The Art of Falling

Losing control

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Elaine has never dated anyone from school. It drives the boys at Riverside High crazy. She is delicately beautiful with her milky skin, dark long wavy hair and her  pale green eyes. Her eyes seem so transparent and untainted that many are drawn to the innocence they exude.

She forces herself to ignore the guys pining after her at school. She likes a man that will take care of her and cherish her. She doubts that the boys running around her high school have the maturity to do so.

Poor girl is yet to realize that even older men share the same immaturity. Then her 2 year long relationship with her 21 year old first love comes to an end when he cheats on her.

By the end of the week every single guy in Riverside High has heard the good news. Some argue that high school boys just aren't in her league and yet, some decide not to give up hope and to take on the challenge. Five guys in total end up making the challenge official. Ben, Jonathan, Cyril, Aiden's best bud Blake and Aiden himself.

Aiden only moved to  Riverside during junior year. He doubts she'd be able to resist him. Hence why he brushes of the warnings he gets from the other guys, when he raises the stakes, putting his priced mustang as collateral. He admits he isn't blind to Elaine's beauty and that he has been quietly, yet hopelessly pining over her since he first moved to Riverside.

He figures that the bet will be good enough a motivation to get him to finally approach her.

He decides to arrive to one of the two classes they share together earlier than usual, so he can bag himself a head start. He kindly motivates the kid who usually sits next to her to exchange seats with him.

The rest of the class enters just before the warning bell rings and then Mr Donaldson finally steps in the classroom, closing the door behind him. 'Where is she?' He thinks, wondering why she chose today of all days to be absent.

30 minutes into the lesson, when Aiden has already taken his eyes of the door, giving up on her possibly showing up, a knock is heard over Mr Donaldson's overly enthusiastic lecture. A mop of dark  loose curls pops from the door before the door is fully opened to reveal Elaine, a grimace on her features.

Quickly she steals all the attention. Every guy sits alert, winking and smiling at her as she walks towards Mr Donaldson. "Sorry to interrupt your lesson sir." She says with her slightly raspy voice, handing a permission slip to him. "Dance coach kept you late again I see." Mr Donaldson says with a friendly smile on his face.

"Yes sir, but don't worry, you won't be losing your A student, anytime soon." She says playfully with an innocent yet delightful little giggle that just makes me want to win this bet even more. A few girls sitting in the front row scoff, mumbling something along the lines of 'suck-up'. She gracefully ignores the bad comments and makes her way to her seat.

She turns towards me, whispers a sweet 'hi' still smiling as she takes her seat next to me. I give her one of my charming boyish smiles, knowing it's worked on every girl I'd tried it on before. Yet she just nonchalantly brushes it off before looking back towards Mr Donaldson, who has continued with his lesson already.

When the lesson is over, I watch her gracefully pack up her stationary, which was messily strewn across her table. She used a lot of color in her notes and doodled quiet a lot as well. Her doodles reminded me of my first real interaction with her last semester.

She had been sitting by the window and I was sitting right next to her. It was right before seats where assigned. She was continuously staring outside and then turning back to her notebook, pencil in hand.
I tapped her on her shoulder and she turnt to me with the cutest concentrated pout I'd ever seen. "Yes?" She asked. "What are you so busy with there." She turnt the book towards me and I was amazed. "That's my car." I whispered, awe clear in my voice and on my face.

Only then noticing that outside the window, she had been staring at my car that was parked right in her view. She had been drawing my car, my baby. "Yeah, I usually draw things I find beautiful, I hope you don't mind." She said smiling one of her bright smiles.

"Nuh, I don't mind." I had answered her trying to be cool by leaning back and smiling only slightly, even though a full fledged grin was fighting to grace my lips. I was impressed.

When I finally got out of my reverie she was already getting up. I caught her wrist before she could get far. I could have just called her name, but I figured being dramatic would get her to notice me more, because I swear no one ignores my existence like she does. Don't mean to be cocky but I'm pretty sure I'm like the hottest guy in school and yet she just walks past me in the halls like she can't even see me.

"Hey, can I walk you to your next class." I ask her putting my signature smirk on. "Um, I guess so. Which class do you have now though, I don't want to be an inconvenience." She says to me as she tries to subtly release her hand from mine. I let her hand go, but move closer to her, before leaning forward to her ear and saying, with my voice low and purposefully a little more baritone. "Don't worry babe, I don't mind." I make sure I smile with my dimples, thinking for sure I'll have her flustered and like putty in my hands.

She smiles back, squints her eyes in thought, turning her head slightly to the side, moving her face even closer to mine.

Just like that she takes complete control of the moment.
In that moment I sense something. I sense danger and I see a challenging glint in her eyes and she's slowly still moving closer. 'What is she doing' I think as my eyes slowly flutter close, waiting and hoping for her to move just a little bit closer to me.

To be continued