Chapter 3: II• Eyes of emerald
Eyes of emerald.
They were perhaps the most enrapturing things Hayden had seen.
They'd been on his mind as he'd wheeled his bicycle out of his apartment that morning, almost causing him to crash into a pregnant lady on his way to school.
He'd been called an idiot as he profusely apologized, cycling away.
It was only as he sat for English, under Mrs Kate's expressive eyes that Hayden managed to regain some semblance of reality.
Still, Hayden found his eyes wandering in class, searching.
He didn't know exactly what it was he was looking for, but for some reason, he felt antsy as he looked around.
And then he found it.
At the last row, with her head on the table and an earpiece in her ear, his eyes caught the girl from yesterday.
Eyes of emerald.
Hayden remembered almost painfully, how those eyes had met his.
He remembered the indifference in the girl's expression that made him antsy, and the way her eyes contrasted her expression as if it didn't belong on her face.
The way those greens disarmed him, trapping him for a few seconds till he was ushered to a seat.
He remembered seeing the girl's face lower, and Hayden could only marvel as the frost in her expression thawed as an emotion so soft, so destructive took over.
Today, those eyes were closed, shut as he stared on at the girl. He wasn't sure if she was sleeping or just listening to whatever it was that played on her earpiece, but Hayden couldn't move his eyes from her.
At least, not until he heard Mrs Kate yell his name as everyone burst into laughter.
"Mr Keating!" She said, hands dramatically folded on her waist as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Please, is staring at Miss Stone more important than listening to the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet?" She asked, and though Mrs Kate stared at him pointedly, Hayden could see the knowing, mischievous look in the way she looked between him and Miss Stone.
"No, ma'am" He answered, a blush coating his cheek as he stared at his desk, flustered.
He could hear a bunch of people snicker and in that moment, he'd never been more grateful for the melanin that habited his skin.
Hayden soon found out something about himself, something he'd never thought himself to be.
He had no shred of discipline.
For try as he may and do what he might to keep his thoughts and gaze focused, the moment Mrs Kate turned to the board, his eyes once again strayed to where she sat.
And this time, when his gaze met her, she was staring right at him.
And he didn't know whether it was the raw intensity of her gaze or how her gaze struggled between meeting his and staying glued to her table, but the girl with the black hair and emerald eyes made his heart skip.
"Mr Keating, you insufferable young man!" Mrs Kate yelled again.
From where she sat across the room, Raven watched as Hayden turned to look at the woman hesitantly.
And for the hundredth time since the first time their gazes had locked, Hayden had given her a reason to smile.
An exasperated Mrs Kate called Hayden up. She berated him for a while, and then with a sigh of resignation asked him to take over the class.
Something in Raven's gut dropped, a load so heavy it made her uncomfortable.
'Guilt', she realised.
While Mrs Kate was known for being one of the more relatable, fun teachers, she could also make a show of one's embarrassment if she was pissed enough.
And man, was she pissed!
With a heart full of confusion, Raven watched the lanky boy rise from his seat, noting that his clothes weren't as wrinkled as they'd been the previous day.
'He didn't wear nice clothes', Raven thought, observing a patch somewhere near the hem of the T-shirt.
And so when the inexplicable urge betook her, to want to feel, hold and sniff his clothes, Raven knew she was going mad.
Shaking her head, she watched as Hayden's very tall, lanky form walked towards Mrs Kate cautiously, like he was scared she would swallow him.
As the rest of the class snickered and laughed, Raven couldn't help the dread she felt.
"Mr Keating, would you like to take this class? I'll even let you start with the basics" Mrs Kate asked, but Hayden knew that the question she'd asked wasn't one that required an answer.
He looked at the board, saw the keywords Mrs Kate had written and processed his thoughts for a minute.
"I'm ready" His answer came, and Raven could only wait with baited breaths as Hayden prepared himself to talk.
And what happened after that was simply amazing, almost as amazing as the giddiness he caused in her every time he held her gaze so piercingly.
Hayden's tone was confident, holding none of the rasp he'd had the previous day.
His voice was rich and beautiful, a tone that fell in between an undecipherable depth and an inaudible lightness, it was just perfect.
And Raven held no ounce of insincerity in her heart when she thought to herself that she could listen to him talk for days.
The dark-haired, green eyed beauty could not do anything to stop the smile that fought it's way onto her lips as she heard him speak, voice confident and smooth.
He taught the class beautifully, pausing at the right moments and making his tone adjust to the intensity of his words as everyone listened in rapt attention.
