Enemies with Benefits

enemies with benefits | 5

Chapter Five: Slow Hands

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I tried not to hyperventilate as I walked into English class, which was quite hard considering Alexander got there before me and was already sitting in his seat. No doubt, he was ready to make jabs and make my life hell, as he typically would even before I had the unfortunate circumstance of sleeping with him.

At least the sex was good. It'd be especially terrible to have him be the one that took my virginity and for me to have had the worst night of my life.

As I walked towards my seat, I headed myself for some snarky remark. Something that would unwittingly bring back the memories I was trying to suppress, despite them wanting to surface like timber floating in the ocean.

But to my surprise, as I went to slump in my seat, I heard nothing. Not even a sigh or some acknowledgment of my presence. It was unusual; he had all the ammo to make my morning the worst, and he wasn't even using it.

Maybe he had suffered a concussion on the way in.

And for the next fifteen minutes, it stayed that way. Alexander didn't bother me, and I was left sitting in silence wondering what on earth happened to make him... civil. I just moved onto contemplating whether this was a clone sent by aliens when the English teacher stood up and cleared her throat, gathering the attention of everyone in the class.

"Now, before we get into the subject material, I should point out that I just finished grading everyone's essays and I've got to say it was absolutely appalling. We've been covering the same pieces of literature for this whole semester and you still can't write me a proper analysis?" The teacher sighed, putting a hand on her temples. "I'll be moving around seats to keep an eye on those who could improve their grades. Listen out for your name; a lot of you will be moved."

And with that, she starting swapping around people, causing a shuffle in all sorts of directions. I thought my day couldn't get any better - a chance to escape Alexander was practically placed on my lap. I only had to hope he didn't swap with the guy next to me, but that was a slim chance considering it was a one-in-thirty chance.

My hope was short lived. Apparently, I had the worst luck in the world, and was forced to endure the worst case scenario of every situation.

Because seconds later, our beloved English teacher announced, "Kelsie, swap with Logan. It's just the seat behind you."

I was frozen in shock for several seconds until I managed to build up the strength to collect my things and swap with the guy.

Forcing me to sit right beside Alexander.

Once again, I prepared for the worst. But aside from an annoyed passing glance, I got nothing. Part of me was tempted to ask what suddenly made him avoid me - out of pure curiosity alone - but the other part of me was so overjoyed that I got this freedom that I didn't want to jinx it.

I knew something was wrong with him when I kicked the table leg, causing him to jolt forward since he leaning against the table, and I got barely a reaction. Not a retort, not a comment that made him seem better than me.

I got a sigh, followed by: "pay attention." And that was it.

Alexander Hale, my mortal enemy of all time, was finally giving me what I longed for all these days. And yet, I couldn't let that go - the circumstances were too... suspicious.

I decided to ignore the lesson and recap what happened to bring us to this moment.

Alexander and I fought. Nothing new.