In history class, Mr Reynolds was surprised to discover that Logan had already obtained the homework from the previous day.
Jax, on the other hand, was surprised at the invitation he was extended.
Logan had tapped his shoulder twice in the middle of class and asked him to join him and his friends for lunch.
Jax had been eating alone for the past few days since he couldn’t manage to track down anyone he knew. He was well aware that he looked lonely, and, truth be told, he was lonely in that hour. So he jumped at the chance to spend lunch with someone, afraid that the other boy would repeal the invitation if he declined now.
“Fair warning,” Logan signed on their way up towards the roof. “Harper and Riley sort of hate you for what you said to me. They’ll probably be a bit rude at first.”
“I mean, it’s understandable. I was rude to you first,” Jax replied, doing his best to pretend he wasn’t nervous. In truth, he had already been mildly anxious about meeting Logan’s friends in the first place. Now that Logan had mentioned that his friends already disliked him, his worry had spiked immensely.
Logan raised an eyebrow at him but signed nothing more. Within a minute, he was pushing open the door to the roof and holding it open for Jax, signalling him to walk out before him. With a heavy swallow, he stepped out onto the roof.
The air was cold against his skin, cooling down his sweaty palms. The door shut with an audible thump only a moment later. He glanced back at Logan, who gave him an encouraging nod, although minute.
Jax stepped forwards, following the sounds of chatter and laughter to two people sitting and talking.
“And then she—.”
The speaker stopped as soon as he noticed Jax. His eyes narrowed as he watched Jax’s approach.
“Why are you here?” His tone matched the displeased look in his eyes as he stared at Jax, who had stopped moving.
“I—uh—.”
“Logan’s not here,” the other person said. Her tone was more gentle, yet it still held a trace of hostility.
“Well, that’s—he’s—,” Jax tried, but words weren’t coming easily to him. He struggled to convey his message, and the gestures he was making certainly weren’t adding to the others’ understandings.
An arm looped itself around his shoulders, and Jax froze, a high-pitched noise escaping his mouth.
“Oh,” the first one said. His eyes softened considerably, although the bitter look never entirely left them. “Could‘ve just said that, you know.”
Logan huffed beside him. Jax could only imagine the glare he was giving the other boy as he pulled his arm from Jax’s shoulder and let it rest by his side.
“Fine, fine,” the boy said after a moment. “The name’s Harper. You’re Jax, right?”
Jax didn’t try to hide the look of surprise that flashed over his face at the mention of his name. “Err, yeah. It’s nice to meet you,” he tried, attempting to appear confident.
Harper scoffed at that, yet he said nothing more.
“I’m Riley,” the girl said, dispersing the awkward air. “I take it Logan invited you?”
Jax hummed and nodded in response. At that, Logan stepped forwards and sat down on the roof next to Harper and Riley, crossing his legs and bending his knees to get comfortable.
After only a moment of hesitation, Jax followed suit. He made himself comfortable next to Logan, squirming around until the roughness of the concrete didn’t bother him.
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