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Nova's POV
The rest of that day went by smoothly. I couldn't help but notice his smell which I was beginning to get used to and loving it.
We texted all weekend and then finally saw each other come Monday when we went back to school. It feels like forever since we were here last.
He manages to catch me on my way into school and runs to catch me which he does with ease.
I sip on my tea which warms my insides while the outside stays cold.
He comes up behind me, I hear his footsteps through my earbuds so I'm not spooked when he tosses an arm around me.
"Hey there, Nova! What's in the thermos this morning?" he asks in a much too excited mood for so early in the morning. His enthusiasm threatens to make me gag. It's too early for this...
I nod to the security guard at the gate as a good morning gesture and offer Blake some tea.
"Where do you get these blends from? I need your dealer," he jokes and takes another sip before handing it back to me.
"I might just have to steal that," he smirks and pinches my arm.
I growl and bring my tea to my chest as if protecting it.
"Woah, okay. Not a morning person," he laughs.
I giggle and drink again as we get to an empty spot and sit, he takes a swig every so often.
"Wanna hang out after school today?" He asks and I smile, saying yes before I can think properly; not that I would have said no. I doubt my abilities to say no to him, he's just too cute with those baby blue eyes.
"Your place or mine?" He asks sets his hand on mine. It takes me off guard, but I'm not gonna complain.
"I think the twins have something going on today so they won't be home," I smile at this realization. They probably have a party or something to go to. If they haven't asked to borrow money for clothes, they will soon. What will I say?
Take a wild guess...
He nods and gets closer to be sitting right next to me still holding my hand. He leans his head on the wall behind us, I pretend not to notice his eyes burning a hole in my face.
The bell rings and I take a second to get up.
He decides to sit next to me today. The announcements drone on, I listen passively but one part gets my attention: prom. It was always a dream of mine to go to prom. I saw it in movies as a little girl: the dresses, the dancing, the young teen love between couples. I had always wanted to be the belle of the ball but the dream slowly died away as I realized that I don't exactly have anyone to go with and that other girls probably felt the same way and had it inborn to be princesses. That wasn't me. Any girlfriends I had anyway are going with their boyfriends and I'm not gonna be the third wheel. Why would any guy in his right mind ask me? Maybe I can distract myself with a race or something...
I notice that Blake freezes and edges an ear in the direction of the intercom to hear better. It spoke of ticket prices, the DJ, the theme, etc. Did I see a smile creep across his face? No. Not possible.
We get notes and two worksheets which I get to work on immediately as is my routine. I put my earbuds in and zone out.
After I finish six our of the eight problems on the first worksheet, Blake pokes my arm. I take one earbud out and go, "hmm?"
"Can you help me with this? You seem to know what you're doing," he asks sheepishly.
I walk him through a few of them until he can do it by himself and I tune out into oblivion again. I finish all but three problems on the last worksheet as I start packing up seconds from the bell ringing.
He follows suit and we walk out when the bell rings. He is an office aid for second period... but the office is the other direction. He continues to walk with me until we're in the dance room.
"Don't you have dismissal slips to hand out?" I ask as I set my stuff down.
"Yes, but I'd rather spend time with you. It's not like they notice anyway," he shrugs and sits next to me on the floor.
"It's good to see you again, Mr. Wilson," Mr. Gad greets him as he walks in and Blake replies with a smile.
I'm confused.
He notices my confusion and clears it with saying, "I had this class last year," Oh.
Well, at least he'll know a little bit.
We partner up, my usual partner goes with another friend. L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole comes on and we know the drill immediately. Everyone gets into frame and waits for the cue to start.
Blake bows, offering me his hand, "may I have this dance?" he asks sweetly.
"You're silly," I giggle and take his hand. He pulls me into a tight but gentle frame, the way it's supposed to be. It was nice after having amateur partners to have someone more experienced like Blake.
I hum to it as I follow through the steps in perfect sync with his movements. He spins me out and back into his arms in a fluid movement. Our reflection proves my hypothesis, we look perfect.
He only steps on my foot once, and as I tend to have an issue with submitting he has to work harder to lead.
We dance our way to the middle of the floor as is typical for ballroom and continue to dance our hearts out until the finish where the leader dips the follower at the very last beat.
"Alright guys, switch!" Mr. Gad yells over the noise as everyone moves, including myself but Blake holds my arm to keep me with him.
