All I've Ever Needed

Chapter 12

December 16, 2013

"You look like shit"

Deja threw her bad on the table and took a chair opposite her friend. If looks could kill, Zendaya's would've probably gotten her friend a trip to the nurse.

"I'm just saying, stringy hair is not a good look on you. And those bags under your eyes ... " Deja squinted and leaned across the table to poke Zendaya's cheeks.

"Will you please stop. I have the test of a lifetime in 20 minutes and I do not care how I look. Actually, I look like I've been studying hard. That should totally get me at least ten points."

Deja laughed, shaking her head at her friend. "I really don't have time to explain to you how testing works. You're not getting a participation trophy. Also hasn't Mr. Platt been giving you EXTRA lessons. What have you been paying attention to if not the math?"

Zendaya looked at Deja, who had a smug look on her face and an eyebrow arched so high that it looked like it was trying to escape her face. She grabbed her books and stood up, trying her best to smile sincerely at the self-satisfied teen.

"I'm gonna go now, and I'm gonna kick some algebra ass and you, you, are gonna wipe that smug look off your face or I will tell Anderson that you stole one of his boxer shorts at his last party and that you sleep with them under your pillow."

Deja eyes went wide "you would never!"

Zendaya smiled at her sweetly and started walking towards the hallway when she noticed a certain someone sitting alone at a table in the corner, wearing a black leather jacket with a notebook in hand.

She shook her head and kept on walking but somehow she still ended up standing by his side, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Hey, aren't you coming to the exam?"

Val's head snapped up and he looked a bit out of it, like he wasn't really present.

"Ehm, yeah I, eh, just doing some final revision," he held up the notebook and cracked a small smile. Zendaya reciprocated it, trying her hardest to overlook the awkwardness that had formed between them in the past couple of months. She missed the passive-agressive love/hate relationship they had when he first moved here. Now it was just passive.

"So, uh, I saw you at the game last week. Well I mean of course you were there, you were playing but I mean, you were good. Very good."

Val smiled brighter and Zendaya saw a light in his eyes she hadn't seen in a long time. It made her feel all warm and tingly inside, the fact that she could make his eyes smile.

"Thanks. I've actually been doing okay. It had been such a long time since I played, not since ...." he stopped abruptly and looked down at this fingers that he was rapidly rubbing together. He didn't look back up when he started talking again, "I just thought that I wouldn't enjoy anything again but moving here has made me realize that ..." he raised his head and looked at Zendaya " ... maybe I'm becoming who I used to be, or someone better. At least someone I'm actually proud to be."

He stood up and grabbed his bag off the floor, hesitantly pulling an item out of it, something gift wrapped.

"I know this week is gonna be crazy with exams and we probably won't get to see each other a lot so I just wanted to give you this now, so you would actually get it."

He handed her the present.

"I was gonna give you it after the exam but hey, there's no time like the present. Get it?" His right hand was down by his side, his fingers furiously tapping on his leg. He was nervous. Fuck he was nervous.

Zendaya's heart sank and she looked at him apologetically. "I didn't get you anything.

"No, no, I didn't get you this just to get something back. I just saw it and immediately thought of you, like you're just the first thing I think about," he realized how it sounded and even though it was true, he couldn't risk it "eh when I saw that I mean, when I saw that you were the first I thought about."

Zendaya leaped into his arms. It was sudden and fast and the impact was hard and yet he felt himself melt into her hug with each passing second. Her hair smelled like mango and lime and he had to fight every fiber of his body to not inhale her scent because that would make him look like a creepy weirdo.

Val could feel his face heating up and he knew that if he didn't let go that his face would look like one of those cherry tomatoes his mom loved so much. He pulled himself away from her but just as he was about to regain his composure and the distance between them, he stopped. He stopped inches from her face. He knew this was a bad idea. They were standing in the corner of the cafeteria and they weren't the only ones there. Yet everything about this felt right. His life felt right for a change. And then the bell rang. 5 minutes. Zendaya was startled and she dropped back, looking around her, looking at everything but him.

Val took the hint and grabbed his bag off the table. "Look, I gotta find Derek before the exam starts, I don't know if there's practice later or not so, gotta deal with that. I'll see you in there?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Ok"

"Yeah ok. Hey Val, I don't know if I said it but thank you, for the present."

"Thank me when you open it." And with that he walked into the hallway, a small smile grazing his lips and fear, anticipation and hope swirling in his chest.