"I don't have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation." ~Whoopi Goldberg

• • •

Entering the common room, I surprisingly find Ana practically sitting on Raphaels lap and smiling lovingly at him. Oh wow, that happened quick. But I suppose it was only a matter of time considering the way they constantly looked at one another. It's kind of cute actually.

"So Rana, looks like you both decided to make it official." I say.

Raph and Ana both stare at each other I confusion before facing me again.

"Rana?" Ana Asks.

"Yeah, Like Raphael and Ana. Your ship name."

"Right." Raph Says.

"Anyway, you're both together now! That's so exciting, I'm so happy for you."

Ana blushes a deep red and curls herself into Raphael arms even more. "Yeah, Raph asked me out yesterday and we've just been getting on so well." She says shyly.

Raph gazes adoringly at her and smiles. And it's not one of those small I'm only smiling to be polite smiles, it's a full blown grin. This is obviously incredibly shocking since he's known for his brooding exterior. It only shows how great they are together and I'm happy for them. But if Raphael can do it, then what's stopping Abel? Maybe he's not sure if he wants to commit yet. He's probably thinking about all the effort it would be to go out with someone like me. Sigh.

Pushing my worries aside, I look at Evelyn in an attempt to make conversation to find her holding hands with Israel and giggling at something he said. Really? Is everyone in relationships now? When did this happen! I'm so out of the loop sometimes. Either way, I'm glad for them aswell. Not wanting to interrupt their peace, look around the room and wait for the others to arrive. Abel is probably finishing up his exam while Rolo and Noah play football and Rani throws herself over other guys. I do worry for that girl sometimes. All this messing around with boys cannot be physically and emotionally healthy. She's just confused and upset and using them as a distraction. But she's stubborn, and she won't listen to us until something happens that makes her consider what we she's been doing. Hopefully it's not too traumatising for her sake.

While playing on my phone, I start to consider heading out to try and find Abel. With my mind made up, I grab my bag and begin to stand up when a pair of hands cover my eyes. "Going somewhere?" Abel asks.

"Oh!" I turn around to face him. "I was actually just about to come looking for you."

It's then that I take in his hair that seems extra curly today. I'd love nothing more than to run my hands through it, but for obvious reasons, I refrain myself.

"Missed me?" He asks smugly.

Scoffing at his question, I push him away from me. "Actually, I just didn't want to sit here on my own anymore. As you can see, the others are living in their own personal bubbles." I say while gesturing to the four love birds in front of me.

"Ah, I see."

Abel and I keep talking about various things until the others finally show up.

Rolo walks in shoving Noah in that playful guy kind of way with Rani and Eliza following closely behind.

Huh. If I'm being honest, I completely forgot about her.

Noah obviously seems a lot better now since he's laughing with Rolo.

Walking towards us, Eliza takes the seat directly opposite Abel while Rolo sits next to me with Noah next to him.

We all greet one another commenting on our days and our excitement at it being the last day of term.

"What are all your plans for the week then?" I ask them all.

"Anything that keeps me out of the house. That could possibly include Jaden." Rani says. Right, her new fling.

"I'm going to London to see my grandparents." Adds Raphael.

"My mum has a sudden interest in redecorating and has some how forced me to help. Looks like I probably won't see any of you this week." Rolo groans with frustration. Poor guy, I completely understand his mothers ability to make you do something you didn't actually want to do. I wish him the best of luck.

Ana speaks up about her plans. "Not sure, I might decide to do some volunteering to add to my university applications."

Hmm, that's actually a good idea. I should definitely consider that.

"I'm doing whatever Evelyn is." Israel states. Evelyn smiles and giggles at him, getting sucked into their own world once again.

"Well I have no plans." I huff loudly. "Looks like a boring week for me."

All of a sudden, Eliza reaches over and grabs Abel's hand to hold. "What about you Abel?"

The whole table immediately goes silent, staring at me as if to gage my response at the sudden development.