Raven could see the amazement in Mrs Kate's eyes as she stood to one side of the class, the vengeful smirk that had been on her face now replaced by a slacked jaw, glancing ever so often at her notes until she discarded them altogether.
Hayden wasn't confined to what Mrs Kate had taught previously, he discussed new theories, gave explanations and shared a few stories in between.
There was a permanent smile on his face as he interacted with the class, answering and asking questions like any professional would, and Raven couldn't handle it.
Her breaths became more shallow, heart beating at a ridiculous pace and face heating up.
And if she wasn't so distracted by the perfection that was Hayden, transfixed by everything he did and said, she'd question her fading sanity.
But she just continued to watch him, wordlessly until the bell jolted her, and from the looks of it, every other member of her class.
There was a moment of silence that had enveloped the class.
Hayden stood at the forefront of the class, the embarrassment once again overwhelming him as he shuffled from foot to foot.
And then there was a clap, from Mrs Kate no less. Slowly but surely, the whole class soon exploded in a cacophony of cheers, claps and whistles.
Raven watched in awe as the brown haired boy grinned, eyes sparkling.
She could see his dimpled smile that lit up his features, unable to stop the unsteadiness in her chest.
A warm feeling spread through her in that moment, and she could feel the smile. God! She could feel the smile that snuck it's way onto her lips from watching him.
And it was then Hayden's eyes travelled to hers, and in all his years of life, he hadn't felt an emotion as powerful, as overwhelming as the one he felt as he watched the girl smile.
It was everything he could do to stop himself from covering the distance between them.
He just wanted to see those eyes, the eyes that stripped him bare of every ounce of his will, prodding and poking at the secrets of his heart.
And Hayden knew that he had done nothing to deserve the look of raw sincerity that blazed in those eyes, nothing to deserve that smile that made something in him crumble but he couldn't help but hope, hope, hope that he'd get to see that expression once again.
But soon enough, the class was dismissed. And in the flurry of note packing and scurrying out the door to head to lunch, he'd lost sight of the eyes of emerald.
"Hey" He heard behind him, turning to face the friendly girl he'd met yesterday.
"Hi" He answered Hilda, smiling briefly at her as he tried to recover his composure.
He hadn't gotten over his heart's hyperactivity.
"Great lecture" She said smiling. "You certainly gave Mrs Kate a run for her money".
Hayden chuckled lightly, scratching at his nape awkwardly.
He didn't notice the blush that coated Hilda's cheeks as she watched him silently.
When he lifted his gaze up to hers, it was her turn to feel nervous.
" Uhh, I was wondering...." She started, and Hayden felt a flicker of worry seeing how uncomfortable she looked.
"Are you okay?" He asked, brows furrowed.
Hilda was frozen for a second, before she regained her footing.
"Y-yeah, I was just wondering if you'd, uhh, like to sit at my table for lunch?" She finished.
Hayden could hear the silent plea in her tone, and though he had only an apple he'd brought to eat, he didn't have the heart to turn Hilda down after she'd been so nice to him.
And so, reluctantly, he smiled. "Sure, I'd love to".
A smile graced the girl's face, her brown eyes- a couple of shades lighter than his- shining in delight.
" Let's go, then. I'll introduce you to my friends ".
Hayden felt nervous the whole time Hilda led the way to the cafeteria.
When they finally got there, he stood for a minute at the doorway. It was then the reality of his appearance hit him full force.
And Hayden had never been one to care about opinions but for some reason, he found an ugly feeling squeeze his gut like a coiling snake.
He glanced briefly at his shirt, eyes glued onto the patch of material he'd sewn onto a portion that got burnt while ironing, before his gaze travelled down to his old, worn out jeans that had tears in them.
These could pass off as ripped jeans, at least, he thought to himself with a sigh, not bothering to glance at his old boots.
He remembered his little sister, free spirited little Rose who'd smile at him while he mended their torn up clothes.
"I know we don't have the best clothes or the best apartments, but both of them are clean and well loved" She'd say. Then as an after thought, she'd add cheekily "Veeeery well loved", before she'd bolt, knowing that Hayden would be on her heels, playfully chasing her in their little room.
The thought was a boost of confidence, and Hayden found himself smiling, feeling more confident as he followed Hilda.
He could feel the stares as he walked past the tables, hear murmurs but he promised himself that he wouldn't care.
Shoving down the surge of shame that came rushing back, Hayden willed his boots to move, one steady step after the other as he followed behind Hilda, and though he could feel the pressure behind his eyes as the sound of snickers met his ears, he promised himself that he wouldn't let anyone see his tears.
Never again!
" And, we're here" Hilda said, walking up to a table of four people.
