Heavenly Habits

It's cold, so terribly cold outside. The kind of cold that makes you wish you had kept that ugly holiday sweater your grandmother knitted for you. You would gladly wear it now, just to escape this deadly chill. I don't want to go outside.

I decide that I officially hate my school. Were they complete imbeciles when they built this place of education? I mean its been open for three years and already we have eight puke green colored portable classrooms littering the yellowed grass.

I can't wait another second. If I don't leave the warm halls of my "beloved" school this minute I will be fashionably late to Algebra II.

I push open the metal doors and my sneakers hit the grey sidewalk. The violet colored long sleeve shirt I'm wearing is much too thin. Every gust of wind makes me shiver. I yank my sleeves over my hands and push through the wind, staring at the ground, letting my long dark hair shield my ears from the cold.

I look up suddenly, realizing I could run into someone at any second. My eyes find one boy walking to class ahead of me. Where are all the others?

This one boy happens to be my best friend. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm in love with him. I think of him constantly. I think of his perfectly pale skin that seems to glow so bright. I think of his chilling blue eyes, the color that makes you think he must wear colored contacts, but he doesn't…they are just that blue. His soft pink lips that I wish didn't just kiss my forehead when he's feeling affectionate.

I stay quiet, oh so quiet. I watch him, him and his adorableness. He's wearing jeans for once. I realize its because once again he forgot to do his wash and they were all he had left. They're the pair of dark low-rise jeans that his twin sister, Sharpay, had given him. He hates to wear them. He says it makes him feel like every other guy in this hellhole. I chuckle knowing he must feel awkward in them. This would be the fourth time he has to wear them.

I quickly cover my mouth, hoping he doesn't realize I'm behind him. I just want to watch him, just a little bit more. My eyes take to his hips, the way they sway from side to side in a way so sexy and sensual that I've seen others notice before. He doesn't even realize it; he just naturally walks like a sex god.

He's wearing a plum colored hooded sweatshirt that is much to big for him. He must have borrowed it from Zeke. The hood is up around his blonde head and he has a stylish black trench coat over it in an attempt to look not too average. He looks so warm…

I sneeze. That's that, staring time is over.

Ryan's head whips around and his eyes light up when he spots me. Maybe getting caught isn't so bad…

He stops walking and I halt as well. We're halfway there.

He walks towards me. "Have you been walking behind me the whole time?" he asks, chuckling slightly.

I smile sheepishly. His cheeks are red from the cold and I want to kiss them. He's wearing his glasses; the square black rimmed ones that he only wears in math class. His eyes are still brilliant even behind thick frames. Sometimes he puts them on before math just to be able to see everything crisp and clear. As he puts it: he digs the fall.

I ignore his question; I can't lie to him. I stick my tongue out at him as an answer. I can't admit that I was just three seconds ago staring at his ass. He throws his head back in a laugh. He loves to tease me. I can't help but laugh with him and we fall into step walking side by side.

"Did you finish your homework?" he asks playfully. He asks it everyday full well knowing the answer. He's waiting for the day I forget.

"Of c-course," I reply, my voice stuttering. I'm shaking. I'm freezing.

"Aw, Gabs, are you cold?" he asks in a sweet, concerned voice. He holds open one side of his coat, beckoning me to share his warmth. Is he serious? I feel as if I can't breathe.

I tremble as I wrap my arm around his waist and he pulls the coat around the both of us. It's not as if we're never intimate. For as long as I can remember we've always been this way, snuggling, touching, but not in a romantic way. I pray for this to change. "Better?" he whispers.

"Yes," I reply softly. I'm excited. He's in an extremely affectionate mood. The cold doesn't seem so bad now.

He kisses the top of my head. I suppress my grin. The portables are insight. He speaks. "So last night, I watched that movie you told me to watch." He blushes slightly.

"Really? You finally watched Breakfast at Tiffany's! What did you think?" I ask him. I love him. Only Ryan would watch a chick flick for me. Can't he love me too? Well as more than friends. Ryan loves me. He tells me he loves me all the time. But it's platonic. At least I think it is. I hope otherwise.

"It was a little weird, but yeah overall I liked it. I'll admit I even teared up a little at the end," he says, chuckling.

My heart swells. He's so sensitive. He's so manly. Only a true man can be comfortable with his vulnerability.

I grin up at him. "Aww Ry!" I say.

"Hey, I am a romantic. You know that silly," he says.

"Yes I do," I say. "Aw like that one time in the third grade when you gave that girl you had a crush on, Natalie, a box of chocolates on Valentines Day. And then..."

Ryan laughs and interrupts, "And then she proceeded to turn around and give them to that punk, Dennis."

I laugh. "And then you told her it was all right if she really loved him."

Ryan smiles. "I was one weird little kid. Musicals really did a number on me, didn't they?"

"They did," I answer. But a wonderful number. I love his love of musicals. I love his passion for dance, for acting, for singing. I love everything about him.

We've reached our classroom. We walk together up the long metal ramp and Ryan releases me, opening the door for me like a true gentleman. I sigh. Must we have gotten here so soon.

I walk in and take my seat in front of Taylor and Ryan slips into the seat next to me. I watch as he puts his hood down and takes his glasses off, wiping them on the edge of his sweatshirt.

Taylor leans over and whispers in my ear. "I saw you walking here. You and Ryan were practically snuggling. Did something happen?"

I sigh. Taylor knows of my crush on Ryan. She's the only one who knows my little secret. "No," I whisper back. "I was cold that's all."

Taylor sighs and leans back in her seat disappointed. She thinks we're meant to be. I wish I were as sure as she was.

Class begins. The teacher announces we're taking notes. I fumble around for my notebook and place it on my desk along with my pencil in all of its chewed up glory.

Ryan leans over. "Gabby, can I borrow a piece of paper?" His glasses slide down the bridge of his nose a tad and my heart skips a beat as he pushes them back up

He smells so good. He switched shampoos. I nod and hand him a sheet. He smiles and then sees my pencil. "I thought you kicked that habit," he says, a lopsided grin forming.

"I thought you kicked yours," I fire back, noticing his swollen lips. He laughs and touches them lightly. "Touché." Kiss me now, I think.

We both have our nervous habits. I bite my pencils. He bites his perfect lips. But I love his imperfections too.

Note: This idea came to me today cause I ,in fact, go to a school with portables that I must walk out in the miserable cold to and I thought of this on the way to math. Haha. So this was originally going to be a oneshot cause I'm writing another story right now. But I reallllly wanna continue this. So I most likely will. Hope you enjoyed it!