*McKynleigh*
For a moment, I just stared blankly at the boy in front of me.
"What are you doing here?" we yelled in unison. Again. I guess he hadn't heard my conversation with Mr. Woodlee, after all.
"I'm here for falling asleep at the assembly," I explained coolly, my arms crossed over my chest. "You?"
"Everyone in sports had to come," he said, his tone colder than mine.
I stiffened, my eyes narrowing at him. "Well then, could you at least sit further away?"
"Yeah, no," he said, moving back to his seat and glaring at me over his shoulder. "I'm sitting next to Cameron. You sit further away."
"I sat here first." I scowled and sat down between him and Emily, who was grinning at me. Cameron rolled his eyes at her, smiling. Why were they sitting two seats away, anyway?
Mr. Woodlee walked in. His eyes automatically went to us. "You two just can't stay away from each other, can you?" he asked, amused.
We both just glared. Well, this was off to a great start, wasn't it? I heard the door click shut, but kept glaring at my desk.
"Sorry I'm late."
I looked up, surprised at the voice that had said those three words.
Mr. Woodlee looked over at the boy walking through the door. "Oh, hey. You're in luck, I'm just about to start roll. Go ahead and grab a desk."
I watched as an extremely cute guy with black hair and piercingly blue eyes walked up to me.
"Mind if I sit behind you?" he asked, pointing into the only available desk in the room. I nearly melted right there. No one at our school had an accent, let alone an unbelievably hot Irish brogue.
"Go ahead," I said easily, shrugging.
He set his stuff down and sat. "Thanks," he said, nodding slightly.
"Sorry if I'm blocking your view," I apologized, letting a bit of my nervousness slip in.
"Oh, you're fine," he said, glancing up from digging through his bag. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Damian, by the way."
I shook it, smiling. "McKynleigh." I turned back around, lightly biting my lip.
"Abraham," Mr. Woodlee said, starting roll.
"Here," I said, barely paying attention to the words coming out of my mouth. Hot, Irish, and taller than me? Far too good to be true.
Megacrushing, here I come.
After class I stayed in my seat, subtly staring across the room at Damian, who was standing at the door, talking to Cameron.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and glanced back. Matheus was standing next to me, backpack on and hands in his pockets.
"Hey, McKynleigh, I've gotta talk to you," he said, ignoring my scowl. "Walk home with me?" He nodded toward the door.
My scowl faded and I quirked an eyebrow, a bit suspicious. "O… kay…?" I reached down, grabbed my stuff, and followed him out the door, smiling a bit at Damian as we squeezed past. He smiled back.
I followed Matheus down the hall and out the front door, not saying anything until we reached the sidewalk.
"So, what'd you need to talk to me about?" I asked. I dug my water bottle out of my bag and took a swig.
"You like Damian," he said simply, barely looking at me and adjusting the strap of his backpack.
I nearly choked. Instead I sputtered, swallowed quickly, wiped the water off of my chin, and managed to get out, "W-what?"
"It's pretty obvious." He shrugged, trying to hide a smile.
How so? I thought. "What about it?" I tried to put a bit of threat into the words, but fell flat.
"Well," he started, his smile widening as he tried to look nonchalant, "I was thinking I could make friends with him… and then try and get you two together."
I paused and turned to him. "Wait, seriously?"
He nodded, still walking. "Yep."
I ran – or jogged, really – to catch up with him. "Well, I – What can I do for you? I'll get you anything!"
His eyes automatically went to the mesh pocket on my backpack. "A Twizzler?" he asked, pointing at the bag.
My eyebrows went up in surprise. "Sure!" I reached back, grabbed the bag, pulled one out, and handed it to him.
He smiled a bit and took a bite, part of it already sticking to his braces. "And…" he started, swallowing.
"And?" I asked, taking one for myself.
"And…" His gaze drifted up so he was staring at the sky. "Ellis."
I froze mid-bite. What?
