Paige let out a quick grunt as her eyes flickered across her bedroom walls that were covered in posters for TV shows and bands she liked. Nobody was allowed in there; it was her space. She didn't have friends over much, anyways; she was usually the one leaving.
The girl sat up, her hair proofing out like a lions mane. She threw herself on the chair in front of her mirror and began to brush through the massive amounts of hair, and then started to put it all in one massive braid. She usually put it up, as it was a pain to deal with out of a braid or ponytail. She put on mascara and concealer, and then threw on a necklace, earrings, and as many bracelets as she could. Makeup wasn't her thing, but hair and jewelry definitely were.
She put on a plain black t-shirt and hat and ripped jeans, since she wasn't feeling super extra that particular day. Soon enough, she threw her backpack on and headed out to the bus stop. the sophomore ignored the kids around her and out in her earbuds, hopping in the bus and choosing the first empty seat she saw when she got on.
Being at the top was a bit lonely. Sure, she was popular and had lots of friends, and had a bunch of dudes willing to go out with her, she didn't have any close friends. Girls would gossip and start anything the moment they could, and all boys wanted was to get in your pants. It's not like she wasn't grateful for all of it- she just felt alone, a lot.
When she made it to school, she hurried off to her group of friends that huddled by the cafeteria in the morning.
"Hey," She said with a slight smile, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"What's up, loser?" One of her pals, Silvia, cooed as she flicked the brim of Paige's hat.
"Nothin' much, you?" She laughed slightly as she pushed it back down.
"Eh. Nothing new, i suppose,"
"Hey, Lee!" One of the boys standing with them turned to give a boy a high five. "You're back to dark hair, i see." He nodded thoughtfully.
The boy laughed slightly. "Yeah, i guess i got bored of blond hair." He shrugged.
Paige stared at him. He was pretty. She'd seen him around a lot, and noticed his hair color would frequently change. She glanced away quickly when they made awkward eye contact.
Lee was going to say something, but shook his head after his eyes lingered on her for a moment more and he waved a goodbye to the group.
• • •
She had the same routine, every day. Go to school, talk, go to class, get lunch, go to class again, go home, don't do homework, go to bed. When your life was so repetitive and boring, you started to go to drama as a way to find entertainment. Something new. So currently, she was monitoring a fight over her friends snapchat stories as she waited in the library for her supposed tutor to show up.
Paige... wasn't very smart. Or at least, she didn't try. Perhaps if she gave school more effort she'd do better, but that's an insane thought in itself. So her parents signed her up for tutoring in the school, where a student would come tutor another student in order to create a less strict environment than a teacher. Students would be able to volunteer if they wanted, although she had no idea what kind of nerd would volunteer to tutor.
She glanced up at the sound of the door opening and footsteps headed in her direction. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Lee; the boy she'd herd lots about but had never actually talked to. He seemed like a nice person; he was friends with literally everyone. Nerds, jocks; whatever stereotypes you could think of.
"Hey. Paige, right?" He said smoothly and with ease, pulling up a chair and sitting in front of her as he placed the science textbook in front of them.
"Uh, yeah. You're Lee..?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.
He nodded with a slight grin. "Nice to meet you."
She awkwardly cleared her throat. "Yeah, you too. So.. you're gonna tutor me?" She asked him, her mind filled with embarrassment, confusion, nervousness, and excitement at the same time.
She was embarrassed due to the fact that it WASNT some square tutoring her. She was s little bit afraid that he would try to spread rumors f her taking tutoring and people would make fun of her, although she tried her bet to not judge people like that.
The confusion was because it was him. Not some nerdy kid who would be forced by their parents to do this. Something about his mood and aura convinced her that he definitely volunteered.
She was nervous because this kid was literally famous around the school. He was handsome, nice, flirty; he seemed to have no flaws. He carried this mysterious aura with him. Nobody really knew much about him, despite him having so many friends.
The excitement came from the nervousness. It wasn't every day you'd get to hang out with someone like this. Of course, Paige was considered a popular girl, although it wasn't the good popular. It was the.. vapey-drugs popular, even though she personally didn't like to take part in that...very often.
"Mhm, is there a problem?" He asked her, an eyebrow slightly raised as he admired the girls slightly flustered face.
"Ah, no, sorry. I'm just surprised."
"About what?"
"You..being a tutor, i guess. From what i've heard about you."
"Oh? And what have you heard?" He asked curiously, a light smirk on his lips as his eye narrowed.
"Ah.. i don't know. That you don't like to hang around people outside of school i guess, or you're always busy with kids from the other schools..stupid stuff like that. I guess i shouldn't believe it all, though." She defended him.
"That's pretty much true. Most of my close friends all go to the other school. It's just more convenient for my family that i go here," He said with a slight laugh.
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Yeah." He paused, and that sat in an awkward silence for a moment before he cleared his throat to break the quiet. "So let's get started, then."
"Uh, yeah," She said, letting out a quick breath of relief.
• • •
They finished up within the next hour, as they didn't keep the school open very long after hours.
"Hey, thanks for the help." She told him with a slight smile as she stood up, stretching her arms behind her back.
"It's no problem." He told her casually, grabbing the textbook and throwing it in his backpack.
The girl grabbed her own backpack and took off her hat, sighing and rubbing her forehead slightly. "Oh yeah, do you need my number so we can set up times and stuff?" She asked him.
He shrugged casually. "Yeah, sure. Here," He said, handing his phone to her and opening up the contacts app.
Paige made herself a contact, and was secretly feeling pretty successful to get his number. Even if it wasn't in the best way. Nobody had to know that, though.
"Thanks," She said, handing it back to him.
Lee laughed a little bit, ruffling her hair with his hand slightly as he glanced down at her. "Mhm. See you tomorrow, Paige." He cooed, saluting her with two fingers and giving her a quick wink before he headed out of the building.
Paige sighed with a small laugh before she went out the backdoor and waited for her brother to come get her.
