He Caught My Eye

Mr. Dan began by introducing the new seating plan, which the students have already seen and complained about, and the rules of his class. Naomi was not paying attention to him. She couldn’t. Propping his head lazily with a hand under his chin, Jace had turned his whole body toward her. After twenty minutes of trying to ignore his stare, she snuck a glance at him. He grinned mischievously at her.

Another ten minutes of discomfort passed. Mr. Dan then wrapped up his lesson, but not before he requested everyone to spend some time conversing with their new seating partners. Oh joy.

Naomi was unsure if Jace had even taken his eyes off her for the past half an hour. He looked as if he could decipher what she was thinking by merely staring at her. “Are you done staring?”

He tapped his fingers on his desk and smiled at her. “You’re cute. Do you have a boyfriend?”

She almost choked, taken aback by his sudden question. “I’m not interested in you,” she said, and willed herself to believe it.

Jace let out an extra long sigh and shook his head sadly. He turned around where a redheaded girl, whose name Naomi had momentarily forgotten, sat. The girl lifted her head up immediately to look at him.

“You’re cute,” he said to her. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Naomi resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes. She was appalled by the way Jace behaved. Her negative feelings toward the new boy grew immensely, though a smaller, weaker part of her was attracted by his stunning looks. She closed her eyes and chided herself silently.

“You look pretty even with your eyes closed,” Jace muttered to himself. “Like a sleeping angel.”

Naomi's eyes flew open and she shot him a glare. He smirked, looking arrogant, and ran a thumb over his lower lip. Her gaze followed his hand, the way they traced the corner of his lips lightly, and then brought her eyes up to his charcoal ones. She swallowed involuntarily. There was something about his black eyes that intrigued her. She could not quite put her finger on it, but she wanted to look into them for as long as she could. Her heart fluttered and her cheeks flushed red when he held her gaze. His lips parted, a whisper of nothing escaping them.

Naomi wanted to kiss him. Right now.

“You’re the one who’s staring now,” Jace said, his lips tugging a playful smile. “Have you completely fallen for me yet, Naomi?”

She snapped out of her stupor and narrowed her eyes at him. “Why must you make everything seem like a joke to you?”

“Not everything.”

“Oh, really? Name me one—”

“You. Naomi Leroy.”

She bit her lip to hold back the smart reply she had in mind. His response had left her off guard. “Ha-ha,” she managed to say. “It’s not funny.”

“It’s not supposed to be a joke, remember?”

Naomi pursed her lips. Crossing her arms on the table, she bent her head down and closed her eyes, picturing a tattered white flag. Jace was getting under her skin, and honestly, inside her heart as well. She had to get a grip. The seconds of awkward silence passed slowly and painfully.
Jace tapped her head softly.

“We’re stuck with each other for the rest of who knows how long,” he reasoned when she looked up. “Let’s get to know each other. Jace Ashford.”

His smile was genuine when he extended a hand toward her. She took it, but quickly pulled back afterward. “You already know my name.”

“So…” He rubbed his thumb and index finger on his chin thoughtfully. “Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do when you’re free?”

“I read a lot,” she admitted, hardly believing that they were talking properly. “I do enjoy music as well. How about you?”

“I’m not sure. Does looking at you count?”

It did not pay to be nice. “Look, Jace Ashford, I’m not the kind of girl you’d like. I won’t go crazy over your gorgeous eyes or—” she said without thinking, immediately regretting that she had even opened her mouth to speak.

“I always knew my eyes were alluring,” His arrogance was back again. “But no one ever said anything about them being gorgeous. Thanks. You have nice eyes too.”

Naomi’s stomach clenched. “That isn’t the point,” she paused. When he did not interrupt, she took a deep breath to compose herself and continued. “I won’t throw myself at you the way Laura did. I won’t be interested in you. I’m not your type, I can tell.”

Jace acted as if she had not spoken. “Especially when you blink them. It’s like a killer move.”

The school bell rang, signaling the end of class. Naomi let out an exasperated sigh before walking toward Ellyn, who had just waved goodbye to her partner. Her best friend looked eager to know more about Jace, but Naomi was going to disappoint her. If she had learnt anything about the new boy, the only things she could come up with were that he was over-confident and too full of himself.

Not to mention he had a pair of beautiful black eyes.

Or the way his seemingly soft lips curved upward when he smiled.

Or the way he batted his long eyelashes with every blink.

“How did it go?” Ellyn started bouncing around her again. “All the girls must be burning with envy!”

Naomi shrugged. “They wouldn’t be if they were actually sitting there.” She was not sure if it was a lie.

“Tell me everything during lunch,” The other girl paused outside the doorway and waved a sheet of paper frenziedly. “I’ll see you in the cafeteria. I’m late for my Biology assignment submission.”

Naomi nodded, glancing over her shoulder.

But Jace had already left.