Scholar

Six

Monday morning came, and I got to school on time. I found where my friends were sitting on a stairwell. I heard them shout my name and saw Jackson grab my arm.

"Please tell me you did Johnson's math thing," he begged. I laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I did it," I told him. He smiled and turned back to the group.

"Thank God for Alex. At least someone is a scholar!" shouted Jackson. I laughed and opened my bag, handing him my math papers. He quickly snatched it and sat back on the stairs, diligently copying my answers.

I glanced up and saw Ryan staring at me. He'd been doing that way too often for my comfort lately. I stared back straight into his eyes. Before, I'd only seen the brown in his eyes. Now, however, I could see green smudges and golden glimmers blending perfectly around his iris. I disliked him and all, but he had some nice eyes. I wasn't too prideful to admit when someone had an attractive feature. Besides, everyone thought Ryan was the hottest guy at school. He raised an eyebrow as if to question my staring, and the corner of his lips quirked upwards. I mimicked his facial expression wondering why he was staring first. I felt a nudge in my side and ripped my gaze off of Ryan and looked at Chelsea.

"Can we talk? Over there," she asked and pointed down the hallway. Our friends exchanged glances, and I heard a few of them go "oooo." 

"Alex is in trouble," Gabriel teased. I shrugged, holding up my middle finger to my extremely mature friends and walked off with Chelsea. Once we were out of earshot, she aggressively grabbed my arm and forced me to look at her.

"What?" I asked. She tightly gripped the straps of her book bag that rested on her shoulders and gave me an angry look. People said we looked weirdly alike. Sure, we were twins, but we weren't identical. Apparently, we weren't far from it, though. I didn't see it. Not even when I stared straight at her angry face. 

I could see all our differences. Her eyes were much nicer than mine. They held deep green and rich gold while mine were comparable to dirt.

"Be nice to Ryan," she ordered. "Why are you such an asshole to him?" 

"Uh, it's my job," I told her honestly. No point in lying or beating around the bush. She raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms. Okay, I saw a little similarity. We made the same expressions quite often, but I think that was just because we'd known each other for so long.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You like him, so I don't. I don't trust him to do the right thing when it comes to you." She rolled her eyes.

"That's crap."

"It's not. Besides, if he rejects you, it'll be easier to hate him if I already don't like him." Chelsea looked shocked.

"You don't think he likes me?" Shit, I forgot I was talking to a hormonal, teenage girl. Of course, she got the complete wrong message from what I said. I shook my head immediately. Too late. Chelsea looked like a lemon was in her mouth. Her golden eyes had a fire lit within them that I knew I set. 

"No, no! I did not mean that. I-I just- I meant-" I stammered and fumbled over all my words, trying to pick the right ones to say. My typically calm demeanor quickly turned to panic as I watched Chelsea shake her head.

"You're a dick." She turned around and practically stomped away. I stood in shock for a moment. Was I always that stupid? How did I mess that up so badly? Was there even a nice way to say I was just worried about her? Well, yeah, probably by saying "I'm just worried about you." Damn it. 

"Chels, hold on," I called out, chasing after her. She walked up the stairs, passed our friends who all stared at me. I bit the inside of my cheek. 

"Everything good there?" Jackson asked. I glared at him, and he nodded and went back to copying my homework. "Yup, got it. Seems good." I stepped between them and followed Chelsea upstairs.

"Chels, quit it," I snapped. She ignored me and kept walking until she went inside her classroom. I groaned and turned around. Leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed and one foot on the lockers was none other than Ryan.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"You," I irritably responded. 

"Actually?"

"Yes, idiot."

"Why?"

"Because I don't trust you!" He didn't seem upset when I said this. He simply raised both his eyebrows and parted his lips slightly.

"You barely know me." I shrugged. He didn't need an explanation. I felt his curious eyes follow me and analyze me as I moved. What was his interest in me? Sure, I didn't know him, but he didn't know me either. What the hell did he want from me? I walked passed him, and he gingerly grabbed my sleeve. "Is it because she likes me?" His voice was a whisper, but I still whipped my head back and forth to ensure no one was near enough to hear that. 

There were a few groups of people much further down the hall. No one liked to stay outside of teacher's rooms because they loved to bust kids on swearing. Instead of just not swearing, everyone went out of their way to move far away from the classrooms.

"What did you say?" I asked and faced him. I didn't realize how close I was to him. Our noses almost touched. Up close, I realized he didn't have a single imperfection on his skin. It was perfectly smooth. I cut my gazing short when I jerked my body back about one second later to put some space between us. 

"You heard me," he responded cockily, probably because he noticed my pause when I was close to him.

"Yeah, I just can't believe even you would say something that stupid." He smirked, irking me to no end. I felt my body warm up and wanted nothing more than to knock him down a peg even if I felt bad after.

"I know she has a thing for me. I'm not an idiot."

"You, not an idiot? That's a fat lie." Ryan laughed while I remained undeterred.

"So she does like me?"

"Why does it matter?" He shrugged.

"It doesn't to me. I'm gay." My lips turned into two of the same magnets and repelled each other. I couldn't help it when my eyes scanned over him as if something about how he looked would help what he just said make sense.

"You're lying," I determined. He laughed and shook his head.

"No, sir, I'm truthing." I shook my head this time. "I was just wondering who was going to tell Chelsea that, me or you?"

"Why would I tell her? It's your problem." Ryan's whole demeanor seemed way too nonchalant, and something inside my gut told me this was some type of joke. It was an uneasy feeling right in the pit of my stomach, and I certainly didn't like it.

"I don't know. You're her brother, so I figured you could break it to her nicely. But I can tell her. I don't care."

"I'm leaving, now." I pulled my arm out of his grasp easily and walked towards the stairs. I needed to grab my homework then go to class. As I stepped into the stairs, Ryan grabbed my arm again. I gasped as he pushed me against the wall. His body pressed against mine, and his knee kept my leg pinned against the wall. He tilted his head down, next to mine, and brought his mouth right next to my ear.

"See you later, Alex," he said in a tone that could only be described as velvety and deep. I felt shivers brush down my spine and my lips released a quick breath that I hardly even registered as my own. I stood in my spot, frozen, even after Ryan had walked away.

What? What just happened there? Did...did that really just happen?