Secluded - Jeffmads [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter Six

James flipped the page of his textbook, trying his hardest to focus on the small lettering of the page. He had convinced Eleanor to let him do homework instead of having a conversation. You'd think a teenager would choose having a simple conversation with his mother over doing homework but the conversation was less than simple and James was not one to willingly engage in interactions.

"I know this," James muttered as he skimmed through the pages. The content portrayed on the paper was utterly useless to him, he knew everything you could possibly find in the book. James was impossibly intelligent, and no one seemed to know it but himself. Not that that bothered him in the slightest, he was fine with being smart all by himself.

"James honey!" James sighed as heard his mother call his name from downstairs. "Dinner is ready!" James let the textbook close, the sound that emitted from paper hitting paper was actually quite loud, slightly startling him.

"Coming," James said in a tone only slightly louder than his usual volume. James didn't really have an outside voice, it was always quiet. Like when you turn on the television and it's not quite loud enough for you to understand, but not quiet enough to constitute putting in the effort to turn it up. Eleanor smiled as James entered the kitchen, holding out a bowl to him. "Thank you," James took it, though he sincerely wasn't hungry, even after not eating lunch.

"James, I know for a fact you haven't eaten anything all day," Eleanor said in a concerned tone. James gave her a weak smile as he took a bite of the pasta, which he couldn't deny was well-made. That didn't mean he wanted to eat it. Yet he did, mostly to get Eleanor to stop bugging him. "So, now that you're down here, we should talk about this boy, Thomas."

"D-Do we have to?" James groaned, taking a seat in the dining room. Eleanor sat across from him, nodding excitedly. "Fine, well he's tall, a-and he's got curly hair," James seemed to shrink under his mother's eyes. "I don't really know."

"Oh come on James," Eleanor sighed, leaning on the table. "You can't just give me 'he's tall and he's got curly hair'. I want to know what he's like, how did he act?"

"W-Well he gave m-me lots of compliments," James said shrugging, a faint sign of a blush on his face. "He c-called me cute a lot."

"You like him," Eleanor grinned, looking at her son with blatant pride in her eyes.

"N-No I don't," James stammered, his blush deepening. "H-He's just nice to me a-and he's kind of handsome and he j-just seems to care a lot and he yells at bullies," James rambled, staring down at the table. He pushed his bowl to the side, having already forgotten about his barely eaten meal. James' eyes widened as he realized how love-struck he sounded. "B-But I don't like him!"

"You've got a crush on him, I can tell," Eleanor chuckled, shaking her head as James' face got even redder than she thought was possible. She frowned though, remembering that she wanted to bring up a more unsavory subject. "James honey, I wanted to ask you about what happened today with that Reynolds kid."

"He just c-called me a f-freak," James shrugged, a frown tugging at his lips. "It's not a b-big deal."

"If you ever need to talk to me, sweetheart. I'm always here," Eleanor said in a serious tone. "You know that, right James?" James nodded, fumbling with his hands. "I know everything's been hard for you since your father died, but I'm here for you James. I'm your mom, and I'm not going anywhere. So if Reynolds ever bothers you again, or even if you just want to talk about Thomas, I'm here," James nodded, his expression not changing from a small frown. Eleanor concealed her disappointment, she was hoping for even a small reaction from James, even just a smile or an 'I know' would have been appreciated.

"May b-be excused?" James asked, making Eleanor frown.

"You've barely touched your dinner-"

"Please?" James asked, cutting her off. Eleanor sighed but nodded, not having the energy to argue any further with James, to which her son appreciated. "Thank you," James muttered before rushing away, hurrying up the stairs quickly.

He stuffed his books into his backpack, throwing Thomas' jacket over the back of his office chair lazily, making sure he could see it clearly so he would remember to return it tomorrow.

It was only seven o'clock, but James felt exhausted for no apparent reason. He removed his jeans, pulling on a loose pair of sweatpants on before crawling beneath the covers of his bed, thankful he had turned the lights off on his way in.

James felt asleep with a smile on his face, knowing for once he had something to look foreword to.

Thomas.