Harmless Things (Jean Hobbs AU)

Part six

Jack P.O.V. 

"Do you think Mr Ledley will make you sit next to the new boy again?" Felix asked me as we walked to maths. 

"Dean, his name's Dean, and I don't know," I was hoping he would so I had an excuse to sit next to him again. I hadn't seen him since our last lesson yesterday but the image of him stayed in my head all night where I tossed and turned without sleeping once, unable to stop thinking about him. Once I heard our house door shut around half six this morning, I got out of bed and had breakfast and spent more time getting ready then paced around my room out of nerves. 

I walked into the classroom and immediately looked over to the front of the room where I had been sitting yesterday but Dean wasn't there yet. I took my usual spot next to Felix feeling disappointed and joined in the conversation he was having with Jason and Matt hoping it would take my mind off the short brunette boy. 

"Jack, what happened to you yesterday? We were supposed to play football after school, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I wasn't feeling well," truth was after I met Dean, everything I learned that day slipped from my memory. I guessed it was because my brain was telling me Dean was a lot more important and interesting than atoms and particles. Every detail of him was still fresh in my head after going through it all a thousand times in my sleepless night. I sat back in my chair, my thoughts being flooded again with him and kept an eye on the door, waiting for him to come through. 

I didn't have to wait long before he came in looking a bit flustered, I wondered if it was because he was stressed from being lost. No one took any notice as he went to his seat, his straightened floppy hair bouncing with each step and hands clutching his backpack straps. When he was sitting he took out his small stationary set of a pen and ruler and his eyes flitted over the rest of the room like he was looking for someone, but his attention diverted back to the front when the teacher came into the room. 

 "Jack Howard?" 

"Yes sir?" 

"I would like you to sit next to Mr Dobbs again today and this will be your permanent seat from now on. I couldn't help but notice Felix actually did some work in your absence yesterday," I happily obliged, picking my bag up from the floor without an argument or any signal saying I didn't want to. I smiled at Dean when I sat down and he returned it, still looking nervous but not as much as the day before. 

I tried to concentrate on the teacher as he went on about shapes, but I was constantly distracted by Dean; everything he did was intriguing and I watched him without any effort of pretending I wasn't. I saw every line drawn on his doodles, every letter wrote and every tapping of the pen against the table. People would probably say it was creepy watching everything he did, but I would just call it appreciating beauty. 

I jumped when a textbook was slammed down in front of me and glared at the culprit who happened be Georgia who was currently laughing. 

"Go away Georgia," I groaned and she smirked at me. 

"Who's this then?" She gestured toward Dean who immediately looked uncomfortable. 

"That's Dean." 

"Aww, he's adorable!" Jealously grew in me and suddenly felt very protective towards Dean. Dean was mine, I found him first. I didn't like sharing things. Perhaps it was because I didn't have the skill because I had no sisters or brothers to learn it from. "Are you going to introduce me to him then?" Georgia grinned. 

I sighed. "Georgia, this is Dean, Dean this is Georgia," pointing at them in turn when it was appropriate. 

 "Um, hi," I heard Dean say beside me. I looked him and he looked embarrassed, playing with the hem of his shirt awkwardly.