The Boy Behind The Glass • Stydia

13. giant in my head

C H A P T E R • T H I R T E E N

Lydia and Jackson start dating two weeks after the party at his house. He asks her out over text, she says yes and thus, the biggest lesson of Lydia's life begins.

To begin with, everything changes. Lydia becomes glued to Jackson's side more so than before, and whenever they're apart, they're texting like their lives depend on it. Allison calls them cute, cooing when they hold hands. Danny pats Jackson on the back, congratulating him like he's getting married. Lydia feels like she's constantly walking on clouds, heart thumping whenever Jackson smiles at her, the hairs on her arms standing up on end when he speaks with his low voice.

She goes to his lacrosse practices still, religiously sitting in the bleachers like before. But now, she has a reason, she has a need to be there and support Jackson like the good girl friend she is going to be.

They spend most of their time at Jackson's house because his parents are rarely home, and when they are, they have dinner around the table before they all disperse to their own rooms. Her and Jackson spend the hours in the quiet house on the sofa or in Jackson's room. They watch films, either sitting side by side or slowly melting into each other. They kiss on the lips, small, hesitant pecks that Lydia wants to deepen but also doesn't.

Things don't change much from that. They hang out, sit closer than friends. They spend time together at school, but Jackson is always the one to ditch, to hang out with his friends. Lydia finds it hard to keep up her stoney appearance, her dominating female role in the school when Jackson makes her feel so weak. She wants to run after him every time he leaves, to crumble every time he goes to hang out with his friends.

She becomes obsessed. She finally has what she wants: a hot boyfriend. It only makes it a thousand times better that it's Jackson, the lacrosse star and high school dream-boy. Jackson is well known amongst the towns people, and everyone in school knows his name, just as they do with Lydia. She feels like royalty when they walk the school corridors, intimidating the younger students and strutting higher than the others.

They're dating for six months before Lydia finally meets Jackson's parents officially.

He invites her over for a meal with them on a windy Friday night. Lydia dresses her best, checking every few minutes in her compact mirror to make sure her lipstick hasn't smudged as her mother drives her over to the Whittemore residence.

She's been thinking about it all week. It's all she's talked about with Allison, fussing and gushing over what to wear and how to act. Lydia needs to be mature and fabulous, proving she is the perfect young girl for Jackson.

First impressions are key, Lydia has learnt. She doesn't know if it's worse now that she has be told Jackson's parents aren't his real parents, but adoptive ones.

*

The entire dinner is a disaster.

Lydia is a shaking frame of nerves and gloated ego. Jackson's mother sits opposite her, Jackson himself to her side and Mr Whittemore at the head of the table. They're dressed like they're going to a fancy ball, glam-ed up and stunning.

Jackson's mother is a fair-looking woman. Her blonde hair is thin but long, tied up in a neat bun with small strands falling out and framing her thin face. She smiles warmly, but her eyes speak a different story: blue and piercing, her black mascara elegant and barely noticeable as they make the outline of her eyes huge and sharp.

Jackson's father terrifies Lydia from start to finish. He's a tall man, lean and bold. He has a permanently clenched jaw, tight and sharp. His cheeks sink in under the high and strong bones. His eyes are small but deadly. During the entire meal, he doesn't smile.