Friend
Him
She walked into the classroom and I groaned internally. She was wearing those fucking little shorts that gave way to her tanned legs, muscles flexing as she walked. A pair of white converse adorned her feet and they carried her right to me.
Conflict flourished in my chest. After talking with Ozul yesterday, I rethought everything. I should have never talked to her. I should have never touched her. We should exist in separate circles, fuck, in separate universes.
She smiled shyly at me, “Um-“ She frowned, her shoulders rising as she inhaled dramatically, “Can I sit with you again?”
I nodded before I could stop myself, but her smile grew and I was ecstatic that I hadn’t. With a sigh, she sat next to me, her peachy scent hitting me like a brick wall. I held my breath, afraid to get addicted to her.
Class started and the world disappeared, the lesson went in one ear and out the other. I was, however, hyper aware of the way she sat back with her arms across her chest. Her ankles were under the desk, crossed over each other comfortably. Half an hour later, we were handed sheets, expected to work on them quietly, only soft whispers allowed.
She turned to me, and I froze, only managing an awkward nod. Her brown eyes swept across my face, and my chest ached. It actually hurt to breathe.
"You weren't here yesterday," She whispered, and my cock came to life in my pants.
Fuck she was so sexy, just by existing. This was far beyond inappropriate. I sat closer to the desk, trying to cover the embarrassing tent.
"I-uhh-I had something come up. I had to go home," I was relieved to see that I found my voice. There was a 50% chance I was going to croak instead of speak.
She nodded, looking back down at the work on her desk. All I could do was watch her. Watch her tongue as it flicked out to lick her lips, listen to her as she hummed, feel her warmth with her so close to me. I suddenly felt hot, my breath caught in my chest again.
She chewed on her lip as she worked, frowning when she stilled her pencil on her paper. With her long, delicate fingers, she flipped it, erasing what she had just written.
“Do you- do you get thi-“ Her voice caught in her throat as she brought her eyes to meet mine. She blushed before clearing her throat and looked back at her paper, “Do you um- get this?”
I let my eyes falter down to the equation on the paper, I nodded.
“Uh-“ I cleared my throat, my voice almost breaking, “Yeah.”
I ran my pencil on her paper, showing her which elements cancelled each other on the opposite sides of the equation.
He eyes widened and she caught my wrist, “Wait!” She pulled my hand away, “Don’t finish it. I-I think I got it now,” She smiled to herself, quickly scribbling the numbers before she stopped and looked at me, “Six.”
“What?” I was breathless.
“It’s six!” She smiled.
I chuckled, nodding, “Yeah.”
“Thanks,” She blushed again, tucking her hair behind her ear. She kept working on the next problem, reminding me that I had yet to start the paper at all.
I looked around the classroom then, for the first time, and my chest twisted uncomfortably. Everyone looked so normal. I felt out of place, sticking out like a sore thumb.
I wondered then, if any of them had felt real pain, real loss, real shame. I scowled, thinking of the last year that was robbed from me. I didn’t have the time to act like an 18 year old. Didn’t have to chance to enjoy my senior year with all my friends. It had all withered in front of me.
And here, I thought I would actually have the time to pick up the pieces and start again, but Jacob’s incessant calling and ultimatum made me realize that would never be possible. Normal would never be possible. Inesa would never be possible. Even as she sat beside me, talking to me about a math problem.
Sometimes the simplest things seemed so complicated. So out of reach.
We worked quietly before she shifted in her seat and turned to me, “I-I didn’t see you at lunch today?” She sat back in her chair, having finished the worksheet.
I nodded, “I was in the library.”
“Oh.” She whispered, nodding. “C-can I join you tomorrow?” I frowned at her, surprise evident in my face by the way she cringed at herself. “I-I just thought we could both use a friend?” She was as red as a tomato. So fucking cute.
I smiled at her, trying to hold it in by raking my teeth on my bottom lip, “Sure,” I managed.
“Great.” She exhaled, beginning to pack her things.
My eyes swept across the room to the clock that hung on the wall, five minutes before the bell would ring. Why did time go incredibly fast when I wanted it to go slow?
Maybe I could keep things separate. She could just be a friend. From school. That’s it. There was no need to combine this part of my life with the other. Inesa existed in a place where Jacob, Ozul and Brone did not. It was possible. I could keep them separate. I could keep her safe.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
I looked at her, realizing the bell had begun to ring and nodded, watching her walk away. I clenched my jaw, watching her legs, focusing on her ass before looking away.
I gathered my own things, walking to the front of the class just as Mrs. Jacobs stood in front of me, “Mr.Ashford.”
She raised an eyebrow and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m watching you. Inesa is a good girl,” I scowled at her, anger coming to life in the pit of my stomach, “I’ll see you at detention.”
She shot me a judgmental look full of self-satisfaction before walking away to her desk in a huff.
With a sour taste in my mouth I stood at the door and I looked down at my wrist, my skin still tingling from where Inesa had touched me.