4

"Come on…" Nathan mumbled to himself, splashing water on his face while he looked in the mirror. "I mean, I know she said that, but I barely know her. We're not friends. I shouldn't get my hopes up." He added, wiping away the droplets around his eyes as he took in some air. "Friends…"

"Hurry up. How long does it take you to brush your teeth?" Penny yelled from outside. Nathan quickly finished up in the bathroom, changing into some clothes and meeting his sister on the sidewalk outside of their home. "Hey, about that girl from yesterday, who was she?" She asked, looking down at him with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Just a classmate." Nathan replied, not really paying much attention to the conversation as the bus approached them. He took his usual seat by the front window, but Penny sat on the row behind him. "I know what you're doing." Nathan groaned as they started moving, putting his headphones on in an attempt to drown out the noise that would come once the bus started filling up. The next person they picked up seemed to be the one he prepared for the most, since he'd left his bag on the empty seat beside him in order to deter anyone from sitting there.

"Nathan, would you mind if I sat next to you?" Stacy asked as she approached the seat. Her eyes looked down at his bag just as Penny reached over and moved it out of the way. "Is it okay?"

"Just do it, missy. He needs friends anyway." Penny said, leaning back in her seat as the class president sat beside Nathan. He was still in his own world, quietly nodding his head to the music he was listening to as they made their way closer to the school. "Hey!" She sighed, moving one side of his headphones away from his ear.

"What?" Nathan asked, silently reaching up for the cup before his eyes caught sight of the person beside him. He instantly locked up, leaning against the window.

"Good morning, Nathan." Stacy said with a smile, looking around at anything she could use to start a conversation. She looked at his bag as Penny handed it back, noticing that it had been worn down and stained with paint. "Hey, Nathan, how did you get so good at art stuff?" She leaned in slightly as he looked down at his things.

"I just practice a lot. I have a few paintings at home." He mumbled, looking away before he shut his eyes in attempt to sleep through the rest of the ride; it didn't work.

"Really? Can I see one sometime?" She seemed invested.

"Maybe… What about you, is there anything you like doing?" Nathan grumbled out, his eyes still half-closed.

"Me? Well, I don't really know. My parents make me practice piano with my free time, so I guess I don't really have any hobbies I do on my own." She chuckled, scratching the back of her head. An awkward silence took hold of them for a few minutes as they approached the school. "Hey, what kind of music are you listening to?"

"Right now? Just some old song my mom and dad liked. Usually, though, I tend to listen to some guitar covers." He replied as they came to a stop. He slowly got up, watching her leave the bus as he fixed his things. He got down, finding her waiting for him as they made their way into the room. After setting their things down, Nathan pulled out his notebook, a look of worry forming on his face.

"Is something wrong?" Stacy walked over after noticing his expression, taking the seat of the person beside his desk.

"I kind of zoned out yesterday; I don't have any notes." Nathan mumbled as he looked away abashedly, showing the incomplete notes he took yesterday. "Do you mind if I copy yours?"

"No. Let me just get it." She walked over to her bag and back, handing him a notebook and opening it up on an organized page with neat notes all over. It was overwhelming, as if she'd transcribed the lecture word for word; and that was only one subject. Nathan could only scratch his head as he wondered where he should start. "Is something missing?" She asked, looking over her notes alongside him.

"No... I just don't get it, at least not if I read it." Nathan mumbled as he copied over what she wrote; not like it would do him any good since he couldn't understand it.

"What do you mean? Do you want me to explain it to you?" She offered, hearing the door open behind her as the other students started filing in. Nathan thought about it for a moment.

"If you think it can help, then sure." He said, though he was a bit worried. He took a few seconds to look at his situation. He was having a casual conversation with her, again, and it was going well so far; he wasn't panicking as much as he thought he'd be.

"Alright then, mind if I come over to your house tomorrow? I'll tutor you after school." She smiled, taking her notebook back and skipping back to her seat as people started walking up to her. She was swarmed by their classmates, each bringing up concerns about the upcoming anniversary that everyone had to prepare for. For a few seconds, he just sat there watching with a little envy as she calmly talked to everyone.

