Uncovering the Pain Behind the Eyes (19)

The rest of the moment proceeded smoothly, the earlier tension slowly fading into the lecture. However, Starfania's thoughts continuously wandered back to Daniel's act of selfness. As time continued to move forward she wanted to look back at him once again, yet she knew she had to restrain herself. Otherwise, he might catch onto her true feelings about him. Just the thought of that engulfed her face into a fiery sensation. Upon realizing that she had become lost in her daydream once again, she was forced to gather her focus again. Then she felt the rumble of her stomach as she simply let out a groan. Now all those events seemed to have caught up to her as she prayed for lunch to get here sooner.Minutes began to tick off against each other while Starfania tried to focus on the lesson, but she was listening to all the sounds around her. The clicking of a pen, as the marker scrapes the whiteboard or the small whispers around her. Which was a win in her book because her mind would occasionally drift back to Daniel. Her mind kept replaying the events over again like a tape recording. She remembered the warm and radiant feeling that enveloped her as Daniel stood there, his chest puffed out proudly, a smile beaming across his face, making her feel safe and cherished. It seemed like her head had its agenda. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period and the start of lunch.Starfania let out a sigh of relief and quickly gathered her belongings as she walked to the cafeteria. This was her chance to see her friend and crush. With a hopeful sparkle in her eyes, she dreamt of the day when she could finally thank Daniel for his heroic act, her heart brimming with joy at the mere thought of expressing her gratitude. Once entering the cafeteria, she scanned the room looking for her best friend first. However, to her disappointment, he was nowhere in sight. Normally, he was the one waiting for Starfania. However, this time the roles were reversed. Then she started anxiously pacing the cafeteria floor, as she looked for his forest eyes. Hoping to catch sight of his familiar face. Starfania's mind filled with doubt as she wondered what had happened to Aeron. Then a flash of green appeared in the cafeteria as Aeron emerged, feeling Starfania with such relief knowing that he was safe.When he got closer to her. She couldn't help but notice a change in his demeanor. He had a distant look in his eyes as if his mind was elsewhere. Starfania asked in a soft tone towards Aeron if he was okay. He simply dismissed her concern with a small smile trying to avoid any further explanation. Starfania was nowhere near convinced that he was truly just okay. However, she nearly kept the thought to herself and will simply let Aeron come to her when he is ready to speak about the matter. As she gave him a pat on the back quickly trying to change the mood of the atmosphere. Which seemed to work making the room feel more light-hearted, yet she still could see the pain clouding his eyes. Putting on an act in front of her trying not to worry her.