I didn’t know that promises took two weeks. 

Two weeks to find out what our relationship was going to be from that moment forward, to see if there was a possibility for more than just friendship, more than tiptoeing around our feelings and just letting them consume us. Unfortunately it had been deemed impossible, the bane of Gage’s existence to finally sit down and talk it out with me, something that we had both agreed to do. For two weeks, I had gone through the motions that everything was fine between us, that he just needed time to sort out everything that we needed to discuss together. I acted like everyday did not cause my patience to be driven up a wall with the elephant in the room, staring at me like I was the crazy one for having an ounce of hope that my best friend would keep his promise. 

The blank document on my screen mocked me with its lack of words, the cursor blinked with each passing second left of my sanity, my head becoming a ticking time bomb. It was a feeling that I was not fond of, because I had never felt this way towards Gage. 

Ever.

I was so deeply frustrated with him that I could not find a single drop of motivation to release my feelings through something I loved more than anything; writing. I stared at my computer screen, the manifestation of words eluding me in a way that made me want to pull my hair out. These new and confusing feelings— because you were not supposed to feel these types of feelings towards your best friend— made me confused on whether I wanted to cry or scream into the air in anger. Yet I was still so lost on what to do. 

My creative writing class had become, what I considered, a sanctuary, a place where I could escape Ulyssa and the pressures of academia; another form of escapism besides books. A place where I could pursue my passion for writing, a passion that came second to my goal of being the best, somewhere I could unleash my creativity and emotions freely. But it was no longer that place at that moment. I wanted to find Gage, and corner him, as crazy as it sounded, until he broke enough to finally reveal his true feelings towards me. It was something I had longed for for two whole weeks, but here I sat reaching my boiling point in my safe place. 

I looked around the classroom, my fellow classmates chatting amongst themselves, a select few typing away at their stories displayed on their screens. Their abilities to be delved in their escapism made me green with envy, the black cursor still antagonizing me from just outside my peripherals. 

“Okay, calm down you heathens” the voice of our teacher, Ms. Wilder, disrupted the other students into silence, “I have a special announcement for all of you.” 

Along with the other student’s around me, I looked at her in confusion because special announcements rarely happened in her class. The students started to silently chatter at her words, the hushed whispers of what it could be started to float around the room. Ms. Wilder set all of her things on her desk, turning on her computer as she fixed her navy blue sunflower dress, the dress accentuating her brown slightly curled hair that flowed past her shoulders. 

“Okay class, listen up” Ms. Wilder stated, looking at everyone through her round glasses, “We have a new student today!”

I looked in shock, like the other students I was surprised that someone would come in at that point of the year, especially since the year had just started weeks ago. In Brindlewood it was rare for us to see new students, due to the fact that we were such a small town on the outskirts of Dallas—We weren’t exactly the poster child for people to come and live in luxury. But this new student had piqued my interest.

“Everyone put on your happy faces so that he can feel welcomed’ She said, turning her attention to the door, “Mr. Samuels, you may come in now.”

With the command of her words the door slowly creaked open, all of the students sitting at the edge of their seats, excitement visible on their faces as I sat feeling weird for not sharing in their anticipation for our mystery student. I turned my attention to my computer once more, the emptiness of my document filling me with dread once more, my need to close the window scratching at the back of my mind. The thought of the new student being pushed to the back of my mind, my lack of inspiration and my frustrations with Gage coming back to the surface, the thoughts making me lose focus on the front of the class for a second.

“Guys, I would like you to welcome our new student, Asher Samuels” Ms. Wilder’s voice called out, snapping me back from the well of dread I had threatened to fall into.

I felt the air from my lungs exit my body, my eyes meeting the deep dark endlessness of the almost black brown eyes before me, the world seemingly stopped on a dime in that moment. Lost is what I could imagine was the feeling that I had been succumbed to, the sea of the shadowy pools giving me the sensation that I was drowning in my own body, losing myself within their depths. The radiance of warmth surrounded me in that instant, wrapping me like a warm blanket of security I didn’t know I needed.

It was addicting. 

The deep abyss of Asher’s eyes had encapsulated me completely, the want to look away creeping throughout my body as my fight or flight response was activated, yet I wanted to stay his captive. He stood tall at the front of the classroom, easily towering over me and several of the other students, his presence giving off an aura of dominance along with something else that had escaped me. He felt safe. His bulging biceps only added to the feeling of safety he exuded, his body size putting Gages’ to shame as he just stood there still maintaining eye contact with me. My mouth suddenly watering at the sight of muscles that hid underneath his black shirt, a pair of ragged jeans resting perfectly along his waist as my eyes traveled further down. 

My eyes automatically went back to his face as I realized how far my gaze had traveled, our eyes meeting once more. A small smile pulled at his lips along a jawline that had looked chiseled out of the finest marble, the strength of his masculine features made my cheeks become aflame with the embarrassment of being caught ogling the guy. A guy I had never met before in my life. A guy with an incredibly attractive modern version of Clark Kent's parted hairstyle, my brain mentally acknowledging that I had found someone other than Gage, appealing.

I didn't know what to feel. 

“Asher, please tell us about yourself?” Ms. Wilder asked, sitting at her desk. 

“Oh, um” Asher replied, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder flexing his arm, “Like you heard, My name is Asher, and I just moved here from the Dallas area. I really like football and I signed up for this class because I want to make it into a hobby.”

A few of the students chuckled at his statement, Asher rewarding us with a smile that made the girls in the class blush and turn doe eyed. I looked away from the handsomeness that was the new student, my computer screen suddenly becoming more interesting, afraid that if I looked into his eyes once more I would never come back. For the first time in my life I felt afraid, afraid that looking at Asher and reflecting on the feelings that I felt for Gage had cemented something. The thing in the back of my mind I had yet to determine was true or not, an aspect of me I hoped Gage would help me with. But he had yet to talk to me about it. 

“Thank you Asher” Ms. Wilder smiled, my eyes rising once more to see that his eyes still watched me before turning his attention to our teacher, “You can take any of the open seats that you find.”

Asher nodded, looking out into the sea of tables where we all sat, the groups of 4 or 5 computers distributed around the room. He walked through the middle, eyeing the available seats—not that there were many due to the popularity of the class—visibly deep in thought on which seat he wanted. I looked away from him, focusing on my blank document yet again, growling under my breath that it still mocked me and couldn’t be used as a reliable distraction. Blocking everything out I started typing, writing what came to mind even if it was something miniscule, because in my mind a few words still meant something.