Chapter Three: The Boy Everyone Noticed
1133 Words
Morning came too fast.
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him—leaning against the wall, arguing with me, looking at me like he knew something I didn’t.
It was annoying.
Very annoying.
I sat up in bed with a groan, grabbing my phone and squinting at the screen.
7:12 AM.
Great.
Just great.
I dragged myself out of bed, already dreading the day. Normally, school was my escape. A place where everything made sense. Where I didn’t have to think about my dad’s secrets or the fact that a stranger—no, not a stranger—him—was now living in my house.
But today?
Today felt different.
I got dressed quickly, throwing on my usual outfit—nothing special. Just something simple.
Because the last thing I cared about was impressing anyone.
Especially him.
By the time I got downstairs, the smell of coffee filled the air. My dad was already dressed, looking more awake than I felt.
And Jason?
Jason was sitting at the table.
Like he’d always been there.
“Morning,” my dad said, trying to sound normal.
I didn’t respond.
Instead, I grabbed an apple from the counter, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.
“You’re going to be late,” he added.
“I know.”
There was a pause.
Then—
“I’m enrolling Jason in your school today.”
I froze.
Slowly, I turned around.
“You’re what?”
“It’s temporary,” he said quickly. “It’s just until we figure things out.”
“No,” I said immediately. “No, that’s not happening.”
“It is,” Jason said casually from the table.
I shot him a look. “No one asked you.”
“Still happening.”
I turned back to my dad. “You can’t just drop him into my school like that! Do you know how weird that is?”
“It’s the closest option,” my dad replied. “And it makes sense.”
“For who?” I snapped.
“For both of you.”
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Yeah, because we get along so well.”
Jason didn’t even look up. “You’ll survive.”
“I’m not worried about surviving,” I said. “I’m worried about losing my mind.”
“That already happened,” he muttered.
I glared at him. “Do you ever stop talking?”
“No.”
“Clearly.”
“Enough,” my dad cut in. “This is happening.”
Silence.
Heavy, frustrating silence.
I clenched my jaw, grabbing my bag. “Fine.”
“Fine?” my dad repeated.
“Fine,” I said again. “Do whatever you want.”
And with that, I walked out.
School parking lots at 8 AM are loud.
Too loud.
Cars pulling in, people talking, music playing—it was the usual chaos. Normally, I didn’t mind it.
Today, it felt like too much.
I stepped out of the car, slamming the door harder than necessary.
Jason got out on the other side.
And just like that—
Everything shifted.
At first, no one noticed.
Then someone did.
Then everyone did.
It was subtle at first—whispers, glances, people slowing down as they walked past.
And then it wasn’t subtle anymore.
“Who is that?”
“Is he new?”
“He’s kinda—”
“Wait, is that—”
I closed my eyes briefly.
Of course.
Of course this would happen.
Jason didn’t react.
Didn’t even look around.
He just walked like none of it mattered—hands in his pockets, expression calm, like he was completely used to this kind of attention.
Which somehow made it worse.
I caught up to him quickly. “Congratulations.”
He glanced at me. “For what?”
“You’ve been here five seconds and you’re already the main topic.”
“Not my fault.”
“It kind of is.”
He shrugged.
We walked into the building together—and that’s when things really got out of control.
People stared.
Like actually stared.
Girls whispered. Some didn’t even bother whispering.
“Okay, wow.”
“He’s actually—”
“Do you think he has a girlfriend?”
I groaned under my breath. “This is embarrassing.”
“For you?” Jason asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re with me.”
That made him pause.
Just slightly.
“Relax,” he said. “No one’s looking at you.”
I stopped walking.
“Wow,” I said flatly. “You’re unbelievable.”
He kept walking.
Which meant I had to follow him.
Again.
I hated that.
By the time we got to the office, I was already exhausted—and it wasn’t even first period yet.
The lady at the front desk smiled politely. “You must be Jason.”
“Yeah.”
She handed him a schedule. “Here you go. You’ll be joining classes today.”
I leaned slightly to see.
Big mistake.
Because—
“Oh no,” I muttered.
“What?” he asked.
“You have two classes with me.”
He looked at the paper. “Only two?”
“That’s two too many.”
He smirked slightly.
Actually smirked.
“I think I’ll survive.”
“I won’t,” I said.
First period was a disaster.
Not because of the class.
Because of him.
The second he walked in, everything stopped.
Like actually stopped.
Even the teacher paused.
“Well,” she said after a moment, adjusting her glasses. “You must be new.”
Jason nodded slightly. “Yeah.”
“Introduce yourself.”
Of course.
Of course she would say that.
He glanced around the room—completely calm—then said, “Jason.”
“That’s it?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
A few people laughed.
I rolled my eyes.
“Alright then,” she said. “You can take a seat.”
And guess where he sat?
Right next to me.
Of course.
“Move,” I whispered.
“No.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
I stared at him. “You’re doing this on purpose.”
“Maybe.”
I turned away, trying to focus on literally anything else.
But it was impossible.
Because I could feel it.
The attention.
The whispers.
And worst of all—
Him.
Right there.
Too close.
Too calm.
Too… distracting.
“This is going to be a long day,” I muttered.
“Get used to it,” he replied quietly.
And something about the way he said it—
Made my heart beat just a little faster.
Which made absolutely no sense.
None at all.
- Writer
