deadly secret

Chapter 10

The following day in chemistry, Mr.Elliot starts preparing us for our first lab, saying that we need to work as two person teams, that any affects on the project are not only to ourselves but also our partners, blah blah blah blah.

I really want to talk to Stefan. He looks more amazing than usual today in a pair of black jeans and a faded gray T-shirt. His skin is a bit darker, too, like maybe he's been spending time out in the sun.  He sits down beside me and starts paging through his notes.

"Hi" I say. He nods, but he doesn't look at me, just flipping pages back and forth. And so i look even closer and admire him even more, his dark hair and his jawline, his strong, broad shoulders and the muscles in his forearm. I try to think of something clever so say, but all I can can come up with is, "Do you have an Wite-Out?".

Without so much as glancing in my direction, Stefan reaches into his bag and slides the little white bottle across the table at me. "Thanks" I say, noticing the dimple in his right cheek, and he smells amazing. Not knowing what to do with the Wite-Out, I resort to blotting my name from the inside cover of my notebook. "Did you do the homework last night?" I ask, passing the bottle back to him.

He nods. "Well that's good, because Mr.Elliot lives for pop quizzes. You never know when he might spring one on us" I say, Stefan doesn't say anything. He just keeps reading over his notes, probably thinking I'm a complete and utter idiot because, let's face it, I certainly sound like one.

After class, he starts to pack things up but ends up leaving the Wite-Out on the table. "Hey" I say, tapping him on the shoulder before he can sneak away. Stefan whirls around and takes a step back. "Don't" he snaps. I gesture to the Wite-Out. "You forgot something" I say feeling stupid for even trying to be nice. Stefan rebounds with an apology. His eyes soften, and his lips form a smile, but its far too little and way too late, and so I ignore him and hurry out the door.

Later, for free period, I decide to go to the library, determined to get to the bottom of Stefan's story. Armed and ready with notepad and pen, I claim a computer in the corner and start googling his name, along with the words murder,accident,cliff.

A bunch of Stefan Collin's pop up, I let out a sigh, wondering if my lack of luck is because Stefan was a minor at the time of the incident. If maybe the press was trying to protect his privacy. I'm just about to call it a day when i feel something touch my back. I jump in my seat and turn around, only to find Jack.

"Hey, there" he says, taking a step back as if I've scared him, too. "I didn't mean to startle you" he says. "It's okay" I say. He stands there a few moments, shuffling his feet like the sight of me makes him nervous. But I guess I'm nervous, too. I wish things could go back to the way they were.

"What's up?" I ask him. "I'm sorry I didn't call you last night." I feel m brow furrow in confusion as I suddenly flash back to the end of last year. When he used to call me at least twice a day. "About french tutoring" He continues, "Oh right." "I mean, I hate to bother you. It's just that you know how I suck at French, and I have Riley Mitchell this year. I hear, she's a real hard ass"

"She is" I giggle, suddenly wishing my Science skills were in half as good as my other ones. "So, do you think you could help me out? I mean, I could pay you. I just don't want to screw up my grades, and I have a quiz next Tuesday" He glances over my shoulder at the computer screen. "Don't worry about it" I say, doing my best to rebound. I grab the computer mouse to shut things down, but the evidence is right there in the search engine box. Jack pulls up a chair and sits. "You hear about that guy, huh?" He says, obviously spotted Stefan's name.

"Who hasn't" i say in an obvious tone, "So, why are you checking him out?" he says, "He's my lab partner this year" I say, forgoing the whole saving my life story. "And you're nervous about him?" he asks, "I'm curious about him" I clarify . Jack smiles slightly . His teal blue eyes look right into mine, making me smile, too.

"What?" I ask, feeling my cheeks start to blaze. "I know you, Hannah, remember?" he says, "And?" i say. "And let me help you. I'll find you out this guy's deal". "There is no deal. I was just curious" I remind him. "So, let me un-curious you" He winks at me. "It's the least I can do as thanks for helping me out with french"

"Well, don't lose any sleep over it or anything" He nods. His eyes linger a moment on my flushed cheeks. We make plans to study together Monday night. "I'll swing by after the movie day with Gabby" He says. "Did you know the theater downtown shows, theres one every Monday afternoon?"

I shake my head. "I didn't even know you were dating Gabby Bennet." Pretty, kinda nice to me, good at science Gabby Bennet. "Well, yeah" he says, like it's so incredibly yesterday's news.

And, no, it's not that I'm jealous. I just don't want to hear about Gabby Bennet, or anyone else who might be dating my ex, for that matter. Especially when said ex is being so nice, almost making me forget why we broke up in the first place. Almost.
______________
Sorry i took so long to post ! - s.s  9/11/15