C A T C H 22 |BWWM|

Extra Chapter: "When He Sees Me"

Paislee

"Goodness, it's hotter than hell."

I nodded slowly to Beverly and pressed my body closer to the cooler that I was resting on. My hand fanning my burning cheeks and neck wasn't doing me any justice and I had fanned the bottom of dress out more than enough.

Near the counter, Beverly and Tommy fooled around with their hands all over each other like I wasn't even there. I turned my back to them and softly grimaced as I walked around aimlessly playing with my fingers. Suddenly, the door swung opened, ringing the bell in the process, and revealed to us a man that did not belong.

From over the tops of the aisles, all I could see were golden, blonde locks of hair and white skin. The white boutiques were across the street, and the only time somebody who wasn't colored came into the store was to harass us. I skeptically walked closer to the front and observed the boy from the slits of the shelves.

"Hello, welcome to Tom's Pharmacy & Market!" Tommy said from behind the counter.

"Weird," I mumbled as I saw the boy nod his head and smile at Tommy. Beverly made her way towards me, chewing slowly on her candy. We were both equally concerned.

It wasn't even a minute later before Beverly's candy went spiraling to the ground in a heap. The cause of this problem: the new boy that mistook this store for a fancy boutique. He immediately scrambled to the floor to pick up the now dirty candy and threw it in a nearby bin.

"I'm so, so, so sorry ladies. I was just letting my eyeballs catch anything," he said to Beverly and me.

"Everything alright here?" Tommy asked, suddenly appearing with a look of concern. Behind his eyes, you could tell he was ready to handle any trouble.

"I wasn't paying attention, I apologize for the commotion and trash," the boy said, looking very sheepish for a second. I almost chuckled at that innocent glint in his eyes but stopped myself. "I'm new here—to Jackson. Today is officially my first day of staying here and I just stopped by your store, it looked cool I guess you could say."

Beverly frowned slightly. "Well, um, welcome to Jackson."

She turned to face me and rolled her eyes, moseying back to Tommy. I quickly looked over to the boy who was still inside the store with his hands deep in his pockets. Looking like the most beautiful trouble. Turning before he saw me, I made my way to the back of the store where it felt safe.

I heard footsteps coming near but didn't turn at all. My heart was pounding out my chest and I could smell his scent invading my space deeply. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second and quickly started to unwrap the noisy plastic around my candy.

"Hello, how are you today?"

My eyes opened more and I thought quickly of a simple response to the boy staring at the side of my face. "Hi, I'm doing good. How about yourself, sir?"

I couldn't turn around, not now.

"I'm—I'm doing good myself. . ." He said with a soft voice.

I was going to say more but all I allowed myself to do was nod. In my hands rested the Charms that I had opened. I separated the colors as a mere distraction to the boy who was looking at me. I could feel his eyes traveling from my hair, to my eyes, my lips, to my nose. This was bad.

"Do you not like purple or yellow?" His question caught me off guard with the humor in his voice. He wanted to have a conversation with me which surprised me greatly.

"They're alright I guess," I said quietly, not trusting to look at him again.

Mama and daddy warned me about my kindness to others—especially the kind of people that can kill your own. He was a fine-looking boy, there was no denying that, and I couldn't help but wonder why these forbidden men look so handsome. For all I know, I could be his next victim.

"Do you attend any school nearby?"

This time, I turned to look at him directly in his eyes. I was skeptical to answer at first but when he leaned against the cooler and raised his eyebrows waiting for me, I did. He was the kind of person that held eye contact when talking, and I didn't like it.

"Why are you asking, if I may ask?" I said.

"I was just curious to find people of my age around here. Back where I lived, you see the same people every day who look alike and talk the same." His statement piqued my curiosity about where exactly he moved from.

"I attend Cedarwood Academy."

I watched his face lit up and he waved a finger in the air as he tried to gather his thoughts. His lips pouted slightly and all the while, I remained quiet.

"Oh really? I'm going to attend Lenard?–Len–"

"Lenin Jr. High," I said, finishing his sentence. "Have fun with that."

"Is it bad?" His question made me chuckle.

"Just a bunch of cool-heads, cubes, ditz, and dipsticks who like to—well, never mind that." I rolled my eyes with distaste. "Well, I must go now, good conversation sir."

"Call me Deen, Deen Rivera. I would assume I'll be seeing you around maybe."

He outstretched his hand to mine with a casual smile on his face, as if this scenario had played out before him plenty of times. It felt like there were a thousand eyes looking our way even though only Beverly and Tommy resided upfront. I looked at him again, as if my heart could handle it, and politely shook his hand. It felt weird seeing our hands together, our shades mixing. I pulled back quickly, giving him a sorry smile again.

"I don't think so, Deen. Things don't work like that between the two schools. I'm Paislee Miller though," I said with a sour twist to my voice.

"Should I be concerned to attend Lenin High or something?"

"No, you shouldn't be concerned. You must know though, talking to a person like me is not something that you can do while at school. You're quite the gentlemen, but anyone at Lenin simply does not go past that road that divides the two schools." His small smile fell in the slightest. His face was cute was like that, I couldn't deny it.

"Oh, well that's quite a shame."

A shame? I thought, completely blown away by the time the words had rung three times in my head. If he wasn't such a proper man, I would've have slapped my hand against his forehead and checked for a fever. A person like this was never to be seen in Jackson unless you wanted to be taunted around town.

"If you don't mind me asking, did you move down here from up north, sir—"

"Call me Deen, please," he interrupted. "And no, I did not come from up north. I actually lived in Meridian just maybe forty-five minutes away."

I nodded slowly, trying not to look perplexed. "Well, that's sure a surprise, Deen."

"Is it a problem?"

"No, no. Just the things you say are very different from what I have heard. I can imagine you have places to be so I'll let you go. Have a nice one."

The words couldn't have slipped from my lips fast enough. The way he spoke, looked, and acted was just too much to handle for a girl like me. One who was told all her life that she should always steer clear of people like that. In my daze, I watched his lips move as he spoke but I only caught the latter of he said.

"You as well," he replied, steadily watching me as I scurried away.

"Mama was right. . . Definitely need to stay away from him before those eyes have me lost."
-

Hi. . . I'm back and I came bearing gifts. I know this might be obvious,  but what chapter is thisss???

Tell me in the comments if y'all want more of these extra chapters because I think I have a few in mind for you.

Love you as always,

~RC xoxo💋