Chapter 24 - Something That Stayed

It shouldn't have mattered.

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It was nothing.

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Just an accident.

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Jackson lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

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The room was quiet.

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Too quiet.

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He had tried not to think about it.

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Tried to let the day pass like any other.

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But it didn't.

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Because every time his mind slowed

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it came back.

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That moment.

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The way Christopher had stumbled

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The way his body had fit too easily in his hold

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The warmth under his hand

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And his expression.

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That soft, surprised look.

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That quiet

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"…Thank you."

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Jackson exhaled sharply, turning onto his side.

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"…It was nothing."

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The words sounded empty.

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Even to him.

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He dragged a hand through his hair, frustrated.

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He had touched people before.

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Friends.

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Teammates.

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Strangers in passing.

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It had never meant anything.

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It had never stayed.

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So why

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Why was this different?

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Jackson closed his eyes.

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And there it was again.

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Not the fall.

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Not even the moment itself.

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But the feeling after.

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The way his hand hadn't moved.

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The way he didn't want to let go.

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His eyes opened again.

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"…What the hell."

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He sat up, irritation building under his skin.

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This didn't make sense.

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Christopher wasn't

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He stopped himself.

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Wasn't what?

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Pretty?

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No.

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That wasn't it.

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Jackson frowned slightly.

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It wasn't about that.

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It wasn't about how he looked.

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It was something else.

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Something quieter.

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Something that didn't make sense no matter how many times he turned it over in his head.

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And that

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was worse.

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The next day

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everything looked the same.

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The campus.

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The noise.

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The people.

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Nothing had changed.

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Except

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Him.

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Jackson saw Christopher before Christopher saw him.

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Sitting in the same place.

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Like always.

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For a moment

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Jackson didn't move.

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He just watched.

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The way Christopher leaned slightly over the table.

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Focused.

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Unaware.

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There was nothing special about it.

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Nothing that should have stood out.

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And yet

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Jackson couldn't look away.

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"…Weird."

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The word came under his breath.

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But it didn't change anything.

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He still walked toward him.

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Still sat down beside him.

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Closer than yesterday.

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Not enough to be obvious.

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But enough.

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"Hey."

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Christopher looked up.

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And for a second

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just a second

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Jackson felt that same pause again.

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That same shift.

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"…Hi."

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Christopher smiled faintly.

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Small.

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But real.

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And something in Jackson tightened.

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He looked away first.

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"…You're early."

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"I usually am."

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Jackson nodded.

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He knew that.

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He hadn't realized he knew that.

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"…Right."

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A pause settled between them.

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Not uncomfortable.

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But not the same as before.

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Jackson leaned back slightly

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but his attention didn't move.

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It stayed.

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On Christopher.

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On the way his fingers tapped lightly against the table.

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On the way he avoided eye contact just a little.

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On everything.

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Too much.

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"…You always do that?" Jackson asked suddenly.

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Christopher blinked.

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"…Do what?"

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"That."

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Jackson gestured vaguely toward his hand.

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Christopher looked down.

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"…Oh."

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A small pause.

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"I didn't notice."

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"…You should."

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The words came out sharper than intended.

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Christopher looked at him again.

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Confused.

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"…Why?"

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Jackson hesitated.

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He didn't have an answer.

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Or maybe

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he did.

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He just didn't want to say it.

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"…Nothing."

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He leaned back again.

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But something had already shifted.

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Something small.

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Something wrong.

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And even as they kept talking

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as things tried to return to normal

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Jackson couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't.

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Because now

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he was noticing things he hadn't before.

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And once you start noticing

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you don't stop.

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Later that day

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someone called his name.

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A friend.

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Someone familiar.

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Jackson turned

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answered

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laughed.

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It was easy.

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It always had been.

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But when he looked back

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Christopher was gone.

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The space beside him

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empty.

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And something

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small.

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sharp.

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unsettling

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settled in his chest.

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"…Where did he go?"

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He didn't mean to say it out loud.

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But he did.

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And for the first time

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it didn't feel like a casual question.

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It felt like something else.

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Something he didn't understand yet.

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But was already starting to follow.