*Geek Boy*
My heart soared the moment my eyes locked on Ellie.
Like always, she glowed. Her blonde hair created a halo around her head. The curled strands poured over her shoulders, framing her flawless tanned skin. Her blue eyes, bordered by long dark lashes, were locked with mine, sparkling beneath the fluorescent lighting. Her glossed pink lips were parted just slightly in shock.
Ellie wore a red dress that made her skin look more beautiful than usual--if that was possible. The dress was red lace and hugged her bust before cinching at her waist and flowing down to her mid-thigh. Her heels emphasized her lean legs, coated in flawless tanned skin.
She was beautiful.
My eyes fell on those surrounding her.
And taken.
Leaning close to her was who I presumed was her date. Justin Markson hovered inches away from her. His blonde hair was perfectly combed over his tanned skin. His lips were poised as he smiled at her, revealing dimples. He wore designer clothing--blue jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers--and a varsity jacket. The way he watched Ellie, his gaze full of intent, confirmed my assumption. This was a date.
I ignored the sensation of pain in my chest as my eyes scanned over the others in their company. Deputy head Cheerleader Gemma Henderson and varsity Line-backer Tyler Benton stood in front of the couple, glancing down at them, where they were sitting on a leather sofa.
A double date.
"Will? What's wrong?"
I blinked out of my daze. I turned to face Catherine. "Nothing." Just a broken heart. "Let's go buy tickets."
"I'll get the tickets." Catherine nudged me towards the food stand. "You buy the popcorn. Just get one tub."
I nodded and headed towards the bored teenager standing behind the food stand.
Catherine had persuaded me to ditch studying for a night in favour of a friendly trip to the cinema.
I was starting to regret agreeing.
As I ordered, I risked a glance out of the corner of my eye. Ellie was staring down at the bangles on her wrist, her fingers frequently fiddling with the golden bracelets. Her lashes brushed her cheeks as she sucked her bottom lip in.
I frowned. She looked upset.
My eyes jumped to Justin, who was still smiling and talking like nothing was wrong.
If he hurt herâ
"Will." Catherine entered my line of sight. She flashed two tickets. "Got the tickets."
My eyes flickered to Ellie then back to Catherine. "What are we watching?"
Catherine bit her lip then glanced at her sneaker-clad feet. "A Rom-com."
I frowned. Catherine despised Rom-coms. "What's it called?"
Catherine's gaze shifted to the ceiling. "Love at its best."
I cocked my head. Catherine was acting odd. For one, she was wearing a dress--something I hadn't seen her do since she was nine. For two, she'd been avoiding my gaze for the last week. Three, she was willing to watch a Rom-com, something that she usually found repulsive. Four, she'd asked me to only order one tub of popcorn, which implied we were sharing. Catherine despised sharing.
"Cath, what's wrong?" I asked.
Catherine blinked rapidly before shaking her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She shifted her gaze. "Besides, you're the one who has been acting weird lately."
I grasped her face, forcing her gaze to meet mine.
Her eyes widened in surprise. It was understandable, I wasn't really one for physical contact.
"Look, Cath, we're friends. I know when you're acting weird. Seriously, are you OK?"
Cath nodded, her eyes wide. "Yeah," she murmured.
I nodded as I took my hands from her face. "Good."
The cinema worker cleared his throat. "If you're done with the love fest, would you please take your popcorn?"
I paid for the food and carried the popcorn tub off the stand.
After a few moments, Catherine broke out of her silence and grabbed my free hand, dragging me towards the theatre section. "Come on. We should get a good seat."
I threw one last glance at Ellie. Our eyes instantly met, but she rapidly turned away.
My gaze turned to Justin, who was still hovering over her.
And so my fantasies died.
Ellie wasn't mine to care for.
Catherine and I found a seat at the back of the cinema. Cath preferred isolation and liked the view from the back.
The lights were yet to go off. I watched as couples filtered into the room, chattering and giggling to each other.
In my mind, I replayed the vision of Ellie's face as I stepped into the cinema. I memorized the look of her sparkling blue eyes as they met mine. I tried to forget the presence of Justin Markson.
Maybe if I'd asked her out before she'd fallen for a jock, tonight would have gone differently.
Or not.
I couldn't count the amount of guys who'd asked Ellie Kent to go out with them. Probably the same as the amount of guys she'd rejected. Ellie was so out of my league it wasn't funny.
And now she was taken by a player jock.
I just hoped that I wouldn't have to watch them fawning over each other.
My hopes were dashed the moment I saw a halo of blonde hair float into the cinema. Ellie was led by her friends up the stairs. Tyler and Gemma leaned into each other, giggling and flirting. Behind them, Justin was still speaking to Ellie. He beamed at her while she stared at the floor.
