Letterman Jacket

16 / forty-eight days before

The coldness of the Northvale air during these months of the year was unforgiving.

I pulled the sleeves of my thick cashmere sweater down to my palms and took in a shaky breath as I quickened my pace towards Java Jones. Once I had two cups of coffee in my hands, I exited the small coffee shop and continued on my way to school, my sneakers making quiet noises against the concrete pavement amidst the silence of a six o'clock morning on a Monday.

Sutton was the only person occupying the staff room when I entered. I placed one cup on the desk in front of her. "Where's everyone?"

"On their way," she answered, raising the coffee in thanks. I dropped myself on the office chair across from her. "We just need to talk about the final touches and the layout changes with Ezra before we publish this issue."

Nodding, I took a sip from my own drink and leaned back.

"...so?"

I raised an eyebrow and sat up. Sutton's smile widened, eyes going wide with a question. "So...what?"

"You're dating Faust."

"We've established that during the last game."   

"I want to say I told you so, but as your very good friend, I won't."

The smugness in her grin made me roll my eyes, but the corners of my lips turned up. "I appreciate that so much."

"You should," she said, running a hand through her golden hair. "The whole school is talking about you two though."

"Well, I don't really care about what the school has to say about my dating life."

She gave me a high-five for that statement. "I'm glad Faust isn't the douche you made him out to be."

"Let's agree to not talk about that."

"I'm also glad that most guys here are actually very amiable. Back in my hometown, you rarely came across a guy who struck you with real politeness and charisma."

I sat up. "Really?"

She tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth. "When you meet one...some people screw that over," Sutton said quietly, eyes glossing over. "A lot of people screw that over. They take advantage of that kindness."

"Sutton..."

"When I transferred here last year...I was just—well, I remember thinking that it was much different from the people back where I lived..."

"Modoc, right?" I asked carefully.

Sutton's gaze snapped back to mine. "Uh, yeah. Modoc."

The look on her face made me want to question her further, but the door opened loudly, disrupting our conversation. Both our heads turned towards the noise.

"Thea, Sutton!" the newcomer chirped. My eyes widened as I stood. "Long time, no see."

"Killian," I muttered, cocking my head to the side. He looked as healthy and as cheerful as ever. "I thought—what happened to that contagious disease?"

"Are you alright now?" Sutton asked quickly at the same time.

"Relax, guys," he laughed, his blonde curls shaking with every movement. "It was an excuse to get out of school for a bit. I had to visit my grandparents in Ravelstoke."

I heaved a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on my face. "That's great, Killian, I'm glad you weren't really sick in the first place. Are your grandparents okay?"

He nodded, settling down on one of the bean bags. "They'll live. How's the paper coming along?"

"Just fine," Tara answered as she walked inside, already approaching him. "Even without your help. We missed you."