Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6r8R0UiOGW
bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtmGFWMZAk
the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIo1gp9nPiU
schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5wpidUwqY
insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ46Zeepf0B
or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejePoltk6V
bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0YAXrcpYN
to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oosw70nuh
reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space.265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEhkh8pxiR
He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVLbbcwxH1
staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySg2x4uCcV
clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just…265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkRw758Qlk
ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjk0RG8Ad8N
they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR35flAo2Hw
drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzPNaFsB86
boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OIPN3ln3u
could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykOonNyuVa
the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETMVCbksIS
he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5nKKZOZSF
say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUE3D33MdkY
Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKPbAvwBsO
himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GKuGKcCz1
lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByDu6pyniH
uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv8ttCFwQR
boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgulbefurT
follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vtXKJpgx0
than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74fQLJt31i
boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRb7rjgO1I
Jesse let265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZI0JFc07w
out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuK9G5YY44W
events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7R11pdvJoK
expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUF0wVRXvRM
his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooT5fkpa4z
locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSOrEAo2Sr
yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on;265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tIdHY8YIh
ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyCcvGWvjz
this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PIDmlrhE3
memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCrcazVApT
out of his head.
Having only been in this school for265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAM7smZ9L60
a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMo1xmi16l
couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmYv3bKjyF
shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4to2QA3UiT
code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRKp9umBiG
around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvay0la32Jc
textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6MajtIWEy
locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7EThTy9RL
slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YY2ZHT4nQ
don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYPp3oFsLB
capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOTPvlSd97
expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweBmNOZsgK
the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxmq6Ev7po
shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq5xqsmOOI
been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtSzm9O1uI
trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwTx4kZpzS
that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pNOyV1CLf
but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeLCD6dVnO
arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGms6qWgOW
expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1BzVqzMQ6
lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQUoNFWNVD
him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwFeiSGFSn
the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U7cu6M9tc
porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPQbeXjSq2
his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJmLyA7NpJ
ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat,265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3Prbyx5oU
hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqAV4xzMBF
last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4cxIS44JU
air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEGecSRC5u
the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
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Jesse265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3CJvDGGhg
whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXonL7DnWI
slammed shut. 265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheOqqTnHt1
265Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSjnaX7vZV
