Rise Up [Kai Smith x Reader]

|05| Chapter Five

There was one class I adored more than anything. Psychology. I found learning how to read people and understanding a thinking pattern to be quite enjoyable, easy, and above all, interesting. But this part I did not think was ever going to happen in Psychology. Our teacher, Mrs Horace, had been pregnant for four months, and we all knew it.

But, this was happening now. She had gone into labor. Prematurely. And now, the English teacher, Ms Bustier was going to be teaching us for the next two months. Because the school district was poor. But that wasn't the thing that I hated about it.

"Okay, so this assignment will benefit both you and my English class." Ms Bustier explained to us in class.

Her English class consisted of Kai and Jay. You can see where I'm going with this.

"And it'll be a partner project. And I'll be picking the partners." Queue the groaning of everyone in the classroom.

Ms Bustier put the partners on the board and. Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Please, don't make me do it with that horrid piece of shit.

"Kai, [Y/N], pick a number." Ms Bustier said.

When the hell did she get a clipboard? Did she always have that clipboard? What the flip was going on? Now, I am very confused. Like severely confused. Just pick a number already, [Y/N]! Okay! Stop your whining for a second, brain of mine.

"Eight." I said without thinking.

It was just an impulse. It will always be an instinct, an impulse to call out the numbet eight. Because it was my favorite number. Because it was the number of how many happy memories I have ever had in my life.

"Interesting. The two of you will be doing the label: the Couple." Ms Bustier said.

Was I missing something? About what the project/ assignment was about, because I've never been more confused in my life. Why were we the The Couple label? Oh no. Were we doing something with stereotypes? Ms Bustier finished giving out "labels" to the partners in the classroom.

"Alright, I haven't explained what this assignment will entail. But I will. Right now, eight here." This feels more like the first day of boot camp than a teacher giving out a class project to two classes. "Each of you has been assigned a partner with someone fron the other class. Now, this was on purpose, because I wanted to see if you could cooperate for two to three months. Now, this project is an oral presentation and a research project. You will research any topic you choose from your list, and do an oral presentation on that. While you do the oral presentation, you will be in character according to your 'label'."

Was the air quotes really necessary? Wait. A second. We got the Couple label! Does this mean while we do the presentation we had to act all coupely? Like hold hands, hug? Wait! DOES THIS MEAN WE HAVE TO KISS DURING OUR PRESENTATION? MY FIRST KISS STOLEN BY A STUPID HIGH SCHOOL PARTNER PROJECT? Why did my mind go in that direction? Oh no! It's burning in my brain! Oh gross! It's burning into something else!

"So, [Y/N], you're partners with Kai?" Jay asked turning to me.

"Yeah. And you got Maddie. She'll probably want to do the research project on the Big Bang Theory. An in-depth character study of the characters." I replied.

"Yeah, it'll be easy. At least our label isn't as provocative as yours." Jay added.

"I don't think you're using that word correctly." I commented.

"Yeah, but you're going to have to talk to him. Talk to the flame head. Nya has already said if he doesn't stop, she's going to disown him as a brother." So he has been saying bad things about me to his friends. "It's not like that, [Y/N]."

Could he read my mind? What the hell, Jay Walker-Gordon?

"He does say bad things about you, but he doesn't mean it. He's waiting for you to apologize to him. You said some harsh things early on in your story, but it's your job to fix them. When he's angry, he says stuff he doesn't really mean. It's like an unhealthy toxic impulse in him." Jay explained.

You're a mind reader!

"I'm going to talk to him. But I'm not apologizing for anything. He's going to apologize to me." I declared.

"For?" Jay pressed.

"For being an overall ass to me since the day we met." I said.

That was true. He treated me like shit, and I shaped him up, but the assholeness in him was still there. And it's what created this fuel of rage. This fuel of a sense of a rift between us. But he was so much more than that. Because that was his heavy and thick headed exterior. What was on the inside was something so different. And that's why I fell for him.

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WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!