Chapter 32: The Seat Beside Her
1504 Words
Akira's POV
I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into the classroom, Justin was sitting in my usual seat again. I stopped at the doorway, staring at him. He looked up from his phone and smiled. “Morning, Milky.”
“That's my seat.”
“I know.” I narrowed my eyes.
“Then why are you sitting there?” He glanced around the classroom as if searching for an answer. “Because it's a good seat.” I sighed.
“Justin.”
“Relax.” He picked up his bag and moved to the next seat. “You can have it.” I dropped my bag on the chair and sat down. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome.” He said smiling.
I pulled out my notebook, but I could feel his eyes on me. “What?” I asked. “Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I'm observing.”
“That's worse.” He laughed. “You're funny when you're annoyed.” I rolled my eyes and focused on my notebook.
The classroom slowly filled with students. Camila came in a few minutes later and immediately walked toward me.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
She dropped her bag beside me, then she looked at Justin, then at me.
Then back at Justin.
“What's happening here?”
“Nothing,” I answered quickly. Justin smiled.
“She doesn't like sharing her seat.”
“It's not about sharing,” I argued. “It's my seat.” Camila laughed.
“Same thing.” I shook my head. Before I could respond, the teacher walked into the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, ma'am.” She placed her books on the desk. “We're starting a new assignment today. You'll be working in pairs.” A few students groaned.
I quietly opened my notebook. “Your partners will be assigned by me, so don't bother choosing yourselves.” I heard Justin chuckle beside me.
“Looks like we're stuck together.” I looked at him.
“Don't get excited.” The teacher began calling out names.
“Camila and Megan.” Camila gave me a helpless look, then came my name.
“Akira Owens and Justin Carter.” My eyes widened. Justin turned toward me with a grin.
“Well, this should be fun.” I sighed.
“Don't make it difficult.”
“Me? Never.”
Across the classroom, I noticed Kael looking in our direction. His expression was unreadable, I quickly looked away. I didn't know why, but something about the way he was staring made me uncomfortable. The teacher continued assigning partners. When she finished, Justin pulled his chair closer.
“So, partner.”
“Don't call me that.”
“Why?”
“It sounds weird.”
“Okay, partner.”
I groaned.
He laughed.
“You're impossible.”
“I've heard that before.”
We started working. Surprisingly, Justin was actually good at the assignment. He wasn't just talkative; he understood the topic and contributed useful ideas. At one point, he made a ridiculous comment about the question we were solving.
I tried to hold back my laughter, but I failed. A small laugh escaped me. Justin smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“Your laugh.” I immediately stopped smiling.
“What about it?”
“You should do it more often.” My cheeks warmed. I quickly looked down at my notebook.
“Let's just finish this.”
“Alright.” I didn't notice the pair of eyes watching us from across the room.
But Kael did, and he wasn't happy.
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Kael's POV
I don't know why I kept looking at them. Actually, I knew exactly why. Justin was irritating, yhat was it. Nothing more. I leaned back in my chair, pretending to listen to the teacher while my eyes wandered toward Milky.
She was laughing.
At something Justin said.
I frowned.
What was so funny?
Adrienne nudged my shoulder.
“You alright?”
“I'm fine.”
“You look angry.”
“I'm not.” He looked toward Milky and Justin.
“Oh.” I glanced at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Then stop looking.” He chuckled.
“You're the one who's been looking at them all morning.” I immediately turned toward the teacher.
“I wasn't.”
“Sure.” I ignored him.
A few minutes later, Justin dropped his pen, It rolled across the floor and stopped beside Milky's shoe. She picked it up and handed it to him.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her, she smiled back. I clenched my jaw. This was ridiculous. Why did everything they did irritate me? When the teacher finally dismissed us for lunch, I packed my books quickly. I was almost out of the classroom when I heard Justin call her.
“Akira.”
She turned.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to come with us for lunch?”
Before she could answer, I spoke.
“She has somewhere to be.” Both of them looked at me. Milky frowned.
“I do?”
I froze.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Justin's lips curled into a small smile.
“Interesting.”
I glared at him.
“What's interesting?”
“Nothing.”
Milky looked between us.
“You two are acting strange.”
“I'm not acting strange,” I muttered.
Justin picked up his bag.
“Come on, Akira.” She followed him.
I stood there watching them leave.
I hated this, I hated every second of it.
>>>>>>>>
Akira's POV
By the time lunch ended, I was beginning to wonder if Kael had woken up on the wrong side of his bed. He had been unusually irritated all morning. And somehow, Justin was always at the center of it. When classes ended, Justin helped me gather the papers for our assignment.
“You almost forgot this.”
“Oh.” I took the paper.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He noticed the ink stain on my hand. “Your pen leaked.” I looked down.
“Oh no.”
“Here.”
He handed me a clean pen.
“You can keep it.”
I stared at it.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.” I smiled.
“You're welcome.” I didn't notice Kael standing several feet away. But he noticed everything.
The pen.
The smile.
The way Justin had made me laugh.
And for some reason, it bothered him more than it should.
********
Later That Evening
I sat across from Kael, flipping through my textbook. He was unusually quiet.
“You're distracted,” I said.
“I'm not.”
“You are.” He looked at me.
“Focus on what you're doing.” I raised an eyebrow. “You've been staring at the same page for ten minutes.”
“I was thinking.”
“About what?”
“Nothing.” I smiled.
“You're bad at lying.”
He scoffed.
“Look who's talking.” I continued studying for a moment before asking,
“Why don't you like Justin?” His eyes immediately lifted from the book.
“I don't trust him.”
“Why?”
“I just don't.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It doesn't have to.” I studied his face.
“You were angry today because I was working with him.”
“I wasn't angry.”
“You were.”
“I said I wasn't.” I smiled slightly.
“Okay.” He frowned.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because you're terrible at hiding things.” His expression softened for a second. Then he looked away.
“Just stay away from him.”
My smile disappeared.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“That isn't a reason.” He didn't answer.
For some reason, his silence made my heart beat faster. I looked back down at my book.
“Fine.”
Neither of us spoke again for a while, but something had changed. I could feel it. And I wasn't sure whether I was ready to understand what it meant.
>>>>>>>>
Justin's POV
I stood outside the classroom the following morning, watching Kael from a distance, He looked irritated. Again. I smiled to myself.
I hadn't done anything, not really. I hadn't flirted with Akira, I hadn't asked her out, I hadn't even touched her. All I'd done was sit beside her, talk to her. Make her laugh. And somehow, that was enough to get under Kael's skin.
Interesting, very interesting. I slipped my hands into my pockets and walked away. There was no need to rush. Kael was already reacting. I just needed to learn exactly why. And sooner or later, I would.
But for now… I was content to let him wonder why he cared so much.
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