Discovering Me *Discontinued*

Chapter 6

Ava nervously looked around, not sure where to go next. There was a massive crowd of people in the auditorium she was in, and it made it difficult for her to find the group she belonged in. She tried to stop herself from getting stressed out, but Ava knew that she was failing due to how bad she is with dealing with stress.

"I see you're in group ten, and I'm in the same group to," a male voice said from behind Ava, which caused her to jump in surprise before spinning around, her eyes widening in shock when she saw him.

His skin was paler than normal, but not super pale, and his hair was a light brown color, similar to that of caramel. His eyes were brown but they looked closer to the color of rust, and it was by far the most interesting eyes Ava had ever seen. He was tall and lanky as well, and by the way he was carrying himself, she could tell he was a shy person.

"Sorry, did I scare you," he asked, instantly apologizing as he seemed to shrink back, worry in his brown eyes.

"No problem, you just took me by surprise is all," Ava laughed, waving her hand in attempt to brush off the awkwardness, and it seemed to work, since the man in front of her instantly perked up and smiled at her.

"Hello, my name is Ava. What is yours?" Ava asked, sticking out her hand for a handshake, and she smiled even brighter when she saw that the man was very pleased with her introduction.

"Hey Ava, my name is Ray. It's nice to meet you," he said with a kind smile, perking up. Ava couldn't help but think that he was a very attractive young man, and she had to quickly divert her eyes from his so she didn't start blushing.

"So, have you seen the group we belong to yet," she asked, trying to change the subject and distract herself from how attractive he was. She looked around her, standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over the crowd, but Ava was incredibly short, so it was pointless for her.

"Here, I see them, follow me," Ray said, grabbing Ava's hand before traversing through the crowd. Ava held on to his hand for dear life as she followed him, noticing he moved very gracefully, even with how shy he seemed to be.

"Sorry if I'm being too forward by the way, I'm not very good at socializing, so I don't read social cues very well," Ray chuckled, glancing over his shoulder to look at Ava, who smiled warmly at him.

"I don't mind at all really, I just moved here, so it's nice to finally make some new friends," Ava laughed, holding onto his hand tightly so she didn't get lost in the crowd. As they traveled through the crowd, Ava noticed saw the sign that signified it was her group, and it surprised her that Ray had been able to see it from where they were standing in the first place. To be fair though, he was significantly taller than she was.

"Really? Where did you move from," he asked, starting to slow down as they got closer to their group.

"Mississippi," Ava shrugged, not really wanting to delve into her past right now. She just wanted to focus on her new life here and not relive her failed relationship.

"Oh wow, that's quite a ways away from here. Why did you move," Ray asked innocently, now having stopped. His question made Ava frown and look away from him, her posture implying that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Nevermind, don't worry about answering that question," Ray said softly, panic clear in his eyes as he realized that he had asked the wrong question. Ava shook her head and looked up at him, her smile returning easily.

"Don't worry about it. That's a story for another day," she laughed, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind so she could focus on orientation.

"Anyways, we're here," Ray said, perking up a bit as he approached the group, Ava following him closely.

"Welcome Ray and Ava, it's good to finally have you two join us. That means the group is all here," the oldest looking girl in the group remarked, looking at both of them with a very fake smile. Looking at her, Ava could tell that she was the typical popular high school cheerleader type, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, but something told Ava that on the inside, she was an extremely nice person who just didn't know how to show it.

"My name is Elizabeth and I'm a junior here. I'll be showing you around campus for a bit, and then I'll take you guys to go see your advisors so you can get your schedules made. After that, you can go home and get ready for when school starts in a few weeks, everyone understand," Elizabeth asked, her entire speech seeming very rehearsed and dull. Despite that, everyone responded with 'yes' and nods.

Satisfied with the response from the group, Elizabeth started to lead the group out of the auditorium, starting to explain how the school works and where the classes are, but Ava got distracted when Ray started whispering to her.

"She doesn't seem very nice now does she," he whispered, leaning down so he was at Ava's height. Ava giggled, making sure she wasn't heard from Elizabeth or the others around her.

"Not at all, but I firmly believe everyone has a good side to them. Sometimes, you just have to force it out of them. Anyways, did you move here, or?" Ava asked, making sure to pay some attention to what was happening with Elizabeth so she wasn't lost on her first day.

"I moved here as well a few years ago, so I know the area well enough to not get lost," Ray remarked with a soft laugh before continuing, "So if you want to hang out sometime before school starts so I can show you the area, just let me know."

"That's a wonderful idea," Ava said, perking up at the thought of not getting lost in an area she didn't know very well.

"Alright then. In fact, we should go ahead and exchange numbers now," he said with a slightly mischievous smile, which Ava laughed at, now no longer paying attention Elizabeth. Quickly, they pulled out their phones and exchanged numbers, which made Ava beam at the fact that she had already made one really good friend on her first day.

"What are you going to major in Ray? I'm majoring in veterinary studies," Ava asked, glancing over at him. He looked down and met her gaze before smiling brightly, showing his pearly white teeth. Ray looked incredibly attractive when he smiled, and Ava had to look away quickly before she started blushing.

"I am as well. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's why we were all put in the same group, because we all have the same, or similar majors," He explained, moving his hands as he talked.

"Are you two paying attention back there," Elizabeth asked, spinning around to look at both Ava and Ray. The two glanced at each other before looking back at the junior and nodding, pretending as if they had been listening. She narrowed her eyes at them before turning back around and continuing her tour of the campus.

Ava and Ray shared another glance before they both started giggling, and Ava couldn't help but feel that her college experience will be very interesting with Ray at her side. From what she had seen so far, he was shy when it came to introducing himself, but once he did, he was a funny and interesting guy. Ava just couldn't wait to get to know him better, and the thought of it made her giddy with excitement.