Apricity

16❥Passcode

Valentina didn't leave me alone for a long time after she found me. She doted on me nearly every second, even after I insisted that I was okay. She probably would have followed me to my shift at the cafe that night too but thankfully, she didn't.

The next day, she seemed a little more relaxed and I felt like I could breathe again. However, that didn't keep the dread I felt about being with Naomi for another class period. Not only that but today was the day that we had class time to work on our project. The rest we would have to manage outside of class.

I shake away the shivers on my way to English class. Once I get to the door, however, I freeze in my spot at the sound of Roman's voice.

"I need you to pair me with Briar."

I peek my head through the door to see that Roman was standing over Mrs. Jericho's desk. He can't see me from this angle and Mrs. Jericho is facing toward him well enough not to see me either.

Mrs. Jericho raises her brows at his request. "But you're paired with Daniel."

"Daniel nearly pisses himself trying to talk to me and Naomi isn't a good partner for Briar."

"What makes you say that?" She asks.

I wait nervously for his answer but then I tell myself to relax. He had already proved to me yesterday that I could trust him, at least with this. He would have started with Val yesterday if he had wanted to tell people.

Roman doesn't say anything at first, he must have been thinking something over. Then he sighs and goes on. "Look, Mrs. Jericho. I know there's a reason you wanted me to sit with Briar in the first place, right? You want to set me up for success," he says, failing to keep the mock from his tone. "I can't work with Daniel because Daniel doesn't work with me, Briar would. It's as simple as that."

I see Mrs. Jericho bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling. At what, I have no clue. "Well alright, Roman. If you absolutely think this is what's best for you and Briar to be successful in this assignment, I'll agree to it."

I see Roman give a short nod of his head and walk off to our desk. Mrs. Jericho suddenly looks right up at me and gives a subtle little wink.

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"So, it's a little strange of Mrs. Jericho to switch partners around so suddenly, don't you think?" I questioned Roman when we were released for our group work. The fact that he had no idea I was teasing him right now was very entertaining from my end.

"Yeah, strange," He says in both a dismissive and disinterested tone. I just look at him and don't even realize I'm smiling at him until he comments on it. "The fuck are you smiling at?"

It makes me smile more. "Nothing, I'm just happy that she made the switch is all."

Roman looks up to blink at me without saying anything. I expect him to snap at me for being annoying or grumble about anything under the sun, but he just... looks at me.