AIN'T TALKIN' 'BOUT LOVE

CHAPTER 47 - JUMPER by THIRD EYE BLIND

SPOTIFY LINK https://open.spotify.com/track/7BXltyNuwOX7tvOWbVWofa?si=b2ba9a811a194203

Eren looked at the clock once more. 3:59 PM. Looking around the room, his eyes roamed over the same cream color walls with various 12 step program posters. "Keep coming back." "Easy does it." "Live and let live." Then there was the 'suicide corner' with its huge 1-800 number plastered on the peeling paint and the semi-colon and chipper sayings were...practically begging you to change your mind. He pulled his long sleeve just a little over his wrist and glanced around the room at the 7 boys, practically men, who sat with their eyes turned downward, their legs jumping.

When the clock clicked to four, Eren lifted his eyes from the computer and leaned back in his chair. "Hey you guys. Sorry to keep you waiting." He smiled. "How's it going today?"

The only sound that he heard was the slight push of a chair back farther from the table. After an expected few moments of silence, Eren huffed and looked at the boys again. Esteban sat staring at the clock, a scowl on his face. Danny sat slouched in his chair, picking at the scabs on his thumb's cuticles. From the dried blood matted around it, it was clear that he'd been nervous for a while. Michael, or Rooster, clicked his teeth, making Roy's lip curl up in disgust. Javier was the only one looking at Eren. His right eye was ringed in darkness and his small fists clenched on top of the table. Funny that he'd just been brought in this morning, and he was the only one looking directly at him. Defiantly. The rest of the crew knew him, but barely made eye contact.

"All right, well," he said, I'll just tell Pyxis you're ready for your chores." He closed his computer with a pop.

"Naw, man, shit," spit Roy. "Nobody said we ain't going to talk. Just give us a minute." He leaned over and lightly slapped Rooster in the back of the head. "Stop, Rooster, you're driving me crazy. I can't think."

Rooster huffed. "Fuck you, roybal." He eyed Eren from his seat. "That's just counselor shit. He just trying to motivate us to talk, huh, white boy?

Eren's mouth lifted in an easy grin. "I'm not a counselor, Rooster." He looked around the group. "I've got all day, and I get to go home tonight."

Then why are you here with us," Javier said in a small voice. He couldn't be much taller than Armin. It made his stomach twist.

He spread his hands on the table. He nodded at Javier. "I'm glad you've joined us, Javier."

"Javvy." He sneered. Nobody calls me Javier except my mom. Well, " he looked down. "She used to."

"I'm sorry, Javvy." Eren let out a sigh. "Listen, I'm here because Pyxis thought it might help us to get to know each other a little better. We'll be sleeping under the same roof for a while and working closely in the house and at school."

"There ain't nothing I want to know about you guys." Danny stood up. "This is bullshit. I'm going back to my room until chore time. You can't make us stay here."

Eren frowned. "That's fine. You're right you don't have to stay." He nodded to the door. "If you guys don't want to talk, I figured I'd tell you my story."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I don't want to hear another white, rich boy's fucking sob story." He pushed the chair in loudly. "There's nothing you can tell me that make me want to listen to your shit." He started walking to the door.

"Okay, we'll see you later in the kitchen," Eren pulled his sleeves up. He turned his attention back to the boys and spoke in his most confident voice. "So, the first time I tried to kill myself was about a week after my parents died. I didn't know anything about it. I was staying in a temp home while they tried to find someone to take me. Seemed like all of my parents' so called friends didn't want a teenager. They just wanted babies, so I figured dying was better than going to a foster family. I was stupid. I tried to use a small knife I'd found in the back of the kitchen drawer. They must have missed it. Or they knew it wasn't sharp enough to cut."