"You are difficult to read sometimes," he stated, sitting across the table from her.
"Excuse me?" She said, looking up from the notebook that she has been scribbling in.
She studied the guy sitting across for her. He had long, curly hair and eyes the colour of melted chocolate. The thing that fascinated her the most about him though was the smirk that graced his face when he was being cheeky or trying not to laugh outright at something his friends had said. This wasn't just any person sat across from her. It was Eddie "the freak" Munson.
They had gone to the same school together although never really talked apart from the odd sentence here and there. In theory, she should have been in the same friend group as him, but her brother, the jock, had never allowed it. He didn't want her associating with nerds of freaks despite the fact that she loved DnD and fantasy of any kind.
"You. You stuck up for me today. In class. No one has ever done that for me, yet you stuck out your neck for me. Why?" He asked, drumming his fingers on the desk.
"We aren't in High School anymore Eddie. Plus, your story was good. You aren't a Dungeon Master for nothing," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
His eyes trailed downwards watching the movement intently. Slowly, he picked his lips before moving his eyes back up to meet hers. "You know that about me?" He asked, surprised.
She nodded her head. "I always wanted to join in on one of your campaigns. I've been intrigued for a long time."
"I get it. You think I'm hot," he said, smirking as he grabbed her pen from her and began to swing around in the air in front of him like a magic wand.
She giggled. "Yep, yes I do,";she responded, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Wait, you do?" He asked, suddenly very shy, but still trying to get her attention. "You really are hard to read you know. I stand by my earlier statement," he said, running his hands through his hair.
She shrugged. "Less chance to get hurt that way I suppose. It's kind of built in at this point."
He stood up and moved around to sit on the bench next to her and smiled."I have an idea," he stated, smiling smugly.
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" She responded, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face.
"I want you to take this," he said as he removed the bandana from his back pocket, "and everytime you are happy, tie it around your right wrist and when your sad or scared tie it around your left. That way I know how you are feeling without you having to come out and say it."
He held out the bit of fabric for her to take, smiling slightly, a blush forming and staining his cheeks. She reached over and took the bit of cloth from him and slowly tied it around her right wrist.
"You're happy?" He asked, taking the ends from her and tying it in a knot for her, securing it in place.
"Always when I'm with you," she said looking up into his hazel eyes. She hadn't realised quite how close they had gotten, but she could see the confusion in his eyes and the smile that bloomed across his face at her words. All she had to do now was find the courage to act on her feelings, close the distance between them, making him realise how she actually felt about him. She had to brave for once in her life and not run away.
"So you really think I'm hot?" He asked, staring at her lips, his body leaning closer to hers than she had realised was possible.
"Yes sir," she said, breathlessly.
"Jesus H Christ," he muttered, "you have no idea what you calling me that does to me."
She smiled and looked to see him biting his lip. What she wouldn't do to be the one biting it.
She swung her legs out from under the table and turned to face him, inching forward a little bit more, until she was just a breath away from him. "I'll see you in class, sir," she said, swiping her books off the table and walking away from him.
She turned around when she reached the door to see his stunned expression following her and blew him a kiss before disappearing from sight, giggling to herself as she did.