The Tech Wiz | #2✓

Chapter 13

During a free period in school, Felix texted me, asking if we could work on the sites again in the tech lab. I took a while to answer with a 'yes'. My face flushed when I realized that we'd be the only ones there, but I shook my head, packing up my books before excusing myself from the study room and leaving.

I headed up the stairs to the tech lab, feeling nervous as I got to the door. I let out a sigh, trying to calm myself before I opened it. I looked into the room, finding Felix sitting down at the far end.

"Hey," he said, looking up and turning towards the door. I looked away, walking into the room before closing the door behind me. 

"Hey," I muttered, walking over to the desk he was sitting by. I dropped my books as well as my laptop on the table, taking the seat beside him before sitting up. We worked individually for a while until Felix slouched on his seat with a laugh.

"Finally!" He yelled when we finalized the website model. "It's done — Jesus."

"I don't want to burst your bubble, but people have to try it out first," I said, looking through what we'd done as I adjusted some things. I was excited too, not just too quick to jump into the 'we're done' boat.

"You should have just let me have my moment."

I laughed at Felix's words, minimizing the tab I was working on before turning to look at him with a smile. He was still slouching in his chair, his eyes closed as he breathed softly.

He has long lashes. I turned away, becoming aware of the fact that I'd been staring at him for a questionable amount of time. I maximized the tab on my PC again, adjusting things until I heard the sound of Felix's chair move against the tiled floor. I turned my head a bit, seeing that he was now sitting up and looking at what I was doing.

"We can ask people in school to check it out..." he muttered, a small smile playing on his face as he stared at the tiger logo. "I'm sorry for being giddy. I'm just really excited."

"I understand." I smiled, looking back at my computer screen. " We can both try it out now if you want. I think we have about twenty minutes before the next period."

"That sounds like a good idea," he said as he opened up a new tab on his computer to sign up like an excited child. I chuckled a little, covering my mouth to make sure that he didn't hear me.

We soon started testing out the messaging system and the profile customization options. We found a handful of glitches, and we noted them down so that we could fix them later.

"Great, after we fix these we can get beta testers. I'm sure people would want to try it out. Should we hold on to the app or show them both the website and the app?" Felix asked, making me bite my bottom lip in thought.

"Let's show them both. We still have a month to the contest showcase, right?" I asked, remembering the date I'd seen on the online form that I'd watched Felix modify to include my name and details as his partner. I still had to tell my parents so that they could plan for that day. Well, unless he's taking the both of us in his car.

"Okay, that's a good idea," he said as he closed all the tabs on his webpage before logging out of his computer. I did the same with my PC, packing it up as I waited for the period to be over so that I could settle down for physics.

"Hey, Ben?" I heard Felix call, making me turn my gaze to him. He was still slouching on his seat, he now had his closed laptop on his lap as he looked at nothing in particular.

"Did I get you into trouble that day at your place? You didn't call me in the evening..."

"You didn't," I said immediately, cutting him off. He turned to me, muttering a small 'oh' as he picked at the small hairs at the nape of his neck.

"Oh, okay then," he said, looking down at his computer. "Then, did what I do upset you?"

I paused at that, wondering what to say in response as I felt my face warm up.

"No," I finally blurted, shifting in my seat, uncomfortable, as I looked at anything but him. "No, not at all."

"Oh," Felix sighed. "I was a little worried."

The physics lab fell into an uncomfortable silence that was only tinted by the creaking of the turning fan above. Felix coughed, making me look over at him.

"You don't have to say anything now. I mean, you don't have to address what happened if you don't want to," he said, making to put his laptop into his bag. I tensed up, feeling my face burn at his words before looking away from him.

"I like you," I said, feeling my face grow warmer. The shuffling from his end stopped, and I looked up to find him staring at me. His lips suddenly broke into a smile before he chuckled.

"I like you too..." he trailed as his hands balled into fists on his now empty lap. I stared at his slender fingers, before looking back up to stare at his dark eyes that were framed with thick dark brows. I wanted to say something, but my heart was racing. I opened my mouth but ended up making an odd sound instead. I reached to cover my mouth with my hand when Felix started laughing.

"God, you're the cutest thing on the planet," he said as he leaned into me. I tried to look away, but he took my hands away from my mouth before pecking the tip of my nose.

He laughed again when I turned away immediately after he did that.

"What about your parents, do they...?" Felix trailed, frowning a bit. He didn't have to finish the sentence for me to have an idea of what he wanted to say. I sighed, running a hand through my hard curls nervously.

"They're not — well, I don't think they'd be the most supportive in that department," I said, making Felix nod.

"I only live with my dad, and he has a long-term boyfriend so..." Felix said, making me smile a bit. I laughed earning a smile from him.

"My parents aren't bible trumping people or something if that's what you think. They're just a bit conservative. Ah. I'm not sure how to explain this..." I trailed, listening to Felix hum as he nodded at me.

"Ah, I think I have an idea of what you mean," he said, biting his bottom lip. "I'll be more careful next time."

Next time? I thought, feeling my face warm up again - heck, who am I kidding? I'm always a heater around Felix. As I was thinking about it I looked up and almost jumped in shock when I found out that Felix had scooted his seat closer to mine.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, making me look at anything but him. He was close - really close, and I could smell the fading scent of his cologne as well as his calm breathing.

"Ben?"

"Yes," I blurted out, answering his previous question. He laughed a little as I felt him take a hold of my chin. He pulled my face up, making me look straight at him, and then at his lips before I started panicking.

Why did I say yes? I haven't kissed anything in my life, what am I supposed to do? God. My train of thought was soon interrupted by the ringing of the school siren. Felix let go of my chin, pulling away from me.

"Aww," he muttered in a joking tone before turning to give me a small smile. "Well, next time then. I have a class now," he said, getting up and picking up his bag before he headed for the main door. He opened it, walking out to the corridor before closing the door behind him with a click.

I stared at it plainly for a while, letting out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding before resting my head on the desk in front of me.

"Next time."

Felix's words rang in my mind, only making my heart beat faster. The class soon got filled up with students, and Ji-Hun sat beside me as usual with Wyatt by his side. He smiled throughout the class, as if he knew some special secret.

"Did Felix kiss you or something?" he suddenly asked in a whisper halfway through the class. My eyes widened in shock as I turned away without saying a thing, and praying that Wyatt hadn't heard him.

He laughed at my reaction before turning back to his laptop without saying another word.