Beacon in the Darkness

11. Undertow

Shawn pulled against the lock. It didn't move. He twisted the dial several times, clearing the previously entered combination and tried again. Nothing. Rubbing his temples against the nagging headache caused from lack of sleep, he let out a slow breath and tried again. Still didn't budge. He let out a growl and banged his fist against the stubborn lock.

"Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'Patience is a virtue?'"

He turned his head toward the voice and met a pair of dark brown eyes. "I'm not feeling especially virtuous this morning."

"Okay, well, how about, 'You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar?'"

"Why the hell would I want to catch flies? You do know they spend their time flying around dung heaps, right? And then they have the audacity to hover around our heads, land on our food, and then puke on it."

Camila rolled her eyes and reached out, gently removing his hands from the combination lock on his locker. "Do you have to be so philosophical this early in the morning? It's giving me a headache."

He absently rubbed his temples again. "Yeah well, misery loves company." He could play at the "old sayings" game as well.

She frowned. "You look tired."

"Rough night," he said, staring down at her concerned expression.

She studied him for a moment, her eyes passing over his face a few times before she sighed. "What's your combo?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I've already tried it three times. It's stuck."

"Watch me work my magic, Mendes." She flexed her fingers and grasped the lock, looking up at him expectantly.

God. Did she have to call him Mendes? If it wasn't already hard enough for him to separate his stupid teenage urges from the fickle hold he had over their budding friendship, she had to go and call him by his last name. Which by the way, he found extremely sexy.

"Oh, I'm watching, Cabello."

Camila scrunched her nose and puckered her mouth in the cutest way, he had to press one palm to the locker next to her and bite his lip to restrain himself from kissing it right off her face. God, he had to stop thinking like that. Off limits, Mendes.

As Shawn recited the numbers to her, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and concentrated on entering the combination. An act that made it even more impossible for him to keep his mind off from pressing her up against the lockers in front of everyone and biting it himself. Good lord. What the hell was wrong with him? After the final spin, she pulled on the lock and it clicked free easily. She turned back to him with a cocky grin and her brows raised.

"What? Do you want a gold star or something?"