0 3 .

short macchiato

"YOU SPOKE WITH THE ISAAC HENSICK AND YOU RAN AWAY?"

Riley's hushed shouts drilled into my ear as we sat beside each other in English class. William sat across the room in his assigned seat, staring at us with a confused expression as he attempted to communicate with us using stupid facial expressions and exaggerated hand gestures.

I nodded silently in reply to Riley, trying to focus on the class work.

"Care to explain why?" Riley whispered. Her face was so scrunched up it looked like it was being sucked into the centre of her head.

"He's Isaac Hensick," I replied calmly, emphasising his name. "People like him don't associate themselves with people like me."

As I said his name, my eyes subconsciously drifted up to his group of friends. The blonde mop of curls belonging to Sebastian Georges sat beside the dark locks of Arthur Andrews – the seat beside them empty. As expected, Isaac hadn't turned up to class.

In fact, I hadn't seen him at all since he'd called me Aspirin yesterday at lunch. Not that I wanted to. I'd suffered enough embarrassment around him to last me a lifetime.

Riley scoffed, shaking her head.

"Well they clearly do."

"That doesn't help." I paused to scribble down some notes on Emma by Jane Austen. "I'm going to end up embarrassing myself."

It was true. Isaac Hensick was one of the 'It Boys' of the school – the kind of person who only associated themselves with other 'It People' of the school, like Arthur Andrews, and unlike me.

The whole school knew who he was, knew how he skipped school more than probably allowed, and how he messed around with any semi-attractive girl that crossed his path. He had a reputation to uphold.

Riley stayed silent for a moment.

"You're right. You will."

I narrowed my eyes at her, quirking a brow at her unusual response. "Thanks."

"But that doesn't mean you should avoid him!" Riley continued, ignoring my bitterness. "Aspen, this is your chance!"

I stared at her, confused at her sudden enthusiasm.

"My chance at what?"

"At a life outside of your bedroom," she whispered back. "Friends beside me and William. Maybe even a boyfriend."

"But I love you and William."

I glanced at William, his eyes narrowed as he twisted his hand in the universal 'what' gesture. Ignoring his confusion, I caught him discreetly roll his eyes, causing me to laugh quietly.

"Not entirely sure William loves me, though," I joked, looking back at William to poke my tongue out at him.

He mimicked me, his tongue poking out between his lips right as Mr Greene turned to ask him a question. Riley and I stifled our laughter as William got scolded in front of the entire class, his eyes glaring daggers into my head.

"Seriously, Aspen."

I faced Riley again. Her eyes had gone serious, although a gentle smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"I've seen you watching him in the halls," she continued quietly. "Maybe this is your chance."

I didn't reply, hating the way my heart raced at her words. The way she gave me hope that maybe I could become friends with the boy I'd watched in our local café for months.

He was untouchable, especially by someone like me.

I couldn't get my hopes up.

I turned back to watch William as he pouted, Mr Greene towering over him. Right as he was able to pull a detention slip from his desk, the lunch bell rang. I immediately grabbed my bag, packing my pens and tucking my chair in.

I strolled out the door, passing a glaring William on the way. Riley walked beside me, pulling a face at him as we left.

"You going to the library today?"

I nodded wordlessly. It was normally this time of the week when my lack of sleep would catch up on me and I'd have to nap my lunch away in the school library. Riley had known me for so long, she knew my routine by now – my small tell-tale signs that the sleep deprivation had caught up with me.

It was one of the reasons I loved her so much. One of the reasons I liked to stick with my little group of friends instead of branching out. I didn't have to worry about my anxiety or appearing weird to them. They understood me – they accepted me as I was. 

"Okay, see you at history then," Riley grinned, back to her usual, eccentric self. She glimpsed at the class we had just walked out of. "I'd better go see how William's doing after that."

I laughed. "Tell him I love him!"

She began to stroll back to the classroom, giggling as she walked. "Will do!"

I was at my locker in a flash, dumping my books before making my way towards the library with a yawn. I spent a lot of my lunch times napping in the library. It had become a sort of tradition for me to use the time to catch up on sleep, really.

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the company of my friends – the library was just the most perfect napping area, and I was the definition of tired.

I found it incredibly hard to sleep at nighttime. My thoughts seemed to overwhelm me, not to mention that insomnia was a side-effect of my medication. My mind would be flooded with thoughts – thoughts about the day, thoughts about the next day, worries about what I'd said wrong, worries about what I might do wrong.

The only time I found myself able to sleep was when the fatigue hit me so hard, it overwhelmed any other factors stopping me from getting any shut eye.

And that was today.

As I stepped into the library, the warmth immediately enveloped me.

It was an ancient looking library – creaky wooden floors covered in mysteriously stained rugs, shelves upon shelves of old, dusty books that hadn't been borrowed in what seemed like decades. Mismatched tables made from wood and steel were scattered around the library – a half-assed attempt at modernising it by the principal before he inevitably gave up.

