10.

"WHY IS JACE WILSON waiting for you at your locker?"

I turned to follow Piper's gaze, noticing the shaggy brown-haired boy was, in fact, waiting for me at my locker. He leaned against it. His hands dug into his pockets as he scanned the hallways up and down until finally his eyes landed on me, widening slightly.

I watched as he awkwardly straightened himself, sending me a tight-lipped smile. I warmed, shooting him a smile back before turning to see Piper's smug grin. She whistled lowly and I shoved her lightly with my shoulder, rolling me eyes.

"I don't know," I said quickly. "Maybe it's a coincidence."

"Right," she teased, drawing her voice out. "Well, if the reason hits you, let me know, okay?"

"Don't leave me."

"I don't think he's waiting for me, Jas," she said, quirking a brow. "Besides, I've got stuff to do. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Stuff?" I echoed, my heart dropping as I turned to her. "What stuff?"

"You know." She sent me a wink, hiking her bag higher and turning away. "Stuff. Have fun, Jas."

"Right," I muttered, cutting her a glare. "Stuff."

She smirked smugly, practically giddy as she slipped past me and made her way down the hallway. She passed Jace and turned to shoot me a grin and a thumbs-up behind his back.

I rolled my eyes, feeling my face warm with embarrassment. It wasn't like that. We were just friends.

But he was smiling at me with that stupidly cute smile, and shuffling awkwardly with his worn-out converses, and his eyes kept darting from me to the hallway, then back to me like he was waiting for me to go up to him.

I blinked. Right. Because he was waiting for me to go up to him.

I mean, it was my locker after all.

As I made my way towards him, I cleared my throat and straightened my back, mentally preparing myself for a conversation. My hand immediately flew up to my hair, shoving my fingers through it, raking stray, frizzy curls back into my bun.

"Hey Jace," I said as I reached my locker. "What's up?"

He grinned, shrugging nonchalantly. "Nothing much."

I pulled my locker open, shoving my books inside. "How was your last period?"

He groaned, falling back against the locker beside me. "The worst. I had physics."

I turned to face him, and my heart leapt into my throat at how close he was to me. He smiled, his lips tugging up lopsidedly as he leaned his head against the locker, lolling towards me.

"Physics, huh?" I echoed, my throat turning dry. I blinked, spinning back to stare into my locker, my neck turning hot. "That sucks."

"Yeah."

We fell into silence and I chewed on the inside of my cheek. What was I supposed to say now? He waited for me at my locker and I just came over and made things awkward.

How did I used to do this?

It used to be so easy – back when Amber and I used to go to parties and hang out with strangers I'd met less than an hour before. I could carry conversations, approach cute guys, flirt. But now – it wasn't even that I had forgotten. It was more like I just couldn't be bothered.

Parties. Wearing cute clothes. Make up. Hair. What was the point?

Ever since the accident, I'd lost all interest in everything I used to do. Now it felt like I was just drifting through life, getting the bare minimum done so that my parents and Piper wouldn't worry.

So, I wouldn't be a burden.

A week passed. Then a month. And suddenly, a year had passed, and all I had done was lie in bed and cry a lot.

I paused, swallowing thickly. Amber. A pang shot through my heart and my stomach churned. God, I missed her so much. She'd know what to do.

It wasn't that I couldn't speak to Piper about things. It was just different ever since Amber left us. Everything was different after she left.

People treated me differently, like I was going to snap at any moment. And a part of me felt like I would. It felt like I was barely holding on – like I was stranded in the middle of the ocean, waves constantly dragging at me for the past year, trying to sink me, trying to pull me down.

And I was here, barely keeping my head above the inky water, gasping for air. And every day, I was getting more and more tired.

Eventually, I'd have to sink.

"Jas?" I blinked, turning to face Jace. He watched me carefully, his brow furrowed. "You good?"

I nodded quickly, closing my locker, and shifting my bag onto my shoulder.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, of course. Sorry, I'm just... tired."

"Right." He narrowed his eyes and I warmed, my eyes darting to the floor.

"Right." I cleared my throat, shooting Jace a small smile. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Are you walking home?" He paused, glancing at the helmet in my hand. "Or – um – biking?"

"Yeah," I laughed, hitching the helmet under my arm and tapping it lightly.

"I'll walk with you," he said. He paused before quickly adding, "I mean – you know, if it's okay with you."

"Jace Wilson, are you asking for my permission to walk with me?"

"Umm..." he narrowed his eyes and grimaced. "No?"

"Good," I said, beginning to walk towards the exit. "Because you wouldn't have to ask. I'd say yes, you know."

He followed me and shot me a half-smile. "You would?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I'm still the new kid."

I snorted, throwing a bewildered look his way. "The new kid? Jace, you're somehow more popular than I am, and I've gone to this school since kindergarten."

"This school has a kindergarten?"

"Not the point."

"Right." He chuckled, shaking his head, and nudging me lightly with his shoulder. "Well then they're a bunch of idiots."

I blushed and we stepped out of the school, into the wind. I unlocked my bike from the rack, wheeling it in front of me as Jace waited. It was cold – colder than it was in the morning – and I took a hand off the handlebar to rub at my arms, the thin material of my top barely protecting me from the chill of the afternoon.

"Cold?"

I looked up from my bike, glancing at Jace. He nodded at my arms, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. My hand fell back to the handlebar and I quickly shook my head.

"What? No. No, I'm fine. Just, you know, the wind it –"

Before I could finish my sentence, a jacket fell over my shoulders. I faced Jace and he offered me a smile, fixing the jacket over my arms.

"You need to stay warm." His fingers brushed my neck and I tilted my head upwards. He watched me, his face inches away from mine. "Or you'll get sick."

