My Perfect Problem

Chapter 5

She' has a good heart, and that's all I could ever ask for.

So there I was, walking through the halls and wondering what a night I had. 'What a nice school Starwood High is', I told myself. I knew I couldn't get the voices out, but here I was trying.

Confused yet? Whatever your answer is, good.

Last night, after a very awkward moment of sitting in my best friend's bed with several pairs of eyes on me, Justin decided it was too much awkwardness to go around healthily. By the time we were out of Theo's house, I noticed the new guy, which I never got the name of, was gone. I tried my best to hide my disappointment, not knowing why it was there in the first place.

Though I was sure someone noticed, or maybe it was just a sense or something just as ridiculous and nonsensical.

Anyways, Justin made sure to check in on me and not leave me room until I was asleep. It was times like this I was thankful to have a toilet in my room. He refused to leave my closet for me to change and it took me a long time to convince him that even though he was my brother, he was not allowed to come in the toilet and see me naked.

I fell asleep early anyways. I was exhausted from the day's events. But then, I woke up still before the morning light.

Justin's room is across from mine and no matter what, he never – I mean even-if-there-was-an-apocalypse-I-would-never-ever-do-it kind of never – closes his door, I could clearly hear his discussion with Mum and Dad. They brought up stuff I never want to remember and threw in stuff I would never believe.

Also, I had nightmares. But nothing new there. Moving on.

I spent the rest on my morning by my bay window, either dazing off or thinking about life. Or possibly both. My alarm rang at 7.00 am and I rushed into bed, pretending I just woke up. Shortly after, my family came in with the uneasiness they tried to hide etched across their faces. I didn't even have any questions. I was clear they didn't even get an inch of sleep. I swear they are vampires sometimes.

I showered got dressed and skipped breakfast. Perks of having a secret fridge in your closet. Theo picked me up and we had a silent drive to school. I was actually thankful to be left alone. In the car. Now though, he has left me to walk the halls of hell alone. I don't know if it was on purpose of he simply misread me. Either way, I'm not happy with his decision.

So here I am, walking as though the floor is lava – which it is this place is hell, but good hell – towards my locker, a surprise waiting patiently for me at my locker. Just kidding. Nothing interesting really happens in my life. Only tragic things.

I opened my locker and saw a note drifting down, down, down. I opened it. What was written in it made me panic. Who wrote it made my run.

S.O.S

GLS

~.~.~.~.~.~

"it was so scary, Ash! I thought I was going to die! He had a knife and a bloody bloody knife!" her shouts were muffled by my shoulder. I rubbed her back soothingly, letting her know she was free to continue crying.

"I-I didn't know what to do. I closed my eyes, I knew it was a dream bu-but it didn't work. I-I started doubting it was even a dream. He was still there, in my face, to taunt me. I-I couldn't handle i-it!"

"Gracie, honey, it was just a dream. I know it was a horrible nightmare and I personally wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy, but it's a dream, Gracie. And it's over," I cooed.

It wasn't as effective as I wanted it to be as she carried on about how someone wants her dead. With her head buried in my shoulder and her tears soaking my sleeve, I slowly, sneakily, walked to the counsellor's room, towing her along.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

We waited for her to finish crying before asking questions. Thankfully, she willingly obliged.

I'm going to skip ahead since it's confidential. I mean, honestly, she just asked if Gracie has had this before and if she has been feeling well, blah blah blah.

Anyways, we were given excuse sheets and decided to put it to good use. We headed to the library after I got her to feel better with a few inappropriate jokes and recent memes. Typical, I know.

We enter the nearly deserted library, except for the few students doing their teachers' work or their projects. I thought this would be a peaceful place to talk about anything. With new things hung up on the walls of the library, there are so many more things to talk about than our pathetic life problems.

We all know that Gracie lied to that counsellor when she said this was the first time experiencing nightmares. I personally know that she most likely bottled this up for probably months and finally broke. I won't be one to judge, though.

Having a college student work as a part time librarian had its advantages. For example, everyday, new memes and poster with trailers or relatable facts will be put up each day. And this observant librarian will then see if people like it. If they do, it stays for a while. If not, you will surely see another frame hung up the next day.

In fact, a specific one had just caught my attention. It wasn't the usual meme or fact. It was actually a welcoming picture. For the new kid. Zay Mitchell. It states where he came from, school and all, and a quote from him.

Gracie read it out. "I've found a liking to this place even if it's my first day. Nobody was too nosey and I have made a great friend....yes, there's a girl I have my eyes on. And we will meet soon," dumbfounded, she turns to me. "They give interviews?" I shrug.

"Nah, he came to the library and we got to know each other. I asked if he would be comfortable with a little Q&A and he agreed so...oof!" I had elbowed our librarian in the stomach, surprised that he was standing behind us. I quickly got up as he crouched onto the floor. I kinda hit his spot. Yeah, the boy spot.

If I remember correctly, his name was Sebastian. I used to have a crush on him considering how hot he looks. He wore circular glasses but kept changing it. I lost count of how many he actually has but it's definitely more than 12. His hair was a hot shade of dirty blonde and he had dimples. His brown eyes always had me captivated and he was the literal definition of nerdy hot.

And he was looking at me. In the eyes. Lord, help me. Wait, it's hell. I chuckled at the voices in my head and offered a hand to help him up. He took it but got up himself anyways. He dusts himself off and looks up at me. How is he so cute?

Gracie seems to have left which I noticed when I peeled my eyes off him and looked around. "And then there was two," I commented. He chuckled and looked at me. He was only slightly taller than me but still I had to tilt my head up from how close we are. So I took a step back. You know what happens next.

I tripped on a non-existent object and went flying. But someone caught me. Myself. I (surprisingly) did an awesome backflip and landed on my own two feet. I froze, shocked as to what just happened. I looked at Sebastian to see his reaction but I couldn't see it. He was half bended down and his hand was under him, like he was going to catch someone, like he was greeting a princess.

I heard him mumble. "Just do it already, Sebs," he looked up. At first I thought he was going to leave with a polite excuse to recover from a heart attack and the pain in his crotch. Instead, he held out a hand, the other scratching his neck. "Will you go on a date with me?"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The picture at the top is Sebastian and honestly I couldn't find anyone else on such short notice. As a matter of fact, this chapter didn't go the way I panned for it to. I didn't plan for him to even be in this story. He was originally Ashlynn's big time crush but I decided it wouldn't be to real and more of cliche by then. So I took him out. And today I need a character and he came to mind. Honestly, the rest of my chapters were carefully planned and written out before it was typed. So here's a glimpse of what it's like without the planning. Tell me what you think in the comments below. Adios!

Maltamor