My Obsession With Chloe Claire

Chloe's P.O.V

As I walked up the steps in the auditorium of my chemistry class, I looked to see Luke smiling down at me. I smiled back at him, thinking about how he was a pizza hog.

"Hey Chloe," Luke, Hailee and Kason said as I sat down in my seat between Luke and Hailee.

"Hey guys," I smiled. I could tell today was going to be a good day. When I woke up that morning I felt lighter and happier than usual, and it showed in my clothing, hair, and makeup. I wore a navy-blue top with ruffled sleeves, white pants and sandals. Since I had a little extra time that morning, I went ahead and curled my hair.

"I like your hair," Kason pointed out.

"Thanks," I smiled. I quickly analyzed him. "I like your shirt," I laughed.

Kason looked down to see that he was wearing a Bama shirt and laughed with me. "Oh thanks, they're my favorite sports team in case you didn't know," he smirked.

"Hey, you copied me from Saturday!" I squinted my eyes at him and folded my arms.

Kason shrugged while smiling, his dimples apparent on his cheeks.

"So, what did you guys make on your chemistry exam?" Hailee's eyebrows shot up in curiosity.

I bit my lip. I didn't want to be the one who went first.

"I made an eighty-two," Kason grinned, obviously proud of himself. "I couldn't have done it without your help, Chloe," he scratched his head bashfully.

"I may have helped just a little, but you're the one who put in the work," I smiled. I knew how much it meant to Kason that he scored an eighty-two. He usually didn't study, and it was rewarding to see that his hard work paid off.

"No, seriously Chloe, I couldn't have done it without you," his tone became more serious and his eyes softened.

I blinked and swallowed, feeling myself blush a little. I didn't know what it was about that look that made my heart thump a little harder, but it just seemed abnormal since it was Kason. Kason.

Hailee scoffed and inspected her blue painted finger nails. "I made a ninety-six," she smirked as she looked over in my direction.

I scrunched my eyebrows and c.o.c.ked my head. Why was she acting like she was hot stuff? Just because she made a higher score than Kason? That was just flat-out rude. I wanted to one up her and brag about my one-hundred, but I knew that would make me no better than her. I didn't want to stoop down to her level.

"So, Luke," she said, her tone completely changed as she sat up straighter and pushed up her glasses along her thin nose, "what did you make?"

Luke smiled sheepishly. He didn't want to say what he made either. There was something about that I respected. He was humble and self-aware about how it could make others feel. He didn't want others to feel insignificant to him, and I appreciated it. Or at least that was how I understood it.

"Actually, I'd rather not say," he said as he folded his arms and leaned against the table, looking away from everyone.

"Why? Was it worse than me?" Kason asked.

There was silence.

Kason c.o.c.ked his eyebrow as I saw the sudden realization strike his dark brown eyes. "You made a f.u.c.k.i.n.g one-hundred, didn't you?" he asked–more like stated.

I was alarmed by Kason's language in this instance. I couldn't tell if Kason was annoyed with the possibility that Luke made a one-hundred or not.

"Yeah…" Luke's voice fell as his green eyes glanced in Kason's direction.

"I made a one-hundred too," I blurted out before Kason could say anymore. If he was going to get upset that Luke made a one-hundred, he might as well get upset at me too.

"Of course, you did," I heard Hailee mumble.

Kason's eyes lit up. "That's amazing, Chloe! I knew that you were smart but damn girl. You and Luke must be f.u.c.k.i.n.g Albert Einstein," he laughed.

I laughed along with him nervously, my eyes flitting over in Luke's direction, who was also laughing nervously.

Chemistry class was boring as usual with Dr. Knapp droning on in his monotone voice. Hopefully, Kason made a couple of jokes during his lecture that kept me awake and aware of my surroundings.

When class ended, I made my way down the steps, went out of the auditorium and waited for Luke to come out.

It was pretty easy to spot Luke, who was a head taller than most people.

"Luke!" I called out, waving my free arm at him as the other gripped my backpack strap.

It took less than a second for him to look in my direction, a beautiful smile growing on his face as he recognized me as I stood against the white walls.

Darn that smile of his, I thought as he made his way through the crowd. It didn't take long before he was looming over me like the freakishly tall guy that he was.

"I'm surprised that you waited," he continued to smile beautifully as we started to head out of the building.

I shrugged. "I thought that was our thing."

"Our thing?" he raised his eyebrow, stopping in place with his hand in his front pocket.

I paused. Oh goodness. What did I say wrong? Well let's see, I said, 'our thing!' Oh no. I didn't mean it like that–

"I guess it is our thing," he nodded, and we continued to walk to theatre.

Good thing I didn't say my thoughts out loud…

As we walked to our next class, I couldn't help but appreciate everything around me. No one talked about how beautiful the University of Alabama was compared to other universities. I was sure the other universities were beautiful, but there was just something about here that made me take in a deep breath and smile.

"So, I've been thinking," Luke said, interrupting my thoughts.

"I'm glad you can think," I joked.

Luke jokingly scowled at me. "You know what I meant."

"I do," I nodded, a smile plastered on my face.

"I've been thinking about our theatre exam next week and I was hoping that you, me, and Jess could get together and study for it. I admit I'm a little nervous about it since I'm not that interested in the subject."

I had already started studying for the theatre exam, but it couldn't hurt to study with them. I could probably learn a thing or two. "Sounds good to me," I winced, adjusting my backpack on my shoulders. I hated carrying my backpack around sometimes. It caused a lot of back pain.

"Is your backpack hurting you?"

"Hm?" I looked up, not even realizing what he was asking.

"Your backpack," he flicked his head upward at me, his green eyes staring directly at my backpack. "It looks like it's hurting you."

"I'll be fine," I reassured him. "I'm used to it."

"Uh it doesn't look it," he said.

"No really, I'll be fine," I tried reassuring him again. What would it take for him to leave me alone about it?

"Just give me your backpack. I'll carry it for you," he offered.

"C-carry it for me?" I stuttered. "Why would you carry it for me?"

I saw a hint of pink in his cheeks that was probably caused by the summer's heat as he responded, "Because…Why does it matter why I want to carry it for you anyway? I'm just trying to be nice since I can see how much it's bothering you."

"Well, I guess since you want to be nice so much you are welcome to carry it," I shrugged as we stopped on the pathway to theatre appreciation. "But I do have to warn you, my backpack is pretty heavy."

"Sure it is," he joked as I took off my backpack and handed it over to him. His arm almost dropped under the weight of my backpack. "Damn, Chloe, what do you put in this thing? Bricks?"

I laughed. "I told you that it was heavy."

"No wonder you were uncomfortable," he said and slung my backpack over his shoulder like it was nothing.

"Do you want me to take your backpack so that you're not carrying two?" I offered, feeling awkward and lighter without my backpack.

"Nah, I'm fine," he smiled, showing his brilliantly white teeth. "And I'm not lying either."

"Sure," I squinted my eyes at him and we both started laughing.