Pretty Eyes & Bow Ties

Eri's Eyes

'Crap.'

We stared at each other for a few seconds before he turned completely and hovered over me.
I started to shake at the thought of what he was gonna do and felt the back of my throat burn with threatening tears.

The teen dropped to a kneel in front of me and his glare at this angle changed to a look of worry.
"You alright?" He asked softly, his voice low and smooth.
Everyone staring seemed to breath a sigh of relief and turned away, going back to doing their own thing.

I stared dumbfounded, unable to find words.
"Damn it, Eri! You nearly scared the kid half to death!" Karma's voice pierced through my mental block.

The teen kneeling before me shot her a look before turning back to me.

"Sorry if I scared you. Are you alright? You fell pretty hard."
I looked down and rubbed my sore hip.
"I-I'll live."
That got the teen to smile.

"Come on Haven or we'll be late." Karma warned.
The teen stood and waved.
"Later Karma." He smiled, locking eyes with me before leaving.

His eyes.
Damn his eyes.
I couldn't even begin to describe them.

"That was Eri. He used to play on the football team before he quit." Karma explained, helping me up.
"Cool guy. Can be real intimidating sometimes tho. Think you two would get along from what I know about you so far." She smiled, leading me the rest of the way to class.

Second period had flown by like a breeze and now I was walking to third all on my own.
I had biology while the girls had algebra 2 together.
I pushed open to door to be met with yet another full class that turned to stare at me.

'Aren't any of these kids ever a little late?'

"Ah! You must be Haven." The teacher smiled.
"Mr. Raywood?" I asked, remembering the name on my schedule.
"That's me." He grinned.

He was tall with a clean kept beard and styled salt and peppered hair, making his pair of ice blue eyes standout.

He marked me present and pointed to an empty seat in the back. I walked towards it and plopped down, looking through the sea of backs.

"Class. As you know...we have a new student and i want you to show...."
He stopped to look at me.
"Them...how great our school can be."
Everyone nodded boredly.
"Alright now back to the lesson."

He flipped on his projector and shut off two of the three classroom lights. The word "Heredity" was projected across the screen.

"Heredity." He started.
"Can someone define heredity for me?"
A hand from the front of the class shot into the air.
"Mary."
The student had long wavy black hair and a white cardigan from what I could see.
"Heredity is the passing on of mental or physical characteristics from one generation to another."

"Correct. Heredity is the passing on of traits, whether good or bad." Mr. Raywood said, walking around to the front of his desk.
"Can anyone give me an example of a good trait?"
"Eye color?" A voice from the middle of the class called out.
"Yes. Now how about a bad one?"
A hand slowly raised up from the front of the class, two seats to the left of Mary.
"Yes. Mr. Montoya."

My eyes landed on the back of the students head. All I could make out was his raven black hair and broad shoulders.

"Mental disorders." He stated. His voice was familiar.
"Such as?" Mr. Raywood prodded.
I could see the boy's shoulders tense.
"Anxiety disorder."
His voice was strained now, but not enough for anyone who wasn't paying close attention to notice.

"Good." Mr. Raywood muttered, seeming to also notice the boy's changed demeanor.
"Going back to what Chris said. Eye color can be hereditary. You can get you parent's eyes but there's also a chance of being born with eyes completely different."

He looked to the smooth voiced teen in the front and I could see his shoulders tense again.
"Eri, can you come up here please?" He asked softly, as if coaxing a crying child.

Eri. That's where I've heard his voice before. The tall boy from the hall.

The teen slowly stood and walked up to the front. Raywood lead Eri behind his desk and shut off the slideshow, turning on the projector camera instead. 
"Shut your eyes please." He said before adjusting it and pointing it to Eri's eyes, causing the screen to be invaded by magnified eyelashes and twitchy eyelids. 

"Alright, you can open 'em up now."

My breath caught in my throat as the teen's eyes fluttered open. He had a small ring of golden hazel surrounding his pupil and the rest of his iris was taken up by a blueish green before becoming darker along the outer edge.

"Can anyone tell me what condition Eri has?"
Two hands shot into the air. Mine and Mary's.
"Mary."
My arm sagged before it dropped to my table again.

"Heterochromia." She stated proudly.
"Which type?"
The girl's back went rigid.
"Th-there are types?"
"Yes. Anyone know all three?" My hand shot up once again.

Mr. Raywood seemed surprised by my confidence.
"Haven."
Everyone turned to stare.
"The types are central, complete, and sectoral. Eri has central."

"Yes! Very good." The blue eyed man praised. "He has central heterochromia. The most common of the condition."
"It's weird." One student tutted.
"Yeah." Another smirked, causing a few girls around him to giggle.

I looked up at Eri, watching him turn away from the camera and slowly try to curl in on himself in embarrassment.

"I don't think they're weird!" I blurted, unaware of my volume.
Everyone turned their attention to me.
I steeled my nerves and locked eyes with the boy up front.
"I think they're..."
Hundreds of words ran through my mind but none fit. Only one seemed to make the most sense.
"Pretty."

Eri's eyes widened and Mr. Raywood smiled.
"Yes. I guess you could say Mr. Montoya's eyes are...pretty."
I felt the tips of my ears heat up but I kept a straight face.
"You can sit back down Eri."

The tall boy made his way back to his seat and on his way he locked eyes with me. A small shy smile made it's way onto his face before he turned and sat down again.

The rest of the class passed with a slideshow and notes. The bell rang signaling the start of lunch and everyone left, leaving only me, Mr. Raywood, and Eri in the room. I was packing my things when a notebook slipped out of my hand and slapped onto the ground.

I sighed but before I could pick it up, it was placed on my desk. I looked up and met a pair of hazel and blue green eyes. The teen before me was a good three inches taller then me.

"Thanks." I smiled.
"No problem...uh...Haven?"
I nodded to confirm his unasked question about my name. His lips twitched with the want to smile before he took his lower lip between his teeth.
"Though it should be me who thanks you."
I raised a brow.
"For what?"
"For saying that earlier. Sticking up for me."
"Oh! That? It was nothing. They have no right to say shit like that."
He smiled and downcast his eyes.
"Still."

I could see Mr. Raywood trying to inconspicuously watch us from his desk.
I tossed my notebook in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

"Do you really think I have pretty eyes?" Eri asked randomly, lips tilted in a smirk.
"Oh shut up!" I grinned, nudging him. "But for real....of course I do."
The boy smiled timidly and walked with me towards the door.
"Where you heading now?"
"Gotta go find Karma. She said she'll show me around."
"Oh. Alright."
We stopped outside of the room and turned to each other.
"Uh. See ya later?" He asked, worry clear in his tone.
"Yeah. Definitely."

His worried expression became a shy smile as he nodded and waved a farewell, walking off.
I smiled at his retreating back and turned, making my way to go find my black clad tour guide.