Chapter 6 WEIRDO

MICHELLE's P O V

‘‘I… I was just trying to... I was just putting some clothes away...'' I stutteringly scrambled to my feet while simultaneously brushing my hair back to lessen the nervousness I was feeling right now.

The fall had caused me to become even more disheveled. I dared to take another peek up at Devon, but he was staring at me as if I had grown a second head, so I preoccupied myself by moving out of the way so that he could use the closet.

It was excruciatingly obvious to me that my chest binding was missing, and it required every ounce of self-control I could have to grab hold of the nearby bedpost and immediately sit down on my bed. I then grabbed the pillow and positioned it in front of me to hide my chest.

‘‘You’re putting some clothes away with the door closed?’’ he asked, scratching at his freshly shaved jaw.

I went completely still, and all I could do was attempt to give a believable head nod. I racked my brain trying to come up with an alibi. ‘‘I… just feel like doing it…?''

‘‘Oh, okay. You’re such a weirdo, kid…’’ he chuckled, as his eyes darted between me and the closet that was just about halfway full. Do you not have any more to unpack? Or are you going to have the remainder of your things mailed to this address?’’

Because of the shift in conversation, my shoulders immediately relaxed. Even if Devon didn't buy my explanation, at least he gave the impression that he was willing to let it go. But his questions made me grimace, and as I did so, I glanced about the room and saw that he had significantly more things than I have.

Posters, photos, and other such trinkets. He had already utilized more than half of the storage space in the closet, and I had contributed my meager collection of uniforms to it. On the desk, where I had one sketch book, it was crammed full of his miscellaneous items. The top of my dresser was bare, and my stomach twisted when I saw his covered with boxing paraphernalia.

I didn’t bring everything I owned, so it looked like no one lived on my side of the room. I wasn’t going to stay here for long anyway.

‘‘There wasn't much that I could bring with me...’’ Most of the things I own, were actually some girl thing, like make-ups, fairy lights, romance books, floral scented candles. So I lied, avoiding his judging eyes, and my gaze wandered up onto the top of the desk. ‘‘I have that though…’’ I said, pointing at my sketch book. ‘‘I can paint you if you want…’’

‘‘Sure, but I want you to paint me without clothes on...'' he dared me, and my eyes widened, but I quickly composed myself, grateful that he didn't notice it because he was now busy looking for something to change into. ‘‘You know… Jack and Rose from the movie Titanic?’’

When he turned back around to face me, I shook my head at him in an effort to break my fixation on his good looks for a moment longer. Instantaneously, an image of him exposing himself and striking a pose in front of me while I paint him popped into my head. Oh my God! No! ‘‘No, no… I'm so sorry... I mean. I've seen Titanic, but I don't consider myself a nude painter...''

He gave me a smirk while directing his pleased gaze toward me. ‘‘I can do it, though…’’

‘‘Do what…?’’ I could only scowl in bewilderment.

‘‘Paint you, naked…’’ his voice was hoarse, that I even imagined him see me as a girl. But when I looked into his eyes, all I saw was disgust directed towards me. ‘‘Oh, I can paint a girl naked but not you…’’

I laughed silently, when I saw his ears burning red.

‘‘You paint too?’’ I asked, only to suck in a deep breath at the sight of his bare chest as he undressed. His arms froze above his head, with a shirt halfway off and tangled around his head.

My brain took a second to catch up. I had hardly ever spoken to a boy before, and now one of them was removing his shirt right in front of me! And he wasn't just any ordinary boy; he was the one I had a crush on.

‘He thinks you’re a boy, Michelle…’ I quickly reminded myself as my eyes widened. And a boy wouldn’t be staring at his abs right this second!

I really tried to turn away, but there was so much skin on display, and his skin seemed to gleam as though the sun had selected him specifically to receive its rays. Mountains and valleys decorated his torso like a molded clay, is evidence as to why he became the best boxer of his generation. My eyes were glued to the sight.

