It was a sunny afternoon day at Sparrow's Creek High. The weather was warm and there were little clouds drifting through the sky, providing a bit of shade but didn't warn anyone of wet weather.

The temperature was slowly getting warmer and warmer as the days got closer to summer.

After I had grabbed my lunch and setting aside thoughts of my dream, I walked to the usual meeting spot of my friends.

Considering it was warm outside, we usually sat outside to enjoy the weather. Being in Canada, where the weather is usually at least 80% wet and cold, any warm bright weather was welcomed.

I was enjoying my lunch, already digging into my meal before the rest of my friends were coming over. One by one, we all assembled together under the shade of the tree besides us.

My chopsticks picked up a piece of meat and was about to enter my mouth until-

"So, what exactly happened between you and Amanda?"

I nearly dropped the meat and moved my lunchbox to catch the falling piece of meat.

My throat seized and I let out a series of cough, before it died down.

"W-what?" I asked, my throat still tight.

I looked at my friend, Azalea, who re-adjusted her black framed glasses.

She had long black hair like me and people have on several accounts said we looked alike. The only difference was she was slightly shorter then I and she had dark, copper skin while I had pale, yellow skin. She wore a white blouse with faded jeans and black shoes.

"Oh yeah, we heard some people talking some argument you and Amanda were going at" said Stella absentmindedly, who stuffed a pickle back into her burger.

Freckles dotted Stella's light skin, her brown eyes dancing with mischievousness. Long, brown hair draped over her face, framing it. She wore a tank top over her favorite black and white zipper sweater, her jeans slowly tearing apart with threads loose. Her grin giving a certain spunky aura.

I looked at the rest of my friends who were also interested.

I sighed and rubbed an itch by my forehead with the end of my chopsticks.

"Me and Amanda were always at odds with each other" I reminded them.

'Well, not in the past though...people change' I thought.

"Yeah we know that but it looked like you were going to fight her" said Jessica.

Jessica had thick brown hair that were slightly curly at certain ends. Her light skin was adorned with a slight redness to it and her hazel eyes glimmered under the sunlight. Her expressions were always large and one could read her like an open book. She wore a fuchsia pink tee shirt that fit snugly against her toned body and the tee shirt seemed even brighter under her black shorts.

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't there as far as I know so how did you come to that conclusion?" I asked her, curiously and skeptically.

Jessica opened her mouth and realized something.

I could see the awkwardness in her face before Clara jumped in.

"News traveled fast and also...Camille kind of told us" she said.

I stared at her, absorbing the information.

Clara had medium, dirty blond hair that was naturally paired with blond hair. Her hair tied into pig tails. She wore a green shirt and I could see a black tank top underneath with a neutral blue skirt. Underneath she wore well-worn black leggings that went to her mid-ankles. Her shoes were brown and were one of those nature shoes, which were also very well-worn.

Camille? A bit surprisingly but not too out of the ballpark. I remember Camille when we were kids. She often hung around Amanda, back when I and Amanda were on good terms. Camille and I weren't exactly close but we were more than acquaintances for sure.

Despite the spat Amanda and I had over the years, I could tolerate Camille a lot better.

"I see..." I responded, thinking over.

My friends looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to explain. I scarfed down the rest of my food (there wasn't a lot left anyways) and washed it down with tea.

I took out the invitation Amanda had given me (well Camille was the one who handed it to me) and the others took it, looking at it.

I ran my hand through my hair, adjusting my bandanna that was tied into a ribbon.

"Amanda invited me to a party but what she really wanted, I think, is Hunter to attend" I explained to them. "She tried to convince me that once I got Hunter to go to the party, she would introduce me to her friend group."

"Wait, why?" questioned Jessica, confused.

I gave an irritated sigh and held my head with my hands. "No idea, she has done this before on a few occasions but nothing so explicit."

I rubbed my face in irritation before continuing to speak.

"That's when I got mad. One thing happened another and I just...." I waved my hand, trying to struggle with the next few words.

But as I tried to, that same feeling from before tried to rise up and snap.

I did my best to calm myself down and just as it was about to peak over, I was distracted when I saw something in my peripheral vision.

