After a really long time, a new chapter is finally here!! An extra long one>:3

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Seth 08:07; I don't have classes until later today(* ￣︿￣) so I'll cya after lunch!

Stupid emoji. Stupid butterflies. In the middle of this busy hallway, buzzing with students trying to get to their classroom on time, I stood like a rock in a river. (Except I was much less heavy than a rock and if someone were to shove me one more time I'd lose my shit and go cry somewhere.) My hands hovered over my phone screen, contemplating between various words and emojis to formulate the perfect answer. 

"Someone is smiling at his phone."

I shit you not, this sudden voice right next to my ear almost had me throwing my phone at the poor freshman who passed me just as I let out the loudest yelp known to mankind, gaining aggressive stares from everyone in the damn corridor. So after shooting out a dozen apologetic smiles to everyone (they weren't appreciated), I slowly turned my head around to see Mason, grinning at me while wiggling his eyebrows. "You just almost gave me a heart attack."

He shrugged, standing on his tip-toes to 'subtly' peek over my shoulder at my phone. "So did you, when you went missing on friday. But you don't hear me complaining, right?"

I snorted and shoved Mason off of me, which caused him to almost crash into that same freshman from like two minutes ago, who for some reason kept going back and forth through the same hallway. They were probably either lost or kept forgetting their books. Or both. "I didn't go missing. I just... didn't go home..?"

"Pft yeah. Same thing." Mason placed his hands on my shoulder and began jumping —with way too much energy for this time of the day— like a kid with an unbothered parent in a toy store. "Anyways," he dragged out, mid-air, "we have a class together and I wanna sit with you. So. Let's go!"

Grabbing Mason's hands to pry them off of me, I chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Let's go!"

Besides the fact that I had no idea which class we had, it was also genuinely nice to spend some time with Mason. Even if my social reputation —not that I had one to begin with— would be at cost. 

Robbie 08:12; srry got abducted by mason😭 Cya later!!

Various apologies were muttered every time Mason crashed into another student, who'd then glare at me like my dog was running unleashed through a crowded street. Not completely inaccurate, though I don't think Mason was even aware of the whole situation. If I tuned out the dull chatter and squeaking of unaffordable sneakers against pastel tiles, I could hear him mumbling some Conan Gray song —completely out of tune, if I may add— while skipping along with not a care in the world. 

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Jackson, leaning against his locker. But despite Mason's rather... loud presence, his widened eyes remained focused on his phone. Hm? 

It took a few seconds, but Mason eventually noticed I wasn't following anymore and he stopped, taking several steps back in a failed moonwalk-style until he stood next to me. Bringing his face closer to my ear, he whispered, "what're we looking at..?" like a confused safari guide. 

I snorted and shoved his face away which caused him to laugh too, following closely behind me as I walked over to Jackson. 

It was when I stood right in front of him that he noticed my presence, head snapping up like he'd gotten caught. "Blue." His usually pale face had been tinted red, eyes darkened as they blinked away moisture. Just as I was about to open my mouth, he swiftly turned his back to us and lifted his hand to his face, fingers rubbing his temples. "So, uhm... Did you get home safely last weekend?"

"As much as I love being ignored, we still have a class to get to," Mason hissed from behind my shoulder, grinning when I jerked forward at the sudden voice in my ear— again.

Like the kind friend I am, I ignored his statement and elbowed him in the mere direction of what I assumed were his ribs. "Uh, y-yea—" My words dropped back into my stomach when Jackson turned around, now reddened eyes staring at me expectantly. I cleared my throat. "Yeah. I ended up staying at— at a friend's place."

Jackson's grip on his phone tightened, jaw tensing. He swallowed. "A f-friend's place? That's—

"The sound of the bell! We're running late so goodbye cya later!" Mason exclaimed quickly, his voice barely reaching above that piercing high-pitch of the bell as he grabbed my hand and dragged me away from Jackson. 

"Mason! 'The fuck was that-?!"

He just shrugged —no clue how he did that while running, but hey— and raced us down another corridor, backpack fighting for its life as it hung from his shoulder.  "You can thank me later-!"

-

I did not, in fact, thank him. Ever. And while the overly nervous substitute had drabbled on and on about quantum physics to the three-and-a-half students actually paying attention, my mind had flitted back to Jackson. I'd only known him for a little over a month, but that was plenty enough time to establish what type of person he portrayed himself as. On the verge of tears and anxiety were not included in that description box. 

