Mixtures 🤷🏽♀️

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With half the class already gone, Miles was busy arranging his backpack when the sound of a nail tapping on his desk grabbed his attention. He turned to face Margo.

"Sorry about earlier," she said, her voice tinged with a playful tone. "I kinda like bothering people."

"Bothering?" He feigned confusion, placing a hand over his heart. "Are you suggesting that 'I' was bothered? It takes more than that to rattle me."

"Is that so?" She rose to her feet with a pretty smile on her lips, picking up her backpack, her energy mirroring his. "I don't know, man, you looked like you were shaking out there."

"Me?" He stood up as well, feeling inexplicably drawn to her magnetic presence. "Never." He flatly denied her accusations, shaking his head, which elicited a soft chuckle from her, a delightful melody in his ears.

“Oh really?” She challenged, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow, unable to suppress her own smile. His good humor was clearly contagious.

"Yep. Miles Morales, by the way," he drawled, extending his hand in a smooth gesture. "Anddd... I don't get scared," he proclaimed, a lie as clear as the morning sky.

"Hm-hm," she nodded, her expression practically shouting, "I don't believe that BS," as she shook his hand, looking at him directly. "Margo, Margo Kess."

He gladly shook her hand back. His brown eyes finally got a full view of her, and damn did he like what he was seeing. Despite his not-so-holy thoughts, his gaze was nothing but warm and inviting, so warm that Margo was taken back.

His presence was big and captivating, and the smile on his face was cocky but sheepish at the same time, as if he was aware of the effects he had on others but, at the same time, didn’t. He was a walking contradiction. A puzzle, one that she was looking forward to solving.

Isabel, who was still placing her books in her backpack, caught a glimpse of their interaction and muttered under her breath. Not good. Despite her usual meticulous organization, she hastily shoved everything into her bag before rushing to grab Margo's free arm and tugging her away.

"We'll be going first then," she announced, waving to Miles, who, confused by the sudden scene, still managed a wave in return. "...okay." he said, an odd feeling settling in him.

“Isabel, hold on.” Despite Margo's attempt to stop her, Isabel still pulled along with her until they reached the door where the rest of her group was waiting for them.

"Cute ain't he?" The girl Margo had come to know as Titi was the first to speak up. Petite with a sleek bob, not one of thoseRegular shmegular bob, but THE bob. Margo nodded in agreement, feeling a tinge of embarrassment that they had all witnessed her frozen moment back there.

“Too bad, girl, take your hope off him,” another girl chimed in, prompting Margo to turn towards her. "Huh? Why? Do one of you already have your eyes on him?"

“We all did,” Isabel replied, adjusting her hair as they began strolling down the corridor.

“Did?” That shouldn’t have been what caught her attention, but she couldn't help but ask, her curiosity piquing.

“Yeah, but he ain’t for the sisters, sis,” one of them shrugged, and Margo came to a halt, her mouth forming an "o" shape as she instantly understood what she meant. Ironically, at that very moment, Miles walked out, their eyes meeting, and he waved at her. “I see,” she mumbled, waving back.

“It’s a shame,” she murmured, disappointment washing over her as she watched him walk away in the opposite direction.

“A damn shame, you mean!!” one of them blurted out, dramatically grabbing Margo’s face and startling her. She bore an expression that one should only have when the apocalypse is approaching.

“He’s damn fine,” the girl declared, dropping to the ground. Margo couldn't help but laugh. "Now you're doing too much," she snorted, helping the girl up before wrapping her arm around her shoulder and leaning in. She cupped her mouth with her free hand, projecting her voice over her shoulder and shouting towards Miles's back.

“It's always the good ones, aint it!?”

Miles paused, turning to look over his shoulder, confusion etched across his face. They were too far away to be talking about him, right?

“Hey!” They all scrambled to cover Margo’s mouth, attempting to hush her, but Isabel raised her fist in the air, exclaiming, “Preach, sis!” They all shared a laugh, eventually freeing her. "Well, it's an L for the team," they joked while walking away.

As always, it was easier to give up on someone as a team than on one's own. Yet, Margo couldn't resist stealing a glance over her shoulder at the boy walking away, and it seemed he did the same, prompting an awkward wave from both of them.

—————-

Miles wasn't dense; like the girls in his class, he was quick at picking up signals. Although he attempted—and, may I say, miserably—to conceal his feelings for his best friend, she remained the only one oblivious to his affections. If she did sense them, she didn't reciprocate, so he decided to move on.

He had already composed a list of activities to do and places to go to distract himself from her, but it was amusing how he hadn't thought about that list since laying eyes on the new girl. Granted, it had only been 15 minutes, but those minutes held significant weight for him.

A smile tugged at his lips, which he tried poorly to suppress as he pull his backpack strap, the lingering butterflies in his stomach serving as a testament to his infatuation. Another crush that was bound to break his heart, no doubt, but being the stubborn fool he was, he was already concocting ways to approach her.

It was beyond him; his mind was always seeking solutions to what he deemed impossible. Presently, the idea of approaching the girl who had only just joined their class but had already garnered the attention of the entire female population seemed like an insurmountable challenge. Nevertheless, he was already cooking his plan.

“Miles!!” The voice that used to make his heart skip a beat reached his ears, and he exhaled in relief that his reaction was simply due to being startled. Turning, he saw Gwen running towards him, wearing a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?” he inquired as she approached, bending down to catch her breath. Noting her state, he couldn't resist teasing her a bit.

“For someone who won the gymnastics tournament gold medal, you really are out of shape.” "Wow," she straightened, offering him a feigned smile. "I hadn't noticed, thank you."

“Wow.” She stood up, shooting him a fake smile. “I hadn’t noticed, thank you.”

“Welp, glad I could bring it to your attention.”

“You—“ he smiled brightly, shutting her down. She rolled her eyes while walking beside him.

"Plus, you didn’t wait for me.”

“Wait—? oh!” His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. Last period was history, Gwen's least favorite class, and she often hid in the bathroom or the infirmary, and he’d wait at the school's door.

Though he didn't purposefully leave her behind today, he had thought about it, you know, to get over the whole feeling thing for her, but his mind wasn't even on that today.

What could have possibly made him forget? He cheekily asked himself, well aware of the answer. He couldn't help but smile, gripping the strap of his backpack and trying hard to stop his cheek from flushing.

"What's up with that smile?” Gwen asked, playfully bumping against him.

“Nothing.”

"Hm-hm,” she mused, walking beside him. “So, are you going to be waiting for me next time?”

"Nah, I'm revoking some of your privileges," he replied, looking at his nails before glancing at her. "You already have enough, don't you think?”

She was speechless. “You—”she playfully slapped his shoulder.

"I heard we had a new student." "Yep," he nodded, avoiding her gaze, knowing full well that if she saw his expression, she'd want to probe further.

"Is that why you didn’t wait for me? You wanted to walk her home?" She joked, folding her arms and waiting for a laugh. However, when she received none, she looked at him with widened eyes.

“You actually—” “Yeah, but too bad she gets driven home.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

Gwen froze, attempting to read him, but he didn't make it easy.

"I hate you," she could but let out, knowing she wasn't gonna get through him.

"I know," he smiled.

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