December

Two.

December sunk into her seat, her face heating up.

That isn't possible! December thought, and she did something she didn't do often. She tried to get into the boys mind, but it was like he had barriers up. As Kaiden muttered some things about where he had moved from and what his parents did, December did everything she could to try to read his thoughts. It wasn't happening. That had never occurred before, and she didn't understand it.

"Have a seat, Kaiden," Mr. Smith said, beckoning to the only open seat in the entire room - which was directly to Decembers right. There was something clearly different about Kaiden Reynolds, and that was very off putting.

December swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, straightening her pens even though they were already perfectly lined up. She was looking down, but she could see Maiden's eyes on her. It made her heart flutter rapidly in her chest, and for once in her life she wondered what was going on in someone's mind.

For the next fifteen minutes, December concentrated as best she could on her assignment. Once in a while, December would look up at Kaiden. He would be scribbling away on his assignment, and every once in a while his brow would furrow in concentration.

"Weirdo."

The whispered word came from next to her as a boy in her grade reached over, knocking her pens askew. It caused anxiety as they skittered this way and that way. One even fell off the desk, clattering to the floor. December's pace quickened, and the pen that fell off dissappeared from sight. For a quick moment she didn't blame him for calling her a weirdo.

She was freaking out over pens.

Kaiden reached down to the floor, grabbing the pen where it had slid to a stop on the other side of the desk. He slid it back onto December's desk. He didn't say anything, and he didn't need to.

December couldn't be more glad when the bell rung. She picked up her things, putting her finished assignment on Mr. Smith's desk and sliding out of the room before anybody had even stood up. She made it to her locker, putting her things neatly back in her locker and grabbing the stuff for her next class.

The day seemed to drag on.

There were a few more jeers from her classmates, but December was used to that. It didn't phase her as much as it used to, and she usually found that she could ignore it. She couldn't stop thinking about Kaiden and his strange mind block, and that was what made the day seem so slow.

Kaiden Reynolds was in two more of her classes, and December found that it was hard to focus in those classes as well. She didn't know why this was freaking her out so much - she should be happy. It was one less train of thoughts that she had shoved down her throat.

When the school day finally ended, December put her homework in her backpack and was just about at the school's door when Jenna approached her.

"Want to ride together to the game?" She asked.

She couldn't. December needed to do something - anything - to clear her frazzled mind. She shook her head, offering her best friend a small smile.

"I have some stuff to take care of, I'll meet you there," She answered.

"Are you okay?" Jenna asked.

December nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you later?"

"Sure."

That wasn't entirely true. December didn't know if she was okay.

She walked home, her pace a bit quicker than it had been that morning. She wondered about the boy, what his story was. She hadn't been paying attention when he said where he was from. And she couldn't fish into his mind to get the answer, either.