♡Jane♡
Ava smiled. "Really, it's cool," she assured Jane. "Here, let me help." She bent down and began picking Jane's papers out of the mess on the floor. Jane could smell Ava's perfume, and she became intensely aware of the fact that the hallway was emptying fast. All of a sudden, they were alone. The second bell rang, reminding Jane that she was making Ava late. She quickly tried to shoo her to class.
"Ava, you'll be late. I can clear this up. Go to class."
Ava hesitated. Jane blurted out, "If you give me your locker number, I can put all your things in it and you won't be late."
Her cheeks heated. Jesus. What even was that? She looked up and was surprised to see Ava smiling. "You sure?" she asked.
Jane replied, "Positive. I hear Neiman's having a pop quiz today. Isn't that where you're heading?" Holy shit. Was that normal conversation she was having. With Ava?
Ava nodded "That'll be perfect. Here," she exclaimed, pulling a scrap of paper off the pile and scribbling a number on it. "Thanks so much." She turned to go, and abruptly spun back around. "By the way," she said, "It was more my fault than yours. I was in the way."
"Ava. Go." Jane smiled. Ava blushed and rushed off. Jane couldn't even believe what had just happened. Of all people, she thought as she stacked the papers together haphazardly. She took a glance at the numbers Ava had written down, and set off to the locker. She'd drop off her own things later.
Unlocking Ava's locker, she couldn't help but think that it was almost as perfect as she was. It was pristine, with wallpaper and a little shelf. She felt bad for just cramming the papers in, and tried to straighten them up. No use. A folded piece of paper dropped out, and she set it back in. Shutting the door, she sighed. That was it. She was just a background character that had accidentally stumbled onto the main set of Ava's life, and now it was time to retreat to the shadows. She made her way through the rest of her classes, and groaned when she realized that today she had soccer practice. Perfect. She so totally loved getting back to her dorm covered in mud and grass.
About two hours and more than a few bruises later, she stumbled into her room. Her roommate, Alyssa, was absent as usual. Jane smirked. She was ninety percent sure Alyssa was getting laid in some guy's dorm, as it was a common occurrence. She would know- it was almost four times a week her roommate would get back and gush about the latest hookup she'd had. It wasn't a mystery why, Jane reflected. Alyssa was absolutely gorgeous; wavy red hair, glowing green eyes, and a perfect constellation of freckles across her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose. Wiping mud from her neck, she walked into the bathroom and studied her face. Plain, slightly pale skin. A few errant freckles. Hazel eyes and thin brows. Her too-small nose. And, her least favorite feature, her blond hair. People treated her like she was an idiot, all the while cracking blond jokes. She remembered her original creative writing idea. It had all been based on her, except the hair. In her version of her life story, her hair was a beautiful chestnut brown. Jane sighed. Ah, well. You could only dream. There really was no changing it anyway; St. Frances didn't allow hair dye.
Jane snapped herself out of it. She wasn't the type to be sitting in front of the mirror, whining about how ugly she was. She had homework... or Netflix... to be paying attention to. Getting up, she decided to continue that story, but instead of brown hair, she'd write herself with her natural blond locks. "Might as well make it realistic," she said to herself. She snagged her bag, flopped onto her bad and began to search for the story. After the run in with Ava earlier, she had had no time to drop her things in her locker. Instead, she'd crammed it all into her backpack. After a while of digging with no sign of the paper, she dumped it all onto the floor.
Nothing. Where could it have gone? She dug some more, looking for that little, folded bit of paper.
The folded bit of paper that looked, coincidentally, just like the one she had shoved into Ava's locker earlier.
Oh no.