Abel gently removes his hand from hers only for Eliza to grab it again and hold on even tighter.

I thought she was backing off?

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rani begin to lunge towards her obviously shocked by her behaviour but is held back by Rolo.

All I see is red. Pure and unadulterated jealousy rushes through me making me feel nothing but anger.

I contemplate whether or not to make a scene or keep quiet about it. Realising that I don't necessarily have a leg to stand on since Abel and I aren't even going out, I grab my bag and storm out.

This is quickly becoming a thing.

Before I leave the room, I hear Rani and Rolo speaking angrily to Eliza. What they're telling her, I have no idea.

I make my way outside to sit on a small hill in front of the many large trees that my school has. I pluck several strands of grass from the ground throwing them onto my legs in front of me while mumbling about betrayal and stupid girls.

Even while looking down, I know Abel has made his way towards me just by his presence. He has one of those commanding auras that increase your awareness of him. Not only that, but the smell of Sandalwood and cinnamon follow him everywhere encompassing me.

Without saying anything, Abel takes a seat next to me and rests his head against the tree.

"What did I say about walking away from me Brown Eyes?"

I don't respond to him and pick at more strands of grass but with even more force and anger.

"Talk to me Keziah."

I sigh heavily and halt my damage towards the grass. Sorry Mother Nature, you were the easiest target to take my frustration out on.

"You were holding Eliza's hand." I finally say.

"No, Eliza was holding mine. There's a difference Brown Eyes."

Abel turns to face me.

"Did you not see me remove my hand from hers? It meant nothing and you have to understand that. In fact, it actually made me slightly uncomfortable." He says this with a slight chuckle bringing out a smile from me.

Abel then grabs my hand gently and intertwines it with his softly caressing the back with his thumb. "This, I like this. Forget about Eliza, it's just you and me Brown Eyes."

How can I stay upset when he says things that literally melt my heart.

"Also, about you staring at me in lesson.."

I remove my hands from his and cover my face instead. "Don't even speak about it, it was so embarrassing!" I groan out loud feeling absolutely mortified that he knew how long I was staring at him.

Abel removes my hands from my face and lifts my chin upwards.

"Don't be embarrassed, I love it when you stare at me openly. Having your eyes on me makes me incredibly happy."

My breath hitches at the husky tone of his voice making me lose my trail of thought for a moment.

I recover a few seconds later but feel unable to respond in a similar fashion. So instead, I jump up and start speaking in incoherent sentences.

"Um...I have to. We need to- yeah. Right okay. Um the bells ringing!"

Immediately, I spin on my heel and leg it back to our school for last lesson.

Why couldn't I just respond like a normal person? What he said wasn't really weird but it was definitely...different. You see, I've never really been interested in anyone before. No one has ever captured my interest until Abel. And I think that's what makes it so hard for me. I get so easily flustered around him and I'm struggling to not let it show as you can tell. Abel must think I'm so stupid. I'm always running from him and he's probably tired of it by now.

Feeling frustrated, I throw my hands up in the air and groan out loud whilst walking inside.

I just think that if we were actually together, I'd feel a lot more comfortable expressing myself to him knowing that it's okay.

After school, I head on out to Abel's car where he's probably already waiting for me. It's become routine for him to take me to and from school and I kind of like it.

Hoping that he's forgotten my awkwardness from earlier on, I get inside and put my seatbelt on.

"You good?" Abel asks.

"Yeah, everything's great over here." I reply with a nod.

"So" Abel starts, "Would you like to come over tomorrow? I thought since we're both not busy, we could hang out?"

I'm surprised at the unexpected invite but feel elated at the same time. Plus, his youngest siblings are so adorable.

"Yeah sure! I'd love to." I reply happily.

Abel grins at me with excitement before continuing on. "Oh and bring a swimsuit, we have an indoor pool."

• • •
A/N:
I've just realised how violent Keziah actually is. She's always hitting Abel, the poor boy.
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