Life's Fear

Chapter Twelve

"You can sit down next to me, Blair," he said. "I don't bite. Unless you want me to, of course."

As I turned back to him, a smirk had toyed with his lips. He was pouting again. It made me want to look away or smirk back, but I couldn't. I barely knew the guy, even though we'd spent almost the past two hours together, and we'd started talking in school... but it's barely anything. Unless you count chucking pebbles at my window. Most people would find that a big romantic gesture and would go swooning if a guy did that to them. I bet even Max would swoon, and she hasn't had a boyfriend in the past two years.

"Why do you keep saying my name?" I asked him, cautiously sitting next to him but leaving a gap between us to keep my cool. I was sure my cheeks were reddening again because they felt as though they were heating up. Was it suddenly warm in this room?

Jason reached to turn on the lamp that was also on his chest of drawers considering he hadn't turned on his main light, and he'd shut his door, but there was a street light not too far outside that had illuminated his room somewhat. As he reached, his jacket slid up his body revealing his boxers. They had a black line in the white waistband. I looked away quickly otherwise my cheeks would have been the exact shade of his spray can he had to graffiti the town with.

"What are you doing?" I asked him once he'd retracted his arm and stood up.

Ignoring me, he went over to his curtains and closed them. The lamp wasn't too bright. Actually, it was just right. It felt a lot more tranquil in here with just the lamp on. But maybe it felt like a little something else too...

Jason sat down again, but this time he'd seemed to close the gap between us, so our arms were brushing against one another. "I like your name," he complimented, turning to me with a small yet rare smile on his lips. "It's nice. Blair. I don't know anyone else called Blair."

I frowned. "My mum's friend was called Blair and she died when they were in high school and she always wanted to call a daughter Blair after her. Blair Amber Martin. Her middle name was also Amber. But she decided to call my older sister Kendall for some reason, so I received the name-dedication."

Jason lost his smile and only nodded a few times. "What did she die of?"

"Car accident. They were both cheerleaders and they'd just finished at this football game. They were leaving together with some others from the squad behind them," I recalled from my mum's story she told me once I was old enough to realise the important of my own name, "when a car was speeding down the road and Mum managed to move out of the way quick enough, but she tried to grab hold of Blair, but missed and Blair got the full force. They said she died on impact. They were walking along the sidewalk."

Remaining silent for a few moments, Jason balled his hands up in fists on his lap. Even with his jacket and my coat, I felt the muscles in his arm move as he did so. It made me close my eyes fleetingly, but I opened them as soon as Jason began talking again. "I got into a car accident when I was younger. It wasn't anything major, but it was enough to put me off driving... at least for now. I will probably start driving in the next few years. Mum's desperate for me to drive now."

"I would drive, but I'd want my own car and there's nowhere to put it. But my older brother and sister can both drive so if my parents aren't around for a lift, they will most likely be. They pick me up from school – as you've seen."

With the lack of Jason's response, it made me wonder whether I should tell him about Jesse's warning against him. And before I could think myself out of notifying him, it came tumbling out of my mouth anyway. Jason was seemingly startled when the words rushed out. I don't think I've ever spoken so fast before.