The Heart-Shaped Emblor (The Ewlishash Series) by Alaina Ewing Page A

that.” My teasing expression was all the response he needed to set him into laughter. He seemed to know I’d figured out his folly.
    “You do that!” Mr. Wellner, red-faced, left the room again.
    I continued to work through class time and into lunch hour. Many of the students had come to help place their pieces where they thought they fit with others’ works. It amused me to see where some of the students’ frames of mind were. I found that many of them wanted to place something next to a boyfriend’s piece, or their friends’.
    There seemed to be a lot of that behavior, but I decided to allow it. After all, weren’t matters of the heart art in themselves? Many times our emotions are what inspire our work. If one person had been the inspiration, why not display something next to the inspiration’s piece? I hadn’t really intended to work things in that direction, but I could be flexible.
    Once my usual lunch hour had approached, my friends came to see my progress. Surprisingly, Cooper was with them, food in hand.
    “Hey, you,” Mel said as she approached. “How are things going?”
    “Smoothly,” I admitted. “I think after tomorrow, I’ll have most of the pieces placed. The only thing left will be printing up some pamphlets.”
    “That’s great.” Cooper approached me with his arms extended, but he sounded sad, distant.
    “I see you’re joining me today. This is a nice surprise.”
    His smile made me feel a bit more secure about the situation. “I wanted to bring you something to eat.” Cooper handed me an apple and some yogurt. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, since we never eat lunch together.”
    “This is great, thank you.” I met his eyes with appreciation.
    His cheeks rose subtly as he wrapped his arm around me.
    “So, Aislinn.” Evan jumped onto a large end table in the hall. My stomach lurched as he did so. I bit my tongue to keep from screaming at him. “What do you think of my addition to the show?”
    Relief washed over me as I realized the table belonged to Evan. “Oh, thank goodness! I was just about to scream at you for jumping on someone’s work.”
    “Well, thanks, I guess.” He looked at me with a curled brow. “Do you likes?”
    “I likes.”
    Evan’s toothy grin told me he felt proud of his work, a fact that made me exceedingly happy. Even with his bad habits, Evan had always been a sweetheart.
    I sat on the floor to the side of the hall. “Sit.” I patted the ground next to me. “You guys should eat something.”
    “Sorry.” Hope drew up her shoulders. “We already ate. We assumed you’d gone home until Cooper found us, and reminded us you were working in here today.”
    “Oh.” I took a bite of apple, surprised it had been Cooper’s idea. “That’s okay. You can still sit and visit.”
    “I actually have another class, but I’ll see you tonight,” Mel said.
    “And I have to work,” Evan added.
    “Well…” I exhaled. “I’m disappointed, but I’ll live. See you two tonight.”
    “How about you guys?” I looked up at Kyle, Cooper, and Hope.
    Kyle eyed Cooper. “Maybe I’ll head home. See you tonight.” He spoke flatly. He’d always been protective of me, and I assumed his shortness was to let Cooper know of his displeasure.
    Kyle was by far the kindest of my friends. If he’d been into women, I’d have surely snagged him. He always had love to give, and compassion at hand. Though he showed his distaste for Cooper, he still didn’t badmouth him. I had great respect for Kyle.
    “Okay, see you at home.” A tiny smile cracked my face, letting him know I wasn’t angry for his irritation at Cooper.
    “I’m going to head out too. Plans with Austin,” Hope announced. “I’ll chat at you later.”
    “Sheesh.” I frowned. “And here I was so happy to have company.”
    “I’ll stay.” Cooper squeezed my arm affectionately.
    I turned to him in surprise. Where had this sudden niceness come from?
    “Talk to you later, Hope.” I spoke