Enemies with Benefits [COMPLETE]

TWENTY-ONE

Jacob's POV

"Look who decided to show up", Sara hummed as I approached our desk. 

"Yeah", I mumbled quietly before taking a seat next to her. She was rinsing a PH probe underneath the tap with an array of 7 solutions placed on our desk about a quarter of the way full. 

"We're investigating pH changes in each of these solutions. It's pretty basic so I'm sure you'll know what I mean when I say Solution 1 is pH 10.1 and is therefore an acid", she side eyed me and paused as I nodded in agreement.

"Fucking hell", she scoffed taking her safety goggles off,

"What have I done now", I threw my hands in the air as she pressed the bridge of her nose,

"This is basic, Jacob. pH 0 to 6.9 is an acid. pH 7 is neutral. Anything above 7 is an alkaline/base. We learnt this in elementary", her voice was stern as she raked two strands from her ponytail onto her face. 

"Yeah- I know", I shifted uncomfortably, dumb-founded at my trivial mistake.

"So, tell me. What solution should we expect the first one to be an extract of?", she quizzed me placing her hands on her small hips and raising a brow,

"Hand soap?", I mumbled uncertain of my answer,

"Close. We'd expect it to be a washing detergent- or maybe even milk of magnesia. You're going to med school, what does milk of magnesia do?", I loved it when her authoritarian personality was exposed- it was kind of sexy.

"It's used when a patient is having X-rays- it identifies any issues with the bowel", I gulped nervously, feeling as if she was testing my every move.

"No, that's a barium meal. Milk of Magnesia is a laxative", she tutted tapping her foot off of the ground at a rapid pace,

"What is this? Our chemistry SAT?", I snapped frustrated at my own ignorance. Pausing for a moment, she finally opened her mouth.

"Sit down", sighing heavily, she perched on the stool tapping the desk space in front of me.

"We may not be the best of buds, but there's no denying how hard you've worked to get into JH. You're that clever it's annoying, and I do enjoy our little academic rivalry. Don't let me win so easily- imagine how much I'll shove it in your face! Use that as motivation if you like- but most of all, think of how heartbroken you'll be when you get that little slip of paper in July if you don't get your shit together", nibbling her bottom lip, I could feel the concern and anxiety dripping from her words. She never wished me any ill-will, even through all of the arguments we had about our test scores in the past, she just pushed me to work harder. 

"And why do you care?", I grunted taking the probe from the test tube and examining it,

"I don't know. Maybe because I know you're capable of more than a 9-5 office job", she admitted adjusting the thin sleeves of our lab coats. We paused for a moment as I digested her words.

"Well don't get to comfortable on that pedestal, I'll drag you right back down on results day", I nudged her gently causing her lips to curl and her pearly white teeth to become exposed- she was so beautiful when she smiled. 

This was my wake-up call- if Sara was concerned, I knew that it couldn't be good. After school, I went straight back home and pulled the box full of books and flashcards out from under my desk. 

Game on Sara.

•••

After several failed study attempts with Maddy which ended up with my face in between her legs, I'd decided that we had to initiate some space in order to focus on our exams. She took it pretty well-