𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫 ||𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐏𝐝 (𝐔𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝)

Chapter 11 - Communication

A/N: hi everyone, that's if anyone is still here lmao, I'm sorry for my awful updates, I've been doing my mock gcse's (which will probably be really important due to corona) and ended up getting the virus myself. I was quite ill with it and it took me away from my writing. But in a more lighter mood, I'm here now! hope you enjoy :)

When lunch approached its end, I was slightly disappointed. Talking to Jay, admittedly, had been rather pleasant, our conversation had kept flowing and I could feel myself relaxing around him.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, talking to someone new rather than clinging to Robyn's side wherever she goes. I was rather proud of myself, being able to actually commit to a conversation that I was surprisingly interested in.

"Thanks for making this lunch bearable" Jay spoke, his voice soft and edged with humour as an attractive smirk glinted at his lips.

"anytime" I muttered, my eyes darting towards the entrance of the cafeteria as the doors opened and a familiar hair of strawberry blonde came into view.

Robyn sauntered towards our table, plumping herself down onto the plastic chair beside me.

"Hey Hails, I'm back, have you eaten at all?" Robyn smiled slightly, no judgement within her words.

"yup" I waved the empty sandwich wrapper at her, despite it being directly in front of me.

I glanced back towards Jay, his hazel eyes had shielded slightly as he danced them around the room before speaking up, "Where is Will?"

"who? OH- went off talking to a group of girls" Robyn shrugged, the smile previously covering her lips replaced with a small scowl. Interesting...

Jay scoffed, leaning forward as he drank another sip of his water, "Of course."

Pushing himself out of his seat, Jay stretched his legs before reaching across the table and grabbing my empty wrapper. Hazel eyes met blue as he focused his attention on me before sending one last smile and departing.

Once he had disappeared from eyeline, I could feel Robyn's grey eyes burning through mine. "You two seem to have gotten off to a good start" she winked, nudging my shoulder slightly with her own.

"Oh shush" I scoffed, rolling my eyes, "ever heard of a regular conversation?" I teased, my nerves calming slightly.

"Sure, sure, anyways how are you doing? I'm sorry I've been all over the place today"

"Don't worry, honestly it's fine... you've been fine I'm just exhausted" I responded, my eyes crinkling slightly as I brushed off her concern with a smile.

We chatted for a short period, most of it occurring on the way to our next lesson as lunch ended immensely fast. It was the usual boring lesson of maths, Robyn and I being in the same set helped as it offered a base of comfort throughout the lesson, although I'd much rather be doing anything else.

And with that, the school day came to an end, Robyn had gone to her afterschool sports, whereas I had began to make my way towards the exit, crushed in the crowds of teenagers trying to reach the same aim as me.

I held serious regret as I was crushed between two random guys, one in front and one behind, I felt uncomfortable and was scratching to push my way through the crowd. Sadly, I knew that wasn't an option, and so held on for a few minutes until I finally made my way outside.

Once out of the building, the hordes of people cleaned up rather quickly, whether they were getting a lift or rushing towards the school bus, the drive was growing quieter by the minute.

And that was when I saw him, leaning comfortably against a picnic bench tucked off to the corner of the drive, his concentration flickering between his phone and the people walking near him.

I wasn't sure how long I had been staring for, but thankfully my conscience got the better of me and I stopped before he noticed. Instead, I began to walk down the school steps and down the drive, following the same robotic route Robyn and I took each day.

Pulling out my phone I checked the time. It was 15:04pm and I had around two hours to get home - considering it was a shorter day than normal.

After plugging in my earphones, I continued my journey, only realising my name was being called as a familiar figure approached at my side.

I stopped, looking up to see Jay smiling down at me due to our height difference. Personally, I'd say that he is just really tall rather than me being the small one, but I'm sure many would beg to differ.

I tugged out my earphones, Paramore's 'ignorance' blasting through them. Embarrassment flooded through me as I desperately clicked the pause button on my phone.

Heat filled my cheeks as a surge of goose bumps rose upon me, I flickered my eyes towards Jay through my eyelashes as he stared back down at me in amusement.

"Amazing taste" He smirked, "Although I prefer misery business." He chuckled slightly, before beginning to walk once more.

I stood frozen, confused as to why he had stopped me in the first place, but also rather happy that he also seemed to like my favourite artist.

Jay half turned around, an eyebrow raising at my behaviour, "You coming?"

I let out a small sigh, nodding my head before catching up to him as he shortened his stride significantly to match mine.

"So, where's Robyn? Do you guys not walk home together, considering you're like neighbours and everything?" He reasoned towards the end, voice soft and curious.

"She's doing something after school, so she'll get a lift once its over."

"Fair enough, how long does your journey to school usually take?" We crossed the road opposite the school, turning left towards the bridle path.

"Not too long, around 20 minutes' walking time" I shrugged, carelessly glancing at his hands that fell at his sides, the glimmer of two rings drawing in my attention.

"Yeah, you're right that's not too bad" I was about to reply, but the unmistakeable ringing of his mobile phone cut me off.

He didn't even bother answering, or even checking who it was from for that matter, and it bugged me, what if it was something important?

"are you not going to answer that?" I spoke quietly, my voice betraying me slightly as it wavered towards the end. My confidence had shrunk, I was worried it wasn't my place to confront him, after all it had nothing to do with me.

"It's just Will, don't worry, because I'm not" He nudged me softly on the shoulder with his upper arm, a chuckle leaving my lips at his playful manner as we continued along the peaceful path - a comfortable silence lingering between the both of us.

A/N: Little shorter than usual but had to get back into it, please interact! It really pushes authors to write more and boosts their confidence when feedback is given :) thank you for your patience.