seven (adam banks)

chapter four

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chapter four: the god of sun

( a/n: that moment when, four chapters in, she finally calls him by his first name LMAO

the tree is important )

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Adam sits next to her, slumping slightly in the seat.

The classroom buzzes as pairs of partners talk, deciding which god or goddess they're going to make the topic of their projects. Jamie looks around them, playing with her pen while wondering if she should suck it up and ask him what he wants to do. Or should she wait for him to move first?

Adam glances at her and then his book, looking like he wants to say something but rethinks his decision. When two classmates walk up to the teacher's desk and Ms. James writes Artemis on the board, she swiftly makes up her mind.

Sucking up her pride, she turns to him as confidently as she can. "So... what do you want to do?"

Is it a what question or a who?

He shrugs.

"I dunno. You can choose. You always liked history more than me."

Jamie sighs softly. Linda and James go up to claim Hercules.

"How about the twelve Olympians then?" She flips to the section of the book, afraid all of the good ones are going to be taken. "There should be enough about them."

Adam shrugs again and nods, flipping to the section of the book too.

Reading the page for a moment, she looks back up at him. Her words die in her mouth as she's struck with an idea.

The afternoon sun glares in through the window, outlining every curve and bump on his face like he has his very own halo. It catches on his hair, turning what used to be a dirty blond into wheat gold.

"Apollo."

"Hm?"

"Apollo, the sun god. We should do Apollo."

For emphasis, she holds up the book and points blindly to the picture.

"Yeah, sure."

She sighs in relief, feeling strangely tight in the chest, and gets up to tell Mrs. James.

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Jamie spent an hour in the school's library, taking out any books they might need, while Adam was in hockey practice. As soon as he was done they, begrudgingly, boarded the bus together; they're going to her house to work on the project because she's always hated Phillip Banks and Adam didn't want to deal with any potential fighting.

He keeps his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but her as they amble along the sidewalk. She's got books in her arms- she always seems to be holding books these days.

His body seems to know the way to her house on its own.

"Oh... the tree's still there."

Outside of the house, right by where Jaime's bedroom is, there's an old, gnarled oak tree.

Boards were nailed into it when they were kids, creating a ladder for them to climb, and a platform of two by fours that was going to be the floor of a treehouse sits toward the top, cradled by the tree's strange limbs. The thickest branch leads up to her windowsill and is still decorated with a string of lights that have probably been dead a long time.

"Yeah, Banks. Trees are solitary beings, after all."

He gives her a look. "Just thought your dad would've cut it down by now, that's all."

"It's not rotting or anything, so he left it. He considers it a 'staple of my childhood.'" She shrugs.

Adam nods a bit and Jamie finally unlocks the front door. She enters first, kicking her shoes off by the door, and he follows, mimicking her.

"Hey, guys, I'm home!" She calls into the house, glancing behind her. "Adam is with me!"

When nobody responds, Jamie sighs in relief. That means her mom took her dad to therapy and that they'll have the table- and house- to themselves.

"So, uh, my parents are gonna be out late. I'll order pizza later."

Adam nods softly, following her into the kitchen and putting his bag down next to the table. She stares for a moment, trying to cope with how odd this all feels- the furniture is the same, but her Adam is so different.

Well, he's also not really her Adam anymore.

"Want anything to drink?" She lingers awkwardly by the fridge.

He nods. "Uh, sure."

Jamie gets the pitcher of iced tea from the fridge and puts it on a square potholder on the table. Adam grabs them both cups, pausing in his actions when he turns and sees her staring at him.

"Oh, sorry. Was that too forward? I just... I already know where everything is."

She shakes her head quickly. "No, it's fine."

Jamie shoves down a memory of him hoisting her on his shoulders so they can grab things from the cabinets and sits down at the table with him. They both pour themselves some tea and take out their books.

"...I guess we should start with all the things he's the god of?"

Adam nods. "Yeah, that's the first thing on the syllabus."

She flips through one of the books, her notebook open next to him, and he opens his too.

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"Jamie, baby, we're home!"

Lisa Johnson enters the house, her husband close behind her, and cocks a brow at the sound of faint laughter from the kitchen and the smell of pizza that floats through the home.

"Hey, mom!" Jamie calls back. "Adam's here, we're working on a project!"

Lisa and Jim share a look and turn the corner into the kitchen.

"Wait Adam as in Adam Banks?"

Sitting at their table, with books strewn about across the surface, is their daughter and the blond boy she'd left in her past. He's a little red in the face, still snickering about something, and she's smiling.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson." He says politely, smiling at them both. "It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too, hon."

To say they're both a little in shock is an understatement.

As Jamie gets up to greet her parents, Adam starts to pack his stuff and clean his place.

"I should get going..."

"Oh, say hi to your mother for me, alright?"

He nods at Lisa and pulls his book bag over his shoulder.

"I'll, uh, walk you out."

Her parents turn to each other with cocked brows, her mother hiding a smile as Jamie walks Adam to the front door.

"So..." She says, standing on the threshold as he stands on the porch. "See you tomorrow?"

He hooks his thumbs under the straps of his book and nods as she rubs her arm awkwardly.

"Yeah!" Adam nods, wincing at how enthusiastic he is and clearing his throat. "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jamie watches as he walks down the few steps in front of her house.

"Goodnight, Adam!"

Pausing, he looks over his shoulder and smiles at her.

"Night, Jamie."

Adam continues smiling long after she disappears behind a closed door, a pep in his step as he walks down the block and across the street.