shades of cool.

[ruby anderson]

She's stunned that she fell for such antics. He'd teased her. His tone was cold, broad arms crossed and the harsh reality of his words felt as if she'd been slapped. He pulls away fast and her body wishes to do the same. It longs to react in it's typical dramatic manner, arch away from him. But she refuses to show any bit of emotion. The lie she told earlier about his honesty not affecting her, inside she throbbed with hurt. This made her inner confidence plummet. Outside, she mirrored his same cool demeanor. Just as she did with everyone else in her life, that caused any pain. They all searched for some sort of reaction from Ruby. This was rejection. Her palms were beginning the initial stages of her 'break down.' The come down was when she refused her body of the emotion it needed to feel. It always started with the sweaty palms and then followed with her need to scrub her entire body. Ruby felt the urge to be anywhere but stuck in this office. "I'll be leaving now." She allows herself to move, slipping out of the seat next to him and back to other side of the table where her belongings were. Ruby replays the last two minutes in her head as she crosses the room and her anger only increases. Stuffing her items into her black Lululemon backpack just as quickly as she can, she finds his gaze on her. Her eyes narrow, finally letting him have a glimpse at what she was feeling. "Good to know you think some pretty awful things about me." The laptop shuts, rather roughly and is the last thing that she slides into the bag. "Sorry that I actually enjoyed getting to talk to you," sarcasm is thick in her voice. "Thought you felt the same, clearly not. I misread everything. Silly me." Ruby briefly rolls her eyes before continues. "Don't worry, we will stick to just chemistry from now on. Oh, and I won't come alone. I'll bring my friend who's also in this class, Mirren, with me." Her coat is coming back onto her body now, her right arm the last one in before she zips it up. "Have a good weekend, sir." If he wanted professionalism, he could have it. She looks back at him, just before she exits the office.

[everett howe]

357A If this was the right thing to do, why did it feel so terrible? In sticking to the rules, that meant negating his personal desires and still having to deal with the uncomfortable aftermath. He watched Ruby’s expression change with realization that their little game finally coming to an end; neither of them were winners today. She rises to leave and he remains anchored in his chair, listening to her, trying not to budge and go back on himself. At this point he cannot comfort her or apologize, he must stick to his decision. It felt worse now than it would later, and he even found some relief in the idea that he was doing this for the both of them, as he was supposed to in his position. Unfortunately, it had still gotten out of his control and there was a risk of her retaliating against him…unless, of course, he beat her to it by reporting her first. However, judging by her hasty exit and jilted words, she probably wasn’t going to be telling anyone about this. It was an equal loss on either side, both guilty and both displeased. Rendered silent as she packed up, Everett dared not speak a word. It was easier to assume that she had ulterior motives, that her pretty face granted her access to more things than she deserved. It was a flimsy comfort to believe her inferior and lacking, his own prejudice a result of girls in the past who snubbed him or used him. If it was all predicated on a lie then none of it was real—right? Books and laptops snapped shut, her words coming to an end. He watched her abandon his office, left in silence, unsure if he would see her in here again after all. There was only one thing to do: be so busy that he wouldn't have any time to think about the blonde anymore.