Chapter 4 Awkward handshakes and smiles

Tan was buried deep in his thoughts when the Teacher walked in. He had dreamt of Nana, that was the first time in over a year. Running his hand over his face he wondered if it had anything to do with his bodyguard.

They had almost the same features. The eyes, plump lips, everything. The only difference was that his guard was a boy and his Nana had run away from him.

There was something else, Joe's eyes lacked the warmth that had always been in Nana's, his eyes harbored something dark that he could not comprehend.

For the first time he didn't like that were so many girls around him. Nana would've scolded hm. This made him laugh, a deep hearty one that was music to his ears.

He remembered that one time they had gone out for ice cream and he had said another girl was pretty. Nana didn't talk to him for a week.

Tan put his attention back on his drama teacher. She was hot, Tan found her hot. From the tight shirt she wore to her short skirt that exposed her tanned long legs.

"I know we only just resumed but you have a big project coming up" Their teacher, Miss Blue said. She adjusted her skirt before turning back to her students.

"It will cover 50 percent of your total grade, so you better take it serious." She drummed on, her eyes flickering to where James sat but he wasn't looking at her as usual or giving her that suggestive smirk of his.

"I've paired you all" She said, passing sheets with their names on it and continued. "Your topics are clearly written at the top. Read the instructions carefully" She clapped her hand when everyone had their sheet. "I'll see you all in the next class". She left the class but not without sending James a wink.

The top of Naya's paper read Love and Lust. It left her wondering if it should even be a topic. Her partner was someone named Chloe. She was grateful it wasn't Bella.

"Hey" A blonde girl called out to her. She waved and Naya did the same. Naya studied the girl as she walked towards her. Long blonde curls framed big brown eyes. Her lips were more plum and had a certain pout to it. She was cute.

"I'm Chloe" She said, taking the empty seat on the other side of Naya and flashed her a sweet smile.

Naya knew she already liked this girl. She was pretty and she could easily tell that the girl was nice.

"I'm Joe".

They exchanged an awkward handshake before Chloe was all smiles again.

"I'm so happy you're my partner. All the boys in this class are so mean" Chloe said, pouting her lips. Naya found herself laughing at Chloe's cute face. She knew they would make great friends.

"Trust me I'm happy too. The people I've met so far have been mean. It's nice to know there's a kind person in this school" Naya said.

Chloe beamed at that, hanging to every word the cute boy in front of her was saying. Up close he was beautiful Chloe couldn't deny that. His skin to her was an absolute turn on. It glowed under the light.

"I can't wait to do this project with you. Here's your number" Chloe took Naya's phone before she cold even protest but thankfully Chloe handed it back without seeing the message that had popped up on the top of her screen.

"We're going to be hanging out a lot, it'll be fun" Chloe said. She leaned over in excitement and hugged Naya who had gone completely still before going back to her seat.

James watched the exchange between Joe and Chloe amused. He wondered how she was going to pull through being a girl in school especially when it was obvious now that Chloe liked her.

He decided to play with her a bit and sat in then seat in front of her as she packed her backpack.

"Hey Joe" James said, smiling up at her.

Naya turned to James startled before her eyes zoned on his red hair and she relaxed. "Hi."

"You don't talk much do you?" James asked.

"I guess" She muttered more to herself.

"You're pretty" He said. James watched Naya closely as she looked up sharply at him becoming uncomfortable as small beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"It's wrong to call a boy pretty" Naya said as calmy as she could, praying that there was no tremble in her voice. There was something about James though, she didn't feel calm around him. He was like the calm before the storm. She knew she had to be careful around him.

"True...I almost forgot" James said, the smile on his face saying otherwise.

The color drained from her face. Did he know? Even if he didn't Naya was already suspicious with the way he was looking at her like he knew something that he shouldn't.

"Do well to remember that at all times".

"If you say so. It's not like a girl will pretend to be a boy, right?"

He knew. Naya was sure he knew, or he was close to discovering the truth. Before she could answer he winked at her and slid out of the seat. Naya wasn't sure what to do now, she had to avoid him at all cost.

Naya spent the rest of her class hiding at the back of the class, making sure to stay several seats away from where James sat. Towards the end of the class her phone beeped. Delivery.

An address followed later and Naya tensed up. It has been long since she did deliveries for father and she wasn't familiar with this environment yet. The parcels had stopped coming after the president had called her back, she was certain father wouldn't contact her again but here he was.

Naya was glad, father was the only connection she had left to her father's killer. And with every parcel that he sent Naya to deliver to people she didn't know was a step closer to her avenging her father's death.

James watched Naya from the corner of his eyes. He was sure he was going to be on her mind all day, though not for the reasons he wanted.

He liked watching her and he couldn't tell why. It made his heart flutter whenever their eyes met, and it made him wonder why he didn't feel that way with Bella after all the times they had spent together.

Naya was biting her nails when James looked over again. If she wasn't careful, she was going to give her secret to anyone paying a closer attention to her. Biting her nails and looking away whenever a guy looked at her wouldn't really keep her cover of being a boy.

The bell rang shortly after with Naya bolting out of her seat like her bum was on fire. There was a thud and James looked up in time to see books sprawled on the floor with a frantic looking Naya trying to pick them all up. The interesting part had to be the angry Bella standing in front of her.

Naya held out the books after picking them up to Bella without saying a word. She knew the best way to deal with people like Bella was silence to avoid egging the on.

"You're just going to stand there staring at me?" Bella asked, folding her hands across her chest.

Naya could feel her patience slipping away which each second that ticked by, she had to remind herself that she was a boy now and had to start acting like it.

"Are you always this loud?" Was the first thing that came out of Naya's mouth when she finally put her man pants on.

"You can talk after all" Bella said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Here are your books" Naya pushed them into her hands "Watch where you're going next time".

Girls like Bella had one thing in common, they never know when to back off. Just as Naya passed Bella drew her back by holding the ends of her braids tightly.

Naya bit down on her lip to keep rom screaming. She could easily break out of Bella's hold but she would never hit a girl.

Before Naya could do anything, James sprung up from his seat and held Bella's hand. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked her.

If Bella was hurt by the harshness of his voice, she didn't show it, she only gripped Naya's hair tighter "He can handle himself".

He narrowed his eyes at her "Keep holding him and you won't see me this weekend."

Bella dropped her hand immediately and Naya left immediately, afraid to look James in the eye.

"Don't threaten me like that because of a mere boy. You almost gave me the impression that you like him" Bella turned and left.

From his seat Tan saw everything that happened but he sat still. He had stood up at first to help Naya, but James had beat him to it and it made him angry. Joe was her bodyguard, but he felt the need to look out for him.

The need to shield him from Bella had intensified when he saw the hurt that flashed in his eyes, it reminded him of the day his father had whipped Nana for the first time.

He walked to James before he could give in to the urge to run after Naya to make sure she was okay "Keep your bitch on a leash, will you?".