JACE
One minute I'm behind Arabella and then the next, she's got me against the lockers.
"DONT FUCKING TOUCH ME AGAIN," she screams.
A crows begins to gather behind her. She notices and walks backward towards the edge of the ring.
"Touch me again and I'll fucking kill you," she hisses before she stalks off towards the dorms.
What the fuck just happened?
I make my way to the car and just sit there, trying to comprehend what the fuck set her off.
I slap my hand to my face as I realise that it was me touching her hand.
It must be one of those trigger things I've read about. I don't know a lot about them, only that it's common with PTSD. I know some stuff because my sister has triggers.
Five years ago, me, my sister, and both my parents got into a really bad car crash and my dad died. For months after, Delilah refused to leave the house and developed 'Agoraphobia'. It's a type of anxiety disorder where person is afraid to leave environments they know or consider to be safe. In severe cases, a person with agoraphobia considers their home to be the only safe environment.
We got her to leave after a few months of homeschooling and counselling at home.
But why would she have such a trigger?
I pull my phone out and open google:
What is the fear of physical contact?
I press search and...bingo!
'Haphephobia is an intense, overwhelming fear of being touched. Many people don't like being touched by strangers. But haphephobia is significant distress over being touched by anyone, even family or friends. For some people, the fear is specific to touch by people of one gender.'
"Huh," I say out loud.
Im in deep thought when a knocking comes from the outside of my car window. Kayla.
For fucks sake what does this bitch want with me. I roll down my window and say coldly,"what do you want."
She plasters on an ugly ass smile," I saw that bitch push you into the lockers and I wanted to see if you were ok, Jacey boo."
"Fucking fantastic," I give her a sarcastic smile and a thumbs up.
She walks away shortly after, thank god and I'm left with ten minutes until my next class starts.
I sigh and get out my car, making my way back to the school.
***
When I get in the room, I see that everyone has been paired with someone else and were playing twenty questions with one another.
Everyone except me. And Arabella.
The teacher, Mrs Blake, appears out of thin air and claps her hands,"Ah so you've finally decided to join us Jace! You will be partners with Arabella, so if you would sit down and get on with the task that would be lovely!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Arabella visibly sigh with annoyance.
I move over and grab a chair, facing her but she doesn't look at me.
"We're supposed to be doing 20 questions," I say.
"No shit." Was the only response I get so I proceeded to ask as many questions as I can.
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Don't have one."
"Favourite hobby."
"Don't have one."
"Favourite animal?" I ask expecting her answer to be the same.
"Any carnivore."
"Why?" I press, leaning forward on my elbows.
"Because they can defend themselves better than anything else can."
Surprised my this answer I change the subject. "What do your parents do?"
"Next question."
"You have to-"
"Next. Question."
I look at her face. Truly look at it. I see the little flicker of her eyelids at the mention of her parents. I see the the way her eyes dart around when she becomes uncomfortable. Deciding not to make her even more so, I turn the tide.
"Ask me a question."
She looks directly at me for the first time in ten minutes, then sighs as she rolls her eyes.
"Fine, favourite colour?"
"Green."
"Favourite, I don't know, flower?" She says as a joke, clearly not expecting me to answer.
"Forget-me-nots, although If you're quite the scientist, Myosotis sylvatica."
The look on her face is priceless. She looks like she's just been told she's won a billon dollars.
"Why?" She tilts her head slightly.
"My sister, Daliah, a few years ago she developed Agoraphobia and flat out refused to leave the house for months. Every once in a while she'd ask me to find her some wild flowers, so I went out and all I could find were Forget-me-nots. A whole ass field of them. So every Friday, before I came home from school, I'd go to this field and pick her a bouquet of them. We called it Forget-me-not Friday." I smile fondly at the memory.
Arabella on the other hand, looks star struck.
"That's... deep. Is she... ok now?"
"Yeah she's fine, once a month we have a picnic in the same field, just me and her."
"That sounds nice," she says so quietly I almost don't hear the sadness in her voice. She clears her throat, "Do you live on campus?"
"No, I would but I have to look after my sister." Because if I didn't no one else would.
"Do you have any hobbies?"
"One, but don't tell anyone," I lean forward slightly but not enough to intimidate her, "I street race."
She perks up at this, "ok, favourite car, and I swear to god it better not be a Ferrari or some shit."
"Easy, McLaren 720s. You?"
"Daym. Me? Gonna have to go with a Rimac Nevera."
"You have some pretty good car knowledge, love."
"Why do you call me that? And why do you call me it after we met like twice?" She asks, curiously.
Just as I'm about to answer, the bell rings for end of classes and I turn back around to Arabella and I give her a smirk.
"Guess you'll have to wait until next week...love."
She rolls her eyes as I walk out of the class with the others and join the wave of people.
***
A/N
BIG CHAPTER.
HOW DO YOU GUYS LIKE JACE SO FAR?
WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE FLOWER?