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THE REST OF LUNCH WENT BY UNEVENTFULLY. Riley and William had taken the hint and let the situation drop, moving on to chatter about some new movie or TV show I hadn't heard of, their eyes occasionally roaming over to glance at me as I sat quiet, eyes trained on the sky.

The bell broke the awkwardness, and I found myself walking to my next period, visual arts.

Art was one of my favourite subjects. Miss Laney, our teacher, was always super laid back, and even though I was severely lacking in any kind of artistic skills, I always managed to get good grades in her class.

I stepped into the classroom, beelining for my usual seat alone. Riley and William weren't in my class, instead opting to take physics, leaving me to my own company. Normally, I complained about having to spend an hour alone, but today I could use the silence.

They'd ask too many questions that I didn't have the answer to.

I clutched Isaac's leather jacket around me, settling into my desk and pulling out my pencils, when across the room, someone caught my eye.

Isaac sat there, his green eyes trained on me, his dark brown hair in a messy pile on his head. I turned, my cheeks turning red. He'd been staring.

When was the last time he'd actually turned up to art class?

Had he ever?

I couldn't remember ever seeing him in our art class, but suddenly he was here – and he was watching me. I blushed, feeling his gaze heavy on me.

We left off at lunch with an uncomfortable cloud hanging over us, and I was in no mood to talk to him. Yet, my heart pounded, and I found my eyes drawn back up to him, his eyes still trained on me.

I looked away quickly, my mind still racing with thoughts of our conversation. Thoughts of how he was using Lacey and how he'd denied that they were ever dating. Of his reputation. Ofhow different we were.

I wanted him to prove me wrong. I wanted him to be that nice, gorgeous, kind boy he was whenever he spoke to me. The one who bought me coffee, and smirked at me, and lent me his jacket.

But the whole school knew about his reputation. The whole school knew how he had a new girl to toy with every other week, like they meant nothing. 

I had just chosen to forget it.

I couldn't believe I'd thought... what? What had I thought? That we could be friends? That I could talk to him casually like I did with Riley and William? All because he'd, what? Noticed me for a fewdays? I shook my head at myself.

I was an idiot if I believed someone like Isaac Hensick was living in the same world as I was.

"Alright, class," Miss Laney's broke my trance, and I turned to the front of the class to watch our eccentric, middle aged teacher waltz in, her arms full of notebooks. She laid them on her desk with a loud thud. "I have freshmen portfolios to mark today, so partner up, we'll be doing portraits."

I groaned. I had been hoping for a theory lesson where I could get lost in my notes. Not only did I have no one to partner with in this class, I was terrible at drawing.

I was pulling out my sketchpad, trying to figure out who to partner with when a voice interrupted me.

"Aspirin?"

My breath caught in my throat, and I found it hard to turn and meet those bright green eyes that had made it across the classroom in seconds. My mouth felt dry for words, so instead I hummed in response.

His voice was a low drawl when he asked, "Will you be my partner?"

I gulped, finally turning to make eye contact. He stared at me, his face serious and his eyes hopeful. I quirked a brow at him, ignoring how heavy my tongue felt all of a sudden.

"What about your friend?"

Across the room, Sebastian Georges shook out his loose blond curls. Sebastian Georges was another one of the school's 'It Boys'. It seemed like all the girls fell instantly for his curly locks and glistening smile. His bright blue eyes could melt the sturdiest of hearts.

But, like Isaac, he was unattainable. While Isaac preferred to play around with girls rather than date them, Sebastian avoided girls altogether, opting to focus on soccer instead. Which, of course, only attracted girls even more.

Even I had spent lunch times watching him kick a ball around the field. He moved gracefully across the grass with his face scrunched in concentration. It reminded me of Isaac, scribbling silently in the corner of Café de Fleur.

Beside him, Lacey sat with a girl whose name I didn't know. Lacey's eyes were swollen red, but a bright smile was plastered on her glossy lips.

"I'd rather be with you," Isaac muttered eventually, stepping closer. His scent grew stronger, and I swallowed thickly. I felt like I was drowning in it.

"Okay," I squeaked, moving my things over to make room for him beside me.

Isaac fell into the chair next to me, pulling out his own notebook and immediately beginning to sketch. I was instantly transported back to the café at the sight of his long, slender fingers clutching a graphite pencil, the sound of pencil on paper filling the air around me.

His eyes flickered up to my face and I blushed, moving to open my notebook and begin my portrait of him. There was a heavy silence between us, and we drew in this silence for about ten minutes, until Isaac finally spoke up.

"About what I said at lunch –"

"I don't agree with what you do," I interrupted, my eyes meeting his.

He paused his drawing, his pencil falling limp in his grip, and I continued, refusing to meet his eyes. I swallowed thickly, building my confidence.

