How To Be Beautiful.

The One where she is not an athlete or a maths genius.

"You go first," I mummbled as I stopped in my tracks, remembering my rendezvous ."Why? Are you ok? Did you forget something? " He asked, looking at me in concern as I shook my head no. "I forgot that I am meeting a friend after school." I explained, hoping he would just accept that as an answer and go. 

"And how are you gonna go home?" He asked. "I told Ash. She will give me a ride after her practice." I explained. "I can wait if you want, you know practice can take hours!" He insisted. 

"It's okay, really." I urged, "And I don't know how long it will take, so I will just catch a ride with her." I added, offering him a sincere smile of appreciation.

I motioned with my hand for him to go, "Go, go, it's okay, I swear!" I added as he reluctantly started walking towards the door, quickly disappearing in the parking lot.

I turned around, walking towards the infamous roof door that, surprise surprise, is always locked. It was late, and the corridors were pretty empty at this time of day other than the few late ones here and there and some kids rushing to their after-school practice or detention. 

I climbed the few flights of stairs I once used as a hiding spot when I wanted to catch a breath or escape the mean girls before I found the better, more soundproof ones around campus. 

I stood by the door, contemplating whether or not to call Adam and tell him to wait for me instead of waiting in front of a closed door like an idiot waiting for Nate to come. I don't even know the guy! What if he is a serial killer or a maniac? What if he was acting nice to lure me into his den and then kill me or worse? I wondered as I paced back and forth in the small space by the door. "Did I keep you waiting?" A voice sounded, making me jump. 

"Are you ok?" Cried Nate, as he sat the few boxes he had down before coming to check on me. "Yeah, yeah, I was just startled, that's all," I shook my head as I regained my composure. That's what you get for thinking about serial killers and maniacs! 

"Sorry I'm late. I went to garb the pizza from the delivery guy and didn't have the chance to text you!" He scratched his head before reaching into his pocket to reveal the magic key. "How do you even have that?" I asked as I eyed the key. "I have my sources," He shrugged as he opened the door, grabbing a small stone from behind the door. Is this where I die? 

"Can you grab the pizza boxes?" He asked as he put the stone in front of the door to keep it open. "Oh ok," I mumbled, grabbing the few boxes he left on the floor next to the stairs. 

"Did you wait long?" He asked as we stepped inside. It didn't look like much, with some old desks and chairs laying around and a black fence surrounding the place, but the sky looked stunning adorned with the perfect shade of yellow, as the sun began it's decent. "What would you do if I said you did?" I teased, sitting the pizzas on one of the old desks as he fumbled with the light switch, turning on the lamp by the door. 

"I would say it's worth it?" He offered, grabbing two chairs for us to sit. "Ma lady," he offered, sitting a chair for me before sitting the other on the other side of the desk. 

"You look like you come here often." I smiled. 

"A few times," he nooded, already opening the boxes, "Let's eat before it gets cold," He instructed, opening the two pizza boxes. "This is from my favourite Pizzeria," He said, handing me a piece of what I assumed was pepperoni pizza. 

"I didn't know what you liked, so I got one margarita and a pepperoni," He said, taking one for himself. "I love pepperonis," I nodded, taking a bite of mine. "Great." He nodded as he started eating his. 

"Ammm," I mumbled, "that's good!" I nodded. "Told ya," He chuckled. 

"Ah, wait." He said, putting his piece down before reaching down to his bag. "I almost forgot these," He added, handing me a can of lemon soda. 

"You like these, right?" He asked as he took out another one for himself. "How'd you know?" I asked in confusion. "You drank it at the party." He explained, making me blush. 

"Do you always blush like that?" He chuckled in amusement, making my blush deepen as I tried to hide it behind my hair. "Don't," He shook his head. "It's cute." He smiled, making me blush more if that was even possible, which only made him laugh in amusement. 

"I feel like if I kept going, you'll turn into a tomato, so I'll stop," He teased, an amused smile still visible on his face.

"So why do you have the keys?" I asked after a while as I reached for another slice. "I know one of the janitors, so he lets me use it whenever I want." He explained. "So you usually lure girls up here?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. 

"Can't say I don't," He shrugged. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He added quickly as I chuckled in amusement. "I just like the view, so I come here whenever I need a break." He explained. "It is beautiful." I nodded? Enjoying the sunset view. "It is"

"Your friends seem nice," He added, making me look back at him. "They are," I nodded. 

"You've met Zayna before." I said, "Sure did!" He chuckled, making me laugh. "And then there is Natasha, Zack, and Adam," I added. 

"You've been friends for long?" He asked. "Since I moved here in freshman year," 

"They pretty much adopted me," I chuckled.

"What about you?" 

"I haven't made that many friends since I came here, but I am open," He said. "You transferred last year, right?" I inquired. "Yeah, but I was used to a certain high school life, you know," He said. 

"How so?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in curiosity. "I used to be on a sports scholarship in my old high school, so I was pretty much always on the field, so I didn't really have time to make friends or mingle with the crowd." He explained. "I did have a few friends, but I guess distance does have an effect on relationships." He added.

"And what happened?" I asked. "If you don't mind me asking!" I added. 

"Nah, it's okay." He smiled, sipping on his soda. "I got an ankle injury, couldn't complete for the school anymore, lost my funding, and that was that!" He shrugged. 

"Oh, I'm sorry."  I said. "It's okay, I don't care which school I go to really, it's just that I have to figure out what I'm gonna do for a career now." 

"What did you play?" I asked. 

"I was a track runner."

"That's nice."

"It was yeah,"

"Do you plan on ever going back?"

"I don't know, to be honest, I thought I should take a break and focus on my mental health for a while." He shrugged. "It wasn't easy coming back from an injury, especially when it held such high costs." He added.

"I get it,"

"What about you?" He asked, turning to look at me.

"What about me?" I asked in confusion.

"What do you like to do?"

"I am not an athlete or a math genius if that's what you're asking," I chuckled.

"You don't have to be one to have something you like!" He exclaimed.

"I like to sing,"

"Can I hear it?"

"Not today,"

"Understood." He nodded with a smile as I smiled back at him.

"Thank you,"

"I like you," He said, catching me off guard. "You don't have to say anything, I just thought I should tell you that." He shook his head as he saw the look on my face. 

"I can wait," He added.

"Thank you," I managed to get out. 

"You don't have to keep saying that," He chuckled. "A bad habit," I smiled. 

"I've seen worse," He smiled. 

"Tell me more," I smiled in amusement.