Monochrome beat (boyxboy)✔

Beat 20

Jax's POV

Bye Jacky

Staring at the words, I suddenly realized I felt empty. Orlando wasn't going to say anything else. I thought I'd cope with him not saying anything. I thought I was okay with him not saying anything. I had after all cut the conversation. I was wrong.

Although I initially didn't want to talk to Orlando, I felt a powerful force drawing me to the conversation. I couldn't see him face, but I felt his pain. I felt his authenticity. I couldn't miss the connection even if I wanted to. It was what made me talk about Sally. I had tried by all means to shove Sally to the back of my mind, and I had succeeded for a while. Only one person had ever gotten me to talk about Sally.

Orlando had just emulated that.

I had run from his house earlier. When his mom joined us, it was as if the spell had broken. I felt like an outsider, an outcast. I felt like I didn't belong there, and his mom seemed to not have taken a liking to me. That would usually have not bothered me, but somehow I cared what Orlando thought of me. I wondered if he shared his mom's views.

In my haste to leave, I left my schoolbag. I didn't think about it until I was by the bridge. I couldn't turn. I didn't want to face Orlando's mother's scrutiny again. When I got home Janice was there. I breathed a sigh of relief that was palpable.

When Orlando called, Digger was looking at me. I'd been in the living area. I could see he was listening intently to what I was saying. Something told me his curiosity wasn't just that. He wanted to know if anyone knew his dirty little secret. He wanted to know if I was interacting with someone else and what our relationship was.

He didn't come into my room when I retreated there, thank God. I was able to speak to Orlando in peace. As I closed my eyes that night, a little smile crept on my face, surprising me. For once in a long time, I was looking forward to the next day. I was looking forward to seeing Orlando. Of course the ever-present negative side of me crept up, telling me I was going to be terribly disappointed. But maybe, just maybe I'd make a friend.

⏰*

"Math, physics, chemistry," I said quietly to myself as I picked up my textbooks from my locker. I hadn't seen Orlando yet that morning so I had nowhere to put the textbooks.

It was early in the morning. I'd made the early trip to school to avoid Digger at all costs. Janice was on day shift that day and she usually left early in the morning. I left a second after she did.

The school was almost deserted, save for a few students. When I entered the building I'd gone straight to my locker to get my textbooks. I usually got all my books in the morning. It saved me the lengthy process of trying to get them during period changes. During that time there were usually a lot of students by the lockers, and crowds made me uncomfortable. I didn't fancy having to navigate my way through throngs of people just to find myself queuing for a spot in front of my locker.

My math class was open so I went there. To pass time I usually sketched or doodled in my notepad. That day, I didn't have my notepad. I groaned as I pulled out my phone.

"If you forget my bag, you are dead," I typed.

I realized a second after I pressed 'send' that I'd used the wrong choice of words. How do you say such words to someone who'd almost died?

O: Don't worry. It's safely on my lap. What's in here that you can't survive without?

Orlando's reply was lightning fast. He didn't seem offended by my words and that was a big relief for me.