‘‘Michael?’’ Devon inquired warily as he carefully pulled the shirt the rest of the way over his head. My attention was finally drawn to his face, where I discovered that he had lifted one eyebrow. ‘‘Are you all right?’’

‘‘What?’’ I made a squeaky sound, and the sound was garbled. ‘‘I mean, yes! I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Just a little tired It is now time for bed. Good night, Devon!''

‘‘Wait!’’ he exclaimed but I had already wrapped myself in the blankets and close my eyes. ‘‘Yes, I paint too...’’

When I heard what he had to say, it made me grin. I didn’t see this information of him, but I was glad that he shared it to me.

I think I just heard him sigh, and then I heard additional rustling sounds of more fabric. Was he taking off more clothes?

My cheek was on fire, and the blush spread all the way down to my neck. The guy I like was undressing in the same room as me. Sucking in another breath, I tugged the blanket higher over my head and scooted over until my nose brushed the wall.

But it was all for nought because my ears decided this was the time to perform to the best of their abilities.

The room was filled with the sound of Devon pulling his socks off, which was immediately followed by the sound of his belt being unbuckled. My eyelids were tightly screwed shut as though that would make the noise go away.

After that, I heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper, and despite my best efforts to maintain a steady breathing pattern, my cheeks were getting dangerously close to setting fire to the pillow. He was getting his pants off at that very moment...

The sound of Devon washing his hands caused a tingling sensation in my neck after I heard the faucet squeal as it turned on. Had he dressed himself prior to carrying out that action?

I tried to stop my imagination by pressing my eyes shut, but it wasn't very effective, so I squinted my eyes open instead and focused on the thin slice of stark white wall that was visible beneath my sheet.

What had I gotten myself into? Not only here, where I am currently sheltering behind a flimsy sheet with my nose pressed against a cold wall, but also at this school?

I wasn’t a boy. I wasn’t a good liar. This was a stupid strategy that was certain to fail, and all I was doing was wasting my time by continuing to pursue it.

‘‘Michael, you have to get up right now...'' Devon's sudden voice made me jump. ‘‘We’re going to eat dinner…’’

‘‘Dinner?’’ I pulled down the sheets when my stomach made a loud grumbling sound out of nowhere, as if it had been listening to what I was saying. This made Devon chuckle, and he walked over to the table and took some food containers out of the paper bag.

‘‘I know you haven't eaten yet ever since you arrived here...'' he stated, and handed me a Styrofoam container from a well-known fast food restaurant, but I didn’t move. He began to rip the sheets away from me as soon as he saw that I had no intention of rising from my sleeping position.

‘‘Hey!’’ I let out a yell and clutched the blankets more tightly than usual, terrified that he would see my chest. ‘‘Devon, stop!''

Even though he was only using one hand to pull the blanket, it felt as like his strength was twice as mine. When I realized that there was no way for me to win against him, I flung the covers on his face and sat up, leaning my back against the cold wall and covering my front with a pillow.

I bit my lip to hide the chuckle that was about to come out of my mouth as I waited for him to remove the sheets that were covering his face while I sat there with my hands outstretched.

He heaved a very long sigh as he glared at me, throwing the sheets on my bed. ‘‘You’re such a weirdo…’’ he shook his head and placed the Styrofoam on my hand before he took the other one and started eating after sitting down on my bed.

Why the hell was he sitting own on my bed?

‘‘By the way, if you really want to be a boxer, you can start your training tomorrow…’’ he said, taking a sizable chunk out on his burger. ‘‘You can find the training room in the third floor of the school building. Just look for me, okay?’’

I swallowed the food in my mouth without even chewing on it. Am I ready to become a boxer? What if he’d learn the truth while we were in the process of training?

I gave him a small smile when he turned to look at me, waiting for my answer. I nodded at him, finishing the cheese burger that he had given to me.