Caffeine | PUBLISHED

18. Turkish Coffee

1 8 .

turkish coffee

"YOU CAN'T AVOID HIM FOREVER."

"I can try."

Riley rolled her eyes at me as I peeked out from behind the wall. Isaac was nowhere to be seen. I sighed in relief, stepping out from my hiding spot with a wide yawn.

I'd had a sleepless weekend. After Isaac had stormed out of the kitchen, he had left William's house, leaving me to overthink everything for the entire weekend.

I had skipped the café this morning, not sure how I'd be able to face Isaac – not sure what I'd say.

Had I done something wrong? Was I that dreadful of a kisser that he had to leave in the middle of the movie?

It had been so embarrassing, I could barely tell Riley and William about it – the words coming out like razors through gritted teeth. And coming to school today was like that multiplied by fifty. Every squeak of a shoe, flash of leather, scent of tobacco, and my heart rate was spiking all over again.

I was tired.

Riley rubbed my back as we walked towards my art class. I prayed Isaac would skip class today. Out of all the days he had skipped class, today was the day I really wanted it.

"Told you so."

My eyes widened at Riley's teasing voice as we reached the classroom door. There, in my usual corner, sat Isaac Hensick.

His eyes reached mine, and I turned quickly to face Riley only to find she had disappeared. Because of course she had. Because of course I had to choose a class with none of my friends in it, even though I hated art.

His eyes were still on me when I turned back. My cheeks burned. I took in a deep breath.

I've got this.

I exhaled, turning to walk into the classroom, completely avoiding eye contacting with Isaac.

Instead, I marched over to the opposite side of the classroom where Sebastian chatted jovially amongst his friends – he seemed to be friends with everyone.

I paused beside him, folding my arms over my chest.

"Sebastian."

They continued chatting as if I wasn't there. I cleared my throat, mustering up the confidence to try again before the adrenaline wore off.

"Sebastian. You're my partner today."

The group fell silent, their eyes moving to focus on me. I steadied myself, keeping my focus trained on Sebastian.

He raised his brows at me, a cheeky smile on his lips. "Am I now?"

I nodded, ignoring the way Isaac's eyes continued to burn into the back of my head.

Sebastian turned to the girls beside him. "You heard her. Move."

They didn't say a word as they grabbed their sketchpads and slid down a desk, making room for me to sit beside Sebastian.

Seconds later, Ms Laney entered with the loud taps of her heels against the classroom tile.

"Settle down, everyone," she shouted, moving to the front of the class. "We'll be continuing our abstract portraits from our last class. Find your partners."

I couldn't help but glance at Isaac in the corner, wondering who he was planning to partner with. More accurately, wondering if he'd be partnering with Lacey. I dragged my eyes to his seat only to find him already staring directly at me.