You're Still the One

II

   Six chiming tolls wake me with a jump, the birds outside flock away, just as disturbed as myself. Wiping my eyes, I stretch my arm out to grab the glass of water sitting on the bedside table, knocking off a pair of reading glasses in the process. As I finally sit up, I take a sip. It tastes old and room temperature, not at all refreshing but I didn't mind. I glance over to Neil who's still passed out, unmoved by the bells. His head rests on his arm facing towards the ceiling and his mouth hangs slightly open. I notice a small mole on his chin sitting out, and his eyebrows lay relaxed. He looks almost blissful and my mouth crooks upwards in a smile, but a blush floods my cheeks as I quickly turn away once I realized what I was doing. Our first class begins at 7:30, so I had plenty of time. I picked up the book that sat on the table, and sat up to read per Neil's recommendation. For some reason, the idea of having something to talk about with him got me really excited. After a while though, my head begins to bob as the words slur together, and I realize I should probably get out of bed before falling asleep again. I headed to the bathrooms to get the gross morning breath out of my mouth and fix my hair before going back to the room. Once I return, I sit down at my desk and brush up on my schedule. None of the classes I'm signed up for jumped out at me, I've never excelled at anything in particular and it was never a problem. My parents were too busy making sure Jeffery was perfect that as long as I was passing, it was like I wasn't there, I liked it that way. Though, as I'm scanning down the list my eyes fall to the english literature course at the bottom. I've always found writing much easier than speaking, but I don't think I could be creative enough to do anything with it. The new teacher seemed interesting enough though, I mean, if you give up your life in a whole other country, you're either incredibly dedicated or on the run. Plus, he didn't look ancient which is always positive. Glancing at the clock on my desk, the time now reads around 6:40, I'd passed enough time that I could start getting ready for school, I wish I were able to sleep in more often. Standing up, I trip over the leg of my chair and stumble on one foot with a thud. Glancing to Neil I hear a shuffle as he adjusts his position seemingly undisturbed and I sigh in relief. Stepping over, more gracefully this time, to my clothes, I pull out my uniform of grey slacks and a white button up, grabbing a grey sweater vest with the welton seal on the chest and our mandatory black and red trim blazer. The room's chilled air hits my exposed back as I pull my green sweater over my head and goosebumps raise on the nape of my neck. My eyes catch in the small mirror on my desk and I look down at my torso. The outline of my collarbone sticks out and my awkward, broad shoulders are prominent without a bulky jacket to cover them up.I look like I was built to bump into things, I laugh to myself while poking myself in the chest with my hand. After looking at myself for a second longer, I feel the hot stares of someone's eyes on me and immediately turn around to the beds. There, Neil lays propped up on his elbow, his wrist bent backwards holding his cheek. With his once resting face now open and grinning, I quickly bump into the desk behind me to grab a shirt, pulling it over my head as soon as possible before he speaks up.
   "Checking yourself out? Who have you got to impress already?" Neils playful tone sounds in my ears and a blush fills the apples of my cheeks.
   "I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep. I'll go to the bathroom-" I attempt to reply before being quickly cut off.
   "Don't worry, I'm no creep. You can stay." He assures and a slight annoyance raises in my mind at how odd he is. He turns away and I grab my pants and change into them as fast as possible, but this is quickly disturbed again by his smooth voice,
   "You're up early, how'd you sleep?" He asks. My head turns to look at him while I button up my pants, I seem to have forgotten about how many questions he likes to ask.
   "Uh, fine, I guess. I still have to get used to sleeping in a different place, but I'll get adjusted to it eventually." I say, tossing him a friendly smile while I put on a pair of socks. He sits up and stretches his arms above his head, letting out a groan as he rubs the corners of eyes to get rid of the sleep. Practically jumping out of bed, he hops over to his things and pulls out his uniform for the day while I sit on my bed and check through my bags. Looking up, I lock eyes with him for a quick second and see him smile as he walks out of the room. For the second time already a warm sensation fills my face,
Why am I like this? I think, holding my chilled hands to my cheek in an attempt to cool them off. I found myself around Neil to be a whole new challenge.