Branded shoes squeaked across the shiny cafeteria floor as I shuffled toward Jackson's table with a pastel pink tray in my hands. Chatter bubbled around the wide atmosphere, something I usually didn't mind. I hadn't exactly planned to eat lunch out here, but the whole situation of this morning had left me with too many questions. Besides, I figured Seth wouldn't be here until after lunch anyway. 

A pleased smile pulled up Jackson's face when he saw me sit down. "Blue." He nodded at me in acknowledgment, taking a small sip of his water bottle. 

I attempted a smile of my own. Jackson didn't appear any different as opposed to any other day. "Hey. I uh, wanted to ask about this m—"

"Yeah, so, we were just sitting there," short dude interrupted, pointing me a strange look before continuing, "and suddenly he was there. Wearing an apron and all."

Some other guys threw out words like 'damn' or 'no way' in response, whereas I sat there with furrowed brows. Clearly, I'd missed some context here. The short guy seemed to notice, and he cleared his throat. "Seth. Me and my cousin saw him at the hair salon down the promenade yesterday," he explained, scoffing at the mention of skater boy's name. Coming from him, the word sounded like poison dripping off his tongue. It made my stomach churn.

Halfway through a bite of soggy sandwich bread, I hummed. "Oh, yeah. He lives there." It took me about half a millisecond to realize what I'd just said, and another quick second to lift my head up and find the entire table staring at me with wide eyes. Well shit.  

While everyone seemed surprised, Jackson's face took the win. With raised eyebrows and hands folded together on the table, he pursed his lips. "Is that so?"

Snake. Curling its way around my ribcage as my mouth ran dry. I had just doxxed Seth to the one group who despised him the most and nothing could undo it. The other guys went back to their own conversations, leaving just Jackson's piercing gaze to burn me alive. I swallowed, hoping the simple action could ease the pressure on my chest. "Y-yeah."

A strange look flashed through Jackson's eyes, just long enough for me to notice. "I see," he replied with a hum, eyes locked on my face. "So, who'd you stay with, last Friday?"

I wanted to leave. But my limbs were glued to the table seat. Who'd I stay with? Not with Seth. "W-with.. uhm— with Mason."

"Mason?" he queried, a single brow raised. Swallowing another sip of water, he hummed again. "I didn't think you were that close with other people."

The scraping of cutlery felt like nails against a chalkboard, student chatter throbbing into my skull. I can't breathe. "Mhm."

-

Footsteps echoed around my head, bouncing off the metal staircase leading to those familiar steel doors. The darkness awaiting whoever entered lured me further without second thought. The snake held my lungs in a chokehold, coiling around my ribcage a little tighter every time I tried to take a breath. No matter how embarrassing it might've been, the good old 'i have to pee,' never seized to work. 

My heart caught in my throat when I was met with another presence sitting in the dark space. "S-seth..?"

There, on the ragged couch, dimly lit by the flickering standing lamp in the corner, sat Seth. His eyes widened when he saw me, but that excited glimmer quickly faded to concern. He furrowed his brows at me. "Blue eyes?"

I sucked in my lip and shuffled over to him before sitting down, hands on my lap as my vision blurred with unshed tears. Electricity shuttled through my stomach when I felt a hand covering my own, prying my tangled fingers apart. I glanced up to find Seth, already looking at me with kind, Earth eyes. 

"Fidget with mine, remember?" He smiled a smile —that made my insides melt to liquid and bubble up again— when I nodded and began to play with his fingers. 

The snake was scared of Seth. It always left when he was around. I took in a small breath. It didn't hurt. "I... I told them something. I don't think I should have."

With my eyes still focused on the tangled mess of fingers on my lap, I heard Seth's soft breathing. "Does it have anything to do with Lennard and his cousin?"

Oh? That sparked my curiosity. I lifted my head to look at Seth. "Uhm, is Lennard short?"

Seth grinned with a lopsided smile, strands of blond —which I desperately wanted to brush away— covering his right eye. Poking my arm with his free hand, he said, "Very. I figured he'd be talking about it. It's not like they have anything interesting going on in their own lives anyway, right?"

My lips tugged up at his infectious smile, but the momentary relief was quick to fade away. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone trying to hurt Seth. But now that they knew where he lived, maybe they would. And it'd be my fault. "I told them it's where you live. I'm sorry."

Seth squeezed my hands. "Why are you sorry? I would've told him myself if he'd actually tried to talk to me instead of just staring from a distance."

I sniffed. "You would've..?"

"Yeah. What's he gonna do? Break into the salon?" Seth snorted at the idea before glancing at me with a small smile. "Really, blue eyes, it's fine."

