Sweat trickled down Jesse’s brow as he reclined on the139Please respect copyright.PENANATB4ywA2Pnl
bleachers behind him. As he watched his classmates make yet another lap around139Please respect copyright.PENANAhd7zS8hyWi
the track, his mind was consumed by one thought:
It was fucking hot.
Jesse had been forced to transfer139Please respect copyright.PENANANeICP8Tx26
schools. It was close to graduation, he hadn’t wanted to leave, but his mom had139Please respect copyright.PENANA577E3p6Znn
insisted. She told him he needed a “fresh start”. That wasn’t what he needed,139Please respect copyright.PENANARbrskvt6Ba
or wanted, but what did she care? Now here he was, sitting behind the139Please respect copyright.PENANAVABCgGVEG6
bleachers, avoiding the P.E. teacher, and this god-awful heat.
He turned to inspect the open field139Please respect copyright.PENANAl8BcXAzR9v
to his left, and instead of green, all he saw was blue. Pale, icy blue. Jesse139Please respect copyright.PENANAFpU1FFjJwS
reeled slightly, taken aback by the sudden intrusion into his personal space.139Please respect copyright.PENANASKcfxp5suA
He hadn’t even heard the person approach, but here he was, sitting next to him,139Please respect copyright.PENANAgskYoK9x2S
staring. Jesse takes in the boy. Everything about him seems mundane. His baggy139Please respect copyright.PENANA717eIUbpeF
clothes, his short cut, blonde hair, even the shape of his face was just…139Please respect copyright.PENANArWmnAJalWh
ordinary. The only striking feature on him were his eyes. Devoid of emotion,139Please respect copyright.PENANASgXCAvmWdU
they made Jesse feel like he was looking into a deep, clear lake. One you would139Please respect copyright.PENANAwRDEQH12pZ
drown in if you weren’t cautious enough.
Throughout Jesse’s pondering, the139Please respect copyright.PENANATv5i3qAv76
boy had remained silent, and it was beginning to make Jesse uncomfortable. How139Please respect copyright.PENANAJg44r34JOv
could such an intense, empty gaze like that not? He didn’t want to be139Please respect copyright.PENANAfYNnmaqgqL
the one to break the silence. What would he even say? He dropped his gaze once139Please respect copyright.PENANAiRxTKxEOp1
he realized there was no figuring out who this person was and waited for him to139Please respect copyright.PENANAEvsDc8bqch
say something. After averting his eyes from the penetrating pools of blue,139Please respect copyright.PENANAKU2ckgJwEP
Jesse shifted in his seat, folding into himself slightly, trying to make139Please respect copyright.PENANAOdCiBFswEK
himself invisible. Why was he just staring? The silence between the two139Please respect copyright.PENANANUDBDX4IEe
lengthened. Jesse shuffled his body slightly and looked at the ground,139Please respect copyright.PENANAp4Iy8nRqJb
uncomfortable with the kid’s overwhelming presence. He could feel his gaze.
Flicking his eyes back towards the139Please respect copyright.PENANATZ48QTV1hI
boy momentarily, he catches the sight of the boy’s retreating back. His eyes139Please respect copyright.PENANADtXl6SeUMf
follow him as he gets smaller and smaller, noting that the boy was far taller139Please respect copyright.PENANAdQwjj8VvAF
than he had appeared. Far, far taller than Jesse was surely. Before long, the139Please respect copyright.PENANAVPFwqvY8M0
boy was nothing more than a black speck in the distance, vanishing from sight.
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Jesse let139Please respect copyright.PENANAAKqyY5SSVs
out a breath, on he hadn’t realized he was holding, and tried to not let the139Please respect copyright.PENANAeH5owk0byj
events that had just transpired consume his thoughts.
As the final bell rang, a vast139Please respect copyright.PENANACy9ok2nRzu
expanse of teens flooded the hallway. Jesse was jostled slightly as he fought139Please respect copyright.PENANAufRQD3YWdH
his way through the sea of bodies. The sooner he emptied his bag into his139Please respect copyright.PENANAO1bN6jT45t
locker, the sooner he’d be back home, in front of his computer. Today had been139Please respect copyright.PENANApf5pPwCofv
yet another dull day; pretending to listen to the teachers drone on and on;139Please respect copyright.PENANAwvAnG7tE6Y
ignoring the petty cliques that had formed well before he had transferred to139Please respect copyright.PENANAegtJPx4GLw
this lame ass school; barely stomaching shitty cafeteria food. The only139Please respect copyright.PENANAaDgPo4MTiz
memorable part of the day had been the mystery boy. Jesse couldn’t get his eyes139Please respect copyright.PENANAE9SLDu77Fq
out of his head.
