I flung open the big doors and rushed in to take my seat in the front row. My friend, Anna had taken her seat already.
"Morning Anna." I said happily as I set my belongings onto the varnished table. Her ginger hair flipped around as her neck twisted to look at me.
"Jesus Col, you scared me. Mornin'." Anna sighed as she clutched her chest dramatically. I giggled and took my seat next to her, waiting for the lecture to start.
The hall filled up with loud students and a old professor walked in to settle us down.
"Morning ladies and gents. A guest has arrived this morning for your lecture today, so please keep your manners and keep quiet, thank you." The professor said sternly. His face was red like a lobster and the buttons on his polo looked like they were about to pop.
My thoughts were interrupted by the prominent sound of the hall doors being slammed shut and the murmur of students began to full my ears. I turned to glance at what the commotion was, only to find James strutting down the middle of the hall, a book in his hand and the other running through his brown curls. His icy eyes were piercing through mine as we made eye contact, suddenly recognizing one another.
"Oh my gosh, girl! Isn't he so hot?" Anna practically screeched at me.
He was indeed the type of man you'd see on the cover of vogue but all I could think about in that moment was thinking that he looks too old to be in the second year of college.
Instead of taking a seat though, he proceeded to grab a stool, set his book on it, then turn to us with an irresistible smile.
"I don't think you're gonna be concentrating during his lecture." Anna laughed and nudged me on my shoulder
"Pfft. You think 'he' can distract me?" I replied, a little fed up because somewhere in my mind, I knew Anna was stating the truth.
"Good morning everybody. You're all looking bright and fresh this morning." James began to smile confidently, seeing that he had everybody's attention.
"My name is James Paris and I'm going to be giving you a lecture on muses and references. Please take out your note books and write down the following.." James continued for a long time about the importance and meaning of references and muses. Even though I was listening and watching what he was doing, my mind was still a million miles away.
Everything about him was just distracting. His deep voice, he bright smile, his beautiful blue eyes, just everything.
My mind wasn't even focused on his lecture anymore but the moment I looked up after zoning back in, i realized James wasn't wearing clothes. He was in black boxers sitting on top of the stool, one arm suppporting him, the other gripping his hair and his one leg was bent up. His clothes were lying crumpled on the floor and he was clearly not embarrassed. His body was still, but his lips kept moving as his lecture continued.
"A muse is someone or something that you can take inspiration from, right?" He asked us and everyone nodded yes.
"So now ,I'm going to be your muse for the next half an hour, and I want you to sketch a simple design of me, write your name on it and put it on that desk in the back on your way out. Get working." He instructed us sternly.
Half an hour passed and he stood up, slid on his pants, threw his shirt and jacket on and cleared his throat loudly, catching our attention.
"Time is up everyone. I hope you enjoyed today's lecture and I hope to lecture here again." James said happily, winking at everyone before he left the hall.
Almost immediately, the hall burst into chatter, obsessed girls and jealous boys all sharing their opinion about James. I stood up at looked at what I had drawn.
"Fuck. He looks ethereal." I heard Anna comment as she looked over at my drawing.
"Thanks, I'm going to hand it in, I'll catch you sometime." I said to Anna, taking my book and drawing before leaving to go back to my dorm.
My boots echoed up the stairs and were soon doubled. I turned around and saw James walking behind me.
"Hey. I didn't know that you were a lecturer." I laughed as I waited for him to catch up.
"Yeah ,part time model" He replied and we continued walking.
"So tell me about yourself." I said as we made our way to the dorm.
"I'm not in the mood to talk, I'm tired." James replied coldly as I unlocked the door.
James and I headed in and took a seat next to eachother on the couch. James' eyes wandered between me and the room around us as we both went into silence after realizing that Leila wasn't here.
"Collie, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" James asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
"Australia. I'm assuming you're from England since Leila is." I stated. James nodded as his eyes locked with mine.
The air around us seemed to go still. I could almost hear my heart thumping. His icy eyes seemed to pierce through mine and for a moment, I felt small under his gaze. The freckles under his eyes looked like a faded galaxy of stars.
"Quit looking at me."James mumbled and I immediately looked away, feeling embarrassed. I could feel my cheeks burning and still feel his eyes on me, even though when I looked back, his eyes were on his phone.
At that moment, the door swung open and Leila emerged with a tray of coffee in her hands.
"Hey hey, I bought you guys black coffee." Leila beams as she rushed towards us and hands us our coffee.
"Oh! Thanks lil sis." James smiled.
"Y-yeah, thanks Leila." I said as I took a sip.
"Only a pleasure!" She replied and playfully courtesied.
Evening rolled around and I was growing bored and hungry. James and I had been sitting on the couch the whole day but eventually, he fell asleep. Leila was showering, so I couldn't go talk to her. I wanted to get up and go to the store for some candy but if I did, I would wake up James.
My boredom chewed a hole in my arse and eventually I got up. As I did, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. Startled, I gasped and turned to see James, eyes still closed, hair messy and his hand wrapped around my wrist.
"Where you off to?" James mumbled to me.
"I'm going to the store James." I said, annoyance laced in my words. That annoyance faded quickly when his eyes fluttered open. He squinted his eyes, trying to recognize me and as he did he immediately let go and sat up, fixing his hair.
"Shit, sorry Collie, I was still dreaming and... I don't know what happened, I'm sorry." James apologized and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling guilty.
"It's ok ,don't worry. You just startled me ,that's all." I reassured.
"What did you say just now? I didn't really hear you." James chuckled awkwardly.
"I'm just gonna run to the store, I was getting hungry." I replied as I turned to leave.
"Wait! Can I come with you? I havent been to this part of England yet." James asked suddenly, standing up and fixing his clothes. His sudden change in attitude was surprising but I didn't mind.
"Sure ,why not? Let's go." I laughed as we both walked out of the apartment.