Hayden stood watching as she sat beside a boy in dark-rimmed, round glasses, unsure if he should slide into the seat to her left or wait to be introduced.
Alas, the choice was made for him. "Sit" Hilda said, smiling as if to ease his ruffled nerves.
He obliged, trying to make his long legs fit into the space between the desk and chair. It was an arduous task indeed!
When he'd finally seated himself comfortably - Well, as comfortable as one could be with eight pairs of curious eyes and a pair of round spectacles staring with the possible intent to strip him naked- he smiled akwardly, waving simultaneously.
Hilda laughed boisterously at his expression, earning their table a few stares. Hayden only stared at her, feeling weird with the unceasing states he was getting from her friends.
"You guys can stop it now, I think he's sufficiently spooked" She said laughing, and it rankled Hayden to see the group shift their gazes from him abruptly as they held their stomachs laughing.
In between laughs, they'd pause to see the cross, bitter expression that Hayden struggled to conceal and like that, they'd fall into another cycle of laughter.
"I'm so sorry Hayden" Hilda said, wiping away a tear from her eye as she tried to get her laughter under control.
"They do this every time someone new joins our table. I promise it's all in good fun" She explained, efficiently ridding Hayden of the irritation he'd felt.
"Sorry" The guy in glasses said next, followed by every other person at the table.
"Guys" Hilda finally said after everyone had gotten their amusement out of the way, " this is the guy I told you about yesterday, Hayden".
A chorus of "Hey Hayden" circulated round the table as the guy in question responded in like.
"Hayden, these are my friends. The bloke in glasses is Matt, the tech expert here at West hill" Hayden waved at the dark haired guy who smiled at him.
"Those two..", she said, pointing to two girls who looked exactly alike, from the dark frizzy hair, to their dark skin and heavily embroidered saris.
Who wore saris to school? Hayden thought smiling.
" They're twins if you couldn't tell". Hilda said, her tone filled with mirth, "They call themselves the desi princesses but don't mind them, they have about as much royalty in them as a log of burnt wood".
The twins laughed at that, rolling their eyes at Hilda simultaneously.
" I'm Parvati and that's my sister, Padma" One of the sisters said, smiling.
Hayden smiled back at them warmly, feeling a bit more relaxed.
The last guy was almost as tall as Hayden was, and his height was apparent from where he sat, glaring at Hayden.
A little put off by the coldness the guy was exuding, a slight frown settled on Hayden's face.
Hilda noticed the discomfort on Hayden's face, stretching to slap the guy on his forearm.
"Stop glaring at him, Connor" She said, clearly annoyed. Then turning to Hayden, she smiled warmly "That's Connor. Don't pay him any mind, he's just a big old jerk" She concluded.
Hayden just nodded, his mood plummeting as he watched Connor glare at him, his eyes drifting between him and Hilda.
Just as Hilda made to say something to Hayden, a loud voice interrupted them.
"Well, well, well" Hayden's eyes snapped towards the source of the voice, glancing to his right to see a large table, much larger than any other one in the cafeteria.
The person who had been talking was a girl wearing a cheer uniform, her eyes were mocking as she stared at their table, more specifically at him.
"You're letting just anyone sit at your table now, Hilda? Tsk, tsk" Hayden felt something sink in him, feeling the gaze of the entire students in the cafeteria.
"Isn't this the poor boy that came in yesterday. You're trying to sink your claws into trash now, I thought you had more class" By now, a deep weight had clogged up Hayden's throat.
He could feel the tears sting at his eyes as he tried to shake off the buzzing noises in his head.
'Not again. This time was supposed to be different, Hayden. You even made a friend this time!' Memories swarmed through his head as he tried to block out the noise.
He could see Connor stand up angrily, held back by Hilda's smaller form as she glared at someone across the table.
But Hayden couldn't comprehend any of it, all he saw were flashes of the scene before him, all he heard was a constant ringing in his head, and all he felt was the shattering of a heart he'd struggled to keep whole.
And then, like a surge of electric, a voice rang clear in the cafeteria.
"Stop" The voice came, an oddly soothing voice that sounded detached, cold. But in it, Hayden could taste a well hidden storm of rage, he could hear it scream through the whisper.
There was an instant quietness in the cafeteria, and Hayden could feel all the eyes that had been on him suddenly move, held captive by something else.
He could feel his heart beat in a manner that scared him, and somehow he just knew.....
His eyes lifted up to a sight that had replayed itself in his mind countless times already, to a picture already engraved in his being.
Eyes of emerald.
*******
20/10/2020
~Ameenah
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone