Page 14 of Seven is Swell

“Which is why I’m just going to class instead.”

“That’s my girl. You want to meet up for lunch later?”

“Okay.”

He kisses me, and it doesn’t take very long before I’m pushing myself against him and burying my hand in the nape of his neck, chasing a connection I’ve always wanted to have. He chuckles at my eagerness, then squeezes my ass to get me to pull away. “Keep me posted on the situation with Ash; you going to be with him tonight?”

“Yeah. He needs to learn some things.”

“Yeah, he does. Okay, I better get going. Love you.”

He winks and jogs off, leaving me standing there, open mouthed, because how did he just drop those words so casually?

“Let’s get to class. You need to work on that assignment with Wil.”

That’s enough to get me moving, and I know it’s amusing to the guys that I’m so excited to see my little fake mate.

When I get close to the classroom, there is a group of students circled up outside the door. Expecting something else bad to happen, I try to skirt around the edge, but then I hear Wil call my name, so I pause, taking closer stock of what’s actually happening.

He’s got a shy expression on his face, which is par for the course with him, and behind him are three other students, all wearing matching outfits. Gray sweater vests, white long-sleeved button ups, and red bow ties. August and Jackson push me towards the center of the circle so I'm right up front, and then Wil brings some sort of small whistle instrument to his mouth and hums a pitch before slipping it back into his pocket. He takes a big breath and then the quartet of students break out in an a Capella version of a super cheesy love song.

My cheeks hurt I’m so happy.

Wil keeps eye contact with me the whole time, even though I can see that he’s trembling from the adrenaline of doing such a thing, and I appreciate so much that he’s putting himself out there even if I suspect it’s just to ace this assignment.

One of the things the 'mates' had to do is make their mate feel special in public, and that could have meant so many things, but he’s choosing to serenade me. The first half of the semester is all about the fake bondeds wooing the conduit, but then it flips and I’ll have to do pretty much all the same assignments, focusing on him.

But this? Collaborating with other students and putting himself out there?

It's just so…sweet. I can hear Wil’s own voice cutting through the harmonies and the base, singing back up next to the person singing lead, and maybe some people would be embarrassed by this attention, but I think it’s the coolest thing ever.

I hear some snickers of students as they pass by us into the classroom, Shelly making a point to roll her eyes as she flashes what looks like a newly gifted bracelet, but I can’t take my eyes off of Wilford. Behind those thick glasses he wears, his turquoise eyes are vibrant and sparkling, as if he’s putting as much emotion he can into the lyrics. When the song is over, a bunch of students clap, and he scratches the back of his neck like he’s not quite sure what to do with himself now that it’s over. So, I step into him trying to look for consent to touch him and I wrap myself around him for the first time. He’s tall, much taller than me somehow, and he’s not built like some of my mates are, but I find the shape of his body is perfect for holding onto. He is lanky and awkward, but he smells like fresh linen and laundry and warmth.

“Was that for me?”

His arms tentatively wrap around my shoulders, and he pats me a little awkwardly, clearly not used to being in such close contact with somebody else. “Actually, I’ve been trying to woo this teacher for years now—"

I lean back to see our teacher through the doorway, and she’s at least in her late 60's and looks so over everybody’s drama. I'm trying to decide if he's serious or not but then he cracks a smile. “Was that sarcasm, Wilford? Did you just make a joke?”

I finally bring my arms back into myself, but he flinches, his hands grabbing my hips to keep me there. “Sorry,” he says, dropping them immediately.

And then I lean close and kiss him on the cheek, letting my head linger so that our cheeks are touching for just a moment. “I know that was just for the assignment, but I loved it. Seriously. That you went to so much effort to organize it? It means a lot to me, Wil.”

“It wasn't just for—”

“Alright, alright, class is starting. Please get in here, people.” I want to growl at the teacher for cutting off Wil, because I want to hear the rest of what he was going to say.

Unaware of my sudden annoyance, Wil grabs his bag off the floor and holds his arm out so I can walk into the classroom first, but he doesn’t bring it up again as we work on our assignment in class, although he does lean in a bit closer than normal.

Do I…likehim?

He rushes out of class when it’s over, not giving me the chance to ask him anything else and I sigh in disappointment.

“You make him so nervous,” Jackson says with a chuckle, grabbing my hand. August grabs my bag and walks behind me and Jackson as we head to my next class.

“I didn’t know he sang,” I tell them. “His voice was nice. Rough but rich. Deep.”

“No fair that he gets to do that kind of a thing for you. If I tried to sing, I think I would lose points with you.”

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