Make me your umbrella; let me protect you from the rain.
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"LAYLA, can you please submit your essay?" Mrs. Carter asks me, her kind dark eyes looking at me through the laptop screen. I sighed. I hadn't finished it yet and I think even she knew that.
I turn on my camera, knowing that she would feel more sympathy for me if she saw my dejected face, maybe gifting me a well-needed extension.
"Oh, how lovely it is to see your beautiful face, Layla," she greeted me warmly and I give a shy smile. "Anyways, you still having difficulties with your essay?" She asks me before flipping her pin-straight blonde hair over her shoulder and adjusting herself in her chair.
"I was having difficulties gathering evidence," I mumbled, my eyes expressing my internal conflict.
"It shouldn't be that difficult, Layla. Refer back to your novel and search for where you see gender stereotypes ruling and dictating Julissa's life. Maybe think back to if you ever saw any gender stereotypes coming into play between character interactions or anything. Once you gather your evidence it should be easy to piece together the analysis," she explains making the gears in my brain turn. Wow, somehow that was actually helpful.
"Okay, thank you Mrs," I smiled at the webcam.
"I'll give you the weekend to work on your essay, Layla, on Monday I'll check back on you," Mrs. Bethany Carter says giving me those kind eyes.
I seriously liked my teacher, it was just the content of the lessons I didn't like. And with that, I say bye to her and leave the Google Meet. I sighed and opened up my Google doc knowing the contents were all mediocre sentences paired together to make paragraphs. I wasn't good at essay writing I thought of creative writing to be something I was slightly better at.
"I hate school," I muttered as I leaned back in my chair, making my long hair drape behind me.
Suddenly I hear a loud thud by my window. My eyes snap over to the window, seeing a familiar silhouette.
Oh my gosh.
And then again I hear some loud knocking against my window. I gape at what seemed like Kayden's silhouette, scared that my window was going to break.
I pull back my curtains and meet Kayden's worried eyes. He mouths for me to open the window and I just sit back and glare at him. I secretly admire the way he had dressed today; a thick black sweater with some designer logo on it, black jeans, and some Nike sneakers with white soles. The silver chain that he always wore was dangling from his neck, and he looked hot as usual much to my dismay.
I grimaced internally knowing that I looked super messy sitting on my bed with my pyjama shorts and black oversized tee. My dark long hair was messy and untamed, falling messily and framing my face in a way that probably made me look super unprepared for his company.
Why was he even here?
I open my window sliding it up just a bit so that I could hear him talk, but not big enough so that he could jump in.
"So glad that your house is only one story," He chuckled, a bit breathless for some reason. He ran his fingers through his hair, my eyes following his movement.
"What do you want, Kayden?" I say wanting to get straight to the point. I don't give him any extravagant tell-tale signs of my emotions. I was keeping it blunt.
Do I know why? Also no.
"You didn't come yesterday to The Edge," he frowned at my distant behaviour.
"Didn't feel like going. I'm dealing with some things right now."
"Oh," he says simply, loss for words. I don't think this was how he expected the interaction to go but I had no energy to entertain anything. I sighed deeply and I watched as hurt seeps into his expression. That's when hesitance hit me; I didn't want to make him upset.
"Is it because of me?" he asks me, searching my face. "Did I do something?"
"No," I admit grimly. "I'm seriously not in the mood right now. Anyways, you can have The Edge to yourself for the next few days."
I didn't feel like stargazing. I didn't feel it anymore.
"Layla, what's wrong?" He asks me, those green eyes still on me. I ignore his question.
"Kayden, why are you actually here?"
"You are my only friend here in this town, I really don't know anyone else," He admits. "It gets boring very easily when there is nothing to do or anyone to talk to."
I felt bad. It was true, he only had me.
And I only had him.
I sighed.
"You're really distracting, Kayden," I exhale making him look at me with raised brows.
"I would think it was a compliment but your face tells me otherwise."
I ignore him, "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay," I repeated.
"Seriously, Lays, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Stop worrying your pretty little head. I assume you're reading into a situation too much," he advises.
"That's not true," I huffed. "I have this essay I'm working on, and you're distracting me. English class is all about reading into situations, if anything; I'm on the right track."
