Flowers and Darkness

Chapter 2

The rest of the day flew by in a blur. I could barely remember what happened all day, besides the short encounter I had with Alex.

Jayden and I were sat under a brown fleece blanket over at Ellie's house later that evening. He was making lazy swirls on my legs with his fingers tips and it was making me feel slightly drowsy. Ellie's step-mother was on yet another business trip out of the country. After her dad died a few years back she drifted further away from her step-mother. Her step-mother seemed nice enough, but I'd only briefly met her a handful of times to make a fair judgement.

"How's Sandra?"

"How the hell should I know?" Ellie rolled her eyes and flicked through the TV channels. I met Jay's eyes and he shook his head at me. Let's ask this another time maybe.

"W-wait, wait! Go back!"

She ignored me and carried on flicking through. "That was a chick flick. Bore-ing. I need something to make me pee myself laughing. Not something that makes me want to scratch my eyes out. You need to fix your taste. How much longer can I put up with your crappy movie choices."

"Whatever," I muttered. Whenever her step mother Sandra was brought up, Ellie gets into an especially crabby mood. Today's no exception.

"Popcorn and snacks! That's what we need." Ellie jumped up and ran into the kitchen in her white bunny onesie.

Jayden laughed and stretched. "Need a hand El?"

"Nah it won't take long."

I thought about what had happened earlier that day and bit my lip in thought. I moved away from Jayden to look at him, making the blanket fall off me. Would he think I'm crazy?

"Jay...?" I bit my lip slightly. "What do you think of the new students?"

He cleared his throat slightly and pushed the blanket off himself. "I don't really know them. Why are you asking me?"

"Just 'cos you were sitting next to the new girl Rose." I paused, unsure what to tell him. "She started the fire. And she put it out with her bare hand. That's not normal! And Alex-"

"What about Alex?" Jayden's eyes probed mine.

"I heard Alex!" Ellie walked in with two bowls of popcorn in her hands. "Isn't he so good looking."

She pushed Jayden out of his seat. "Can you get the rest of the stuff from the kitchen? Pretty please?"

I laughed as he dejectedly went to get the remaining food and drinks.

"Anyway." She clapped her hands. "He's so cute! He's definitely got that hot, brooding look going for him. I feel like he's so my type. Like how cute would we look together?"

"Very cute?"

"Very cute!"

"Guys is this movie night or let's talk about guys all night?" Jayden walked back into the room with an annoyed expression.

"It's movie night," I reassured Jayden, wanting to stop this conversation about Alex.

Jay came and squeezed next to me. He slung an arm over my shoulder and leaned into me. "We'll talk later, okay?"

I just nodded not knowing what else to say.

The rest of the week went by uneventfully. No sign of Alex or Rose all week. There was a small pang in my chest every time I'd turn to the empty desk next to me. Was it because of me? What happened to him? Will he be back? Their absence didn't go unnoticed by Ellie either, who had taken a fascination to Alex after his first appearance in class.