Love, Hope.

The Project

I never truly expected to be the midst of the attention of my high school after being called a loner for so long. But recently I seem to be the focus of girls, but not in a good way. They all look at me with judgy eyes as if I'm even a bit interested in Austin. We happen to have the same class together, and is that supposed to be my fault or something? Well, I couldn't care less, I'm out of here after graduation. But I'm certainly gonna have an interesting high school story to tell people.

It's almost the weekend and well I still haven't found out what Amber implied by what she said on Monday. Who did she mean? It's pretty annoying to live with questions. But by the stares I'm getting lately, I'm gonna guess she meant Austin. But that raises a new question which is, Why is he gonna be interested in me? There's nothing fascinating about my life and also he's new in town which means he barely even knows me. Well, I should stop being so curious, because it's tiring. Well the bell just rang and here's my queue to get to my class before someone lectures me about being late.

I get to my class and take a seat and as usual, Austin comes in and takes a seat beside me. Totally normal. Miss George comes in with piles of papers which is generally something she doesn't do.
"Good afternoon class, today we're gonna be talking about a project that you have to do. Yes it's going to carry marks and it's crucial for you to be invested in this as much as possible " she said.
Ugh kill me. Really? A project. We started school like two weeks ago, and already we're being given a project?
"And oh yes, it's gonna be a group project. I paired up you guys in groups of 2 and I'll be declaring the names after I finish discussing what the project is going to be" she added.

Oh! So it's more torturous than I thought it'd be. I have been working alone on all the projects just fine. I barely get along with anyone at this point and not that I even want to.
"You look really delighted about this whole project " Austin said out of nowhere.
Really? Now I have to deal with his sarcasm too?
"Yes, I do. I can't wait to find out who my partner is! " I said, with a fake smile.
He just chuckled. Does he believe he's the only sarcastic one here? Ha! He wishes.
Miss George proceeds to describe what the project is gonna be, now.
"You'll be assigned a partner and 2 weeks of time to be exact to finalize the project and submit me. You've to observe your partner for 2 weeks. Know what their qualities are, what they like, how they act when they're experiencing certain emotions and etcetera. You'll also be writing about the experience you're having getting to know and working with your partner. Did I make everything clear?"

Ugh. Isn't that too much work? I hardly speak to people unless I really have to, let alone spend 2 weeks knowing and observing them. Kill me.
"It's not so bad" Austin said.
Can he read my mind or something?
"Yeah, not for you. You've friends. People like you. You're literally the golden guy of our school now. Why would you even hate this project?" I said in a grumpy voice.
He just looked at me and smiled. Why does he keep doing that? Is he trying to be a mystery or something?
Miss George starts telling the names of everyone's partners. And honestly at this point, I just wish it's anyone but Austin. And that's when she said, "Austin and Hope".

Like seriously? Are you kidding me? As if weeks of death stares from his fangirls weren't enough, now I have to deal with comments probably. Since I'm gonna spend so much time getting to know him.
"Oh ! What a pleasant surprise "
Right, I also have to deal with his annoyingly saracastic comments.
"Yes, a surprise indeed. But not a good one"
"Oh, you don't hate me do you?" he said making that puppy eyes face.
Really?
Grow up.
"No I don't hate you, you stood up for me, but you are the center of the attention which I don't like being. So I hate this project"
"Oh come on, just ignore the people who make you feel like a target. I know it's easy to say but it's just 2 weeks right? You'll get through this."
he said with a genuinely intense tone.
He's not wrong. Its just two weeks and after that, I'll stay as far from him as possible. Mark my words.
"Yeah you're right," I said.
"Also I'll protect you if you're scared" he said with a smirk on his face.
"Ha! You're so funny"
"Well, thank you! " he laughed.
His laugh made me laugh. I don't know how or why. I do wanna stay mad at him for no reason but also he's the only one who stands with me or behaves nicely with me how can I hate him? He's a good guy. I must admit.

After the last class of the day was over he asked if he could accompany me to my car, which I thought was sweet but it just draws more attention. I usually used to walk home but my dad decided to allow me to drive mom's car recently and I like driving her car, it reminds me of her presence, about the times she would drop me off and pick me up from school, the time we'd do carpool karaoke together. All the good times we spent in that car.
"Thank you for walking me to my car, real gentlemen move but why?" I asked with curiosity.
"I don't know I just wanted to. You are nice to be around" he said.
I couldn't help but smile. Did he mean that?
"Alright I'll pick you up tomorrow at 9 am sharp don't be late and text me your address" he said.
"Wait what?"
"For the project. We're doing mine first. I'm not taking you on a date, unless... " he smirked
"Okay bye" he waved
I waved back at him.
Did he just flirt with me? He's probably just being 'Austin'. Always saracastic. And we're already starting to work on the project. Talk about an exhausting life. We'll see how this project goes. I can't wait for it to be over.

What can possibly happen when Hope and Austin start spending more time together?

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5th chapter on 24th March