I have absolutely no idea how he does this, but it's starting to annoy the shit out of me. Jack keeps appearing at my usual stuff spot and always with that knowing-ass grin he always sport.
And it's not good look for me, not just because he had poor timing but because every time that I talk to him, he annoys the shit out of me until I talk around other people who look at me as if I'm going insane, and I probably am because the dude is driving me crazy.
Right now I'm sitting under the bleachers in the outskirts of the football field because it's the only place that I currently can be active without people looking at me as if I grew another head.
Jacks leaning over the railing of the stands with that shit-eating grin he always have. "Hey there, Rachel. Any new and exciting things, like my dead body?"
I roll my eyes annoyed. "It's not so easy, doing all the work." I sit down on one of the chairs that some of the guys bring in here to smoke after practice.
His smirk falls only for a second before he reattaches it. "So progress?"
I exhale a long hate of breath. "People have been searching for the last week for you. No one can find you, and considering where we live, it's going to take weeks."
He knew what I was talking about. The town we lived in had a huge forest expanding for miles of ground, and we only had one search group, maybe five people, looking for him. I was the first volunteer on that list, but I was also searching in my free time.
I asking carefully, "How about you getting much progress with the memories?"
His response is cold, but I can see his hands shaking. "None."
I bounce up on my feet, raising my hands. "Are you even trying?"
He narrows his eyes at me. "It's not like I have much else to do."
I soften my stance, trying to be more gentle about this. "How is it on the other side, by the way?"
"I'm mostly bored out of my mind. I would poke out my own eyeball if I could, but apparently I do not have a corporal presence, so …"
He kicks at a rock, then realizes that his foot goes through it. He staring daggers at the thing as if it did him wrong. He exhaling a long breath, "it's been weeks. It feels like everyone is starting to forget."
Everyone is starting to forget. I got that particular thought away from him and said, "I didn't"
I scan his features again, looking for the telltale signs of burnout. His skin is paler again. "Do you need a recharge?"
He nods, we link our hands together. When I can feel the slight vibration, I touch the unnatural connection that we both share, and it hums in satisfaction. He breathes in the scent of me as if my touch brings him ecstasy.
Every time he does that, it makes me feel things and remember how those particular sounds sounded when we hooked up at the party. He pulls at my wrist as if he's about to tag me into his chest. I cough, trying to bring his attention to our linking hands. He stares at me for a beat before he lets go of me.
We realized along the way that the longer he stays on the other side, the more he burns out and the more he fades out of existence, and not in a fun, 'going-into-the-light' sort of situation. He says it makes him feel like he's disappearing. I scan his body again and nod in satisfaction, knowing that I made him feel better.
And whatever this link or bond between us is makes him feel better and brings back his color.
I exit the bleachers, and he follows. I told him to stop it, but he never listens to me, so I stopped telling him that. Weirdly, I've grown used to his presence.
I stop in my tracks when I see Haley, Jack's ex-girlfriend, and a couple of her friends. He flinches ever so slightly by my side. I don't turn to see his reaction when she grows closer. "Hey there, crazy girl, talking to yourself again? You should really recheck your meds."
I can hear the growl building up in Jacks's throat. He wants to throttle her by the looks of it. I ignore her. Muttering to Jacks, "Don't."
The last time he tried to interact with the living world, when he saw one of his teammates trash talk him about how he's probably in some sort of drug spree, the guy had fainted, and his entire body started to cease breathing for a whole minute.
She exudes a dark chuckle that sends an unwelcome shiver down my spine. "Talking to invisible friends, so cute."
I take a beeline, passing through her not looking back, but I can hear her voice following me: "Really living up to the title, crazy girl."
Jack follows on me, although I tried to dodge him. "Rachel, wait!"
He bounces in front of me, blocking my path, although I could pass him because he's noncorporeal. The whole "I'm the only one who can touch you" thing has really strange rules sometimes.
I was moving towards class, but he blocked my path again, carrying me off to the acquired corridor. I tense up against the wall as he crowds his presence. "Don't listen to her. She is a bully."
"Right, because you are a master at that?"
He scrunches up his face, and I know I hit my target. "I don't need the advice from the person who caused this trouble in the first place."
I move under him, going to my classroom, but I can feel his gaze on me.