Pursuing Miss Introvert

Chapter 4. From Afar

Laurence wiped the sweat dripping from his head as he continued to circle the school oval at six-thirty in the morning. Their entire varsity team was there with their coach. They had to prepare hard for their upcoming games against other schools. They fell short of the championship last year and surely wanted to secure it this year. So continuous training was necessary.

He rounded the far west corner of the field and spotted someone familiar from afar.

Slowing down his pace to a jog, he waited for her to come closer.

Laurence wondered why after just seeing her a few times, he could already recognize her from far away.

Walking leisurely on campus, Amelia took pictures of the trees and the school grounds. Stopping even, to maybe get angle shots of the wide oval from the looks of it.

Laurence jogged in place and waited for Ryan behind him.

"What?"

Ryan slapped his arm when he finally caught up with him.

"Don't tell me you're tired already."

His friend smirked at him but jogged in place too.

"You wish."

Laurence snorted.

"I was just giving you time to catch up on me."

He teased.

Ryan threw his head up and gave him the middle finger.

When he started moving forward again, Laurence kept up.

"I think I saw your cousin there."

Keeping a casual tone, he didn't want Ryan to suspect he was onto something.

"Oh, yeah?"

His friend didn't seem surprised to know she went to school that early.

"I guess she meant to catch up on her drawings."

That confused him a bit.

"What do you mean?"

He asked.

"She draws and paints a lot, so she would canvass a new place for inspiration."

Ryan huffed a little as he explained to him.

"How come you're not as talented as she is?"

Laurence teased him again.

Ryan playfully took a jab at him and missed his shoulders.

He laughed out loud and ran a little faster ahead.

Out of his curiosity, Laurence knew something new about her today. No wonder Ryan was adamant about Jaden asking questions about his cousin. She was one of those girls, the artsy and sometimes weird ones.

But he didn't dare voice out his observation or Ryan might not take it playfully anymore.

Amelia roamed the entire school until her feet felt sore from all the walking she did. Seeking a little silence, she next headed to the library to review the photos she took all morning.

Nice, she thought, as the images scrolled through her small digital camera. She would transfer them to her laptop one by one to see them in full detail. Although she could do her drawings anywhere on campus, sometimes she liked to work on weekends and at night when she couldn't sleep. Seeing the images anytime even when she wasn't in that particular area she wanted to draw or paint, she could still get inspiration for her work.

Saint John college was a scenic place. With its grounds covered with lined trees, it created an ambiance of tranquility and learning. The buildings looked modern but the chipped cobblestones and concrete around gave an aura that they had seen years of both challenge and accomplishment.

She must have been too focused on her camera that she didn't notice Claire approaching.

"Hey, girl."

Claire whispered as she sat down across from her.

"Hey, didn't see you come in."

Amelia put her camera down and faced her friend.

"What were you looking at, anyway?"

Claire asked.

"I took some photos around the school."

Amelia beamed, pleased with herself.

"Are they all hot?"

Her friend giggled.

"What?"

Milly's brows furrowed in confusion.

"The boys you took photos of, were they all hot?"

Claire teased.

Milly shook her head and chuckled.

"I didn't take photos of boys, you creepy girl!"

Feigning innocence, Claire cupped one side of her face and smiled.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's mockery.

Milly was grabbing her notepad from her bag when Claire frantically tapped her arm.

"Now what?"

Pretending to be annoyed, she glared at her friend.

"Cutie at three o'clock is slowly melting you with his eyes."

Claire whispered seductively, lowering her lashes before moving her attention back to whoever she was talking about.

Milly was confused.

Not wanting to appear over-eager, she slid down her arms on the table and slowly turned her head to the side.

And was met by a dark, intense gaze.

She instantly felt her face flush from the intensity of his stare.

If looks could burn, that moment when he was looking straight at her eyes felt like he could engulf her.

Laurence.

She recognized him right away but why was he staring at her like that?

Amelia broke eye contact and cleared her throat.

When she glanced at him again, he was already talking to his friends.

"So?"

Claire was clearly excited to grill her for any info about that.

But what was it about anyway?

Did he have anything to say to her that was why he was looking at her so intently?

"I'm confused..."

Milly shook her head at her friend.

"What do you mean you're confused?"

Claire continued.

"He obviously has the hots for you, girl!"

She rolled her eyes at her, she thought Claire could be a little bit dramatic sometimes.

"Girl, if those eyes didn't melt your insides I don't know what to call you!"

Milly chuckled.

"Shhhh..."

She had to remind her friend that they were still in the library and shouldn't be gossiping about boys at all.

"Don't tell me you didn't feel anything!"

Milly sighed at her friend's persistence.

"I saw you blush, don't lie to me."

Couldn't think of any more excuses, Milly buried her face in her notepad.

Her slender shoulders shook as she tried to contain her laughter, or else they would get scolded and die from embarrassment.

"I was as surprised as you are, to be honest."

She quipped after she calmed down.

"Don't think too much of it, okay."

Perky as always, Claire didn't look convinced.

"He was my cousin's friend."

She didn't know what that was about but she doubted it was anything romantic as Claire suggested.

Crossing her arms over her chest, her friend looked at her suspiciously.

Milly shook her head and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

She asked.

"I'm gonna go get this."

She held up a post-it note with the book title written on it.

"Wanna come with me?"

Milly smirked at her.

Claire rolled her eyes, dismissing her with a wave of her hand.

Shaking her head, Milly scanned the aisles of bookshelves until she found where the music books were displayed.

After a while, she spotted the one she needed on the top shelf.

That was high. She stopped for a moment and contemplated what to do next, then remembered seeing a small ladder on the other side of the aisle and moved back to grab it.

Balancing her weight, Milly reached for the book and carefully pulled it off the shelf.

Easy peasy, she thought.

She was about to step down when she felt a hand on her back.

Surprised by the sudden contact, she unintentionally scooted to the side.

Forgetting she was still on the ladder though, Milly lost her footing and almost in a slow-motion, fell backward.

She realized too late what was suddenly happening when she felt strong arms around her, holding her tight.

It felt like time stopped for a moment when she looked at a pair of eyes, intently holding her gaze.

His arms enveloped her body like cradle mid-air, and his other hand held the back of her head.

Her breath hitched as she realized they were embracing each other almost intimately.

Her hands clutched tight on the collar of his shirt to the point of tearing.

Laurence!

She tried to move and stand up but he didn't budge.

Holding her eyes hostage with his gaze, Laurence slowly lowered his face.

Amelia's fingers tightened on his collars as he drew closer and closer.

She could feel his hot breath on her face and as the distance between them shrunk, Milly closed her eyes in anticipation.

"Careful..."

Laurence whispered in her ear, before pulling her back up and leaving her standing there in utter shock.