We Love a Tortured Artist - Xavier Thorpe

Are You Stalking Me?

The day went by quicker than imagined. I was glad to have familiar faces in every one of my classes though. Eventually Bianca and I ended up in a small group outside of the school at about 3:00.

Wednesday and Enid were there too. 

We all walked together to the town talking. Turns out, people weren't as afraid of me as I thought. That or maybe they just weren't paying attention to me .

"I updated my blog." Enid said. She dropped back to end of the group where I was. 

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Although having people scared of you isn't the worst thing."

"Sounds like something Wednesday would say."

"It does doesn't it?"

Enid skipped back up to her other friends in the group. It was Wednesdays turn to fall back apparently.

"Do you like it here?" She asked me.

"It's hard to tell after just one day, but I don't hate it."

"I heard about your encounter with Xavier."

I laughed and looked towards the ground.

"Yeah, well he likes you so I don't know why he did that at all."

"Well I think he's over me. I have made it quite clear I'm not interested."

"I don't want to be a rebound because he couldn't get you."

"I doubt that's what he's doing, he's a nice person."

"I'll decide that for myself." 

I looked around as we walked into Jericho. I followed the group into one of the buildings and was hit with the strong sense of coffee.

We all ordered stuff in to go cups and went our separate ways, agreeing to meet in the town square in two hours. 

I walked around and looked at the shops as I went, waiting for one to catch my eye, or until I found an art store. Eventually I found what I was looking for, I didn't read the name of the shop, but I saw the supplies in the window.

I went in and smiled to myself. It smelled like leather and acrylic paint.

"Hey."

I jumped. I looked around and saw Xavier in one of the aisles.

"Are you stalking me?" I asked him. He laughed and shook his head.

"No I'm not, and its really not nice to accuse someone of stalking."

I started walking away from him. He followed me, just like I knew he would.

"Well sorry for being suspicious, but you've kind of been everywhere I've been today outside of our classes."

"That's fair, but I'm not stalking you. I've been trying to talk to you but you've been evading me. What are you looking for anyways?"

"A new sketchbook, my old one is full. And I'm not avoiding you."

"Feels like it." He walked away in a different direction and I sighed.

I felt kind of bad for pushing him away. I thought he had left the store but he came back to within minutes carrying a sketchbook.

"I've been trying to explain that I got over Wednesday, I have no chance with her, and I know that."

I sighed. He held out the leather bound book to me and smiled. I had so many mixed emotions running through my head and I didn't know how to deal with them.