What You're Missing

Chapter 1

Suddenly, a tall, blond-haired boy stumbled into the room, his hair a mop of a mess on his head and his blue flannel shirt buttoned in all the wrong places. Charlotte looked to Jasper and rolled her eyes. What a great way to start the second semester, delinquent, she thought. There were noticeable dark circles tracing underneath his eyes, indicating a lack of sleep, much more than Charlotte thought she lacked during finals week. In fact, he seemed as if he hadn't had proper sleep in a long time. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity as she watched the boy fumble and adjust the strap to his book bag, running a hand through his hair in embarrassment when he met the eyes of Mrs. Johnston, who stood with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"What a pleasure to have you joining us," she said, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. His deep, raspy morning voice caused Charlotte to straighten up in surprise. She didn't expect him to sound like that. Then again, she wasn't sure what she was expecting to be honest.

"Mhm. Find a seat." The blond awkwardly nodded before searching the room, then walking over to an empty seat conveniently located across from Charlotte. She couldn't help but stare intriguingly as he walked by, making brief eye contact with his chocolate-brown eyes. She watched as he sat down and rolled up his sleeves, surprisingly revealing very toned and muscular arms and a watch that seemed larger than any she's ever seen before. He pulled out a notebook and a pencil from his book bag and laid them on his desk before letting out a sigh that seemed both of exhaustion and relief.

Charlotte broke out of her trance when she heard Mrs. Johnston's voice raise in volume as she began their lesson. Shaking her head, she rolled up the sleeves to her purple plum-colored sweater before opening to a fresh page in her notebook and beginning to copy the notes displayed on the board.

But she couldn't get her thoughts of the boy out of her head.

What could he be doing outside of school? she wondered as she tapped her pencil against the side of her forehead. She looked to the boy once again, even though she could only get a glimpse of the side of his face and the back of his head from a few feet away. She could, however, get a good view of his structured jawline, and she couldn't help but admit that despite his rough "I-just-woke-up" look going on, he was very attractive.

That wasn't why she seemed to be drawn to him, though. She had noticed the boy before from her last semester classes, so she knew he had to be fairly intelligent to be in the same ones as her. She just never took the time to really notice him, and now that she had, she couldn't help but want to know more. Where did he come from? she asked herself as he restlessly bounced his leg. What has him so anxious and tired all the time?

Before she knew it, the bell rung, signaling that class was over. Charlotte glanced at the clock in shock when she noticed over an hour had already passed. She sighed as she looked down at her notebook, seeing that she had barely taken any notes. Most of the students immediately bustled out of the room, leaving a few left along with herself, Jasper, and the mystery blond.

"C'mon," Jasper nudged her shoulder as he stood up. His expression shifted to one of concern as he noticed the look on her face. "Are you okay, Char? You seem a little out of it."

"What?" she asked suddenly, as if she was just noticing him. He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." Jasper narrowed his eyes in suspicion as she packed her bag. He could tell she was lying, and while he was about to question her about it, the sudden beeping of a watch was perceived throughout the room. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she wondered where the noise could be coming from, before eyeing the mysterious blond still in the room hastily try and shut off his watch. She watched as he failed to stop the noise, then hurriedly pick up his books and run out the door.