Amory's POV
I'm tired, my back feels like it's is breaking and my head feels like it's about to explode and not to mention how hungry I am right now... Who knew I would be cleaning my studio apartment anytime soon, I never intended to, at least not now but then it's Kale and his brooding presence, ever since I got closer to him, he's always making me act out of character, and spoil my perfect plans even though I can't blame him for the change of location to this place, my room at my parents house was perfect for this but then my demons had come to harass me again and I had to entertain again.
"Ugh... I'm so hungry," I said and stood up from the floor that I was sprawled out on after the cleaning. Though the vacuum cleaner was still moving around the room, I watched the baby robot move from one point to the other, the noise annoying me more and more.
"Ahhh!!! Shut your mouth if you're done cleaning," I yelled at the offensive robot.
"Why are you yelling? "Kale said in a gentle voice and moved to turn off the robot before taking it to the makeshift kitchen . I glared at his leg not willing to raise my head to look at him
That accursed voice of his—if not for that voice, I would not be here tired and hungry.
Look at me, Amory... Please.
Maybe it's the way he said my name for the first time, with such uncurbed gentleness; I could feel the gentle caress of the word as it left his lips, and not to mention the British accent that cut through the whole sentence. His voice is so soft I almost asked him to say it again.
Maybe I should…
Amory, please... "Ahhhhhh!!!! Ahhh!!!" I yelled again. If I continue thinking about that, I'm really going to act out of character and do something I won't really be proud of.
I looked up to see Kale move to sit on the couch opposite me, giving me a grim look.
"If you yell one more time, the neighbors will call the police."
I didn't respond, I couldn't... I stared at him wide eyed, he was drying his hair, apparently he just came out of the shower because he insisted he cannot do anything productive if he did not shower, considering he was cleaning, that's not the issue, the issue is his clothes.
He's currently wearing the trousers he came here with, but the hoodie he is wearing is mine, and it's pink. I don't know why he looks so ridiculous in the outfit as he tries to wriggle his body to fit the clothes properly. It's a crop hoodie, so at the slightest raise of his hand, his stomach will show.
I continue to look at him as he shifted uncomfortably, unable to stifle my laughter anymore, I burst out laughing rolling on the floor I watch him struggle to dry his hair and at the same time make sure his stomach is covered, so he had one hand in hair and the other holding the rebellious clothe, he stopped what he was doing and watched me instead, his face was unreadable as he stared at me making slow down my laughter but still stifling chuckles
" Why are you laughing" he said with genuine confusion, his eyes moved from my face to the place I was looking at before frowning, the towel now abandoned in his hair, his hands moved to cover the slight show of his skin, when he was satisfied he held the cloth down he looked at me
"That's the only thing that is my size in your little wardrobe, and I washed my other shirt.
But I don't know why it keeps going up when I raise my hands."
"That's because it's a crop hoodie; it's meant to show skin." I watched the lines in his face deepen... oh my God, he's pouting.
"I don't want to show skin," he said, still frowning and quickly tucking the hoodie back into his trousers in a very ungraceful way. Satisfied, he moved to dry his hair again, and the hoodie followed, and I was back on the floor rolling with laughter. I really don't remember the last time I laughed this much. I cleaned the small tears in my eyes and looked at him staring at me again, his eyes narrowed.
Please, can someone tell this guy not to stare at me like this... It makes my mouth dry.
I cleared my throat, moving to stand. "Let me help you."
"How?" he asked, staring down with displeasure at the cloth.
"Let me help you dry your hair, then you don't have to raise your hands," I said matter-of-factly.
He seems to be thinking of it while still watching me warily.
"Fine," he said.
I walked closer to him, reaching out to take the towel left on his head, and proceede d to dry his hair. He is slightly taller than me, so I had to raise my hands higher, even my toes, to reach his back hair. I had to come closer for that task. I stopped to look at him.
He is. Staring at me. His expression was unreadable, I wanted to, but I could not just ignore those green orbs staring directly into my dilating ones.
"Why did you stop?" he asked, his voice husky and at the same time gentle. I gulped.
"I... I can't reach you, I mean your hair." He watched me for a second before sitting down on the couch, his eyes still fixed on me. I looked down at him, his unwavering gaze still placed on me.
My hands moved to his hair, and I subconsciously weaved my hands through the silky hair that is now a shade darker than I knew it. I love the feel of it around my fingers as my hands moved to the back of his head, feeling the soft roots. The expression on his face changed, the look in his eyes more intense.
"Did you dye your hair?" I asked, and he nodded wordlessly, still not breaking eye contact...
"It looks good." This time he didn't say anything, just stared up at me. I felt the shiver go through from the back of my neck down to my toes, making them curl.
"Brrrrghhhdhdhdh!!!!"
I was startled at the loud sound from the alarm. snatching my hands from his hair in alarm... What the heck!! What was that ...
I moved back to see him take his phone and switch off his unconventional alarm.
"Sorry," he muttered, but the spell he cast on me has already worn off.
And I threw the towel on his face. "Dry your hair yourself," I said before moving frantically to the kitchen. I went to the fridge, took out a bottle of water, and downed it, not caring at which temperature it was in. I breathed in. Willing the knots that have formed in my stomach to unknot themselves... I can't deal with this right now... I'm supposed to be seducing him!!!
