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*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
The walls of Beacon Hills High were closing in on TJ as she fled the halls like a madwoman. Some students turned to glance at her, wearing confused expressions, but she didn't care. She saw a blur that could have been Tracy watching her, and she maybe called her name, but TJ did not stop. She needed fresh air and space, before she slipped up and did something out of her control.
Pushing open the thick double doors that led to the outside world, TJ welcomed the shift in the air from stale to fresh and kept moving until she came to the courtyard, where the thick concrete steps in front of her led down to the bottom half — the older part — of the high school. She picked a random step and sat to the very side of it, her shoulder brushing against the concrete garden wall. She placed her head into her hands and let herself breathe, waiting for the jitteriness in her blood to subside.
The sun was soothing on her back, enveloping her in a sort of silent calmness that she desperately needed, and she almost didn't notice the girl that had taken a seat beside her. To her disappointment, it wasn't Tracy. It was the girl she had seen on her first day, when she had bumped into Scott. She was wearing brightly colored leggings and a funny looking belt that gleamed in the sunlight.
"You guys are relentless." TJ snapped, wearing what she hoped was her best 'get lost' look.
"Yeah," the girl sighed in agreeance and offered TJ's bag back to her. It hadn't even crossed her mind that she'd forgotten to grab her bag before taking off, and TJ snatched it up a bit roughly but couldn't bring herself to care. "Scott can get like that. But he means well, I promise."
TJ eyed a pair of students coming up the steps, laughing carelessly, and felt a pang of envy in her chest. She glanced at the girl. "Yeah, no offense, but I don't even know your name so I'm not exactly in a position to listen to whatever crap you spout."
"It's Kira. Hey, I get that your new to all of 'this'" — Kira made finger quotes around the word — "But Scott has been doing it for a while and he knows what he's doing."
TJ rolled her eyes. "I just want five minutes Scott-free. Why is everyone so obsessed with Scott McCall? It's like the sun shines out of his a—"
"Okay, I get it." Kira said quickly, her eyes wide.
TJ sighed and began tracing a circle in the dust on the step next to her with her fingernail. Even though it was definitely ruining her nail shape, the action soothed her.
"What does it mean?" Kira asked gently, and TJ noticed that she was staring intently at the line in the dust. It was faint, and not at all elegant, and TJ was surprised by the possibility of it being anything more than something she did subconsciously.
