Saved From My Thoughts

2

When I arrived home what I saw was definitely not expected, the house was almost completely spotless and random strangers where no where to be found leaving me wondering if I was gone for longer than a couple of hours. What surprised me the most was Jayden and some of his friends clearing up, his best friend Asher who I never really speak to although he was admittedly the best looking out of the lot, he was known as a ruthless player that went through girls like they were a box of Kleenex tissues. Next was Justin the goofball I guess you could say, again we never really talk but he was kinder to me than Asher who never spared me a glance. Finally Nate but we all know about him.
Sending a short nod to my brother I ascended the stairs to my en-suite where I showered and cleaned up. My mom wasn't due home till Sunday lunch time which made me wonder why Jayden was cleaning the house already, I was even more shocked that he was awake considering his hungover state yet made a mental reminder to cook dinner tonight as a thank you.

As I contemplated whether or not to go downstairs and inconspicuously watch Nate there were three gentle knocks on my door breaking my thoughts. "Come in" I answered confusion laced in my tone. In walked Nate wearing his signature smirk that fit his relaxed stance in my doorway. "We were going to put on a movie and Jayden wanted to know if you wanna watch it with us" he drawled. Surprise was probably evident on my face because Jayden never invited me to hang out with him but deciding it wasn't something I could pass up I agreed.

I knew it would be awkward but it was a risk I willingly took just so I could spend time with Nate. I sat in the arm chair deciding that getting cosy with my brothers friends would be not only extreme intimate but also very awkward. I should of guessed it would be a horror movie, why would a group of teenage boys watch mean girls? But nothing prepared me for the gruesome nature of the film we were watching. Running over multiple excuses in my head to leave the room as I  cowered behind a pillow failing to block out the screams coming from the surround sound speakers. I was about to go through with one of my excuses when I realised that even if I made it out of the living room I would still be too scared to even go up the stairs alone. Human civilisation was the better option even if it meant listening to screams of terror, I wished I had my best friend with me so we could at least be scared together but she was on holiday for a week leaving me all alone.

Around halfway through the movie I felt a piercing gaze burning holes in the back of my head, thinking it was just my imagination and horror movie making me feel this way I ignored it. But it was like an itch, the more I tried to ignore it the more intense it got until I had to look, everyone's eyes were trained on the TV except Asher's who was looking right at me seemingly unfazed that I had caught him. I figured he was just looking at my reaction to the film and let my gaze flicker to a certain someone, his eyes were focused and I watched his steady chest rise and fall with each breathe. Call me a stalker but there was something calming about watching the soft inhales and exhales. As if he felt my eyes Nate turned to look at me one eyebrow raised in a questioning manner making my cheeks flame up, I smiled giddily to myself and in the corner of my eye noticed Asher sitting with his jaw clenched and anger radiating off of him. Curiosity wanted to know what made him so infuriated  but figured the rumours about his anger issues were indeed true. I wasn't one to judge people before I got to know them properly but Asher's character screamed bad boy and his whole demeanour was serious and cold. The complete opposite to Nate's charm that had girls practically falling to his feet me being one of them.

Some would consider me a nerd purely because I cared about my grades and always aimed to please, maybe I was a nerd but I also cared about how I looked and appeared to people acceptance is a very important part of my life which is partly why I'm so focused on changing. I'm not a stunning like most of the girls in my school but I took pride in everything I did and that's all that mattered to me.

Being so caught up in my mind I hadn't realised that the movie was finished so I hastily stood up and wandered to the kitchen so I could escape the tension filled room. I threw a pizza in the oven for lunch assuming his friends were staying and prepared myself a salad instead, knowing there was a cheesy pizza right next to me didn't help me cope with eating so I took it to my room instead, avoidance was best in some situations. I finished some assignments and after a couple of hours I heard Nate, Asher and Justin leave to go to their own homes at last.

I heard Jayden's footsteps on the stairs before his head poked around my door startling me.

"Thanks for the pizza and uh watching the film with us, we should do it again some time" he mumbled awkwardly.
"No problem I had fun thank you for inviting me" I replied sincerely. This was the first time we had spent any time together for a long time and where it was slightly awkward I was happy we were finally acknowledging each other's presence more. A smile found its way onto my face once more that day.