He Was A Ten

Uh Oh

I walked with Hattie to science class. The hallways were just as crowded as ever, kids shoving past each other. It was a relief when Hattie and I finally entered the nearly empty classroom.

Keyword there; nearly.

Alice, Hattie and I's only other friend in our school, was standing over by the only other occupied desk in the back of the class. She was talking to the boy sitting there, obviously trying and failing to flirt with him. I realized with a start that it was the new kid from the bus stop. I tried to see his number, but all I could see was the 1 above Alice's head. Seriously, what was with the universe and not letting me see his number?

Hattie smirked at me. "You sure you don't have a crush on Mr. Dark and Mysterious?"

I snorted. "As if. Besides, looks like he's taken." I added, gesturing toward Alice.

Hattie shrugged. "If you say so."

She walked over to the boy and Alice, tugging me along by the arm. "Hey Alice! Who's your friend here?"

Alice turned bright red. It looked like she was about to explode. "I, uh, I-"

"None ya," he replied, cutting Alice off.

"None ya?" Hattie questioned. "Seriously? What is really?"

The boy stood up and got up in Hattie's face. "None ya business."

He then grabbed his stuff and moved to the front of the classroom. I was about to say something about being nicer to my friends when I finally saw the number above his head.

It was a 10.

I couldn't believe it. He was a 10?!? How was that even possible? I had never seen anyone above a 7 before! And now this high school kid was a 10?

I decided to take a seat, figuring I was going to keep a safe distance from me and the boy.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked me.

I looked at her. "Um, sitting? Why?"

"We can't sit in the back! Hattie is nearsighted!" Alice exclaimed. "We need to sit in the front so she can see!"

Alice then took her stuff and mine and raced to the front of the classroom, taking a seat in the chair next to the boy. He sighed and moved over to the opposite side of the class. Hattie smiled, shaking her head and sat next to Alice. I sighed heavily, but walked over and sat down on the other side of Alice, farthest away from the boy. There was no way I was getting any closer to that than I had to.

I had been nervously spinning my pencil in my hand when I dropped it on the floor. I was about to grab it when a shadow appeared over me.

'Please don't be him, please don't be him, please don't be him,' I silently pleaded. I looked up to see the boy holding out my pencil, a small smirk on his face, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"You dropped this," he said, placing my pencil in front of me when he realized I wasn't going to take it. "I'm sorry, but I think I left my homework on this desk. Do you see it?"

I was a little taken aback. For someone that dangerous, he was pretty nice. And kind of cute.

'Stop it Paige!' I scolded myself. 'You can't like him, he's dangerous! Besides, Alice got to him first...'

Realizing that I still hadn't responded to him, and that he and my friends were all looking at me weird, I quickly stammered, "O-oh, you're homework? Um..." I quickly moved my binder and picked up the paper that was under it. "I-is this it?"

The boy in front of me was definitely smirking now. "Yes. Thanks for your help."

I smiled nervously. "No problem." God, why was I turning into such a nervous wreck? Just because he was dangerous, doesn't mean I have to act like I can't speak.

"I told you you were crushing!" Hattie teased, crossing her arms.

"Hattie! S-shut up!" I stuttered, realizing that the boy was looking over at us.

"Paige! You can't like him, I do!" Alice protested, glaring at me. I couldn't tell whether or not she was actually mad, but I scooched over.

"Look guys, seriously, I don't like him," I argued. "I just think he's scary, is all."

"Uh huh, sure," Hattie remarked, but she didn't say anything else.

The rest of class passed uneventfully, and when class ended, I ran to my next class, hoping that I wouldn't run into the boy.

I was actually able to avoid him all morning. But before lunch, I told my friends I had to swing by my locker to drop something off. I was just leaving when I heard someone next to me say, "Hey."

I jumped and spun around. "I swear I didn't do it!"

That's when I realized it was the boy from science class, a 10 still hovering above his head. "Um, okay? Look, I just wanted to know why you were avoiding me. Did I do something wrong? I don't really talk to people much, so I'm sorry-"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "It's not your fault. I guess you just looked kind of intimidating?"

"Oh," he looked confused. "Thanks goodness I guess?"

We both laughed awkwardly for a moment before falling into an awkward silence. After a minute or so I spoke. "Um, well, hate to bail on you, but I should get going. My friends are waiting for me."

"Oh, okay!" he agreed. "Oh, uh, it's Marcus by the way. Just wanted you to know."

I smiled. "It was nice to meet you Marcus. Bye!"

With that, I ran to the lunchroom, not stopping to look back.