Chapter 4: Who Are You

Jasmine stayed in the toilet for the next two hours until the sound of the lunch bell rang loudly throughout the school.

By the time she had stopped sobbing the gatorade had dried into her hair and clothing. Her tears had helped to wash away the light blue stain from the majority of her face, but the white sweater that she had decided to wear today was ruined; not even her mother could remove the dried stains from the drink.

As Jasmine lifted herself from the toilet seat she could feel what was left of the blue liquid yet to dry sticking her sweater to her chest. She had stopped crying long ago but her eyes were still red and puffy.

Before exiting the toilet she turned on the sink to splash some cold water against her face. She couldn't believe the redness that remained after she had stopped crying over an hour ago. Tears welled in her eyes as she wondered how many more days she would have to endure this torment. The joy that previously sparkled in her eyes was now extinguished.

When Jasmine heard the creak of the bathroom door she quickly turned the tap off, scrubbing the tears from her eyes before heading towards the door. She kept her head down but this didn't stop the girls from stepping aside, looking Jasmine up and down from the stained blue sweater to her dry crusty hair.

Stepping past them she heard them whisper to each other, "Isn't that the girl who was hitting on Aiden? That's disgusting". They both giggled.

Jasmine's tears returned as she clenched her fists at her sides, shoving the door open as she quickly walked into the busy hall. People around her turned silent as their sights set on her.

"I wonder what happened to her?" "Isn't that Jasmine Hughes?"

"Maybe someone caught her with their boyfriend".

Some people laughed as they saw her, others stared, some gave her pitying looks before turning their backs. She kept her eyes down as she hastily headed for the exit of the school. Jasmine wasn't going to stay, not when she didn't have a change of clothes. She had only waited for it to be lunch so that it would be easier to leave without being noticed.

Now, hearing whispered snickers as she passed, she wished that she hadn't sat in tears on the cold sticky toilet seat and let the blue dry into her skin and clothes. Suddenly Jasmine felt her forehead hit something solid and she stumbled back, almost falling before a gentle grip took her arm, stabilising her.

Jasmine mumbled a quick apology before trying to walk past. The grip on her upper arm tightened as the person softly tugged her back.

"You're soaked in... what is that...?" The stranger began, leaning down to get a closer look at the blue stains on Jasmine's sweater.

She glanced up, catching the forest green eyes of Ethan Wilson as he gave her a soft smile, "Gatorade?" he concluded. His voice was deep but it had a calming effect on her. Although he didn't seem concerned, he looked genuinely curious. Being able to see the blonde's expression though, Ethan's lips set into a deep frown, "Have you been crying?".

Jasmine was lost for words as she stared up into eyes that looked at her with such a tender gaze and she felt all of the sadness that had been welling inside her begin to boil up.

"I- I..." She stuttered as tears began to fill her eyes again, one escaping to roll down her cheek. Ethan's eyes softened as he gently reached down to brush his thumb under her eye, brushing the tear off her cheek, "What happened?".

"It's..." Jasmine began, her eyes shifting to the tall figure that had walked up behind the tall curly-haired boy. Paige brushed her long brown hair over her shoulder as she crossed her arms, her jaw tightening in disgust.

Jasmine glanced back up to Ethan and her nose crinkled, swallowing the saliva that had built in her throat, "It's nothing, please excuse me". Jasmine tugged her arm from Ethan's grip as she brushed past him, hurrying past Paige who simply glared at her.

Jasmine took a deep breath, knowing that this accidental encounter was going to bring hell upon her in the near future. Jasmine quickly shoved her way through the crowd as she remembered the kindness in Ethan's eyes and the way it brought up so much emotion in her. She had been longing for someone to look at her like that for so long, but it happened to be the one person that would only make her situation worse.

It wasn't until the doors came into view that she stopped to turn back to see if anyone had come after her.

She thought for a moment, that perhaps she was the protagonist of some morbid teen romance, and that Ethan would run after her. That he would take her hand and tell her that he would protect her. Life wasn't a fairy tale though, was it?

Who she saw instead, standing in the midst of the crowded hallway was not Ethan, but the boy with the curly dark hair and tattoos. He stood unmoving amongst the chaos that was the bustling hallways of high school during break. People seemed to blur around him.

His lips slowly extended into a smile so soft that Jasmine was reminded of the way Ethan had looked at her and she felt her heart lift from the pit of her stomach and begin to pound in her chest. The tears that she had pushed back, returning once again as she stared at the stranger. With a nod he turned, being swallowed by the waves of students around him.