"Move along," he winks at the girl that would have taken my place.
I smile and look at the floor to hide my face as he takes my hand and places the other one on my back with a straight posture and puffed out chest.
"No need to be so possessive," I mumble with a smile and pinch his arm.
"I'm here to dance with you," he states and smiles back.
Why are you blushing?!
The next song starts and he takes the first step to which I accept and follow, looking up at him again. He spins me out of nowhere and pulls me back in, this draws the attention of the teacher who asks us to move to the front to be an example for all the others.
He keeps me for the rest of the period and I realize how well we work together. I never stepped on his foot, never messed up.
Blake never let me get too far away in my turns, always pulled me out of the way of anybody else, and our steps flowed together as if I was his mirror reflection. In the time we were dancing, him and I were one, perfectly fluid being. Even as the time ticked away, he still had noticeable issues trying to wrangle me into submission. Dancing is a partner effort and the follower has to do just as much, if not more than the leader has to.
That was the first time I didn't want the bell to ring, but of course, it did and I went along with my day. His eyes lit up when mine met with his between classes.
I found myself happy to see him too. How could I not? He was the color to my bleak, grey world. And not just any color, he was the candy apple red, the fluorescent neon yellow, the cyan, the chartreuse.
He is the sunlight through my now colored stained glass windows. You can only truly appreciate stained glass windows when the sun permeates through them revealing every fleck of color in they have to offer to the human eye.
Human eyes aren't even capable of seeing every color there is simply because our brains can't perceive them all. With him, I saw all seven million colors humans can see and more in myself.
~~Later~~~
The bell rings and I wait for him so we can go to my house like we planned. His eyes light up just like before and I suddenly just want to hug him.
I don't.
We get to my house and I invite him in and sure enough, Thing 1 and Thing 2 are gone; good riddance.
I put my stuff down in my room and urge him to do the same. He sits on my bed and I show him the tea shelf which currently has a collection of maybe fifty or sixty teas. Sounds crazy, but with how much I drink it, I need lots of options.
He picks a few up, opens them and smells them. I choose one as well and go to the kitchen to start boiling some water. He follows behind with his selection and I take two mugs out of the counter instead of one. It creates a warm feeling somewhere deep inside me, having him here.
I put the leaves into the mugs in their own strainers. He sits down on the other side of the bar to watch me looking entranced.
"What're you looking at?" I mutter and steal a glance of him as I pour the hot water into the mugs. The aroma that comes from them calms me immediately.
"How did you get into the tea addiction?" He questions out of the blue and sits up straight, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair, showcasing his arms and every single vein on them highlighted by his fair skin that was just a shade darker than mine.
His words betrayed what I thought his eyes wanted to say.
"I don't know. My parents had a thing for it and I guess it has become a thing of comfort and an evoker of happiness and peace," I say, my voice fading as I trance back into memories. I feel the corners of my lips pull ever so slightly creating an ever so vague smile.
"That was deeper than it had to be," he chuckles trying to lighten the mood as I hand him his mug, still not fully back to reality.
After a moment, I shake my head to wake myself up and look back at him absent mindedly tracing the rim of my mug waiting for it to cool down enough to not scald my tongue. I get a sudden chill out of nowhere and pick up the mug to warm my hands, bringing it to my lips to test it.
~~A few moments later~~~
"Come to prom with me," he blurts.
Ruh-roh.
I choke on the tea that I had attempted to swallow and spill more on my hands. It hurts, but I'm too busy trying to process his words to care.
"W-what?" I breathe out in a shaky voice.
"Prom? With you? Why-why me?" I feel faint. Out of excitement or nerves, I'm not entirely certain. Of course, I wanted to go with him but this felt like a trap. It was funny because I knew by now that I could trust him but something in me refused to allow it.
"Yes with you, because I can't imagine spending my prom night with anyone else," he says gently and places a comforting hand on my face. How can I say no to those eyes?
"And if we don't like it, we can always just go somewhere else. It'll be an excuse for me to take you on another date," he continues and strokes my cheekbone with his thumb.
"As... friends?" I ask hesitantly feeling selfish for wanting more.
"That would be the idea, yes," he says simply.
"Could be fun... But I want to pay for my ticket," I say back.
"Too late." He says pulling two tickets out of his back pocket, "I already got yours."