CAPTURE THIS (Updating regularly)

Chapter 6

Alex didn't understand. He couldn't stop staring at her either. 

This was the woman - girl - who had been sitting in his car last night. This was the girl he had introduced to his cousins and was planning on introducing to the closest thing he had to parent. This was the girl who... She was still in school? 

His mind seemed to have gone completely blank. He couldn't take her eyes off of her. She looked so... average at school. Her wild hair was pulled into a ponytail but was struggling to come free. The tie-dye colours were gone, instead replaced with a shirt and some jeans. She didn't look like herself and yet, he couldn't stop staring. 

She had the sense to turn away. Her rosy cheeks were positively glowing, something which always tempted Alex to run his finger across her face. His eyes fell on her crutches, and he forcefully pushed the memory of his arms around her slim waist to the deepest corner of her mind. 

He turned to face the board, praying that nobody would see the way he had been gaping at her. He was slow. Stupid. Nothing beside how aware she was.

He had a class to teach. He'd been preparing for this moment for months. He needed this job. The photos weren't bringing in the money they used to when he first started. He needed to speak. 

"Good morning class, my name is Mr Knightly and I'm going to be your teacher this year." 

Could they hear his voice waver? He scribbled his name on the board with a white board pen and took a moment to take a deep breath and start the lesson the way he had rehearsed. 

***

Amber couldn't concentrate. There was no way to look anywhere in his general without revealing something. She noticed Zora flickering confused glances between the two of them but thankfully, Zora didn't have the chance to say a word because Alex was quite the talker. It wasn't something she'd ever noticed. Usually when they were together, he'd just listen to watch she'd say and would only answer if pushed. 

The lesson passed agonisingly slowly. The initial shock had calmed but she was now filled with panic. Amber tried to keep the serious questions about what they were going to do, in a dark corner of her mind. She didn't want to delve into her feelings for Alex. 

Her little secret was bubbling inside of her, threatening to spill. She needed someone to know. She tried to casually glance over to Zora but she was already intently watching Amber. Amber took a scrap piece of paper and scribbled something on it before flicking it over to Zora's desk when Alex's back was turned to the class. 

The wood guy is him. Amber had underlined the word 'him' multiple times in order to make it clear but there was no need, Zora knew exactly what she meant. 

Her eyes looked like they were going to fall out of their sockets. If it had been any other situation, Amber would have laughed but instead, she threw Zora a frightened look as she fought to keep her blush at bay.

When the lesson ended, Amber bolted from the class, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. She usually waited for Zora so that they could meet Saf to spend their break together but Amber couldn't handle the both of them just yet. She knew that Zora would fill Saf in on the details and she didn't mind but she didn't want to spend their break discussing something which Amber had no idea how she felt about. 

So she hid in the toilets for the fifteen minute break. She checked all the cubicles were empty before she began pacing up and down in front of the mirrors, trying to sort her mind out. Her stomach was in knots, it felt as if someone had stuck their hand in and jumbled everything up. She had a metallic taste in her mouth, which no amount of swallowing would get rid of.