Ocean Eyes

Chapter 3

A full week passed before Evangeline saw the boy again. She had given him the nickname "ocean eyes" because of well...his eyes. She had been wondering all week if she would ever see him again. All week she searched her school but couldn't seem to find him. But then at last, Friday came along. Evangeline decided to take the scenic route home instead of hitching a ride from Charlotte. As she walked through the park that led to her house she spotted the boy. 

"HEY" she yelled in his direction. He had been sitting by a tree in the grass. He turned around and there was an instant smile on his face. He got up and walked over to her.

"We meet again" he said, bowing to her. The sun made his eyes seem so much brighter, and Evangeline couldn't help but stare at them.

"Looking at the eyes again are we? Do you still love them?" he taunted, stretching out the word 'love'. She rolled her eyes at him. "Where are you headed to?" he asked her. 

"Just got done with school uhh duh? I'm heading home to get some homework done. Did you not go to school today?" His smile fell and panic flashed across his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by another smile.

"I decided to take a day off, school is exhausting."

"Tell me about it. Do you want to come over to my house? You could even help me with my homework." Evangeline didn't know how these words were coming out of her mouth, but she couldn't take them back.

"Ohhhh homework how exciting. Sure I'll come over if it's not too much trouble" he replied. They started to walk to her house. They talked casually about how much high school sucks. Evangeline noticed how she seemed to be doing most of the talking, whereas the boy was more guarded and short with his sentences.

About five minutes passed and they finally arrived at Evangeline's house. 

"I love your house, its cute," the boy said. She smiled. Evangeline had always loved her house too. It wasn't a mansion, but it was just enough to get by. A tan single story house, with flowers surrounding the outside giving it a sense of warmth. She opened the door and allowed him to walk in first. She closed the door and opened her arms. 

"Ta-da. Welcome to casa de la McLester" she turned to look at him and saw that he had a tear falling down his face. She frowned. "Hey are you ok?"

He wiped the tear from his face and put on another one of his smiles. This kid really can't quit with the smiling she thought. 

"Yeah I'm good, I think some dust flew into my eyes. You should really clean your house better." he joked.

"Haha hilarious you're so funny"she retorted back sarcastically. She motioned for him to go upstairs. They reached the top of the stairs and headed into her room. She placed her bag down on the floor and sat at her desk. He took a seat at the edge of her bed. 

"What's on the agenda for your homework tonight?" he asked quizzically. Evangeline sighed.

"A shit ton of stuff that doesn't matter. Physics, algebra, and history. Can you believe these teachers? They think they have the audacity to give me this much homework. Ridiculous."

"Hey it can't be that bad. I'll help. Start with math and get it out of the way."

"Ugh fine." She pulled out her math binder and got to work. The boy looked around her room, taking everything in. Suddenly Evangeline had a thought and she put her pencil down.

"I never got your name" she turned to tell him. 

"Huh... yeah that's right, and I don't know your name either."

"Well, I'm Evangeline McLester. But call me Eva, it's easier."

"And I'm Asher." She looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"What? No last name?" she smirked. Again, his smile fell. He looked like he was debating on whether to give his last name. At last he decided and wagged his finger back and forth, giving her another one of his now famous smiles.

"Ahhhh now that's classified information. You can have it when I know I can trust you" he joked. Evangeline rolled her eyes and laughed. She stuck out her hand.

"Well, nice to meet you 'Just Asher.'" He looked at her hand but didn't take it. Instead he shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't do handshakes." he said. Evangeline dropped her hand and there was another moment of silence between them. Usually, with Charlotte or Emily or Julia, when there was silence it was awkward. But with Asher, Evangeline thought the silence just...worked. Evangeline broke the silence.

"You're a weird dude Asher."

"Thank you, thank you very much."

"It wasn't a compliment." A noise suddenly came from downstairs. A car door shut and the front door to Evangeline's house opened.

"SHIT." Evangeline shrieked.

"What. What's wrong?" Asked Asher. Evangeline looked at him, and then at her window. She opened the window and pointed outside. 

"You have to go. My mom would freak if she saw I had a guy in my room. I thought she would be at work till tonight. Shit. Shit. Shit." 

"Hey it's alright, don't worry. We can just hang out another time." Evangeline felt bad for making him go out the window, but if her mom found him well, she would be in deep shit. 

"What's your number, I'll write it down."Evangeline asked. He shrugged his shoulders and stepped out the window, trying to avoid stepping on the flowers.

"I don't have a phone," he laughed. 

"How do you not have a phone," she shot back. He shrugged his shoulders again.

"I just don't. But don't worry, I'll find you again soon. Till next time Eva" he said. He waved to her and then took off in a sprint, away from the house. Evangeline shut her window just as her mom came into her room. 

"Hey honey, I heard a voice, who were you talking to?" her mother asked.

"Ohhh just Charlotte, I had a question about math."

"And why are you standing like that by the window?" Her mom shot her a skeptical look, almost like she could see right through Evangeline's bluff. 

"There was a bug in here. I didn't want to kill it so I let it out the window" Evangeline shrugged her shoulders, trying to make her story believable. It must have worked, because her mother nodded her head in approval. 

"Ok well, I'll start making dinner soon. We're having pasta tonight" her mother said. 

"Ohhhh yummm. Thanks mom." Her mom walked out of her room and she quickly shut her door. She exhaled the breath she didn't know she had been keeping in. That was a close one she thought. She sat back down at her desk and continued to work on her homework. But she couldn't concentrate on homework. All she could think about was Asher. He's one strange kid, and how does he not have a cell phone she thought. She really hoped that they would meet again soon, because she was starting to really like him.