How To Be Beautiful.

The One where he has someone in mind.

"I'm surprised he is willing to come talk to her after what happened." I exclaimed in amusement, as I watched the scene unfold in front of me. "I'm more surprised she is!" Exclaimed Zay, her eyes never leaving the two standing not too far away from us. They should have talked somewhere private instead of the middle of the hallway with all these prying eyes.

They were standing far enough for us not to hear what they were talking about, but close enough for us to observe the changes in facial expressions and the smiles being thrown back and forth.

I haven't seen Natasha all smiley with a guy before, but I can understand how the curly locks wrapped around his head and the freckles splattered all over his creamy face, complimenting his greenish brown eyes would coax her into doing otherwise. Let's just say the guy had really good genes.

The look on her face was enough to convince me that she was enjoying this conversation, maybe a little more than she should, especially after how mean she was to him at the gym. "Any guesses of what they might be talking about?" I asked Zay, trying to make a small conversation, the same way I have been doing all day, which she thankfully didn't deny.

You can still tell from the short answers that she was still mad, but she was trying to act normal and move on, which I appreciate. "He likes her," She said knowingly.

"And you caught up on it from this?" I asked, pointing between the two. "It's the eyes, Claire. It's always the eyes." I have never once seen Natasha in any kind of relationship since I moved here, which was weird considering how she was a whole package with looks to die for and a personality of an absolute goddess, but I guess not everyone needs to be in love to live!

"Mmmm," I mumbled, my eyes travelling up to his eyes that were, true to Zayna's words, looking at Natasha like they cannot see anyone else but her, and I couldn't help but wonder if anyone has ever looked at me that way.

....

And It wasn't long before we were standing together near my now closed locker, trying to extract details from the poor red head. "So?" Asked Zee, rather excited to confirm her theory. "He apologized," She shrugged.

"And," cried Zee, urging her to go on.

"And we may or may not be going out to dinner this weekend," She said smiling sheepishly, and I could see the smile of satisfaction on Zayna's face as we resumed our walk to class.

"And you said?" I asked, just to make sure. "He looks like a decent guy. Why wouldn't I say yes?!" She shrugged, taking her seat on one of the tables at the back of the classroom with me in tow.

"A sane one at last," cried Zay, taking her seat on the row behind ours. And our Zayna is back.

.....

My eyes wandered around as I entered the theatre where I agreed to meet Senna the day before. It was swarmed with people buzzing around like bees in their hives. Some were up on stage rehearsing, while others stood in the back with the props, surrounded by tools and whatnot. I don't know how exactly to describe this, but it felt coordinated yet extremely chaotic.

I walked towards the stage, where I could hear some of the lines I could vaguely remember from the play we had to read a few years back. Before turning to the backstage door, which stood wide open with students rushing in and out. And I could already spot her at the back with some girls I knew from class helping her out of her dress, which looked absolutely gorgeous, even though it was clearly still unfinished. But I guess some people manage to look good in anything.

I contemplated whether or not I should just text her to meet me outside instead of intruding on them like this, but then again, she was the one who asked me to come. So I walked towards them, making my way through the crowd of people, as she finally noticed my presence motioning for me to come over. "You made it," She exclaimed, and I could feel the rest of her entourage's eyes on me, which made me quite uncomfortable. "Yeah," I nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"I'll be right with you," She smiled as I nodded in understanding stepping back to stand near a rack of clothing, trying not to get caught up in the rush as I waited for her to finish.

"They just wanted to do another fitting for the dresses before they finalized the design." She explained as we walked outside. "Apparently, they had an issue with one of the actresses before, and it put them in a tight spot." she added as we made our way towards the parking lot.

"It's cool what you do in there," I said, offering her my thoughts. "It is, isn't it!" She exclaimed in excitement.

"You like it, don't you?" I asked, recognizing that tone of excitement I hear in her voice.

"It makes me feel alive," She smiled as I nodded in understanding. Theatre is her form of music. It's her escape.

"Would Sally's be ok with you?" She asked since neither of us had a car, and Sally's was the closest to campus.

I nodded in agreement as we made our way towards the small diner, taking our seats by the window, a spot where we could see the sun starting to fade into a beautiful blazing circle of calm yellow from the window.

"So?" I asked as soon as we were seated, wanting to get this over with. "Let's order first," She exclaimed, motioning with her hand to the only waitress around. "I'm famished." She added with a smile as the waitress joined us.

"How may I help you?" Asked the girl in her early twenties, offering us a polite smile. "I would like a roasted beef sandwich with a side of green salad." Said Senna, offering the girl her usual smile.

"I'll just have a cup of hot chocolate," I nodded with a smile of my own. "You don't wanna eat?" Asked Senna as I shook my head no. I would rather eat with mom since dad would most likely be dining at the hospital again tonight.

"Is that all?" Asked the waitress."Yeah, thank you." Answered Senna as the girl made her way towards the kitchen to hand in the order, leaving us to our conversation.

"So," She started to say. "I've been hanging out with you guys for some time now," She added as I nodded in agreement.

"And I kind of noticed you were the closest to Adam," She said, raising her eyebrows urging me to confirm her speculation. "You seem pretty comfortable around each other, and he talks about you a lot, so I just assumed you would be," She added, noticing my confusion.

I nodded in understanding, "We're pretty good friends, yes,"

"So I wanted to ask you if he was seeing anyone or if he was interested in anyone." She said, catching me off guard. "What?" I asked in confusion as she chuckled in amusement.

"I know it's a little too direct, but I like to be direct and not you know, beat around the bush." She smiled. "And I have an interest in Adam as a guy and would like to ask him out,"

I nodded, not knowing what else to do. "Normally, I would have just made a move, but I am kind of new here, and I didn't want to pursue someone who is not available emotionally." She continued.

"He is a great guy," I nodded. "He is, yes," agreed the girl in front of me.

I knew I speculated this since day one, but it felt different having it confirmed by her. "I don't think he is into anyone at the moment," I said. "As far as I know," I added.

"But sometimes I feel like his mind is somewhere else!" She exclaimed. "Or you know, with someone else."

"Really?!" I exclaimed. Adam has someone on his mind! "We had dinner a few days ago, and you know he was kinda distant and strange." She shrugged.

"He can be dense sometimes, that's all." I shrugged, not knowing how else to explain what I don't know. Does Adam like someone else other than Senna?!

"But as far as I know, he doesn't have anyone in mind." I added, more to myself than to her.