Chapter 5 Kat

KATHLEEN'S P.O.V.

I remained unsettled throughout the rest of the day, tossing and turning in bed as my head filled with thoughts of a certain man, Professor Dawson. I didn't know what to think or what to conclude. Perhaps he had taken a liking to me as a person? I wasn't sure it was allowed for a professor and a student to be friends or have a certain kind of...relationship aside from school-not like that was going to happen, but I found Professor Dawson's sudden interest in me to be strange. Firstly, our run-in at the café, then the drawing, and of course our little moment back at the class. It was driving me mad.

For a second, I feared he was one of those obsessive stalkers who watched and noticed my every move. But then again, what if he was just trying to be friendly and I was the one reading too deep into it-whatever 'it' was? My phone's vibration on the nightstand shook me out of my thoughts; it was a message from Alexia asking to meet up. For a moment, I thought about declining but then decided to give in. A distraction was what I needed right now.

*****

It had been a few hours since Alexia's request to meet up; safe to say, I was glad I agreed.

"See that guy over there." She nudged towards the direction of a blonde-haired dude; he looked to be around 5'8. I couldn't see him since he had his back turned to us, but he had a nice back view, not gonna lie.

"Yeah, what about him?" I asked, sipping my milkshake. We had decided to get some milkshakes after our stop at the gaming center, and I had to say it was really good; perhaps I should visit the fairs more often.

"I'm thinking..." Uh oh, "Why don't you go say hi to him, you know, maybe get his digits or something." She raised her brows suggestively at me. Oh, fuck no.

"No."

"Ugh, why?" She drawled out in a whiny voice.

"Because you don't just go up to strangers and ask them for their number, Lexi. What if he's a serial killer?" She glanced at me and then back at me.

"He doesn't look like one." I shot her a look.

"Seriously, we can't even see his face. What if he's ugly or something?" I hoped she'd drop it; I hated meeting new people. More often than not, I'd often say or do some embarrassing shit.

She snorted in response, "I doubt that. I mean, look at him. Well, not at him, but you get my drift. He looks hot from the back, and if he turns out to be an ugly piece of shit, just step on him and apologize or behave like a crazy psycho; it'd surely scare him off." I looked at her incredulously, hoping she was joking, but she was not; she was dead serious.

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Pretty please."

"I said no, Lexi."

"Even if I pay you a hundred dollars?"

"Still no."

"Okay." I squinted at her, trying to see if she'd really given up.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I guess I'd just go up to him and tell him how my friend thinks he has a really nice behind and would really love to see it." She grinned evilly at me as she began rising from her seat. My jaw dropped in disbelief.

"No, you can't."

"Watch me." I began panicking when she took a few steps in his direction.

"Wait!" I yelled, earning a few curious, startled, and annoyed looks, causing me to blush in embarrassment.

"I'll do it." I gritted out gravelly, while she smiled triumphantly.

"What was that? I'm afraid I didn't hear you."

"I said I'll do it, you psycho; now sit your ass down." Chuckling, she complied.

"You better pay up, Lex."

"I will, now shoo." She urged, nudging me towards his direction. Gathering myself, I walked over to him slowly, hoping he'd leave before I could reach him, but I wasn't so lucky. Tapping his shoulder, I inhaled sharply, watching as he turned around to look at me. He was cute, thankfully.

"Hello, can I help you?" He had a smooth voice, which could captivate anyone's attention.

"Uh, hi? My name's Kathleen. And I just wanted to say you're really cute; you know I've been watching you from over there, and I was like, 'Oh hey, that's a really cute dude; I should go say hi.'. Not like I was stalking you or anything." I rambled, taking my bottom lip in between my teeth as I shut my eyes tightly in embarrassment. I was so going to kill Lexi.

I opened one eye when I heard a deep chuckle. Great, he's laughing at me. Could this be any more embarrassing? I really envied the butterfly on the counter; it looked to be having a much better life than I.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you, Kathleen. I'm James, and I think you're really cute too." James, it suited him, sort of.

"Thanks, James, I'd see you around, I guess." I gave him a tight-lipped smile, rocking on my feet as I turned around when I felt his grip on my arm.

"Wait, can I get your number and perhaps join you and your friend? If you don't mind that is." Smiling in response, I did as he asked while we walked back to Lexi. After getting the introductions out of the way, we fell into a comfortable conversation. James was a really chill guy; it turns out he's bi and had a boyfriend. Deciding we had spent way too much time out and it was getting late, we decided to head back home.

****

The following day at school, my whole body felt heavier with each step I took towards his classroom, knowing there was a probability he'd be there. Luckily for me, Lexi showed up just in time as I was about entering.

"Hey baby, I missed you." She pouted, pulling me into a hug. I chuckled in response.

"Lex, you literally saw me yesterday."

"Really? I didn't realize." Snorting, we walked arm in arm into the class while I purposely avoided his stare. With each step I took, I could feel it burning through my skin until I took my seat. My breath hitched as I looked up to find him already staring at me intensely; this was going to be a long hour.