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I shake my head and pull myself together before returning my focus to the stranger in front of me. His green eyes are concerned as he continues to watch me as if I might fall over at any moment. I mean, he’s a wall of muscle, if the pounding in my head is any indicator of just how solid he is after I hit him like a brick wall, but it’s not something to be concerned about. I’ve handled much worse.
“I’m fine.” I tell him, giving him a small smile in hopes of settling his concern. It seems to work as he smiles back at me. His smile is huge and blinding, and I almost feel the need to look away at how expressive his face is. I’ve worked to hide my emotions all my life, but he seems to wear them clearly on his face, making me uncomfortable.
I grab the straps of my backpack to adjust it on my back. “I shouldn’t have been going so quickly with so many people around. It was just unlucky timing.” I tell him, hoping he will take that as a dismissal and move so I can get to Roderick, who I can see just a little ways behind him with Hazel. His brows dip down as he watches us.
I side-step the wall of a man, intended to go to them, but before I can, his hand is outstretched in front of me. I pull my eyes from Roderick and back to look at his hand before looking at his face again.
He must see the confusion on my face because he chuckles under his breath. “I’m Leo.” He says, and while his face is open and his smile kind, I hesitate to touch him.
Nerves churn my stomach as I grip the straps of my bag tighter and try to swallow past the lump in my throat that I can’t explain.
“Leo.” Someone calls from across the office, and I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding as he drops his hand, looking over his shoulder to whoever just called his name.
Trent steps up next to him a second later, and I feel some of my nerves settle as I turn to face him instead of Leo. I know the guys don’t like Trent, but I feel better with him standing here for some reason.
He has a few books in his arms that he promptly hands to Leo before he notices me standing there.
He smiles down at me, “Hey, Jade.”
“Hi.” I answer back, and the words sound weak even to me. His smile falls a little as he watches me, but before he can comment, I feel someone come up behind me. A hand rests on my shoulder.
I know without looking that it’s Roderick. I’m not sure how I know, but I do. The moment he speaks, I settle further. My nerves disappear entirely, and my posture sags slightly as the tension leaves me. He gives a small squeeze but doesn’t remove his hand, and I’m grateful for it.
I don’t let myself even wonder why that is as I keep my focus on Trent and Leo in front of me.
“Leo, I wasn’t aware you would be attending here this year.” Roderick says.
Leo turns his attention to Roderick, still all smiles. Clearly, this isn’t their first encounter.
“Yeah, my mom is here for a while on business, and she insisted that I come with her so she could show me the ropes a bit too. So I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone. If I keep pushing college, I’ll never get it done.” He says with an easy-going shrug of his shoulders.
I look back at Roderick over my shoulder. He nods but doesn't say anything in response to him. Instead, he looks down at me. “This is Leo. He’s Jake and Amanda’s cousin.” He informs me, the disdain clear in his voice at the mention of both Jake and Amanda, and I can’t keep the frown off my face at their memory.
“Awe, come on, man,” Leo says in a playfully whiny voice that has me looking back at him. “If you introduce me like that to everyone, then nobody will like me.” He chuckles, but it sounds forced.
Roderick huffs behind me in a way that I’ve come to understand means he agrees. It’s weird how much I already understand them and them me.
“You're not wrong.” Hazel pipes up beside Roderick. I had forgotten she was there, if I’m being honest, but I’m happy she is. Having another girl there comforts me for some reason I can’t explain.
Why the fuck is being around people so damn confusing. I feel like I don’t understand my own reasoning anymore.
Abell sounds overhead, and I look around the office to find that while we talked, most people around us had headed out, leaving us and just a handful of others in the large office.
“Here, Jade, I got your stuff,” Hazel tells me as she hands me the last two books I was missing for my classes and my laptop. “My first class is just down the hall from yours if you want to walk with me.” She offers a gentle but shy smile, and I can’t help but smile back at her.
I nod, and her smile widens in response. I like Hazel. Something about her is calm and comforting, and I feel drawn to her.
Roderick finally removes his hand from my shoulder, and I turn to look at him in question. I can’t exactly tell him to put his hand back without sounding like a nut, but I want to.
He gives me just a hint of a smile with the twitch of his lip as if he can read my mind, and I feel my cheeks begin to heat as I try and figure out why I would want that and why I like it so much when he looks at me like that.
Get it together, Jade.
“I have a few things to do off campus before our class later. If you need us, don’t hesitate to call.” He tells me. I just nod, worried about what might come out of my mouth if I try to talk to him right now. I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one morning, thank you.
He reaches out and ruffles my hair before walking past. He doesn’t say a word to the others, and then he's gone, leaving me standing with Hazel, Trent, and Leo.
The feeling of unease starts to creep back in now that he’s gone, but Hazel quickly steps in while I soothe my hair back down.
