Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhF8ArsxHEL
bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCLouhqCQd
the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgbt72piFT
schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZA1V2EvKM
insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggujJO0Hky
or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qmKhPFtPc
bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqpmQiUvdp
to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudi7e6PYgm
reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space.313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3ogLoD8Mz
He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrT3YAYwig
staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkrfINsMWW
clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just…313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiMAwIuAd4
ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1czG97jsV
they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwRePsCgxn
drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoE0HMsa6mb
boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeBsjJ60w3
could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSqyiX6bVr
the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCZgywGG9G
he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSRDseRDSn
say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYWESAAbg6
Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1N001la5TW
himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCOVX014ui
lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmYbKPXlJj
uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVPaovbyhm
boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQOy3miqVl
follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ng8MrFirV
than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8YQciINSM
boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDKJF1mMYE
Jesse let313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxZ6meHlnE
out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwWpoAGjkH
events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokRLPwe1it
expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteWmxLZ7yM
his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5K3UMP9K9
locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eg5p87GTc
yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on;313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xqSn8p05w
ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhOakdVWG0
this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4utRtOMzv
memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNvzJgdqlU
out of his head.
Having only been in this school for313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHz22V8UG3K
a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ065CYB52s3
couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwbV9Cup9A
shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCxt76kfOk
code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBzurF3YV5
around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Gp6HBvWni
textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4U6VE034Z
locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkVoVykCkU
slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKqq25fyW1
don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GzBYtaelj
capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2C4fefitC
expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kJ65UgpCx
the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIo9truC4El
shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47hbsgujyl
been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6VJUXXj8D
trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNmV288isH
that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkTTsc8III
but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntqktBugzW
arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFU5m1oALx
expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGJgt6CFht
lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppEnOyWkKw
him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgPVwfitPI
the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroHMOJo571
porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAyArk43zW
his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaj7TovN2Y
ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat,313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡda9z9R6VyE
hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0okRZewvCZ
last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqKQx3u8dx
air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KzdpJjkEW
the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
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Jesse313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aOFm2Gexc
whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKJiRAnJ1y
slammed shut. 313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRBsmTd0qZ
313Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeDZUgngoA
