The Movies Make It Look Easy

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Shannon's P.O.V:

I continued to scroll through the songs on my iPod until I found something I liked. I was deliberately picking quieter songs, not wanting anything to ruin my relaxed mood. This morning had been, to put it honestly, absolute hell. I'd completely messed up my question on the Baroque and Rococo Era and I was pretty sure my sketches weren't very accurate. Thankfully I hadn't needed the full three hours for the exam and I'd been able to escape reasonably quickly.

So now I was taking some much needed time to just sit and do nothing. I didn't have to worry about deadlines, projects, exams or studying and it put me in a really good mood.

I was sitting on a cushion on the living room floor with my back propped against the couch. Above my head, Nick was taking up the entire couch. For once the TV was off and for that I was grateful. The last thing I wanted was inane chatter in the background while I was trying to relax.  

Nick was resting his back against one of my pillows, (He always seemed to use mine, the big...pillow stealer!) and was sketching quietly in pencil, though I couldn't see what it was. He kept the page tilted away from me. We hadn't spoken in at least an hour, or if he had said something, I hadn't heard because I had my earphones in, in which case I'd probably come off as extremely rude.  

I picked up my book - Gypsy - from where I'd laid it beside me while I chose another song. I could feel Nick's gaze on me, leaving my skin feeling suspiciously flushed. I'd felt his eyes on me like a tangible thing intermittently as we'd been sitting in relative silence - broken only by the slight scratching sound Nick's pencil made against the paper and the soft notes of Kiss The Rain by Yiruma that was playing through my iPod.  

I ignored him because I had gotten to a good part in my book, and also because I was getting better at acting normal around Nick, as if his every touch, his every look didn't cause my body to go into meltdown. It wasn't easy but I was definitely getting better at it.

I soon forgot my surroundings as I entered the world of Beth - the Klondike Gypsy Queen, my music playing so softly it was barely audible in the back of my mind. I wasn't sure how long had passed when I felt Nick's leg nudging the back of my shoulders to gain my attention, only vaguely noticing that the song playing had changed without me noticing. I held up my hand in his direction without looking up, a silent command to wait as I finished the paragraph I was reading. When I had marked my page, I pulled my earphones out.  

"Your phone's ringing" he said in a bored voice, stating the obvious as he went back to drawing.  

I rolled my eyes, already reaching towards my phone which was ringing and vibrating madly on the floor about a foot away from me - It was a wonder I hadn't noticed it, but then again it wasn't unusual for me to become completely oblivious to everything and anything that was going on around me when I was reading a particularly engrossing book.  

I picked up my phone and immediately dropped it on the floor again. I made myself comfortable against the couch again and picked my book back up, flicking straight to the marked page, ready to pick up where I'd left off.  

"You not gonna answer?" Nick asked lazily, his eyes flicking to look at me quickly as his hand effortlessly drew broad sweeps across the page.  

"Nope" I answered casually.  

His eyes flicked up to meet mine, before looking down again, "Who is it?"  

"My mother" I shrugged.