It's another Monday so it's a new chapter! 

Look out for the <>!

Stella's POV

I sat down in class the next mid afternoon and looked at Grayson's empty seat. The imagines of him ran through my mind on repeat from the day before. He looked so injured but he refused help from me as if I would cause more damage. But how could I cause more damage when what he was in? I wondered if he was ok but seeing his empty seat made me think otherwise.

"Hey you," Alice said as she took a seat beside me with a smile.

As the weeks had gone by, I learned to call Alice my friend. She was nice and though her friends I couldn't stand, I could stand her and her school gossip/information she provided. I knew that being the new girl brought challenges, especially when the town was small, like Jackson, so I relied on her to at least help me fit in. I had learned quickly that I needed to fit in because, as Alice said before, 'this town can eat anyone alive'.

"Do you know where Gray is?"

She frowned as she shook her head, following my gaze to the empty seat. "I have no idea. Sometimes he misses classes like this. Don't know why but I think he worked out some agreement with the teachers about it."

More questions filled me as I thought back to him yesterday. He handled his wounds like it wasn't a big deal, so it made me question if he was wounded often. "So he misses a lot?"

"Probably a day every other week or so," she shrugged as she got out her textbooks from her backpack that had a pinecone on it.

"You know why?"

"Have no idea. Some people say he goes on these hunting trips to keep his anger at bay."

Seeing him yesterday, it looked like he caught a bear with his bare hands. For a second, I let myself believe the rumor about the hunting trips because of what I saw yesterday. "Has he ever come to class injured?"

She frowned as she thought about it for a moment. "I don't think so. He just misses sometimes and comes back as if nothing has changed. I heard his grades are slipping because of it. Might not even graduate with us."

I nodded as her words dug into me, causing a bad taste in my mouth. She talked about it as if he deserved what came of him, but she didn't know what he dealt with. I didn't know what he dealt with, but something told me it was bigger than what both of us knew. She couldn't just judge him like this if she didn't know the truth.

"So, has Grayson's family always lived in Jackson?" I asked Alice before the teacher came in to class.

She shrugged as she swirled a stand of hair around her finger. "Nah, he moved from some city out east maybe a year and a half ago?"

So just like me, he was an outsider. The only difference was that I had Alice as a friend who helped me fit in. I wondered if he had a friend like Alice, if his life would differ from it was now. "And what brought them here?"

She eyed me with a frown, not liking all these questions related to this one person no one knew anything about. "Gosh, Stella, hell if I know. He doesn't talk to anyone besides you."

And he barely talked to me as it was. We shared very few words at school, normally just a hi or a pleasant greeting, as if to fill some quota he had. But I thought he did that to everyone and even if he didn't, I didn't think people paid attention. Gray seemed to fly under everyone's radar even though everyone seemed to have an opinion of him.

Alice's words were rough and caused me to frown back at her. All I was looking for was answers about a boy that everyone knew, but as I talked to her, I realized no one knew him. I didn't mean for these questions to be a trigger in any way. But it made me wonder why she was bothered by me asking all of these questions.

Alice frowned as she realized her tone was a little too aggressive. "Look, Stella, I'm sorry for snapping. Why are you so obsessed with him, anyhow? You don't ask about anyone else besides him. I just find it interesting since everyone knows he shouldn't be talked to."

This was a simple question that I wish I could answer it but I couldn't. I did not know why I was so interested in him. All I knew was that he was so a lonely but he didn't seem to want to be like that. I knew that by the way we made eye contact; it was as if he tried to connecting with someone, but it took an outsider to realize that. "I don't know."

"If you are so obsessed with him, why don't you talk to him and ask these questions yourself," Alice said as the teacher walked into the class and started writing on the smart board.

Her suggestion was as obvious as it was noteworthy. Why hadn't I tried harder to talk to him? I thought about our encounter yesterday and how he pushed me away. He wanted nothing to do with me, but maybe it was because I caught him at a terrible moment. I just had to find the right moment to talk to him. "I'll have to do that."

"Stella, I wasn't serious," Alice said, trying to backtrack, but I cared little about her words since I already made up my mind, I was going to know Gray.

Before I knew it, school was ending and there was no sign of Gray in any of the classes we had together. I couldn't help but wonder how he was and if he needed help still. Gray consumed my thoughts and made me want to track him down to make sure he was fine, but something told me that wouldn't be appropriate. Instead, I found myself standing on the sidewalk with the backpack in my hands, prepared to walk home if the bus was late.

<>

"Stella, I'm going out with some friends for shopping. Want to come?" Alice asked as she pulled up in her blue old Subaru.

"In Jackson?" I asked. I hadn't explored the downtown area for long, but one thing I knew was that it was tiny, so there couldn't be much shopping in the town at all.

"Of course! Where else? The next biggest town is Idaho Falls, and that's at least a two-hour drive from here."

I checked my phone and shrugged. It wasn't like I was going to do anything else today. "Sure, why not."

