Chapters: Stories on Sean & Kaycee

Girl Almighty Part 2

He's not quite sure how it happens. But suddenly, Kaycee Rice is eating lunch at the band kids' table.

After she single-mindedly decided that they were going to be partners in Math for the quarter (which he just accepted because she didn't strike him as the kind of girl who took no for an answer), she invited herself over to his house to work on their first assignment.

Still shell-shocked at the unexpected turn of events, he complied and led the way to his house.

To his surprise, she was amazing at Math. Not decent, not logical. Amazing. Genius level amazing. Recites-the-entire-multiplication-table amazing.

"What, a beauty can't have brains?" Kaycee teased him lightly, tapping his chin with her pointer when his jaw dropped open for the millionth time that afternoon in surprise at how fast she solved a problem.

Sean shook his head and recovered quickly, smirking at her. "No, I just didn't expect you to know all this already."

She had no problem with physical touch, Sean surmised quickly. A feather touch on his arm whenever she stood up to grab some water. A light brush on his shoulders as she walked by. Even brushed his fringe aside whenever it covered his eyes.

And how she stared too. Kaycee held eye contact like nobody's business. She looked at him like she would find all the goddamn answers right there in his eyes.

Thanks to her, they managed to breeze through the homework quickly, and as payment for her doing all the significant work, Sean whipped them up some grilled cheese sandwiches.

It unnerved him, how she openly watched him, resting her chin again her palm as she smiled devilishly at him. If he didn't know better, he would think that she was flirting with him (which made no sense because why would she?).

And maybe she was. Maybe it was the kind of flirting that meant something. But just as much, maybe it was the kind of flirting that meant nothing.

So play to it safe, Sean feigned ignorance to her advances, and brushed it off.

At first, he tried to make small talk, but she quickly took control of the conversation. It was clear that they would only talk about what she wanted to talk about - which was everything NOT about her. She asked about his family, about his hobbies, about band ("Not that kind of band, " he clarified. "I mean the school band. Piano, not punk rock.").

She steered them well that he almost missed it, the flicker behind her eyes when he asked about California.

Maybe it was sadness. Maybe it was anger. Whatever it was, Sean didn't ask again.

And all of that somehow led to her deciding that she was going to sit with him at the band kids table the next day.

There was no missing the confusion and surprise that overcame the group when she, out of the blue, plopped down in the space between Sean and Julian, already mid-sentence about her Chemistry class.

"What?" She said sweetly. She glanced around the table then turned expectantly to Sean, her hazel eyes wide with doe-like innocence. It would have been easy to believe that she really was oblivious if it wasn't for the mischievous glint in her eyes.

From Kaycee's other side, Julian threw Sean a what-the-hell-dude face. But to his credit, Sean didn't miss a beat.

"I actually like Mrs. Withers." He answered her, as if there was nothing weird about the beautiful, mysterious, potentially heart-breaking girl sitting amongst mediocre peasants.

"She's straightforward and assertive. There are no gray areas with her." Sean continued, taking a spoonful of his lunch.

Kaycee laughed, the sound like a million possibilities being born at once.