30 Days

VIII.

"Isn't that heavy?" Blanche asked Ashe.

Ashe grunted and gently dropped the large canvass he was carrying onto the floor. Leaning it against the wall, he turned to look at her.

"Not anymore," he said, smirking.

Blanche grinned and shook her head. It was crazy, how one moment he could be so lethargic then the other moment, he'd turn playful and full of fun.

And Ashe liked to tease her. She also liked teasing him back, also liked a lot of things about him. It made her chest hurt, knowing that this wasn't a game anymore, that this was so real she'd even thought about confessing to him herself.

Side by side, they walked out of the art room and to the next building to retrieve more art supplies from the supply room. Silence reigned over them but Blanche was okay with that. It was comfortable and never awkward, not in the least, when they were together.

"Blanche can be so stubborn," she heard a familiar female voice speak and she stopped walking.

"They're both stubborn," another voice, this time male, spoke and Ashe too stopped walking.

They both traded glances with each other. Slowly, they inched to the slightly open window of the classroom where they heard the voices. Then they stopped to listen, pressing their backs against the wall next to it.

"We both gave them 30 days." With startling realization, Blanche recognized the voice to be Jill's. "And she still hasn't told him her feelings for him."

"I knew Ashe can be introverted but I thought your best friend wasn't that timid?"

"I know. God I wish they'd date already."

"Are you sure she even likes him?"

"I'm sure. I've caught her looking at him a lot of times and it's becoming so painful to watch her pine for him. And even if she doesn't, I'd rather she be with Ashe. They look good together."

Blanche felt like killing herself. She glanced at Ashe and saw him intensely staring at her. She swallowed.

"So you love me?" he asked.

**********

Ashe waited for her to answer him. Her face had gone white and she looked like she wanted to run. He latched on her wrist and brought her closer to him. He didn't know what to feel. Did she really have feelings for him?

He opened his mouth to repeat his question but then Finn spoke again.

"And Ashe," Finn began, his voice irritated. "The little i***t's actually contented to keep his feelings a secret. If I just leave him alone, he'll probably still keep them locked up and end up losing her to another guy."

His grip on her slackened and he felt like running himself when Blanche looked at him with wide eyes.

"I bet he also doesn't even realize he's in love with her," Finn went on. "He may be smart but he can be so damn slow sometimes."

Jill giggled. "How are you so sure he likes her?"

"Why else would he quit tennis? I don't believe his bullshit one bit that he quit because he was tired of the sport. And if he really was lazy as he claimed to be, he'd go for the academic track and focus on just passing his grades rather than join the arts program."

Silence. Then, "You have a point there."

"Of course I do. I'm 100% sure it was because of Blanche."

Ashe clenched his jaw and glared at the window. That moron! he thought angrily.

Blanche touched his arm and he returned his gaze to her. He swallowed when he saw that her horrified expression had had turned into amusement.

"Do you love me?" she asked.