I had to clear the air. Ever since lunch, the tension had become palpable between us. Even if it meant he never wanted to speak to me again, I needed to clear it. I straightened my spine, staring down at my paper as I spoke.

"You know, playing with all those girls' feelings. I know you think that it's fun to just mess around, but they have feelings too. You saw how devastated Lacey was. I mean, she's no Mother Teresa, but –"

"Aspirin," he cut me off, his voice loud. I paused, furrowing my brows at him. "I don't play around with them."

I blinked, my mouth open to speak, but no words coming out.

"I don't date them," he began, sensing my confusion. "But I don't lead them on. Every girl I've messed around with came to me first, looking for a quick hook up. When they start getting too attached, that's when I end it."

"Like you did with Lacey," I trailed off.

He nodded, moving back to his drawing. "I never play with their feelings. That's why I end it before they become too... clingy."

I blinked up at him. Clingy. Was I becoming too clingy? I shook the thought from my head, embarrassment quickly replacing my confusion.

I had misunderstood him. I must have looked so naïve, asking him about Lacey and the girls he 'dated'. Heat crept up my neck, turning my cheeks red.

"But your reputation?" I stuttered out, my brow furrowing as I spoke. "All those girls..."

He shrugged nonchalantly, a slight tinge of pink staining his cheeks.

"Sure, I've been around." I snorted at that. Talk about the understatement of the century.

He paused, giving me a knowing look and a smug smirk. "You can't believe everything you hear, Aspirin."

My cheeks only grew hotter. I opened my mouth to defend myself but all that came out was, "Oh."

He laughed, shaking his head, and continued, "But like I said, they were all just looking for a hook up."

I blinked. "Because you don't date."

"Right."

"You just," I blushed, "hook up."

"Exactly."

"Don't you want to fall in love?" I found myself asking, before I could stop myself.

Isaac's eyes stayed trained on his paper, unfazed by the question, his fingers gliding across the notebook as he drew me.

I paused, instantly regretting asking it. He had just told me he didn't like it when girls were too clingy, and I asked him about falling in love.

I cringed at myself. I opened my mouth, frantic to take the words back and possibly also hide in my room for the rest of the week. But before I could take the question back, he spoke.

His voice was quiet and far away. "I never want to be in love again."

I stayed silent, processing his words. It was sad. I had never meet someone who never wanted to be in love. Everyone in my life was desperate to fall in love; Riley, my sister, William. I gripped the edges of Isaac's leather jacket.

Even I wanted to fall in love, someday.

I narrowed my eyes, furrowing my brow. Again. Had he been in love before?

"Is that really what I look like?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to find Isaac leaning over to stare down at my drawing, his face too close to mine for comfort.

I reeled back, pulling the paper out of his sight. I had tried my best, yet my drawing had come out scratchy and disproportionate, Isaac's ears and nose too big for his face, and his eyes too small.

"As a matter of fact, you do," I teased, crossing my arms over my book and holding it tightly against my chest. I fought a smile, finally meeting his gaze.

He rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm about ten times sexier than that, dear Aspirin."

"I hate to break it to you, Isaac, but I'm really doing you a favour in this drawing."

He gasped dramatically, clutching a hand to his chest. I laughed, throwing my drawing onto the desk in defeat.

"I give up, I'm really hopeless at drawing."

"I can see that," he raised a brow at me, smirking at the butchered sketch.

"Oh please," I rolled my eyes at him, "Like you can do any better."

He smirked, tossing his notebook to land beside mine on the desk. On his paper, a small sketch of me sat – not me, sitting in the classroom with a furrowed brow, but me sitting in Café de Fleur, a coffee in my hand and his leather jacket sitting heavy on my shoulders.

It was beautiful, especially considering the short amount of time he'd been working on it.

"Isaac," I began, searching for the right words to express how fast my heart was racing. "You're really talented."

He shrugged, "I don't think I captured your rudeness in it, but we've still got time to work on that."

I laughed, smacking him harshly on his shoulder, earning an earnest chuckle in response.

"I forgot about your tendency for violence, too," he joked, pulling his arms up in defence as I moved to hit him again.

I stopped, our laughter dying down as I continued to admire the drawing.

He'd drawn it so well. It was as if he'd copied it from a picture. From the way I clutched the cup with both hands, inhaling the bitter smell of coffee as the steam warmed my cheeks, to the way his jacket fell over my back. How the sleeves were too big for my arms and slouched at the shoulders. He'd captured it flawlessly.

My eyes trailed up to Isaac's face, his eyes trained on the picture, a small smile playing on his lips.

It was perfect.

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a u t h o r ' s n o t e

Soo finding out a bit about Isaac's past in this chapter. What do you think happened to him?

Thank you so much for 500 reads! Y'all are the best <33 And thanks for all your votes and comments, it means a lot!