Why stop at just friends?

C H A P T E R | 7

________________________________________________
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

He entered the quiet room, not even concerned about the infuriated daggers aimed his way. Our teacher was biting her tongue, watching Phoenix lazily cross the front of the room towards our desk. His blue eyes slid towards me, and I quickly looked away. Did I do that in shyness? Surely not.

Though surprisingly, we actually had a friendly, diplomatic moment last Friday. At the party. All weekend, as much as I didn't quite like it, my mind was replaying the night. Who knew I could bond with Phoenix? Then again, that's a low standard of bonding if you label our interaction as such. Either way, it was a lot better than our usual interactions with one another.

Since when did I feel on the nervous side around him? Maybe it was because I wasn't sure how to approach the two of us. All we did was act a little more bearable around one another, so why am I suddenly so awkward? It's probably because Phoenix is very unpredictable.

"Nerd," I raised my brows, zoning back into reality. I side-eyed Phoenix, seeing him stare at me with an obnoxious smirk. It dropped off his face, making me frown. "What's the answer?" He tapped the pen against his book, ticking me off in annoyance. Maybe it was because I had expected him to greet me, or maybe it was because he had to be ridiculous and gesture to something (I,e. With his pen) I can clearly understand. Better yet, the answer? I looked down to my book. I hadn't even answered it myself and I've been in this lesson longer than he has.

"Not sure," I mumbled, focusing on my work.

"You're a nerd, you should know." I rolled my eyes as he said that. "Don't roll your eyes at me for simply stating the truth."

"I'll do what I wa-" I cut myself off, glancing over my shoulder. His friends, Trey and Josh, were snickering from where they sat, overhearing Phoenix and myself converse. They were amused that he called me a nerd? Wow, that's childish. I narrowed my eyes at them, ignoring their taunting smirk and turning back. I wish I didn't see sight of Phoenix's expression. He was smirking back at his friends, clearly making a joke at my expense. It was belittling.

Was I serious to actually believe he and I could get along? What a joke. Oh, but how could I forget, reputation was important to him. I was still a nerd, maybe not at that party but at school I was. He always had to go ruin decent moments between the two of us, all because he thought he was too good or too cool to be spotted socialising with someone like me. Someone "boring" and plain.

"So?" He started, the minute he turned back around in his seat after being scolded by the teacher. I didn't waste time looking his way or helping him. I would've actually offered him the answer but now he can forget it. "Nerdy?" He breathed out in a lowered, hushed voice. "What's the answer?"

'Figure it out for yourself,' I wanted to tell him, but I didn't waste my breath even saying that. I picked my pen up, ready to write down an answer when it was snatched out of my grip. I opened my mouth, ready to tell Phoenix off, but I quickly pressed my lips shut and controlled my sudden frustration.

"Come on, nerdy," He drawled, playing with my pen. "Share the answer."

I reached for the pen in-between his fingers, snatching it back and leaning over my book. He huffed, falling back into his seat in a lazy position. I could feel his stare on me but my hair covered the side of my face from his view, head angled downwards. Free from him annoying me, thankfully, I finished all the questions in good time, pleased. With barely ten minutes left of class, I raised my arm away from my book to put away my pencil case. Just as I was about to close my book, a hand intervened and dragged my notebook away from me.