~~Daniil's POV~~
Adjusting my air pods, I intentionally raised my eyes to Mateo – through the rearview mirror – who quickly darted his eyes away from mine. That was the third time in five minutes. Acting aloof to the awkward air here, I buried my eyes in my screen as usual.
But then, I caught him sneaking a peek again. And again. Was his new mission to keep his eyes on my every move like a hawk?
"Why do you keep gawking?" I questioned in an impassive tone that threw him off balance.
He straightened up, adjusted his tie, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "It's nothing, boss."
"Then I suggest you stick your eyes to the road."
"Yes, boss."
I whipped my eyes away, my fingers gracefully poking my screen as I tried to round up an online transaction.
A few minutes passed before we revved into I.U.C. I didn't even have to raise my head to confirm before Ashley's thoughts gushed back to mind again. It was as though my brain of its own volition was informing me of our nearness, now in the same premises.
Which brought me to the question: Was Ashley in school yet? If she was, then I didn't feel like bumping into her.
But as always, my gnarly fate was blessed with mysterious ways of exacerbating my worries. Still tussling with my thoughts, I ran into her as I was about to enter the lecture hall, exiting at the time.
Impulsively, we halted. Just in front of each other. And I dare say, this was so awkward. I didn't even know what to say or which way to go. There was enough room to avert her course and continue on my way, but no! I chose to stand and mope; something I would never do intentionally.
I parted my lips to speak, maybe tell her to move aside or sum'n, when she took the bull by the horn, switched paths, and resumed her journey without a single word.
How on earth was I supposed to lose interest in the one person that always managed to render me mute? As someone who never lacked the words for every situation, that was nearly impossible. My interest was already getting deeply ensnarled.
Surfing the scene for eyewitnesses, my gaze held a few, some of them pausing to watch while others just stared breezily. Unfazed, I dipped one hand in my pocket, and using the other to trail my hair backward, I continued my majestic stroll into the class. Even though the ladies' drooling over me was the least of my worries, I wasn't ready to trade my pristine figure for anything. Wouldn't have anyone thinking Ashley could walk on me and go scot-free because that was exactly how it played out.
Classes came and went by, the clock imitating a snail's movement. When we finally had a breather, I strapped my bag across my shoulder and headed out. I honestly didn't know what exactly was wrong with me, but yeah, something was!
My umpteenth attempt at staying off Ashley's path was already underway with me holing up in the library. I grabbed a few books from the shelves and as usual got myself a spot less frequented, to just flip through the boring pages and while my time away. Already two classes into the morning and the third one was barely hours away. I was going to remain here until then.
Heaving a sigh, I stretched, leaning back against the chair with my face buried in a novel. How long am I going to continue this way? I thought, staring blankly at the pages. Doing all of this wasn't really flushing her thoughts off my mind. Instead, it reigned even more now. Then there was the loud silence that existed here. Making those panging voices in my head into a stereo.
"Fuck," I mumbled to myself, straightening up and keeping the book down.
Randomly roving my eyes, I caught sight of Ashley on one of the tables beside mine, a few paces away.
'Am I seeing things?'
I scoffed at the realization that I just may have been going crazy. Until I shut my eyes and reopened them, the sight unaltered.
An impulsive smile laced with satisfaction at how committed she looked, then curved my lips. She had this nerdy look on, the bridge of her reading glasses resting near her nasal tip. Did she always have those? Narrowing my eyes, I studied the view. More than how I'd ever do with my actual studies. It was quite unusual seeing her engrossed in something that wasn't her drawing book. From where I sat, I could easily feel her dedication. And trust me, it was something quite fulfilling to feed my eyes with.
I only realized I'd gotten lost in the view when a pair of jade eyes met mine, prompting an impulsive blink from me. Instead of immediately looking away as I thought she would, pressing forward with her elbow perched on the table, she rested her chin on her palm heel and pursed her lips. Next, she extended her middle finger across her lips. I huffed with a smirk in response, quite taken aback. This girl was something else.
While she returned to what she was doing, her visage remaining stoic, I kept staring. I wanted to, but I couldn't take my eyes off her. I guess my brain kinda figured this was a once-in-a-lifetime view. And didn't also try to push my eyes away.
My view was however barriered when a figure stepped in between us. Languidly raising my eyes, a peeved sigh broke through my lips when I confirmed who it was. Archer. Again.
He sat across her table, and they chatted inaudibly for a while before delving back into their books.
Before I could reason whether or not there was any special occasion, I recalled the test reminded of on the class online platform early this morning. It had long been advertised, but as usual, all I had to do was pick up a pen and paper, and straight A's followed like bees after honey. Precisely why it didn't strike me to revise all we'd learned. Because by the end of the day, it'd end up a cakewalk.
I felt something burn in my chest. I couldn't tell what it was at the spur of the moment, but it stemmed from watching them together. It didn't feel good. I rolled my eyes exhaustively away from Ashley; Archer's presence made the view's allure wear off.