Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5pe1XzNTp
bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxnzTu3AaZ
the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQvqrFecar
schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMRe5NJ6LI
insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PcKG1STfg
or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhV6Z1CWad
bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdmRAlWqpV
to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdTsSEQ6wO
reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space.349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsCBOZDKxw
He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1cZE58yit
staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDeouMwUuh
clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just…349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sM6kMzaeB
ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCDRU3NnVy
they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8I2izQzwvL
drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxwSz4koBa
boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSNAOSBsPv
could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FGZzkU890
the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZMHZz5bvo
he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeD9Qauszv
say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPkQeGOvbe
Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnkGWy4GPs
himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpJqeNc2w5
lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEnpusc107
uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4892CAkVU
boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjf6cjSSimb
follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0mrMQxeZb
than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrr8P2QK8jI
boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BT9af9o46
Jesse let349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAb28g32vL
out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZP9JFnvxv
events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4m4QuQ0jM
expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2F5aXNiQ7T
his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTII7ULgc5o
locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2u0a6jsYF
yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on;349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSx8pg3knf6
ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr93dDuOxRc
this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWEO4qnIVP
memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcM1vbNCzs
out of his head.
Having only been in this school for349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2G6XGQJap
a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDdfyk4viY
couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTYpV2JMZw
shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmoaMrRyQs
code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYLW8ZWSro
around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzejz3NRIQi
textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2f1X3t2GC
locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKt6x7fo9d
slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqffOE5g6F
don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXe1h3WGL51
capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzk6dfEarnR
expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhiH6BWwls
the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFTxe8uwsh
shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkGtZLa3QK
been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXVWwLEuGF
trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtEnZVyyTk
that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71FWQK7pkL
but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFUEWLNB4e
arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSz0BobAqK
expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SUyo1tT3W
lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSZRcvRXJP
him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkLAzymbgO
the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZymYTIldo
porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5zkVOIJ2C
his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcKbtUP36R
ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat,349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLL0Njh5g9
hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DNnekBOD8
last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQe6AkgFQI2
air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fDDlJ31Lo
the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
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Jesse349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84sTuh3BMa
whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡij0AmrYfmb
slammed shut. 349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwQU6UMAyS
349Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4k6uYf9qON