Abruptly, her gaze flitted upwards, meeting mine.
As the lights switched off, I sighed. This was going to be a long night.
For the majority of the film, I stared at the ceiling. It wasn't difficult to imagine what was happening in the movie from the sounds of gushing and squealing women coming from the screen. The other portion of the movie, my eyes inadvertently flickered to the back of Ellie's golden blonde head, nestled between Gemma and Justin.
Mid-way through the movie, I assumed it became romantic because half of the couples in the room started kissing.
Catherine reached over, scooping out popcorn from the bowl before leaning slightly closer to me.
My eyes rested on Justin and Ellie. Justin raised his arms in a stretch. His left arm slowly came down, wrapping around Ellie's shoulders.
I stood up abruptly, dropping the tub of popcorn into Catherine's lap. "I'm going to buy more popcorn," I muttered.
By the time Catherine had protested, I was already half way down the theatre steps.
The light in the hallway was a welcome relief. I traipsed down the hallway and back into the main section of the cinema. I headed straight for the food stand, where the worker leaned against the wall, tapping out a message on his mobile.
I cleared my throat. "One medium-sized popcorn please."
The worker scowled as he glanced up from his phone. "I needa refill the machine." Then he stalked off.
I sighed as I stared at the wall in front of me.
Ellie's face instantly popped into my head.
This was torture.
The sound of a soft gasp caught my attention. It was followed by the feminine fruity scent that was forever imprinted in my mind.
I turned back to see Ellie's large blue eyes locked on me.
Dang, she was beautiful.
I rapidly turned back to face the wall.
Stare much Will?
Silence descended. I felt my skin tighten and heat up. She wasn't even touching me and yet she had such a huge effect.
Tone it down Will.
"Is the worker coming back?" Ellie's soft voice startled me as she walked hesitantly forward, standing next to me in front of the food stand.
She was just a metre away.
Dragging in a breath, I glanced down at her. She was looking up at me, those doe-eyes wide. In seconds, red permeated her cheeks.
She was so sweet. If only I couldâ
"Yeah." I cleared my throat awkwardly. "There was something wrong with the machine."
"Oh." Ellie's gaze fell to the floor.
I would give anything to ask her what was wrong. I would give the world to tuck my hand beneath her chin and lift her gaze to mine. I would do anything for her. Anything.
I could even be a jock if that made her happy. Though defying my mother's wishes would not go well.
But I needed to know. I needed to know if there was really no chance.
"Are you on a date with Justin?" I blurted out.
Will, you are the most idiotic, pea-brained idioâ
Ellie looked up at me in shock before shaking her head rapidly. "No!" She laughed awkwardly.
I wondered if she noticed the way I melted when she laughed.
"It was meant to be a group thing," she said as she fiddled with her bracelets. "But they cancelled or something."
Or your friends are trying to hook you up with Justin Markson.
Despite that, the tension melted from my shoulders. Happiness spurted in my chest. Ellie wasn't dating Justin Markson.
Ellie wasn't taken.
Ellie was still single.
I watched as Ellie bit her lip. She parted her lips. "A-are you on a date with Catherine?"
I blinked in surprise before shaking my head rapidly. "No. We're just friends."
Ellie's eyes jumped back to mine, searching my gaze as if looking for the truth. "Oh."
A silence descended as we both stared at each other. I couldn't peel my eyes off her face. Her cerulean blue eyes were like gravity locking me in place. My eyes flickered down to her lips, glossy and pink. As I looked up into her eyes, I could have sworn her gaze fell to my lips.
"So, are we still on for tutoring tomorrow?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around herself.
I nodded. "Yeah. Two o'clock?"
Ellie nodded in response, shooting me a shy smile. "Two o'clock." She shifted her stance, making her golden strands of hair pour over her other shoulder. "Should I bring anything?"
I smiled in return. "Just your textbook and workbook. If there are any specific questions you want me to explain bring those too and I'll help you work them out."
She nodded. "OK." Her eyes jumped from the ground to mine then back to the ground. "I'm really grateful for your help. I'm not the most talented at Calculus." She laughed softly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Or at any subject. I'm glad you'll be there."
I couldn't suppress the electricity that shot through my body at her words. "No problem," I murmured.
She bit her lip as she glanced up at me. "By the way, I haven't said thank you for helping me in the library the other day. It would have been a disaster without you. Ms Marsh would have probably murdered me if I'd damaged any of her precious books."
I chuckled. "She is a bit protective of her books."
Ellie giggled in response.
Woah.