Having only been in this school for139Please respect copyright.PENANAnuRXI5r7B0
a month, Jesse sure as hell didn’t know all the kids that went here, but he139Please respect copyright.PENANAxseCVvPrqJ
couldn’t help but think that he would remember someone so off putting. He139Please respect copyright.PENANApQVdjOCwGg
shakes his head of the thought as he reaches his locker. Failing to put in his139Please respect copyright.PENANAyrfa7CCSmE
code correctly the first try, he curses under his breath and spins the dial139Please respect copyright.PENANAVKKweoHkgI
around again. Finally succeeding in opening his locker, he begins stuffing his139Please respect copyright.PENANAtjm2bbEI9m
textbooks onto the top shelf, feeling rather impatient.
Just as he is about to slam the139Please respect copyright.PENANApESRCrHHBb
locker door, he overhears a hushed conversation two lockers down from his, and139Please respect copyright.PENANAYTmlfCZyVM
slows himself, pretending to search for something.
“…parently he just got back. I139Please respect copyright.PENANAhGU1FeGf3d
don’t know what they were thinking letting that psycho back in.”
“Right?! Who knows what he’s139Please respect copyright.PENANArzlwz6UUkd
capable of?”
“I thought for sure he’d be139Please respect copyright.PENANA8xjWVJmGxb
expelled this tim…”
The voices faded from ear shot as139Please respect copyright.PENANAMllw2OiOtG
the owners drifted down the hall towards the exit.
Sighing and slamming his locker139Please respect copyright.PENANAI58mlYB42F
shut, Jesse followed behind at a distance. He had no clue what or who they had139Please respect copyright.PENANARTCN4t4gPJ
been talking about, but his stomach was turning knots.
He made his way out the door and139Please respect copyright.PENANAQdUKuMkURy
trudged down the road. He walked to and from school every day. It wasn’t really139Please respect copyright.PENANAFBamLhZZMJ
that he had to, his mom would have happily come to pick him up if he had asked,139Please respect copyright.PENANAF7UuvKw2ut
but he liked the solitude and silence of the short walk.
The driveway was empty when Jesse139Please respect copyright.PENANAAqMHhi2I64
arrived home, telling him that his mother had not yet returned, not that he139Please respect copyright.PENANAe3zkT96TK7
expected her home anyway. She’d been coming home later since they moved.
Sighing, he slid his key into the139Please respect copyright.PENANArpvfDorGjW
lock, but before he was able to unlock the door, a bang from his left startled139Please respect copyright.PENANAXJEOO0QV82
him, making him flinch inward, his face scrunching up. Turning to look at where139Please respect copyright.PENANAWzCbNxbac2
the sound had come from, his eyes grew wide. The tall boy was standing on the139Please respect copyright.PENANAfYSxAc8wL6
porch next door, staring at him.
Again, Jesse noted just how cold139Please respect copyright.PENANAnDE0exbvEf
his stare was. Pale blue eyes, void of emotion, bore into his own olive-colored139Please respect copyright.PENANA0Xn2WoEsml
ones. Jesse stared back, uncertainty etched across his face.
Jesse cleared his throat,139Please respect copyright.PENANAd8pmVu0Tro
hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Hi, uhmm… I’m Jesse. I moved here139Please respect copyright.PENANAg1wZ7KFKGG
last week. I take it you’re our neighbor?”
Jesse’s question lingered in the139Please respect copyright.PENANAklypDtZE5B
air as the boy continued to stare at him. Becoming even more uncomfortable with139Please respect copyright.PENANApRVToICFGL
the kid’s intense eyes fixed on him, Jesse moved to unlock the door.
“Adam.”
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Jesse139Please respect copyright.PENANAWElOLgswLl
whipped his head back towards the boy as the screen door of the neighbor’s home139Please respect copyright.PENANAjZ6tnrnni1
slammed shut. 139Please respect copyright.PENANA3ihL12usXZ
139Please respect copyright.PENANAfrGpdoRyaf