More or less friends

Chapter 6

I study the bit of ripped paper in my hands later that night, turning it over and over again to make sure that it is real.
He gave me his number. He actually gave me his number.
His writing is good, too. I was almost hoping that he would write badly, so that I could at least fault him on something. But no, his writing is just as perfect as the rest of him.
The first lesson went OK, I basically just listened to him explaining about triangles for about half an hour. Not that I'm complaining, I mean, I would much rather have him explaining it to me than my crusty old maths teacher. But I had no idea how tough it would be for me not to look at his beautiful face without blushing every five seconds, especially when he kept looking up at me with those jade-green eyes that seemed to see right into my soul...
Anyway, after that the day went by uneventfully, I didn't even see Caleb on the train this evening. I would have liked to ask him what had happened between him and Ryan at lunch, and apologise for speaking to him the way I did. I don't know what came over me. Was Serena right? Am I jealous? No, I can't be. Not when I have Ryan all to myself, as she put it in history earlier. That thought is both exciting and daunting at the same time. Placing the paper delicately on my bedside table, I drift into an uneasy sleep filled with images of dazzling green emeralds...

It is Thursday morning, and I am waiting for my dad to come down to take me to the station while thinking for the millionth time about what I will write in my first text to Ryan, to fix up our next tutoring session. I had thought about starting with "hi!" but that sounded too casual, or "hello" but that was too formal. In the end I had thought "hey," was the best option. And that was just the first word...
We have to leave in two minutes. Where is he?
Suddenly, I hear their bedroom door creak open, and Dad stumbles out, still in his pyjamas, and croaks out:
"Rachel, honey, I'm sorry, I overslept. I'll have to take you for the later train, which means you might be a bit late for your first lesson, I'm afraid. I'm so sorry" he repeats. I repress a sigh and nod a understandingly as I can. Dad disappears back into the bedroom. His sleeping routine is getting worse. He goes to bed at a crazy hour of the night (or morning for that matter) and either overs keeps or is completely out of it when he comes down. I tried to talk to him about it the other day but he just avoided the subject. He doesn't like to admit his problems to me or Mom. I let out a small groan as l realise that I have a biology test first thing this morning, and that I am going to be late for it. Great.