"That's an understatement," she beamed. She brushed her hair behind her ear. I watched as it bounced right back, covering her eyes. "Besides that, I am really sorry about Calculus on Monday. Thank you for telling the teacher the answer. You've saved me twice now."
But you saved me first.
"I'm sorry you're stuck tutoring me. I'll try to be the best student possible." Then she looked up and shot me that grin--that million watt grin that always managed to stall my heart.
Before I could stop myself, I reached out. My fingers lightly pushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. The sensation of her skin beneath mine sent jolts of electricity up my hand, warming my fingers.
She took a sharp intake of breath as my fingers brushed her skin. Her eyes, wide, watched me as her lips parted just slightly.
Red permeated the skin, following the trail of my fingers.
Wow.
My fingers hovered there for a moment as I was locked in her gaze. My heartbeat sped up, creating palpitations in my chest.
"Your hair was in your face," I murmured.
And yet I didn't move my fingers.
Her eyes fell to my lips.
"Ellie? Why are you out here?"
I looked up abruptly, my gaze dropping on Gemma and Justin, who had emerged from the theatre.
My hand fell from Ellie's cheek.
Gemma and Justin shot confused glances at Ellie as their eyes bounced between the both of us.
Will, you are an idiot.
"Ellie?" Gemma repeated, frowning.
Ellie's eyes flitted to her best friend and she blinked rapidly, as if she was coming out of her daze. "Oh. I was just buying some popcorn when I saw Will." Her eyes met mine for a moment before she glanced away, her cheeks reddening subtly.
Justin cleared his throat, stepping towards Ellie. He narrowed his eyes just slightly at me before he turned to her. "Where's the guy?"
Ellie looked uncomfortable as she stepped away from him. She moved slightly towards me, making my heart flutter.
She really didn't like him.
The relief that rushed through me was overpowering.
She glanced at me. "He said that he wanted to fix the machine, right?"
I nodded, leaning slightly forward.
Gemma's expression smoothed. She gestured to me. "And are you going to introduce us?"
"Oh." Ellie laughed awkwardly as she stepped closer to me. "Gemma, Justin, this is William Johnson." She motioned to me. "Will, this is Gemma Henderson and Justin Markson."
She knew my name. Happiness coursed through my bloodstream. She'd remembered my name.
I nodded at the pair. Justin gave a brisk nod in response while Gemma shot me a quick confused smile.
"And how do you know each other?" she asked.
Ellie glanced up at me. "Er, he's in a lot of my classes now. And..." She glanced at me. "He's also my new calculus tutor."
Gemma's brows shot upwards. "Since when do you have a tutor?"
"Since I started being such an epic fail at calculus," she muttered. "Anyway, we were just talking about school when you guys showed up."
Gemma's eyebrows shot even higher. "Since when does Ellie Kent talk about school in her free time?"
"Gemma," Ellie hissed. She shot me a glance.
Was that embarrassment in her eyes?
Gemma rolled her eyes. "Anyway, come on." She gestured towards the hallway leading to the theatres. "We're missing half the movie."
Ellie blinked as stepped just slightly in my direction. "I still need to buy the popcorn."
Justin dropped a hand on her shoulder, tossing her another grin. "Don't worry, I'll get it. Sweet flavour, right?"
Ellie nodded, but sucked her lips in. Her gaze bounced between me and the ground.
"Come on then." Gemma grasped Ellie's hand, dragging her away.
Ellie held her ground for a moment longer, smiling at me. "Well, bye Will."
I smiled slightly. "See you later."
Gemma proceeded to drag Ellie down the hall.
"She's hot, huh, bro?"
I glanced over at Justin, who leaned confidently against the food stand.
I didn't respond. Ellie was more than hot, she was beautiful. Her face was a pure river to a thirsty man. Her eyes were a feast for the starving. And her lips...
How many fantasies had I had about her lips?
Justin cleared his throat as he watched me. "I think she's hot." His eyes fell on a poster on the wall. "Hot enough to go out with." His gaze came back to me, his eyes glinting as he's lips turned downwards. "Hot enough to already be taken."
Translation: stop checking out my girl.
The employee emerged then. He cleared his throat, demanding my order.
I ignored him, my gaze and attention following Ellie and Gemma down the hall. At the last possible moment, before turning the corner, she glanced back at me. Her lips parted in surprise before they stretched into a grin that made my heart stutter.
Justin was wrong. Ellie wasn't just 'hot' enough to date.
Ellie was beautiful enough to spend the rest of your life with.
***
Thank you for reading this epically cheesy chapter ;) Besides that, do you guys have any ideas for cast????????
This chapter is dedicated to worlds_of_words for constant votes and lovely comments ;)
God bless xxx
Yemi Everest