His Cigarettes

13) Jump

When he finally did show back up at school, things were different. He ignored me completely, no matter how long I stared at him he would never look my way. I stopped seeing him at his car in the morning, in the halls, and even at lunch. He wasn't just ignoring me, he was avoiding me. I couldn't stand it, I missed him.

Jash, on the other hand, was a different story. So obsessed with the idea that Nykulus would attack me again, Jash never left my side unless he had to. It wasn't too bad though, Jash was a great guy and he obviously had a thing for me. He just wasn't the guy I pictured in my head as I was falling asleep at night.

About a week later, on a Friday, I was tired of Jash following me around like a lost dog, and tired of missing someone that clearly didn't want to be around me. I needed some fun. So I called up Chase, one of Jash's close friends, and asked him if Jash had shown up at his house party yet. When he answered, he sounded surprised and slightly drunk, but he denied Jash's presence.

When I got there, the party was in full swing. The house was small, but didn't seem to stop all of the people from cramming themselves inside. When I first entered, I didn't recognize anybody, until I heard a very familiar accent whispering in my ear.

"You finally came to your senses?" He wrapped his arm around my neck, looking down at me grinning. "Realized how much more attractive I am than that old bloke." He laughed loudly. He was definitely drunk.

I pushed him off me gently, grinning. "Oh Chase, I don't know how I didn't see it before. You've been right here all along." I tried my best at a southern accent, but failed miserably.

He hiccuped between laughs before pulling me towards his kitchen. Just after opening a beer and handing it to me, he turned to me but never got a chance to speak before he was called away.

"Chase! We're about to start beer pong! You're on my team!" Someone had called him from another room.

"Well, my lady, I must be off." Chase bowed before running off. Wow, I can't believe the Australian has a better southern accent than the American.

I sipped my beer for a while, just watching everyone, before my eyes wandered towards a few people in bathing suits headed out a back door.

On my way to the door I passed Jash drinking from a red solo cup that his opponent had just thrown the ping pong ball in. Josh noticed me and gave me a thumbs up just as I was slipping through the door.

A few feet from the covered patio was a huge pool. The kind with a diving board and goes about 12 feet deep. I started to walk forward from the door, towards a folding chair to sit, farther away from everyone else. As I sat down, I placed my beer on the ground beside me and looked around. There were only a few people in the pool, the majority standing off to the side. That's when I noticed people laid all over the roof, it looked as if they were watching the stars. The roof, however, that they were lying on, went far out, almost aligning with the pool. I had to get up there.

I waited until a guy nearby was out of the water before walking over to him.

I didn't waste any time. "How do I get up there?" I asked as he was picking up his towel to dry his hair.

He looked confused until I pointed and watched his eyes follow my arm to the roof.

His face automatically looked disappointed, "You want to watch the stars with them?"

"No," I told him, shaking my head. "I want to jump."

So that's how I ended up half naked on the roof of Chase's house, looking straight down at the pool. It wasn't a far jump, but this guy was looking at me in disbelief as to if I would actually jump or not. His name ended up being Elliot. He was alright, said he was friends with Nykulus. Looking down, I saw Chase walk out and sit on a chair near by.

It took him a while, but when he finally noticed me he raised his solo cup and started chanting, "Jump! Jump! Jump!" Soon others joined in but none of it was in sync and a lot of it sounded slurred.

I looked down at the water before looking into the crowd again and my eyes connected with a pair of black ones. He was standing on the other side of the pool, I wonder how I hadn't seen him earlier. He stared at me in bewilderment, glancing between Elliot and I. It took a lot to look away, it was the first time I had seen his eyes in so long. But I knew I had too, I couldn't keep letting him get to me. So as I stared down at the water, taking a step towards the edge, I felt the adrenaline start pumping through my veins. I missed this feeling. I needed this.

So I jumped.

~~~~~
I'll be writing more. Chapter 14 will be here soon.