"Here, let me in; I'll help you," He offered with a kind smile. I look at him realizing how awkward he looks standing by my small window.
His offer was really tempting since I was too lazy to do it on my own. Secretly, I also wanted to see what he would look like standing in the middle of my room. It would definitely be a strange sight.
Too bad I had boundaries.
I shook my head making him groan. "You seriously going to make me stand out here?" he whined making me grin at him.
"Yes," I smiled at him sweetly, "But, you're still going to help me with this essay from there," I told him making him roll his eyes.
"I regret offering my assistance to you."
"Too bad, it's too late now. No takebacks," I grin as I open up the window more so that he has headroom and then I turn to walk up to my desk to get my laptop. I ran over back to my bed, where I talked to him through the window.
"Read what I wrote and tell me if it makes sense," I tell him making him roll his eyes. I pass him my laptop and he balances it by the window. I hold it from the back, making sure it doesn't fall.
"You're lucky I got both the looks and the brains," he says looking up at me with a playful expression.
"Wow lucky me," I said sarcastically.
"Yes, lucky you," he responded with a smirk, his green eyes twinkling. It becomes silent as he reads the nonsense I wrote on the Google doc. Despite knowing how teasing he was, I desperately prayed he wouldn't tease me for what I wrote because I didn't think I was in the mood for those jokes right now. I didn't want to feel any judgment on my writing.
"You're lucky I read this book for my English class or else none of this would make sense," he muttered under his breath as he scrolled down on my trackpad.
"Okay, I'm glad it makes at least some sense at least considering you understand."
"You're missing your evidence other than that this shit is pretty fucking well written. You're good at making boring things sound pretty."
"Thanks but I don't understand where I'm supposed to get real evidence from because men are misogynistic anyway, there is nothing out of the ordinary, " I chuckle looking at him with wide eyes.
"That's fucking rude," he says with a amused expression.
"Mind your language, bud."
"I don't listen to you, cariño," he says giving me a smirk.
"I'm not your cariño."
"Mi amor?" he tried giving me puppy eyes.
"Nope. Compadre? Maybe."
"You seriously wound me, cariño."
"Its compadre or amiga to you, cabron."
"Me gusta cuando me hablas sucio," he said lowly, his voice light with mischief.
"Cállate, cabron!" I glared at him.
"Sigue hablándome sucio cariño," he replied as he smiled at me while giving me suggestive eyes.
"I'm not Spanish, I only know like 10 words," I pouted, hoping that it was getting through his thick head.
"Te ves jodidamente hermosa," he smiles, his green eyes looking at me playfully despite their warm glow. I glared at him.
"I said I don't know Spanish, bitch," I snapped making him laugh out loud. "You annoy me," I whined, throwing my head back.
"Ah, the perks of being half Spanish," he mused making me look at him.
"If you want me to go Arabic on your ass, let me know."
"Oh no please no," He taunted while rolling his eyes.
"Just say the word, cabron," I chuckled. I wasn't even that good at Arabic but Duolingo helped me a little.
"I missed your annoying ass," Kayden chided after a second of staring me down. I looked at him with a taken-back expression. My chest fills up with warmth.
How does he just say things like that?
Ugh, this dude.
"Hold up, let me google translate this for you," I grinned making him look at me with amusement. I then press the microphone button so he can hear the robotic voice talk.
"Que harias sin mi?" The female robot voice says. He looks at me with a perfectly quirked brow in pure amusement.
"Without Siri?"
"No without me," I rolled my eyes.
"Probably wallow in my sadness and die from boredom," he confessed responding to my words. I chuckled.
"Okay, anyways do you have any idea what I can use as evidence for this point because I can't think of anything," I say, sobering up to the fact that I still had a shit ton of homework to complete. He chuckled and looked at me.
"This is practically community service...anyways, yeah do you emember Julissa saying something about how Markus treats her..."
"Markus was disgusting, I hated him. I know he was horrible but like so was every other guy in the book," I interrupt him making him glare at me. I look at him sheepishly.
"I hated him too. But, when he assumed that Julissa and Katrina were supposed to clean up the dishes, he was assuming it was their job just because they were women," he continued looking up at me to see if understood.
And I did.
