His lips were soft at first, before a roughness took over and he pressed his body to mine. My hands instantly go to his hair as he cups my cheek with his hand as the other turns into a fist next to my head.
A sigh leaves his mouth, like this is som...
"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." -John Steinbeck
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Ashraf is the only friend I have. It's weird, because I used to be so popular. Before everything went down between me and my old friends and everybody didn't hate me, I was quite happy. Not fully because no one is ever truly happy. I had a good life, though. I was loved. In truth, I'd do anything to get that all back. I was in love, I had a beautiful girlfriend. And, of course, I had it all ripped from me.
Daniel, smug little Daniel, got to watch from the sidelines with a shit-eating grin on his face as my whole life was ripped away from me. It wasn't surprising that he got the better end of the bargain.
Through it all, I relied on my parents. But even they got sick of me moping around for months, turning my life to shit. All I did was go to the gym and sleep. I threw my education away for a few months, all because I got my heart broken. Stupid, I know. I'm emotional like that.
Even though it's not common for guys to express their feelings, I'm one of the few that can't live with not letting a few emotions out every now and then. Even if those emotions stem from stupid heartbreak from stupid friends and not something important like... death.
Anyways, Ashraf has always been by my side, but not even he knows the truth about what happened all of them months ago. I haven't had the strength to tell him; it brings back too many memories.
The moral of the story is that Daniel is a dickhead. And he can fuck himself.
***
My next tutor session with Leona was in five minutes. I prayed she wasn't late, as per usual.
Surprisingly, Leona walks through the open door five minute after she was supposed to. "Right." She groans, slumping into her seat opposite mine. "Let's get this over with."
"That's not a very winning mentality, Alana." I say, opening my textbook onto the page we are currently on. "For this to work, you need to want it." I tell her, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Prick." She yawns, stewing her limbs. "I'm here because I'm shit at chemistry. I'm not here to learn about the right mentality to have when it comes to education. In case you haven't already noticed, I lack a lot of morality."
"I have noticed."
Leona glares at me. "Okay, Logan. Teach me your ways." I watch her eyes scan my knuckles, where my skin has peeled off and then my lips, where it was still bruised. "You owe me for being a pussy and not cleaning your own wounds."
"You offered, Alana." I state.
"Because I saw the fear behind those green eyes of yours."
"I wasn't scared." I defend myself, seeing as Leona seems adamant that I was fearful of Daniel, when I certainly wasn't.
"You sure?" She asks, and I slam my book closed; we weren't getting anywhere with it.
"Alana, you're like a distraction machine. Let's- you know what? Let me take you somewhere." I ask, standing up. Leona recoils back.
"Hell no." She shakes her head, crossing her arms across her chest.
I frown. "Why not?" I ask. "I thought two nights ago was a bonding experience."
"You thought wrong." Leona scowls, before leaning forward and opening my textbook to a random page. "Come on, I'd rather learn something then go somewhere with you."
I grin, walking to her side of the table. Pulling out her chair, I place my hands on both sides of her, leaning in. Leona shells herself, pressing her back to the chair.
"Alana. You don't have a choice." I say, my breath hitting the cheek of the blonde girl in front of me. "You're coming with me, and I'm going to make sure you have fun."
Leona sighs, dropping her gaze from my eyes. "For fucks sake, Preece." She mumbles. "Fine." Leona lifts her head. "Let's go have fun."
"Look at that. You learnt a new word." I smile, moving away from her.
"Haha." She fake laughs, standing up and grabbing her back, flinging it over her shoulder. "You're really not funny, Prick."
"And you're really no fun." I smile, following behind as she leaves the classroom. "Seriously, Alana, you should go out more."
"I'm always out. Just never with you."
"You're missing out."
"No- I don't think I am." She turns to looks at me, grinning, before she comes to a sudden stop. "Do you wanna have a race?"
"Down the corridor?"
Leona nods her head, eagerly. "There's nobody here. It's past four."
"Okay." I say, bracing myself and holding on tight to my bag. "Three... two- hey, that's cheating!" I yell, chasing after Leona as she sped down the quiet corridor. Her backpack bounced against her back, and I grinned whilst speeding up.
***
We both get out of my car outside of my favourite bookstore, and Leona crosses her arms over her chest before she walks by my side.
"Are you annoyed that you lost the race?" I ask her, but she doesn't answer. "Alana." I stop walking and watch as she just stares through the glass windows at where the books sit in pristine rows.
"Alana." I say again, more sternly and she finally looks at me.
"Yeah." She says quickly, her head snapping in my direction. She itches the back of her neck and drops her hands, wringing them together.
"Are you... okay?" I ask, cautiously.
"Oh, I'm totally fine." She says, rubbing her ear. "Coolio. Yep."
"Okay... well, let's go. You like books, right?"
Leona slowly nods her head and takes a step closer to me. Together, we walk into the bookstore, and Leona is instantly looking around. Her eyes scan the shelf after shelf of books, and her eyes brighten and her smile widens. She's looking at them with such love and adoration, that I can't comprehend that this is actually Leona Von Ackerman in front of me. It's like her whole face changed. It's crazy what the look of love can do to a person's experience.
It makes me wonder if she's ever looked at someone like that, and if so... who?
