The Outsider

21. Being Talked About (Part One)

21. Being Talked About (Part One)

I had overestimated how much patience I had.

Ten minutes felt like an eternity. Twenty was more like hell. An hour? As if my body were on fire in hell for eternity.

My phone did nothing to help me pass the time except remind me of how little of it had gone by. With each minute that did the opposite of fly by, I began to feel more and more like James.

Unable to sit still.

My hands rolled over each other in my lap as my legs twitched and I gently tapped the back of my head against the wall.

I had no idea how long Jasper's class was going to go for, and at this point I was committed to staying until he came out. To talk to him. To at least get some idea of what page he was on.

Because if he was on the page of stabbing me, I'd much rather close the book. However, if he was on the same page I was, well then that was something I could work with.

The more I thought and pondered about Jasper, the harder I began to hit my head against the wall and a slight throbbing was becoming apparent.

"Why am I so caught up on him?" I asked myself, moving my hand to rub the back of my head. "He could have a really shit personality."

"And could've killed someone," a voice drifted into my ear, and I contorted my body to see who it came from.

The boy who spoke looked younger than me—maybe fourteen—his hair was black and wavy, tucked neatly behind his ears. Though, that wasn't the first thing I noticed about him.

The giant scar running over what would have been his left eye was the first thing that grabbed my attention. Though the familiar glint of green in his right eye would be a close second.

"Was I talking the whole time?" I asked, pushing myself up the floor.

I was disappointed to see that even though the boy in front of me looked younger than me, we both stood at the same height.

"Nah, just a sentence," he said nonchalantly, moving to stand beside me so his scar was hidden from sight. "But it wasn't hard to figure out who you were talking about."

"And why's that?" I asked cautiously.

I knew I'd been obvious about my lustful crush to my friend group, but was I really that obvious to everyone else?

"'Cause he's talked about you."

The words hung in the air between the two of us and my brain was having a hard time processing any of the information they held.

"Sorry, who are you?" I questioned, giving myself more time to dissect what he had said.

"You can't tell by how symmetrical my face is?" The boy turned as he spoke, showcasing his jagged scar and scar tissue which had healed completely over his left eye.

"I'm..." I started but trailed off.

It was rare I didn't have anything to say. Usually, I had a witty or sarcastic comeback ready to go, but here I was, drawing a blank.

"I'm fucking with you," he said with a laugh. "I'm Casper. Jasper's brother."

"Casper... and Jasper..." I said slowly, before he let out another laugh.

"Fucking with you again. It's Caleb."

"For a twelve-year-old, you're annoying," I said, taking my eyes off Caleb as I had a feeling I had been staring for too long.