Figuring You Out

Chapter Forty-Five

"Oliver, may I speak to you for a moment?" Mrs Raj asks, as I file all of my work into my bag. She was always one of my favourites.

"Of course," I smile, walking to the front of the room at a leisurely pace as the rest of the class moves out of the door.

"I wanted to let you know how well you are doing," she says, adjusting her glasses, "And," Oh God, "To convince you and the rest of the boys in rugby to do the fashion show,"

I burst out laughing, "Absolutely not," I say, "Even if I did it, which I'm not by the way, there is no way I can convince the others to do it,"

"Oliver, you know all the proceeds go to our sister school in South Africa," she chastises.

"So?" I press, half laughing, half serious.

"So, you know how many girls would pay good money to see you boys topless," she shrieks, her cheeks moved by her smile and optimism.

"Ahh, miss," I groan, shaking my head, already picturing myself getting dragged into this whether I agreed to it or not.

"It would mean to world to me," she says, making my chest clench. I sigh in defeat.

"I'll see what I can do. No promises," I say, already cringing at the situation when I present it to the team.

"Thank you," she smiles, clearly grateful, "I'll let you get to your lunch,"

"I'll see you tomorrow miss," I say, slipping my bag on my back and out of the science lab. I make my way to the canteen, finding Liam slouched on a four seater booth with an arm around Leah's waist who was drawing on a large sketch book with the concentration clear on her face.

"Hey," I say, sliding, opposite them.

"You alright," Liam nods, taking an apple in his hand as Leah looks up from her large pencil sketch.

"Hi," she smiles, her eyebrows unknitting for a brief spark of pure happiness and then contort back into a face of concentration and confusion as she tilts her sketchbook back and forth, "Urgh, this is awful," she sighs, tilting it to Liam, "Don't you think?"

"I think it looks amazing, baby," he assures, after a moment of studying her art, tugging her to his side and planting a kiss to her cheek, she smiles but it quickly diminishes again, "What do you think?" she asks, meeting my eyes and turning the book to me. I look down on the sketchbook and see a large contemporary drawing of a young girl with parts of her face in separate boxes, "I think it's great, I mean-"

"Yeah, yeah," she shushes, closing off her own answer with the snap of her artbook closing. I chuckle under my breath as Liam looks slightly dumbfounded and at the same time in awe of the girl sitting in his arms.

"So," I say, twisting open my water bottle, "Raj is trying to convince us to do the fashion show,"

"You've got to be kidding me," Liam groans.

"I shit you not," I say, laughing into my drink, he sits back defeated.

"Shit," he sighs, as Leah giggles into her Tupperware of cucumber and carrot sticks. I watch as they smile at each other and Liam squeezes her thigh under the table, Leah leaning her curly head against Liam's shoulder so he has to readjust his head upwards to avoid the untameable curls tickling his chin that is clean shaven for the first time in a while but it's the way my best mate is smiling at her in a way that shows he doesn't mind one little bit about her art or her crazy hair or the way her denim shirt is stained with paint- he's more than smitten, he's fallen for her and it's a beautiful thing to witness. Liam catches me staring fondly at them, "Coach told us about the play off between you and Allison,"