Seven Minutes From Heaven [bxb]

Chapter 17 - Liam POV: Ends of the earth

A/N: This chapter is a literal trainwreck lmao. I'll eventually come back and pull this out of the wreckage but you can continue reading at your own risk. Hope it doesn't kill the story but I just needed to POST or it'd be another 6 weeks. :')

Shit's about to get heavy.

* * *

Getting rejected by Jude Caster was something of a gut punch for me, but I couldn't exactly let that show. He was a monumental clown, so it had a certain effect on my ego. The guys all laughed their asses off after he stormed off, but despite that initial shock, I couldn't help but wonder if there was something deeper causing this sudden shift in his attitude. He acted like I was a celebrity before and yet pulled a one-eighty just like that. Something felt wrong.

Despite his greater attempts to avoid any sort of contact, his consciousness of me only made our eyes meet that many more times. It was a little funny to watch him grow red with embarrassment before hastily looking away, but I also couldn't help but wonder why he struggled to detach himself from me so much after such a grand exit.

When the final bell rang, he actually managed to avoid my eyes as he threw his bag over his shoulder and darted out of the classroom. Charlie and Ben were chatting, and I felt one of them say my name as they slapped my shoulder. I watched Jude make a right turn out the door and guessed he was headed for the front school gates. I barely glanced back and apologised to the boys before grabbing my bag and shot out after him.

He stopped at the school pick-up zone and I watched him walk towards a white wagon pulling up in front of him. The driver's door swiftly opened, and a familiar man jumped out and raced to the passenger side to open the door for Jude. He was a fairly shredded muscle-head wearing tight slacks and a wife-beater shirt. He wore a beanie despite the warm weather, too. I wracked my brain trying to remember who, but his chivalrous act of opening the door and fastening Jude's belt for him rang a few alarms for me.

Adults didn't do that for us, right? We weren't babies or toddlers. My mum would probably go off her chops if I tried to get her to act like my chauffer and spoil me like that. The thought made me chuckle, but the sight in front of me wiped the smile from me immediately. The man reached his hand to Jude's cheek and stroked it just once with his thumb, offering a concerned smile before closing the door and hopping back into the driver's seat.

I yanked out my phone from my pocket and brought Jude's name up quickly.

Who u with and where u going? I texted him. I could see his head lower as he saw my texts, then watched him glance out the window as the wagon started pulling out. I realised I probably wouldn't get a response that quickly, so I quickly hit the call button and pressed the phone to my ear. I saw him looking down at it again as the car pulled out and drove off, but it only rang a few times before reaching his voicemail. He rejected my call.

"Damn it, Jude," I muttered, stuffing my phone back into my pocket. The car turned and disappeared from sight before I realised that I could have at least taken note of the number plate in case something went wrong. "Fuck, I should've gotten a photo."

"Of what?" Goose asked from behind me. I glanced back to see him approaching me with his mouth stuffed with food.

"Do adults open doors for teens and put their belts on for them?" I asked, turning back to the street I just watched Jude disappear from.

"Maybe if they're a young master and it's their chauffer, assistant, or bodyguard," he casually answered. He really loved his movies and video games. "Why's that?"

"I may have witnessed something shady," I said, feeling tension build all throughout my body.

"The guy he drove off with?" Goose asked. "Wasn't that the church pastor up on stage with Josh Caster on Friday?"