Caffeine | PUBLISHED

14. French Press

1 4 .

french press

"WOW, YOU'RE REALLY TERRIBLE."

I slapped Sebastian on the shoulder, earning a laugh in return. Giving up, I threw my sketchpad onto the desk, the awful surreal portrait of Sebastian scribbled onto the page. My pencil landed beside it with a clank and I sighed, crossing my arms – art really wasn't my forte.

Sebastian rubbed his shoulder jokingly with a pout, "Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game."

I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across my lips.

It was the second day in a row Sebastian had partnered up with me in art. The second day in a row Isaac had skipped. Or maybe it was two weeks in a row? I had stopped keeping track.

If Isaac wanted to ruin his academic record, it was his problem. Besides, I had Sebastian to keep my company in class now.

I wondered if his friend was absent today too.

The bell sounded and I began packing my pens and books into my backpack. Today we had art before lunch, so I took my time, shoving my things into my bag.

Once done, I looked up, expecting to see Sebastian leaving with his friends, but instead he shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder and waited for me.

"You have lunch now?"

I blinked and he arched a brow at me.

"Yeah, you?" I asked finally, even though I knew he did. I'd watched him play soccer with Isaac and ArthurAndrews during lunch every day for these past few weeks.

"Yeah. I'm headed to the soccer field. Want to walk together?"

I smiled. I never would have thought I'd have a budding friendship with the school's hottest athlete, but here I was, walking to lunch with Sebastian Georges.

Today, the front of his usually messy blond curls was held back with a thin hair tie. His backpack hung off one shoulder and he walked with an air of confidence that I lacked. I felt so plain beside him, but for once, I didn't care.

Sebastian's smile was contagious, and I found myself smiling around him. He was like Riley – a bouncing ball of sunshine that infected everyone around them. And infect everyone, he did.

As we made our way through the halls, I didn't miss how students grinned at him and waved, calling out his name. He offered waves and nods in reply, his smile wide as I watched in awe.

We walked together, Sebastian greeting and slapping hands with half of the hallway until we reached the grass quad.

"Ms Laney said next class we're finishing those portraits off," Sebastian mentioned as we exited the fluorescent halls.

I raised my brows. I hadn't heard her say that.

"No amount of work is going to improve that portrait of yours," I teased, smirking up at him.

He snorted, "Yeah, because it's already a masterpiece."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Really, where do you find all this confidence from?"

"Have you seen all this?" He gestured vaguely at his body, wiggling his brows at me.

I sputtered out a laugh, almost hunching over at his stupid expression.

"Aspirin."

I looked up to see Isaac standing in front of me. I blinked,looking around. When had we reached the middle of the quad? He watched me, his sparkling green eyes narrowed slightly, reflecting the grass of the quad. His dark hair was pushed back, as if he'd been running his fingers through it.