A + J

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sitting next to Jonah proved to be infuriating at best.

While I sat in my regular seat with my eyes firmly on Mrs. Churchill, Jonah sat next to me burning a hole through the side of my face, which proved to be distracting.

His body was even angled towards mine.

Not that I had noticed.

Even more disturbing was the incident this morning in the parking lot.

Jonah was so hot and cold. To be realistic, only a psychopath could grin at a linebacker while simultaneously threatening him and his dead father.

How had Jonah even known that Eric's father was dead? It had happened when we were kids and Jonah was new...or at least that's the way he acted. At the time of Mr. Housley's death our parents had been adamant on not letting us be too knowledgeable on the subject. It hadn't even been known how he had died, just that he did.

I chewed on my bottom lip thoughtfully.

Was it possible that Jonah had lived in Belleview before?

It wasn't impossible, just unlikely.

Belleview was a pretty small town, which meant that everyone knew everyone here. So if Jonah had been here as a child, especially at the time at Mr. Housley's death, we would have remembered him...right?

"You know...if you think too hard Aine, you might pop a blood vessel."

Jonah leaned across the space between our desk and he was close enough that I felt the heat radiating off of his body.

"Mind your business, Jonah."

He chuckled almost seductively and leaning back into his chair, arms behind his head.

"I kind of like the way you say my name."

I flushed and glared him, eyes narrowing on the space between his eyes.

Jonah's brown eyes somehow still found mine and I knew the moment our eyes met that he could see right through me.

He smirked and elbowed me in the ribs suddenly, causing me to yelp loudly.

"What? No response?"

"You okay, Miss Coleman?" Mrs. Churchill asked, looking at us worriedly over the rim of her thick framed purple glasses.

"Yeah...yes. I just had a cough Mrs. Churchill." I replied sheepishly, trying to disappear into my chair and avoid the burning curious stares of my fellow curious classmates. After Mrs. Churchill continued on with her lecture, I turned towards Jonah who seemingly had his eyes glued innocently at our teacher. "I would appreciate it, if you would keep your damn hands to yourself!"

"No, you wouldn't." He replied matter-of-factly.

"Yes I would. You're arrogant---"

"Yes I am."

"Don't interrupt me!" I whispered-screamed.

"I was agreeing with you, Aine." He said tersely, lips puckering.

"No. You were being condescending."

"No, I was not."

"Yes, you were."

"Aine, I was agreeing—"

"Why are you lying to me?"

Finally, Jonah broke his gaze away from our teacher and stared unabashedly at me. Immediately I flushed and I felt my heartbeat quicken. His eyes roamed my face before they settled on my mouth.

"Who's interrupting who now?" He suddenly chuckled underneath his breath.

"What's so funny?" I snapped, suddenly in a sour mood. I mimicked him and turned my body away from him and to the front of the class, crossing my arms.

"Go out with me."

Brrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng!

"That's all for today's class, I hope you wrote all of the notes down as they will be on the test on Wednesday! Don't forget to study." Mrs. Churchill clapped happily and my classmates started to flood the hallways.

Jonah and I still sat in our desk because he was still waiting for a response.

I stood, just as he did, and grabbed my bag before I felt two warm hands on my shoulders immediately capturing my attention. He gazed into my eyes and I chewed on my lip thoughtfully, trying to quell the anxiety that was rising.

Go out with him?

I barely know Jonah but he had saved me on two separate occasions.

"Like...a date?" I asked, to be sure. He smirked a bit and I studied the way one side of his mouth quirked up farther than the other.

"Not necessarily. I think you're interesting and I'd like to get to know you better Aine."

Somehow I felt a little disappointed even though I barely knew the guy.

"You want to come over Friday?" I blurted and immediately regretted it. That was too suggestive and the way Jonah's eyes lit up, he had thought so as well.

"Sure, but do me a favor and don't try to take advantage of me."

I flushed and tried to think of a comeback but Jonah was already sauntering out the door and the late bell was about to ring.

"Damn you, Jonah. Damn you." I muttered under my breath. He'd better not make this a habit.