Natasha got up from the bed with a big smile on her face. The events of the previous night, she could say, was one of her happiest moments.
After getting dressed for school, Natasha stepped out of her room and went straight out of the house.
*****
Entering the school gates, Natasha noticed students gathered around in groups.
"What's wrong Natasha, this is just an everyday normal stuff." she said to herself.
Why worry anyway? Students gathered in groups, laughing and giggling was completely a normal sight to behold when stepping into a school.
OK
This definitely was not normal. Natasha noticed the students who were once speaking carefreely, started to speak in hushed tones once she was nearing them, then when she was close enough to hear them, they kept quiet till she was no longer within hearing distance. And the stares she got from them made her feel uneasy, she really was not liking this.
She did her best at ignoring them all, but she really was losing her cool. Unable to bear it anymore, she ran all the way to her class. Banging open the door, all heads turned to face her.
She looked at her classmates' faces to see if they also would look at her with that curious look the other students she met on the way to class gave her. But no, it was different. It seemed as though they looked angry and happy at the same time. While looking around, she noticed four figures at her desk.
*****
Riley caused quite the stir as soon as he stepped into the school. No one, literally no one expected him to return. It had been over two weeks since he last stepped into the school, and now, here he was again, to continue schooling in a place where almost everyone, if not everyone, had seen what he looked like underneath those clothes.
He didn't dare look any of them in the face. Stepping into his classroom, he nearly went deaf from the silence that enveloped the class. He proceeded to his seat, sat and placed his head on the table, making sure to face the wall.
*****
The trio stepped into the school grounds, chatting about the game they played all night.
"Don't you guys think there's something weird?"
Max asked as he playfully jumped on them both.
The two looked around and at themselves, but could not find anything weird.
"About what?" Tharn asked, while Julian just had a confused look on his face.
Exactly what was weird? Students gathered in groups? Probably letting themselves in on the latest gist in school about the Handsome Maniacs. Students staring at them? Probably admiring their good looks or their guts. Students walking by? Definitely heading somewhere. So just what was weird about that?
Max shook his head as he looked at the two of them, one with a questioning look, and the other with a confused face.
"Don't you think they all are looking a bit too lively?"
"Chatty, you mean." Julian corrected. Afterall, that was all he could see.
"However you put it man. So, don't you find anything weird about it?"
Julian squinted his face, as though he was thinking hard for an answer, then suddenly faced Max.
"Oh, I know. What I find weird is we standing in the middle of the pathway, looking around, trying to figure out what's weird about an everyday occurrence."
"Uh!"
Julian moved Max aside and gave Tharn a pat on his back.
"We should get going Tharn, Max has been acting weird this days, I can't have you also contacting that, the headache you would give me would be ten times his own."
Tharn laughed it off, and dragged Max back to the middle, crossed his right arm across Max's shoulders, then smiled at him.
"Don't mind him buddy. He's been acting weird this days since he still can't bring himself to confess to the lady he loves."
Hearing this and seeing them laugh, Julian waited till they walked ahead of him, there was no way he was going to let go of an opportunity to kick that jerk's ass.
Tharn on the other hand, knew what Julian was planning, it wasn't something new anyway.
As soon as Julian moved his leg, Tharn ran and pulled Max along, screaming
"Stop that pal, it's getting old."
Julian chuckled as he watched them run off. He took a deep sigh.
"It's been a while I walked to class alone. 'chuckles' I had better appreciate this moment. Who knows when next I will get such an chance."
*****
Julian stepped through the door, a bit surprised that the class was not as noisy as he had expected it to be. Looking at his seat in front, Max, who happened to be his deskmate was not on seat, and neither was Tharn on his own seat, just where did they go?
He got to his seat and placed his bag down, and just before he sat down, he did his daily routine, which was to look at his crush.
But he was in for a surprise. Instead of his crush, he saw his friends buzzing all over his crush's best friend.
His mouth fell agape. He really was shocked to see Riley in class. Just why did he return to the school? Why didn't he just go on ahead and go abroad? The fact that he had dealt with those maniacs did not mean that was the end. Not when a lot of the seniors already had their eyes on him, and had promised to do him dirty if they were to ever get their hands on him. Just why did he return?
Julian soon left his seat and went to join them. He now had a plan in mind. And that was to protect his crush's friend and have a higher chance of being noticed by his crush.
A wide grin spread on his face as he approached them.
*****
The smile which had disappeared from her face since the moment she noticed the stares she got from others, that smile, came back on that lovely face of hers. The smile widened, till she could no longer contain it, and it soon turned into a soft laugh.
