'So you just … got on a bus with no real plans?' She looks steadily back at him, and he shakes his head. Instead, he settles for asking, 'So where are you headed?' He wants to ask why she's dressed like this and what she's doing on a bus when he's pretty sure football playoffs start tomorrow, but he bites his tongue to keep it inside. 'Uh, yeah.' Jay has no idea how she knows his name. 'Oh,' she says, looking strangely unsurprised. It's strange seeing her without a bright smile on her face or poms in her hands. Her hair is straight and long, her eyes dark with thick eyeliner and mascara-nothing like the fresh-faced cheerleader from his school. 'Jessica?' If she hadn't said anything, he might not have recognized her.

'Could you not,' she starts to say as she turns, but her voice drops away when their eyes meet. He sucks in his breath as she groans and sits up in her seat, rubbing at her eyes. He starts to lean towards her, but the bus goes over a bump just then and he ends up hitting her a lot harder than he means to. He mentally debates waking her up and finally decides on 'accidentally' bumping her shoulder when he bends down to fix his shoe-if she gets mad, at least he'll have the relief of knowing she's alive. Jay's honestly a little worried that she might be unconscious or dead. Half an hour later, she hasn't moved at all. He shakes his head at himself and puts in his earbuds. He sneaks another look, but it only gets him the tip of her nose. He gingerly puts his bag in the overhead compartment and sits down, trying not to wake her up. She’s swimming in her huge black sweatshirt, the hood pulled up so all Jay can see is a lock of blonde hair draped over her shoulder with a few black strands running through it. There's only one seat left on the Greyhound when Jay gets on, next to a girl sleeping with her head pressed against the window.

Wreckless journal