Fine. Maybe it was fine. Maybe I was just being dramatic. Maybe it felt nice to be fine. I took another small breath. "Okay." With this newfound peace of mind, questions began to bubble up in my head. I turned to Seth and swallowed down the butterflies that rose when we looked at each other.  "Can I ask you something?"

Another flashy smile. "Shoot."

So many days. So many days I'd spent trying to figure out the constant, one-sided rivalry between Jackson and Seth. I wanted— no, needed to understand. Not once had it occurred to me that maybe Seth already knew. I chewed at my lip, staring at the dots and dashes on his hand. "Why does Jackson hate you? Why does he want me to hate you..?"

Seth sighed. He pulled one of his legs up and wrapped two hands around his knee, causing off-white cargo fabric to lift up and reveal yellow socks. He glanced at me. "Jackson and I used to be friends, before I... moved away from my dad."

"What happened..?"

His now distant eyes flitted around the dark room as his jaw tensed. "My dad— he worked for Jackson's dad. And Jackson," he inhaled, "I guess he just had this image of who my dad was supposed to be. Couldn't handle it when I showed him the reality."

I'm so fucking confused right now. "He— he thought you were lying-?"

Seth hummed. "He still does. Safe to say we were both equally surprised to see each other here," he chuckled, the mere sound of it softening the creases in my brows. "I mean, he was the one to move away first. Didn't expect to ever see him again. But life's full of surprises." 

An image. That could've meant so many things, but something in me said this wasn't the right time to ask more questions. I'd figure the mystery out some other time. For now, I just slowly nodded. "Were Jackson and your dad, uhm, close-?" Maybe a few more questions.

"Yeah." Seth smiled a sad smile as memories swam through his kind eyes. He gazed off into the distance and let his leg slide down down again. "Pretty sure they even texted from time to time. All contact broke off when Jackson moved, though."

A few of the puzzle pieces clicked together. "And he blames you for that.."

"Something like that, yeah." Sadness quickly faded away and made place for a more genuine smile as Seth leaned over and playfully poked my shoulder. 

I couldn't help the grin tugging at my own lips, growing stronger when I poked him back and he laughed. He laughed, lighting up the whole room with warmth.

Still chuckling, he cleared his throat and smiled at me. "Actually, I wanted to ask you s—

"I JUST WANNA BE PART OF YOUR SYMPHONYYY—" The steel door swung open with mighty force as the loudest fucking voice ever (Mason with too much energy) filled up the whole damn building, followed by a chuckling Reagan and a done-with-life Nyx. Mood. 

Without as much as a second glance, Nyx brutally shoved past Mason and dropped themselves sprawled out on the couch right next to me and Seth. Their face collided with the dusty material, strands of black and blond flying up before falling back into place. "Someone please kidnap my brother and take him far, far away from me." They let out a loud groan, grumbling something uncoherent as I awkwardly patted their head. 

Dragging along a now pouting Mason, Reagan smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid you're gonna be stuck with him for a little longer, Nyx." She sat down on an armrest, her muddy green maxi skirt flowing over the edges. 

When that caused Nyx to groan even louder, Mason just huffed and skipped past us all before plopping down on the stained, yellow bean bag in front of his desk. I heard him mumble something about betrayal and teaming but decided not to mention it. After all, I had more important things to worry about right then. 

Like for example, the way Nyx's obviously appreciated presence had caused me to get smushed against Seth —and his particularly hard chest— who hadn't said a word since the others came in. But with this stupid heart ramming against my ribcage and all rational senses coated in a breeze of jasmine and salted air, I didn't dare to turn around. 

Everything became a million times worse when Seth chuckled and I could feel his warm breath fanning across my neck. Too close. Way too close. 

"Someone's looking a little red," Reagan mused with a grin, pointing me a look that made me question my morals for just a second. To my dismay, violence still wasn't a viable option. 

Before I could come up with a lame excuse no one would believe anyway, I felt firecrackers erupt beneath my skin as Seth's hand wrapped around my shoulder while he pushed himself up to sit on the armrest instead. Jasmine made place for the smell of most likely molded fabric and decades worth of dust. My heart did a backflip when I tilted my head to get a glance of his face and caught a dashing smile flashed at me from above— this wasn't good for me. I would die of a fucking butterfly overdose soon. 

"It's probably j—" My just-in-case excuse for the throbbing fire on my face got cut off mid-awkward-chuckle by the piercing sound of what thou would call a bell. School bell.

"I have this hour off," Mason called out with his arm in the air, eyes stuck to a monitor. 

I was planning to ask him, so now I decided to tug at Nyx's black sleeve. "Don't even think about it," they grumbled, face still pressed into the couch's material. 

