Falling For The Nerd

*Two months later*

           "Time's up ladies and gentlemen. Please set your writing tools on the table and arrange your sheets!" The invigilator called out and I sighed as I set my pen down. The teacher walked though the rows collecting the papers. I handed her mine and followed my classmates outside. Today was the last test-Math. I was glad it got over. Now I was free- free to not study if I didn't want to and free to meet Melissa again. I waved to Jake who was standing in a corner with his girlfriend what's-her-name and discussing the paper. "Hey man. How was it?" I asked him after his girlfriend left. "Ah. I'm really not sure. What did you get for the fifth question?" Jake asked looking genuinely worried. "I don't remember. Relax. We've all done well I guess." I said. We both headed out where Leo joined us. We didn't bother to ask him how his exam was because honestly, if Jake was the flirt of our trio, Leo was the intelligent one. We knew that his exam was 'ah-may-zing'.

              The three of us walked out to the parking lot where a crowd of parents had gathered to congratulate their children. I spotted mom talking to Leo's mother-Alexandra. She was some kind of a foreign ambassador, and her being in town was extremely rare. I guess she wanted to be here for Leo today. Jake's mother was there too. She waved us over and she hugged Jake as soon as we were close enough. I hugged mom and she squeezed me hard. "I'm so proud of you boys. You worked so hard for this!" Mom gushed as she pulled apart. I shook Alexandra's hand and she greeted me warmly. "Hello Derek. How are you?" she asked me, a pleasant European accent in her voice. "I'm good, thanks." "Has Leo worked for these exams? He says he has, but I find it a bit hard to believe." Alexandra said as she put her arm around Leo's shoulders. "Yeah. I know that he's worked hard for this. Me and Jake hardly heard from him for two months." I said, glancing at Leo. His parents had split a few years ago, but what surprised me was that he still loved them. He held no grudges against them. He spent every holiday with his father back in his hometown, and spent his academic year here. Last time he went home, he had brought his scrap book to show us photos, but we never got time to go through it. Maybe we could do it now.

                 Mom was about to start a conversation with another parent, but I tugged her arm and urgently said, "Don't we have somewhere to be?" I motioned towards the Howard's who were gathered around Melissa. Just looking at her made my heart skip a couple of beats, cheesy as that sounds. Finally we could talk without anyone having to chaperone us. "Oh yeah! I'll talk to you later." Mom said to the parent and we hurried to the Howard's. "Hi Diana!" Mom squealed as she hugged her. Diana hugged my mom and she turned to me. "Hi Derek! How are you?" she asked me. I answered that I was fine and I returned her hug. Wierdly, I had spent enough time at their house to consider her a second mother. "Derek." Mr.Howard said as he shook my hand. Mom turned to Melissa and engulfed her in a bear hug. "Oh! This is great. We don't have to worry about school anymore." Mom said. "Um I think we should leave them alone for while." Diana said and mom accompanied them to their car. After making sure that they were out of the earshot, Melissa let out a small shriek and hugged me. I laughed and lifted her. "Oh my god! I was beginning to feel like these two months wouldn't end!' Melissa said after I set her down."I know! It was absolute torture." I said and I rested my forehead on hers. She closed the gap and kissed me, not caring that our parents were standing a few metres away watching us. "You know, our parents are watching." I muttered. Melissa seemed to wake up from a stupor and she said, "Yeah. I know. It's just that I haven't done that in a while." I grinned.

             We walked up to our parents who were in deep conversation with a couple. "Hey, what are we doing for luch?" I asked. "Derek! Honey, didn't you see Remy and Mike?" Mom asked me. The couple they were talking to were Remy and Mike. "Hi!" I greeted. I shared a man-hug with Mike and paused when I turned to Remy. She was literally glowing and her bump was beginning to show. "Hi Derek!" she said and I hugged her tight. Ever since she helped me with mine and Melissa's first date, I had gotten rather close to her. "Hi mama." I teased. Remy merely gave me a light shove on the shoulder and laughed. "Don't you dare tease me Derek." she joked. "For lunch, we are taking you to an Indian place. You like Indian food right?" Mike asked as he put an arm around Remy. "She gets cravings for extremely spicy things." Mike shrugged and Remy glared at him. Diana merely laughed and ushered us into the car. Before I got into the car, I looked around for Leo and Jake. Once I found them, I said goodbye to them and their parents, promising to go to their place soon. Then I got into the van with Melissa while all the others piled into the Howard's SUV. Apparently mom's assistant had dropped mom to school.

             "So, ready to have a spicy lunch?" I asked Melissa after I got into the car. "You bet." she answered as she kissed me again.

A/N: Yay! We skipped a bit of agony. Anyway, this time I have questions for you.

1) What do you think of Remy's pregnancy?

2) What do you think of Leo's parents relationship?

3) Do you think it's time that Melissa took Derek on a date?

       Also, I want to clarify that Derek's parents have a hapy relationship. It's just that Derek's dad is extremely busy. Mr.Fields loves his family. A lot. Really.

       Anyway, vote and comment because I love hearing from you!! It serves as a huge dose of motivation.

Lots of love-D.

P.S. the song I listened to while writing this chapter was 'Everthing Has Changed' by Taylor Swift. If you want, listen to it while you read!! Cheers! x