i like rainbows

1/11/19 pt. II

"I'm Dustin," the boy says, holding his hand out. Pax holds in a little laugh at the formality and shakes his hand.

"Pax," she states, smiling. They let go of each others hands and go into a slightly awkward silence.

"So..." Dustin starts, nervous about talking to anyone he's not close with. "What should we start with?" He tries breaking the ice, making this less awkward for both people.

"What type of photography are you used to?" Pax asks, answering a question with a  question, a small thing that annoyed Dustin but made him smile now.

"Mostly action shots. I do photography with a few others for the school websites and town paper. F-for sports..." he stutters out, trailing off. Dustin couldn't stop the blush from spreading across his cheeks. He hoped Pax didn't notice but once he caught her staring, he knew she did.

"So this should be easy then. Most dance positions take quick movements." Even though she isn't around her friends, the only time her mind becomes dirty, she still has to stifle a laugh. Her mind is weird and she knows it.

"Yeah." They go into another slightly awkward silence as Pax swings her feet, stopping them before they make a loud bang on the stage. Both want to say something, want to end this awkwardness, but there's something stopping them. Someone suddenly walks up to them and, because they weren't paying attention, they both jump when a paper is handed each of them.

"Relax you two," the boy says, immediately catching Pax's interest due to his black hair and green-blue eyes. "This is just the requirement list for your project." Pax smiles at the boy, forgetting Dustin and thinking that maybe, just maybe, this is the boy she's starting to fall for.

"I'm Paxon. But everyone calls me Pax," she says, smiling and holding her hand out. The guy shakes her hand and smiles back.

"Jacob," he replies, a similar smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you."

Dustin watches them, trying to get Pax's attention but failing. Pax doesn't realize it, so she continues talking with the guy. They talk a little longer, trivial stuff and usual first conversations. Adrenaline makes Pax's heart beat faster because she's not used to this. She's anti-social to everyone outside of her friend group, so a conversation with a stranger is a big step that freaks her out a little.

As they speak, someone clears their throat and Jacob and Pax both look up at Mrs. Willis.

"If you're both done socializing, I think Jacob has a partner he needs to get back to." Jacob and Pax look down, both embarrassed at being caught talking. Mrs. Willis waves Jacob off and waits for him to reach his partner before walking away.

"Sorry," Pax whispers, pushing her hair behind her ear and looking down. "Sorry, I got distracted." She shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut and looking down. "So, let's get started." Dustin nods and looks down at the paper. Both teens stay in silence before looking up at each other and still staying silent. After a few seconds of staring at each others eyes, they laugh for no reason.