Fascination

Close Call

I got home and changed into some grey shorts, a plain black loose shirt and I slipped on some vans. I got in my car and I drove to my usual study spot. I climbed out and walked over to the ledge of the dock that no one ever walked on and opened my biology book.

as soon as I opened it a note fell out.
I grabbed it just as the wind almost brought it into the river. the envelope was blue and it had the words "Jo burton" written in handwriting I had never seen before. I ripped it open and began to read.

"hello it's shawn, I totally know what you're thinking and im so sorry to be annoying but I really need to play hockey this summer its very important to me. I would do anything if you would just help me for one night. today ? my place? please call me (123)546-9290"

I texted shawn that I would be over in a little and all he respond with was a smiley face. I didn't know what he was thinking but I was expecting to.

At 6:30 I arrived at his house, i slowly got out of my car and walked up his steps. I knocked on the door and immediately after shawn answered. "thank you so much for coming it means so much to me"

he looked perfect. he was dressed in a white tank top and big black sweat pants, his hair was very messy and it sounded like he just got up from a nap. after scanning his appearance for a minute I realized I still hadn't walked in his house yet. "yeah, it's okay, I guess" I replied walking into his house trying not make eye contact.

"no one is home but me, I hope that's okay" he chuckled while directing me down into his basement. He walked to the table in the back of the room and sat down, patting the seat next to him telling me I should sit too. "so what do you need help with?" I quietly asked as he started at his notes.

he moved closer to me, tapping his pencil and biting his lip. "I don't really understand all of this, do you think you could read it out loud" he circled a section in his history book telling me where he was confused. "Shawn don't you think you can read it on your own?" I asked trying to sound as nice as possible.

" yes but maybe if I hear it, I will understand it better" I nodded and began reading. his eyes were locked on me as he stared at me with deep concentration. his facial expressions made me nervous and I quickly finished the paragraph. he moved his seat even closer then it was before and looked into my eyes. he was inches away from me and I could feel his breath on my face. he smiled causing my cheeks to turn red

" I think I get it now, thank you so much."

"uh I need to go to the bathroom" I stuttered. he pointed at a door down the hallway and I quietly walked to it.

There were a lot of pictures on the wall of shawn that surprised me. In almost all of them he was holding a guitar and smiling. I had never seen him smile that big at school and I didn't even know he enjoyed music. In only one of the pictures on the wall was he playing hockey and he appeared to be 11 in the picture. I didn't question it too much but I couldn't say I wasn't curious.

I walked back to the table to find shawn had got him self a whole plate of strawberries. "Shawn.." i laughed "we just started" he smiled and brought the plate of strawberries into the middle of us. he took the biggest strawberry out and took a bite. "no, no I have a study game" he smiled while still chewing.

"Everytime I get one right you can feed me a strawberry" he laughed. I look at him trying to see if he was actually joking.

"Shawn what, I'm not feeding you strawberries" he looked at me and started frown. he pushed his chair closer to mine and flipped his book to the next page. he turned onto the page with review questions and then brought his eyes to my hands. he grabbed a strawberry and placed it in my palm. "please Jo, it will be fun, studying gets too boring"

I finally agreed and we began to review. he was actually way more intelligent then he pretended he was. Before I knew he had finished all the strawberries and we were closer than we had been all night. he took a deep breath and an aroma of strawberries filled my nose. " I think I'm going to pass this test" he smiled.

his smile was just inches away from my face and I felt my palms begin to sweat.
"you did good" I smiled. he inched his face closer to mine and grabbed the eyelash from the side of my face. he brought his index finger to the front of my mouth. "blow this and make a wish" he whispered.

I laughed and licked my lips, closed my eyes, and made my wish. when I opened my eyes shawn had moved his hands to my hips and he was less than a centimeter from my lips. I was paralyzed with fascination until I realized what I was doing. I pushed my chair back and gathered my things.

"wait Jo please don't go" he cried.
"shawn .. I need to" I quietly walked over to the corner of the table and grabbed my shoes. I picked my bag up and walked up the stairs without saying another word. he followed me up the stairs closing the door in front of me with his hand.

"why are you leaving so fast, im sorry" I began to speak but was interrupted by the sound of his phone from his pocket. "wait one second please" he mouthed as he answered his telephone. As soon as he answered I heard screaming through the phone.

After listening for a minute I realized it was Angela. she was screaming about how he missed their plans at the coffee shop tonight. For a minute I couldn't make out anything that she was saying until I finally made out one word. "Jo"

My eyes widened at the fact that someone like her would every bring me up. he looked at me trying to pretend that I wasn't just mentioned.

Then he turned the other way starting to speak, I ran outside and hurried to my car before he could stop me. I put my keys in the ignition wiped my palms on my thighs and drove off.

I took his note out of my purse and put it in my pocket. I turned the radio up and put my playlist on. A long way down by Tom Odell began to play as I pulled up at my house and parked my car.

I took my keys out and walked to the mailbox. I opened it and found a piece of mail with my name on it. the letter I had been waiting for had came. a huge smile arose on my face and I ran inside to tell my dad the news.