Phoenix (boyxboy)

Chapter 4

Jackson's POV

Something told me that I shouldn't have let Phoenix walk away with those people, but I've learned my lesson by staying out of other people's drama. He doesn't seem like a bad person and even if he was, no one deserves to be bullied. I just don't want to get mixed in with this school's problems.

I've made that mistake before and it backfired.

I sighed and turned around to head inside the cafeteria doors. As I did, someone walked up beside me and linked their arm in with mine.

I stopped and looked to see who had just done that, acting like they knew me. There stood a girl with long, curly brown hair. She looked up at me with light brown eyes that sparkled under the lights on the ceiling. they almost looked like a hazel or amber under the bright light. Her smile only grew wider, showing her bright white, perfectly straightened teeth. She had darker, mixed skin that tied together with all of her features.

"Hi there, my name's Jewl and your name is Jackson, right?" She said while batting her long eye lashes.

I mentally cringed and forced a smile, trying to be polite, even though I was irritated.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I ask, even though I bet I already knew the answer.

"You're the talk of the entire of the school. We don't get many new students here and you're the only face that I don't recognize," The girl named Jewl explained. "Are you here alone? Do you want to sit at my table? We have an empty seat."

"Um, sure, I guess." I said, but she was already dragging me over to her table anyway. Guess I didn't really have a choice after all.

The table she led me to was just like all the others, round and blue with a bunch of round seats surrounding it. The white, marble looking floor look just like the white ceiling. The light gray walls made this place almost look like a white room, the only color being the blue tables and the fall colors outside the windows.

"This is Brenda, Lucy, and Quinn. Girls, this is Jackson," She introduced and her friends all smiled, well, except one. It was hard to pick out which one was which, they all had similar curly hair and pink clothing with boots. Although, Quinn was easy to pick out, she was the only one frowning.

"I heard you were the one hanging out with Phoenix all morning," Quinn said, clearly unhappy. I wonder why people seem to dislike him so much. What did he do? Or did he even do anything at all.

"Quinn, stop, I'm sure it's just a rumor. There's no way he would willing hangout with a guy like that," Jewl said with a laugh as if this was all a joke.

"Why do you guys not like him?" I ask, getting directly to the point.

"Seriously? Have you seen that kid, he's freaky looking. He looks like a runt human. He's so tiny and his eyes are so weird, it's not normal." One of the girls said, one that I don't remember the name of.

That's cruel, just because he looks different than everyone else? At least people hated me because they thought I did something awful. Not because I look different than the standards.

"And Blythe hates him. Nick says it's because on the first day he moved here, he claimed that he tried to pick a fight with them to be the most popular guy in school." Another said. Somehow, I find that hard to believe that someone like him would pick a fight with those guys. Anyone should be able to come to the conclusion.

"He shouldn't be at this school, he should be locked up somewhere with all the other losers that don't belong here," Quinn mumbled and stabbed her fork into her mess of what I assume was supposed to be the cafeteria lunch.

It took all of my self-control to not reach across the table and slap her, I don' care if she's a girl. How could she say such a thing about someone? She's just like the people at my old school. I hate people like her.

"O-Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Talking about this kind of stuff irritates Quinn. So, do you play any sports?" Jewl asked, changing the subject quickly. She could clearly see that things were escalating, and honestly, if she wouldn't have stepped in, I would have said something that I shouldn't have.

"I used to play football, but I don't anymore," I answer truthfully. It's true, I used to play, before I got kicked off the team. I haven't really had the motivation to play ever since.

Although, I do enjoy the sport. I've played lots of other sports when I was little and it's definitely my favorite.

"Have you thought about playing volleyball? We have a football team, but it's not that great. You look like you would be great at anything, you should give it a try," Jewl said, not even trying to hide the fact that she checked me out while she was talking.

Not that I'm not used to it by now, because I am, but it still makes me uncomfortable.

"Yeah, you should definitely join the team. I'm sure Blythe would let you in no problem. You have the muscles and the looks," One of the girls that I assumed was either Brenda or Lucy said.

"Let who join the team?" A male's voice said, approaching the table. Turning my head, I saw that I recognized him. It was the guy that messed with Nix this morning, his cold amber eyes were unmistakable. Behind him were the same people that walked away with Phoenix before lunch.

"Jackson, wouldn't he be perfect?" Jewl said as he sat down a few seats down from me and the other guys placed themselves in empty seat around the table.

"Hmm, don't know. I don't think he's up for it," A male a little smaller than me said. He had dirty blonde hair and green eyes, he was the one that always seemed to be right beside the amber one. He slung his arm around the girl named Quinn and she smiled.

Girls and their mood swings.

"You're right, Nick, he's not up for it. He should stick to football," Quinn said to who I now know is Nick. It was starting to get overwhelming with all these people.

I'm okay with big crowds, but I can tell this is the wrong crowd. I need a plan to get out of here.
"I don't want just anyone joining my team," The guy with the amber eyes said while his eyes stayed on me, staring me down.

"Wow, you know, I totally forgot that I'm supposed to talk to one of my teachers during my lunch period. It was nice to meet you all, but I'm going to go now," I said and got to my feet before anyone could object.

"Aw, alright," Jewl said with a small pout, clearly disappointed. That didn't last long though before she smiled again. "Will you sit with us again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later," I agreed, but that doesn't mean I'll keep it. I just want to get out of here. I headed out of the cafeteria, ignoring everyone else's conversations on my way out.

As soon as I stepped out of the doors, that's when I realized something important.

I never got anything to eat.

I sighed in frustration and walked down the hall, not really knowing where I was going. I knew that I needed to find somewhere to be by myself for a little while so I can get through the rest of the day and maybe even find some food.