BLACKOUT; JR [1]

7.1

School was a place that I didn't particularly like, and a place I didn't expect to attend in this specific universe. Blake would be there. Dad would drop him off on his way to work, crack a joke as we he got out of the car, and laugh at himself as he drove away. I liked Dad's jokes, as much as I pretended to hate them. Back home, Blake and I would wrestle for the front seat, and I lost more times than not. But it was good, because we were happy.

Now here I am, sitting with the boys in Phoebe's van, on the way to Bremin High. I felt my anxiety levels rising as the drive to school progressed.

Sam, who sat beside me, seemed to sense my distress. "Not quite the way I imagined rocking back up to Bremin High." He sighed, his voice a low whisper as Phoebe's van pulled up in the car lot at school. Why does this boy constantly say what I'm thinking?

I looked out the window, my eyes following the students inside the building. I saw a familiar car to my right, and sure enough, it was Dad and Blake. I felt my breath hitch in my throat at the sight of them, Dad laughing and Blake rolling his eyes. The sequence of events remained the same, it just looked more awkward here. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes as I watched Dad drive away, and Blake go inside.

It was just so familiar, and so overwhelming.

I didn't realise I was crying until a tear rolled onto my lip. I was quick to wipe the sadness away, hoping nobody had noticed.

"I still don't get why we have to go to school." Jake complained, resulting in a glare from Phoebe.

"You want the police off your backs, you go to school." She said sternly. "Gary was on my case again this morning, so try not to do anything suspicious." She added, her eyes on Felix.

"A bit late for that." Andy said quietly, to which I silently agreed.

"You didn't have to bring us here." Felix mumbled from the front seat, and I also agreed with that. The idea of going to school here just didn't seem right.

"Well, you can't just turn up to school without your Aunty Phoebe." She said, another sarcastic smile appearing on her face.

Sam leaned into me. "She creeps me out..." He whispered, and the other boys agreed in mumbles. Then Sam perked up, looking out the window. "At least this place hasn't changed." He said with a grin, turning back to me with a bright smile.

"Famous last words." Felix said as we all piled out of the car.

"Nah, this is where the magic happens." I had a hard time believing Sam's response, but he seemed confident enough. "Okay, let's do this."

"Dude, are you actually excited?" Jake quipped, eyebrows raised in amusement.

Sam nodded. "This is way better than hanging out in that lame shed." Again, I silently agreed. Very silent, very anxious, very on edge. "There's a canteen, showers." Jake didn't look quite as convinced as Sam would have liked. "Hot girls." He added in another attempt to sway him. Jake smiled, and his eyes narrowed slightly because of it. Sam then looked at me, and then back to his blond friend with a smirk. "But I guess you're sorted."

I felt the familiar feeling of my face burning, so I tried to hide my blushing cheeks.

"There's a library!" Andy added, beaming at me. "I can study wormholes."

Felix and Jake shared a look, and an eye roll. "It's like he was born without an off switch." Felix mumbled, looking quite stunned. Sam led the way inside, but I lingered behind the group with Jake at my side.

"You're all quiet." He noticed, a concerned look adorning his features. It kind of made my stomach turn, but in a good way. "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah." I said, giving him a small nod. He didn't look at all convinced. "I just saw my brother and my Dad. They looked so happy, and everything was exactly the same, right down to how they say goodbye." I admitted, gesturing back into the car park. Jake's shoulders slumped slightly upon hearing my slight issue, and I felt a little bad for dumping that on him.

But when he grinned at me, I knew my guilty feelings were invalid. "You know, I've been waiting for you to crack." He said, his lips twitching into a small smile. I craned my neck to look up at him with my narrowed eyes.

"Crack?"

"You haven't said anything about your family since the day we came here, when you had the soap." He mumbled, making my stomach turn just a little bit faster. He remembered that small detail, and it made me weirdly happy, so I smiled a little. "You hardly even said anything when we went shopping." He used air quotes, nudging me in the ribs gently. I groaned quietly and pushed his arm away, but I didn't say anything. A pout replaced the warm smile on his face. "Just talk to me." He whined, gently pulling at the sleeve of my uniform.

"There's nothing to say." I explained, shrugging. "Blake thinks I'm an idiot. I basically played him in the shop when we came back. I told him to stop lying and he kicked me out." I said, replaying the story to Jake even though he'd already heard it.

"Then un-play him." He looked as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head. I cocked an eyebrow, silently wishing for him to be more obvious. "Talk to him."

"If it was that easy, I would have done it ages ago." I scrunched my face up in slight disgust and Jake chuckled. I didn't really feel the need to say anything else as we approached the door.

"Edith." Jake's hand on my wrist stopped me from entering the building. "You cracked, it's fine. I did, too." He said. "You know you can talk to me, right? I'm here."

All I could do was smile.