But It's a Guy Shirt

Chapter 17: Paint Me Like Your French Girls

     I feel a tap on my shoulder and I roll my eyes before turning to the girl behind me. "Yes, Alicia?" I ask sweetly.

     "I already told you I'm Native American, right?" She questions, the lisp in her voice is now so much more defined since she got braces.

     "A thousand times, dear," I reply, turning back to my work. "A thousand fucking times."

     "Okay, class," the teacher calls out. "Once you've finished, please place it in the basket on your way out."

     I stand up, adjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder, and make my way out the class after placing my work in the basket.

     I rush through the halls, making my way to one of the many art rooms.

     "Guess what?" I say, placing my bag on the floor with my back facing Alex. "I just failed another fucking history quiz."

     I turn around, my eyes widening immediately. I stare at Alex in shock, as I realize his usual brown eyes have suddenly turned blue, and his face is less defined than before. He even has glasses.

     And in these few seven seconds, I come to the conclusion that this isn't Alex Davon.

     "Uh, sorry," I mumble in embarrassment. "I guess I'm in the wrong art room."

     A smile lights up his face, and I instantly calm down. "It's okay," he tells me. "So, you failed another history quiz?"

     I lower my head, my face heating up quickly. I can basically feel myself turning red. "Yep," I reply sheepishly.

     He sticks his hands in his pockets. "I'm Haden."

     "I'm Ivy."

     He walks over to me and sticks out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ivy."

     I let out a chuckle as I shake his hand. "Uh, I better go now. My friend is waiting for me."

     "See you later, then," he says, as I walk out of the room with my bag.

     After passing a few more rooms, I find Alex, sitting in front of his canvas. The sound of the door opening catches his attention. "There you are," he says, standing up from his seat.

     His brown messy locks just barely covered his light brown eyes, and he's wearing the same olive hoodie from the other day.

     "Hey," I tell him, as I set my bag on the floor. "I walked into the wrong room earlier."

     His face lights up in amusement. "Really? Did you walk in on someone?"

     "I met some cute guy named Haden," I say with a shrug, as I walk over to the back wall.

     "Cute?" He questions. "Since when do you think guys are cute?"

     "Shut up," I state, rolling my eyes. "Just paint me like your French girls, Picasso."

     He lets out a chuckle. "No problem, beautiful," he says with a wink.

     ~

     As Alex and I leave the room, a certain blue-eyed boy with glasses happens to pass by.

     "Hey, Haden," I say, as I stop in front of him.

     "Hey, Ivy," he says with a smile. His eyes land on Alex beside me. "So this is the friend you were talking about?"

     "Yep," I reply, as I struggle to stand on the tips of my toes so I can wrap my arm around Alex's neck. "This is my stalker, Alex."

     Alex lets out a laugh and wraps his arm around my waist. "Only on Wednesdays and and Fridays, though," he adds.

     Haden gives us a smile. "It was nice to meet you two. I'll see you around."

     He walks past us as we continue down the hallway; my arm still around his neck and his arms still around my waist. It doesn't really bother me like I expect it would. In fact, I feel comfortable like this.

     As our feet echoed through the empty halls, another sound was added to the silence: quiet sobs.

     I stop in my tracks and turn to look at Alex. His looks at me complete concern, and we immediately decide to investigate. We slowly continued until we turned a corner, and sitting beside the bathroom door was Kyla Brooks. She's one of the quiet girls in our grade, and I only have one class with her.

     "Kyla?" I ask the girl, as she struggles to quiet herself with her palm over her mouth. She looks up at us with tired eyes as tears steadily stream down her face.

     "Are you okay?" I try asking, as I kneel beside her.

She shakes her head in reply.

     The poor girl looks like a mess. I notice her continuously rubbing her arms as if she was uncomfortable, and she kept her knees close to her chest.

     "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask softly, as I rub her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

     She quickly shook her head again.

     "Kyla, dear," Alex says behind me, leaning against the wall. "We want to help, but we can't if you don't tell us."

     She finally looked up at the both of us. "C-can we go somewhere private?" She asks quietly.

     I nod my head and stand up, as she slowly does the same.

     "You kids okay?" One the janitors ask as they pass by, glancing at Kyla in concern.

     "We're fine, sir," Alex replies with a reassuring smile. The janitor nods his head and continues done the hall.

     Then the three of us head back to art room that Alex and I use. We grab a few seats and start asking questions.

     "So, are you okay?" I ask awkwardly, as I play with the strings of my black hoodie.

     She's avoiding eye contact again. "I don't know why you guys even care," she mumbles. "I barely talk to you two."

     I raise my eyebrows and let out a deep breath. "Honey, I just happen to feel like helping someone today. Can I not be a nice person?"

     I watch as she struggles to stop herself from crying again, still avoiding our eyes. "Trent... He touched me."

     It's quiet in the room as we process her words.

     "That fucking-"

     "When was this?" I ask, interrupting Alex.

     Kyla doesn't answer, as she quickly stands up. "I know you want to help and all, but it's okay," she says, grabbing her bag from the floor. She wipes a few tears left on her face. "I'll forget about it."

     "Kyla, you need to tell someone," Alex says.

     "No," she says immediately. "You cannot tell anyone about this."

     And with that, she left without another word, leaving me speechless. Then, Alex turns to me.

     "You good?" He asks.

     "Alex," I mumble. "I fucking hate school."

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A/N: hello 🌴
sorry I haven't updated in a while. IT'S FINALS WEEK 😭

I'm starting my exams tomorrow so wish me luck 🙏

Leave feedback if you can and I LOVE YOU ALL 💓

See you in the next chapter! ✨

-Holly Osgood ❤️

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