Living On Marshall Street-ON HOLD

Chapter 15: Not A Game

Channing POV

She said 'yes' to me not him. I won. End of story. The End. 

Now as I make my way to her classroom to pick her up for lunch I am seriously beaming. I'm going to do it today. I was finally going to ask her out. If she rejected me I would be extremely pissed, but I wouldn't tell Austin. He doesn't really need to know. I won and she is with me as far as he is concerned. 

When I get to her classroom I see her talking to one of her friends, Blake I think her name is. She quickly spots me and starts walking towards me, both of us closing the distance in three big steps. She is still smiling from the moment she had with Blake, and I am starting to get curious as to what was so funny, but I wasn't going to comment on it. 

"So what's the name of the play we are script prompting?" She breaks the silence first. 

"I think it's Footloose" I reply. If I am being honest. I haven't even looked at the script. I've been so focused on other things like her, school, and well her. The funny part about all this is that she doesn't seem to notice how infactuated I am with her or Austin and he is making it pretty obvious. Last I spoke to him he rejected the idea of liking her, claiming she was too 'nerdy' and 'not pretty enough' or something like that. By the looks of it today though, his face was showing the complete opposite. It was his eager, hopeful face that drove me to finally make the decision of asking her out, if not I honestly don't know when I would have done it. Probably soon, but I'll never know. 

We arrive five minutes before the rehearsal for the play starts and Jez and I sit in the front row right smack in the center. She is reading over the script briefly while I am just looking at her. She is so engrossed in the script that it makes me want to step into her head and hear her thoughts. I am feeling like Edward from Twilight and I am finding this very creepy so I am going to push it from my head. There, okay so back to her, her lips are pursed the way she does when she is concentrating on an intricate math problem or trying to decipher a history explanation. 

"All actors backstage and ready for the rehearsal in 3 minutes!" yells the drama director. The president of the drama club approaches us, looking very manly with the cover up the make up artists made him wear for his 'fight' scene. He gives us a summary of the story that will be performed shortly and gives us instructions as to what we need to do and who to ask for help. Jez and I give him a quick nod as the lights start to dim and the curtains start to open. Jezebel is looking at the stage like a child would look at Cinderella's castle for the first time: in complete awe. I cant't help but notice how the spotlight that reflects off the stage lights up her eyes giving them a green hue. Her hair was in a messy bun, and strands had fallen and we now framing her face in a beautiful way. Overall she looked flawless.

I had been staring at her so long that I hadn't even noticed that we were almost towards the end of the play and my script had been left completely unopened. I didn't care though, I didn't regret it. I hesitantly took her hand in mine, waiting for the rejection to come, but when it didn't it gave me the confidence to lean in towards her and whisper in her ear, "Go out with me tonight," the coldness of my breath made her shiver. She blushes a little bit, which I find is one of the most adorable things in the world, and watch as she nods twice and gives my hand a squeeze. 

Now I could officially claim my win. I am victorious. Sorry Austin.

Austin POV

I don't know if it was pity for myself or hope that brought me to the library later that day. I must look pathetic to everyone, there I am sitting in the back of the room in a table set specifically for two people, staring at the door, waiting for someone who I know isn't going to show up. And I guess I was desperate too because I stayed there until the bell signaled that lunch had ended. Part me I guess thought that if I left the room before time was up, I would be betraying her, showing her the exact reason for why she should choose Channing instead of me.