Boy Next Door ✔

chapter ten

C A L E B 

I was completely out of it that day. Even though I was seated beside God himself, namely Matthew, I couldn't seem to focus on what he was saying. I couldn't focus on what my professor was saying, either. My mind kept wandering to the events that had taken place a couple hours prior to that moment. 

As the class settled down, I forced my gaze away from my lap. Matthew tapped on my shoulder once I had drifted away from reality for the hundredth time that day and asked me if I was okay with a look of concern. I assured him that I was fine and just hadn't gotten enough sleep. 

"You should start taking notes now," Matthew suggested. "What he's saying seems to be pretty important."

I nodded and opened my laptop, chewing on my lower lip in a distracted manner whilst attempting to concentrate on what the professor was saying. Surprisingly, I managed to understand around fifty per-cent of what he was saying, so I began noting down all the important points. 

When he turned to write something down on the board, I let my gaze skim through the class. Which was when something caught my eye. 

Now, I was no academic but I was pretty sure the peculiar looking male sitting in the other side of the room was the same person I had gotten into an altercation with that morning. In other words, he was the same asshole that kept me up with his stupid music.

I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and when I confirmed that it was indeed reality, I sunk in my seat in despair. Why must my life be like this? What horrible crime did I commit in my past life to deserve this?

No matter how much my heart ached with rage when I saw him, I couldn't help but avert my gaze to him once more. There he was in his breathtaking glory. His hair was swept back neatly that day, so I could get a clearer look of his face - and no matter how much I hated him, I couldn't deny the fact that he was indeed good-looking. 

He pulled his phone out for a brief moment and that was when I noticed that he was wearing earphones. 

Pfft, idiot. Who wears earphones during a college lecture?

Idiot, who sleeps during a college lecture? - my conscience fought back.

I rolled my eyes, defeated. I gave him another look of distaste before looking back at the professor. I didn't even have to ask him which artist he was listening to because he reminded me every single day at three in the morning. 

After the lecture for the day was done, Matthew said something to me - but it went unheard by me because I was too busy looking at him again. I noticed how he had gotten up and left the room in such a hurry that he had ended up leaving his notebook on the table. What an idiot.

"Uh.. Caleb, are you listening to me?" Matthew inquired in a soft voice.

"Oh- yeah, I'm sorry Matthew," I responded. "But you can go ahead and wait outside for me, I need to get something real quick." He nodded in response and left the room. I was left standing there, staring at the open notebook. 

Was I really going to do him a favour after all the hell he had put me through?

Yes, I definitely was.

Now who's the idiot?