Take My Breath (KShaw)

Chapter 10

"We'll be meeting every Monday at seven, and every Wednesday at eight in this room," the instructor continues, and Harry shifts in his seat, trying to get more comfortable in the plastic chair. Across from him, Ethan is angled in his seat to face the woman at the front of the room, but he's not listening; Harry can tell. He's got that distant, bored look on his face. "There is a forty dollar enrolment fee, but all of that will go towards supplies you'll be using during the duration of this class. For the class itself, I will be your supervisor, while three of my most talented students will guide you through the different mediums of art being taught in this class. If-"

The door to the room opens, and someone peeks their head in, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry I'm late," he says. "And sorry for interrupting." "Don't worry, Olajide," the instructor says pleasantly, with a smile that's just for him. "Nice play at that last game, may I add." A few people make sounds of agreement, and Harry puts as much contempt into his glare as he can as JJ quickly moves towards the table that Harry's sharing with Ethan, Tobi, and some girl with a nose piercing and hair longer than anyone Harry's ever met. He slides into the chair next to Harry with a grin, legs scraping against the floor loudly.

"-piece will be of your choosing, any piece of art using one of the three mediums taught in this class. On the nineteenth of December we'll be hosting the auction at the time of the annual staff Christmas party."

"What are you doing here?" Harry hisses, leaning close to JJ but keeping his eyes on the front of the room. JJ shrugs. "Figured I could use an extracurricular outside of football," he says casually. "Checked and none of the classes are on days I have practise, so." Another shrug, and Harry is honestly going to march to the back of the room where the art supplies is, grab a paint brush, and stuff it down JJ's fucking throat."You don't even like this shit," he argues. "How did you even hear about this?" "You don't know what I do or don't like," JJ counters. "And you mentioned it to Ethan when I was in the room." He says it with a smirk, confirming Harry's suspicions. He's only here to irritate Harry.

This one thing Harry was doing to relax, was doing to enjoy himself, and of course JJ has to ruin it. Of fucking course. But he'll be damned if he doesn't fight JJ on it. He'll let it go for now, but as soon as they're out of this room, Harry is killing him. Violent and messy. He'll take the life sentence, he doesn't even care. For now he forces himself to relax and pay attention. But he barely hears another word the instructor says because he's too busy seething and trying not to pay attention to JJ.

"-need to be in by Wednesday, as well as the forty dollar enrolment fee. There are only thirty spots open in this class, so the faster you get in your application, the better your chances of getting a spot. Any questions?"A few people raise their hands, but Harry sinks lower in his seat, possibly sulking like a child. He can't help it. And when they're told to get application forms on their way out, Harry is one of the first ones to the front of the room, even though he had been sitting near the back. He folds the form twice and shoves it in his pocket before pushing out the door, into the hallway.

"You okay?" Ethan asks when he and Tobi come out of the room. Harry nods curtly. "I'm fine." "Then why do you look like you're about to punch someone in the ballsack?" Harry crosses his arms over his chest and ignores them. "I'm fine. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Ethan looks like he wants to stick around, but Tobi grabs his arm and pulls him away. Harry watches as other people filter out of the room, some in groups and pairs, some alone. JJ is the last one out the door, his application held tightly in his hand. And he walks straight past Harry like he doesn't see him there, smirk in place. Harry jogs after him. "You won't even enjoy it," he says. "Come on, you're only doing it to piss me off." JJ shrugs. "I might like it," he denies. "Who knows, maybe we'll discover a new talent of mine." "JJ," Harry groans angrily. "Let me have this one fucking thing. Do you really need to butt into every aspect of my life?" "What other aspects of your life have I butted into?" JJ wonders as he shoulders open the door to get outside.