Meet You Halfway

Knox Overstreet

   The tardy bell rang and I made my way to my seat next to Chris Noel. "Have you studied for finals yet?" I could see why Knox liked her so much. Surprisingly though, they never talked about each other. "I started, but haven't gotten very far. How about you?" She took off her jacket, laying it on the back of her seat. "Same here." The door opened and in walked a figure. I expected to see Mr. Gorham, my trig teacher, but it wasn't him. He walked towards us, stopping in front of my desk.

   "Knox." His smile faded slightly when he looked over at Chris. "Hi, Chris." He looked back over to me. "Got a minute?" I gestured to the class. "Uh, not really. What are you doing here, Knoxious?" He pinched the bridge of his nose before gently grabbing my hand leading me from my seat to the hall outside. "Knox, you can't be here. What's wrong?" He pulled me farther down until we were in a secluded opening in the hallway.

   I pulled my hand away from his and crossed my arms. "What's going on?" He didn't answer. Instead he shoved a bouquet of slightly wilted flowers towards me. How I managed to miss those, who knows. I uncrossed my arms, taking the flowers. I looked up to see his face tinted with pink. "I brought those for you. Thought you might like them." My eyes wandered back and forth between him and the bouquet. "They are wonderful, and that's very sweet. But why?" My mind flashed back to how him and Chris interacted in the class.

   "And what was that with Chris? I thought you liked her." He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I mean, I did. But she still likes Chet. And, well…I like someone else too. So it wouldn't have worked out." My brows scrunched together at the thought of how well they got along at the play. "Oh… I'm awfully sorry." Wait. Who else does he like? My eyes dropped down to the bouquet in my hands. Oh.

   I looked back up to see him watching me. "It's all good." He scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit. "I've got to be honest with you, Y/n. I've been awfully stupid for the past few months." I couldn't help but laugh. "How so?" A smile formed on his face as he looked down at his shoes. "I've been so stupid, that I didn't see you." He met my eyes. "You've been there. When I needed help getting Chris, when Chet beat the shit out of me, everytime. She didn't wipe the blood from my face. You did." Knox stepped closer, warmth radiating off our bodies. 

   "You put up with me being stupid. And I was too stupid to see that." His head leaned down so that our faces were but inches apart. "But I see you now. I just hope I'm not too late." I took in the details of his face. I remember how they looked in the moonlight on the drive back to Welton after the party. His smile when he thought about the girl of his dreams. That smile always made me happy. But it hurt me too. I never understood why until now.

   "You have been awfully stupid, Knoxious. I think it's time to wise up." In the heat of the moment, I hooked my fingers under his collar and pulled him towards me so that our lips met. His hand impacted with the wall on either side of my head in an attempt to steady himself. Once he regained his composure, his hand found its way to my waist, the other tangling itself in my hair.

   When we finally pulled away to catch our breaths, he took my hands in his. "What do you say we ditch this place?" 

Author's note:
I'm sorry it's so short lol. I really wanted to emphasize how stupid he is. Because he is. But I'm a Knox apologist because in the movie, he doesn't do what he did in the book. And that counts for something. Still think he's an absolute fucking dumbass though. Said with love♡.