0 5 .
americano
"ASPIRIN."
"Aspirin, wake up!"
My eyes slid open, Isaac's tanned face coming into my blurred sight. His dark hair fell just over his eyes as he leaned over my face, shaking me gently.
Blinking, I realised exactly what was happening.
His fingers gripped around my arms, rocking me awake. I was vaguely aware of how strong his grip was and how close his face was to mine, his breath fanning over my face, the smell of smoke mingling with coffee.
I groaned, fighting a yawn, before noticing Isaac's smug expression.
I bolted upright, my cheeks bright red and drool covering half of my face. I wiped furiously at my skin, drying the drool with my sleeve and adding to the redness of my face as Isaac grinned at me mischievously.
Beside him sat a small pile of random books about reptiles. He had been reading here the entire time.
"The warning bell rang," he said simply as I swung my legs around to the floor.
"Thanks," I murmured, standing from my spot and swinging my bag over my shoulder. I swayed slightly, still half asleep and dazed â although, at this point, I wasn't sure if I was dazed from my nap or Isaac's cavernous dimples.
I walked a few steps, slow and sluggishly, before noting he hadn't walked with me. I spun to face him, only to see Isaac opening another book.
"Aren't you coming?"
He looked up from his book, his hair tumbling over his forehead as he stared at me. "Nah, you go. I'm not in the mood for class."
I nodded curtly, awkwardly staying in my spot as I continued to watch him read. It felt wrong letting him skip class. It almost felt like I had the responsibility to scold him and drag him by the ear to the classroom.
"Are you going go to class or are you just going stand there and stare at me all day?"
My cheeks immediately turned red as I began to stutter out a sentence. "I â I was just â"
"Relax, I'm joking," he smiled softly, before the corner of his lips tugged up in a cheeky smirk. "That is, unless you want me to stare at me all day."
He flexed an arm at me, sending me a foolish smoulder.
I rolled my eyes at him, my face turning red quickly, the heat rising to my ears. I turned on my heel, ignoring his laughter as I began to walk out of the aisle of books.
"Wait, wait, another joke, I swear!"
I ignored his voice this time, continuing to walk as I heard him hustle behind me. Suddenly his arm was around my shoulders as we walked through the library.
A blush crept up my neck, but I fought to stare straight ahead and to keep my heart from racing. Thoughts began racing through my mind, but I shut them out, trying to ground myself.
His skin pressed into mine, his fingers hanging beside my face. I could smell his cologne, mingling with the scent of coffee that seemed to follow him everywhere. His body clumsily knocked into mine every few steps and I could feel myself blushing furiously.
"So, what do you have now?" he asked cheerfully. We passed Mrs Harvey at her desk who simply glared at us, before we pushed through the heavy double doors and stepped into the fluorescent hallways.
I squinted against the light, my vision still blurring from my nap.
"English," I muttered, finally shoving his arm off my shoulder. "We both have English."
"You're in my English class?" Isaac asked in confusion, quirking a quizzical brow at me. "Wait, I'm in an English class?"
I stifled a laugh at his stupidity, rolling my eyes as he grinned at me widely, proud of the reaction he'd managed to get out of me. His cheeks dimpled with mischief as he watched me, and I felt a blush creep up my neck under his gaze.
It was strange having him watch me like this â normally I watched him sketching in the café, blissfully unaware of my existence.
As we sped down the hallway, our shoulders knocking into each other with each step, the second bell went off, making us late for our class. My heart skipped a beat. I'd never been late to class before. I'd never had a detention!
Isaac didn't notice my wide eyes as I began to pick up my pace, him following behind me.
"Hey, why are you running all of a sudden?" he exclaimed, lengthening his stride to walk alongside me.
"We're late!" I cried, rounding a corner and reaching our classroom.
I pushed the door open, stepping into a quiet classroom where Mr Greene sat at the front, marking attendance. His wrinkled face contorted into disgust, his lips curling in a spine-chilling grin.
He stood from his seat and walked slowly, so slowly, to meet us at the door. I was a deer caught in headlights, my hands trembling and my heart racing.
"Ah, Ms Haste, Mr Hensick," Mr Greene smiled sadistically. "Nice of you to join us."
As I was about to go into my full-blown apology, Mr Greene held up a finger to shush me.
"Detention. Both of you, today after school." Mr Greene scolded, wagging a chewed pen at our faces.
"But â"
"No buts, Ms Haste. You were late. Maybe next time you should," he paused to smile. "Make more haste."
He snorted a pig-like grunt at his own joke, turning to grab detention slips from the corner of his desk.
I let out a defeated sigh, the feeling of crying beginning to wash over me. I felt queasy. Not only was I in trouble, I was in trouble in front of the entire class. I could feel the eyes of all the students on me, hear some whispers and snickers echoing from the back.
