Crash (PTB Writing Challenge #1)

Chapter 5

****I got a picture of Jackson (Matt Lanter). He is a pretty fantastic match, although the eyes would be a little more green. ****

Chapter 5

Here I thought Ms. Leemon was saving me when she spoke up earlier. Now I was duty-bound to this handsome new kid because of her. And as I snuck a peek at him through my hair, I could see handsome may have been an understatement.

His right arm was stretched out on his desk angled toward me, and I noticed his forearm looked very well toned. It was pretty tan too; and I guessed he must be mixed with some kind of hispanic. His tan looked darker than a normal suntan, and he had light, shimmering hairs covering his arm. I had the urge to stroke it, which made my mind race and my face heat up again.

He cleared his throat. Oh no, did he see me? Did he know what was going through my head? I looked him in the eyes and he smiled. No, he didn't notice me staring at him.

"So, 'Amy who knows everything about everything'." Ugh. "Considering I have only been here for a day and didn't get the book, do you think we could share yours?"

My mind reeled at the question. Was he hitting on me? No, that's stupid he just wants to borrow my book. I thought about it, and I had already read ahead a few chapters, so I answered (as confidently as I could), "Sure. I already read this chapter though, so you can just borrow it."

I thrust my book at him a little less gently than I had intended, and it bumped into the side of his desk as I handed it over. I cursed myself for being so clumsy, but the low chuckle that came from Jackson didn't seem to be ridiculing me.

"Thanks," he said kindly, "you know you're pretty cute when you're embarrassed."

I was taken aback by his remark. He probably said that to every girl he met though, judging by the way he acted. In a streak of bravery I replied, "you know, you're pretty brazen for a new kid."

He raised his hands up in defense, "Oh ho ho, Amy-girl strikes back!" He laughed a wonderfully genuine laugh and gently elbowed me in the side. "You know," he murmured, "if you keep being such a chatterbox, we might get in trouble. I'm supposed to be reading. Not to mention you'll probably make those girls back there jealous."

He jerked his thumb towards the back of the class, where admittedly the girls were eyeing me a bit suspiciously. At this, I got frustrated. I never asked for Jackson's attention!

"I am doing nothing wrong!", I hissed, "If anything, you're the chatterbox."

"Alright, chill Amy-girl. I'll start reading this book you graciously lent me." At 'graciously', he bowed his head to me to exaggerate the phrase.

"My name's not Amy-girl," I mumbled before returning to my work.

****

Throughout the class I was jumpy and distracted. Electricity shot through me with every move he made. Anytime he moved close to me I could feel a warmth emanating from him and it was, dare I say it, intoxicating. He smelled good too. Nothing unique, probably some typical boy body spray, but it didn't help my attraction to him.

I noticed even my handwriting suffered a little bit. At least it was a short assignment and I finished quickly. Too bad this meant I had a big gap in my time that Jackson inadvertently kept filling.

He was just so different. He oozed a relaxed confidence in everything he did, from the slouched posture in his chair to the way he put everything he had into his laughs. He also seemed to have a habit of saying whatever came to his mind, which was endearing considering how so many people were fake.

It hurt my pride a little to admit, since I was being a typical girl obsessing over a guy, but I was so curious about him.

The researcher in me wanted to know more. Was he smart? Athletic? He did look pretty strong, but that didn't mean he was a jock. Was he one of those guys that barely ever remembered to bring even a pencil to school?