Just Enemies (Original Story)

Petting

After lunch Lena and the class settled for math with Mr. Fernside who was a bald man in his late fifties with a button up shirt and regular black slack pants. He asked the class to copy the following equation as they will be using the numbers to substitute for the letters. Lena was terrible at math and more than half of this she won't use in the real world.

Lena saw how fast Brandon completed the questionnaire. So she asked him for some help and he told her she just needed to substitute for x and it sounded easy. But she needed him to clarify.

Now was the painful part where the teacher asked who can come up and solve the problem. They always picked the kids whose hands weren't raised and Lena thought it was to feel superior in some way or to show how it's actually solved. And Mr.Fernside locked eyes with Lena but before he could ask her to come up and solve the problem Brandon got up and grabbed the chalk. Started to write the answers and how he got them.

"MR.JACKSON! I DID NOT ASK YOU TO COME UP AND SOLVE THE PROBLEM."

"Sir with all due respect I was just excited to see if I solved these right and came up uncalled for. I understand it's inappropriate but can you check to see."

Mr.Fernside looked at the answers and was infuriated that they were all correct and even how he arrived at the answers. He simply told Brandon to sit down and he watched everyone copy Brandon's answers. The lesson derailed Mr.Fernside just sat and waited for everyone to copy the answers and then he continued with the lesson.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Lena smiled so bright and big at Brandon that he couldn't help but smile back at her goofy grin. The moment was quickly undercut by Rider who felt he needed to comment.

"Get a room Romeo and you too Juliet."

Suddenly everyone in class turned to see who Rider was looking at and saw Brandon and Lena frozen in the icy mood change. Brandon decided to keep smiling at Lena but Lena turned and glared in Riders direction and as she was about to say something Rider touched the collar she picked out and she went blank. Oh god she needed to do something. Say something. Everyone was staring at all three people now.

"Are you looking at my stomach."

"HUH."

Max had locked eyes with Lena and stretched to get rid of a yawn. Lena looked down at his bare belly button peering out and didn't understand why he was insinuating himself and what was this bizarre scenario.

"You can touch me if you want."

Lena looked up at Rider and saw the discomfort on his face. Then at Max who clearly was turning this awkward moment into some weird joke and decided to play along. So she looked at him and smiled while putting her hand on his stomach and then moved upward. Max was frozen and began to slightly blush. Then as Lena reached his shoulders she smiled and let go. Turned back and everyone did the same. Mr. Fernside was shocked and just confused with the whole event and went about continuing his lesson mostly because this was not something he knew how to handle. He chalked it up to hormones raging.

Brandon met up with Lena at recess at the cherry tree on the hill that belonged to the school. As they both sat down and smelled the flowers as the petals fell. Brandon turned to Lena and he saw her smile as she took in the sunshine.

"What was that about in class? You felt Max up."

"I...I honestly don't know. I just did what he told me to but I don't know why. I feel like that was not me...I don't get it either and I was being dumb."

Lena watched Ally talking to the other girls who sat on a bench and she wanted to at least try here. She was terrified to talk to the other girls and Ally was already doing damage with rumours that Lena was eating garbage. But before she got up the courage a girl approached her and Brandon a chubby blonde girl with huge oval glasses.

"Hey you're Lena right?."

"Yeah! And this is Brandon."

"Hi I'm Caitlyn Bernard. I was curious if you and Max were dating?."

"HUH! Why!."

"Because he asked you to pet his tummy and you did...it was intimate and weird to do in class."

"I-I listen...it wasn't...I am not into Max..."

"Oh thanks."

Caitlyn left as quickly as she arrived and Brandon hugged her with a side hug and tried to comfort Lena. He told her apparently Max was popular at the school before they combined and that he and a few other guys had fanclubs of girls who stuck together. Lena asked Brandon where his fanclub was and he joked she was the fanclub to which she pushed him as a joke.

Everyone gossiped about the 'petting' incident with Max and soon the school day was up. Lena promised she'd go to Brandon's practice and so she asked her mom at home over the phone since she was still at the hospital working. Her mom said it was fine as long as her sister dropped her off and picked her up. Lena begged Kat and her sister agreed as long as there was a latte at the end of the day. Lena absolutely said yes there would be so Kat told her to get ready.

"I'll come get you at nine ok?."

"Can it be nine thirty."

"Nine p.m. baby sis."

"Fine...thank you for this."

"Course I love you squirt now go listen to terrible music."

"Haha they might be amazing."

"Sure and I might win the lottery."

Lena knocked on the garage door and it opened to some girls with Des and Brandon setting up the base with the amps. Lena came in and Des asked her to go get some water and she said sure since he and Brandon were setting things up.

Brandon's parents had a nice home with a separate living room,dinning room and the kitchen was at the end of the hall. Lena heard things clanging and assumed it was Brandon's mom and she went into help.

"Mrs.Jackson I can help."

"I'm Mrs.Jacksons if you're nasty...OH!..."

Lena was shocked to see Rider with a bowl of Doritos and some sprite in a bottle. He set things down and came up to Lena. Just stopping short of an inch but Lena was still angry with him.

"What are you doing here!."

"My friend Des asked me to bring some groupies and  I'm here for support."

"But this is Brandon's house."

"And?."

"It's not yours."

"Just said why I'm here but why are you?."

"I'm Brandon's friend!."

"Just friends?."

Lena looked at Rider and he looked like he was annoyed with her not answering the question he stopped moving out of the kitchen. He turned back to her and his brown eyes burned into hers. It was suffocating.

"I..ummm..."

"Ah..sorry that's not my business."

Rider went back to the items he left on the counter and they both walked down to the garage. It was painfully awkward and quiet.