Aisle 10

seven // closer

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Friday 5th August

Jordan Terrell hadn't spoken to anyone in 48 hours, approximately. She'd cried silent tears and memorised paragraphs of text but not one word had slipped from her mouth. Reasons like this were why she liked the library; she didn't need an excuse for being silent.

But all good things come to an end. Jordan was simply leaving Aisle 10 to use the toilet when a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed boy decided to spark a conversation with her.

"Jordan!" Dominic called as he spotted her across the room. Jordan sighed softly before turning to face him. "I-I brought you something..." he said as he stood up and brushed most of his books off the table. They landed messily on the floor with a thud. Jordan frowned, fiddling with the hem of her black tank top. "It's food." he added. Jordan shook her head at his blatant disregard for the rules before walking over to him, weaving between tables as she went.

Dominic began to pull out numerous plastic containers from his bag on the floor.

"You never have lunch so I though I'd bring you some." the teen murmured as he began to remove all the plastic lids, revealing an array of finger foods and fruits. Jordan paused at the edge of the table, trying to gauge Dominic's expression as he pulled out some plastic cutlery. "I didn't know what you'd like so..." Dominic's voice trailed off as he noticed Jordan's bloodshot eyes. "Is this a bad time?" he asked softly. Jordan bit her lip, her eyes darting around the room. "I'll pack up..." Dominic said quickly as he began to re-cover the boxes.

"No." Jordan said almost inaudibly as she took a seat. Dominic let out a sigh of relief before sending a grin Jordan's way.

The pair sat together eating while Dominic chatted to Jordan whose replies consisted of small nods and faint smiles. It wasn't much but it was a start.

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Wednesday 10th August

Jordan had now eaten lunch with Dominic for three consecutive days. Dominic would set out the food, invite her over and before trying to squeeze a drop of conversation out of her. His endeavour seemed impossible but each day, Jordan seemed to open up a little more.

The changes were subtle; sometimes faint smiles would grace her face as she spoke, she would look in Dominic's vague direction as he asked things, she wouldn't use her hair to shield her face.

"So you like chocolate?" Dominic quizzed as Jordan continued to nibble on the Dairy Milk in her hand.

"Food or people?" Jordan asked quietly with a faint smile.

"Uh, both I guess?" Dominic said with a laugh, his blue eyes trained on Jordan's mildly happy expression.

"Yeah." Jordan answered, her long curly eyelashes flickering as she looked up at Dominic.

"Cool, I like chocolate too." he said, his eyes lighting up.

"Food or people?" Jordan asked, her lips stretching up into an almost-grin.

"Depends." Dominic murmured. "I like people for more than their looks."

"What if that's all they have to offer?" Jordan asked, the rest of the room fading away as he focused all her attention on the boy sitting before her.

"Everyone has something to offer from the inside, good or bad." Dominic replied, leaning in a little closer to Jordan.

"What if they don't? What if they're just... Empty inside?" Jordan whispered.

"Then I'd help them." Dominic said softly.

"Help them what?" Jordan asked, her voice wavering.

"Help them find themselves."

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a/n: thanks for reading xxxx