Jane
Contemplating how I'm going to make this work, I adjust the straps on my bag and turn on to the next street. Rainwater pounds the pavement, splattering on the cement, and my hair falls like a wet rag around my face, suddenly I empathize with cats everywhere on the subject of groomers. Glancing at the sun peaking up above the horizon, I resign myself to the fact that I have a long, long walk ahead of me. Glancing down at my rain spotted clothes, I'm glad I opted out of the white blouse Michaela thought I should wear. The black long-sleeved shirt suites me better, even if it has to be paired with the "fashionable scarf" she practically strangled me with. My feet are starting to ache and I'm regretting that I went on that hunt last night.
Artemis told me I could stay behind when she found signs of a Cyclopes, but I couldn't take it. I hated the looks the other girls were given me, as if I had betrayed them by consorting with boys and the jealousy that I, of all people had gotten this assignment from Artemis. I hated the anxiety that attacked every single time I thought of getting closer to Zach. I hated the unease thinking about Marcus, so I went along with the hunt. Tracking through most of the night, until we finally found our target. Unfortunately, the mamma Cyclopes didn't go down easily, even when she took multiple arrows. After awhile a few of us resorted to fighting with hunting knives, until eventually Michaela sliced the creature in half, creating quite a cloud of monster dust, mind you: oh, the joys of being a hunter.
The point being, my eyes practically ache from the effort of keeping them open, and the wicked cut on my leg seems determined to not let me forget about it for even a second. I really don't want to walk the next half mile to get to school today. It's amazing how the most frivolous, insignificant things seem to become so important, even when the world is spiraling around her, a girl will still complain about a broken heel or zit on her nose. In my case, it's a long walk. As I slowly trudge my way down the street, I debate praying to some deity that the walk will seem shorter than it actually is.
Apparently, random deities have a strange sense of humor. Just as the thought crosses my brain, I hear a car pull up behind me. My life style immediately has me spinning around. There was a reason I chose an almost deserted street as my pathway to school, I don't like surprises, and I have a feeling definitely I wouldn't like the surprise that was coming in that car.
Marcus
It's strange how much a person can notice in the space of a few passing glances and brief encounters. Like how Jane reaches for her right jacket pocket when she's startled, and her eyes widen like a doe for a brief instance before they narrow, all innocence disappearing from her face. One of these days, I'm going to figure her out, Zach or no Zach. Half of me, probably the rational part, wonders if I'm insane when I pull up beside her and roll down my window.
Jane whips around, staring me down with intensity I forgot she had in her. The dangerous green in her eyes always seems to do me in. God, I sound like a bad movie. Never the less, I call out to her, through the pounding rain.
"Hey, do you want a ride?" I ask her, seeing as she's already drenched and miserable, but still full of pride, she'll probably turn me down, like she did when I invited her to sit with us. I will never understand why she seems so determined to be sorted in with the stoners and the rejects. I'm sure if she opened up a little, everyone would accept her. It's what they did for Zach. Then again, the hundreds he carries around in his wallet and the mansion his family has up here might be contributing factors to that easy reception. I wouldn't put it past some of the girls in our school, Kristen included.
Jane eyes me for a moment, apparently considering my offer, before she shakes her head, I sigh, and start to insist when she changes her mind.
"Yeah, sure" She still doesn't seem too thrilled when she shuffles around to the passenger side of the car and slips into the seat beside me. I pretend not to notice when she turns up the heat and places her hands on the vents with a thankful smile. Trying to be nonchalant, I start to pull away from the curb, and suspect I fail miserably. As I make my way through the winding streets, I carefully watch Jane out of the corner of my eye. Her expression is guarded, as it always is, but if I'm not mistaken, she seems almost thoughtful. Releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding and skimming my hands along the edge of the steering wheel, I turn a corner and force myself to at least make an attempt at conversation.
"So I gathered, you've met Anna?" I ask, figuring it's a neutral conversation starter. In the pause before she answers, I notice the low crooning of some songstress, musing over the joys of love. Jane doesn't seem to really hear me as she flinches; staring at the radio with angry eyes, before noticing my startled expression, and then looks apologetic.
"Sorry, just um…." She reaches out and immediately changes the channel on my dingy car radio. While I know I'm insanely lucky to have a car, it's kind of a tattered little thing, built mostly from scrap parts my uncle found around the garage he worked at, and constantly in need of repairs. Despite its minor character flaws, as I like to say to Anna, my car has personality.
It takes a minute for Jane to find a suitable station, flinching again when she hears a mother's day commercial. I study her face some more, surprised when she abruptly turns back to me.
"Sorry just I really hated that song, bad memories… you know?" I nod even though I don't have a clue what she's talking about. "And yeah, Anna seems great." She offers up, in what must be the most relaxed and comfortable tone I've ever heard from her. We pull into the school parking lot right then and I'm dreading leaving the car, because I know back outside our momentary bubble of comfort, Jane's walls are going to come flying up, successfully keeping me locked out. I don't know if I've felt this frustrated before in my life. As Jane opens her door, I make a rash decision.
"Are you coming to Ben's party Saturday?" I ask her, only half sure I should be.
"I don't know, I don't think I'm invited." She mutters, still turned away from me. I almost laugh at her naïvety and work hard to keep the teasing tone out of my voice.
"It's not really something you're invited to, everyone just kind of shows up." I explain, and she shrugs, noncommittally.
"I'll think about it." She finally concedes after one insanely tense silence. She slips out of my car and I follow her, catching up easily. For half a second I consider giving her my jacket to shelter her from the rain, before she darts under the overhang and strolls into the lobby. "Thanks for the ride," She finally mutters, and starts to slip away, I'm assuming towards her home room.
Just as she starts to round the bend, a blur of black leather and sequins darts around the corner, smashing into me. Jane freezes in place, as Kristen wraps her arms around my neck, and traps my mouth under hers. Her hands force themselves into my hair and trace along my jaw line, and when she pulls away, Jane is long gone.
Jane
My luck really sucks, truly it does, being half drowned walking to school is one thing, getting compelled into getting into a car with a pesky teenage boy is another, having the sickeningly sweet song declared to be "our song" by your ex boyfriend playing on the radio is another, and then when you're starting to finally feel like you're making progress little miss frisky shows. What I wouldn't do to get the hell out of high school.