Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Final Chance ❯ Chapter Seven: Pairing Up ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: well, I'm kinda down on inspiration at the moment, but I'm gonna try and write anyways. Hopefully my beta will come back by the time I finish this, since I'm not sure where she poofed to at the moment ;-; *ahem* Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

 

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Chapter Seven: Pairing Up

 

Ryleigh didn't want to go to class. She didn't want to face Zade again. She'd been lucky for the two classes since the Halloween party; Zade hadn't come to class, having fallen ill with the flu that was currently spreading, Deveau had informed the class the Friday beforehand. Ryleigh had been happy for the chance to try and sort herself out before she was forced to face him again, but her hopes for a longer Zade-free period were cut short when, on Monday, Deveau had announced that Zade would be returning on Friday, and that she would be informing them of a special assignment next class.

 

So, on Friday, Ryleigh didn't want to leave her apartment. She sat on one of the kitchen chairs, keeping her knees pulled under her chin as she fiddled with the end of her green t-shirt, poking out from under the white hoodie she was wearing. As usual, she wore blue jeans with her shirt choices, hair once more left down and framing her face. Sighing, the blonde groaned and rested her forehead against her knees, cursing her luck.

 

Why did she have to be attracted to the biggest jerk on the face of the earth?

 

It was true; after the incident at the Halloween party, Ryleigh had grudgingly admitted to herself that she was developing a huge crush on the redhead, the fact that he seemingly shared painting visions with her only adding to the concept that perhaps soul mates did exist. Sighing again, Ryleigh lifted her head and stood, knowing that, like it or not, she had to go to class. Glancing out the window, she winced at the sight of small snow flakes beginning to fall.

 

Snow, joy. Sighing again, Ryleigh tromped to the front door and grabbed her combat boots, stepping into them and opening her door, glancing back inside at the empty apartment, Normal for November I guess…wish Kayley was around more…

 

Pulling the door closed behind her, Ryleigh trudged down the hallway and entered the stairway, jogging down them and heading towards the front door of the apartment building. She shivered when the cold winter air hit her upon stepping out the door, pulling her hoodie closer as she took off at a quick pace, careful not to slip on any ice. Feeling a bit stupid for not wearing a warmer sweater, Ryleigh began jogging through the light flurries that fell from the sky, rubbing her arms constantly to keep them from going numb.

 

Finally reaching the campus, Ryleigh entered the art building and moved towards her classroom, panting slightly. She opened the door and stepped in, sighing in relief that she'd made it in time and wasn't late. Going to move to her stool, Ryleigh was stopped by a hand resting on her shoulder, the blonde hesitantly looking back and immediately wishing she hadn't.

 

“Are you alright?” Zade asked quietly, looking at her with a worried expression. Ryleigh flushed, turning and shrugging his hand off her shoulder.

 

“I'm fine,” she replied hotly, cutting off his next sentence by hurrying away to her stool, praying that he wouldn't follow. Once more, her luck seemed to kick in as Deveau entered the classroom and shooed the still standing students to their seats, moving to the front of the room with a bright grin.

 

“Time to announce the project I told you all about last time,” she began promptly, picking up some papers from her desk and sifting through them until she found what she had apparently been looking for. “This project is different then anything we've ever done before; you're going to be doing Paired Painting.” Murmurs broke out amongst the class, Ryleigh staring at the professor in surprise. In all the four years she'd been in this class, Deveau had never assigned them to work in partners before.

 

People immediately began whispering to each other about pairing up, but Deveau cleared her throat, shaking her head at her class in amusement, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you won't be choosing your own partners; I have already selected them myself,” groans burst out from the class, Ryleigh praying silently.

 

Don't put me with him don't put me with him don't put me with him don't put me with him don't put me with him… she chanted mentally, biting her lip as she watched Deveau at the front of the class, smiling at the turmoil she'd caused in the class.

 

“Now don't think I'm playing favorites or putting best friends together or anything, I'm not,” she warned, holding the paper higher, “I put all of your names on little pieces of paper and put them into a hat, then drew at random. Now, for the partners,” Ryleigh began chanting again, not noticing Zade watching her with amusement.

 

“Ryleigh Owen and Zade Winterbourne.” Every girl in the class (including Ryleigh) groaned at this, the blonde wishing she was sitting by a wall so that she could bang her head against it repeatedly. Zade was smirking to himself, apparently pleased with his partner's identity. Once all of the names had been called, Deveau rapped her ruler against her desk, getting the classes attention once more.

 

“Now, get to it! You have this class and Monday's class to finish your painting, which is on a canvas twice the size of your normal one; your word is `Innocent', begin!” Getting up, Zade moved over to where Ryleigh sat, the blonde keeping her head in her hands and her eyes on the ground. Pulling a stool over and sitting, the two stayed silent for what seemed like an hour, Zade finally sighing and looking at the blonde.

 

“I don't know why you're mad at me,” he commented, noticing the blondes shoulders stiffen, “it's not like I did anything wrong.”

 

Ryleigh didn't respond to this, but sat up straight, staring at the blank canvas before hesitantly glancing at Zade, her face set in a blank expression.

 

“We should start,” she murmured, Zade nodding in agreement. Sighing, Ryleigh closed her eyes, attempting to go into her normal trance, focusing on the word innocent while also keeping the fact that is was a paired painting in her mind. After a few minutes of nothing Ryleigh gave up, her shoulders slumping slightly as she opened her eyes, blushing when she found Zade staring at her intently.

 

“What?” she demanded, fidgeting slightly under his intense gaze.

 

“You couldn't do it either, could you?” She blinked, looking up at him then, “You couldn't go into the trance either?”

 

“No…” she admitted, unnerved by the fact that he also went into trances while painting, “but I don't know wh-”

 

Ryleigh jumped when the bell suddenly sounded, standing quickly. “Oh well, guess we'll have to try again Monday!” Laughing nervously, she hurried away and out the door, heading back out into the cold and rushing towards her apartment.

 

Not only wanting to get away from the cold as soon as possible, she was running from the feeling Zade awoke in her heart.

 

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Weeeee not much happened in this one, but I promise a vision in the next one XD

 

Amariahellcat

 

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A vision and… hmm… Kae/Nat? LOL.

 

Snowy