Not many people came to the library, especially at lunch time. The room was so silent, the low buzz of the heater could be heard. It was comforting to me and, since the only teacher in the library was a 70-year-old woman too busy reading to supervise, it was the perfect place for a quick nap.

I slipped through the aisles of books around me, making my way towards my usual sleeping spot. It sat on an extended windowsill covered with pillows in the back corner of the library in a non-fiction section about reptiles.

It was a quiet nook in the corner of the quiet library – a corner that barely anyone roamed compared to all the other corners of the library, or even the school. It was my private little haven.

"Ah, Aspirin!"

I stopped in my tracks as I reached my windowsill to see Isaac Hensick standing in my way, a book about blue-tongue lizards in his hand. How did he even find this spot? Was he just coincidentally looking for reptile books? I narrowed my eyes at him.

His hair laid messy against his forehead and his shirt was terribly wrinkled, diverging from his usual combed hair and ironed clothes. He must've had a bad night. Or a hangover. Maybe both.

"Aspirin?" I wondered out loud.

"Isn't that your name?"

I froze, not sure whether to laugh or to get angry. By the furrow in his brow, it was clear he wasn't joking. I let out a breath. "My name's Aspen."

"That's what I said," he stepped closer, shutting his book, a smirk appearing on his face. "Aspirin."

I bit my tongue, a blush creeping onto my cheeks. Was he joking? I suddenly wasn't so sure. His eyes pierced into mine, a smirk gently playing on his lips. I bit at my cheek, unsure how to react to this whole situation. Isaac's voice saved me from my lack of words.

"What are you doing here?" he asked after a pause.

"I'm sleeping," I nodded nervously towards my windowsill, feeling jittery beneath his gaze.

Isaac's smirk grew into a toothy smile, his dimples appearing against his tanned cheeks. His eyes lit up with delight, and he stepped even closer, his voice dropping to a slick murmur.

"I can help with that."

My heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched somewhere in my throat.

I tried to play it cool.

"I don't need anyone to tuck me in," I said smoothly, running a hand through my hair with a wavering smirk.

He didn't laugh. I shifted uncomfortably.

"I was joking," I clarified.

"Oh, so you do need someone to tuck you in?"

My cheeks flamed from embarrassment. I cringed at his booming voice, holding a finger to my lips and scanning the library in fear that someone may have heard us. His eyes flicked to my wrinkled brow and his lips stretched in a delicious smirk. He stepped closer.

"Oh, sorry," Isaac grinned cheekily, his voice growing louder. "Am I being too loud?"

My eyes widened, predicting what he was about to do. I turned on my heel, planning to quickly make my way out of the library before he further embarrassed me. But I was too late.

"What's wrong Aspirin? I thought we were going to sleep togeth-"

My hand was over his mouth before he could finish half-screaming his sentence.

"Was that really necessary?" I whisper-shouted, my cheeks like fire.

My gaze darted across the library as I glanced through shelves, praying nobody heard us.

His eyes remained unmoving from my face. I could feel his smirk beneath the skin of my palm when suddenly it was accompanied with something wet and slimy. I tore my hand away from him.

"You licked me!" I screeched before covering my own mouth with my other hand, remembering I was in a library.

"Get used to it," Isaac winked, his lips shining and his eyes swimming with mischief.

My jaw dropped in shock. This boy, this insanely cute boy who couldn't even remember my name, was flirting with me.

I staggered backwards, my cheeks and ears turning red from embarrassment. My heart wouldn't stop battering within my chest.

"I-" My mouth was dry for words. "I've got to go."

I turned, beginning to make my way out of the library with a pout and a slimy hand. I was really looking forward to that nap too. 

Suddenly I felt wide awake, like I'd chugged an entire jug of coffee. My heart was pounding in my chest and every ounce of fatigue had vanished from my body.

My cheeks burned, matching my bloodshot eyes. I felt like I was walking with a sway, my head heavy and my heart still hammering in my chest.

How could one boy look so gorgeous? And how could this gorgeous boy be standing there flirting with me? I fought back a smile at the thought of it. Flirting with me. He seemed so different to the dazed boy sketching in the corner of a quiet café every morning – so distracted in his thoughts that his coffee turned cold before he'd even had a sip.

"Aspirin!" I heard Isaac say suddenly.

I stopped in my tracks, only a few feet away from him. I steadied my breathing, grounding myself before turning to glance back at him.

He stood in the same spot as before, holding his book against his chest as he grinned at me playfully. His eyes seemed amused, as if this were all a game for him.

"See you tomorrow."

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒

a u t h o r ' s  n o t e

Uni is stressing me the heck out I planned my degree so poorly. If anyone reading this is about to start uni, plan your degree out! All of it! Every single year! I am an idiot!

Also also Harry Styles dropped Lights Up and I'm dead