It's Complicated (ON HOLD)

Chapter 5- All Of Me

Mackenzie's P.O.V

"I'll handle it." I say calmly after he offers to do the rest of the work.

"Is there anything wrong? Because I can do it for you." He pushes it further, so I shrug. He looked down and the freckles on the bridge of his nose seemed to show visibly. And that only happened every time he felt bad, like it was mandatory.

"No, it's fine, really." I say firmly, gripping a pencil and twisting it around.

"Oh well, alright then." He nods and faces to his left, then he starts laughing.

I looked over his shoulder to see what he thought was so funny, and I saw a struggling Luke. He was trying to answer the paper but Tara was chattering on and on and he and Tyler were having some sort of silent conversation you could read through their faces.

Luke was grimacing and Tyler threw his head back to laugh as he witnessed his best friend practically suffer inside. I couldn't help but laugh a little too.

I think Luke noticed that I was laughing so he looked up and smiled. I nod and smile back too.

"How's the paperwork going?" he asks from across the room and Tyler turns around to face me again. "Yeah, how is it? You need help?" he offers just as I was about to answer to Luke.

"Oh yeah, it's going great." I answer Luke and show him the sheet of paper. I was halfway through it, so it turns out it was going well. Tyler just nods.

"Mine is doing no good." He announces from his seat, flailing his paper in the air and his ever so charming chemistry partner glares at him.

"Well I think you better get back to it." I suggest and point to Tara, who looked terribly bored. He chuckles and shakes his head. Then he returns to explaining the compounds to his partner. Every so often he would look up and flash some very staged grimaces and we would laugh in our seats.

"Hey. Mackenzie?" Tyler says slowly, staring at me intently, like he was nervous.

"Yes?" I asked and he remained quiet, until he shifted his gaze from me.

"Do you like him?" he points to Luke and looks back at me.

"No, we're just friends." I assure him and he presses his lips into a thin line.

"Are you sure?" He squints and bites his lower lip.

"Yeah, why'd you ask?" I finish up with the last item on paper and glance from the activity to him.

"I mean, I'm okay with it, if you do. You deserve a guy like him." He says and I feel a pit forming in my stomach. Somehow, I'm more of guilty than confused.

"Where's this coming from?" I ask and looked at him the way he looked at me earlier, while he was still staring at the table before us.

"I don't know- I just felt like saying it. I guess." He looks up and our eyes meet. His eyes were clouded with melancholy and the freckles on the bridge of his nose seemed to disappear this time.

"You brought this up for no reason?" I presume and he shakes his head. He was getting cranky but he tried keeping it in and his hair stands when he grabs it and falls back after he runs his hand through it.

"No, I just thought, or I mean I knew you would've moved on with your life after everything that happened." I had absolutely no idea why he was saying this at first, then I caught up and I ended up telling myself to ask him.

"Are you asking me if I still..." I said when the final bell rang and everyone started passing their work to Mrs. O' Connell. She dismisses us and pretty soon, students were out in the hallways rejoining their friends. But Tyler and I weren't even close to moving.