Jared nodded, and kept pace with her. "Sorry. I just…I've been late to my classes a lot. This school is…bigger than I'm used to, and it's difficult for me to find my way around." Also I kept having panic attacks when I got lost, so… He sighed softly.
"Oh it's okay, I just hate being late, but if you keep up with me I doubt you'll be late ever again." Tangerine laughed a little. Once they got to class, she sat down by the wall and close to the back.
Jared sat near her, then froze. "Sorry, I uh…I can move if you have friends you would rather sit next to." He glanced down at the desk, biting his lip slightly.
"Oh… I don't really have any other friends. I thought I did, but they are sitting over there." She pointed to a small group of 3 or 4 girls that had just come in. They sat on the other side of the classroom and continued talking without even giving Tangerine a smile or a wave. "So go ahead and sit there!" She sent him a small smile.
Crystal was sitting in front of them, noticing them as they sat down…not saying a word though. Looking over to the rest of the class, hoping she wouldn't have to punch someone today.
Jared gave her a small smile back. "Alright." He said, getting some stuff out of his backpack and arranging them neatly on the desk, ready for class, whenever it started. He spotted Crystal in front of them, and debated whether or not to say hello.
Tangerine wanted to say hello to Crystal, but her shyness was getting in the way. Right when she was about to say hi, her brain cautioned against it. She ended up staying quiet. To keep herself busy, she took out some of her stuff, then started drawing in a notebook that was mostly full of doodles or other drawings.
Shifting in her seat with a sigh, a boy walks in, sitting right beside crystal.
"Hey Crissy!"
He says leaning over to her as she leans against the wall.
"Whaddya want?"
She says in a voice that writes " go away" all over her face.
"Well, mom said to keep an eye on you, make sure you don't beat up anyone!"
He says tapping her shoulder annoyingly with a smile. His brown, and crazily curly hair getting b his left eye. He and crystal were Definetly siblings. The fuller than most lips, along with the freckles slapped across his face and his one blue and one brown eye, both with a little bit of gold in them.
"If you don't leave me alone, I will beat someone up"
She says grabbing his arm slightly twisting it.
"Owowow okay okay, i won't bother you! Just let go!"
He pleaded, while trying to pry her hand off with his free hand.
Tangerine looked up at Crystal and her brother, she assumed. "C-Crystal? Um, not that I have any business in whatever you're doing, but I think you should stop… that's not a good thing to do to people." She said very shyly afraid Crystal would get mad at her for interfering.
"Oh don't worry, this is my little brother"
She turns around looking at her with a smile. At first it looked like a sweet and innocent smile, but if it were aimed at you, it wrote: " mind your own d*mn business" all over her face.
"Okay… s-sorry…" She quickly looked down at her notebook, slowly drawing again.
"Will you let go of me now?!"
Her brother said as he gave up on trying her fingers off.
"If you don't bother me!"
She says harshly, tightening her grip with a smile. She was enjoying herself plenty.
"Fine fine, I won't bother you!"
He says with a sigh, blowing some hair out of his eyes.
"Okay"
She says letting go and flicking him in the forehead.
"Ow, what was that for?"
"Fun"
Jared remained silent, hunching down in his seat with a sinking feeling in his stomach. His hands clenched slightly. Memory flashed through his mind, and he swallowed hard, pushing the memories away as hard as he could. Focus. Focus. You're okay. He thought, biting his lower lip and taking a deep breath. What Crystal did to her brother wasn't his business. No matter how cruel it seemed, interference would probably lead to a panic attack, and he didn't need another one.
Tangerine looked over at Jared, concerned. "Jared? Are you okay?" She noticed his deep breathing and occasional gulps. That usually isn't a good sign in her book.
Jared nodded. "Mhm. Just…I have a little, uhm…PTSD." he explained quietly. "It likes to, ah…act up without warning." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "Nothing you need to worry about." He gave her a tiny smile.
"Woah, isn't tha-"
"Hey, shut up gosh."
Crystal says interrupting her brother. He had enough going on, she didn't want another person causing him trouble. But she, of course, would never say that.
Tangerine smiled back. "Okay, but are you sure? If you need anything remember you can always ask."
Jared nodded. "I'm sure, but…thank you." He said, relaxing slightly. He gave a soft sigh, raking a hand through his red hair.
"No problem." She said quietly as the teacher went to the front of the classroom. It looked like class was about to start. Tangerine closed her doodling notebook and looked up at the teacher.
Jared pulled out his notebook for taking notes, and grabbed a pencil, too. He was quiet as he waited for the teacher to start. He had to get good grades. Great grades. His parents wanted him to get into one of the top colleges. Despite the fact that he was, you know, mentally not all there anymore.
Her brother still poking her shoulder witha ruler and flicking paper footballs at her the whole class, Crystal was gonna go insane.
"Hey! I said stop!"
She whispers to him as she grabs an extremely sharpened pencil.
"I said i wont bother you after this class."
He says with a smirk on his face as he looked around, to the cute girl behind his sister, then looking back at Crystal.
"do you have some friends? I saw you talking to some people at lunch?"
He whispers over to her as she flicked one of the paper footballs at his forehead then ignoring him.
Tangerine noticed Crystal's brother looking around, then at her. She looked down to write some notes making sure he couldn't make eye contact with her. Glancing over to Jared, she noticed how thorough his notes were. She looked back at her's the see way less.
Jared kept taking notes, ignoring Crystal's brother. He took a deep breath, and set his pencil down for a moment. Then he picked it back up and kept working. His red hair was messy, hanging down across his forehead. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, and kept taking notes.
after about 30 minutes the bell rings and class was dismissed, and now, only two more classes to go.
Right as the bell rang, Crystal stared at her brother, more like shot daggers into his eyes, but same thing. Bolting out of the classroom laughing as soon as the bell rang, in hopes of not getting beat up today.
"yeah, you better run Jacklin, you little wuss!"
She says with a laugh as she picks up her things, looking behind her and smiling at them.
Tangerine sends a very smile back to Crystal as she quickly grabs her stuff and packs it back into her backpack. She then stands up and looks at Jared. "What's your next class, Jared?"