SUB ROSA || LOOKISM [ON HOLD]

CHAPTER 5

"Breathe, [F/N]...breathe."

It was after school and you were seated by your desk with a heavy look on your face while Daniel was next to you, giving as much support as he could.

You had confessed to Daniel about your rather large crush on Vasco and he was shocked but now, the truth had settled in and he had decided to be with you while you met up with Vasco.

"Are you ready to go?"

"No."

Your honestly had him smiling and he offered a hand to help you stand up which you were very thankful for because you felt as if your legs had become jelly.

The two of you made your way to the architecture department with Daniel making you do breathing exercises to help you remain calm but as soon as you took notice of Vasco, you were ready to run away.

"You can't give up now, [F/N]." Daniel said as he held onto your arm, using his strength to easily hold you in place.

You were practically dragged towards Vasco but before the two of you could reach him, you were suddenly blocked by Jace who stared at Daniel with a small frown.

"Only she can go ahead. Vasco wants to talk to her alone."

Daniel wanted to protest but you stopped him, covering up your nerves by placing a confident mask over it.

"That's fine."

You moved away from Daniel who watched with a hint of worry as you walked up to Vasco on your own.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

Vasco's eyes landed on your shorter form and he took in the way you were gazing up at him with those intense set of eyes you had.

"I heard you stopped the boys from ganging up on him." He nodded towards Daniel making you glance back to confirm.

"I did." You said, keeping your answer short because if you spoke any longer, you knew you would say something to make a fool of yourself.

A long silence followed after and you almost broke under a sweat as the atmosphere began to feel awkward for you.

"Thank you."

Vasco wasn't one to express himself well in front of others he was not familiar with but his words held sincerity and a shade of red bloomed upon your cheeks, giving you a light blush.

"I-It's nothing." You waved your hands in front of you to dismiss his gratitude and he looked down at you with a small smile painting his lips.

His smile almost gave you a mini heart attack and you barely managed to hold yourself together, nearly falling  on the ground and clutching your weak heart.

"The way you talked to my friends was like you already knew me. Well...that's what Jace told me." Vasco mentioned.

Your expression didn't change to give him any sort of clue on how you felt after he spoke up Jace's opinion but internally, your mind was racing with a million thoughts per second as you tried to find an excuse.

You couldn't just go out and tell him how you felt about him. Not only was this the first time you spoke to each other but, it had only been until recent that he had even known you existed.

"I-I..."

"I?" Vasco repeated as he leaned forward to hear your answer.

"I'm a fan!"

You made a look of horror as you blurted out the worst possible excuse while Vasco froze in place.

Daniel and Jace heard your very loud confession and their jaw's dropped for reasons that were completely different to the other.