One Last... Call

Bombshell

- Dale -

I went to my whole class after lunch with Connor, unsure of his weird behaviour lately. His actions told me that something got him worked up and uncomfortable. Maybe it was just Uni starting to faze him, but that still doesn't seem right though. I've known Connor for a while and he had not shown any clear sign of doubt when it comes to his academics. 

Maybe I'm just seeing a new side of him. And maybe I should try to adjust to that for him. He was all over me during the last bit of our high school, where I had to do some extra credits. The thought of him being serious about studying is really cute.

The laboratory was almost packed when I finally made it in there, but barely. I strolled around the stream right next that was between the main Clocktower building and the rest of the buildings and offices. It was a little too windy for my liking and I felt my body was being pushed back a bit as I made my way to my class.

"Hi Dale!" Jace put up his hand and waved at me. He pointed at an empty seat right next to him. I went up to him and sat down, then placed some my organizer down at the tiled bench. 

"Hey Jace, you look a bit burnt. Went out to the beach too much with friends?" I greeted then asked. Some of his skin on his face was actually peeling off a bit. 

"Tell me about it. The weekend was too good for me not to pass up going to the beach again. Me and some of my high school friends decided it was best we hang out under the scorching heat." He pointed at his now-peeling skin. "And this is what I get for not bringing my sunblock."

I let out a small giggle, covering my mouth so it won't be as loud. "Well maybe next time you should remember bringing it with you." I pat his back gently. He winced slightly.

"Damn that hurts, thanks for the concern though." He took a deep breath through his mouth, gritting his teeth.

"Oops, didn't mean to do that. I guess you went skinny dipping?" I asked, teasing him a bit.

"If I did would you be interested in joining me?" He retorted, smirking.

"Nope! Not interested at all. Connor is all over the place with me and I can see his butt all the time."  I quickly covered my mouth, when I realized what words flew out of my mouth. Damn, sometimes, I need to learn how to not give out as much details.

"Connor?" Jace asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Ah my boyfriend. We live in an apartment together. Though our parents would have preferred if we stayed with them until we finish Uni."

"Right, I forgot that you mentioned you had a boyfriend." For a bit I thought his eyes showed a bit of shock. He turned to his notebook slowly, then started scribbling something.

Before the silence got too uncomfortable, our lab proctor came in just in time to save the day.

"Okay everyone, before we get started with our lab, I want all of you to pay attention to this one." He turned on the projector then opened a file. "I want all of you to work on this project for the whole semester. Your lectures will be discussing a few pieces as you go a long, working your way up until the end. And we will be working some of them here in the lab. You can either work with this on your own or with another person, which I would honestly recommend."

Jace and I looked at each other smiling, knowing that we had already picked our partners. "If you want to work on some of the details about the project, you can do so safely here in the lab. Obviously, if you want to be ahead you can start doing some research already. I want you all to write down you names here later after the lab and let me know if you're working with a partner." He brought up a small clipboard with a piece of paper on it.