___________

An uncomfortable forty minute walk later and Jasmine finally arrived home. After a quick shower she threw herself onto her bed. Her wet hair was thrown up into a messy bun, the smell of gatorade lost under the scent of her conditioner.

Jasmine had managed to scrub the blue from the skin and had thrown away the spoiled white sweater, hoping that the blue would come out of her jeans in the wash

.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't Ethan and her moment with him in the hallway that was the first thing to cross her mind as she stared at the ceiling.

Instead, it was the mysterious dark haired boy that had appeared in front of her. It was the way he had smiled at her so delicately that he was able to bring the tears back to her eyes and the way she felt such a strong magnetic pull towards him; the way her body had willed her to approach him.

She had never felt such a strong connection with someone in her life, especially someone that she didn't even know the name of. As the memories came back to her, her heart began to pound in her chest and she brought her hands up to clench the material of her shirt.

What is this feeling?

Ding!

Jasmine's phone sounded from her bag and she rolled over, reaching for the front pocket, taking out her phone.

She screen lit up revealing Paige's name with two unread messages. Jasmine sighed, her heart twisting in her chest as she contemplated whether it would be worth looking at the undoubtedly horrible message. With a heavy heart Jasmine opened the chat, the first was the message that had gotten her caught in the bathroom stall;

'We know you left class, slut. You better hope we don't find you'

The second was exactly what Jasmine had expected to hear after the incident in the hall with Ethan; 'I'm going to make you want to kill yourself for touching him'

Jasmine threw her phone onto the mess of blankets at the end of her bed, bringing her hands to her face as she considered all of the horrible things Paige could do to her.

The worst of it was that had she been paying slightly more attention, she wouldn't have bumped into Ethan in the first place. She hated that he had seen her like that.

___________

Jasmine had spent her afternoon sitting at her desk, sketching into her small sketchbook, and before she knew it time had flown by.

Gwen halted abruptly as she passed by Jasmine's door, noticing her younger sister sitting at her desk, pencil in hand.

"What the fuck, Ave? Did you even go to school?" She grumbled.

Since Gwen was also dropped home by friends, she would always arrive home before Jasmine.

Jasmine turned to her sister, not having thought about the lie she would tell her family. She knew that she couldn't tell the truth because Gwen would surely tell their mum.

"I wasn't feeling well so-"

"That is some BULLSHIT, Jaz! So unwell that you can walk forty minutes home from school?? sure!" she yelled, stomping down the hallway to her room, "I'M TELLING SUSAN!".

Jasmine turned back to her sketchbook, Gwen's threat having very little impact on her. Her mum probably already knows that she skipped half of the day, the school definitely didn't mess around when it came to reporting absences.

Jasmine looked over the sketches that she had just spent the last two hours drawing, even just the scribbled drawing of that dark-haired boy brought with it that strange feeling if she stared too long.

She had drawn him standing in that crowded hall, dark curls covering his eyes, but a gentle smile softening his shadowy features. She wasn't sure why she hadn't been able to get him out of her mind but she enjoyed sketching his unusual features.

Though she had never really seen his face; his eyes had always been hidden under those thick curls. She wondered what he looked like up close, whoever he was.

___________

At dinner Gwen was quick to whinge about Jasmine having skipped school again today. Mum responded with disappointment, having already received a call from the school as she was leaving from work. Jasmine could do nothing but give her the same answer she gave Gwen.

She felt guilty about having left school halfway through the day but she couldn't fathom going to classes sticky and uncomfortable on top of the horrible stares and snickers.

Having claimed to be sick all week, her mum was understanding but still disappointed and concerned. It was unlike her 'good' child to be skipping so much school, however Jasmine had never faked sickness in all her years of middle school so her mum could do nothing but sigh and let it go. Gwen stood up in a rage and stomped away to her room.

After suggesting a doctor's appointment and being shut down for the fifth time this past week, Susan could do nothing but give Jasmine a defeated look.

"It's okay Mum..." Jasmine muttered, mustering the most genuine smile that she could.

"I promise today was the last day, I think I just overreacted. I've missed too much already". This seemed to be enough for her Mum who simply nodded and stood up to collect the dishes.

Jasmine helped her mum dry the dishes, listening to her speak about her new work environment and how crazy and busy it had been for her.

