Rejected At First Sight (Spinoff Series)

7

Ashlyn Jesse

Sage was miraculously on time to a class. He stood in front of my desk, which was tucked away in the back of the room and other students avoided it like the plague.

"I don't know if you know this, but that's my seat." Sage said with a hesitant smile on his face.

I want to roll my eyes but all I can manage is a dull look. "I know that's not true. I sat here yesterday all by myself without so much as a word from you."

His eyes scour over my face, taking in everything. I knew that the bags under my eyes were a deep color, and made my skin look pale. My hair fell around my face in natural waves, unstyled and wild. "Did you sleep last night?"

"Under my bed." I muttered under my breath. There was no need to say it outloud, but I was somehow compelled to.

"What?" Sage looked at me, cocking his head to the side. "Why would you do that?"

My eyes looked away from him, a light blush covering my cheeks. Nevermind how he heard it, he now knew that I had slept under my bed. I felt like an idiot.

Sage looked to the desk next to me. "Can I..."

I looked at the empty seat next to me. "Do whatever you like." I answer dryly.

He sat down on the desk beside me, glancing my way every few seconds. "Hey, Ash." Sage said quietly. "You do believe me, right?" When I don't reply he leans closer to me. "Ash." He says in a pleading tone.

I turn to him, some of the feeling coming back into my body. Even though it was anger, I was glad I was feeling something. "Believe you about what?" I ask.

"About the dodgeball. I didn't know that they were going to do that. I didn't stop you to help them, I promise. I really did mean what I said." Sage said, his green eyes twinkling. "Let me make it up to you."

"Alright class, you know today's a test day! Phones away and voices off!" Mrs. Flemington called from the front of the room, starting to hand out the test.

I face forward, but I could feel Sage's eyes on the side of my head. As soon as we get our tests, Mrs. Flemington walks back to the front of the room.

As I begin to read through the first problem, Sage proads my side, trying to get my attention. My hand flies to my side but I manage to stifle my wince. I look to him and glances down at my hand before finding my eyes again.

I gesture to the test with my eyes and scowl at him. Sage rolls his eyes and returns to writing on his test.

Time passes by quickly as I fill out the answers. At least I knew what I was doing in this class. I felt Sage's eyes on me from time to time, but I didn't acknowledge him and he left me be. I would be totally fine if he didn't talk to me for the rest of the day.

I finished my test and sat back. Looking at the clock, I had twenty minutes of class left. My eyes drifted over to the desk next to mine and met Sage's eyes. His pencil was on top of his finished test.

'Was it hard?' he mouthed. I shook my head as an answer and raised my eyebrow and gestured to his paper. Sage smiled brightly at me and shook his head. He must have been glad that I engaged in conversation with him. Unfortunately for him, I didn't say anything else.

I slumped in my seat and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the back wall.

I tried to relax into the hard metal of the desk, to ignore the green eyes that I just knew were staring at me. Peaking an eye open, I meet Sage's gaze. He doesn't seem to be embarrassed that he was caught staring at me. Instead, he continues to look at me, peering into my eyes.