Hardly A Hero [REWRITTEN ON NEW ACCOUNT]

Chapter 24: The Chemistry Between Us

I never thought I would admit this to myself, but I was very excited for the first day back at school. A three week break had been enough for me, especially when it had been occupied with nothing but drama and chaos.

As I strolled into Chemistry, I spotted Ben at the table and he turned in his seat, his eyes connecting immediately with mine.

"Hey." He said, softly.

"Hey."

I continued walking and he passed me my chemistry booklet as I lowered  myself into the seat.

"Oh my God." His face drained of color as his mouth formed a tight oval.

"What is it?" Feeling the common sense of panic crawl up my chest already.

His face dropped again, sliding into an expression of pure embarrassment.

"I was such a jerk to you." He laughed. He glanced around at the desk, the path to the entrance, the door...

"You made the chair fall." He let out a nervous laugh. "Because I made you do my chemistry homework."

I huffed.

"Well, that's okay." I shrugged. "'Cause I never did it."

With that, I pulled mine out of my bag and placed it on the desk in front of me.

He moved his jaw sideways, glaring.

I had to admit, it was fun to get a sort of payback, as much as I felt pathetically lovestruck in his presence.

"You know," Ben started, letting out a brief yawn before continuing. "I was thinking, have you told your friends about us?"

Us? There was an us? Who was I kidding? Of course there was. I begged inwardly that we wouldn't have to have a conversation about this, especially in the middle of chemistry.

"It's friend, not plural, and no, I haven't." I chuckled, feeling strangely uncomfortable as he draped an arm around the back of my chair.

"Well, I thought at Wesley's party tonight we could make it official." He leaned in closer, a one-sided smile brewing on his face.

"Wesley? You mean Quarterback Wesley?"

He nodded.

"I-I don't really know him."

The teacher walked past, picking up my homework and moving onto the next table, unaware that Ben was lacking the booklet.

To my left, he laughed.

"You don't have to, but I'm sure you will."

I didn't like the sound of a party. It brought along the idea of drunken mistakes and regretful morning-afters. But I knew it would make him happy, so I nodded and let a reluctant smile form.

"Great!" He chirped. "I'll pick you up at 8."

He unslung his arm from my chair as he peered through the microscope on our table, slowly jotting down his observation. Meanwhile, my mind was elsewhere.

This required some expert help and a great sense of style.

Jazmine.

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"A party?! Rose got invited to a party?" Jazmine recited for the billionth time in disbelief.