clouds || Jesus Foster

one

My chest felt as if it was about to completely collapse as I bent over, out of breath with my shaky hands resting on my knees. My rapid panting was the only thing that could be heard for what seemed like miles away in my brain. I swallowed strenuously as I tried to regain stable breathing and closed my eyes, resting them for a short period of seconds.

Immediately, everything returned from the deepest pit that was buried in the back of my mind. Everything I had done in the past twelve months to push that memory out of my head suddenly didn't matter at all as the tragic, disastrous scene flashed before my eyes as if it was right in front of me.

Run.

My feet jolted forward as all of my surroundings blurred around me. The sun was just started to rise, multiple colors shooting in different directions, making the sky seem as if it was a great, sparkling kaleidoscope. Even the beautiful morning sky couldn't distract me of what I was thinking of.

Rain poured on the windows, making it difficult for me to see the road in front of us. The windshield wipers were the only hope of a clear view of what's ahead. His voice sounded from beside me, gentle and soothing, drowning out the disconnecting radio and the loud clatter of raindrops. I laughed at him, his humor getting the best of me like it always did. I turned my head, examining the indent in his cheek, a simple sign of happiness. Two bright lights distracted me from the beauty in front of me. It just kept coming and coming, showing no indication that it was going to stop.

My chest heaved up and down aggressively as I slammed the front door of my new house shut. My back relaxed against the wooden door, and my eyelids flickered shut for a brief moment in time. My hand rose to my forehead, warm and sweaty as I ran it through my hair, pushing down all of the baby hairs that popped out of my ponytail.

The house was dark, just as I had left it with not a even the slightest noise of living evident in the atmosphere.

My mom had left for work earlier that morning. I could already visualize it; her frumpy body climbing about of the bed that she had spent months in before we moved to San Diego. My dad's death was hard on both of us, but my mother was the one who couldn't handle anything else after that. People said that I was strong, but if I was actually strong, I would have been able to help my mother, not put her in a deeper trench of distress.

My exhausted legs dragged up the stairs, aching for a rest. Once I stepped foot in the bathroom, I started the shower. The hot water rolled down my body, washing away any trace of sweat that was apparent on my skin just moments before. It felt good, cleansing almost.

My dark hair was simple to style as I combed through the messy knots that formed in the shower. I did the average person's normal morning routine and then returned to my room, boxes lay scattered on the floor that contained the basic necessities of life and a few other irrelevant things.

I tugged on a pair of jeans which was followed by a black shirt I found in one of the boxes in my room. I placed my feet in an old pair of sneakers and shimmied on a jacket that returned the warmth to my body.

I wasn't exactly excited to be going to Anchor Beach for my second day of school since we moved here a week ago, but I sucked it up and grabbed my backpack from the corner of my room.

The walk to school wasn't very long, maybe fifteen minutes at least, but I wasn't counting. When I arrived, multiple people were already piling into the entrance doors, some trying to find their friends, some attempting to get to class, some just casually standing around.

I kept to myself at this school. People were friendly, but I don't like getting too attached to people for the purpose of saving my feelings from an emotional breakdown if they leave me, which surprisingly happens a lot.

I retraced my steps from yesterday and returned to my locker. The boy who had the locker next to me was there, gathering books in his arms. I fumbled with my combination before I finally got it and popped the lock open.

"Hey, are you new?" The boy asked in a curious tone, his voice was extremely deep and husky. From the corner of my eye, I noticed his tall frame and wide shoulders.

"Yep," I responded, not taking my eyes off of the locker in front of me.

"What's your name?"

"Sam."

"Sam what?" God, what is up with all of these questions? Not only was I not used to people talking to me randomly, but he seemed to like interrogating people just for the fun of it. I sighed before answering his question.

"Sam Walker."

"I'm Jesus Foster," he spoke. Honestly, I just wanted him to leave me alone. "You don't talk much."

"What gave you that idea?" I asked sarcastically.

"Sarcasm. I like it," he stated, and I could tell by my side vision that he was disappointed that I didn't respond. "Where'd you move from?"

I decided that if I just ignored him, he would go away, kind of like a dog or a child, but no, that's not what happened. He was definitely not a dog or a child, but a teenage boy just trying to make more friends. Maybe I was being a bit harsh in my mind.

"Oh, come on. I'm not even gonna get another word out of you, am I?"

He sighed, and I heard the rattle of the lockers as his head rested against them. I still couldn't see his facial features correctly, but he had a great view of me since he didn't mind getting all up in other people's business.

"Has anyone told you that you are really, really pretty?" He asked, which made me halt my movements. I slowly turned my head, gazing up at him and getting a proper look at his face. I was astounded by how handsome he actually was, his big, brown eyes staring back at me. I shook my head. "What? No one has told you that?"

"No," he smiled as he heard me speak.

"Well, I guess I will be the first," he said. My eyes looked down awkwardly as he continued to stare at me.

"Um, thank you."

"It's no problem at all. I just thought I'd let you know," I could already tell he had a unique sense of humor. "So, Sam. Are you going to answer my question?"

"I'm from Arizona."

"That's cool. I-"

"Jesus!" He was cut off my a female voice that was coming from down the hall. We both snapped our heads in that direction as a girl who resembled Jesus vividly, approached us. She smirked at him as she noticed that he was talking to me. "Oh, hi. I'm Mariana, Jesus' sister. Twin sister."

"Sam."

"You know what? I actually forgot what I was going to say," Mariana lied. She was definitely just helping out her brother. "It was nice to meet you, Sam." She said and then ran off.

"I have to get to class," Jesus said. "I'll see you around, okay?"

I nodded before he turned around and disappeared in the crowd of people.

Author's Note
I've been imagining Jesus as Noah instead of Jake for some reason. Don't get me wrong, I loved Jake as Jesus, but let's be honest, Noah is hot as hell, they both are. So I think I'm gonna have both, Noah and Jake as some of the gifs above.
6/27/16