I looked and saw a group of people walking over. Immediately my eyes fell upon Amanda who looked less then pleased, Camille falling slightly behind her, a few others that I somewhat recognized and at the front,

There was Jason.

Jason had short, windswept blond hair. His skin was fair and his muscles were well-toned despite our similar ages. His smile was bright and perfect, in some ways. He walked with a certain swagger, seemingly confident. His blues eyes seemed dark, even though the light was bright.

I tensed slightly and gripped my stomach in unease. A small weight settling in my gut as my hair rose slightly.

Jason and I made eye contact and he gave a smooth smile, raising his hand in greeting. I raised one back, albeit reluctantly.

Off to the side, I could see Jessica and a few others seem to react to Jason's smile.

My lips felt dry and I took a sip of my tea to cover the unease on my face.

"Hi Kai" greeted Jason as he stood in front of me. I remained seated on the ground but I gave face, wiggling my fingers as a hello.

"Hi Jason, what brings you here?" I asked as calmly as I could.

I could feel my throat shaking and the unease grew. I quickly looked at the group behind Jason to distract myself.

Amanda was giving me silent glares, her lips twitching as if she was hold back her displeasure. Camille was giving me a look like she was slightly defeated. Her others friends were behind her as well, talking to each other quietly. Accompanying them was also Victor, Amanda's current boyfriend. He gave me a tilted look and was looking between me, Amanda, and glowering slightly at Jason. Victor's friend was also accompanying with him but he seemed less than interested.

"Oh, I came here to give back your pen" said Jason before taking out said pen.

I remembered back in a class, Jason's pen had dried out and I offered him a pen for him to use. It wasn't a pen that I was particularly felt attached to but it was still a good pen. Perhaps that's why I didn't remember even offering Jason the pen and wondered if he would give it back.

How long ago was it to begin with?

"Ah," I smiled before Jason extended his hand forward, pen in hand.

"Was wondering when you were going to give it back" I responded before taking the pen. My fingers avoiding Jason's hand and I took the pen between two of my fingers.

I saw Jason's eyes seemed to be slightly darker and the space between them shrink, but it was only for a moment.

"I apologize for holding it hostage for so long" Jason joked, or so I hoped he was.

His choice of words seemed to be a weird but I remained smiling.

"Oh my, should I be angry at that?" I teased back.

We each responded with a small laughter but it was forced.

Something about Jason felt very off.

When I first met Jason in the beginning of this year, he seemed a very likable guy. He was good at his classes and was smart. He had a lovable personality that seemed to attract people to him and he seemed to have a way with his words. He wasn't bad at sports and was clearly not lacking in the looks department.

Everything about him seemed great. For a couple of 13 and 14 year olds, it was pretty impressive.

Except when I looked at him, occasionally, I would see something on his face that seemed different.

Then I slowly realized, he never really talked about himself. Not his experiences or anything. They were all told in roundabout ways that were neither one thing nor another.

And the ones that might've been a look into his life? They seemed stale. Static. Like they were crafted.

Jason had been trying to create a conversation between me and him but I responded back with half-honest answers. He then had moved the conversation to include my friends and Amanda's group as well, talking about schoolwork before casually moving into their plans and life.

Amanda, who had been increasingly getting herself closer to Jason, put on her "likeable" front. Agreeing and being open with her talk. Occasionally, Amanda would glance at me and her face would change for a moment before being bright.

Victor looked uncomfortable as Amanda was talking adamantly with Jason.

I felt bad for Victor since he was clearly in love with Amanda and he was actually a great guy. But when Jason came into the picture, Amanda was more interested in Jason nowadays even though Amanda continued to date Victor.

The uneasiness grew within me and seemed to morph into something worse.

Apparently something seemed off to Jason because he turned his full attention to me.

At that moment, from where he stood, despite the sun shining directly onto us...the sun shining brightly behind Jason's head like a halo-

I saw darkness in Jason's eyes and a dark grin on his face. The shadow overhanging his eyes seemed to be dark like the void, making his blue eyes sinister.

A cold chill spread through my spine, shaking me and freezing me to the bone.

A deep ringing rang in my ears, drowning everything.

I saw Jason reach out to me and I couldn't move for some reason. I just watched his fingertips get closer and closer and when they were close to me,

"KAI."

(1/2)