Devon’s POV

I watched her walking down the hall. My eyes focused on different things, different aspects, of her at certain times, certain orders. First and foremost, her style of walking: today she is walking quickly, with long steps. Her eyes are focused down, but her face faces outward.

Next, is her items, the things she carries. As always, her gray messenger bag. It looked like her math book, a sketchbook, and several notebooks are in her arms today. My gaze flicked over her body, taking in her outfit. Black boots, which are common for her in wintertime, dark blue jeans, which I had not seen on her before, and a large black hoodie that hid her, as did her jeans. I had seen her in this many a time. Traveling upwards to her face, I saw little of it, as it is being hidden by her long black hair.

Her dark brown eyes flicked upward, as if she sensed that she is approaching someone. She tensed, letting her head drop and her hair cover her face. I knew what she was hiding, for she had done this many times when her face could not be hidden. Biting her lower lip, facing down, wincing slightly when she ran into the person. A feeling surged within me when I saw the boy bump into her then rush past without saying a word.

“Devon!”

I turned, half smiling at Kaleb, my best friend. “Hey, Kaleb,” I muttered, a little miffed. I turned away from the door, casting one last glimpse out the door in search of her. Following Kaleb to our seats, I furrowed his brow, still thinking of her.

Aura turned into her classroom, settling into her seat. Closing her eyes, she thought about the feeling she got everyday between this period and the previous one. Everyday, rain or shine, sleet or rain, good day or bad, she felt she was being watched going through the halls. She could almost feel the eyes roaming over her body, taking everything in. It had been exceptionally strong today.

It irked Aura immensely. She looked over at a girl speaking loud. “Fool, he’s been actin’ a fool.”

She looked over, a polite look on her face. “Who this time, Violet?”

The blonde looked over in disgust. “Why don’t you go ask one of your ‘spirit’ friends?”

Aura scowled, turning her attention away from the girls. Thinking back to what made Violet say the comment, she got out paper and pencil. The only thing she had done was write a story about a girl and the spirit world. A heavy sigh right next to her caused her to look to the right of her, out of the corner of her eye. Seeing nothing, she mimicked the sound. “Damn school,” she muttered.

“Miss Aura!” The teacher snapped as she entered noisy classroom. It immediately quietened, turning to look at Aura.

“Yes?”

“Go to the office. Now.”

Aura got up with an inward grown, grabbing her bag and her books. Walking out of the room quietly, she ignored the snickers from the class. The office door loomed closer as she slowed her steps. Nodding her hello’s to the secretaries, they motioned her to go in the principals office. Groaning again, she thought of what she had done this time.

“Mr. Payton?”

“Sit, sit,” the man motioned for her to sit in one of the leather chairs. Obliging, she watched him shuffle through several stacks of papers, mumbling to himself. “Ah,” he said, pulling out a piece of paper. “here you are, Miss Aura! Your new semester schedule. The only thing that’s changed is your last two periods.”

She nodded, reaching for the paper. Looking it over, she left the office. Art and Photography. The bell rang as she walked, so she altered her coarse. Turning down the art hall, she looked for the art classroom. She quickly found it and took ahold of the handle cautiously.

A high, screeching voice met her as the door opened. “Aura, darling! I always told you you must take my art classes. And here you are. Pick a seat.” Ms. Bronwit motioned towards the seats.

Aura immediately looked at the back, but stopped when she felt a familiar sensation. Letting her eyes roam over the preps, settling on a blonde boy who was staring at her. There was an empty seat across from him, next to a dark haired youth. Settling next to the boy, she eyed the blonde warily. “Good afternoon,” she extended a hand. “I’m Aura.”

“Kaleb,” he said, taking her hand.

She turned to the boy she was sitting next to. Looking him over. Pale-ish face, broad shoulders, muscular chest and arms, long legs. Your basic tall, dark, and handsome. “Devon,” he replied gloomily, bringing his emerald eyes up to her brown ones. He turned back to his blank paper, sighing heavily.

She looked at Kaleb, “What’re we doing?”

He gestured at the round ball in front of him. “Drawing.”

Pulling out a bag of pencils, she pulled out an HB, then sat idly. A sigh emitted from beside her. Looking over, she saw Devon m over his object between them, leaning over to her. “You can share mine.” His breath was hot on her eat, and she shuddered. “That is,” he added with a teasing voice, “until you find your own.”

Aura ignored the feeling in her stomach as she answered, all her normal cynicism against preps present. “I’m sure I can find something on me that I can do, thanks anyway.”

She watched him turn away with a soft sigh, and an odd emotion in his eyes. She briefly wondered if the emotion was for her. Shaking her head, she pulled up her messenger bag, rooting through it. She pulled out a picture triumphantly. Laying it to the side of her paper, she studied it for a little while before she began drawing. She noticed Devon looking at her picture, and she looked over expectantly. He shook his head, then looked back to his own object. She watched his hair fall into his eyes, and she looked down at her paper sharply, ignoring the urge to push it back. What was going on with her? She needed to be figuring out Kaleb, who was the one who watched her everyday, not messing with his cute friend.

