I can fix that.

Ana glances over at him, feeling a little guilty over her outburst. Who knows what the guy was going through.. being considerate for others didn’t come naturally to her, but, it did when she cared.

I'm alright, it's not me I'm worried about.  But let me make it up to you okay?  I mean.. I don't know what you have been up to or anything but uh.. would you want to maybe grab a bite to eat sometime?

Need a little glue?

More like a lot.  I can handle it though.

Ana.. I'm so sorry.  I uh.. I had to deal with some stuff.  I know that sounds lame, but.. I wasn't trying blow you off.

You know, same old family stuff; death in the family. I’m trying to keep it off my mind though. Are you happy to be back?

I'm sorry about that.  I'm uh, I guess.  Just some extra work to do now I suppose.  But you're Ryder, right?

You alright man? Where were ya? 

Just some uh family stuff.  Not too interesting.  But what about you?

Guess who just got back? Am I the new kid still, or…? I’m not sure how this works?

Back, huh?  Yeah.. me too..

Is it social suicide in Manhattan to go to prom without a date?  I really don’t think anyone is gonna ask me but I’d like to go still…

Prom, huh?

Ana felt it — the skip of a beat, within the frame of her chest. Her heart had skipped a beat as the words fell from his lips… ‘You absolutely suit my style.’ — his words rendered a type of burn to her cheeks she hadn’t felt in.. so long. They were warm, and her mind ran to making excuses, that perhaps it was hot, or she was getting sick, but.. she couldn’t miss that skip of a beat. He was studying her in a way that had her nervous; and Ana wasn’t accustomed to nervous, she hadn’t been in so long. Nathan had begun to evoke and awaken a part of her that had been dormant for far too long. Her heart seemed to race a little, she could feel it as nerves coursed through her veins. But they made her feel alive.. a feeling she hadn’t even realised she’d missed. The way he looked at her; part of her felt fearful, that he was peering into her soul and he might not like what he saw.. but at the very same time, the way he looked at her melted her core. 

bamawaii:

Ana felt it — the skip of a beat, within the frame of her chest. Her heart had skipped a beat as the words fell from his lips… ‘You absolutely suit my style.’ — his words rendered a type of burn to her cheeks she hadn’t felt in.. so long. They were warm, and her mind ran to making excuses, that perhaps it was hot, or she was getting sick, but.. she couldn’t miss that skip of a beat. He was studying her in a way that had her nervous; and Ana wasn’t accustomed to nervous, she hadn’t been in so long. Nathan had begun to evoke and awaken a part of her that had been dormant for far too long. Her heart seemed to race a little, she could feel it as nerves coursed through her veins. But they made her feel alive.. a feeling she hadn’t even realised she’d missed. The way he looked at her; part of her felt fearful, that he was peering into her soul and he might not like what he saw.. but at the very same time, the way he looked at her melted her core. 

Nathan returned to see Ana lying on his bed in a way that made him want to be close to her.  He smiled as she spoke and responded with, “Well there’s plenty here, don’t be shy.”  He sat down on the bed and placed the tray of food between them.  Looking at her first, then reaching his hand for a pizza bite.  However he didn’t quite place it in his mouth yet, but hovered it out in front of his chest.  “Go on, grab one.  I’ll let you know if they’re too hot.”  And with that he brought it to his mouth and took a bite.  The snack was a bit hot between his tongue and the roof of his mouth, but it cooled quickly and he swallowed.  “It’s not too bad, maybe blow on it a bit.”  He then did as he said and took another bite.  After finishing his first one, he watched as Ana began to eat.  He loved a girl with an appetite, not being one for the stick skinny girls who starved themselves.  He like real girls, and it seemed to him that Ana was one.

I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for that. I hate having to apologize every time someone bumps into me and get the worst look in the world. I want to pursue what I want, but I know that I need to be able to take care of myself in the end. It’s not like I can really depend on my family to help me, you know? I just think about those things and I know that as much as I want to be an artist, I can’t. You know, I think you have a point. By the time people leave here, not everyone knows exactly what they want to be, or what direction they want to go in.

Yeah, you've got to count on yourself.  But no matter what you do, I think you should never completely give up what makes you happy.  And it might not even be until we leave these walls that we find what we're looking for.  Who knows, maybe you'll be able to combine your art into something with business and make loads of money.

I don’t remember the last time I had one. Whiskey.

"Whiskey, huh?  You like it straight?"  He grabbed his beer and sipped.

I guess the school isn’t that big, but I feel like it’s really crowded now. I’m feeling claustrophobic. Yes, my first one. I’m debating on either business or law, even though I really want to be an artist. What about you?

It can get pretty crowded, just stick to the sides and you'll stay out of the flow of bodies.  You should pursue what you want though.  I don't know what I want to do.  I kind of just wander around.  I don't think the school can provide enough to help people figure out what they want, I think you need to figure it out on your own.  But uh, that's just me.