14. French Press

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french press

"WOW, YOU'RE REALLY TERRIBLE."

I slapped Sebastian on the shoulder, earning a laugh in return. Giving up, I threw my sketchpad onto the desk, the awful surreal portrait of Sebastian scribbled onto the page. My pencil landed beside it with a clank and I sighed, crossing my arms – art really wasn't my forte.

Sebastian rubbed his shoulder jokingly with a pout, "Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game."

I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across my lips.

It was the second day in a row Sebastian had partnered up with me in art. The second day in a row Isaac had skipped. Or maybe it was two weeks in a row? I had stopped keeping track.

If Isaac wanted to ruin his academic record, it was his problem. Besides, I had Sebastian to keep my company in class now.

I wondered if his friend was absent today too.

The bell sounded and I began packing my pens and books into my backpack. Today we had art before lunch, so I took my time, shoving my things into my bag.

Once done, I looked up, expecting to see Sebastian leaving with his friends, but instead he shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder and waited for me.

"You have lunch now?"

I blinked and he arched a brow at me.

"Yeah, you?" I asked finally, even though I knew he did. I'd watched him play soccer with Isaac and ArthurAndrews during lunch every day for these past few weeks.

"Yeah. I'm headed to the soccer field. Want to walk together?"

I smiled. I never would have thought I'd have a budding friendship with the school's hottest athlete, but here I was, walking to lunch with Sebastian Georges.

Today, the front of his usually messy blond curls was held back with a thin hair tie. His backpack hung off one shoulder and he walked with an air of confidence that I lacked. I felt so plain beside him, but for once, I didn't care.

Sebastian's smile was contagious, and I found myself smiling around him. He was like Riley – a bouncing ball of sunshine that infected everyone around them. And infect everyone, he did.

As we made our way through the halls, I didn't miss how students grinned at him and waved, calling out his name. He offered waves and nods in reply, his smile wide as I watched in awe.

We walked together, Sebastian greeting and slapping hands with half of the hallway until we reached the grass quad.

"Ms Laney said next class we're finishing those portraits off," Sebastian mentioned as we exited the fluorescent halls.

I raised my brows. I hadn't heard her say that.

"No amount of work is going to improve that portrait of yours," I teased, smirking up at him.

He snorted, "Yeah, because it's already a masterpiece."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Really, where do you find all this confidence from?"

"Have you seen all this?" He gestured vaguely at his body, wiggling his brows at me.

I sputtered out a laugh, almost hunching over at his stupid expression.

"Aspirin."

I looked up to see Isaac standing in front of me. I blinked,looking around. When had we reached the middle of the quad? He watched me, his sparkling green eyes narrowed slightly, reflecting the grass of the quad. His dark hair was pushed back, as if he'd been running his fingers through it.

"Isaac!" Sebastian cheered, clapping him on the back.

Isaac's focus remained on me, his expression keeping neutral. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "What are you guys doing together?"

"We had art," I replied with a deadpan. "Which you'd know, if you weren't off skipping class."

His expression fell slightly, his brow furrowing. Sebastian grinned, nudging him roughly on the shoulder.

"Isaac was probably off with some girl," he teased. Isaac's eyes didn't move from mine and my heart panged. "I've seen Lacey eyeing you lately. I don't know how you do it, man. She hated you two weeks ago."

A blush rose to my cheeks under his gaze and I sucked in a shaky breath at the sound of Lacey's name. "Well, I'd better go."

"Wait! You should stay!" Sebastian grinned, bouncing on his toes. His curls bounced with him. "Play some soccer with us!"

My heart began to race. I was notoriously bad at saying no. I stepped back. "Oh, I can't. I'm really terrible."

"Oh, come on, Aspen! Have some fun!"

"Sorry, I don't think I should," I smiled awkwardly, taking another step back.

Isaac blinked, glancing between us, before his brows raised slightly in realisation. "Yeah, Seb. She's honestly terrible. She can't even catch a ball."

My face warmed at the memory of Isaac throwing a soccer ball at me only for it to smack me in the face, yet I was grateful. I met his eyes and he gave me a look that said he clearly knew I didn't want to play. I sent him a small smile in silent thanks.

Sebastian shook his head, nudging me. "Oh, come on. You don't have to be amazing or anything."

Isaac's head whipped back to his friend and his expression hardened. "Really, Sebastian, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Come on," Sebastian smirked at me. He paused, his smirk growing, before raising his voice and quirking a brow at me. "As-pen! As-pen! As-pen!"

He began to chant and the pressure in my chest began to rise. Around us, students turned to look at the commotion he was causing.

Sebastian began to step back, clapping his hands together with a wide smile as he chanted.

"As-pen! As-pen! As-pen!"

