Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed, or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space. He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him, staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just… ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion, they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue, Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground, uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
Jesse let out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on; ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes out of his head.
Having only been in this school for a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked, but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat, hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
Jesse whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home slammed shut.
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