The air left my lungs and I stilled beneath his touch. He froze too, his fingers barely brushing my skin. He was close. So close, I could see the tiny flecks of gold in his otherwise dark brown eyes. His eyelashes were long, fluttering against his cheeks as he stared down at me.

My breath hitched in my throat and I wondered vaguely when was the last time I'd done my eyebrows or waxed my upper lip. He couldn't tell, right?

A breeze pushed at us, tugging at my loose strands of hair, and snapping us out of our daze.

Jace moved immediately, taking an awkward step back, his hand flying to the back of his neck. I warmed, turning to face my shoes, and pulled the jacket tighter around me. It was still warm from his body heat and – I inhaled – it smelled like him.

Like sandalwood and rain.

"Thanks," I said finally, heat blossoming across my neck and up to my ears.

We started walking again but all I could think now was Jace's jacket on my shoulders, his hand so near mine, our shoulders knocking into each other. Another breeze pushed past us, and I drew his jacket closer.

I never would've thought that I'd be walking to school and back with Jace Wilson. Or with anyone other than Piper.

He walked with less of a limp now, more confident than he had the day he came to West Mormet. Now, he walked with his head up and back straight, staring out onto the empty streets like he was deep in thought.

He didn't fit in here. West Mormet was a small town. The kind of place you passed on the way to somewhere bigger – somewhere better. We were insignificant.

But Jace – just looking at him, you knew he was different. His brown eyes shone darkly, like he knew more than he let on. Like he had hundreds of secrets hidden beneath that charismatic surface.

And I wanted to learn them all.

Suddenly, his head snapped to the side, his eyes meeting mine. His lips twitched into a smirk.

"What?" he asked. "Something on my face?"

"No –" I said quickly, my words catching in my throat. "I just – um. Your limp. It's gotten better."

He raised a brow at me, and I groaned internally. God, when did I become so awkward?

"Yeah, I have a great water aerobics coach," he teased. "You should meet her sometime." I rolled my eyes, nudging his shoulder, and he let out a laugh. "Seriously, though. I took your advice, started taking it slower, resting it at home, and it really healed up. Swelling's gone down a lot."

"I'm glad," I said, smiling. "Seriously."

He blinked, his cheeks tingeing slightly pink, and he turned back to face the roads. He sent me a half-shrug. "Thanks, Jasmine."

Jasmine. Why did my own name send butterflies through my stomach?

A strong breeze fell past us and I shivered, grateful to have Jace's jacket around me. Beside me, Jace inhaled sharply. I frowned.

"Are you sure you don't want your jacket back?" I asked.

He glanced at me and shook his head, his dark hair sticking out just above his ears. "No. I'm used to it. Is it just me or is Mrs Lauren's office always freezing?"

I snorted before quickly catching myself. Jace grinned at my reaction, his lips twitching with supressed laughter.

"No, you're right," I said. "Making us suffer with her bad counselling wasn't enough for her, I guess. She needs to freeze us to death too."

He paused, raising a brow at me. "You've been to her for counselling?"

"Oh, yeah. She was the worst. But then again, I've never had a good therapist. Maybe they're all like that."

I turned to him then, catching his furrowed brow and curious expression. My heart sunk. I'd said too much.

I'd said way too much.

I could practically see the words drifting over him, repeating in his mind. I could hear the questions lingering on his tongue. This was bad.

My fingers tightened around my bike handles and I cleared my throat, forcing the words to come out steady and sure.

"I mean, you know. Not that I've been to many. Just – you know. Guidance counsellors," I recovered quickly. "For school. Colleges. That stuff."

He looked unconvinced. "Right."

"Right." I cleared my throat. Great. Now I'd done it.

"I mean, it can be hard to find a good therapist," he started slowly.

I groaned internally. Not this conversation. I'd had this conversation a million times with my mother, Piper, the principal. You'll find a good one eventually, they'd all said. You just need to find one you click with.

Except I'd been to three different therapists now, and all of them were terrible. None of them understood. None of them worked. Weren't they supposed to fix me? Wasn't that the whole point?

Jace released a quiet chuckle, shrugging.

"I tried five different ones in my last city," he added. I blinked, turning to find him smiling softly at me. "But it's worth it in the end."

"I..." I trailed off, shaking my head. A million questions raced through my mind.

Five therapists? For what? Why?

My curiosity was getting the better of me. I wanted to know everything about him, but at the same time, my stomach churned with anxiety. I wanted to know who he was, but I also wanted to run into my room and hide in my sheets for a week. Maybe two.

When was the last time I'd spoken to a guy like this? Especially one as cute as Jace was.

I knew the answer. The same day everything changed, a year ago. That was the last time.

I wanted to know everything, but that was dangerous. That was too close. Because the second I started asking questions, he'd start asking them back.

Too close.

"I wouldn't know," I said finally. I turned to him, sending him a wide smile – the kind I usually reserved for my mother. The practiced kind that stopped people from worrying. That got me out of therapy. "I've only been to career guidance sessions."

Jace paused. His eyes flickered between mine and I had the uncomfortable feeling that he'd seen right through my lie. His lips pursed and he sent me a tight smile in return.

"Of course," he said, though he didn't sound convinced.

My grin wavered and I quickly turned back to the roads, switching the conversation to how annoying English homework was, and how tired I was from school.

Though, no matter how many laughs I forced out, and grins I flashed, I could feel his eyes still on me. And I knew then that as many secrets as he had, I was hiding more.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

oop so they're getting a little closer hehe. next time, an anniversary is approaching...

as always, thank you all for commenting, reading and voting! I love reading your comments so definitely let me know all your thoughts, ideas and predictions! see you soon!