Hey guys! Thank you for your patience, I hope you like this next chapter. (:
As I awake the next morning, I rub my eyes, trying to free the sleepy dirt and tiredness from my eyes. I'm lucky to even get four hours of sleep each night; my nightmares and insomnia are becoming worse.
My mouth opens uncontrollably and I fail to stifle a yawn. I swing my limbs around on top of my bed in order to get the blood flowing. I jump onto the carpet, my toes enjoying the soft, cool feeling of the fibers. My feet stomp out to the kitchen area, and once again, I grab my red coffee mug and pour myself a cup of coffee as well as flavoring it to my pleasing. I sip the warm, sweet liquid as I attempt to wake up. As soon as I'm loading the cup into the dishwasher, Spencer approaches me.
"You know, you really should eat breakfast," he says to me, trying to persuade me to eat something. "No thanks, I'm not very hungry. Plus, I've never been a morning or breakfast person in the first place."
"Maybe you should start," he chuckles. "Did you know that most kids who eat breakfast opposed to kids who don't surpass the education standards," he rambles.
"Well, I'm not MOST kids," I say, trying to use his own words to jumble him up. It seems to work, and he looks back at me, not seeing the point in arguing with me. "Why don't you go get dressed," he suggests, giving up on his side of the argument. I smile in victory and raise my right eyebrow, giving him the 'I told you so' look.
Once I've pulled my ugly uniform on, with my purple converse-which should technically not be allowed-Spencer drives me to school. The drop off schedule basically mirrors the previous days', and I walk into the school, feeling almost as nervous as the previous day.
All my fears shatter when I see Nate sitting at my Algebra table. I grin at him, unintentionally being flirty by batting my long, curled eyelashes at him. He reciprocates the action, and gives a swift wave in my direction as I approach him.
"Hey," I call softly, only loud enough for him to hear. He smiles back at me with his warm gaze. His green eyes glimmer in the light and draw me into his trance even more. "Hey Bells," he says, his low voice vibrating with a raspy tone. As we start to talk, our eyes sparkle, not leaving each other's eye contact for a second. Every second seems to feel like eternity, and his gaze is making my blood pump faster, my heart beating as well as color flooding to my entire face. I unintentionally slip a smile in-between fragments of conversation, and his eyes sparkle in return. I can't help but wonder if he feels the intensity in the room when we're talking to each other. We completely forget we're in school, and it feels like we're the only two people in the room, our connection undeniable.
Unluckily for us, our algebra teacher notices our chemistry—and decides to call us out in the middle of class.
He's pointing at the board, a picture of a hyperbola drawn on the board. "Next, students, I will be teaching about hyperbolas. But we're not going to start until we get the attention of the whole class."
The whole class looks towards us, our body positions intense and comfortable, almost wanting to touch each other. Unluckily, we don't seem to notice all of the accusative eyes on us.
"Miss Harmon, Mr. Strauss, do you realize we're in Algebra class," the teacher says, his spectacles falling on the brim of his nose. He strokes his graying beard accusatively, attentive for our response to his statement.
We look up in surprise, just now realizing we've been interrupting the lesson. "Yes, we do sir," I speak, my cheeks blushing in surprise. "I'm sorry for the interruption."
"Apparently not sorry enough to stop flirting with Mr. Strauss here, are we?" he teases.
The whole class laughs, color swimming in my cheeks as embarrassment creeps up on me. Nate and I avoid eye contact, our gazes sticking to the grey and blue carpet. What I don't know is that Nate is secretly pleased upon this realization, while I'm feeling like a complete fool for being so easy-going and obvious about my feelings.
Well, your mother did tell you that you couldn't mask your feelings when it comes to love.
I feel a smile creep up and sneak off of my face. I'm left to my thoughts about my mother, and I keep thinking about her touch, her seductive southern drawl, and her brown curly locks. I feel my heart slow down and almost go cold. My reactions to the mention of my mother are not exactly happy. They're more insecure, upset, and abandoned. I feel hurt, although no one else seems to see it in me. I seem to hide things a little too well.
My gaze turns to stone as I quickly start taking notes about hyperbolas and ellipses, trying to keep my mind off of-her. Someone seems to notice the transition though. As the class ends and the bell rings, Nate stops me in the hallway, noticing my change in composure.