"Wait, did she say that she's coming over?" He thought to himself, beads of sweat forming on his head as he started hyperventilating. He took a few minutes to compose himself, managing to calm himself down by the time the teacher arrived. The teacher looked around the room, shooting him an impressed glance accompanied by a smile. He took that as his cue to stop worrying about the decorations; they were good enough. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't have to talk to them anymore…" He thought as a cold feeling coursed through his chest.

Brushing that aside, he looked at the notes that he copied; trying to make heads or tails of it was about as daunting as talking was to him. Luckily, the teachers would be using the same things as examples, if he could just make a connection, he would be fine. And like that, he brushed aside everything else, his eyes and ears focused on each lesson as he tried to link up what they said to what he wrote down. He had managed to get through the first few classes, but just barely. It was as if his head was going to explode, and he was feeling slightly nauseous just thinking about it.

"Hey." Stacy walked up to him again, holding a pack cookies in her hand as she pulled up a chair. "Not going to take your break?" She asked, watching him intently as he pulled out his notebook. Again, he started on a new drawing. Much like before, it was looking to be a person judging by the curves he put down.

"This is my break." He said as he looked around the room. It was empty and silent, with the only people inside being the two of them. "Are you just going to stay here?" Nathan asked. Stacy smiled to herself, setting down the cookies and going over to retrieve something from her bag. She came back with a small book in her hand, opening it up to a page as she took her seat.

"It's nice, this silence. The cafeteria is too loud." She hummed, gently sliding over the package after she took another cookie out. "Want one?" Nathan said nothing, instead just reaching out for one and nibbling on it as he worked on an arm. They spent the rest of the break like that, the soft sunlight filtering in through the windows of the room illuminating the paper that their eyes were glued to. Around five minutes before the next class would start, and before their classmates returned. "Hey, mind if I have a look?" She asked, not like it mattered since she could see it from where she was anyway.

"It's still not done." He mumbled, setting down his pencil as he wiped some sweat off of his palms. "But this is just practice anyway. I'm not taking it too seriously." He added as he looked down at his handiwork. It was only an outline, but it was of a small family with two children. The mother seemed radiant, even without any facial features. The father was jovial, bending down to be eye-level with his children, the elder of which seemed to be looking down at herself while the younger was gripping the clothes of their parents. "Now that I think about it, I probably should've spent this time looking over those notes you let me copy." He said; scratching the back of his head as the other students started coming in. With that, Stacy smiled and returned to her seat. The rest of the day went like that morning, with him quietly eating his lunch at his desk before he continued to work on the drawing in his notebook.

"We're home." Penny said as she opened the door to their home after their short bus ride.

"Hey, do you mind if I invite someone over?" Nathan asked, setting his bag down on the couch as his family gathered around the table. "I asked one of my classmates to help me study."

"Oh, is it that girl?" His sister asked, crossing her arms and leaning in with a grin on her face. "The one from the bus." She added, her grin growing wider as she noticed a small bit of red that appeared on her brother's face.

"Yeah… but we're just studying!" He raised his voice to make sure he gets heard over the giggling of his sister. "There's nothing between the two of us, I just asked her for help with some of the subjects! Got it!?" He got up; stomping over to the garage and slamming the door as he heard her laughter continue until she got up to her room. He let out a sigh, uncovering the painting he was working on previously as he got himself ready.

He sat down, closing his eyes as he thought of what he wanted it to be. He took a deep breath, picking up a brush as he dipped it in the paint. His strokes were wide at first, filling the canvas with color that would serve as the background to the main focal point of the family he would paint; it was the same family he drew in class. It was a calming background, a rolling hill with daffodils and a clear blue sky. After that, he made an outline in his head, envisioning the expressions on their faces as he changed to a thinner brush. He painted the mother first, giving her a flowing blue and white dress that popped out against the yellow flowers. She now wore a white sunhat, the shadows of which would hide her face; it was less work he'd have to do later on. Next was the father, who wore a shirt and jeans with a few tears here and there. Unlike the mother, he wore a bright smile as the paint used on his face left his cheeks a little rosy. He was about to start on the children when his phone vibrated in his pocket. With that, he covered it up again and headed toward his room.

"Mom, dad. I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do. I mean, there's nothing between me and Stacy. It should be fine right?" He asked, lying in bed as he stared up at the ceiling. He paused for a moment before he looked over at his phone, tapping the screen and turning it off for his night's rest.