a/n: towards the end i got kinda inspired by heartstopper bc i loved the show and comics and thought it would fit the story, hope you enjoy!!!
"i will choose the top 5 best grade students to tutor the...worst five." mrs. higgins walks around the classroom with her arms behind her back. "which means, when i call your names you have to come forward, okay?" she finishes. all of the students lazily agree.
she calls 4 names, everyone talking amongst themselves, going quiet every time she mentioned another name, fifth being yours. to be honest, you knew you were one of the best, not to brag but...yeah, it's not like you needed tutoring.
"okay so, you guys are gonna pick a name" she looks at all of you, with 5 papers in her hand. "and that's the person you're gonna tutor for the rest of the school year, 'kay?" to be honest, you didn't think higgins would care about discretion like that, you (and the whole class for that matter) thought she was also gonna name the worst five.
you picked a piece of paper and unfolded it rather quickly, hoping none of your nosy classmates saw the name written. once you saw it you weren't exactly surprised. the teacher dismissed you all and told you to find the person you'd tutor after class.
after the bell rings, you go looking for him, not knowing exactly where his locker was. but thank god, you found someone that could help you on your way.
"hi!" you greet the guy in front of you in the hall.
"well hello madame, how are you this fine evening?" he bows. not having enough time for that, you let out a chuckle before you ask; "have you seen gareth?"
eddie and you hadn't been friends for a while, which seemed almost not true given how quickly you'd gotten along.
his eyebrows furrow, and he says "why look for him when you got me?" he ends with a smirk.
he always did this sort of...thing, at first, honestly, it made you nervous, not in a 'what are you doing?' sort of nervous, the kind of nervous that says 'i don't know if you're joking or not', but...you knew he was just playing, he always did with everyone, or so you thought.
"always charming aren't you munson?" you shake your head, you really needed to find gareth. "what can i say?" he answers back.
"no seriously, like, where can i find him?" you ask. he shifts in his place and looks behind you, pointing before saying "there".
"thanks!" you gently grab his shoulder and start walking towards gareth's locker.
as little as it seemed, eddie was left almost breathless by your touch, he didn't want to seem like a teenage boy who has a crush and gets excited when she touches him, but he kinda was. he was also kind of confused when you asked him about his fellow club and band member.
he sees you walking towards his friend and a weird —very weird— feeling invaded his body as he sees you touching his shoulder and smiling at him, you were probably just greeting him, it was irrational for him to feel...whatever this was, but still. he decided to walk away and not think about it.
back with you, you tapped gareth's shoulder, making him turn around and you said; "hi, gareth, sorry to bother you, it's just that...mrs. higgins has asked me to um- tutor you" you end with an awkward chuckle.
it's not that you didn't know the guy, you knew him and after all, he was in your history class, you had exchanged some words and even some jokes as to how the only reason why mrs. higgins is still at school is because her husband is the principal.
"oh shit, i knew i was bad at her class but not this bad" he says in a stern tone but smiling, letting you know he was joking, sort of. "well uhm...i'm free after school. how about we meet at the library, sound good?" he adds.
"yeah, sounds good, see you there!" he nods as you start walking away.
