Listen To Me

chapter 5 ⋆ miss me

Noel

My hair is gleaming like it used to. I carefully braid the fronts and tie them at the back, leaving the rest loose, with pieces in the fronts. I feel incredibly perfect and whole again. It's not purely because of Jax. He didn't fix me, but he gave me the courage to fix myself. He made me realise that everything good still lives there. He stepped into my life that day, and everything turned on its head in the best way possible.

I step into Sociology, and I don't register the scowl on piercing-boy Mason, or the curious expression on bubblegum-haired Emily. Everyone in that room fades in comparison... to the empty seat behind my own.

I frown. Our teacher, whose name I've conveniently forgotten, will turn up any second now and Jax still isn't here. I go to my seat and wait, closing my eyes to catch the last five minutes of nap time that I can get. Then I feel the brush of someone walking past me, and the chair behind my own scrapes back as someone sits down. My eyes open wide, and my heart races in my chest.

I turn around, prepared to greet Jax with my brightest smile. But any joy on my face dies instantly. It feels like an alternate reality. 

I'm in Sociology, in my normal seat. Jax should be behind me. But this isn't Jax. 

Instead of the tall golden boy I know, this is his antithesis. Dark haired with a set jaw, intensely handsome. Lounging in Jax's chair, ankles crossed, stretched out so his shoes nudge the back of my chair legs. And his expression gives the impression of amusement, mischief. 

He reminds me of a panther, for some reason. He has the same litheness and casual grace, even while sitting, when he should have been as awkward as most boys our age. He looks at me, a smile curving his mouth. 

"Looking for someone?" I hear the vaguest hint of something different with the usual accent, an amalgamation of interesting sounds in three words alone. But he's looking at me with something that feels strange. Like a cat with its prey.

I clear my throat, abruptly looking away from him. "Yes, actually. I don't know if you've seen him."

"You mean Jax? Yeah, a couple of times." he says, voice low and pleasant. A certain evenness to its quality.

He seems too calm, too smooth. I look at him sharply. Casual indifference doesn't seem to cut it, so I decide to get straight to the point.

"Look, you have to be honest with me. Where is he?"

"I could do more than that for you." he says, and I catch the innuendo. I feel my cheeks turn pink. He smirks, clearly relishing his victory. He's not like Jax at all. "But I don't have to do anything at all, if I don't want to." he says.

"You're wrong about that." I say under my breath, looking away, but he hears me anyway. 

He frowns and tilts his head to the side, looking at me with a keen edge to his eyes. "Am I really? Or are you the one who's wrong?" he says, then he leans towards me. "Am I really that forgettable?"

I look at him carefully, then a gasp escapes me. "You're the boy from the library. Jax's friend, right?"

"Ding, ding, ding." he then mimics the roar of a volcano exploding.

I stare at him, nonplussed. "What on earth are you doing in Jax's seat, then?"

He gives me a playful, slightly less mysterious, smile. "Isn't it obvious? I'm moving to your Sociology class."

I snort. "You're so dramatic already? I thought Jax was the drama queen."

"According to Jax, that particular role is occupied by you." he says, then puts his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Arden, pleased to meet you."