Prompt: Laugh
W/C: 553
For kateflowrchild13 who requested some Jeddie
She watched him furtively, from underneath half lowered lashes, so if he happened to glance in her direction all he would see was her studying her text book. He wouldn't see the longing in her eyes as they followed him around the room—or how her breath caught when he laughed at something one of his friends had said. He wouldn't realize that her heart twisted in her chest whenever he smiled, or that her green eyes roamed over the muscles his t-shirt exposed, her hands itching to run across the smooth, tanned skin.
Twirling a light brown curl around her finger, she let herself drift into a daydream as she observed him, the other students in the library falling away as the room reshaped itself into another library on a campus that was far, far away. In her mind she wasn't at Amberwood anymore, pretending to be his sister, they were back at Saint Vlad's, and he wasn't her Guardian. They were just two students, their eyes meeting in the library during study hall—and anything was possible.
"I don't remember there being anything worth smiling about where Algebra is involved—what are you thinking about?"
Her head jerked up, her eyes wide and startled—she'd been so intent on her fantasy she hadn't seen him move. Her hand immediately released its grip on her hair, retreating under the table so he wouldn't see the way it trembled at having him so near. "I… uh… I was in Adrian's head," she stammered, her pale face flushing as the lie rolled off her tongue. "He's in a good mood… happy for a change. Painting some girl." It wasn't a complete fib—she had gotten sucked into her bondmate's mind earlier, and he had been painting, whistling happily as he added stylized angel wings to a portrait of a lovely girl who's eyes were hauntingly familiar—though no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't place where she had seen them. "Lots of blues and gold—those are the colors he always uses when he feels… peaceful."
"You should watch going into his head too much—with Adrian… you might see something you'd rather not see." He grinned, reaching out to tuck the strand of hair she'd been fiddling with behind her ear, his fingers grazing her cheek in the process. "It's nice to see you happy though, even if it's second hand. You have a beautiful smile—you should use it more often."
Of course, one of his friends called out to him in a stage whisper, summoning him back over to the table they'd claimed before she could respond, but she didn't mind in the slightest; it saved her from having to think up a response—a task that would be impossible since her brain had turned to silly putty over his compliment. Ducking her head down so she could hide behind her hair, she resumed watching him, only this time she didn't need to retreat into her daydreams; the fact that Eddie thought she had a beautiful smile made reality a hundred times better than anything she could dream up— at least for the time being, anyway.
After all, she certainly couldn't indulge in her favorite fantasies about him here—she saved those for when she was alone in her room.
