Winter only got a few steps towards the bathroom before she collapsed. She pulled herself by the wall in the hallway and rolled up her pant leg. Winter looked down and saw her knee bleeding. Hearing footsteps, Winter looked up from her bloodied leg and stared into deep, wine red eyes. Sam had not stopped walking. Winter glared at his back as Sam rounded the corner and reentered the gym. She thought, "What a jerk." Winter attempted to stand. She heard more foot steps coming from the direction of the gym. This time the eyes that met hers were blue, a dark blue that rivaled an angry ocean. The boy looked at her, eyes intent. "Might wanna get that checked out," he said. His stare was piercing. "Winter, right?" Winter nodded her head. "I'm Jax Ryan. From class eight." Winter watched him, "From Star's potential?" Jax scoffed, "Yeah that's a load of bull. Everyone should just call it 'Sam's class', because that's the only thing that matters." He studied her, "That leg seems pretty busted, you should go to the nurse." Winter smiled slightly, "I'll be fine. It will be totally healed in five minutes." Jax sighed, "Are you dumb? There's no way a wound like that would heal that quick." Winter shrugged, "I have incredibly thick skin." Jax rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Come on I'll help you." Winter narrowed her eyes, "I told you there's no need." Jax huffed, "If you don't want my help then fine." Jax turned and started to walk away before Winter grabbed his pants gently, "Wait, don't tell my friends you saw me." Jax kept on walking until he disappeared around the corner.
Winter tried to get up on her own. She fell and tried again. Winter was on her two feet before she was about to collapse again when someone caught her. "You should have admitted you needed my help," Jax smirked. Winter scowled, "I don't." "Oh really? If I didn't catch you just now you would've been eating dirt." Winter pushed him off and then wobbled, "I could've caught myself." "Sure sparky. Just hurry up and get on my back." Winter glowered at the nickname, "I don't need your help." Jax sighed, long and hard before picking her up, "I'm still going to help you. What would I be if I left a damsel in distress?" Winter looked at Jax's dark brown hair as Jax wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Jax kept her hoisted up on his back, "What do you think?" Winter furrowed her eyebrows, "About what?" He pulled on the bracelet around his wrist, "About this school." She sighed, "What is there to know? Golden Academy High is an elite school for students with parents of power and influence. It's filled to the brim with unnecessary luxury." Jax chuckled, "You haven't been here long enough." Winter stared ahead, "What are you implying?" Jax shook his head, "You'll find out soon enough."
They arrived at the nurse's office but there was no one inside. "It seems like the nurse is out right now," Jax set Winter down gently on the bed. "Let me do it." Winter smirked, "What do you know about patching someone up?" "Funny you'd ask," Jax scrambled around the nurse's office grabbing supplies, "One time my friend Lucas got injured during gym. Someone knocked him down and he got scuffed up pretty bad on his arms. I tended his wounds. A few days later he was good as new." Winter laughed softly, "Cute. Who taught you how?" Jax shrugged, "I had this nanny when I was little named Mariellen. I didn't know how to pronounce her name so I would call her Manny." Winter giggled, "Manny? As in Mariellen and nanny?" "Exactly. So as a kid I was always getting hurt. Manny would patch me up. But soon enough she got tired of it and decided to teach me how to tend to my own injuries." Winter smiled, " So, simply put, your experience comes from being a wild child." Jax rolled his eyes, handing her a glass of water. "Laugh all you want, but I could easily tell you the reason you collapsed. It wasn't just from running." "I could've told you that. No way I collapsed from fifty laps." He grabbed her wrist, turning it over in his hand, "You collapsed due to dehydration, fatigue, and a twisted ankle." Winter scoffed, "You forgot the gash on my leg." Jax smirked and crouched down to get a better look at her knee. When he did, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "It's completely healed." Winter smirked at him, "I told you I have thick skin." He looked up at her before moving his hand to the foot she twisted. Jax took the ankle in his hand and rotated it slowly. Winter looked at him blankly, before kicking him off. She shook her foot, "I'm fine." He looked at his hands, Winter could see the wheels in his head turning. She eyed him, "How long have you been going here?" Jax's focus remained on his hands, "Since it opened." Winter tilted her head, "How old were you when it opened?" He mumbled, "Five." She nodded, "What do you know about the headmaster?" Jax looked up at her, his deep blue eyes muddled with thought, "He's about as big a mystery as they come. No one has seen him or heard his voice since the school opened." Winter narrowed her eyes. Based on his body language, it seemed to her that Jax knew more than he was letting on but she didn't push the subject. "The bell's about to ring, I'll walk you to class." They got there just as the bell rang. Jax's smirk left Winter slightly uneasy, "See you around, Knight."