Chapter Three: Classic Defeat

Nick's POV

I pull myself up a branch as she yanks the curtains shut. Cussing under my breath, I jump to the next tree over. I can't believe I let her catch sight of me. I pause in my new branch, surely hidden behind the arrangement of leaves. I hear a few loud noises which cause some confusion. What is she doing in there? I have to wait a little bit longer, I didn't actually get a good sight of her. This isn't really going as planned. I would've been here earlier, but there was some blonde girl at the door and I couldn't let her see me.

After waiting a good thirty more minutes I let out a sigh of defeat. The boss is just going to have to accept me coming back tomorrow night. I really need some sleep if I'm not going to fall asleep during classes tomorrow. Yawning, I carefully climb back down the large tree. I hit the ground with a thump. I glance back up at her window. I see outline of her face peering out. Frick! Did she see me? I wait against the wall of the house. I still can't really make out any of her features. The curtains close again and I let out another sigh, this time of relief. I stealthily make my way out of her property.

. . . . .

The next day...

I wake up to the sound of my alarm and the morning sun blazing my eyelids. I sit up and stretch before slamming my fist on the clock next to my bed. I groan as I get out of bed. I really don't want to go to class. I check my watch, which is in forty-five minutes. I walk over to my bathroom and glance at myself in the mirror. There's darkness under my nearly black, brown eyes; not to mention my dark brown hair is ruffled and overly messy. I take a comb and swipe through it once.

"Good enough." I murmur as I put toothpaste onto my toothbrush. When I'm finished with stuff in the bathroom I switch shirts and head out to class with only ten minutes to waste. I park my car outside of the building, which my class is located in. I rush in and up three flights of stairs. I walk into class one minute early. No one glances at me as I take a seat in the back. The class then proceeds to begin.

I let my eyes wander over all of my classmates, which I usually do when I'm bored. That's when I notice a new student...at least I think it's a new student. Or they transferred to this class recently, but I didn't think you were supposed to do that after the transfer week ended. I stare at the back of her long black hair for a moment. Then she turns around.

My heart decides at that very moment to become an aspiring gymnast and do a somersault. Her violet eyes meet mine for a pure second. Then she raises an eyebrow and I realize I'm being weird. I quickly glance away, but the image of her looking at my pops back in my head. She's..gorgeous.

. . . . .

The hour ends much slower than I wanted it to, but finally I'm free to get up and talk to the newbie. Or, not. I watch as she quickly walks out of the door muttering 'sorrys' to everyone she passes. I debate rather to follow her or not. Deciding that would definitely be creepy, I head back down to the main floor of the building. I stare at my watch, twelve-thirty, and not another class. I curse silently at myself for making my schedule not as organized. I have four classes on a different day and only one today. Sighing, I decide to get lunch here, even though campus lunch is terrible.

After waiting in line for a good five minutes and then waiting for food for a good fifteen minutes, I finally take a seat at one of the empty tables in the eating area. Luckily, there was an empty one near the large windows that let me look outside. Unluckily, the view is of the city. Smoke, pollution, and strange people, exactly what I wanted to stare at. I turn back to the other students who are also eating. That's when I see her again. The girl from my class, carrying her lunch and sitting at a table not so far from me. I glance at my view and decide I won't miss it. Standing up, I carry my food over to her table.

"Anyone sitting here?" I ask. She stares up at me.

"Oh, it's you." She doesn't sound amused or slightly interested in the least.

"Hi, I'm Nick." I say taking that as a 'yes' to being able to sit down. I set my food on the table and pull up the chair.

"I don't think I asked." She says in a dull voice as she pops a fry in her mouth.

"No, you didn't." I laugh nervously, starting to regret all of my life decisions.

Sighing, she says, "Sorry, just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I just moved here and I'm pretty sure there was some freak outside my window last night."

"Wha-"

"Nevermind, I'm Jade."

"Jade."

"Yes, that's my name. You heard me correctly." What a pretty name.

"I'm Nick." I say.

"Yes, you've mentioned." She rolls her violet eyes and I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. What is going on? I'm usually much more chill than this. Get it together Nick.

"Haha, sorry," I take an awkward bite out of my cheeseburger.

"Well, it was sort of nice meeting you?" Her eyebrows burrow together, "Not so much, but I have to go. Different class." She pushes her chair back and grabs her trash.

"Oh, yeah, of course," I say quickly and also stand up, "Do you need someone to show you where to go?"

"Nope, I think I can find it myself." She nods.

"Right," I sit back down, "It was nice meeting you-and she's gone." I sigh to myself. What was that? Soo not cool, Nick. I shake my head and finish my burger.