A E S T H E T I C

Chapter 1: PT 3

The next day, I found myself staring at the clock, stare fixed on the second hand that inched forward at the pace of a snail. As soon as the bell rang, I abruptly stood up and all but ran out of the room towards the school's main exit, backpack bouncing on my left shoulder

Muted fall sunlight shone through the multicolored leaves and painted the courtyard in varying warm tones. The cold autumn air nipped at my bare arms, causing me to shiver and feel goosebumps. Despite that, I was muted by the subtle charm the school's exterior had, and reached into my back pocket to capture the scene. 

As I tilted my phone slightly to achieve a more pleasing image, I felt someone carelessly shove my shoulder, causing me to nearly drop my phone. Luckily, I was able to catch my balance and save my phone like the talented and graceful individual I am, but when I looked up, the courtyard was filled with students, ruining the peaceful scene. I frowned and tucked my phone back into my pocket and started my search for a place to sit, preferably away from others. 

I found a ledge and pushed my self onto it, letting my feet dangle almost a foot off of the ground as I pulled out my earbuds and phone.  After 5 minutes of attempting to untangle my earbuds, I was humming along to "Left to Right" by Marteen as I checked my snapchat. 

I heard a voice nearby but didn't look up, assuming that they were not attempting to start a conversation with me. I did look up however, when my left earbud was pulled out and a familiar voice replaced it. 

"Hey," Jayce frowned, clearly pissed. "I called you like 5 times you ass-hat. You deaf or something?"

"Sorry," I replied sarcastically, not looking up from my phone. "I only speak ass-hat, not dickhead." He let out a mocking high-pitched giggle, finally making me chuckle and look up.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Don't you have some friends to be with right about now?"

"No," he smiled as he replied. "I have a friend right here." He pointed at me.

"No I mean actual friends, not ones that are 14 year old girls." I shot back, making him grin and roll his eyes sarcastically.

He sat down next to me and peeked at my phone, reading my conversation with Samantha as I assessed his outfit out of habit. 

He wore a stark white hoodie on top of a light blue tee shirt tucked into slightly fitted plain jeans and his black vans, with a black belt as an accent. 

I approved. 

"Seriously though," I prodded before he cut me off. 

"You're coming home with us." He stated, still focused on reading my texts. 

"Wait," I turned my phone off and set it on my lap. "Why?"

"Zoey's coming with my parents to pick us up. Your mom's already at my place too." He explained, making me nod and smile. We stay silent. 

I shiver slightly and rub my arms, trying to warm myself in the cold weather. 

"Seriously," Jayce scolds, and I hear him shuffle next to me. "What kind of retard wears short sleeves in the cold?" I frown.

"Someone spilled shit on my jacket, and its still wet, calm down hoe." I say.

After a few seconds, I feel a warm, soft material drape over my shoulders.

Wtf this is every cliché ever like I AINT INTO THAT GIVE UR JACKET TO ZOEY THANKS.

"Don't act like you're not cold." Jayce mutters coldly. I shake my head aggressively. 

"Not gonna lie, I am cold, but keep your jacket." I say, all while snuggling further into his hoodie. 

"I'm not the one dumb enough to wear short sleeves." He says, and when I look down at his arms, he was right. What I though was a t-shirt was really a long sleeved one. I shrugged.

"Okay then, your loss." I say while sliding my arms into it. 

Now I'm really short. Like REALLY short. I'm 14 and 4' 11", and Jayce is actually a whole foot taller than me, so his hoodie was like a huge cardigan. So I couldn't blame him when he laughed and called me a walking snowman. I did too.

"Okay," I said, catching my breath. "I can fix that."

I cuffed the sleeves of his hoodie 4 times, aligning them so that they were a manageable length. I pulled it slightly more over my shoulders and fully tucked in my black and white striped tee underneath into my black jeans. With my dusty pink scrunchie tying my hair into messy, beach-waved ponytail, I managed to make myself look somewhat presentable. 

All while I fretted over my appearance, Jayce unknown to him and me, was staring at me the whole time, a small smile gracing his lips.