Lucian exhaled slowly, his fingers running along the edge of his desk as he tried to gather himself. He kept his head down, barely daring to glance towards the classroom door. He could sense her presence like an unspoken weight, lingering on him Avey stood there, watching him. Lucian dared a quick side glance, eyes darting toward the door where she stood.
Their eyes met, just for a fleeting second, before he looked away, pretending to be absorbed in his notebook he took inside of his bag, as if the pages held secrets far more interesting than the emotions flaring up within him. He could feel his chest tightening; even the slight wetness around her eyes made him feel… torn, as if her sadness was a reflection of all the pain he’d tried so hard to forget.
Sighing again, he flipped open the notebook, hoping it would give him something, anything, to focus on. But he barely glanced at the page before his heart skipped. Oh, no. The notebook was filled, page after page, with sketches of Avey. Each drawing captured her expressions, her smile, the way her hair caught the light in the classroom. Some were sketched in pencil, others inked with careful detail, with dates scrawled in the corners marking each moment he’d tried to capture. He could barely believe it every page held a piece of her, a part of his past feelings he couldn’t deny, feelings that made his hand tremble as he turned the pages.
What was I even doing back then? Lucian cursed his past self, that younger, naïve version who had once believed that loving her was his entire purpose. He hastily closed the notebook, his hands suddenly clammy. Shutting it felt like an attempt to shut out that chapter of his life, a part of himself that had lived and breathed only to admire her. But it wasn’t that simple; memories of late nights, lost in thought as he sketched her, resurfaced. Every line and shadow brought back the foolish hope he’d clung to, that maybe someday she’d turn his way.
Trying to suppress the redness creeping up his neck, Lucian stole another quick glance at Avey. She was looking directly at him, her gaze unbroken, and when he met her eyes this time, she smiled. It wasn’t a smirk or a casual grin; it was a gentle smile, almost… grateful. The intensity of it startled him, and he broke eye contact again, staring hard at his desk, his mind racing.
Why did she have to smile like that? He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d noticed his reaction, if she’d somehow guessed what was in that notebook, if she could sense the echoes of his past feelings. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Desperate to break away from her gaze, he fumbled with his pocket, pulling out his phone. He unlocked it, fingers tapping aimlessly on the screen until he landed on the calculator app. Staring at the numbers, he feigned interest, as though he suddenly needed to calculate…
lets do some calculations
something, anything. Anything to avoid looking back up at her, to avoid facing the surge of emotions he thought he’d buried long ago.
sigh why is she fking doing all this doesn’t she use to hate me back then …how this much change.
lucian just started tapping numbers on his mobile 10+10=20 wow…i didn’t know that
so intresting very interesting
Lucian’s head instinctively tilted up, his gaze flicking toward the entrance. He couldn’t help it something inside him was pulled, compelled to look. There was Avey, standing beside Cassandra, talking softly with an expression that seemed conflicted and hesitant. For a split second, Lucian felt a flicker of relief seeing her preoccupied and not looking in his direction. But then, just as he was about to settle into that relief, her gaze shifted, her eyes meeting his across the room, and she offered a small, almost shy smile.
Lucian’s stomach twisted. He dropped his gaze, but the nervous feeling in his chest only intensified as he tried to focus on anything else. He could feel his heartbeat quicken, his resolve tested as a wave of conflicted emotions washed over him. Why was she smiling at him now? And why was he even reacting this way? He grit his teeth, trying to dismiss the irrational pang of hope stirring within him. The logical side of his mind was telling him to let it go, to stay detached, but that deep-rooted, painful connection he had to Avey was hard to sever.
Steeling himself, Lucian made himself focus on the screen of his phone, absently tapping at the calculator app. His mind drifted to meaningless calculations, anything to distract him from the knot forming in his chest. But then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye Avey and Cassandra were no longer in their usual front-row seats. They were moving, taking steps up the aisle, row by row.
A feeling of unease settled over him as he watched them ascend, each step they took heightening his anxiety. They were deliberately walking past their usual seats, moving toward the back where he sat, and Lucian’s pulse quickened with every step. This wasn’t like Avey or Cassandra. They always sat up front, where they could be engaged and noticed, not back here in the shadows, where he preferred to be left alone.
“What are they doing?” he muttered to himself, his fingers now clenching the edge of his desk. He lowered his head, hoping they’d stop somewhere along the way and not continue up to where he sat. His jaw tensed, and he took a slow breath, trying to calm the mounting dread that was coiling in his chest.
But their footsteps grew louder, coming closer with each passing second.
Please, no, he thought, his mind racing with reasons to ignore them. The logical side of him begged him to stay grounded, to avoid letting his emotions get the best of him. He kept his face carefully blank, masking any reaction that might betray the war going on inside. Still, he couldn’t shake the sensation that he was about to be pulled into something he wasn’t ready for.
He took another deep breath, resisting the urge to glance up again, but it felt futile. The weight of their approach seemed to press down on him, and all he could do was brace himself, praying that he could maintain his calm composure as they neared.