"Well, get that butt into the car. We got some shopping to do!" she cheered as I walked towards the car.

I got into the car and sat next to a girl that I knew by the name of Timberlynn. I found it a terrible name, but she said it was a family name, so I didn't question it. The last thing I wanted to do was to make fun of some dead ancestor. "Hey."

"Hey Stella! So glad you could join us," she said with a smile.

"Thanks for the invite. So Alice, where are we going?"

"We will go to my favorite store, Stio. My goodness, they have a sale this week and I have to go."

"Alice can never have too much Stio," Timberlynn said with a chuckle as Alice went speeding off.

I nodded with a smile as I pretended I knew what she was talking about. Sometimes asking too many questions was a killer to the mood, and it was better to act like I knew what they were talking about. I felt like the more I did that, the more they thought I always lived here and that was a good thing.

"So, my dad said that the antelope reserve is experiencing a lower number of antelope this season. He said it has to do with a bear or wild cat, some kind of predator like this," Alice said as she drove, making conversation.

"That's odd. For years we have had too many antelope there," Timberlynn said as she looked out the window of the car.

The two continued to talk about the reserve as if I wasn't in the car. Both shared memories that were so naturey it sounded more like a National Geographic show than actual life. Their stories made me feel out of place, and reminded me that I was nothing like them. My life differed greatly from theirs as I spent more time around city centers than anything.

"Stella, have you been to the reserve yet?" Alice asked, bringing me back into the conversation.

I remembered going once to the nature reserve when I was young. Memories of my parents together, happy, laughing, popped into my mind like a surprise birthday party. As I thought more about that memory, I realized I had to be maybe six or seven. "Once or twice. It's been years though."

"You should go. It's probably one of my favorite places in Jackson," Alice said as she drove through Main Street.

"Alice, you're just saying that because you practically grew up on the reserve with your father park ranger."

"And that's why I am a strongest supporter of it. I know how beautiful it is because I've been there enough," Alice retorted to Trimberlynn as she parked the car. "Well, we are here! Let's get out!"

We all followed Alice's lead and got out of the car, then walked down the sidewalk, passing tourists shopping around. Alice and Timberlynn shared hushed conversations about the hassle of these clueless tourists and giggled to one another, then they saw something too predicable.

Their conversation made me feel incredibly self-conscious since I myself felt like a tourist. Everything they pointed out made me realize I did the exact same things.

I had had little time to look around downtown and with no one to take me; I felt like a tourist still even though I shouldn't be. So as I listened to Alice and Timberlynn's conversation, I tried to soak everything in, grasping onto anything that would cement the idea that I was a local instead of one of these tourists.

"And here we are!" Alice cheered as she walked into a small clothing store that had a pinecone on the sign.

We walked in and instantly I felt more out of place. I was never interested in hiking or doing anything outside but within this store, that's all they catered to. Outdoor clothing and outdoor fashion was not something I considered a thing until I came to Jackson hole. I never understood it, but as I walked around the store, I realized that everyone here lived and died for outdoor things.

"Isn't this store amazing?" Alice asked as she pulled out a fleece that cost over $100. "Timberlynn, what do you think about this?"

"Oh, it's amazing. You should get it."

"I think I will."

I watched the friendly discourse in front of me, feeling once again out of place. I had never spent more than $30 on a shirt. I couldn't imagine spending over a hundred one on a piece of clothing. I grew up going to second-hand stores, not these fancy places that were outside my realm. "I like this place," I lied, knowing it was better than telling the truth.

"Here, oh Stella, this hat is the cutest. It would match your eyes," she said as she pulled out a knitted blue hat with a pompom on the top.

"You think so?" I smirked as I put it on.

"For sure. Here, I'll get it for you. As a welcome home present."

"You don't have to."

"Too late! It's gonna happen."

As I got home that evening, I just felt exhausted from keeping up with people that were so different from me. They talked about skiing, biking, hiking, and when they asked me, I had to make up some lie about how I loved to do all of these things. I was grateful for Alice and her friendship, but I felt like an outsider when she took me out today.

"So how was shopping?" Bec asked as I walked up the stairs to reach the main floor.

I smiled as I held up a small bag that said Stio on it.

"Oh, so you went to the official Jackson clothing brand. I guess you're a local now," she chuckled as she got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen.

"Do you own anything from this brand?"

"Of course. You have to if you live here." She nodded as if this was a fact. "What did you think about it?"

"It was ok. It's just not my style."

"I felt the same when I moved here."

I couldn't help but frown at her comment. I wasn't sure if I wanted to change. A part of me wanted to be a local, but another part didn't want to change my LA personality. I was used to the way I was currently; I wasn't sure if I wanted to be exactly like my father and Alice. Change wasn't as predictable as I wanted it to be. It was full of turns that happened, so naturally it caught me off guard. I didn't want to be a tourist in this city, but I didn't want to act like I grew up here, either.

"It's a good brand, though. It's good for hiking and skiing," Bec said, drawing me out of my thoughts.