"Oh now get it, it doesn't even matter what i use i can just use anything despite it literally being how men look at women regardless?" I ask him and he nods with amusement.
"You somehow have part of the analysis done, just integrate that quote in it and explain how it supports the point. Also, you're right guys in that book were so hard to read I felt like slamming the book shut every time Markus or Dorian entered the scene."
I exhaled as I passed him an exasperated expression.
"I don't want to do this right now," I groaned as I laid back on my bed. Kayden watches me with a playful smile.
"Okay, well I have plenty of ideas on what else we can do," he said wagging his brows suggestively but I knew he was completely joking. "Just say the word."
"Sure, in your dreams, buddy," I snorted making him chuckle.
"No," He sighed, "even in my dreams you shoot me down," he said dramatically making me laugh. "You're a violent huntsman and I'm an innocent deer seeking your company."
"Good, I'm glad you know your place," I smirked at him, pleased that he respected me even if he was joking or not. He leans closer through the window, his hands perched by the window pane and I look at him, my smile staying put on my face.
Sometimes he just looked too cute.
"Your room is such a mess," He chuckled staring at the piles of clothes scattered on my floors. I watch as his eyes scan the walls, briefly stopping at the family pictures I had with my grandma and grandfather.
I don't know if he ever wondered where my parents were, but I was glad he never asked.
I don't know how I would evade that conversation with him.
"Always the creep, Kayden," I roll my eyes.
"I can't help it," he chuckled, his eyes on me again, "your room looks just like you, so cluttered in the most organized way," he smiled at me in a way that caused my heart to melt.
"Why thank you, creep," I rolled my eyes sarcastically with a smile.
"My room is so plain compared to yours," he sighed as he leaned away from the window, wanting more air to breathe. I come closer to the window to compensate, my hands holding the window pane.
"Yeah, maybe because you moved in a week or 2 ago?" I tell him.
"True true," he waved it away. "Also, I'm starting school the day after tomorrow or something like that. My mother told me like an hour ago so I checked if you were by the cliff but you weren't so I decided to swing by your house," he gave me a boyish grin.
"I don't even want to ask how you knew this was my room."
"Sweetheart, I don't think your grandfather would have star-patterned curtains," He pointed out making me look at him sheepishly.
"If you're trying to judge me, quit it because I got these curtains when I was like 4 and haven't changed them since," I say making him chuckle. Curious about the time I stretched my head outside the window to see the sky, seeing that the sun was still up I turned back to him, inviting him to start another conversation. He looks at me with twinkling green eyes and looks at me with a smile.
"The sun is still up. Wanna grab milkshakes by that place in town," He says dipping his head closer to my face. I instinctively move back, looking at him hesitantly.
How do I get out of this one?
"Uh, you mean the Milkshake Shack?" I say trying not to sound nervous. His smile widens, I turn away, and my eyes fall on my laptop.
"I still need to work on this essay!" I say throwing my laptop onto my lap and looking at him with my best apologetic expression. He rolls his eyes at me.
"Oh come on, I'm sure that can wait. I had milkshakes there with my mother a few days ago, they were so fucking good," he tells me. I lick my lips and when I look back at, him he quickly looks into my eyes.
"Uh so I'm craving it right now, so let's go," he suggests after clearing his throat. I looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"Sir, unlike you I actually have school to worry about right now."
"Layla, knowing you, you aren't going to make any progress on this until the night before it's due," he says blatantly. I look at him with an incredulous expression.
"How dare you stand on my property and talk trash about me, especially after knowing me for like a day. Be gone, Cabron,"
"You really want to do this again?" he challenged me with a perfectly raised brow.
"No."
"Then come with me," He pleaded with a slight whine. "Please, Lays, it's literally like a 5-minute walk away."
"Such a desperate man," I tell him and he grins at me. Lays?
"Only for you, sweetheart, and Oreo milkshakes," He smirks at me. I look down at my hands, staring at my chipped red nails.
Shit, why was he so persistent.
"I really hate you sometimes."
"No, you don't, Carino."
"'ana 'aerif" I sigh, speaking in Arabic. I know.
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oml if you guys see any errors in the Spanish or the Arabic, let me know bc I used google translate </3
anyways let me know what you guys thought of this chapter, tysm for reading :)