Everything comes back to you -J.MARIANO

[1.24]

ꪻaryn looked up from her scrawled upon page and smiled as she watched Jess sneak into the classroom without the teacher noticing. She wondered, for a split second, how he knew to avoid the squeaker point of the floor that would be directly in his path. But then she remembered the dozens of times she had watched him do the exact same thing, pre and post labelling their relationship. He moved and sat down in the seat behind her with such ease that some of the students didn't even look up from their tests and the teacher, who was busy marking something else, hadn't even caught a glimpse. Though his lateness and poor attendance annoyed her, she had to give him credit for his sneaking ability.

"Tee?" he whispered, gently tapping her shoulder to catch her attention. Taryn turned around whilst flicking the battery drawer on her hearing aids closed. She relied on lip reading for just a second as the usual chime played in her ears. "You got a pen?" he asked quietly, anxiously eyeing the front of the classroom. He wouldn't want her to get into trouble after all and had only bothered her since she had finished the test and was secretly doodling designs into a notebook.

She frowned instantly, her brow furrowing as she whispered back, "You came to school without a pen?"

"I merely assumed you'd have one," he replied with his usual sarcastic smirk and Taryn simply rolled her eyes despite the warmth that spread through her torso at the sight. She turned and reached into her pencil case, making sure not to create too much noise or draw attention to herself. She swivelled in her seat once more, this time holding a pen which he accepted with a grateful smile and a whisper, "Thanks beautiful."

It took Taryn a second to comprehend what he had said, due to the low volume of his voice. But when she had, blood rushed to her cheeks and she instantly turned back around whilst looking to the floor. Jess smiled to himself at her reaction before he cracked open his book and began to write thoughts in the margins.

Twenty minutes passed quickly for those still enveloped in the test but it passed slowly for Jess and Taryn. When the bell sounded, they both sighed in relief and packed up their hidden work before going to exit the classroom together. Only the teacher wanted to have words with Jess and they both knew what it would be about. Taryn waited outside whilst he received what must have been the fiftieth talking to about his behaviour in class and how he really needed to attend more lessons. It was partly the reason that Taryn struggled to bring up the discussion even though she wanted to help him. She wanted their relationship to be something that could bring him comfort, not remind him or repeat any of the horrible things he got told through the day. She could never be that mean.

When Jess walked out of the room, his shoulders relaxed somewhat when she walked up to his side. "I'm actually rather surprised you decided to grace the school with your presence," she began with a joking tone to her voice.

He shrugged whilst wrapping his arm around her waist to move her out of the path of a group of people she hadn't noticed. "I've been busy."

"With what exactly?"

"I got a job," he reluctantly answered, by now knowing that the specific look within her eyes would not go away unless she got answers.

"Where?" she asked in genuine intrigue though her brow was furrowed. She wondered how he would juggle it all and it was evident that he knew her thoughts based on the look of apprehension that called his face home. She sighed gently and made eye contact with him so he knew she wasn't lying, "Mariano, come on. I'd never judge you."

He looked around for a split second, checking that there wasn't anyone around that could overhear or even care about their discussion. "Walmart."

She raised a brow but he sensed no ounce of judgment within her eyes and felt himself relax further at the realization. "Does it pay well?"

"It pays enough," he shrugged and draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer ever so slightly as they turned out of the main corridor.

Without being pushy or using a tone that belittle him like others did, she simply replied, "You shouldn't let it take over school though, educations important."

He chuckled, "Says the girl who is late every single day without fail."

She smiled and looked away from him, knowing that she had been caught out and had simply no rebuttal possible. They continued to walk for a second or two until Jess used his draped arm to direct her into a smaller off corridor that led to a locked unused classroom. There he leant her back up against the wall and took her face in both his hands, smiling into a hidden kiss. She didn't like pda and worried momentarily that someone would catch them but found herself distracted as he began to move the kisses down her jaw. Luckily, as it was the shift between lessons, no one even thought about heading down the off corridor and they were not caught.

"We still on for later?" he asked after reluctantly pulling away.

Taryn looked at him blankly, having been momentarily unable to comprehend a word he was saying as she lifted a hand to fix the mess she had made of his hair. "Sorry, can you repeat that?"

"We still on for later?" he asked again without hesitation, keeping the exact same tone as before and without a speck of annoyance within his mind.

"Oh yes absolutely," she smiled at the memory of their plans to go for a drive in his newly acquired car. "Though I still think you should let me make you seat covers."

"Can't let you waste fabric like that," he responded before cutting himself off by pressing his lips against hers once more. She smiled into it and as he pulled away, she found herself suddenly flung back to reality by the scraping of someone's shoes against the linoleum flooring. They were in school, school where she had lessons to attend.

"Time check?" she asked quickly and he moved his wrist into her view, displaying the time. She held onto his hand, quickly read the clock, then pulled her discarded bag back onto her shoulder. "Gotta go, math," she whispered whilst this time leaning up to kiss the base of his jaw. She walked away before he could even comprehend it. He watched her walk down the corridor and grinned to himself, instantly muffling it away with a fake frown. The redness to the very tops of his cheeks told all the tales though.