I step out of the station and into the quiet morning air an hear the school bell ring in the distance. I have at least a ten minute walk to school from the station, if I hurry I might only be five minutes late. I see a couple of others that I recognise as seniors from St Mary's going in the  same direction as I am. Well, at least I won't be the only one. I notice that they are all wearing tuxedos and ties, and suddenly remember that this is the day of the month that some successful business people come to the school to look for possible interns in whatever position they have on offer. All the seniors have to wear a tux or business dress for the girls, to make a good impression. The business people would roam around the school all day, inspecting possible candidates and, later on, conducting one on one interviews with each in turn. That is one part of senior year that I am really not looking forward to. They never did that at my old school.
I arrive at the school gates a little after the others. I am exactly seven minutes late. I rush into the main building and race up the stairs, taking the time to decompose myself for a few seconds before knocking on the door.
"Yes!" The science teacher calls abruptly, making me flinch. I open the door hesitantly, and am relived to find that she is only just finishing giving out the papers.
"Ah! Miss Summers, I'm glad you had the decency to join us this morning! Take a seat." I smile and nod, heading towards the back of the room and taking the seat across from Serena. From the corner of my eye, I see Adam's profile and feel him watching me, but I force myself not to turn and instead focus all my attention on my paper. Reading the first few questions, I smile in triumph. All my work paid off. This is going to be easy.
An hour and a half later, I finally put my own down and sigh in contempt. I hope to have gotten most of I right. I look around and see my friends still scribbling furiously on their papers, and check my watch. Five minutes to go. I re-read my paper twice to make sure, and then lean back in my seat, letting my mind drift for a few seconds before the bell rings.
I step out of the classroom and say hello to some friends before Serena, Alice and I head downstairs to the communal room. It is filled with nervous seniors milling around, unsure quite what to do with themselves. We sit down next to some friends at a table in one corner of the room (of which Adam), and watch as men in expensive looking suits and women in polished high heels stalk around, their heads high, watching and waiting for their prey.
"Rachel!" I turn to see Caleb striding down the stairs, looking a little lost amongst all the chaos. But in his navy blue suit and tie he looks older, and his brilliant blue eyes stand out against the dark fabric, although he hasn't quite managed to tame his unruly blond hair completely. I smile up at him as he reaches our table.
"Hey Caleb." His gaze sweeps over the table and he asks with a grin:
"How're you all doing?" I see a few of the girls blush and giggle and the guys grin and nod in response. Serena has that possessive look in her eye, which quite frankly makes me want to slap it off. But I am not one to make a scene. Instead I reply:
"Great, how are you?"
"Good, good" he says, but he shuffles his feet hesitantly all the same.
"What's wrong?"
He shifts his weight slightly uncomfortably, and hesitates for a second before leaning in and whispering:
"Look, I...I feel kinda stupid asking you this, but...you being a girl and all..." I raise an eyebrow.
"...does my suit look OK?" he asks with a sheepish grin. My face automatically breaks into a smile. I am above all pleased that he feels he can ask me this. I get up and take a step back from him and, sweeping my eyes over his well-built frame, I try not to giggle. I have never really allowed myself to gaze at a guy this openly before. I notice that his shirt is sticking out slightly at the bottom, and his tie is a bit crooked. I take a step forward and adjust these small imperfections, then hesitate for a fraction of a second before wrapping my arms around his neck and smoothing down his collar. We are so close that I can feel his breath tickling the hair on the top of my head, and smell the sweet aroma of detergent on his clothes. It is then that, over Caleb's shoulder, I see Ryan standing by himself on the stairs at the front of the room, watching us intently. His jet black suit and slightly ruffled hair makes him look like some sort of hot body guard. All he needs now are the glasses, but then they would hide his striking green eyes that reflect mesmerisingly off the light in the room. I instantly feel a blush creeping up and retract my arms from around Caleb's neck. Caleb must have thought it was because of him, because he grins and bends down to kiss me on the cheek.
"Thanks, you're the best" he says before turning round and strolling back over to the stairs, looking more confident now. Halfway up he meets Ryan and they shake hands. I turn back to my table where all my friends are wearing the same stupid "you two are so cute" grin. All except Serena, who is unsuccessfully trying to hide a scowl, and Adam who is looking at me with a frown. He looks almost disappointed in me. Who the hell is he to be disappointed in me? I shake my head and sit back down. After a few moments a risk a glance at the stairs again, and am startled to find that Ryan is still standing there, alone, watching me. People are starting to look at him and, following his gaze, at me too. I really don't get what his problem is. I frown and am about to get up and go over to him when the bell rings. Ryan seems startled out of a dream, and slowly turns to walk back up the stairs. We all get up in turn and start to head towards the language building, when a thought strikes me. I pull Serena's arm gently and shout above the noise of the crowd:
"I'll catch you guys up!" She nods, bemused, and I head towards the lockers, which is the direction in which Ryan had been walking a few moments ago. The lockers are deserted within a few moments, and I spot him easily. I am about to go up to him when, suddenly, my subconscious reacts and stops me in my tracks. What the hell are you doing? You can't just go up to him and ask him flat out why the hell he keeps looking at you like that! Do you want to come across as a complete weirdo?
She is right. What on earth was I thinking? I start to turn back when I hear an unmistakably sexy voice ask:
"You OK?" I'm positive that we are alone by the lockers, but all the same I look around me desperately trying to find someone else that he could be talking to. In vain. I manage to muster up enough courage to turn around to face him, but when I do I let out a small gasp. I hadn't heard him creep up on me, and we are now only inches apart.
"Did you want to ask me something?" he asks again. I am unable to speak for a few moments, then I think: what the hell? You've come this far, you may as well go through with it!
My subconscious is reeling at my stupidity, but I ignore her and instead struggle to find my voice.
"Why...why were you....why were you looking at me like that then?" I stutter.
"Like what?" His mouth is set in a straight line but that amusement is back in his eyes. Asshole.
"You know like what" I say abruptly, narrowing my eyes at him. I immediately regret as the amusement is replaced by a look of surprise. Crap. Why do I always speak before thinking? He doesn't answer for a while and I am beginning to think that he won't bother when he shocks me by saying in a voice barely above a whisper:
"I can't seem to take my eyes off you." My subconscious' mouth drops open, as does my own, I think. I suck in a breath. All this time that I have been ogling him from afar, wondering what it would be like to be with him, and here he is voicing the tiny possibility that he could be thinking the same...
He is waiting for a response, searching my face for some sort of emotion, but all I am registering is shock. I bite down hard on my lip to insure that this is actually real, not a dream. His eyes travel to my lips and he stares at them, his beautiful eyes full of wonder. Then suddenly, he reacts and growls:
"Oh, fuck it all!" He grabs me by the wrist and drags me across the grounds. I have to jog to keep up with him. We burst into the language building and I notice that the halls are empty. Everyone is in class. Which is exactly where I should be. But, funny enough, there is nowhere I'd rather be than being pulled along the dark stairs by the guy who has stolen my heart from the beginning of the year. I would never have imagined that this would happen, not in a million years.
Somewhere around the third floor, he asks:
"Which class do you have?" I try to make sense of the muddled thoughts that fill my brain and rack my memory...
"Uh...Spanish!" He nods curtly, as if this information confirmed what he had thought, and drags me up yet another flight of stairs before stopping in front of the door to my Spanish class. A thought strikes me:
"How did you know where-" I am cut off by his mouth crashing onto mine and his hands at my sides. He pushes me against the wall and I wince slightly as my elbow hits the hard surface with a thud. But the pain is soon taken over by incredible feeling of his tongue in my mouth, exploring every inch before coming to meet mine. His teeth bite down gently on my bottom lip, sending shivers down my spine. Wow. I have never been kissed before in my life, let alone like this. My hands find their way to his hair, and his cup the sides of my face gently.
All too soon, it is over, and he retracts somewhat reluctantly. We stand there facing each other, both out of breath. After a few moments he says:
"You should, uh...you...you should get to class..." Huh. I guess he is affected as I am.
I give a small nod, but then I realise that I am still pinned up against the wall. He notices too and pushes himself off me. With trembling hands I push myself off the wall and turn towards the door. But as I do so, I catch a look in his eyes. Is it regret? No, something else. And suddenly, it hits me. I think he is afraid he may have hurt me in some way, or that he has pushed me away for some reason. I feel the urge to reassure him.
I stand on my toes and place a gentle but meaningful kiss to his lips, letting it last a little longer than it should, and when I step back I am rewarded as relief spreads across his features. I give him a small smile and turn to knock on the door.
"Come in!" the teacher shouts, and I open the door as I see him retract into the shadows of the corridor. I apologise for being late and hurry to my seat between Blaire and Serena, who both give me a questioning look. But I just give them a secret smile and don't say a word.

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Hey guys! I know it's been a while, sorry for the long wait , I've been really busy! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think in the comment section! 😊
Enjoy.
~E