move forward so that when they come back,
you will no longer be where they left you

Neve sat on the school bus, ignoring the faint smell of sweat and the sounds of the chatter of the loud students around her. She looked out the window, her mind running with thoughts on how to escape and which would be the quickest way if she needed to.

"Well if it isn't the newbie who seems to actually be interested in the history of Halloway." A familiar voice spoke, bringing the girl out of her thoughts.

She looked over to see the same boy she'd seen earlier that day, the one she chased after at the beginning of the school day. He sat down next to her without bothering to ask, leaning his back against the brown seat of the bus. "First day not so bad?" He then asked, sparking a conversation.

"Uh, I guess so." She awkwardly told him, glancing between him and the window beside her.

This meant if she needed to escape easily - from whatever may be the harm - she'd have to either climb over him or the seat. Unless she went through the window, that would be an option but that's also taking into consideration that she'd have to fit through the thing.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" He then questioned, his eyes moving around the bus as it filled with students. "I must say, that wasn't my first impression of you."

Neve looked over, a brow raised at his statement. "Your first impression?"

She'd already had enough interaction with other people for the day, far more than she was used to. However, she knew she was intrigued by the boy since she'd bothered chasing after him that morning. She didn't know why, but she was, and this was enough for her to engage in conversation with him.

"You know," The boy smiled a small smile, motioning his hand in her direction. "The cliche new girl. The one who acts interested in the school, talks to everyone, tries too hard to fit in-" He stopped as he glanced at someone nearby, one Neve could only assume had been new before she was. "The one who acts like someone she's not."

Neve glanced away, biting the inside of her lip. He was attempting to read her and although part of him was completely wrong, the last part was spot on. He called her out on her bullshit, and this was only the second conversation she'd had with him.

Maybe interacting with him wasn't the best idea.

"Although I was wrong, I must admit." The boy then continued, not catching the guilty look on her face. "I guess that's a lesson learned. Don't judge a book by its cover."

The comment was sarcastic, although she felt he held a little bit of truth in it. She looked at him again, watching as his eyes bounced around the bus. The bus had begun moving a while ago, something Neve hadn't noticed due to her attention being on the boy next to her.

"You're someone who doesn't talk to others," Neve stated, as a matter-of-factly. "You don't like people, you get anxious when too many are around. You have a constant look on your face that gives away that you'd rather be anywhere but here. You speak your mind without any thought of something going wrong - or if you do have those thoughts, you just don't care. You're yourself unapologetically and you like to put on the mysterious bad boy type. But you know deep down nobody cares, and that just makes you not care ten times more."

The boy looked at her as if he were a deer caught in headlights, most likely not expecting Neve to have read him so easily.

It was something Neve picked up on, after having been hidden from herself for so long. She was a people watcher, whether others knew it or not. She liked to watch them - their mannerisms, habits, personality traits. It came in handy and she knew this, so she would do it anywhere she went.

Even if it was just someone she'd briefly interacted with.

"Am I off?" Neve asked after a few moments of silence, "I've never told someone my observations of them, so I don't quite know how accurate they are."

Of course, Neve knew they were pretty accurate. She knew that the majority of the time she was right about her thoughts about a person, because instead of looking at someone and judging them based on their looks - she looked into deeper things. But she wouldn't say this to this boy she'd just met, especially when he was startled enough by her mini monologue about his personality.

"The complete opposite," The boy muttered, and for a second Neve was worried she pushed too far.

One thing that sucked about never making friends or interacting with others her age, she never knew what was considered 'normal' or not. She didn't know what was socially okay, and what was too much or too far. Sure, there was social media. But her aunt was very strict on social media, and so Neve wasn't allowed to have her own account.

Yet, Christina seemed to have her own - with quite a number of followers.

Neve glanced over, suddenly feeling awkward. Right as she'd gotten out of the awkward stage with someone - she put herself right back in as it grew silent between the two. She didn't know what to say, so she focused on the streets the bus drove on, counting to herself how many were left before the stop closest to her house.

Unfortunately, this was the only bus that went in the direction of her house. And because her aunt insisted they live further out from the town, she had to walk a bit of distance to get there since the bus didn't go that far.

"You watch people, don't you?" The boy asked.

Neve looked at him, a little shocked he was continuing the conversation. It had appeared that she'd scared him off by her observation, but apparently, that was something she was wrong about.

"Always have," She simply responded.

He nodded, glancing away. It seemed there was more he wanted to say, but if there was - he didn't bother. He just stayed silent, tapping his fingers on his thighs as if he were debating on whether or not to speak.

It stayed silent between the two as they hit the last two stops before hers, the boy whose name she'd yet to learn not getting up from his spot. This meant he was probably going to be getting off at the same stop as her, but it was highly doubtful he'd be heading in the same direction as her.

"I'm sorry," The boy suddenly laughed to himself, catching Neve's attention again. "Sorry to bring it up again, but I just can't get over the fact that you noticed all of those things about me in such brief conversations. That's- that's intelligent, you know?"

Neve's cheeks flushed a deep pink color, a small smile covering her features. "When you're silent, you watch." Was what she responded with.

Noticing the bus had finally stopped at the last stop on the route, she grabbed her backpack and stood from the seat. She glanced at the boy and waited for him to stand as well, feeling awkward just like she had before.

He stood, stepping out of the seat and into the tiny aisles. She followed him to the front of the bus and down the stairs, pulling her backpack further onto her back as she prepared herself for the lengthy walk she was about to endure.

"Well, newbie - can I call you that?" The boy asked, facing her.

She shrugged, knowing that deep down even if she said no, he probably would call her that anyway.

"It was nice to meet you. We rarely get a newbie that's different than the usual pick-me teenagers around here." He motioned around the air.

"Don't you get a lot of those?" Neve asked, studying the boy carefully.

He shrugged this time, "Depends on who you ask."

Neve nodded, knowing that this was the end of their conversation. She turned and began to walk in the direction of her house, having remembered when her aunt went over which way to take and how long it would be.

"Hey, wait!" The sound of the boy calling out caught her attention again. She turned to see him still standing in the spot he was in before, making no move to come after her. "What's your name?" He asked, "Your real name."

"What's yours?" Neve asked in return, fidgeting with the strap of her backpack.

"Jackson," He responded with a bow - as if she were some royal princess he was greeting. "Jackson Winters."

Neve nodded, showing she heard him. He then waited for her to respond, for her to tell him her name.

"What's yours?" He asked after a few more moments of silence.

Neve thought about it for a moment, before smiling.

"Call me newbie."

++

Kind of a short chapter, but I thought it ended pretty well <3 I'm so glad we've ALMOST got all of the characters introduced, and I can't wait for you to get to know them more. Please comment, it helps my motivation!