Autumn's Smile

Chapter 2

“Hey, I’m Leo. And you are?” he asked looking her straight in the eye.

“I’m, um, Autumn, but I’m not, uh, new here.” She said as she began picking away at her nails.

“Well, I’ve never seen you around here before.” He smiled before realising he was wrong.

“Nobody does, I like it that way.” She said, smiling, looking down in embarrassment. He sighed as he said:

“So, are you interested in Love Life?”

“Uh, yeah, but I’m not going to the auditions.” Her eyes met his gaze.

“You should, you could get the lead, ya know.”

“No way, Paris will, and I’m not good at the whole singing thing.”

“Paris won’t get sh-“

“Language” she said, cutting him off. He tilted his head ever so slightly, stepped back and started again.

“Paris won’t get the part. Taylor is a sweet, caring, shy character. Anyway, you’re way better than she is.” His smile became larger as hers did before she quickly hid it behind the sleeve (pulled over her hand) of her jumper.

“I’m really not, and you wouldn’t even know. People like you don’t pay attention to people like me unless I’m a threat.”

“People like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a compliment, ‘cause you’re popular and c…” she trailed off, moving her hand to hold her books.

“Well, you could be.”

“Yeah, how?” she joked.

“All you have to do is stop hiding in that room. If you used the passion you have in that room on stage then you would be queen of the school.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really wanna be,” she said, shifting her eyes to the left and back again. “And don’t act like you know me, nobody knows me.”

“That’s because you don’t let anybody in. But… I see you, in that room, singing, dancing around. It’s kinda cute.” His smile was bigger than ever before and her cheeks flushed red.

“Wait, you see me?”

“Yeah, you never quite shut the blinds properly. Sometimes I would just stand and watch.”

“Oh god.” Her heart sank as she ran back to the room and hid in a corner. His smile faded as he looked towards the room, hoping to see her, but he saw nothing.

By now his smile was completely gone. He stood for a moment, questioning if he should follow her. Reality struck when he realised what she meant. People like him. As Autumn called them. The popular kids would never even know she existed, never mind go chasing after her.

He was now torn between who he is and who people think he is. Unfortunately, being the guy that he is, he chose his reputation over his heart.

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Since these chapters are so short, I'm gonna do double uploads every week. :)