A sharp sting in my stomach reminded me of the hunger that was there in the first place; I have to find something to eat.
I started looking for my phone; I need to order something before I finally start crying.
"Are you looking for this?" Kale handed me my phone, and I sighed in relief.
"I'm going to order food. I'm definitely sure I can't work without food in my belly, and currently there's none in it." I said I'm already typing on my phone.
"Ohh."
"Do you need anything?" I asked him, my head still bent on my phone.
"I'll take whatever you're ordering," he said, and I nodded before ordering two boxes of pizza.
"So what do you suggest we do regarding the project? I had painting in mind."
He said,
"I don't have a problem with painting. I did like to paint at some point in my life, but I stopped."
I said,
"Why did you stop?" I just shrugged; it just slipped my interest. I'm not interested in it anymore.
"Well, we're going to make it interesting," he said, now looking at me.
I smirked at the determination in his eyes. "How do you plan on doing that, Kale? It's just painting."
"Well, we're going to make art, not just painting. If it's not poetic, then it's not really art."
He said,
"How do you intend to do that?"
"We paint together; we're using one canvas, but we paint together at the same time and make a video of ourselves doing it."
I stared at him while trying to imagine us painting on one canvas at the same time.
I was about to tell him it's not going to work when our delivery arrived, and I couldn't be happier as I rushed and quickly took the two boxes of pizza and proceeded to drop them on the table. Before I quickly opened one pizza box, I took a slice and shoved it in my mouth and moaned, savoring the food while closing my eyes, before I started eating in a very ungraceful way. I can't afford to care right now... But someone did.
I raised my eyes to find Kaleneho hadn't even touched his pizza box, giving a look that shows he's clearly disgusted by my not-so-pleasant eating manners.
"What?" I said with food still in my mouth, some particles of food falling from my mouth.
I watched his eyes narrow into slits by my action. I could practically feel the look of disgust he was sending my way, and for some reason that only amused me the more as I continued eating, not in the least bit caring enough to relieve him of whatever queasy feeling was building in him.
He could deal with it; he is glaring at me now, but I just rolled my eyes before swallowing and cleaning my mouth.
"Why can't you eat like a lady?"
"I'm hungry and don't really care about that at the moment, okay? Stop glaring at me already.
"I wiped it," I exclaimed when he was still looking at me.
**************
Kale's POV
I am distracted, inevitably so, which is a very strange and unwelcome feeling. I never get distracted, especially during lectures. I have the ability to shut down everything around me and focus solely on the lecture or when I'm reading a particular book; maximum concentration is one of my strengths, but that skill seems to have deserted me in a short frame of time. Distracting thoughts etched in my mind are the last thing I want now.
"And that is how the Caliphate started," the voice of the professor resounded in the classroom.
I frown deeply as It occurred to me that I'm distracted yet again and have no idea where the class is going.
"Are you alright? You've been frowning." I turn to Amory, who is sitting right beside me in class, her expression so nonchalant as she stares lazily at the professor, showing her distaste about history or the Arabs or whatever the professor is going on about.
I nodded, willing myself to look elsewhere than the girl sitting beside me.
"Are you sure? The lines in your forehead are getting deeper," she said, trying to mimic my expression, squinting her eyes to show me before opening them back again. Her brown eyes have never been brighter and more transparent; the little sun rays passing through the window reflected so much on her eyes, it's like a mirror, a honey-brown mirror reflecting deep and unending orbs...
Is that a silver lining? I'm transfixed again. Staring into her eyes again, just like yesterday,
For the first time in a long time, I experienced a strange emotion that I can't quite put my finger on. Thinking logically, it's supposed to be nothing; she just offered to dry my wet hair, and I agreed. It's not the first time someone dried my hair; my mom has, and Eli has also assaulted me once, claiming to wipe off water from my hair, which ended very badly. Needless to say, someone other than myself has dried my hair, and it amounted to nothing. What I can't really explain is why the image of Amory had been stuck on my head, those brown orbs staring down at me, and I couldn't bring my eyes to look away from her, and not to mention her fingers in my hair...
Oh my God, her fingers—she weaved her fingers through the root of my hair, making me shiver. She did it so carelessly with such uncaged gentleness.
Did you dye your hair?
I nodded because I could not say anything; her hands moved to the back of my neck, and my breath hitched.
It looks good.
That was definitely not the first time someone complimented me; I get compliments all the time.
I could have said something or at least said thank you for the compliment, but I was transfixed.
at her that I didn't say anything, just stared like a creep. I'm pretty sure she thinks there's something wrong with me considering she threw the towel at my face midway through the task.
"Kale, did you hear me? You keep getting distracted."
It's so ironic how the distraction itself is asking what the distraction is. Maybe my mistake was allowing her to take the seat next to me, which is Eli's seat, and the best friend couldn't be more ready to relinquish the seat while smiling, leaving me at the mercy of this girl. I'm not one to feel strongly; I used to feel numb after the accident, but after I found solace in Christ, the numb feeling was replaced by something else, but I still have not experienced my emotions going haywire like this. As much as I wanted to understand it, I needed to quiet down for a moment to think straight... Chapel
I stood up abruptly, stuffing my things inside my bag before sprinting out of the classroom, my legs moving quickly towards the designated area because I knew there I could find my peace.