She pulls her hand away, snapping me out of my thoughts, my fantasy. How many times do I need to tell my heart not to lower its guard?
Chapter Thirteen
Artemis
I’m still so shocked I can’t focus on science. We’re in the middle of a quiz and I should know the answers. But my mind is blank. All because Ryan Rogers asked me to paint with him? It’s not like it means anything.
So why am I freaking out?
He’s at the other end of the classroom, doodling instead of answering the questions.
I don’t know what made me look for him in the art room. During lunch, I saw him pile some food onto a tray and leave the cafeteria. Then I saw Brianne talking to him, touching his arm. I figured they’d go off somewhere to eat lunch alone, to talk in privacy. But then Brianne stomped into the cafeteria, pissed beyond measure. He rejected her again, and that made my heart flutter. I still have no idea why.
So I went looking for him. The first place I checked was the art room, because hello, art is his thing. And there he was, though not as engrossed in the painting as he usually is.
“Okay, papers up,” the teacher says.
I stare down at my quiz. Only half of it is filled out. I quickly rush through the rest of the questions, hoping I at least got a B. Gosh. Why am I so messed up about this Ryan thing? Is it normal to still have a crush on a guy who told you he doesn’t want to be around you?
But…he invited me to paint with him. That only made my crush strengthen. Which is dumb because he probably asked me to be nice.
The teacher starts the lesson, and I do everything I can to forget Ryan. Because if I don’t, I’ll ruin my grades and my dad won’t let me date. Like ever.
And besides, I shouldn’t let a guy distract me from school. Even one as gorgeous as Ryan.
The day passes in a blur and I’m packing away my things in my locker. Jenna rushes up to me. “Want to go to the mall after school?” She bends close. “I still need to buy a giftfor Jason for our three-year-anniversary.”
“I have plans.”
She lifts a brow. “With who?”
“Ryan. He asked me to paint with him.”
Her jaw falls. “TheeRyan? The one who rejected Brianne, I don’t know, a million times? The one who ditched you at the festival? The one I told you to be careful about?”
I shut my locker. “Yep. That Ryan.”
Her jaw falls even lower. “I don’t know about this, Art. I mean, I have no right to tell you who you can or can’t hang out with, but I need to protect you. You’re so fragile right now, with your crush on him and everything.”
“I told you I don’t feel that way about him anymore.”
She rolls her eyes like she knows I’m lying through my butt.
I hike my backpack strap up my shoulder. “I’ll see you later.” After giving her a quick hug, I dash down the hall toward the art room. It’s not a popular place to hang out after school, so it’s empty like usual. Except for one guy sitting in front of an easel, staring at his painting. I’m no expert, but it doesn’t look like he’s touched it since lunch. Is he…maybe waiting for me?
“Hey,” I say as I dump my school stuff on the floor and take the seat near him.
“Hi.” He nods toward the canvas. “Want to get started on the shark? I’ll work on the sunset.”
I just gape at the painting, then slowly move my eyes to him. “Um, can we maybe do the shark together? I don’t want to ruin this masterpiece with my crappy art skills.”
“Okay.”
We stand and begin forming the shark. I watch, fascinated, as he dips his paintbrush in different colors to create this awesome creature of the sea.
He nods toward the second paintbrush. “Try to shade it in. Use different colors. Be creative.”
I furrow my eyebrows. “Okay, but don’t kill me when I butcher the whole thing.”
