The beauty of chapters: I thought he was the one

Chapter 17

I managed to reach study halls just one minute before the class began. From the amount of presentation and pages we went through, I was tired and famished when class was dismissed. I made a quick run to the nearest café, munched on my lunch plus dinner on the stairs then went into the library to familiarise myself with everything I had just learned today.

By the time, I walked out it was past four with the piercing sun moving towards the hills to set.

In no hurry of heading home, I decided to take the longer route into the parking area. I made it pass two cars before the sound of my name being called caused me to turn back.

A few feet away was Sarah walking in my direction with her two friends following behind. "Where are you going?" She asked, covering her eyes from the blinding light of the afternoon sun.

"To the dorm. All my classes are over."

"Do you wanna hang out with us? We're going off campus for some fresh air, Michael will be there." I frowned as she used the same bait on me that Michael used on Kira.

"Why would she want to hang out with us?" Larissa asked, eyeing me from head to toe with disgust. Her hands tucked inside her oversized hoodie did not make her any less intimidating than when she wore tighter clothes, and neither did the wind blowing her hair sideways. If anything it made her look more wicked.

"Well we're friends now, right?" Sarah asked. Larissa immediately gave her friend a dirty look after she asked me that. I didn't how to answer the question.

I wasn't keen on hang outs, or making friends. I never had that while growing up. And even if I was the type to hang out with people, Michael's crowd was not mine, I did not belong with them.

"Come on, Jackson's driving." She said and before I got the chance to respond to her she walked away, towards the black car parked in the distance. "It'd be fun." She shouted.

"What do you say?" Jackson asked, walking backwards to look at me as he passed by. "The offer won't stand once I'm in my car."

There are so many reason that would prevent me from going but I'm so fucking stupid. I followed him. "Wait up."

I guess the saying is true. When you are used to leaving in darkness your whole life you never see the need for the sun, until one day the sun comes and you miss it when its gone. That was my relationship with whatever was happening between me and that group. They were not mine, they were not my friends and neither did I want to be their friend but I enjoyed the companionship. At least of some of them. The last time we hanged out wasn't that bad so maybe it'd be the same.

The strong dislike I thought I witnessed between Larissa and Jackson was actually just normal behaviour between two friends that loved to quarrel with one another. They kept throwing jabs and insults back and forth over who should have control over the music, until Sarah took it from them.

"You two really need to get out those sexual tensions. It'd feel way much better after."

"Eww." Larissa hissed and like expected Jackson got offended. "What are you disgusted about? I look better than your exes."

"Jackson please. I have standard."

"Yeah and I'm clearly out your league."

Sarah laughed. With Jackson's skill of driving like he owns the road, it didn't take long for us to drive off the main road into a one land aligned with trees. The road behind us got smaller as the dense forest swallowed us up onto a dusty dirt road. Light rays of the setting sun flooded through the open branches up above us shaking violently in the strong wind, fallen, decomposing leaves on the ground did the same dance as the dirt earlier from Michael's place and the giant trees stood like soldiers guarding the forest, unsure if it was from people invading their lands or to keep whatever was lurking inside from escaping into civilisation.