Double Life: With Ease

I just loved this image -if it goes well w/this post or not... well... you can have your own opinion ´bout it. 

A/N: this is sort of bits of a day. uh, happy not-yet- birthday Saku ;)
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His eyes were heavy with sleep. Josh opened his eyes and glanced to his alarm clock, it was almost five in the morning. He felt warm under the weight of blankets pulled all the way up to his nose. He looked for what had woken him up.

“Getting ready this early?” he said to his roommate who was sitting on his bed with his uniform on, his shirt wrinkled, obviously he´d been the reason for Josh waking up, he had just got in the room.

“Err… yeah…” he looked for his tie. Josh snickered and turned to the other side, as he did so, it hit him that Nichole had stayed the night; he quickly sat up looking around and to the side of his bed. The girl was gone.

“Are you ok, Josh?” his roommate asked with furrowed eyebrows, Josh turned to see him.

“Yeah…” he sighed and laid back down feeling his hand in a fist, he looked at it and found he was holding a piece of clothing, a dark knitted glove was in his hand, he extended the glove and tried to remember when he´d fallen asleep but he couldn´t pin-point the moment. He wondered when Nichole had gone away. Josh made a mental note to ask her about that and about the story he had clearly not heard. The rain kept hitting over Burgeoys, it was a soft rain that was nothing like the thunderstorm of the night before. Josh put the glove on the pillow beside his and closed his eyes, there was still time to sleep a little bit more before getting ready to do the finals.

**

“The place looks deserted” Josh commented as he and Nichole walked in the Students Common Room after their first test.

“Math is a scary subject, everybody´s busy going over that”

“Yeah…” Josh said as she turned on the T.V in front of them and started to flip channels until she got to an old silent cartoon show. She laughed quietly at it.

“Hey” Josh started when the show went to commercials

“Mmmh”

“I didn´t feel when you left last night” he said, she looked his way, her eyes were warm

“I know”

“I´m sorry”

“I’m not. I´m glad you got some good sleep” she smiled a little when she noticed a light blush coloring the boy´s cheeks

“I don´t remember the story you told me” he confessed, she stared at him and then chuckled

“You didn´t listen to it all, I´m not surprised you don´t remember, you were quickly asleep before I even got to the middle of it” she was still smiling with the side of her mouth

“I´m sorry”

“Don´t worry about it… Now, go over your math notes –she half smiled- want me to turn off the T.V.?”

“Ah, no, that´s ok, keep watching it” he said, she purser her lips a bit and turned it off, instead of it she took out her i-pod and resting her head on the back of the couch, she closed her eyes.

“Need any help?” she offered after a moment in silence. She could hear him going through the pages and using his eraser and how the back of his pencil was rubbed lightly against his forehead.

“Errr….” He hesitated

“Ha! I knew I´d find you here!”

“We should´ve gone somewhere else, Josh” Nichole said playfully with eyes closed

“You´re so mean, Nichole” Aaron said in the same playful manner as her “I need to see your notes, Josh, I´m missing a few classes and I have to copy them because our crazy teacher will grade our notebooks” he grumbled

“You´d make a good tutor” Aaron said an hour later, they´d been studying together.

“And you make a bad student” she gave him a smile, he looked up at her with narrowed eyes

“You have a beautiful smile” his eyes went back to normal as he observed her

“I know” she answered with the same studied smile she had given him

“You should smile more, you look less like you don´t want to be talked to” Aaron tilted his head to a side a little

“The more reason to not do it” she went back to her expressionless face. Aaron shook his head and went back to copying her notes.

***

“I have your schedules to present your projects –The art teacher started once everyone had gathered around his desk- once I give you your time you can go and finish working on them, either here or out –he looked at Nichole- I´m sure all of you are pretty much done –he looked at them all, some nodded some looked down- you can also show me what you got for suggestions just like we´ve been doing this lasts weeks –all the students nodded- ok, we´ll start earlier, at three o´clock, you´ll have thirty minutes to present both of your finished works. Any questions? –Mike looked at them all but no one asked a thing- ok, then, Joshua and Nichole, you´ll be first –they both nodded- Maya and Jonah…”

Nichole stood up, took her bag and drawing pad and headed out the room. Josh was behind her.

“I thought you´d stay in the art room today”

“And I thought you wouldn´t stare at me walking by now…”

“I was not…” he started, she looked over at him “how do you even know?!” he looked to a side but she gave him a genuine smile as he caught up to him.

“It was its purpose…” there was a hint of annoyance in her tone, his eyes were wide

“You walk like that to be seen?” he hesitated to ask

“If I wanted you to see me I wouldn´t have to walk like this”

“…” he opened his mouth to talk but he didn´t say a thing.

“I was taught to walk this way” she explain nonchalantly

“To be seen…?”

“Yeah, that´s what it was”

“Why would you want that?”

“I don´t but now I can´t help it”

“Who taught you anyway?” he furrowed his eyebrows

“The same person that taught me all other things”

“Why would your family want you to be seen like that?” he couldn´t comprehend why someone would do that

“I… sometimes –she exhaled a tiny sigh- is helpful to know all those things”

“When does walking that way was useful?”

“Many times… but –there was that tiny almost imperceptible sigh again- I´ve only liked it once…”

“When…?”

“A while ago, Josh… but now I am thinking on two things, one, I´ll just run away from you or, two, I´ll tell you that I have to be alone to finish my project about you, so, which one it´ll be?” she grinned and he chuckled

“I also have to finish doing tomorrow related things” his eyes were calm

“That was easy” she raised an eyebrow

“I´m not a difficult person”

“True, a bit annoying though” she smiled, he narrowed his eyes

“I am not. You said so yourself”  he crossed his arms with a smug expression, her smile grew a little

“Ok, later, Josh”

“Nichole, wait!” he called louder as she was walking away, she turned around, he walked towards her, his hand in the pocket of his blazer. “Here” he gave her black knitted glove

“Oh” she took it

“You left it in my room”

“I had to, you wouldn´t let go of me”

“I´m sorry” he looked down

“Don´t worry” she tugged at his tie “It´s ok” she lightly rubbed his arm “I had fun” and with that she walked away.