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16.

"And then, you just break up the Joules per meter, into Newton's per columns, since they're equivalent. Then you end up with the derived equation" Emma explained as her pencil scrawled across her gridded lab notebook. 

Dean's head was propped up in his hand, his eyes following the quick motions of her wrist. "So that's all we have to write? And then we're done the lab report?" Dean wondered in amazement, watching lines build and vanish on her forehead as she thought. 

"Um, basically, yeah" Emma answered distractedly, scribbling something down before her fingers danced across the buttons of her calculator. "I mean, I would add some sample calculations to your tables, and add a sentence or two in the procedure, but yeah. We're basically done". 

An amused huff escaped Dean, his head shaking slowly as he looked around at the other groups that still stood around the simulation, struggling to gather their calculations. "How is that we're done our conclusion and the other groups haven't even finished collecting their data?" Dean questioned Emma who was engrossed in her lab notebook. 

Glancing up with her dark brown eyes, Emma gave a small shrug. "My guess is that they didn't do the assigned reading, or research the experiment ahead of time. Doing that really saves you some leg work. Makes it less confusing." she answered, as if it had been obvious. 

"Do you ever wonder if you're working harder than you need to?" Dean replied with studious eyes that were lost in counting the small, dark moles that dotted her chest before they became more dispersed over her cheeks. 

Stifling a laugh, Emma looked up from her notebook to meet Dean's eyes. "Would you rather be standing over there, not a clue to what we're doing?" she questioned before Dean shook his head no. "That's what I thought" she grinned smugly before turning back to her notebook. 

Nodding slowly, Dean couldn't find a reply. She was right, as per usual. It made him wonder what extra steps he could've taken to make his other school work easier. He figured the answer was a lot. 

A shiver ran down Dean's spine, a prickle on the back of his neck. Feeling the weight of their stares, Dean began to realize that people were looking at him. More specifically, they were looking at them. His forest eyes landed on the group of girls that stood near the experiment, lab notebooks in their hands although their eyes were elsewhere. 

Their beady eyes narrowed on Emma, hushed whispers jumping between them. One of them even had the nerve to point before adding a sentence to which her friend nodded with wide eyes. Dean looked to Emma, but she was oblivious, focused on writing down the calculations that were occurring in her head. 

"Does it bother you?" Dean wondered, tapping his fingers softly on the cool surface of the lab bench. Emma glanced up at him, her eyebrows arched in questioning. "Does it bother you that those girls are talking about us? Or that it's become a common gossip piece around the school?" he clarified. 

Emma put her pencil down, her eyes gazing absently in front of her as she thought. Then, a soft breath escaped her, a small smile pulling at her lips. "You know, it should. Or at least, it would've. But honestly, it doesn't." Emma explained, shrugging her shoulders. "How about you? Does it bother you to be hanging out with a nerd, such as myself?" she quipped, one eyebrow raised in questioning. 

Dean chuckled softly, a playful grin on his face. "No. Not anymore" he grinned teasingly, earning a soft shove from Emma. More laughter slipped from Dean's lips as he raised his hands in defense, hoping to escape her wrath. 

At the movement, the sleeve of Dean's black sweatshirt slipped down his arms, revealing the outlines of fingers that had been branded into the pale skin of his wrist in the form of purple bruises. 

Reaching out, Emma grabbed his arm, pulling his sleeve further down for closer examination. Dean ripped his arm back, a serious expression immediately cast upon his face. In an instant, the sleeve was pulled back up, the bruises gone from sight. 

"Dean" Emma warned with wide, worried eyes. 

Dean's jaw tightened, his eyes staring into the wall across from him. He refused to meet her gaze, his hands hidden beneath the table. "Dean, c'mon. Talk to me" Emma pleaded, placing a hand on his shoulder in hopes that it would gain his attention. 

At the gesture's failure, a long, defeated sigh slipped through her lips. "I know I haven't asked in a while, Dean, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried. Someone-someone did that to you. Why won't you tell me who?" she asked quietly, her gentle voice tugging the emotions from the bottom of Dean's heart where he had compressed them. 

"Because, you don't need to know" Dean snapped, jerking his shoulder out from beneath her hand. His eyes stared at the floor, stinging with tears that stemmed from the abundant amount of unresolved emotions that swirled within him. "God, you don't need to know everything. If I haven't told you yet, I'm not gonna start. Just drop it" he snarled, grabbing his stuff from the desk before jamming it angrily in his backpack. 

Sadness washed over Emma's face, her vulnerable eyes pleading with his. "Dean, c'mon, wait a minute" Emma called as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door. 

But he didn't turn back, instead slipping into the hallway before the door swung shut behind him. 

Emma's shoulders slumped, a heavy exhale escaping her as she dropped her head into her hands. The words that had rolled from his tongue weren't personal, Emma knew that. They were his way of defense. They were the wall that he built when anyone tried to get too close. But knowing that they weren't personal didn't mean that they hurt any less. 

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Emma bit her lip. She knew he wouldn't tell her, but she couldn't stop herself from asking. Someone was hurting him, someone he was afraid of. And she'd be damned if she didn't ask. 

The day she stopped wondering, the day she stopped asking, would be the day that she no longer cared about him. And she prayed that the day would never come.