𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙊
—𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴—

𝘼𝙎 𝘽𝘼𝙄𝙇𝙀𝙔 𝙂𝙍𝙀𝙒 up in a small city in Minnesota, she always looked forward to visiting her grandparents in Tennessee. Their house was always warm and cozy, and they never stayed inside for longer than an hour at a time. It was the countryside, where wildflowers grew in unowned land, and animals ran freely around farms. Everyone around had an unbreakable friendship, even when the times got hard.

Now that she was here, Bailey could see bits and pieces of that among the school. A few teens— that she had seen arguing when she walked in— were now giggling at a table together in the science lab. Jax placed several books down on the desk in front of the girl, before handing her a lab coat and pair of goggles. Now that she was finally pulled from her thoughts, Bailey grabs a pencil from her bag.

"You look preoccupied with your thoughts," Jax comments. "What's on your mind?"

"What's not on my mind?" Bailey sighs, stacking up two books of her own. "It's all new to me here, and everything is different. I don't know, maybe I'm just hoping to make some new friends or something."

"I have a few friends that you'd get along with," the raven-haired boy suggests, taking a seat beside her. "Maybe you could meet them during lunch."

At her old school, Bailey wasn't too close to anyone in particular. Of course, she had the general 'during school hours' friendships— but nothing was too personal or too permanent. If there was ever a friend she spent time with, it would eventually shrink due to her focus on her academics. Because, despite what everyone else suggested, she skipped most of the drama and parties that most teenagers would waste their time on, and stuck to the homework that would help plan out the rest of her life.

In the end, all of her hard work would pay off. It didn't matter what the others thought— not then, and certainly not now. Regardless of what Jax's friends would think of Bailey, she wouldn't allow their judgement to get the best of her. That was a vow the girl was willing to make.

"I'd like that a lot," the brunette nods, flipping through the pages of her new book. "Weird question; have you ever ran into someone that enjoys chemistry?"

"Emma," was his immediate response. He chuckles for a moment, glancing over the content on the page, before continuing. "She is a genius, if I've ever saw one. And school work seems to get the best of her time. It's as if her world revolves around straight A's and study time."

Even though Bailey and Jax had only shared two conversations in their entire fifteen minutes of knowing each other, Emma had been brought into the topic of both. However, the Dai girl couldn't complain since she had walked right into it both times.

"I can only imagine what her grades are," Bailey sighs. "I'll have to try and do the same— with the studying and straight A's part. But hopefully I have some open time for the swim team."

"Wait, you're going out for the swim team?" Jax questions, dropping his pencil to look at her. "I'm on the swim team."

"Then I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other," she shrugs, attempting to be nonchalant with his statement.

"I guess so," Jax hides his smile, getting back to work.

But deep down inside, it was obvious that both of them were hiding much more than their smiles and nonchalance. There was something hanging in the air between them; the touch that they had shared. The effects still lingered, and both of the teenagers couldn't ignore it.

---

As chemistry class continued on, Bailey felt herself grow more and more impatient with the droning teacher. She had nothing against him, but it was only a matter of time until she would lay her head down and possibly fall asleep from boredom. Jax had his phone out most of the class, and would occasionally lay it face-down on the desk and look to Bailey, before rolling his eyes.

When the bell finally rang for the end of the class, the brunette was out of her seat in no time. Having been disinterested in the conversation the teacher was having with another student at the front of the room, she had already had her things packed and prepared for when it was time to leave. If all of her classes were going to be like this, Bailey was seriously considering being home-schooled.

"Did you enjoy your first class?" Jax asks, appearing at her side as he pulled on his backpack. "Or was it as normal as everything else?"

"I'm debating on transferring," she grumbles. "That was some pretty bad teaching, if I do say so myself. I'm no expert, but I'm sure instructors aren't supposed to get off track and talk about their cat for fifteen minutes. This is supposed to be school, not a support group."

"I'm a little glad that he got off task," Jax shrugs, his dark eyes meeting hers as they move further down the hallway. "At least we don't have homework. On a usual day, it's at least two pages."

"Of reading or textbook questions?"

"Both." He blows out a breath of hot air, before stopping at a locker and looking to her expectantly. "Do you know how to get to your next class? I can walk with you."

"Oh, no, you don't have to," Bailey stops, shaking her head and holding up her folded map. "I'll get there eventually. Besides, I need some practice anyway. You can't walk me to classes constantly."

"I mean, I can," Jax opens his locker, grabbing a book from inside. "If you want me to, that is. I'm not against skipping a little bit of class to get you to yours."

"I'll be fine on my own," Bailey chuckles, already beginning her walk. "Thanks anyway, Jax! I'll see you around!"

Jax stands at his locker, watching her disappear around the corner with her eyes on the map in her hands. He releases a sigh of confusion, pulling out his phone to send a quick text message to Emma. From what had previously happened, he wasn't sure how to react to the sparks he felt when touching Bailey. Was he just imagining it? Bailey hadn't reacted, so was he the only one that felt it.

It was times like this when he needed the help of a friend to figure out what was happening. And hopefully, Emma would know exactly what to do. But for now, Jax would have to try and solve this puzzle on his own.

Bailey arrives to her class just as the final bell rings. She sits down at an empty desk in the back, pulling out her designated English notebook. A boy dashes into the room just as her teacher is proceeding to close the door, rushing to the back of the room and taking the seat next to her. He breathes heavily as he slumps into his chair, relaxing as he carelessly tosses his backpack onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Bailey asks him, examining the sweat developing on his forehead. "You look like you just ran a marathon. Should I get you some water?"

The brown-haired boy shakes his head, still breathing heavily as he sits up. "No," he says. "I'll be okay, but thank you for asking."

He looks to her, furrowing his eyebrows at her unfamiliar face. Then, a wave of realization crosses his face, before he begins to speak again. "You're the new girl, right?"

"Bailey," she nods. "But you probably already know that, too."

"I'm Daniel," he holds out his hand. "And yeah, everyone in the school knows of your existence. Things get around fast here, especially when it's something big."

"Glad to know my arrival is accounted for," Bailey chuckles, placing her hand in his and giving it a shake before continuing with unpacking her books. "You're dating Emma, right? Jax told me about you two earlier."

"Did he say anything rude about me?" Daniel narrows his eyes. "Jax has never been fond of me. He's just jealous because I'm with Emma."

"I've noticed. But he hasn't given me any details on you, yet. I'll let you know if it's anything too bad."

"Having a good day so far?" Daniel raises an eyebrow. "It can't be too good, considering you've met Jax."

"He was really sweet, actually," Bailey smiles slightly, averting her attention. "He walked me to class and we had some pretty nice conversations."

"Please," the green-eyed boy snorts. "Jax is only nice when he's giving a first impression. Believe me, Emma has had her fair share of his dark side, and it isn't too pretty. He's not the type of friends you should want around here."

Bailey falters in her actions, looking to the boy again. Was he being serious? The Jax she had talked to was nothing of the sort, and seemed charming.

"Luckily, my friend group always has room for one more," Daniel continues, giving her a grin. "Oh, and I heard you want to try out for the swim team from Diego."

"Uh, yeah," Bailey murmers, nodding. "I do."

But she wasn't paying any attention as he went on with the conversation, as she was all too caught up in her own mind. Jax hadn't come across as a bad person when he met her. He was caring, and helped her when she needed it.

But were those his intentions; to charm her?

_______