Jack of Clubs (BxB)

2: Illuminated By The Eerie Neon-Teal Light

"What do you think happened?" Millie whispered over to me during our biology class. We were lab partners, making it easier to talk to each other since we didn't have to yell across the room.

I knew what she was talking about immediately, finding it difficult to not steal a glance at the boy in question. Across the room, sat next to Dennis, was Sam. His eye was swollen and in the early stages of a bruise, mostly a bright-red paired with the purple spiderwebs of burst blood vessels within his skin.

"I don't know. He's never really been one for physical fights." I shrugged, thinking about the time when the two of us did get into a fist fight. It ended after only a few hits from both of us, only further proving the fact that Sam was never one for that kind of thing. He was stronger than I was, but we never got far enough along to fully prove my lack of hand-eye coordination.

Which was definitely a good thing, since otherwise my pride would have been absolutely shattered. And I needed my pride, because I didn't have much otherwise.

Millie nodded in agreement, the both of us quieting down and returning to listening to the teacher talk. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but continue to wonder what happened to Sam. None of his friends could have caused it, given the fact that all of them still seemed to be speaking to each other.

Despite my better judgment, I decided to sneak another glance his way. That time, I found his hazel eyes already focused on mine. There was something damning in his gaze, as if he was trying to tell me something. But he said nothing. I didn't know how long we were looking at each other before Dennis turned to whisper something to him.

We tore our gazes away, my thoughts careening to a halt as I tried to piece together what that expression meant. All I could notice was that his hair was messier than usual. He always wore it messy, but with a particular intention in mind that most likely took him at least an hour to achieve. But on that particular day, it seemed as though he had only taken half the amount of time that he usually did.

Weird.

•O•O•

Two days later, and there he was again.

No one came up to me to try to spill soda over my head, nor did I get sarcastically catcalled in the halls, or tripped on my way to class. In conjunction, I didn't have to return the sentiment.

Instead, Sam & Co. seemed to be keeping their distance for the first time in years. Every time that I saw Sam, he would glance at me briefly before fixating his gaze elsewhere. There was a new bruise on his jaw.

The entire school seemed to be talking about it.

"Why has Sam been so quiet recently? Do you think that everything is okay? Who is causing the bruises? What if he's in trouble?"

I couldn't go more than ten paces without hearing at least one girl mutter those questions to her friend. Every girl in school was head-over-heels in love with Sam, so it wasn't that shocking. There were even a few who were throwing more glares my way than usual, assuming that I had something to do with the disfiguration of their beloved's face.

Especially Jocelyn. Everyone knew that she loved nothing more than to drape herself over Sam in the halls as though he belonged to her. He never seemed to return the sentiment, though.

It was yet another thing that was weird.

That word applied to everything that revolved around Sam.

All I would do in response to the girls was roll my eyes and ignore them. While I was curious as well, it definitely wasn't the end of the world for me. To not have Sam mess with me for a few days was a blessing that I gladly seized. Sitting in my precalculus class, I watched as he entered.