That night, I got Jaxon to drive me "home", which I told him was one of the many apartment complexes a few blocks away from where I lived. I watched him drive away before walking to where I actually lived, relieved to find that nothing was awry when I entered.
The whole situation with Alexei had put me on edge, and I found it hard to sleep all night. There were too many questions running through my mind to sleep properly, so I decided that instead of wasting time mulling over things that I couldn't figure out, I would do a few more runs in the artistic district.
The streets were still rather crowded, though the crowds that roamed through were much more questionable than they were during the day. Still, I was able to make enough cash to make up for the runs that I had planned to make Sunday morning.
The next morning at school, as expected, Jaxon, Alex, Kasey and James were all waiting for me at the doors again. However, this time instead of ignoring them, I tried to make conversation.
"Hey, Adler."
"Reynolds."
"Yup, that's my last name."
Jaxon smirked. "I think that it would be better if it were mine."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Alyssa Adler? That's some alliteration for you. What am I, a superhero?"
"You are to me."
I rolled my eyes, starting to make my way into the school. Jaxon walked beside me, causing a lot of students to watch in awe. My change in demeanor was apparent, since I didn't push Jaxon away for once, which I guess was big news to the student population.
"So, wanna meet up after school at Java Jones again?"
I considered it for a second. "No. I'm busy."
"Reynolds, you said that you would give me a chance."
"This is me doing exactly that."
The bell rang, causing the rest of the group to split off from us. Jaxon and I both walked to English class, taking our normal seats together at the back of the class.
The first thing that I noticed when we walked into the class was that, for the first time in a while, Mr. Pather was smiling. Not the wistful smile that I had seen him wear multiple times ever since his divorce, but a full blown, eyes bright smile. On top of that, he in the class before the bell rang, and his shirt also looked freshly ironed and dry-cleaned; it was almost as if he was trying to make a good impression on somebody.
I noticed how his eyes kept flickering to the watch on his wrist, despite the fact that class hadn't even started yet. I also noticed how his work bag was slightly more stuffed than usual, as if he had packed an extra lunch. There were no noticeable shapes bulging out of the sides of the cloth material of the bag, meaning that there was probably something wrapping whatever was inside, like a picnic cloth or a blanket.
I smiled. He definitely had a date, most likely a picnic date, at lunch. I recalled how his car was still dirty, meaning that he hadn't thought of what impression that would make on his date.
This implied that he wasn't planning on using his car or showing his car to his date, so it would probably take place on one of the hills out back behind the school field. Far enough from the school that most kids wouldn't venture out, but close enough to get back in time for his block 4 class.
I made a note to check the behaviour of other teachers I saw in the hallway. I was curious to see if he had a date with another member of the faculty; considering how somber his mood was last Friday, he definitely wasn't in the mood to actively search out a girl over the weekend. He was most likely asked out on a date before he left school, then.
"What are you smiling about?"
I leaned closer to Jaxon, dropping my voice. "I think Mr. Pather has a date at lunch."
His eyebrows furrowed, and I decided to explain what I had just observed. Jaxon's eyes followed whatever I pointed out, cogs turning in his mind. By the end, he shook his head, giving me a fond look. "I can't believe that you noticed all of that."
"Comes with the profession."
"What, being a thief? I still don't understand why you steal; you don't seem like the immoral type."
Before I could answer, second bell rang. Mr. Pather seemed to be filled with renewed energy at the sound, shooting up in his seat.
"Welcome to class, everyone!"
Jaxon leaned in to whisper to me. "He definitely seems overexcited about something. I think you were right."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm always right."
I was about to make my way to the roof for lunch when I was caught by James and Alex exiting their math class together. James noticed me first, waving jubilantly.
"Hey, Alyssa! Come join us for lunch!"
I internally face-palmed as half of the student population seemed to freeze at this statement, whipping around to see my reaction. I met the eyes of a few other students, who all turned red and averted their eyes once I gave them a piercing glare.
"Are your lives all so boring that you have to get involved with mine? Fuck off everyone!" I yelled out.
Slowly, the crowds started to disperse, all heading towards the cafeteria. After a few moments, I gave James a curt nod, making my way towards the cafeteria myself.
"Wait, so that was a yes, right?" I could hear James say to Alex behind me.
As I entered the cafeteria, I immediately scanned the room for Jaxon and Kasey. Jaxon had a stern look, with Kasey's matching his. They sat with a few other people who appeared to be other pack members, judging by the submissive body language that they directed towards Jaxon. Plus, whenever Jaxon spoke, their backs and shoulders seemed to unconsciously straighten.
When Jaxon noticed me walking towards his table, his eyes lit up. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as I approached, causing some of the pack members to turn my way.
"Well look who finally decided to show up."
I gave Jaxon an unimpressed look, ignoring the smile that tried to grace my face in response to his. "Did you get that line from a mafia movie or something?"
I sat at the edge of the table, next to one of the random pack members. Jaxon's eyes darkened at this, which the pack member noticed. He promptly shot out of his seat, walking around me to sit at the opposite end of the table. I gave the pack member an odd look, head whipping around to notice that some of the other pack members between me and Jaxon had done the same, leaving a large, now empty space, between me and him.
"Are you serious?"
"I didn't do anything. I have no idea what you're talking about." The mischievous glint in his eyes and his smirk said otherwise.
I huffed in annoyance, not moving any closer to him and leaving the large gap. I heard a low growl then, and suddenly a large figure was pressed up against me. Kasey shuffled down from where she was sitting as well, causing everyone to shuffle to where I was sitting by the edge of the table.
I turned to see Jaxon pressed up against me, acting as though he had done nothing incriminating. He still had the glint in his eye though, which caused me to roll my eyes. James and Alex both sat down next to Kasey, and everyone seemed to adapt to the new seating arrangement.
"You're insane."
"Insanely hot." Jaxon winked.
"Insanely hot to the point of excessive sweating and later heatstroke? 'Cause that sounds more accurate than what you're trying to suggest."
"Well if I'm hot enough to cause dehydration, then yes, since I sure do make you thirsty."
"Yeah, but I'm only thirsty because I've been vomiting from looking at your face. Gotta replenish those fluids."
Jaxon scrunched his nose. "That's some disgusting imagery. Also, completely implausible."
I gave him a smirk. "You wouldn't be saying that if you had looked in a mirror recently."
"I looked in one this morning. I looked perfect."
"Are you trying to shove your narcissism down my throat or something?"
Kasey cut us off. "Guys, some of us are trying to eat here. Shut up before you make us throw up with how cute you are together."
"Cute? That's not the word that I would use to describe us." I shot out.
"I'm only forgiving your telling us to shut up because you called us cute." Jaxon said at the same time.
Jaxon and I gave each other a heated look, in which I was glaring at him and he was smirking. Kasey hit her head on the table mockingly, groaning loudly. James laughed loudly at our antics, and though Alex still wasn't smiling, his eyes were bright and full of amusement.
I couldn't help myself from smiling. I felt at home for the first time in a while... Almost as though I had found a family.
And for the first time, the thought of having a family didn't seem so bad.