Wait, had she really just called Devon cute? Letting her shoulders drop, she focused on the outline of the little girl in the picture. She heard Kaleb laughing softly. Looking up at him sharply, she gave him a glare. He stopped laughing almost immediately. Once again, Devon was watching her with soft eyes. Lowering her head, and her voice, she spoke to the both of them. “I need a calm and quiet environment to work, can you do that, or will I have to move?”

She felt the table move as one of the boys kicked the other. “We’ll be quiet,” Devon said, giving a glare at Kaleb.

Aura nodded, and let her hair fall in front of her face as she looked down. Closing her eyes, she began clearing her mind of all other thoughts so that she could work solely on art, and not on her thoughts. Once she had done so, she drew the eyes of the girl, slanting them just so to get them right. She was surprised when Ms. Bronwit was beside her, looking over her shoulder approvingly. Becoming annoyed, she stopped her drawing for a little bit. How had Ms. Bronwit, of all people, snuck up on her? She was the loudest person Aura had ever known.

“That’s just lovely, darling! You really should have come here sooner, I could really use a girl with such talent in my class.”

“I’m not that good,” Aura mumbled, putting her things away, since there were only a few minutes left in the class. She bent down to the bottom drawer at the same time Devon did, causing them to bump. Aura opened her mouth to apologize, but stopped when she caught his scent. Warm, comforting, and sweet, it surprised her immensely. She noticed he had a half smirk on his face, she closed her mouth before opening it again. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He dropped his paper in facedown, and straightened, grabbing his book bag.

Aura put her picture and paper in the drawer, as well as her bag of pencils. Then she grabbed her messenger bag, giving Ms. Bronwit a smile. The bell rang, saving her from having to have a conversation with the obnoxious teacher. She went next door, to photography. Mr. Kuzmen, who was young and enthusiastic, taught photography. She had never heard anything but good news about him, so she was accepting of this class.

“Ah, you must be Miss Aura. Come, we’ll go get you a good camera.” Mr. Kuzmen said, motioning to a room in the back.

She followed him, assisting him in choosing a camera. They finally settled on a black Fuji with 50 mm lens. When they exited the back room, Aura asked about which seat she should sit in. “Have you ever had a photography class before?” Shaking her head, he pondered a minute. “I guess I should put you with someone who’s pretty good. You can sit next to Devon.”

Upon hearing his name, Devon looked over. Aura nodded grimly as she moved to the back of the class to sit beside him. Nodding a greeting, she turned her attention to Mr. Kuzmen, who was sitting at his desk quietly. She turned to Devon with a question on her face.

“oh, he doesn’t teach much normally. He lets those who have experience talk with the newbie’s and show them the ropes. Have you ever taken a Photography class before?” At the shake of her head, he brought her up to the front of the class, up to Mr. Kuzmen. “Can I take Aura outside to show her how to use the camera?”

“yea, just be back before the end of class.” He said, motioning them away with his hands. He took his eyes off of the computer to give them a twinkling glare. “don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in front of your mother.”

Aura laughed as they exited the room. “Is he always like that?” She asked Devon.

He nodded, “he’s always been really nice, and very playful. He trusts us, else he wouldn’t let us out of his sight, but he has a sense of humor. Let me see your camera.” Upon examining it, he handed it back. “it’s a good one, it should capture most anything. What do you like to take pictures of?”

“Nature, anything non-man made. But, if they’re available, castle’s are okay too.”

They stepped out into the courtyard, where it was raining. Aura looked up at the sky, a smile growing on her face. She quickly stepped out into the center of the courtyard, her head tipped upward. She felt Devon step beside her, stopping only a few inches from her. Rather than feel uncomfortable, she faced him with a smile. “Do you like the rain?”

He laughed, “It’s only my most favorite kind of weather. What about you?”
Her smile grew, “Same here.” She sat down on one of the white benches, not caring if her butt got all wet. Devon settled in next to her, leaning back on the table. “It wouldn’t be a good idea to bring the cameras out now, would it?”

He shook his head, “No, it wouldn’t, but I don’t especially want to go back to class. Do you?”

“no, I’d rather be out here in the rain.” As if to prove her point, she tilted her head back up to the sky, feeling the rain drop on her face. They sat in silence, each lost in their own worlds. Aura came out of hers when she heard the bell ring, coming through the closed door. She looked over at Devon, who was looking at the ground. She touched his shoulder, motioning inside. “The bell’s rung. School’s over for the day. Might want to go get your stuff out of class.”

Devon motioned for her to go ahead and go in, “You go ahead, I’ll come in a few minutes.”

She nodded, slipping through the doors. Devon watched her through the windows, watching her look around thoughtfully. He sighed, dropping his head into his hands, thinking about her some more. “Will I ever get the courage to tell her?” He cried up to the sky, shaking his head as he went inside.