STATIC; JR [2]

6.4

I hadn't spoken to Felix since our... moment at the hideout. I was nervous to, and that was part of the problem. I had known this boy for so long, been with him through so many things and continued to stand by his side after everything and yet, here I was - too ashamed to look at him and using Sam as a human barricade. I figured he was avoiding me as well - a loose assumption based on the fact that on the slight occasion I'd glance over at him, I found he wasn't looking back. 

We were at the school, our next and last resort after checking both Andy's house and his grandmother's restaurant; to no avail, I might add. Oscar had seen us almost as soon as we'd stepped onto the basketball courts. We stood there and spoke to him and he spoke to us and yet Ellen couldn't speak at all, completely astounded by the fact that he was standing at all. 

She poked and prodded him in the legs, grasping the fabric of his slacks as he tried to back away from her and scold her for the inappropriate behaviour she was exhibiting. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked her, although it didn't sound much like a question as it did an exclamation. "And why are you dressed like that?" He gave her a once over, openly judging her sense of fashion. 

I couldn't blame him, though. After all, he did think this was his Ellen; of course to an extent it was, just a different version of her. 

I stopped listening to scan our surroundings, maybe catch Blake in the scattered crowd playing soccer on the oval by the building. Much to my disappointment I had no luck, but then quickly realised something else - I lamented to notice we were standing in almost the exact spot we were in when we had first met Saskia in our world. 

I looked up to Jake, cautiously glanced over to him while they spoke about our travels. He didn't catch me and so I kept on, silently wondering where the hell I'd gone wrong with him to come out of this feeling something for... Felix. Could I possibly be pained enough to experience deep affection for two boys at once? Did I have that much heart left to truly want him? I was scared, watching Jake - knowing I very well might just break his heart doing what was right for me. 

Whatever heart he had left at this point, anyway. 

I barely registered a rough jolting to my shoulders as Sam abruptly materialized before me. There was no time to question how long he had been standing there trying to get my attention as I daydreamed a thing of nightmares. 

He shook me hard, demanding every slight ounce of focus I had to offer him. There was distinct worry on his face; the kind of pure and unadulterated fear that sets a chill deep within your bones. "The demon knows we're here. We have to go!" Then he was taking me away, darting across the basketball court with my hand in his as we evaded other kids in our path. Briefly, I turned back, struggling to see whether or not the other were in tow or if they'd chosen a different direction. I couldn't find them and it made me sick. 

Sam ran into the old science block, fingers holding tight to mine as he ushered me into the closest room and locked the door behind us. He must have figured this place was safest, seeing as the building was condemned and mostly used for storage now. He gestured for me to duck down in the far corner beneath a rotting bench, bracing the handle with a chair he'd taken from a stack against the wall beside the entryway. 

He crouched down as he neared me, long digit pressed to his lips as he heard me cry his name. He hushed me and wrapped his arms around my shaking frame, scooting to push me further under the table and out of sight from the windows. We stayed there for a while, in complete silence - it was so silent I wondered whether Sam had stopped breathing. 

The echo of students laughing and messing about outside on the courts rumbled my composure; I wasn't aware of who we were hiding from to know if we could deem it safe for the moment. He looked down at me, widened orbs staring deep into the frightened texture of my own. I saw him visibly relax, like it was okay to absorb the gratitude we had for being alive; his chest shook with a heavy breath and he squirmed, leaning his head back onto the wall.