Love Beyond Seats

~Chapter 12: Pairs- Jayson's POV~

Our semestral break has ended, so we're returning to school. Kathy and I went to Tublay National High School together, and there I immediately saw Luke talking to Vincent near the waiting area. He was smiling, but when he saw me, they quickly left.

"I also saw it, Jay," Kathy said right away.

"I know," I replied.

When I entered the classroom, I noticed that Luke hadn't arrived yet, so he might still be outside. I took out my new notebooks because our subjects had changed for the second semester. I also noticed that Nathalie was almost late coming in. After our previous argument, she sometimes entered the classroom at the same time as Luke. I didn't want to think that something was going on between them.

"You're late again," I told Nathalie.

"So what?"

This girl had no manners. I glanced at Luke and caught him looking at me. Quickly, I turned my gaze forward, and there was our adviser.

Today, we spent most of the time discussing new lessons. It had been like this the whole week just discussions. Luke still didn't acknowledge me when I approached him. He always distanced himself from me, as if I were some creature about to devour him whole.

I tried messaging him on Messenger, but he never read my messages. Even though he was online all day, he'd only "seen" them hours later, without replying.

It was Friday, and our dismissal was early. I noticed that Luke was alone, so I approached him.

"Luke."

"Ja-Jayson?"

"Can I ask you something? Are you avoiding me?"

"Hi-It's not like that. I've just be-been preoccupied," he replied.

But I sensed from his tone that he was forcing himself to talk to me.

We hadn't spoken or chatted for almost three weeks. I knew he was aware of my feelings for him. I couldn't explain why I liked him or why my eyes always sought him out. Whenever I saw him, my heart raced. I felt a hint of jealousy when someone made him laugh, but I wanted me to be the reason behind that smile.

Sometimes, I caught him looking at me, but I didn't want to believe he felt the same way. It was clear he had no interest in me. Even on my birthday month, we didn't talk or message each other.

"Jay, it's almost your birthday! What do you want?" Kathy asked while we were in the school canteen.

"It's still far away," I replied.

"What?! Isn't it on June 19?"

I noticed Vincent and his friends talking nearby. Luke was with them, too. Once again, I caught him looking at me, so I told Kathy we should leave.

"Luke!" Kathy shouted.

"Hey, Kathy!"

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Don't mind us," I said.

We left the canteen, and Kathy told me,

"You don't want to talk? I'm finding a way for you two to communicate."

"It's embarrassing because he's always with his friends."

*****

Weeks passed, and Luke and I hardly spoke to each other. He no longer read my chats. During our class with a teacher, she assigned a performance task for pairs.

"This performance task should be done by pairs. Don't stand up, I'll find your partner," she said.

I excused myself to go to the restroom. When I returned, everyone had a partner except me.

"Ma'am, who's my partner?"

"Luke," she replied.

Luke! Why him?! I immediately looked at him and approached, telling him that we would be partners.

"I-I know," he replied.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"T-The teacher hasn't said any-anything yet."

I asked our teacher what we needed to do, and she explained,

"This task is for you to get to know your partner better. You and your partner should learn more about each other, and then create a vlog to showcase what you've discovered on each other something like that. Can you handle it?"

Many students protested because they didn't like their assigned partners. Except for Nathalie's partner since her partner is a boy that's why, while everyone else resisted. But when it comes to Luke and me, I didn't know how to feel. I felt awkward, wondering what he thought of me.

"Why is it like this, Ma'am? Can we have different partners?" one of my classmates asked.

"No, because you all know that we only have one month left before the school year ends. This is your chance to learn more about your classmates. By the way, this performance task is worth 100 points, so don't waste it. Work on it when you have free time," our teacher replied.

I asked Luke if he had any plans for our performance task, but he didn't answer. It was clear he was deep in thought. I also noticed his trembling hands, as if he were nervous.

"Luke, are you okay?"

"Luke!"

"S-Sorry," he stammered.

His expression returned to normal, and he stopped trembling.

"How should we start?" I asked.

"H-Honestly, I don't kn-know," he replied.

It became even more awkward, and we barely spoke until the bell rang.

"Let's discuss it next time," I said.

He agreed and left the classroom, while I returned to my seat.

"Who's your partner, Nathalie?"

"Did I give you permission to ask?" she retorted.

"Just curious," I said.

At dismissal, I hurried to Kathy's classroom to tell her what happened. But I found her talking to Vincent. So, I waited for her outside the school campus.

A few minutes later, Kathy arrived, and I asked her what she and Vincent had discussed.

"Not here, let's talk at your house," she said.

At my house, Kathy revealed their conversation,

"Luke is aware that you like him, which is why he acts that way towards you. I also found out that he's avoiding you because he's embarrassed."

"What do you mean, embarrassed?"

"According to Vincent, Luke is shy around you because he doesn't know how you'll react. He's afraid that speaking up might lead to conflict between you."

"He'll talk about what?"

"Your feelings. Vincent thinks that if Luke expresses his feelings, there's a chance you might become enemies."

I shared with Kathy that Luke and I had a brief conversation earlier, and we were paired for a performance task. Kathy teased me, saying fate was bringing us closer. I laughed, thinking it might just be a coincidence.

I tried chatting with Luke again about our performance task, and this time, he immediately read and replied to my message.

"When should we start?" he asked.

"Whenever you're ready," I replied.

Kathy saw our chat and teased me again, saying, "Look, he's replying to you! Hahaha."

I asked Kathy for suggestions on our performance task and whether she could help.

"I don't know yet, but it would be great if you both felt comfortable and started your vlog to get to know each other better," she suggested.

"Yeah, but how? We only have a few weeks left, and we'll have exams for the second semester," I replied.

"Actually yeah, why does time fly by so quickly? But there's still time for the two of you."

I don't know where to start our conversation so that both of us will be comfortable.