Phoenix (boyxboy)

Chapter 12

Phoenix POV

Another Monday, another day I dread because it means the end of my bully free weekends. There's nothing I can do. So I'll have to deal with it like I usually do. Hopefully, someday, I'll have enough courage to stand up to them. I don't see that happening anytime soon though.

A small part of me is a little excited to see Jackson, despite the worry of Blythe and Nick. I don't know if I should be happy to see him, but I can't control my feelings even if I try to hide them.

I sat on the bus and stared out the window, watching the raindrops fly past and hit the ground and the window. A lot of people seem to like the rain since it seems calming. I suppose it can be relaxing, but I've realized that bad things tend to happen when it rains, so I don't like it all that much. Sure, bad events happen all the time, just something about the rain during those times seems to make the mood worse.

"Hey," Someone said, grabbing my attention away from my thoughts before sitting in the seat beside me. This time I wasn't surprised to see Jackson there. I was still a little flustered, my cheeks turned a light shade of pink and I offered a small smile.

"Hey," I said back, but I don't know if he could hear me very well. The last time we talked was when we texted yesterday and he called me cute, of course, I'm going to be a little shy after that. Who wouldn't?

"About that text yesterday," He started. Can this guy read my thoughts? His timing is a little creepy. "The one where I called you cute, I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I didn't really think about it when I sent it and um... Sorry."

Now my cheeks were definitely burning. This guy is going to end up giving me a heart attack, I can see it happening.

"I-it's fine, really. You didn't make me uncomfortable, I just, I didn't expect it," I said, but I couldn't look him in the eye even though I could feel his eyes on me.

"You sure?" He asked and I nodded in response. "Alright then, I'm not sorry for calling you cute then because you are."

My hands moved on their own and covered up my red face that I no longer wanted to be seen by the world. Why does he keep going this to me? I'm used to being flustered and shy, but around Jackson, it reaches another level.

Jackson chuckled and gently nudged my shoulder, "C'mon, Nix, we're at school, let's go." He got up from the seat and I peeked up at him through my fingers to see that that bus was practically empty and the last couple of people were exiting the bus.

I grabbed my bag and scrambled to my feet, following Jackson off of the bus. This time, the bus driver said nothing to me. Which I found odd, but I definitely wasn't going to say anything about it. I can definitely do without his snide comments.

"Let's hurry inside, it's starting to rain pretty hard," Jackson said as soon as I got off the bus.

"You should probably go in then, I have to take care of something," I said and turned away to walk the opposite direction of most the students. An extreme feeling of pain shot through my arm, making me yelp in pain and tug my wrist away from Jackson's grip almost as soon as he grabbed it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab your wrist that hard," He scrambled to apologize and looked at my wrist in concern as I held it close to my chest to protect it. "What happened to your hand?" Jackson asked, his brows now furrowed together.

Oops, my cast is showing. Well, I guess I'll just use the excuse Blythe told me to use. I definitely don't want to tattle on him, that would most likely be the last thing I do if he found out.

"I fell down the stairs," I said as I looked down at my feet, embarrassed of my dumb excuse. He raised his brow for a moment of suspicion before sighing softly and shaking his head. I really needed to hurry, I don't have time for questions right now.