nothing stays forever

NAME:

          “How caring of you, Jacob.” Her tone was as sickly sweet as her smile. He was just as caring as the thirty messages she received saying ‘omg saw that pic r u ok??’ in various forms of text talk. People just didn’t like to let things go, did they? But then again, this was high school. Everyone craved the latest happenings, whether they liked to admit it or not. At the mention of picking noses, she looked at him in mild disgust. “I don’t know about you, but not all of us are stuck in first grade.”

"Do not confuse curiousity for caring, Jenn." It pained him that perhaps a small percentage cared about her being sick or hurt. Even if he knew somehwat of the truth and that the nosebleeds were of her of doing. His phone continued to buzz in his hand as everyone in their high school seemed to care about their teen queen and a little blood. "I'm just saying," he shrugged, "I've read a few places that excessively picking your nose can cause nosebleeds. Just giving you some more excuses when your one about having a little cold stops working. It's like, how many times can your grandma die before your teachers stop believing you, you know?"

Leaning back into the wall near the school kitchen’s backdoor, huffing with enough exasperation to warrant a growl, Cameron could only crave to exhale a heavier heave, laced with the feeling of nicotine or the potential of acid. Usually, she just skipped class to talk the the cafeteria ladies while they prepped for lunch. It was happening a lot more since Johnny’s disappearance, since none of her friends’ schedules matched. But today, some serious storm had angered her usuals, so she was promptly kicked out to let them sort it out. She was just setting fire to random litter on the ground when her work halted — two sets of footsteps. Her focus snapped and her attention forced itself to the other side, near the rubbish bins. Seeing the easily recognisable outline of Jacob Boyd closing in, she rolled her eyes. Guess he likes similar company, she thought to herself. 

School had become the only place where Jacob could get his kicks. Anything outside of the prison for kids seemed too risky - and sure, maybe risky could be his middle name but it was more enjoyable when others were getting cuffed and sent to the nearest mental institute. He didn't have time in his own schedule to be the one getting shipped off. Granted, they might've treated him better than his own household but that wasn't a risk he wanted to take. But of course, someone had felt the need to cut his fun short too soon. His shitty zippo had run out of fluid which caused the boy to groan loudly. Whatever, he'd bum one off some loser freshman later. The voice had sounded awfully familiar, the tip of his tongue ran across his gums as he watched the girl moved towards the guard. He'd let her deal with him if she really wanted to get an old man excited like that. There had to be something wrong with the system if they thought hiring some old dude to watch over a school of practically half dressed females sounded like a grand idea. Though, not that the girl had been around as well, nothing was really stopping him from his initial plan for the guard. Send them both. Not like the girl could stop him. Or perhaps send them both to the jungle, try and watch her burn it down. "Maybe you should leave the geezer alone," the brunet commented. "Sure he doesn't want to be bothered by some bobblehead trying to flirt her way out of detention."

&&. character aesthetic — loner bad boy

           Shit does get around fast in this school, but she always picked up on the loose ends. Her secret was still safe, tucked in the crevices of the second drawer by her bed. Flipping out her own phone, the corners of her lips tugged into the tiniest hint of a frown. No worries, she’d have it handled in no time. Tucking it back in her pocket (because she was far too wary of it being snatched from her bag) she looked up at him and shrugged as well. “Got a small cold last night, looks like it hasn’t quite left.” And the smile was back. “Dehydration and colds don’t mix well.”

           "Funny. I don't quite recall getting bloody noses from a common cold." Jacob knew - if anyone smart would think logically or had caught her in the few positions that he had, they would know too. But he wasn't Rachel or some scheming little rat who felt the need to share his knowledge of Jenny Cassidy potentially doing cocaine. Besides - who the fuck snorted crack anymore. Like they were living in the goddamn 70s. "Yours are quite frequent, you know. You should probably talk to a doctor about it. Or you know, it's alright Jenn if you still pick your nose. It's a gross habit but most people can't seem to stop doing it."

     It wasn’t unusual for Garrett to stay up until 2 am and end up with a terrible headache due to lack of sleep, and it also wasn’t unusual for him to end up dragging his feet on Mondays to Calculus or History or whichever was in his schedule today. Whatwas unusual, though, was tripping over his own mess and ending up late to class because he fell on an old caprisun, messed up half his t-shirts, and almost forgot to eat breakfast. 

Jacob already prolonged the unevitable with the many things that could go wrong in one morning - overslept due to a lack of an alarm and passed out on a bench at the local park. Not really ideal for having an alarm anyway. It wouldn't hurt him if he walked to school this beautiful Monday morning - or er, almost afternoon. While he had the options of bumming a ride off his neighbor or taking the bus, might as well take advantage of walking down the less dangerous streets near his high school. With a cigarette dangling from between his lips, his practically empty lighter in hand and a few tries later, he was sucking smoke down his lungs. He chucked the lighter off onto the road in front of his school and happened to pass by Garrett's car. Sure - they were in the same little group of people but he didn't know the guy all that way, just that he had a car. And this was it - though it helped that he was sitting inside of it. "Nope. Just curious as to why - you're still here..."

          She almost let a scowl take over the grin, but decided against it. She was not going to let a mere comment contribute to her bad day. There were other things to focus on, other important things. Kill them with kindness, as her mum told her. And so she did. These false tones were all too familiar with Jenny, she was pretty much a professional when it came to patronising people. “Hm, maybe I will. Thanks for the advice.” She replied, her gaze landing on the late slip in his pocket. “Yikes, late again? Senior year and you still can’t get up on time? Guess things never change.” 

          Late slips, tardy slips. Most of his ended up in the trash or in the deep, dark corners of his locker. The only penalty they could give him was a Saturday detention and he would take anything over being out of his house. "No one said that being on time was a requirement of passing school. Just had to get the grades for it," and a little pity from teachers who knew where he came from. But that wasn't information that needed to be shared. "If we're on the topic of things never changing, heard you got another bloody nose." He flashed her his phone with a shrug, "Shit gets around fast in this school."

       God, she hated Mondays. And today was no exception. In fact, she had been blessed by a nosebleed just minutes before stepping into the school grounds. Generally, it has not been a good day for Jenny Cassidy at all. Placing her calculus books into her locker, she swapped them out for her two art history books before slamming the door shut, only to let out a small shriek of shock when she turned to face another student, far too close for her liking. “Geez, you nearly scared me! Could’ve bumped right into you.” Her tone feigned friendliness and her smile was no different.

       This had been another day where Jacob walked the halls with a pink tardy slip stuffed in his pocket as he roamed the emptiness of it all before the bell rang to let others join him. It wasn't unusual for this to happen - to come a few periods late due to simply forgetting to set an alarm or having no one wake him up. Then again - who's gonna take a walk to the park to wake up their bum of a son? No one. Not that they'd really notice. His parents were gone before the sun even rose half of the time and the only way he'd know they were home was by hearing their screams halfway down the block. His eyebrow cocked as he looked at the brunette, "You're right. Maybe you should be careful next time."