A lump rose in my throat and I clasped my shaking hands together, digging my nails into the flesh of my palms. I chewed on my lip, trying to ignore the muttering of the students, the stares of Riley and William. It felt like too much all at once. My mouth quickly grew dry.
Beside me, Isaac threw a glance my way, his expression of nonchalance suddenly hardening as he stepped forward.
"I'm sorry Mr Greene, but it's completely my fault that Aspirin was late. I was sleeping, and Aspirin took her time to wake me up and alert me that class was starting." Isaac lied smoothly. He set his jaw. "Please, sir, it wasn't her fault, she was only doing the right thing."
My face warmed. Did he just call me Aspirin in front of the entire class? I shrunk even further into myself.
Mr Greene peeked over the set of small glasses perched on his nose. "Is this true Ms Haste?"
I looked over at Isaac who sent me a slight nod and a wink. I blushed and swallowed the lump in my throat. Was he really willing to take the fall for me? I opened my mouth, torn between rejecting his lie and accepting his help.
He quirked a brow at my silence, nodding to Mr Greene, his eyes wide as if telling me to go along with it.
Either way, I was desperate.
"Yes, sir."
Mr Greene raised his eyebrows, wrinkles appearing on his forehead.
"You're aware that that is against school rules; are you not Mr Hensick? This will land you a week of afternoon detentions."
Isaac nodded proudly, the smirk wiped from his lips, "I understand, sir."
Mr Greene turned back to his detention slips, signing one of them and handing it to Isaac. "Very well, take your seats."
Sighing in relief, I hurriedly walked over to my desk beside Riley who immediately sent me a pointed look. I sat and pulled out my books, glancing at Isaac who sat at the end of the row behind me. His eyes remained trained on me and we made eye contact.
I mouthed a thank you to him with a grateful smile. I couldn't believe he'd done that for me. He simply winked at me before turning back to his work.
"Did Isaac Hensick just wink at you?"
My smile fell at Riley's hushed voice. I bowed my head in a slow nod, avoiding eye contact.
"Care to explain why?" Riley whispered. "And why are you suddenly turning up to class late with cute boys? Andwhy did he call you Aspirin?"
"It was one cute boy," I replied quietly, pulling my books open on my desk. "And it's like he said, I just saw him sleeping and I went to wake him up."
"That's bullshit!" Riley shouted, causing the class to turn to her.
I stifled a laugh as she muttered a sorry, allowing the class to return to Mr Greene's incredibly boring lesson. I turned and made eye contact with Isaac who jokingly shook his head at me in a scolding manner.
William sat in front of him, staring at me with a furrowed eyebrow as he looked between me and Isaac.
I let out a sigh and quietly told Riley what really happened, causing her to reel back, her eyes about ready to pop out of her head.
"He totally likes you!" Riley whispered.
"Shut up," I replied. "He's just teasing me. He's probably planning to embarrass me in front of the school just for kicks."
Riley stared at me with a thoughtful look. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, tapping her chin with her manicured finger. I rolled my eyes at her with a grin.
Her face broke out into a wide smile once more, her teeth gleaming at me. "Nope, he totally likes you! Oh, gosh!"
I giggled quietly at her exaggerations.
She was clearly joking, right? I'd barely spoken to the guy. Besides, he was pretty much the polar opposite of what I looked for in a guy. He smoked, he skipped class, he'd dated pretty much every girl in the school, and he lied.
But he lied for me.
I shook my head, ignoring my overthinking. I just needed to focus on my work for now. But I couldn't help it when my eyes drifted back over to Isaac.
He sat with his face buried in his arm, his back gently rising and falling as slept quietly on his desk.
I'd never seen him in English class. It was somewhat comforting watching him at his desk, completely oblivious to the lesson and the trouble he'd get into if Mr Greene caught him.
Yet he slept peacefully. His hair was messy and fell along his sleeved arm, his face hidden from my view. His book sat open under his arm with a pencil beside it. The paper had no writing on it, only drawings.
Drawings.
He was always drawing, and yet I'd never seen an artwork by him. I glanced to the front of the classroom to see Mr Greene enthralled in a Shakespeare sonnet before turning back to Isaac. Curiosity got the better of me and, before I knew it, I was squinting my eyes and leaning forward, attempting to see what he'd drawn.
I made out the vague figure of a person before the bell rang, dismissing class.
How long had I been staring?
Isaac's head suddenly turned, his eyes meeting mine with a sly grin, causing me to turn as red as a tomato. My cheeks burned, all the way up to my ears. God, how embarrassing. I avoided eye contact as I packed my bag, Riley rushing towards William to tell him the news I had just given her.
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and tucked my chair in, beginning to walk towards the door. Isaac was beside me in a blink, looking straight ahead with a stupid smile on his face.
"Don't stare at me while I sleep."
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a u t h o r ' s n o t e
hiii just wanted to say thank you for all the votes on the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, all comments and votes are appreciated! <3