THE WEIGHT ON my shoulders grew heavier with each step as I dragged my feet along the white tile floor, inching closer to Intro to Art.
All week, I sat at my desk in my room, staring frustratedly at a blank piece of paper for hours, hoping that any idea would come to mind. But to my dismay, I came up with nothing. This project was hopeless.
But later on however, I managed to sketch a poorly-drawn picture of a girl swinging from a tree in silhouette form as she watched the sunset, using it as a measly excuse for an "idea" and explained that the girl represented myself "looking out into the bright future ahead."
"You going in, or are you just gonna stare at the door and wait for it to magically open for you?" I heard from behind after realizing that I was blocking the doorway.
Muttering an apology and feeling my cheeks warm-up, I twisted the knob and pulled the door open, holding the door behind me as I glanced up to see who it was.
"Oh, it's just you." A small smile that I couldn't help wiggled onto my face when I saw Milo standing behind me.
After shuffling between desks to our seats and settling in, Milo whipped out his sketchbook and began flipping through the first few pages, deciding which sketch to show to Professor Hyatt. My mood plummeted even more as I pulled out my sketchbook, hugging it closely to my chest as I was embarrassed that I only had one page filled whilst everyone else had tons of doodles and sketches.
"What are you going to draw?" Milo asked from beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts as he leaned over and attempted to peek over at my sketchbook. I hugged the pad closer to my chest, which resulted in a frown from Milo.
"Sorry, I just...don't feel comfortable sharing what I drew," I admitted quietly, shoulders slumped.
"It's cool," he shrugged as he moved back into his seat, giving me a soft smile.
"I know I'm going to sound like a total hypocrite but...can I see what you drew?" I asked. But because I sometimes become an awkward mess around Milo, I suggested with a short chuckle, "Unless you don't want to show me. That's cool too."
His lips rolled in, considering whether or not he was going to show me his sketch. Then, a mischievous smirk curled upon his lips. "Mmm, maybe not now, but eventually. I'll show it to you once I'm done."
"But you have tons of things drawn out in your book. Besides, we just needed to sketch out some ideas, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll choose that one, right?" I said.
"Nope, I've already decided. I think this one is the best picture-worthy moment from my life," Milo shrugged happily with a cute smile on his face, causing the deep dimples on his face to appear. His infectious smile traveled like wildfire, and I found myself mirroring his smile.
"Okay," I sang incredulously as Professor Hyatt entered, eyebrows raised.
"How about we make a deal?" I suddenly sprouted. Milo stayed quiet and waited for me to continue, "We'll show each other our pictures when we're done. Deal?"
"Deal," Milo smiled happily.
For the rest of class, I tried to peek over and catch a glimpse of Milo's drawing, but he always caught me and shook his head with a smile, concealing the image with another blank piece of paper.
Professor Hyatt eventually made her way to our table and looked at each of our drawings individually. When she saw Milo's, a glimmer sparkled in her eyes as she adored it, which only made me want to see it even more.
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"SO, DO YOU KNOW what you're going to wear tonight?" Ava asked excitedly, taking a bite out of her sandwich she bought as we sat in the cafeteria. Throughout our entire lunch break, Ava talked non-stop about tonight. It was as if she was the one who was going out with James, not me.
"No, but I don't need to worry about it right now. It's not until later on tonight anyway, and besides, how long could it possibly take me to find an outfit?" I said nonchalantly.
"You never know, Hads. You want to look your best for James," Ava winked, causing heat to rush up my neck and to my cheeks.
Suddenly, an arm swung around my shoulders and I was pulled into James's side as he slipped into the chair beside me, getting a waft of citrus.
"Hey," James greeted towards Ava before turning to me, a chuckle escaping his lips followed by a cocky smirk, "Woah, Hadley, your face is bright red. Have you been thinking about me again?"
"Yeah right. You wish," I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Actually, she's been talking non-stop about you," Ava grinned slyly.
"That is not true," I defended, the red on my cheeks darkening.
"Oh really?" James said smugly, cocking an eyebrow up with a smirk. "Then why are your cheeks getting redder?"
"That's just how they naturally are," I insisted, pouting like a child. "And besides, the blush I put on today makes my cheeks pinker."
"Okay, keep telling yourself that," Ava snorted as she took a sip of her Coke, earning a glare from me.
As if on cue, my phone vibrated on the table with a reminder that I had set earlier, signaling that my next class was starting soon. I slipped out of James's embrace and hurriedly grabbed my bag and books laying on the table.
"Well, I wish I could stay and chat, but my next class is about to start. I'll see you both later." I said as I looked at both of them.