Reagan chuckled and reached over to fix their hair, colorful gemstones wrapped in rose copper rings contrasting thick strands of black. She glanced up at me. "I'll go with you! We have art together right?"

"I'm almost sad I didn't fail art last year," Seth said with a teasing smile most definitely pointed at me (because I felt the tip of a Vans shoe poke me in the back), causing Reagan to snicker.

"No you don't, trust me."

Nyx flipped around onto their back and squinted at the light that fell on their face, lazily lifting a hand to try and block it out. "Pft. Your reputation's already shit, imagine if you'd failed art. The only class that doesn't completely make me want to not be alive."

I turned my head to see Seth open his mouth when Mason snorted. Why was he even listening? He raised an arm above his head and vaguely waved it in our direction. "That's only 'cause you take that class with Reagan."

A groan. "I really hate you."

A laugh. "No you don't!"

Sometimes I wondered how I'd ended up with these people. But then I'd realize that it probably said more about me than it did anything else, and I stopped thinking about it. However, that also meant there now was space for other thoughts. Like, maybe we should all just get the fuck up and run to class. 

I sprang up from the couch with just enough force to feel concerning things in my bones —something I liked to blame on our quickly aging generation, and not my lack of physical exercise— and turned to my bickering friends. "You guys do know that a school bell indicates we have class, right-?"

Reagan paused whatever she had going on with Nyx and nodded with a laugh. "Right, sorry!" She looped her arm around Nyx's and dragged them off the couch with great force, gaining nothing but loud groans and a 'loser' from Mason (though I wasn't sure if he was talking to us, or to his subway surfers' character). "C'mon grumpy, we got class."

Amused by Nyx's struggles, I joined in and looped my arm around their free one. This caused their feet to get lifted off the floor as they tried to run away, now just making running motions in the air before giving in with a defeated huff. "You guys suck."

Seth laughed at the scene, still seated on that damn couch. "Good luck dragging them all the way to art."

I furrowed my brows. "Don't you have class too? That's the whole reason you're here."

Panic flashed through his eyes for just a second before he regained that usual smile. "Teacher's late. But I'll make sure Mason doesn't break anything while y'all are gone, yeah?"

I smiled a smile of my own and nodded. "Alright. Well. See you guys later!"

And with that, the three musketeers stumbled up the metal stairs, drowning in sunlight that poured out of the stained glass windows decorating those tall walls. 

-

Sunlight tickled my face as I pushed past the uniformed bodies that cluttered the massive, dark wooden doors, separating responsibilities from freedom. I glanced at the schoolyard, bathed in bright colors and buzzing groups of friends. Laughter drifted around through a hot breeze as the early summer warmth wrapped around me like a gentle hug, wiping out the chaotic whirlwind of thoughts in my brain to replace them with a sweet sense of serenity. 

"Hey, Blue. I was hoping to catch you before you'd go home."

Short-lasted serenity. With a tight-lipped smile —I tried my best, okay?— I spun around. Sand crunched under the soles of my sneakers as my eyes fell on Jackson, hands resting in his pockets like usual. He nodded at me, eyes narrowed to avoid the blinding sun that shone on all of us. "Hi," I huffed, fidgeting with the strap of my sagging backpack. 

We walked down the first few concrete steps, Jackson leaning onto the burning metal rail like it was nothing. "You had a good day today?" he asked, smiling at two girls passing us by. They smiled and giggled, clumsily huddling up the stairs together while tugging at their long, braided hair. Well that was fucking stupid.

"Mhm." I wasn't sure what kind of response he was looking for. Clearly, I should be the one asking him questions, but after disappearing like that in the cafeteria, which, sadly, wasn't the first time that'd happened, I figured he had questions too. Because no way would Jackson Grayfordt actually care about how my day was. People with a name that fancy are just like, programmed to have their ego up their ass. 

Jackson hummed, running a hand through his somewhat sweaty hair. I mean, what do you expect, wearing a full uniform with weather like this?  "So, Seth, hm?" he mumbled with a certain look that made me mildly uncomfortable. 

Swatting a mosquito off my arm, I swallowed. "What about him?"

I had to squint if I wanted to see Jackson's face, who seemed to be deep in thought. With a tense jaw, he chewed at his lip before relaxing again, a motion so fluid it seemed almost robotic. "I'm just glad, you know." He leaned over and patted my shoulder with an emotionless smile. "Glad you realized who your true friends are."

