Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 9

REBECCA'S POV

Walking into chemistry on Monday morning, the first thing I notice is the best-looking guy smiling right at me. I can't help but reciprocate as I get to our shared lab table and hop onto my stool.

"Hey Becs," he starts right away, "how was the rest of your weekend?"

"It was good. Not nearly as exciting as Saturday though," I say while my smile grows bigger. Ryan chuckles and is about to open his mouth when Mr. Monty rushes in just before the bell.

"Alright class! As you all know, today is the beginning of our new chapter on the specifics of organic chemistry!"

The students, myself included, all groan collectively. Personally, chemistry is my favorite subject; however, organic chemistry has got to be the most boring part of science you could ever talk about. Isotopes, chemical drawings, memorization of the Periodic Table of Elements, and extra equations are never something to be excited about. Mr. Monty quickly gets wrapped up in his lecture and I lean closer to Ryan and whisper in his ear.

"How was the thing with Landon? Did it go alright?" Ryan's head swivels towards me.

"Uh, yeah. It was good. But listen, don't tell Landon you know about that okay?" I nod but drop it after that and try paying attention to class.

When the incessantly boring lecture is finally over, Ryan walks with me to my locker.

"You know," he starts, "my locker is a lot closer to all of your classes."

"Your point?" I ask directly and he rolls his eyes.

"My point, Miss Hanson, is that I would love to share a locker with you. That way I could see you more than twice a day. Plus, I only use the top shelf so you could use the bottom one." He tops his little speech with a cheeky smile.

"I don't know..."

"You don't have to Becs. Just keep it in mind." I saw his grin falter when I didn't take him up on the offer and felt a little guilty.

"Maybe we can move my stuff over after class, yeah?"

"Sounds good cutie. Catch you later okay?" He leans down to kiss my cheek before heading to his next class. Stopping in the hallway he turns and shouts, "And sit by us at lunch!"

~~~

I get enraptured in my advanced English class because we've started a section on Shakespeare. Most people grumble about his works but I love many of them, specifically Romeo and Juliet. I know, total cliché.

Art is okay but not really my thing. I can't even draw a fricken tree so the whole hour is pretty much a waste.

My fourth class is history and I take my seat by Landon.

"Hey." I turn and greet him with a small smile which immediately turns to shock. Landon has a slightly black eye and a horribly busted lip complete with black stitching. No wonder the people at this school fear him. If he came to class like that often it was clear that his temper gets him into some heated brawls. He must have seen my widened eyes and reaches to put a hand on my arm.

"Hey, I'm fine. You probably already know but this," he gestures to his face, "is what Ryan had to run out on you for. It's not a big deal though."

"Not a big deal?!" I whisper yell, trying to keep the attention of gawking students off me. "Landon there's frigging stitches in your lip!" He just breaks out in a small smirk.

"Frigging? Where do you come up with this stuff Becca?" I smack his large bicep in annoyance and he pulls my entire desk closer to him.

"Listen," he leans in closer. "This is what I do and Ryan is rarely involved."