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The midday sun was blinding, bouncing off the cracked asphalt and lighting up the dusty high school parking lot. Chris leaned against his old, beat-up car, one worn Converse propped up on the bumper, arms crossed like he didn’t care about a single thing. This was his usual spot after lunch—where he’d hang out and smoke through the last few minutes before the bell. He ran a hand through his messy dark hair, watching everyone else head back inside to their cliques, laughing and chatting, like they were part of a world he only half-fitted into.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have friends; he did, a few who were just like him, keeping to themselves. Maybe it was the band patches on his backpack or the way he always looked like he didn’t care, even though he wasn’t as different from everyone else as he pretended. He was known as the guy who liked to pick fights, but really, he didn’t care enough to start one.
He was about to light another cigarette when something strange caught his attention, a weird tug in his mind. He looked up and saw her.
Jen. A few parking spaces away, fidgeting with her earbuds and staring at the ground. He knew her name from a few classes together, but not much else. She had that “don’t care” vibe everyone noticed. Showing up in thrift store jackets that somehow looked cooler on her than they ever did in the store. But right now, her thoughts were so loud in his head, louder than he’d ever felt from anyone.
“Why am I so weird? Just go talk to him. It’s Chris. He’s not gonna bite. You’re not a kid anymore, Jen, stop being such a dork.”
Chris almost jumped. He’d been able to hear people’s thoughts for as long as he could remember, but hers? Hers were like a radio blasting in his head. And, even weirder, she was thinking about him.
Jen looked up suddenly, catching him staring. Her eyes narrowed, like she was deciding whether to be annoyed or curious. "He’s staring at me. Great, now I’ve gone and made it weird. Why did I even look?"
Chris fought the urge to laugh. This girl… he could hear every single word in her head, and somehow, it made things more awkward than usual.
"Hey," she said, walking over, her earbuds hanging around her neck. She stopped a few feet away, looking somewhere between awkward and annoyed.
“What’s up?” he replied, half-smiling, keeping it casual. The silence stretched, and he could practically hear her brain whirring, searching for something to say.
“Okay, think of something. Don’t just stand there like an idiot. Just ask him something normal!”
“Do you always just… stand out here staring at people?” she finally asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
Chris shrugged, the half-smile turning into a smirk. “Only when someone’s interesting.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m such a dork. He probably thinks I’m stupid. He’s so smooth and I’m just… whatever.”
“So, you skip class a lot?” he teased, taking another drag from his cigarette.
She shot him a look. “Yeah, and so do you, obviously. Is this where you go to avoid people?”
“Guess so,” he said, but he could feel her thoughts shifting. She was curious, maybe even a little excited. “What’s his deal? He looks like he’s hiding something.”
“And you?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. “Why aren’t you inside?”
She shrugged, glancing away for a second. “I don’t know… sometimes it just feels better out here.”
For a moment, he almost felt what she was feeling: restlessness, like they were both searching for something more. She glanced back at him, their eyes met, and he nearly laughed at the rush of her unfiltered thoughts.
“His eyes are way too intense. God, don’t stare, Jen. Don’t make it obvious that you’re freaking out.”
Chris fought a grin. He knew she hadn’t meant to let that slip, but he wasn’t about to let her off easy.
“Something on your mind?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, and her thoughts went into overdrive.
“Shut up, Jen. You’re so obvious. God, why do I even think about this guy? Just talk to him like a normal person.”
Suddenly, a loud voice broke the tension.
“Hey, Sam! You still pretending to be too cool for us?”
Chris glanced over to see Jake and his crew swaggering over, all smirks and cocky grins. Jake, always trying to make everyone else feel small, was the type of guy who thought the world revolved around him. Chris just rolled his eyes.
“Bruh, what a jerk,” Jen thought, and Chris couldn’t help but smirk.
Jake walked up with that smug grin plastered on his face. “What’s up, Chris? You gonna hide behind your car all day, or you coming to have some fun with the rest of us?”
Jen raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, what’s the fun, exactly? Watching you try to be relevant?”
Jake’s grin faltered. He wasn’t used to being called out like that. He opened his mouth, but before he could fire back, Chris flicked his lighter with a smirk.
“Jake, you’re about as exciting as watching paint dry. Do you ever get tired of being the joke?”
“He is so damn hot.” Jen’s thought was sharp and immediate, and Chris couldn’t help but smirk at it. He raised an eyebrow, knowing she hadn’t meant for him to hear that.
Jen stifled a laugh, and Jake scoffed, clearly caught off guard. After a moment of awkward silence, jake shot Chris a fake glare.
“Alright, alright,” Jake muttered, waving them off. “You two are seriously gonna be the death of this school.”
Jen watched as Jake and his group walked away, shaking her head. “Well, that was fun,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Chris smirked. “It’s cute how much he tries, though.”
“Damn, he’s actually so cool. I can’t… He’s making fun of Jake. Ugh, stop it, Jen. You’re not gonna fall for him. You promised yourself you wouldn’t.”
Chris caught that last part and smirked at her again.
Jen glanced sideways at him, her lips curling into a small smile. “You’re not as much of a jerk as I thought.”
“Oh, I’m definitely a jerk,” Chris said with a shrug. “I just choose when to let it out.”
Jen raised her hands in mock surrender. “Alright, Mr. ‘I’m too cool for this.’ I’ll leave you to it.”
Before Chris could respond, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. As the students started heading back toward the school, Chris found himself lingering for a second longer. Jen had a way of making the usual day feel… different. Like, maybe, for once, he didn’t have to act like he didn’t care.
“You coming back inside?” she asked, her voice softer now, the tough exterior gone.
Chris shrugged but didn’t move. “Maybe. Or maybe I’ll stay out here and wait for someone else to entertain me.”
“Yeah, right. He won’t find anyone cooler than me. I don’t care what he thinks. Stop thinking about him, Jen.”
Jen shot him a look, part amused, part exasperated. “Yeah, you’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
He smirked. “But you like it.”
“I hope he doesn’t know that I like him…ugh, I’m so stupid sometimes.” She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. For a moment, they just stood there, the quiet hum of the school behind them.
“See you later, Chris,” Jen said, turning to walk away. “I think I handled that okay, right? God, I look like a mess. Is my hair okay? Whatever. I don’t care. I’ll just walk away before I make it worse.”
Chris tried to hold back a chuckle at her thoughts. “Later, Jen,” he called after her, feeling something shift in the air. Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to get a little bit more interesting.
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