What? My face pulled into a frown, a highly confused one at that. 'The fuck was he talking about? I glanced at his satisfied face, racking my brain for any kind of information that would help me understand what he meant. Like those fucking stupid cartoons, it took a pathetic amount of seconds before the so-called lightbulb popped up above my head. It hit me that Jackson must have assumed Seth and I never made up. 

I laughed and shook my head, watching Jackson's brows rise as his eyes widened. "Seth and I are still fr—

"'Xcuuuse me." A gritty voice cut me off. 

Jackson and I glanced up to see Seth swiftly hopping off his board, which he caught with his hand, before jumping down a few steps to stand between us. With a teasy smile, he shot me a small wink before taking a step back, such that he was standing just a bit higher than both of us. Sparks punched me in the stomach. "Am I interrupting anything?"

I had to bite back a grin, tugging at the strap on my shoulder in an attempt to ignore the butterflies crashing around my abdomen.

 Confusion struck Jackson's face, which he tried to hide by deliberately blinking and licking his lips. It appeared he'd lost his ability to speak. 

"Not at all, Jackson was just asking me something.. right?" I glanced at Jackson, whose face then snapped to me.

He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together before stuffing them back into his pockets. "That's right. But—

"Great." Seth leaped over and threw an arm around my shoulders, infusing my lungs with jasmine again as blond strands tickled my jaw and neck. I had to try really hard not to start fucking squealing like some obsessed schoolgirl. He shot Jackson one of those classic smiles while leaning further into me. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to steal blue eyes away now. But only if you'll let me... Jackson."

The sudden switch in tone made my throat feel dry while my heartbeat picked up. I'd never heard him like that. And I wasn't sure how to accept that it made me.. feel.. certain things.

Confusion faded to anger as Jackson scoffed. He shook his head before his eyes flitted to Seth, icy blue fueled with rage. "It's not like you give a single fuck about how I feel anyway, hm?" Stepping closer, his albeit frail frame sent off a creepily intimidating vibe that made me want to crawl into a ball. "Have fun with your puppet," he spat, emphasizing every single letter of the last word to make sure we'd never forget it. 

The moment he'd disappeared, I gasped and jumped about five miles away from Seth which caused me to set up my own death as I was about to tumble off the stairs. Luckily, the handsome blond boy snatched my hand and pulled me back up with a chuckle. 

"Sorry about that," he said, a lopsided smile on his fucking attractive face, highlighted by the golden sun that spilled all over him. "Thought I'd jump in and save you. You know, 'cause I'm such an awesome friend."

I snorted, feeling redness creep up my face at the statement. If only you knew.. "Well, you did save me. But I think Jackson hates you even more now. Maybe he hates me too."

Shrugging, Seth dropped his board and set a foot on it. "Don't worry 'bout that. It would be really hard to hate you, even for Sir Grayfordt," he said with a mocking face that made me laugh which then caused him to smile again. 

My legs were starting to get tired of these burning steps and my skin had gotten to an uncomfortable temperature, which was at least a little worrisome, considering I still needed to walk home. "Hey uhm," I began, fidgeting with the hem of my white shirt, "do you want to like, hang out-?"

Seth flashed me a blinding smile. "I'd love to, blue eyes. But I'm afraid I promised my mom I'd help her out today." The momentary sadness on his face quickly disappeared when he seemed to remember something. "Oh! But I wanted to ask you something. That's like, the reason I found you here."

Fuzzy worms shot up my system almost immediately. I smiled and nodded, praying my brain would shut up with all the possible outcomes of the entire fucking universe, for just a second. "Ask ahead!"

With a chuckle, he rolled the skateboard back and forth a bit, a smile that I'd almost describe as nervous on his face. "Do you know about the bonfire?" he eventually asked, eyes lifting to meet mine. "It's— it's an annual thing."

Not sure where this was going, I slowly nodded. "I've heard about it, vaguely."

"It's like a summer celebration thing, at the beach. Music, charity lotteries, food, and a big bonfire. They do it to raise money for the smaller businesses around the promenade, including the salon," he explained, leaning onto the metal rail with his elbow while his other hand fidgeted with the teal beads on his bracelets.

I smiled. "That sounds fun."

Upon seeing my smile, Seth nodded with a similar expression. He dropped his head, skateboard rolling around as he scratched his hand nervously. "I uh— I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"

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Yes I'm leaving you with that cliffhanger.  >:P What do we think about the lore Seth dropped? And what was up with Jackson today🤨

Next update will hopefully be up sooooooonnnnn but am still taking it easy（︶^︶）

Don't forget to leave a vote, I really appreciate it<3 Stay hydrated and cya soon!