Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the117Please respect copyright.PENANAAZqEQxSAfb
bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around117Please respect copyright.PENANAcjhtKsdzYt
the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer117Please respect copyright.PENANAm6eNRmKudY
schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had117Please respect copyright.PENANACe2XxBRRHv
insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed,117Please respect copyright.PENANA15So0HFQFQ
or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the117Please respect copyright.PENANAlWtFFvcz9M
bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field117Please respect copyright.PENANAHTZpJUTy7K
to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse117Please respect copyright.PENANA6qbdKirQFo
reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space.117Please respect copyright.PENANA1TjETcejY5
He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him,117Please respect copyright.PENANAXHzSaCooTC
staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy117Please respect copyright.PENANATZ00hxBibI
clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just…117Please respect copyright.PENANAwOkUkaNbtH
ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion,117Please respect copyright.PENANAQWbe1DJNmB
they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would117Please respect copyright.PENANAwUsgEDBlwl
drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the117Please respect copyright.PENANAC4jKphbGVP
boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How117Please respect copyright.PENANAzzBqO4Gp1D
could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be117Please respect copyright.PENANACh7YEDskjd
the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once117Please respect copyright.PENANAkexpFYCq1P
he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to117Please respect copyright.PENANAcfuPnlsKbj
say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue,117Please respect copyright.PENANAW64SAjFpIr
Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make117Please respect copyright.PENANA5GnhhLmfWD
himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two117Please respect copyright.PENANAsYL4FaDOMR
lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground,117Please respect copyright.PENANAMZL5Wp4mHL
uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the117Please respect copyright.PENANAY7yolLmipv
boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes117Please respect copyright.PENANAVfddjY3QYO
follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller117Please respect copyright.PENANADHVbITcW2H
than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the117Please respect copyright.PENANAc4haoTnPnm
boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
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Jesse let117Please respect copyright.PENANAfEcjlO513u
out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the117Please respect copyright.PENANANFDRH8dwGx
events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast117Please respect copyright.PENANAi0r0tIlgVd
expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought117Please respect copyright.PENANAvKTSonWudV
his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his117Please respect copyright.PENANAHM9KZBSObc
locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been117Please respect copyright.PENANAgsS2YGPKGP
yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on;117Please respect copyright.PENANAAL696wqgYu
ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to117Please respect copyright.PENANARz1tQDYSaq
this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only117Please respect copyright.PENANAWBANxkSXnq
memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes117Please respect copyright.PENANAQYjwga6Apf
out of his head.
Having only been in this school for117Please respect copyright.PENANANLdMZ2glDJ
a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he117Please respect copyright.PENANAUIBO7XX8Qc
couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He117Please respect copyright.PENANAO9NayRVlio
shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his117Please respect copyright.PENANAnuDkgk0DaH
code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial117Please respect copyright.PENANAxCUrlfXK3m
around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his117Please respect copyright.PENANAhsHW9TnbCi
textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the117Please respect copyright.PENANAE5eO5YQcrk
locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and117Please respect copyright.PENANAZXW6zXQCuZ
slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I117Please respect copyright.PENANAHyw2qS8KPr
don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s117Please respect copyright.PENANAeHqCLsLYB2
capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be117Please respect copyright.PENANAlHPcsUG4ED
expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as117Please respect copyright.PENANAnifHKZUc39
the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker117Please respect copyright.PENANAgvI6Z2mCBy
shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had117Please respect copyright.PENANARZGJG3P2vw
been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and117Please respect copyright.PENANAD6Y4RqjqbH
trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really117Please respect copyright.PENANACenWc6mSLa
that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked,117Please respect copyright.PENANAjQ1L1rpSZe
but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse117Please respect copyright.PENANAQ3MXwRi2Vm
arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he117Please respect copyright.PENANA0td7FFzOq1
expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the117Please respect copyright.PENANAs3uvi90T0Z
lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled117Please respect copyright.PENANAfpfBxz6gP8
him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where117Please respect copyright.PENANAsxZX9qqe7K
the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the117Please respect copyright.PENANAMKlmLtPArR
porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold117Please respect copyright.PENANAWe17zWzIsJ
his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored117Please respect copyright.PENANAGreIomwd5q
ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat,117Please respect copyright.PENANAskaRAyRT0B
hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here117Please respect copyright.PENANArlmefmhjdr
last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the117Please respect copyright.PENANAku2VZaqWTm
air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with117Please respect copyright.PENANAJpyluQLwrs
the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
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Jesse117Please respect copyright.PENANAnOFhaW4sFZ
whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home117Please respect copyright.PENANAry35wMRPw2
slammed shut. 117Please respect copyright.PENANABEKaqdXJwj
117Please respect copyright.PENANAKDWJBKSVaj