Afraid

Ch. 3 - Fuck off. Please and Thank you.

Please let me know what you think AND VOTE. Thanks for reading!

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Violet

I turn around, "Phoenix? What are you doing here?" I scramble to pick up the fallen textbooks. My eyes glancing behind him, taking in the empty hallway.

"Oh, uh, bathroom. I have world history right now with Duncan", He gestures towards the direction of Duncan's class as he rushes over to assist me, picking up the tote bag and the three remaining textbooks in one fell swoop, leaving me with only my backpack to carry. This time, I make sure to grab my schedule from the small pocket first.

I reach for the rest of the books in Phoenix's hold expecting him to hand them over but instead, he insists on carrying them. "Oh, ok. Thanks," I mumble, caught off guard, "You really don't have to. I can figure it out", I try to reason, not really great at accepting help, especially from unfamiliar men.

He shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips, "It's no problem. Let me help".

I look at him for a second longer, entirely stumped. My hands unconsciously playing with my headphone wires, pulling and twisting, nervously. "Ok,..fine", I give in, and start walking down the hall, scanning the walls of lockers, looking for either El's or mine, which ever appears first. I just need to get rid of these heavy ass textbooks already.

"So where are we headed?" Phoenix asks, breaking my anxious thoughts. I quickly shove my headphones into my jacket pocket in an attempt to stop my incessant nervous habit and instead, cross my arms, hugging my chest protectively.

"To find my locker," I unfold my schedule, briefly showing him, "and Eleanor's. I need to drop these off", I explain, gesturing to the textbooks he's holding.

"Oh! You were able to pick them up during class?" He asks, adjusting his hold on the books.

"No, I have a free period right now so thought I might as well get it over with." I shrug, adjusting the straps of my backpack. The weight of the books becoming increasingly more apparent.

"Damn, lucky. I've got no chance of a free period for at least another year", He muses, glancing at me.

My brows furrow as I quickly do the math in my head. "Wait, so you're a junior?", I ask, confused. I totally thought he and Sebastián were the same age. I mean, how else did he get a senior locker placement?

"Yeah", he responds, confused, as if I should've already known this. His bright blue eyes piercing through his clear framed glasses. Should I have? I rack my brain to this morning but come up short. Maybe there was a mention of it? I was clearly not paying attention.

But now, looking at him, I can see the youthful resemblance he has to his brother. His feature's softer, less angular than Sebastián's but fairly identical. And of course, there's the difference in eye color. While Sebastián's are the color of a silver storm, Phoenix's are more blue, darkened with some grey around the iris. I've never seen eyes quite like theirs. It's all, kind of, mesmerizing to look at and a small part of me, can't help but feel a bit envious over the fact. My eyes, a default dark brown, the most common eye color anyone can have. Even El's eyes are a light hazel, appearing more green in the sun. But I shouldn't complain, she was made for those eyes, pairing nicely with her fiery, straight red hair. And as boring as I may think my eyes are sometimes, they were also made uniquely just for me, pairing gently with my dark brown, almost blue black, voluminous amount of messy waves.

"Hmm. For some reason I assumed you and your brother were twins", I tell him, as I locate my locker, inputting my combination to open it. I immediately start shoving my textbooks inside.