A Broken Forever(34)

I found myself staring into his captivating blues, his smile lighting them up so magnificently I couldn't resist getting lost in a trip down memory lane.



"You're doing so well this year, Grey. Just don't take on such a heavy course load this semester. Too many times I have seen students lose their steam because they thought they could do it all." I smiled and listened to my favorite teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, go on about things I already knew. I knew what I could handle, I may be young but that didn't mean I couldn't determine for myself how many classes I should take on. 

My eyes darted to the wall clock, and I registered there was four minutes before my next class would start. With the crazy hall traffic and an inevitable stop to my locker, there was no way I was going to make it. I stood, slinging my bag onto my shoulder and loading the books into my arms that wouldn't fit into my backpack.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," I said in hopes that she would wipe the concern from her face and let me be on my way.

"Would you consider meeting with a guidance counselor about your excessive work load?"

I glanced back to the clock-three minutes. "Uh huh." She let out a laugh and shook her head.

"Alright, Grey, you're excused. Go make a run for it to your next class. Would you like a note?" I heard her question, but I was already out the door and wasn't going to stop to go back. I would just skip the locker and hope the halls were clearing up.

Going from the first floor to the third was never an easy feat, but I managed to make good time. Well, that is until I rounded the second to last corner and slammed into something that definitely shouldn't have been there. I didn't merely stumble backwards, I completely fell onto my ass with my books nearly crushing me. My first thought was that I was never going to be to class on time now, but my second thought … well, it was filled with him. About a foot from me, crouching down to scoop my books into his arms was a wide, mischievous smile and eyes that danced with amusement.

"I'm so sorry about this. Are you hurt?"

He spoke in a manner that made me stop my struggle to right my backpack over my shoulder. There was no way he went to this school, I would have remembered, or at the very least heard about him. This enigma of a man looked like he had a secret, and for the first time in my years in this high school I could care less about getting to class on time. He placed my books on the ground in a pile and reached his hands down to me. He locked them around the back of my arms and lifted me to my feet.

"Well, you don't look it at least," he said with those absolutely impeccable blue eyes focused on me.

Now, I've seen blue eyes in people all my life, but none could hold a candle to his. It was as if every beautiful shade of blue added a fleck of color to the iris. Dark blues, angelic soft coloring, and even more, they changed as he stared. The amusement made his eyes shine with the sapphire, midnight and navy shades, but as his amusement became concern, a softer shade of azure took over. It hadn't occurred to me until the loud chime of the bell rang throughout the halls that I had just been staring into his eyes.

How embarrassing! I have never, ever done that before. Maybe I hit my head when I fell? That was about the only thing that came to mind of why I would stare at him this way without blinking.

"Are you not answering me on purpose?" He crossed his arms over his chest. The toned, tanned muscle of his forearms stood out against his white sweatshirt.

"Huh?" Brilliant-win him over with your intelligence. I have a 4.0 GPA and all I can manage is the word 'huh.' Please let something large fall on my head. I was never going to live this down.

A wickedly charming smile revealed the whites of his teeth. "Am I distracting you from something?"

"Um," Think Grey-you can do this! "No." Way to go with a solid answer-shit! "Yes!"

He raised an eyebrow and scanned those magnificent eyes along my figure to the floor where my books sat between us as a reminder of where I should be.



       
         
       
        

"Class," I finally got out. "I need to get to class, but no, I'm not hurt," I answered, remembering his earlier questions.

"I'm happy to hear that."

"That I need to get to class?" I found myself asking. Why I couldn't just pick up my stuff and walk away was a mystery I was still struggling to grasp.

"No, that you weren't hurt by slamming into me."

"Oh, yeah. Did I hurt you?" He let out a slow enchanting chuckle as he shook his head from side-to-side. A shaggy, perfectly unkempt head of dark hair with golden tones caught hold of the sun, and I swear between the gold in his hair, blues of his eyes and that charming smile-I was going to forget everything I've ever learned.