Forever

Chapter Three

This day was different than other days. Dana was never eager about going to English in the past even though she knew she was promised a seat next to Chandler. She figured it was just like yesterday when she stole a glance and then continued to focus on any assigned task. This time, it was more than that because this time she knew Chandler knew her. She was no longer accepting her invisibility. She was now on the verge of exploding at the thought of having another conversation with him. With a smile sprawled across her face and her feet skipping beneath her, she rushed to Mrs. Garcia's class. The moment she broke through the door, she landed eyes on Chandler who appeared to look directly at her. She raised her hand to give him a wave, but when he didn't wave back, she took a closer look at those brown almond-shaped eyes and came back to reality. He was never looking at her, instead, looked right past her.

She swallowed her joy and lowered her head while taking quick steps to her desk. In one quick motion, she slid into her seat and briefly glanced at him. He looked back and forth from his journal to the chalkboard while jotting down what he could. Dana didn't think she'd get past the embarrassment. How she stood in front of the classroom and made a clown of herself. She let her hair drape down to cover the humiliation and frustration. She even muttered cruel words to herself before sitting up straight and tucking her hair behind her ears. A huff of breath went into the air and she slowly but eventually recovered.

Class would start in under a few minutes leaving time for Dana to return to the girl she was before the library yesterday. She eventually realized just what was occurring at the moment. Chandler asked her for a favor and that was it. There was no building a friendship and surely no acknowledgment of the discussion. Even though she had endless texts from him discussing the plans along with a goodnight and a smiley face. She realized that was all she would be. Someone to text when he's bored.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor caused everyone to look toward the entrance. In that moment Dana wished she could claw her eyes out and toss them through the window. The average-height girl with long slender legs stepped into view. Her presence illuminated the space, golden blonde hair that waved down her back, a blazer covering her blouse, and a flowy skirt to top it off. She was dressed nothing like the girl she saw yesterday but Dana knew those two people were the same. Her bright pink smile caused Chandler to smirk right back as she stopped right in front of his desk. Dana was sure she was the only one desperate enough to watch the entire interaction play out.

"Am I interrupting something important?" She said in a low and husky voice. Chandler chuckled before denying that anything was going on. "You left your phone in my car." She plucked his phone right out of the corner pocket of her blazer and placed it on his desk. "Intentionally?"

"No way," he responded while tucking his phone in his front pocket. Slouched back in his seat, they both began to have a smug stare-off as if someone was withholding information and they were trying to see who would crack. Dana watched the entire thing with wide eyes and anticipation. "Class is about to start, Rachel. If you're going to get to class wearing that then I'd get a head start if I were you."

She smirked and stood up a bit straighter to add to her exit. The moment she left the front of his desk, he replaced her hands with his elbows and leaned forward. The second the conversation ended, Dana turned her attention to the front of the class where Mrs. Garcia took her place behind her desk. Something began to poke at her outer arm in the direction of Chandler. She turned towards him cautiously to be face-to-face with her backpack buddy.

"How did you-"

"It fell off your bag the other day. I was headed towards the other side of the school when I found it next to the seating area. I knew it was yours because I saw it on there a couple times before. Then this morning it ceased to exist." She took her plush bunny from his hand and played with it for a bit. "You like bunnies?"

Nervously trying not to come off as a big child, she had a million lies pop up in her head but none of them were good enough to convince him. "My childhood best friend was a bunny my parents got me for my birthday. It was the last gift..." She sucked up the pitty for herself and clipped her bunny back on her bag. "Thank you for grabbing this for me."

"Anytime." He looked her up and down with parted lips then faced the front of the class.

Dana proceeded to sit in English class with eyes fixed intently on the teacher, her gaze never wavering as she absorbed every word. Her lips were pressed together in a gentle, contemplative line as if she was savoring the nuances of the lesson.

Her hands are clasped together in her lap, her fingers intertwined in a delicate knot, as she leans forward slightly, her shoulders relaxed and open. Her notes are scattered across her desk, filled with neat and thoughtful annotations, a note-taking technique she used frequently when assignments were being given.

As the teacher discussed the finer points of literature, Dana's eyes stole glances Chandler's way, her face radiating a quiet enthusiasm. She's completely absorbed in the world of words and the side profile of the guy she never thought she'd speak a word to. Her mind whirled with connections and questions.

In this moment, Dana is a mix of focused attention and imagination, a true scholar in the making, with a hint of obsession. Her love of language and Chandler's brown eyes shines like a beacon, illuminating the room with a whirlwind of emotions.

"Five o'clock?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. Dana closed her mouth when she realized she was staring directly at him when she was caught daydreaming and partially listening to the lesson. "Like we planned."

Her throat slowly closed as she tried to speak a simple answer. Dryness took over her lungs and thuds pounded against her ears. "Oh... yes!" She took one look around her and saw that everyone gathered their things to head out. Chandler started doing the same. "Can you just double check to make sure you sent the right address? I'm... meticulous like that."

He chuckled. "Okay, I'll send it again."

Chandler walked out the door and met up with his group of friends who were waiting for him in the hall. That was the last time Dana would see Chandler until the agreed-upon time. That meant she only had thirty minutes from the last bell to get to Chandler's front door. No time to rehearse her greetings or even make sure her breath was up to par.