Deja Vu (SatoGou)

Chapter 13

hi all,

i just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone reading and commenting on this fic. I always have fun writing but knowing people are looking forward to the chapters just makes it even better :3

Also, a big thank you to Spark who recommended the song Memories by Conan Gray, which inspired me to add some of the dialogue to this chapter^^ Hope you all enjoy

When I get to class the next morning, the chair that usually belongs to my biology partner, Silver, has been taken by Ash. I pause in the doorway, staring in horror at my empty seat, which is now beside him. He looks over at me, his face blank. I swallow hard, stubbornly looking around the room for somewhere else to sit, but everywhere is taken. I suck in a deep breath and walk over, pointedly ignoring him as I sit on the very edge of my seat, as far from him as I can be. He clearly asked Silver to swap, so I expect him to say something, but he doesn't. He's silent beside me, but I can feel his presence, and it's making me shiver. If his goal is to make me as uncomfortable as possible, he's succeeding. He's making memories resurface that could have stayed positive, that I could have worked on, and now they're making me hurt again. I don't know why he can't just leave me alone.

After class, I hurry to the next one, but when I get there, the person I usually sit beside has moved, too. Again, Ash comes to sit beside me, casually taking his seat and staring ahead, not speaking. This time, I turn to face him, giving him an incredulous, 'what-the-fuck' look, but he just turns back to me, our eyes meeting, and smiles. I physically recoil, frowning as my heart skips a beat. What's his game?

At break, I go to Gary, but this time Chloe comes over, too. Dawn and Ash stand at the other side of the schoolyard, and Dawn keeps looking over at us, biting her lip. I wonder if Chloe told her she was going to abandon them or not.

"Do you have any idea why Ash has moved to sit beside me in every class so far?" I ask Chloe. I figure he's moved beside me in all the others, too. He must have noted who sat beside me in every class, asked them all to swap, and because no one really cared about sitting beside me, they all agreed.

"No," she says, shaking her head. "Have you spoken to him?"

I shake my head too. "No, he hasn't said a word to me. It's freaking me out."

"He's being strange," Gary agrees. "I don't like the way he keeps looking over here. Want me to tell him to back off?"

My heart swells at Gary's willingness to protect me, but I shake my head. "It's okay. I can ignore him. Oh, he showed up at my door last night, though. I told my mom not to let him in."

"Alright, that's it," Gary says, and before I can react he's marching away from us, in their direction. My heart sinks, going cold in my chest as I watch him stride across to stand in front of Ash. He points a finger in Ash's face, but I can't hear what they're saying. Beside me, Chloe starts to tremble, like this is making her anxious. It's making me anxious too.

Ash is frowning, and shaking his head, and says something to Gary, who drops his hand. I wish I could see his face. A moment later, Gary turns and starts to come back. He seems... conflicted. I wonder what shit Ash put in his head. I steal another glance at him, and see he looks hurt. I won't let myself feel sorry for him.

"What did he say?" I ask impatiently.

Gary grimaces. "He's gone mad, I think."

I want to ask what that means, but the bell rings, and everyone starts filtering back inside the building, and I have to go back to sitting beside Ash in every class, ignoring him. Even in English, Barry's agreed to move to sit on his own in the back, probably because he's more likely to get away with chewing gum back there. This time, though, once we're told to complete a task and we're allowed to talk, Ash turns to me, his arm draped over the back of his chair.