Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the316Please respect copyright.PENANAokMYuCh5eN
bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around316Please respect copyright.PENANA2d3rkJeBPc
the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer316Please respect copyright.PENANAbahAt2RyGh
schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had316Please respect copyright.PENANAXywW2Y8rTE
insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed,316Please respect copyright.PENANALNZskzGANC
or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the316Please respect copyright.PENANAULzAwR4AY6
bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field316Please respect copyright.PENANAkgoq1j9L2p
to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse316Please respect copyright.PENANAKKjvD6BtnT
reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space.316Please respect copyright.PENANAOLGh8BscrE
He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him,316Please respect copyright.PENANAtN4yYASOwI
staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy316Please respect copyright.PENANAtMVUjOmeVW
clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just…316Please respect copyright.PENANAC0oIjy5KVU
ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion,316Please respect copyright.PENANAUhMVx20rX7
they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would316Please respect copyright.PENANAEp4y1pWuLl
drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the316Please respect copyright.PENANAzUpB9rar6n
boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How316Please respect copyright.PENANAln3Rm1cksM
could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be316Please respect copyright.PENANA72YIw4XhrG
the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once316Please respect copyright.PENANAr5ltZtEJsM
he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to316Please respect copyright.PENANALztnDiKnWO
say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue,316Please respect copyright.PENANAcRvNPUqp6a
Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make316Please respect copyright.PENANAHrXWPE1WHe
himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two316Please respect copyright.PENANAk1InnpWogE
lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground,316Please respect copyright.PENANAlGqsCSWAsg
uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the316Please respect copyright.PENANA9VTvgDPHTN
boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes316Please respect copyright.PENANAj1pQsc8IyC
follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller316Please respect copyright.PENANALAuP7gD8bp
than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the316Please respect copyright.PENANAOrv10CRBDO
boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
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Jesse let316Please respect copyright.PENANA6eECaexAxg
out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the316Please respect copyright.PENANAfUdV6UQtAc
events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast316Please respect copyright.PENANA5j11AVLrzh
expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought316Please respect copyright.PENANA7ploRUtCE8
his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his316Please respect copyright.PENANALnbKPypuI3
locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been316Please respect copyright.PENANAGC3P53HNiG
yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on;316Please respect copyright.PENANAlQeMHSk5iV
ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to316Please respect copyright.PENANA1OHGzz32h8
this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only316Please respect copyright.PENANAkIbPEar09s
memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes316Please respect copyright.PENANACLLriqQ2AG
out of his head.
Having only been in this school for316Please respect copyright.PENANAGhWc85THw9
a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he316Please respect copyright.PENANAmWBXUmOIOx
couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He316Please respect copyright.PENANANuXnkpDjHL
shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his316Please respect copyright.PENANAAXrdjI6hxm
code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial316Please respect copyright.PENANAC9sqZCHzoH
around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his316Please respect copyright.PENANAi8BS18DE5u
textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the316Please respect copyright.PENANAa8fzQtbFi2
locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and316Please respect copyright.PENANAWwf5XGe2yN
slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I316Please respect copyright.PENANAEYGclhIV55
don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s316Please respect copyright.PENANApSV1V8qvNT
capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be316Please respect copyright.PENANAwC3bxISNyk
expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as316Please respect copyright.PENANAfBnUZdziIt
the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker316Please respect copyright.PENANAAwzZmIWlKh
shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had316Please respect copyright.PENANAJwVqPhWCUt
been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and316Please respect copyright.PENANAiFYTwrKWnB
trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really316Please respect copyright.PENANAqwhkheN97E
that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked,316Please respect copyright.PENANAyD2XvWZweE
but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse316Please respect copyright.PENANA8Yw2r96SoV
arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he316Please respect copyright.PENANA5k4XTyg6aG
expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the316Please respect copyright.PENANAE9KQgzMS6r
lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled316Please respect copyright.PENANAUC158mBUHL
him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where316Please respect copyright.PENANATimi0aayXh
the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the316Please respect copyright.PENANAkHcpPHAybD
porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold316Please respect copyright.PENANAeJWS1wQGg0
his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored316Please respect copyright.PENANA9SDTRjQLys
ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat,316Please respect copyright.PENANALYYsTbrAY9
hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here316Please respect copyright.PENANAOvQukbQyt3
last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the316Please respect copyright.PENANAkONQUU0bTX
air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with316Please respect copyright.PENANAHaDTg1m1Dm
the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
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Jesse316Please respect copyright.PENANAYW96IORshJ
whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home316Please respect copyright.PENANAc0TzHeDcTM
slammed shut. 316Please respect copyright.PENANAI7VNglEn6G
316Please respect copyright.PENANArT4S38IZts