Seeing him stand up and smile at her, she ran with her arms wide open as she laughed along, completely ignoring the looks she got from her classmates.
Some truly felt happy for the two of them, some were jealous they didn't have such a friend, some were just pissed off to see the two of them together again, while some did their very best not to let their emotions take control of their expression.
Natasha ran and pulled Riley into her arms. Riley also held her, and there they stood, crying, holding eachother, as tight as they could, as though afraid letting go of the other person would wake them up from whatever dream they were in.
They remained that way for a while, until
"Ahem."
They both turned their heads to see who cleared their throat at such a happy reunion.
Julian stood still, looking them in the eyes.
"What?" Natasha asked, trying to look pissed off.
"You two should let go of yourselves, otherwise, people might misunderstand your relationship. And just so you know, there is a teacher in class."
As though they didn't believe him, they both looked in front of the class, probably ready to laugh in his face while they hugged each other tighter and have him know that such a trick could not work on them.
But they were both in for a surprise, cause right in front of the class was their homeroom teacher, with a mixture of emotions revealed on his face, he really was happy to see Riley back in school.
The two quickly let go of each other, both feeling embarrassed.
The trio returned to their seats, and the whole class went silent again, as the teacher took over the class.
*****
Natasha placed her plate on the table, she sat right beside Riley, finally happy that they could have a proper discussion. They had been busy all day, either attending classes or helping Riley write his notes. And as for what she was curious about, she didn't want a short answer, she wanted the full gist, so she had to wait for the right time, which was lunch time. After school was not a good option, cause she was sure Richard would come early to pick up Riley from school.
"Riley." she called so sweetly and with curiosity written all over her face.
Riley looked at her with a grin on his face.
"So, why did you..."
"I'll tell you about that later."
"Oh! Do you already know what I want to ask?"
"Definitely. It's been written on your face all day long."
They both chuckled and resumed eating.
Natasha's phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw a new message. Seeing who sent it, she had a soft smile on her face. Riley and the trio who sat opposite them, all took notice of that gentleness displayed on her face for a brief period of time. Julian might not have done it on purpose, but his expression went sour, and Riley took notice of that.
'He definitely has a thing for her. He also had this jealous face back when I and Natasha hugged.' Riley thought to himself.
Natasha who was oblivious to what was going on around her, turned to face Riley and raised her phone so he could see the message.
"My Uncle asked me to eat out with him. Wanna join us? It could be a great opportunity to meet him."
Julian nearly spat out the water he just drank.
'Why does he has to meet you uncle? It's not like you two are dating.' he thought, but seeing how excited they both looked, he was beginning to doubt the fact that the two of them were really not dating.
"Do you need to ask me." Riley replied while laughing softly.
"So it's a deal?"
"Of course."
They both continued eating, but it seemed as though Natasha was too excited, knowing Riley would finally be meeting one of the most important people in her life.
"You know, he might be a bit surprised when he sees you."
"Oh! You should let know I would be coming then."
"Ain't no fun in that."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
She continued eating, but she was just too excited to keep her mouth shut.
"Do you know what my uncle first thought of you when he learnt about you?"
"No."
"He described you as a boy with a small shape."
"Oh!" was all Riley could say.
Her happiness was really messing with her head. The boys were a little bit confused, not knowing if she really wanted to abuse Riley for his small body, whose shape was similar to that of a delicate girl. There she was, happy in her own world, unaware of how she had made the innocent boy feel. Truly, curiosity kills the cat. If only he had known, he wouldn't had entertained her, he would have shut her up and would have insisted she eats first then speak later. Such a pity, spoken words can never be taken back.
Natasha who was laughing alone, finally took notice of the look on the trio's faces, then it dawned on her that she might, no, she definitely did hurt a man's pride. She looked at Riley, and noticed his sad smile. This was not what she intended.
"Oh, Riley, I'm sorry, but I didn't mean it that way."
Riley could only nod his head as he continued eating, even though he had lost his appetite.
"I really didn't mean, 'sighs', I actually meant your height. He always thought you were short, which you are not. You are quite tall, well, with a small shape, which makes you very attractive."
She smiled at the end of her sentence. Well, she was not the only one, even the trio were also smiling. While the person being referred to, was blushing.
He cleared his throat and looked down, cause he knew he would be embarrassed if they noticed his red cheeks.
"Fine. Let's all eat before lunch is over."
"Hmm." they all said and continued eating.