Hopelessly Devoted

Chapter 19- Pennies

The first few periods of the day went by far faster than I would have preferred. Normally, I like it when my morning classes go by quickly, as I get to see Sean in fourth period.

Obviously, today that is not the case.

How will I even be able to get through chemistry? Sean's my freaking lab partner for goodness sakes. How will I be able to endure an hour next to the one person I need to avoid?

Reluctantly, I walk into the dreaded classroom. Sean is already sitting at his desk, hunched over some worksheet. His hair is a mess, and he's just wearing a hoodie and jeans. As I take my seat next to him, he looks up at me. His eyes have bags underneath them, almost like he hasn't slept all night. They also hold immense anguish that is only slightly lessened upon my arrival.

His right arm shoots out, taking hold of my left wrist. "Luke..." He whispers. "What... what the hell happened to you last night?"

I shrug.

His free hand runs through his beautiful black hair in exasperation. "That's seriously all you have to say? I called you like a million times last night and NO response. Jesus Christ, I thought you'd been jumped by Geoff, again! Why the hell weren't you answering my calls?"

I shrug again. "I didn't want to talk."

Sean was about to say something else when my father interrupted.

"Alright, everybody!  Since you all did so well on the previous group project, I've decided to reward you with another!"

Cue mandatory groans.

"Relax, most of this one will be done in class as it is a lab experiment. Today, we will be turning pennies into gold! This experiment will involve fire, so PLEASE try not to kill yourselves. All instructions and materials are at your tables. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask."

As my father dismisses us to begin the project, neither of us move. 

"Please, Luke." Sean looks at me, those oceanic eyes laden with turmoil. "Tell me what I did wrong."

I look down at my hands. "Y-you did nothing wrong."

"Then why did you run out of my room right after I told you about my parents? It might not have meant a lot to you, but the only other person I've ever talked to about that is Benjamin."

I stay silent. I mean, how do I even respond to that without telling him WHY I ran out?

"Please, Rabbit." His hand moves from my wrist to resting gently onto my hand. "Tell me what's wrong so I can make it better."

"I-I can't tell you." I whisper. His face falls. "I'm sorry, b-but, I just can't. Not right now."

Sean frowns at me. I can see the gears turning in his brain.

I cut him off before he can speak again. "W-we should probably start the lab."

He nods and hands me the directions.

Gold Penny Lab:

Step 1: Pour 20 mL of Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) into beaker.

Ok. Sounds easy enough. 

"C-can you pass me the Sodium Hydroxide?" I say as I grab the small glass beaker sitting next to me.

"I could if I knew what the hell that was."

I smile a bit. "It's that white bottle that says Sodium Hydroxide, weirdo." 

He looks at the bottle in front of him. "Oh... well, yeah that shoulda been obvious."