"Hey Bella, are you okay?" he asks, his voice protective and soft.
Although I have feelings for him, he must not know I feel this way. He can't find out about my mom. Or the funeral I have yet to plan. I still haven't told Spencer about this; I can't find the right mind-set to tell him. I think I'll burst into tears if I tell him. The irony is biting me in the butt. The abandoned is planning the abandoner's funeral. This fact seems to make me all the more upset.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I quickly state, as I'm attempting to open my locker and change materials for my English class. Unfortunately for me, Nate's locker is above mine, so I have no excuse to escape his scrutiny.
"Sure you are," he says with enough sarcasm to throw me off guard. He notices my eyebrows arch in response, and tucks a lock of my wavy, blonde hair behind my ear. He stares at me with a Hotchner-like quality. He leads me towards the door of our English class, but stops outside the door. We go into a relatively chaotic area, so that we can talk without being heard.
"You know, it's okay to be upset," he drawls. "I heard that your mother died. Although I wasn't told how she died, I heard that it was enough to upset anyone. I want to give you my condolences."
I try to turn away to avoid the conversation, but Nate grabs my shoulder and pulls me back. Because he is significantly bigger than I am, it's not too difficult for him to keep me cornered. My eyes water, but I somehow hold them in.
"It's okay Bella," he says. He rubs his hand up and down my arm in an attempt to comfort me. He gazes into my eyes, showing me his support. It seems to work, because my eyes crack like eggs. The emotion pours out of them, showing him my worries.
"I...I have to plan her funeral…" I whisper, avoiding his eye contact at first. I slowly bring my gaze to meet his gaze. His eyes are sturdy, but are also affectionate and vulnerable, like mine. I can tell he hasn't had the easiest life either.
"You haven't told Spencer yet, have you?" he asks.
I shake my head in response. My head lowering to avoid the scrutiny I think that I deserve.
"I can tell him, if you want me to," he vocalizes. I stare into his eyes with vulnerability, my gaze not leaving his for a second.
"You would do that?" I ask, almost being a statement. My surprise seems to startle him, and his eyebrows crinkle in concern.
"Of course I would."
"Why?" I ask. I don't know why anyone would do something like this for me.
"Why?" he restates. "Because I care about you. You are the only person that has ever welcomed me in this whole school, in almost my whole life."
He gulps, trying to find the words to complete his thoughts. His eyes water and he looks up to keep the tears from falling. I can tell that there is more to this story than I'm thinking, but I don't push, knowing that if I do, he might leave, which I can't handle.
"You care…SO much about other people," he states, his voice full of emotion. "I know you might say that you might not have been the most forthcoming with Spencer's friends, but that's normal."
He continues. "When people die that you know—you receive a lot of pity. And I know that you aren't the type to accept pity, because I'm not either. I can tell you like to keep your distance."
"I want to do this for you because of the way you treat others—the way you treat me. You're so polite to even the people that tease you. You open doors for strangers and you try to smile to make someone's day. You talk to people when they're in trouble. I saw you with Mary-Kate yesterday. Everyone knows she just lost her mom to cancer. You gave her a hug, and told her that you thought she would have been a great person to know."
He pauses. "You didn't even know her, and you STILL felt the need to help her. And now you're her friend, her BEST FRIEND. When all of her friends fled, you came to the rescue. How can I ignore a person who cares THAT much about others? Of course I'll help you Bella."
His voice softens toward the end, displaying his soft, emotional voice. I feel a tear slide down my cheek. He quickly wipes it away. I reach in to hug him, and he does the same.
"Thank you," my voice quivers with emotion.
"No, thank YOU," he stops in mid-thought.
"You're my only friend here, and I haven't had many friends in the past."
His jaw clenches in emotion.
"That means—a lot to me," he says, his voice cracking in the middle of his thought.
We hug a moment before going into English class, and I can't help but realize how lucky I am to have such a jem like him. His breath-taking smile, his deep voice, and captivating gaze cause me to fall even more in love with him by the second.
Sorry for the delay guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Are you guys curious to find out about Nate's past? I can't wait to write about it. (;