My eyes grew wide, my breath beginning to speed up. What was he doing? I opened my mouth to say no, to stop him, but my mouth felt abruptly dry and the words refused to come out.

"As-pen! As-pen! As-pen!"

"Seb," Isaac muttered, stepping forward. "Drop it."

Sebastian ignored him, his grin only growing wider and his voice growing louder. My heart leapt, lodging firmly in my throat and taking any chance of me speaking with it.

I felt the gaze of students around me, watching me, staring at me, analysing me. My palms began to sweat. I sunk my fingernails into my skin, willing myself to calm down, but my eyes flickered around the oval.

I turned, moving from student to student, each and every one of them staring at me. A few even joined in with the chanting, their voices sounding malicious and teasing to my anxious ears. I couldn't bear it. 

I spun to see Sebastian, grinning, waving his arms in encouragement. Beside him, Isaac's eyes were trained on me, his expression hardened, his jaw clenching. He took another step towards Sebastian, grabbing his shoulder tightly.

"Sebastian, knock it off."

"As-pen! As-pen! As-pen!"

"Sebastian, seriously."

"As-pen! As-pen! As-pen!"

"Sebastian!"

My focus snapped to Isaac barrelling forward, grabbing Sebastian by the collar of his shirt. He fell quiet instantly, his eyes wide and his hands raised in surrender.

Isaac was fuming. His eyes were glaring holes into his head, his fist clenching Sebastian's collar as he breathed heavily down his neck.

His face was screwed up in anger, and he muttered some words to him. There was shouting, I think. The world spun beneath me, and there was shouting, and yelling, and gasps from somewhere behind me.

I vaguely heard Sebastian apologising, but I couldn't focus. All I could focus on was my breathing.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Calm down, it's fine. You're fine.

Suddenly, Isaac's fingers were wrapped around my wrist and I was being led back to the main building.

Breathe in.

We walked through the hallways without a word.

Breathe out.

He pushed through the library doors, storming through the aisles.

Breathe in.

We came to a stop in front of a windowsill. My windowsill. I fell onto the sill in a heap, my fingers digging into the cushions of the seat.

Breathe out.

My breathing slowly returned to normal and my heart began to slow. My trembling fingers fell still, and I sighed, relaxing against the cool glass of the window. I paused for a minute, shoving my fingers through my hair and attempting to ground myself.

After a moment, I lifted my eyes from the ground to meet Isaac's. He stared at me, concern written all over his face.

"I'm fine," I said before he could say anything. My voice was stronger than I had expected. "Thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I sighed, fatigue beginning to wrack through my body. "I'm okay. Thank you, Isaac. I feel like you're always saving me."

I managed a weak laugh, but he remained unconvinced. He narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Sebastian's an ass hole. I should have done more. I should have..." He trailed off. His fists clenched.

Feeling brave, I lifted a hand and rested it on his arm. He turned to me, his expression instantly softening.

"He couldn't have known," I said. "He was just trying to have fun. He wanted me to have fun."

Isaac pursed his lips. "Still. He shouldn't have done that. He shouldn't have pressured you like that. In front of everyone."

"He didn't mean anything by it." I sent him a small smile. "I'm fine."

He clenched his jaw before nodding slightly. His eyes trailed down my body, scanning me, before moving back to my face.

"If you want to have a nap, go ahead."

I blinked, raising my brows.

"You look tired."

I laughed quietly, leaning my head against the window. I was like an open book under his gaze. "I haven't been getting much sleep lately. I guess that sudden shot of anxiety didn't help."

He smiled, finally, and pushed a hand through his hair. He turned and sat in front of the windowsill, reminding me of the day I slept in here with him reading a stupid book about lizards by my feet.

"You're staying?"

"Of course," he replied nonchalantly, plucking a random book from a nearby shelf. "And don't worry. I won't watch you while you sleep."

I laughed at the inside joke, moving to lie against the windowsill. It felt natural. All of my earlier disappointment towards Isaac vanished, taking my anxiety with it. My mind went quiet around him. The racing thoughts of Sebastian and the crowd and art and soccer faded into silence.

All I could think about was the heat radiating off of him. The messy waves of his hair. How close he was sitting to me.

I rested against the seat with my eyes trained on the back of Isaac's head.

I looked at the broadness of his shoulders, how his hair crept down to the nape of his neck. He tensed, as if keenly aware of myself staring at him from behind.

I watched his muscles flex in his back and his shoulders, the bend of his shoulders and curve of his collar. I thought of how much I wished he'd hold me in those arms.

And I fell asleep.

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a u t h o r ' s n o t e

So what do you guys think of Sebastian? He'll be here for the rest of the story, so sit tight!

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