Lila's mouth was wide open, just like her pretty brown almond shaped eyes. Her usually tan cheeks glowed with a red hue and she felt her heart stop in her chest. Throughout most of her tween years she had been waiting for the first time she would feel this, it was just like in her romance novels and the silly scenes from the rom-coms, but this time it broke her heart, knowing she wasn't the only one.
"This is Sebastian," Mr Michaels said, introducing the new boy who stood in front of the class. "Why don't you say a few things about yourself Sebastian?" he said warmly, his eyes twinkling behind his thick rimmed black glasses that looked too large for his face.
Everyone had expected over the last few days that they would have a new student, only for the reason that one had arrived a few days prior. A beautiful tall, blonde girl with sparkling emerald eyes, Julianna. In a few days Julianna had gone from a stranger to the name on everyone's lips. She was beautiful and funny and she spoke nonstop about her friend Sebastian from back home who was due to transfer, and as beautiful as Julianna was, no one would have guessed..
Sebastian stood tall, broad shouldered and easily comfortable in this room full of strangers. Lila knew her eyes and interest weren't the only ones that were glued to him. Strikingly blue eyes scanned over the classroom and as they met Lila's her breath nearly caught in her throat.
No way- his eyes- are they blue or purple?!
She could have sworn she had seen a glint of deep purple, but that was insane. It must have been the contrast against his skin- skin paler than she had seen in a long time and while usually, pale skin had never drawn attention from her, his seemed to glow in a way she had never seen. Everything about him seemed to glow.
What's coming over me? I need to chill, seriously.
"Hey. I'm Sebastian and I've moved here with my older brother from Toronto and it's my first time in America.��
His voice was deep, confident and like water pouring over a rock. There was something dangerous, something intimidating about the way he spoke.
Everything after that was a blur to Lila, Sebastian took a seat behind her and as he walked passed, she had tensed. The rest of the lesson she was acutely aware of him directly behind her, acutely aware that she was the first thing he saw when he looked up ahead, and acutely aware... that as he had walked past, he had given her the most disgusted look she had seen in a long time.
It had her mind in a whirl. Had her gawking been that obvious? Was it the way she looked? Did he.. did he hate her already?
The bell rung, after what seemed an eternity and she scrambled to grab her things, her heart pounding in her ears. When she looked up as she left the room, she saw beautiful Julianna entering at the same time, smiling broadly and happily at Sebastian.
I don't stand a chance, I shouldn't even think about trying.
���Hey, Lila! Where's the fire?"
She stopped, hearing her friend Connor's voice and sighed in relief. Over the bustle of everyday life if one thing kept her grounded it was Connor. He was a little bit on the pudgy side, but he had grown into it after being the fat kid throughout their childhood. He had warm hazel eyes, specked with green which shrunk when he smiled. "No fire, Connor, but I could use some fresh air." She admitted.
"I'll go with you, we can see if Anne wants to come and I can tell you both about my new gaming PC."
"Ugh, in that case I definitely don't want to come." Said Anne from behind them, making Lila jump.
"Where did you come from?!" Lila exclaimed.
"Well I had to catch a glimpse of the new boy, didn't I?! I thought I'd surprise you, but you weren't there."
"Yeah, she was out early today," Connor said. "Weird considering you're usually last out, Lila. Did something happen?"
"No," Lila murmured, hurrying her steps. But something had happened. Something had her usually organised and structured mind in a whirlpool of emotions and usually she could see ahead of her clearly, but now all she had were images of that awful, disgusted look thrown at her. "I just wanted to walk to you for a change. Anyway.. did you see him?"
"No, but you have!" Anne said happily. "So, is he cute?"
Lila felt incredibly uncomfortable. Why did Ann have to ask right in front of Connor? Over the summer the dynamics of her friendship with Connor had taken… a strange and sharp turn. Albeit one they never spoke about since, or maybe she had dreamt it, but now she caught him looking at her. "Yeah, he's okay." She shrugged.
"Is that why your face is so red?" Connor asked teasingly.
"My face is red because I have a test to be ready for, okay?" Lila said back, a little bit more snappily than she intended, taking both her friends by surprise.
"Well, if he's half as cute as Julianna is pretty, then I'm calling dibs." Anne chimed.
Lila wondered if Anne was joking. Since they were all fairly young, she had always liked the same boy, but then if she saw Sebastian then Lila had no question that Anne would at the very least be interested. "It's actually really weird," Lila said, thinking out loud. "He said he was from Canada, but Julianna… everybody said Julianna went to school in New York… How are they friends?"
"Well maybe they aren't." Connor said, shrugging and pulling out his phone. "Maybe they're dating secretly, does it even matter? Look, enough chit-chat about all this, on to my new PC, look at these colours."
Lila drew her attention to Connor's phone, her fingers tightening over the strap of her bag. In the halls she could hear the whispers becoming quicker, the same names on everyone's lips.
Sebastian and Julianna.
As they came to a spot outside, she turned to look back in and through the windows caught both Julianna and Sebastian walking together. Who were they, really, she wondered.