My mind went blank and I couldn't think of anything to reply to him. I continued sitting there in my seat not uttering a single word and just stared at him like a complete idiot.
He was dressed in a striped blue and gray shirt and ripped jeans. His chestnut brown hair was neatly combed back, not a strand out of place.
". . . the way, I'm Devaun." His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You can call me Dev, though."
I flickered my gaze downwards to see his arm extended waiting for me to shake his hand. I reluctantly reached for it and I almost jerked away to how warm his hand was and a little calloused.
"I know." I stammered and I froze a little when I just realized what I said.
I know, really? That makes me sound like a stalker.
Embarrassed, I avoided looking at his direction and pulled my hand back, but kind of regretting it a little. "I-I meanâ that, uhm . . ."
From the corner of my eye, I can see him pressing his lips into a tight smile and the corners of his eyes wrinkled. Great, he probably thinks I'm so awkward and now he's laughing. Great job there, Bri!
"That's nice." Devaun mused, smiling to himself. "So can I know your name or do you want a cute endearment?"
My breath hitched.
"I'm Cambria." I offered him a tight-lipped smile.
"Your name sounds pretty like you." He said nonchalantly while I'm over here in my seat weirded out by the fact he just said I was pretty.
I don't know if he's playing with me or being genuine. I never get any compliments from anyone except my family and friends, so I'm not sure how to react right now.
Should I say thank you? But that would seem like I'm self centered or narcissistic. Regina George suddenly comes into my mind during that scene where she "compliments" Cady at the lunch table. That scene was all I could think about now.
Or maybe I could say I'm not? But that could send a message that I don't love myself and might be wallowing in self pity and hate who I am.
Why is socializing so hard?
I ended up nodding my head and awkwardly smiling. God, that was awful! I wanted to smack my head against my desk.
Right when I was contemplating whether to bang my head or not, I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned.
It was him again.
"Uhm, hey, I think this is yours." He pulled something from his pocket and it was my necklace that I lost. "I found it on the floor right after you left last night and thought you might want it back." He gently placed it on my palm, his fingers grazing a little bit.
I couldn't take my eyes off it and I held it tight to my fist, bringing it near to my heart. My eyes closed for a fleeting second and I then felt a sudden relief rush in. I really thought I lost it.
"Thank you so much for this, Devaun." I expressed my gratitude. "You don't know how much this means to me."
He smiled shyly, scratching the back of his neck. "No problem."
Right after he said that, Ms. Riley comes in walking with her hands full. We greeted her a good afternoon. I noticed that Devaun got up from his seat and made his way to the teacher's table with a folded paper in his hand.
He must have just transferred to this class.
° ° °
Through out the class, Devaun has been asking me to borrow every single stationary that exists in the universe. And I guess I have all of those things with me.
Perks of having an obsession with stationary and hoarding a lot of it. If the fifteen new blank journals in my room right now have faces, they would be looking at me oddly with a mix of disappointment knowing they will never be used in the near future.
So firstly, he asked for a pen which was fine, I let him borrow a spare one. But then he asked me if I had a pair of scissors, lend it to him. Then he went on to borrow a green highlighter specifically, but then changed his mind a wanted the blue one.
I was tempted to just give him my entire pencil case and tell him to keep it so he wouldn't have to keep borrowing from me. I'm very selfish when it comes to my stationary, but I force myself to let others borrow it knowing I have a ton more of them. Even if they lost it â which they shouldn't â I will have another one hidden in my room.
When class was finally over, Devaun still hasn't returned my highlighter and he looked like he wasn't planning on returning seeing that he was also preparing to leave.
I was contemplating whether to talk to him or just wait it out a little until the very last moment to get my highlighter back. It was one of my most prized possession.
You must think it's stupid, like it's a stationary for God's sake! But it costed me a pretty penny to be able to buy that and I need it back.
Why am I getting nervous to talk to him anyway? He's just a boy.
A very cute boy.
I eliminated those thoughts immediately. Not the time to think about that, or any time really. I need to focus on the goal.
I pursed my lips and bit the inside of my cheek, trying to buy time until I have the courage to tell him to give my highlighter back.
But then it was like he read my mind, he turned to me and handed it back to me.
"Thank you for letting me borrow this." Devaun said in a greatful way. "And all the other stuff, Cambria."
My stomach was all of a sudden full of fluttering butterflies when my name rolls of his tongue.
"You're welcome." I rasped.
While I was finishing up, Devaun's shadow towered over me and I see him standing in front me. I had to look up and his dark brown eyes were trained on me. He had his hands in his pockets and a small smile dancing on his lips that I might have stared at a second longer.
"I'll see you around, Bri." That was the last thing he said before he waved his hand and proceeded to go on his merry way out of the room.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What did he mean by he'll see me around?
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Not edited.
Author's Note:
Oh my God, two updates in a week, who is she?! Lmao. Anyways, I'm glad that you guys are enjoying this story. Let me just rant a bit, so I just enrolled for second semester and my study load is already giving me nightmares and whoever made my schedule deserves jail time for eternity. Other than that, see you all on the next update whenever that is. Mwah!