The Glass Butterfly

4

Aria was never very good at making new friends. Noah had been her only friend since the Incident. Even before then people thought she was weird. Some people called her a witch and most refused to even talk to her. But not Noah, he stayed with her the entire time. He'd always been her security blanket, her brother. Maybe Jax could be her friend, he wasn't there when IT happened.

The bell for lunch rang and Aria walked quickly towards the lunchroom, head down avoiding eye contact with anyone, trying her best to melt into the floor.

She grabbed a white foam lunch tray and got into line. The smell of meat reached her nose and she gagged. Meatloaf was on the menu. Aria's nose had always been sensitive to the smell of meat. It had always made her stomach churn with disgust.

When she was seven years old and at one of her, pre-incident and pre-Noah, friends party she had eaten five hamburgers. Three hours later and she found out that the heavy meat did not sit well with her.

She never liked meat that much anyway.

Not seeing anything appealing other than some soggy salad, she grabbed an apple and headed outside.

Normally she sat with Noah, but today he was in the library studying for some test or doing some other geeky stuff. She hadn't seen him since science class, where she had switched her partner, Dahlia, a girl with a mouth full of braces and frizzy black hair, for Noah.

Walking away from the cheerful tables with black and white umbrellas Aria climbed the brick wall little whiles away and was about to settle down to eat her apple when she heard voices. Well not exactly heard more like felt. They were whispery voices singing a depressing tune in another language. She knew it couldn't be possible, but she felt that it was coming from the trees scattered between the lunch tables.

A voice from below broke into the sad rhythm. Looking down she saw the new boy, Jax.

"Sorry, what?" Aria had missed what he had said before.

"I said, are you enjoying the view?" Jax repeated having to shout since the top of the wall was eight feet above his head. Aria laughed nervously, "I'm afraid there's not much to see."

"Mind if I join you?" Jax asked his hands already pulling him skillfully up not waiting for a response. Aria shrugged as he settled in a spot next to her and unwrapped his sandwich. His feet dangled above one of Aria's favorite graffiti. A sun and a moon skillfully drawn with designs branching around it in black Sharpie. Underneath it was written 'I will love you for as long as the sun and moon chase each other'. It was signed with a sloppy signature, in which she could only decipher the first two letters, an O and an R. Silently they ate, Aria looking down at her apple and Jax looking up into the distance. Finally working up the courage to say something, Aria said in a half whisper, "Have you been here in Oregon before?" she paused, wanting to ask more, but at the same time not wanting to scare him off. Jax leaned closer a lock of hair falling in front of one green eye "No," his eyes locked intently on hers, "I came from New Mexico, and I've never wandered very far until now."

Although she expected it the answer shocked Aria. She was sure she had seen him somewhere. Aria finished her apple, still trying to shake the feeling of connection away, just as Jax started to pack away the remains of his sandwich. Without a word, Jax jumped down, then turned to help Aria down. She looked at the outstretched hand. It was a strong hand, calloused as if it had seen a few fights, but completely smooth and very masculine. It had a peculiar band of silver encircling a finger, although that wasn't what caught her attention. Around his neck hanging from a silver chain was a pendant. It was a smooth, flat clear glass with a reflective surface, almost like a mirror. Around the jagged edges with a thin layer of gold that shone with an otherworldly aura. Jax shifted and it slipped back under his tight shirt,

"You coming?"

Aria took his hand, it was warm and had a buzz humming underneath the skin similar to the buzz of the trees song. Her heart quickened as he took her by the waist placing her on her feet.

"Thanks, Jax," Aria said pulling slightly away. Jax was about to let her go when he too spotted something interesting, a silver bracelet that coiled around the girl's wrist.

"What's this?" He mused lifting her wrist for closer inspection. It was a stone snake with milky white eyes. Every scale was etched deep into the stone. He felt a lump grow in his throat. Jax would know that snake anywhere. Aria tugged away pulling her sleeve down over it hiding the snake from view,

"Just something I found," she changed the subject, "So what classes do you have next?"

Jax handed her his slightly crumpled schedule. For a split-second, their hands touched again. Aria looked down and smiled, Jax liked seeing her smile it made her eyes glow.

"Great we have Athletics together," she said starting to walk away backward, "See you then!" She turned around her wavy hair shining in the light like a dark halo.