elude // jahseh onfroy

4 - crushing

I can't make out what they're talking about, but I'm left without a chance the second our professor enters the room. The guy next to me turns back around, uninterested in the fact our professor has arrived. 

In fact, he's on his phone the entire lesson, which irritates me to a certain degree. 

On my way out of class, I push past a few people before reaching the door, but I am taken aback when I feel somebody tug my arm from behind. I snap my neck to meet the gaze of the guy who sat next to me, a smile forming on my face. 

"You dropped this," he says, his voice raspy as if he had just woken up. That's when I notice the lipgloss in his hand, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment before grabbing it. 

"Thank you," I say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. An unexpected smirk forms on the guy's lips, adjusting his bomber jacket. 

"I've seen you before, right?"

"Have you?" I ask, keeping my tone confident.

"You drive that sick Porsche, huh?" he asks, the question lingering in the air. 

"I'm sorry, I don't think I've caught your name," I say, walking out of class at the same pace as him. A bunch of people have crowded the corridor, all of them walking in different directions. 

"Didn't say it," he smirks, his deep brown eyes still on me. "Ski."

"Your parents must have loved the sport," I joke, earning a puzzled expression from him. "Skiing," I clarify, but I'm lowkey embarrassed from my shit joke. 

"Oh... Nah, that's what people call me."

"Huh..." I mumble, an awkward silence lingering between us.

"What about you? What's yours?" 

"Nora," I answer. Ski nods. 

"Cute. Look, I was askin' 'bout the car cuz I saw you pull out of your garage this mornin'," Ski says, making me give him a puzzled look. Ski chuckles as if he had just realised something. "I live on the other side of the street."

"No way! We're neighbours?" I beam at him.

"Yep," Ski says, popping the 'P'. He seems really suave in his talking, too... 

"Oh, I just moved there at the start of the semester. I lived in New York before," I explain, making his eyes widen.

"Yo," Ski laughs, shaking his head. "You lived in New York and now you in this shithole?"

"Had no choice," I joke with a shrug. "My mom found a job here."

"How come you came mid-semester?"

"I transferred from NYU, so I'm caught up with my credits."

"NYU? Whoa, you must be smart as fuck," Ski says. I stay silent at that, merely because I was always told by other guys that being smart was a turn-off. In that instant, I hear somebody call my name above the loud chatter of students. 

I look around for a few seconds before noticing Kenzie, one of my friends from my Spanish class. She approaches me with a broad grin on her face. 

"Nora, girl! We're gonna be late for class!" she says, her usual smile plastered on her face. I wish I were always in a good mood like her. 

"Oh my God. Are we late?" I ask, my eyes widening. 

"By ten minutes, but it's chill. He can't kick us out of class, right?" Kenzie chuckles, her gaze suddenly setting on Ski. Her lips form an 'O' shape, her cheeks turning slightly pink.