RED: Welcome To Fayetteville | Complete ✔️

Chapter 11: Jasper

"I love this place," Jasper said as he bit into his 6-inch sub.

"It's okay," Evelyn chuckled as she sipped on her lemonade. Her side of the table was empty. She never really liked Subway. She thought all the choices were too much to handle. The sauces. The bread. The peppers... She liked things more organized and concrete. Sure, it was just a sandwich, but she'd rather have a burger.

"Derrick is in some trouble with Natalie... that night was crazy. Like, you could feel the tension," Jasper rubbed a piece of lettuce from his mouth.

"What was he thinking? And he had the nerve to come to our house and scream at Zach."

"Hold on," Jasper put down the sub as if it made a difference. "When did this happen?"

"Just the other day. I had to walk in there to make them shut up. Something about Zach telling Kathrine about him cheating."

"Oh, yeah, I guess she didn't know at the time?"

"Definitely not. But she knew when she walked through the door."

Jasper then changed the subject to something a little deeper. He was always playful, but he was always thinking too. "You know, it's so sad how they treated Kathrine."

"Who?" Evelyn asked. She took another sip of her lemonade.

"People in this town. They stare and look at her. She said that some people even question her. This is a serious thing! Like, Genni is missing, and some people kinda act like it's a game."

"I wish it was that simple... you're right. It's really sad," Evelyn paused and looked deep into Jasper's eyes. She knew his past. How people used to treat him. Jasper knew how hard things could be. In fact, Evelyn was one of the few people that was nice to him in middle school.

"Yeah, it can be tough sometimes." Jasper looked back down at his sandwich.

Jasper was always so close to his mom. He loved her like his friend. Was it weird? No. That's his mom, and they love each other unconditionally. You'd think a parent/child relationship that strong wouldn't cause any hurt. Any pain... but it did.

They spent so much time together while Jasper's dad was always on the road that he picked up her habits. He liked the shows she did. He liked the music she did. She influenced him in all the right ways, so he thought. But to others, it wasn't an influence.

Jasper liked a certain type of music. He liked certain shows. He talked with his hands. He talked a certain way. He didn't drink alcohol. He didn't chew tobacco. He didn't smoke. He didn't party every weekend and hook up with as many girls as he could. In the eyes of his high school, that made him gay. He grew up with that label: gay.

Because if Jasper liked girls, it didn't matter... it was a lie to his peers that walked the halls at school.

"Do you even have one?"

"Why does your voice sound like that? Don't answer that... we already know."

"I see you looked at me, faggot. Don't even think about trying to be my friend. Don't talk to me."

The laughing. The pointing. The texts. The looks.

Jasper wasn't like the typical person. He was straight, but it didn't matter. He was different, so he was wrong.

But after all of this, he always made the best he could in life. And here he was in Subway eating with a good friend. He didn't get near as many looks anymore. Maybe he "grew out of it." Really, it doesn't matter anymore, because Jasper finally was treated the way he should: like everyone else.

But maybe Jasper wasn't like everyone else... because not everyone was on that scribbled, hidden piece of paper. Jasper was on a list. A kill list.

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