Colliding with Fate

~Three~

Claire and I walked down the hallway together on our way to our separate classes.

"Thanks for letting me sleep over a couple of nights ago." Claire chirped as we walked side-by-side.

I gave her a sideways glance. She never thanked me for that. It was just natural that she stayed over sometimes. My parents loved her company as much as I did, and Ethan didn't seem to have a problem with her, so Claire was welcome any time.

It worried me that she was thanking me this time.

"You okay?" I asked. I watched as she fumbled with her shirt.

She always did that when she was nervous or upset.

Claire shot me a fake grin. "Yeah, why?"

Claire never lied to me, so why was she now?

I decided not to press. If she wanted to tell me what was going on, she would tell me in time. I trusted her.

---

I walked into class, with my eyes set on the floor. I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out what Claire could possibly be trying to keep from me.

My usual seat in the front of class was strangely occupied. My brows drew together in confusion.

Today has been an odd day so far.

I search for an open seat and find one in the back of class, next to a boy who was wearing a familiar worn jacket.

Fate.

I had no idea he was in this class with me. Not once did I hear the teacher call out his name to answer a question and I for sure know that I never heard him speak out in class.

His hoodie was over his head as his hair fell over his green eyes as I made my way towards the seat right next to him. I made eye contact with him as I sat down.

"Hey," I said.

He nodded in acknowledgement of my presence. I sat awkwardly for a moment before turning away from him.

"Alright class, choose someone next to you to work on today's project." Our teacher called out over everyone as soon as we calmed down.

I glanced over at Fate, who made no move towards me. I glanced on the other side and was met with the wall.

With a deep sigh, I turned back to Fate. "Looks like we're partners."

Fate turned to me, pulling his hoodie off of his head. He brushed his light brown hair out of his green eyes and eyed me carefully. "Alright, partner."

---

We finished the project in no time. We made a five-slide PowerPoint to represent the country we made up and the people that live in it. I had to admit that Fate was a huge help. Without him, I probably wouldn't have been able to figure everything out in time, but because of him, we were the first group to finish.

I decided to present it to our teacher while Fate sat and watched.

"You finished early, Miss Lewis." Mrs Brady, our history teacher, said. She eyes me skeptically, giving me another chance to make any changes before she gave us a final grade.