The Raven and The Dove

Chapter 2

As the bell rang, Caleb grunted a bit. He was seen as a delinquent, despite him actually being pretty well behaved. He showed up to all his classes - well, almost all of them - and he actually had fairly good grades. Not as good as someone, who put their time into studying, obviously, but they were a little above average. He did pay some attention, after all.

Making his way down the hallways, a flash of color catches his attention. That girl again. He'd been watching her for a while, admiring her looks and calm behaviour. He had never seen her mad or upset in any way, and she always seemed to have a smile on her face. Something was drawing him to her, but he had no idea how to go about it, or if he should even do anything. Maybe he should just let her be. She was innocent, after all. Not someone, who should be dragged down by his reputation. Right?

His gaze rests on the girl, admiring everything from her gentle features to her long hair, clearly dyed recently. She seemed to always dye it a different color, and this time it was in multiple colors. The color of a sunset. Beautiful.

A groan escapes him as he feels an elbow make contact with his ribs, chuckles sounding from his friends. They knew very well, that he had a crush on the nerd girl, and they never missed a chance to tease him about it. Today, however, it seemed they had decided to push it juuuust a bit further.

"Go talk to her!" one of them says, pushing him towards the girl. "You can't just stare at her forever!"

Caleb looks absolutely terrified for a second, before he pushes against the guy, effectively regaining his balance. "Are you crazy?!" he whisper-yelled, a desperate look in his eyes. "I don't even know her name!"

"Melia."

They all freeze completely, before slowly turning around. It was her voice. Melia. Caleb can't help a small smile from briefly gracing his lips, before he quickly regains control of his facial muscles, his usual neutral expression back in place.

"Excuse me?" he says, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"My name's Melia." she responds, her small smile still on her lips as she tilts her head lightly to the side. "I couldn’t help but overhearing your conversation, so I thought I'd make it easier for you." She flashes them another bright smile, before she continues walking.

All four guys can't help but stare after her, mouths open and looking absolutely brainless. Did she just... Sass them?

It takes them a few seconds to regain their composure, Caleb being the first to snap back to reality, as he follows Melia. He pushes her against the wall, smacking his hand next to her head as he leans in and looks down at her. For a moment, he's distracted by her lips. So inviting, even with the smile slowly fading, it took all he had to not claim them for himself. That wouldn't be fair to her, after all.

His eyes find hers, a small moment of hesitation surging through him as he catches a glimpse of... What did he see? It was gone within a second, causing him to think he was imagining things. That couldn't be right. She would never glare at anyone, right? Yet, there was a lingering feeling of doubt, lurking in the back of his mind.

Melia had let out a small sound of surprise, when she was suddenly cornered by one of the guys, her eyes slowly following the arm to his face. Was he... Trying to bully her?! Like hell, she would let that go! She barely remembers where she is, managing to stop the glare quickly, instead widening her eyes as if she was surprised and slightly scared. She could not allow herself to be stubborn here. It could give her a bad reputation, and she did not want that.

Instead, she chooses to lower her gaze, turning her head away a bit as if submitting. She was mentally throwing around some of the worst slurs she could think of, but her mask was perfect. She had practice.

"I-I'm sorry, if I offended you.." she mumbles, her voice low and shivering slightly. She carefully looks up a bit, looking through her long lashes as she barely meets his gaze, surprised to see regret on his face, though she doesn't show it.

At her words, Caleb can't help but feel his stomach tying itself into a knot, his fist clenching next to her head. He didn't mean to scare her, at all! Why was he so bad at this?! A tiny little voice in his head was screaming to back off, but he couldn't find the strength to move when she looks at him again. How could anyone look so innocent, cute and sexy, at the same damn time?!

"Offended?" he asks, eyebrow slightly raised. Why would she think that? "While I was a bit surprised, I am not offended in the slightest."

He can't help a small smile from showing, when she tilts her head in confusion. So cute!

"I did, however, find your attitude damn sexy." he adds, his voice lowering slightly with every word, as he lowers his head closer to hers. "I'm wondering what I need to do, to see more of that, hmm?"

Her mouth is slightly open as she looks at him, surprised at his words. The hell did he just say? She must've heard him wrong. She didn't even do anything! She quickly regains her composure, though it falters a bit when he leans closer, his words sending involuntary shivers down her spine. Something was definitely wrong with her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have barged in on your conversation." she says slowly, as if being careful with her words. "It's just... I saw you looking at me, and when I passed by, I heard you say you didn't know my name. So I thought I'd tell you." 

She looks away again, pretending to be shy about it, while still suppressing the urge to just punch him. Or jump him. Either would work. A small sigh escapes her as she mentally slaps herself, quickly dismissing that last thought. She wasn't like that!

Hearing her sigh, Caleb frowns a bit. He finally straightens himself, realizing she might be uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, if I scared you." he says, his voice soft as he looks at her. "I just..." He hesitates a bit, looking away with a slight redness in his cheeks. "I just wanted to talk to you." he finally finishes, clearing his throat a bit as if it would get rid of the awkwardness. "I should go."

Melia looks after him as he walks away, his friends calling his name as they tease him about his red cheeks. "Caleb..." she mumbles to herself, before suddenly smacking her books against her forehead. What the hell was she thinking?!

She shakes her head a bit, in an effort to clear her thoughts, glancing after Caleb one last time before turning down the hallway, not quite able to shut out the thought of not minding if he did that again soon.