It's About Time

I Call This Stalking

    The next morning, Natalie stood in front of the bathroom mirror watching her reflection.  She barely recognized herself. Her once bright eyes, were now dull and empty; the skin surrounding them red and puffy. Her skin was pale and hung closer to her bones than it ever had before. She sighed and looked away, quickly getting ready. 

     She arrived at the school at 7:57 and had just enough time to get to her first block before the final bell rang. She settled in, panting slightly. From the corner of her she could see Grayson watching her. Upon noticing her watching eyes, he turned back to his notebook and started writing again. 

     Natalie spent the remainder of the block sneaking sidelong glances at Grayson. Every time she looked, he was writing. She scrunched her nose, thinking. Why was he constantly writing? And why did she care?  She shook her head and looked at the clock.   9:09. She tried to remember what time they got out of this class, but just as she decided it was hopeless, the rest of the class started shuffling their papers and filling their backpacks. 

    She was ready when the bell rang at 9:12, grabbed her bag, and stood up. She was fully prepared to run in order to escape any more conversations with Grayson. However, before she could get any farther than her own desk, she heard his voice. 

     "You did a much better job at controlling the drooling while you were staring at me today". She could hear the smirk in his voice.  She rolled her eyes and twisted to face him. 

     "I wasn't drooling!" she huffed back. 

     "Ah, but you don't deny that you were, in fact, staring". His eyes were playful and his mouth was crooked.  Natalie stumbled over her response.

    "I-I-I wasn't staring!" She cringed at her voice, a few octaves higher than usual. 

    He let out a low chuckle. "Then what do YOU call it when someone looks at you for a prolonged period of time?" He questioned. He had an air of arrogance that spiked Natalie's defensiveness again. 

     "I call it...checking to make sure you were alive! You weren't moving very much, and I wanted to see if you were still breathing!"  Natalie blushed, knowing this was possibly the stupidest explanation ever. 

     Grayson appeared to think so too, as he was doubled over, laughing. Natalie jutted out a hip, crossing her arms, and waited for him to finish. When his laughter finally died down and he stood back up, he had a genuine smile on his face.

     Natalie was surprised at how much it changed his features.  His bright eyes seemed to shine and his smile stretched his face, revealing dimples. 

     "You're doing it again", he whispered. "You know, the whole 'checking to see if I'm breathing' thing?"  The smirk was back, and Natalie immediately blushed. Without so much as a look back, she left the classroom as quickly as possible. 

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