Before Ava could object, I was practically out of there and was about to head off to class when I rammed into someone hard, resulting in my books dropping to the floor.
"Ow!"
Or so I thought.
My head whipped to see low and behold, Nicole standing in front of me, her face scrunched up in agony. I looked down and saw that two of my thick textbooks had landed on her left foot.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Nicole!" I apologized profusely.
I hastily bent down and picked up my books, revealing her big toe that was bright red. Nicole was now on the floor, nursing her foot.
"Is your toe okay?" I asked, my fear levels shooting through the roof.
"Ah, I think it's broken." Nicole attempted to curl her toe, which resulted in a hiss of pain.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Tears began to prick my eyes, threatening to spill onto my cheeks as I felt immense guilt.
A small circle had formed around us, yet no one did anything to help. Someone pushed through the crowd and saw me and Nicole on the floor, their scent invading my senses as I could instantly recognize it from a mile away.
"What happened?"
I looked up and locked eyes with Milo, my anxiety levels reaching an all-time high. Concern filled Milo's eyes as he looked away and crouched down next to Nicole.
"I accidentally bumped into Nicole and dropped my textbooks on her toe, and now it might be fractured."
Milo hooked his arms around her and easily picked her up bridal style, the muscles in his arms bulging. The crowd around us moved aside and Milo briskly walked away while I followed subsequently.
"I'll take her to the health center. You can go to class, Hadley," Milo called out over his shoulder as he made his way to his car.
I watched as they sped off when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. I looked up and saw James offering me a soft, sympathetic smile. He reached out and wiped away a lone tear that had escaped from my eyes.
"Come on, let's get you to class so you're not late, hm?" James pulled me closer into his side and we turned around. He leaned down and gave me a small kiss on the head, not thinking much of it, and rubbed my arm in an attempt to calm me down, assuring me that Nicole was going to be okay.
But even though I knew Nicole would be fine in the end, no amount of soothing was going to make me feel any better about what I had done. I felt like the worst person alive.
God, I really hope this day doesn't get any worse.
â
OOH, THIS IS cute, how about this one?" Ava pulled out a black romper that had thin straps and a low V-neck from my closet.
"Sure, I guess," I shrugged, leaning against the headboard. The smile on Ava's face faltered and she dropped the romper at the foot of my bed, climbing next to me.
"Hads, you've apologized to Nicole so many times already that I don't even know the exact number anymore. It was an accident, we all know you didn't drop your books on her foot on purpose, and luckily it was only her toe. It's in the past already, you have to let it go."
"But how can I not? Nicole's toe is broken for goodness sake! God, I feel like the worst person in the world." I placed my hands over my eyes and dragged my hands down my face, my heart sinking to my stomach at the mere thought of today's incident.
After her impromptu visit to the health center, it turned out that Nicole now had a fractured toe and couldn't walk on her left foot so she was on crutches and had to go back in a couple days to get a boot.
"You're not a bad person, Hads," Ava assured, rubbing my arms as her arms draped across my shoulders. "Maybe you're freaking out a little too much, but it's because you care and have a heart."
I slightly chuckled at the last part of Ava's sentence and drew in a deep breath. Ava withdrew her arms and stood up, grabbing the black romper and dropping it into my lap.
"Now, go and change. James is going to be here soon." Ava pulled me out of bed and I groaned in response. "And try to have some fun tonight. Maybe this'll take your mind off things for a while," said Ava, placing her hands on my shoulders before spinning me around and giving me a hardy push towards the bathroom door.
Half an hour later, a knock sounded at the door. Ava shouted, "Hadley, it's for you!"
"Coming!" I responded. Grabbing my phone, I quickly slipped it into my brown shoulder bag that had a long gold chain attached to it and slung it on my shoulder, slipping on my tan wedges in the process. I exhaled as I patted down a few baby hairs that were sticking up and strutted out into the living room.
Waiting on the couch wearing a navy blue jacket with a white undershirt and jeans with his glasses, James glanced up and sported a smile. He promptly stood up and said, "Shall we?"
I nodded and waved to Ava, who gave me a thumbs up.
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A/N: hello! well first off (if you're a rr), at the time when i wrote this chapter, i didn't exactly know how doctors treated broken bones because I had never broken a bone (still haven't lol). but when i re-read this chapter now, yes, it sounds weird that Nicole went to the hospital for a broken toe. i fixed it, so hopefully it seems a bit more accurate but ð¤·ð»ââï¸ if it ain't let me know lol.
also, thank you for continuing to read this book! if u enjoyed this chapter (or any of them) pls press the star button at the bottom left corner, it would make my day! thank you so much! x
~Karlee ð