Jasmine was genuinely happy for her, it had been a while since she had seen her mum so stressed, excited and motivated since the move. After a quick hug, Jasmine left her mum to head upstairs. She laid in bed with a book in her hands.

She enjoyed reading because it would take her out of his hellish reality, even if only for the moment.

She didn't realise how late it was until she saw the hallway lights turn off between the gap at the bottom of her door, meaning that her mum was off to bed. She turned to the bedside table, the red number of her alarm clock reading 10:34pm.

Jasmine closed the book, making sure to mark the page that she was up to before sitting the book on the side table and reaching to turn off the lamp on her table.

Ding.

Jasmine's attention turned to her phone that sat on her bedside table, now illuminated.

' 1 unread message from 'A. B'. She didn't recognise the initials - another guy with some kind of disgusting sexual message? With a sigh, she decided to ignore the message, turning off the lamp and turning over to tuck herself under the covers.

Ding.

Jasmine glanced back at the phone as the screen lit up again, this time illuminating the bedroom ceiling. '2 unread messages from A. B'.

Jasmine contemplated whether it would be worth checking. The message would likely just end up being a cruel joke from Paige or an 'anonymous' bully. She didn't want to sleep, reminded of how much of a slut she was, or how she was so disgusting she made people puke. She could check it in the morning.

Ding

.

Jasmine wrinkled her nose as she reached for the phone, gazing at the three unread messages before curiosity beckoned her to check them.

She unlocked the phone, entering her messenger app. The profile photo for this 'A. B.' the person was just pitch black. It really did seem like a fake profile. Regardless, Jasmine taped on the message.

"I have noticed that you have been having a hard time recently"

"I could help you"

"I could protect you"

Jasmine's face screwed up in confusion as she stared at the words. She moved into a seated position, leaning against the backboard of the bed, rereading the messages over and over.

Ding.

"You shouldn't have to see yourself in the mirror and wonder when you last smiled"

Jasmine parted her lips as her eyes widened, shock and confusion settling in her chest. Her eyes darted around the room, a strange feeling that somebody was watching her creeping into her chest. How did they know? Did they just guess that she had had these thoughts?

Jasmine brought the phone to her lips, staring into the darkness of her room as though it would give her an answer. Who is this person?

She brought the screen back down to her lap as her fingers typed a quick response.

"Who are you?"

Ding.

The response was almost instantaneous.

"Who I am is not important, it's how I can help you that is" Jasmine squinted her eyes,

"What do you mean?" Ding.

"All you need to do is make a deal with the devil." Those words took her back.

What did they mean by; 'make a deal with the devil?'.

Jasmine's fingers gripped the phone, unsure of how she was supposed to respond to that. The very idea of 'making a deal with the devil' didn't sound appealing. She shook her head as she typed her response; "I don't understand"

Ding.

"I can't explain everything like this. I would like to meet with you, will you agree?" What?

Jasmine let her phone drop to her lap as she took in a deep breath.

Who could this stranger possibly be? I'm almost certain this is some sort of joke. If someone really wanted to help me then why are they appearing now - surely they had noticed before today.

Jasmine's realistic thinking couldn't get past the fact that in all likelihood, this was exactly what she thought it was; some sort of sick joke on her. If she agreed to meet with them it could all be a trap.

Paige did say that she would make Jasmine want to kill herself after all, and that would be far easier luring her outside of the restrictions of school grounds.

However, what if it really was someone who wanted to help? If it isn't a joke and someone actually wants to help... Jasmine was quick to remind herself that nobody wanted to help her.

But if it is, and I don't at least agree...

Perhaps it was the fact that she hadn't had this sense of hope in a couple of weeks, she found her heart fluttering with some kind of hope. "How can I trust you?"

The words felt so heavy in her heart.

She couldn't think of a single response that could make the anxiety that was building in her chest disappear. No response could make her believe that whoever this was had no malice towards her.

She had nobody on her side all these months and a stranger expected her to trust them enough to meet them? Ding.

"Trust the feeling that you had when you first saw me".

Jasmine felt that familiar pounding of her heart as she was brought back to the moment she had in the corridor. To the magnetic pull that she felt. To the dark curls and tattoos that smiled at her so delicately. Surely there's no way...

Jasmine struggled to hush the thumping of her heart, the feeling echoing through her as her fingers cautiously typed her response. "How will we meet?"

Ding.

"I will come to you. Does that mean you agree?"

Jasmine brought her bottom lip between her teeth as her shaking fingers hovered over send. 'Okay'