helped with English. We started chatting on the private messaging system and then we took it to Skype. But I swear, I didn't give anything info out that can pinpoint my location."
"Jamie… This friendship – is this what you spend most of your time doing on the computer?"
Jamie nodded.
"At home?"
Jamie nodded hesitantly.
"Instead of hanging out with physical people, you hang out with Jack online."
"But Mom, it's a healthy relationship. He's a great friend – the best friend I have. He understands me and I understand him. If we met, we'd be wonderful friends -"
"The internet can make any friendship seem healthy, but that's not true. Spending all your time with an online friend isn't going to help you in real life. In real life you need to communicate effectively. On the internet you can have as long as you like to think of your responses. Jack could be a fake."
"He's not. I know him. He's real." Jamie dreaded the outcome of the conversation. If his mother banned him from chatting with Jack, he would have to take their communication to the next level: swapping phone numbers.
"I know you think he's real, but he's not. Everybody has a different identity online. Online we can make ourselves whoever we want. It could be that Jack-"
Jamie walked out. He didn't want to hear this "Jack's not real" and "Jack's not a friend" and "Jack's not going to help you in real life". She was wrong; Jack had already helped Jamie.
When Jamie returned to his computer, Jack was idle. Before he could consider the risks, Jamie typed his number.
Jbennett: Call me please
He grabbed his phone from his backpack and placed it on his desk and worked on the rest of his homework as he waited for a response.
Snowdays4evr: I have to go but I'll call u as soon as I can.
Jack logged off.
Jamie turned his computer off and leaned back. Maybe sending his number was a huge mistake. If Jack didn't want to move Jamie into a more realistic friend category… Well, then Jamie had already screwed up. All that was left was to wait.
#
His phone rang at 9 PM. Jamie had fallen asleep on his bed as he waited for the call. The area code was the same as his, and his heart skipped what felt like too many beats.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Is this Jamie Bennett?" a male voice asked. He sounded like a teenager, like someone who could actually be Jack.
"Is this Jack?"
"Wow. You sound more manly than I thought. No offence. You're really feminine online."
Jamie laughed. "Maybe you'll think I act feminine in real life. I hope not, but hey, we have the same area code. Do you want to meet in person and see if I'm as feminine as I am online?"
"Burgess Lake?"
"You might murder me there."
"No way! I wouldn't! How about Burgess High on Saturday afternoon? 1 PM? I live really close there."
"Seriously? So do I! I go there for school. Do you?"
"Nah. I'm homeschooled. If I did, I'd have looked up you just in case you lived near. I always had a feeling that we weren't on different sides of the country." Jack laughed. "So you up for meeting on Sat?"
"Totally!"
A/N: (Terrible title, but I'm too tired to make another one.) Written for a prompt that Jack and Jamie are online friends, but Jamie's parents don't think Jack's real. Jamie didn't have a father in the movie so I cancelled that. I also brought Jack's sister back to life. You're welcome.