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question, since your bad jokes would suit kindergarten rather than college.”
     
    I bite my tongue, stifling a laugh. He’s good at crushing these guys. He’s almost frightening with his dark eyes sending a warning, his tall frame obviously tense and his arms tightly crossed over his well-muscled chest. With just a glance, you know that you don’t want to fight with him. I shiver, and I don’t know if it’s from fear or from something else.
     
    “We’re nineteen,” the other one replies with a scowl on his face, but he refrains himself from saying anything else when he realizes that Duke is one of the TAs. He taps on his friend’s bony shoulder and they walk away, but not without looking back at me with fury in their eyes. Like I did something wrong.
     
    I shake my head and turn on my laptop without saying a word to Duke, who sits in the seat next to mine. I know we have over ten minutes before the beginning of the class, but it’s disturbing to have him so close to me, to feel his strong arm brushing against mine and to have several girls’ gazes zeroing in on us, on him.
     
    “Since we’re friends, I suppose I should ask how you are today,” Duke says closer to my ear than I want.
     
    I try to push away some of my crazy, frizzy hair and shrug. “I’m fine, I guess.” I don’t look at him. Instead, I lock my eyes on my laptop’s screen where there’s a picture of Seattle and the Space Needle by night.
     
    “I know that you’re not exactly eager to be friends with me, but don’t you think that it would be better if you could look at me when we talk?” He taps on his knees where his jeans have a big hole. “It makes me nervous when you behave like I’m not really here.”
     
    The vulnerability in his voice startles me. Of their own accord, my eyes find his and I can’t find it in me to look away. The gentleness in them is not something I’m used to, and I don’t know what to do with it.
     
    “I should thank you for earlier, I guess,” I say in a weak voice, unsure of why I’m not experiencing the usual fear I feel whenever I’m around a guy. Around him I feel nothing other than wonderment.
     
    “Only if it’s genuine.” He entwines his hands on his lap, his eyes never leaving mine. Despite the fact that my eyes are intently looking for something, anything that could make me understand him or just conjure the anxiety that follows me everywhere, he doesn’t move or try to escape my scrutiny. He may have secrets, but he’s ready to be open with me and help me to have confidence in him. Enough at least to be able to start a real friendship.
     
    “Thank you,” I say, breaking the silence between us.
     
    He nods and smiles at me, his dazzling smile making a girl giggle three rows above us. In my opinion, it’s pretty pathetic. Then again, this girl must have a normal life, full of friends and social events when all I do is my homework. I’m not in a position to judge anybody.
     
    “Well, it’s nothing really. These guys think they are hilarious when in fact they should realize that they’re not in high school anymore. It’s getting old.” He clenches his fists and sighs. He is angry … over something they did to me.
     
    “Why is it bothering you so much?” I cock my head on one side, my body slowly relaxing, warmth taking residence in my chest and making me squirm in my seat. It’s so weird to have someone looking after me besides my parents. Sean wasn’t like that when we were together, not at all. Pain eradicates the warmth from my chest. I shouldn’t think about him. It’s over now and probably for the better.
     
    “Friends look after each other.”
     
    “If you say so,” I reply absentmindedly, tension resurfacing. When I’m around Duke, my emotions are all mixed up. Usually, I’m in a sort of dull state or angry, but it’s quite stable. However, when Duke is around me or even in my mere sight, I tend to be angry one second and calm the next before I go