George

"Hi!"

I am surprised after seeing Stacey standing at my front door. She wears a loose plain black shirt tucked in a pair of gray distressed high-waisted shorts. Her blonde hair is tied up in a ponytail.

"Will this be my regular morning? Seeing someone standing at my front door?" I mumble.

"You have class?" she asks while tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, I have class. It's your boyfriend's," I quickly say and make my way to my car.

"Oh," She says. "See you later!" she yells.

"Okay!" I mindlessly yell back before sitting in the driver's seat.

"See you later!"

"See you later?" I mumble. "What does she mean by that?" I mumble before starting the engine.

"Good morning. I realized that I didn't introduce myself to you guys yet. I'm Stacey. Mister Greyson is still on his leave. The usual, do your tasks and put them on his desk. Is that clear?" Stacey says in a serious tone.

"Yes, Ma'am," they respond.

The petite blonde girl looks around. The side of her lips rises after seeing me sitting in front. She lightly waves her hand and then faces the class.

"I'll go now," she says with authority.

Shane nudges my arm. Her deep brown eyes still follow Stacey's back. "You know her?" Shane asks.

"Yeah," I simply nod. "Jared's girlfriend," I casually say, focusing on our new activity.

I hope that stops her from teasing me.

"For real?!" Shane asks and slams her desk.

"Damn, could you please stop that 'slamming the desk' thing!?" my voice rises.

"Sis, calm down," she says. She dramatically sighs. "I'm just surprised that you're not the girlfriend, Georgie," she adds, biting the tip of her pencil to stifle a smile.

Are you serious?

Clarkson, on the other hand, is focusing on our new task. He still receives harsh comments from Jared. He rolls the sleeves of his plain maroon hoodie.

"This is–" A sigh of defeat escapes his mouth. He runs his fingers through his red locks in frustration.

"Hey," I turn and face him. "You can do this, okay?"

I don't know why, but I really feel bad for him. At the same time, I see him as a younger brother. Though, he said he's a year older than me. I have this feeling that I will protect him at all costs. No, I am not romantically attracted to him but I'll be there when he needs me.

"Like... this?" Clarkson asks. He sits on the floor. His lips purse, and his eyebrows furrow.

"Yes," I nod.

After class, Clarkson asked if he could come over to my place for another tutorial. While teaching him, I do my essay.

"George? Are you there?" I hear a familiar female.

Frowning, I walk my way to the front door. Stacey stands outside the apartment. She plays with some of the strands of her long hair. Her hair is tied up in a half bun, and the lower part of it was curled.

"H-hey," Stacey awkwardly greets me as soon as I open the door.

"Yes?" I ask.

"I'm... Uhhh," she hesitantly says. She shows me a small black purse.

"Close your eyes," Stacey commands.

"Is this okay?" Clarkson asks, showing his paper in front of me.

Slowly, I open my eyes and look at his drawing. I give him a thumbs-up and a smile.

"Yes, just add more shadow here," I say while pointing at the bottom side of the apple.

"Clark, move," Stacey commands. "Now, the lips."

How did we end up like this?

Stacey practices the makeup tutorial she learned from YouTube on my face. Clarkson waves his paper like a kid to ask if he's improving with his drawings. While I sit on the floor.

"It's like, I'm a single Mom with two kids," I blurt out.

"Yeah, you're my Mom," Stacey chuckles.

I'm still wondering why Stacey is here. She becomes so kind to me all of a sudden. I know I should be pushing Stacey away from me but there's something about her that felt very genuine from our time together when we were at the mall. She is very aloof but at the same time is looking for people she can trust.

Just like me.

I am not an anti-social person I just want some genuine people.

"What are you doing to Georgina, Anastasia?" Clarkson asks while tilting his head to the side. "You're painting her face?"

"It's Stacey," she says with diction. "I'm making her look beautiful," she answers.

"But she's beautiful even without those," Clarkson says while frowning and pointing at Stacey's makeup scattered on the floor.

Stacey dramatically gasps and holds her chest.

"What? You like her?" Stacey asks with a teasing smile.

"I like her, of course," Clarkson says, "She's like a sister to me. "

"You're so... Naive," Stacey says.

I never thought that she has this side of her. Playful. Chatty.

"Done!" she excitedly exclaims. "Don't remove it until 5:30, 'kay?"

"W-why?" I ask.

She just smiles at me.

"How do I look?" I ask Clarkson.

"More beautiful!" he cheerfully says and smiles brightly.

"Thanks to me," Stacey says while putting her makeup back in her purse.

"No!" the red-head boy yells. "She's naturally beautiful," he stares at me. He moves his gray gaze at Stacey. Then furrow his eyebrows.

Clarksons bright smile fades when he read a message from his screen. He starts cleaning up. On the other hand, Stacey's phone rings. She checks who it is and grins at me. "Yes, hello?" she answers the phone while eyeing me.

"Um, next door. On your way?" she pauses.

Clarkson taps my shoulder. "I'll go now," he says and waves goodbye. "Thanks a lot, Georgina."

"O-oh, okay. Drive safe!"

I watch Clarkson leave my apartment. He smiles before closing the door.

"How do I look?" I ask her.

"Awesome. You look gorgeous," she says, looking at me like her masterpiece.

"Do you have a date with Jared?" I ask.

"Boyfriend. Oh, No! He's not my boyfriend." She suddenly laughs. "But this is for Jared."

"What? I thought you were his girlfriend?"

"Gosh!" she suddenly hits her forehead. "I forgot!" she exclaims.

"You... forgot that he is your boyfriend?"

"No, I forgot that I said that to you."

"But, he's not my boyfriend," she clarifies.

A deep sigh follows as if something is keeping me from breathing that is now gone. Here I am, getting worried if you found out that he kissed me or that I might ruin your relationship. The knocks on my door interrupt our small talk.

"Go, open the door," she commands.

"You like commanding other people," I say before I stand up. I walk towards the door, still nagging her, "You should stop doing that–"

I hitch my breath after meeting his sapphire gaze with my emerald ones.

Jared.

"Hi," I say breathlessly.

Damn it. Why did you say Hi?

"Is Stacey there?" Jared asks coldly. He looks around my place.

"Jared!" Stacey yells. She walks towards him and stands beside him. "Look! I curled my hair!" she says like a proud kid showing her art to his father. "Now, what can you say?" she asks with a meaningful smile.

"Say what?" Jared's brows furrow.

"Isn't she beautiful?" she points at me.

Damn, Stacey.

"I did her makeup," she says proudly.

"The makeup looks beautiful," he seriously says, staring at me with those fake blue eyes.

"How about the one who wears the makeup?" Stacey teases and nudges his arm.

"Stacey, I think–"

"Beautiful even without makeup," My words are cut by what he says. I hear a low growl as he breathes out.

I feel my heart skips a beat. It's been what? A week? More than a week? I haven't seen him for a while. I haven't talked to him for what seems like ages. Somehow, I kind of miss him. I guess?

He drags Stacey outside. Perhaps, to stop her mouth from talking more. After he turns his back, I breathe out. I didn't even notice how long I hold my breath.

"Fucking hell," I hear his deep mutter before he completely drags Stacey with him.

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