Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:36:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Alicia Taylor Subject: Real Love part 3 The disclaimer from ch. 1 applies to this chapter as well. :) Chapter 3. "I sense there's something in the wind That seems like tragedy's at hand And though I'd like to stand by him Can't shake this felling that I have The worst is just around the bend And does he notice my feelings for him? And does he see how much he means to me? I think it's not to be" -the Nightmare before Christmas The door swung open sharply and just as the boys had expected, the entire class had their eyes glued to the tardy students. Judith gestured for Christian to come to the front of the room, where she had saved his seat. She had territorially guarded it with her life earlier, and she wasn't about to have her efforts go to waste. Once at his desk, Christian looked down at his hands and lowered his head, hoping the redheaded teacher would talk to them after class, instead of further adding to his momentary embarrassment. Olli unintentionally made eye contact with the educator. Feeling forced to say something, he mouthed the words, "I'm sorry". He then quickly sat down at the desk closest to him. Olli was unnerved when he saw that there were still many people looking his way and no one, including the teacher, was saying anything at the moment. "Who's that?" A shorthaired, blond girl whispered to her brother as she looked back at Olli. Her equally blond brother shrugged awkwardly, scrunched his face up and blinked a few times. "Never seen him before. He's probably new today." "Christian Mann, I presume?" Christian looked up from his desk with shock on his face. "Uh, yes?" The instructor raised an eyebrow and then wrote something down, which made him gulp. She then turned her attention to the dark brown-haired boy in the very back of the room and spoke a little louder. "And you are?" Olli grinned with confidence as he replied. "Oliver Sable." Christian turned to look at Olli and smiled widely when he heard his full name being given. Seeing Christian's expressive reaction to Olli, Judith grinned and tried to hold in the excitement that was bubbling under her skin, until after the class was over. The teacher's ridged voice broke into Judith's giddy thoughts. "Ok. Nice of you two to join us..." She turned to the clock that rested on the wall behind her head. "...and with only a few minutes to go. I want to see you both after school, so we can have a little discussion about what's expected of you this year." Christian and Oliver nodded together with remorse and a hint of antsy excitement. The end of the day could not come too soon. At lunch, Olli stood in line in the cafeteria. He was much too excited to eat a whole meal, so his tray consisted of only an orange juice and a vanilla yogurt. The buzzing of his cell told him that his cousin was probably wondering where he was. He set his tray down and was about to answer the call, when he felt two model-skinny arms hug his toned stomach from behind. "Olli, I'm so glad you're actually here! You look so good!" Olivia looked Olli over, as he spun around to meet her gaze. "So do you! I've missed you." Olli said sincerely as he grabbed her hands. Their similar faces lit up with joy and they embraced. Any onlooker would think they were a gorgeous, young couple in love. And that's exactly what Christian thought when he saw them. ******************************************* "Not so fast, buddy! I think someone has some news to share with his best friend!" Judith was gripping Christian's arm tightly, as he tried to escape her clutches. He had gotten away from her after their first class, but now that lunch had finally arrived, she had him trapped. Christian raised his eyebrows in mock ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He inched away from her a little more. Judith then grabbed both of Christian's wrists and he wiggled back and forth, both of them giggling. "Hey, you're not getting away that easily. I'll say it if you won't! You have a cru..." Christian interrupted Judith before she could finish her sentence, that he was sure would be unbelievably embarrassing. "Fine! You can let me go. I promise I won't try to escape." He rubbed his wrists, trying in vain to make his friend feel guilty for hurting him. There was a short silence. "Go on then..." Judith glowed with anticipation. "I'm in too much pain to speak at the moment." Christian teased his friend, dramatically pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, as if he were going to faint. "Christian! Come on!" Judith begged, as she reached up and shook his broad shoulders. Christian's smile widened as he tilted his head to the side and lifted one eyebrow. "Ok, so what do you want to know?" Students were whizzing by, as Christian and Judith conversed beside their adjoining lockers. "So...Oliver?" Judith beamed. "Olli." Christian corrected and confirmed. Christian thought the name sounded sweet and feather-light, coming from his mouth for the first time. He pictured Olli's unbelievably perfect smile, in his mind. His face felt hot as he started to blush. Judith decided to add a shade to Christian's color. "He's a cute one." She said as she playfully poked at Christian's belly. Christian agreed with an aggressive nod and then words seemed to spill out of him faster than he could think. "He literally ran into me and I was mad at first, but then I sa...oh, and don't let me forget to tell you about Axel later..." Judith scrunched her nose and frowned at the mention of Axel, or Axhole, as she liked to call him. "...When I saw him...god, Judith. I don't know...it was just...wow! And I couldn't talk or anything and he was just staring at me. He has green eyes by the way..." Judith smiled with her big blue eyes as she urged her friend on. "...We were sitting on the floor after we fell and he smelled really good...I could have kissed him. Oh, and somehow I was holding his hand and I felt...I don't know, but I could swear he wanted me to for a second...to hold his hand. And did you hear his voice when he said his name? I'm just...I'm...sorry, I'm rambling." Christian suddenly felt self-conscious, as he waited for Judith to say something. "You're in Love!" Judith exclaimed, as she pulled Christian in for a bear hug. When they parted, Christian didn't show any signs of denial towards Judith's statement. She searched her friend's face for the jokester that she was used to, but a much different person seemed to be looking back at her. "Oh, my god...you really are!" Christian looked intently at Judith and asked simply, "Hungry?" All of the regulars were sitting around the lunch table as Christian took his seat. Sebastian and Constantin were sitting next to each other joking about something, oblivious to the girls sitting on either side of them, with their starry-eyed looks of adoration. Christian winked at Judith as he caught her attention for a second, before her eyes wandered back to Constantin. As Christian bit into a carrot stick, he felt a tap on his arm and turned to his right to listen to David's question. "How much longer are we going to have to watch Lydia suffer like this?" Christian looked up at David's sister and then softly answered. "Well, guys are dense. So if she doesn't tell Sebastian how she feels..." To stress his point, he held his arms up and then released them, so that they landed purposely on the table. "Hi, Christian." A wavy-haired brunette spoke softly as she looked up from her book to acknowledge her friend. "Rebecca! And how are you, pretty lady?" Christian's voice boomed. "Good. It's a good day so far, no?" Rebecca questioned. "It's a great day!" Christian agreed, as he reached over the table and poked her shoulder. Rebecca giggled and then continued reading. Christian's eyes then scanned the room, as he was sure he could feel Olli's presence in the cafeteria. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted him buying something to eat. Judith watched Christian watching Olli for a while, before speaking. "Go over to him." "And what should I say?" Christian's voice was full of nervous agitation, as he genuinely waited for a good suggestion. "Say: Hello! Remember me from this morning? I love you and I want to have your babies!" Judith snorted while laughing at her own joke. "You're one to talk!" Christian said almost loud enough for Constantin to hear. "Okay! Okay, shut it." Judith started to whisper. "I'm just waiting for the perfect time." Even she wasn't convinced. "What are you gonna do if he finds someone else?" Christian respectfully whispered back. Judith looked sad as she spoke again. "Don't you change the subject. I think we were discussing Olli, weren't we? Now go over there and ask the new boy to join us or something." Christian started to stand up, but immediately sat back down when he saw a beautiful girl with long dark hair, dressed in a skimpy cheerleader's outfit, hugging Olli. His heart sank as he watched the happy couple quickly leave the cafeteria, hand in hand. Send me a review if you'd like! You know you want to... nittyismyname@yahoo.com