Jarida Drabbles

Pranks

After the twins had planted a stink bomb in her car last week, Merida had enlisted the school's top prankster's help. Normally, she would have steered cleared of the white haired trouble maker, but she needed all the help she could get. Not to say she was horrible at pranks. She prided herself on the misadventures she got into, but she needed a professional.

"Isn't this a bit stereotypical?" she asked. Blowing a loose curl out of her eye, she lifted a knee up on at a time and stretched out her calves by pushing her heel out past her toes. Small pinpricks were beginning to dance around her muscles, and the cramped quarters of the science closet wasn't the most comfortable place either.

"It's classic. You never mess with a classic," he replied. Bright blue eyes remained fixated on the lab table Ruffnut and Tuffnut would soon be sitting at.

"Fine. Whatever. As long as it works." The red head groaned as she began to stretch her arms out.

"Of course it—What are you doing?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Stretching. My muscles are cramping. We've been in here for all of lunch."

"Well don't. There's not enough room. You might hit a shelf, and there are several liquids in here that I don't want anywhere near my skin."

"Don't want to blemish your porcelain complexion?"

"Despite what you might think, corrosive acid doesn't work well on acne."

"Shame. That was my next option."

"You're dermatologist is whacked."

The two shared a quiet chuckle. "How do you know so much?" Merida asked after a moment of silence.

Jack took a deep breath. "It all began when I was young—naught two years old. I realized that if I wished to—"

"Cut it. I meant about chem. How are you sure that…whatever you did," she said, emphasizing with a slight wave of her hand, "isn't going to start a fire?"

"I'm not just a troublemaker," he stated. His lips pursed into a thin line. "I'm pretty good—hell, I'm great with chemistry. Kinda have to be."

"Why?"

"I want to be a medical oncologist, primarily with pediatric cancer."

"Oh," Merida let out softly. She focused on the rectangle beam of light that fell across his face. She wanted to say something, but the bell clanging for attention prevented her.

"Here we go!" Jack whispered through a toothy grin.

"Let me get a good view," she said as she pushed forward to look through small window.

The prankster grunted in annoyance but allowed her to sneak between him and the door.

Merida bit her lip. Jack's hands pressed against the wall and door near her head to brace himself, unintentionally circling her quite intimately. She could feel his contours press against hers as he breathed in, and his warm breath curled around the nape of her neck when he breathed out.

After pinching her eyes shut and commanding herself to focus, she watched as the bumbling blond twins took their seats and partially listened to the teacher's instructions for the lab. Well, Ruffnut was trying to pay attention, scribbling what she could in her composition notebook. Her brother was the one antagonizing her out of it. Once they were left to themselves, Ruffnut quickly tied her apron around her and placed her goggles on. Meanwhile, Tuffnut's forehead and cheeks were bright red from his painful attempt to snap his goggles on and struggled in the strings of his apron.

As Ruffnut grabbed the first two vials to be mixed in the beaker, Jack leaned closer to Merida. "And…" he whispered, his voice tight with anticipation.

A plume of smoke peeled up from the beaker. Glass vials crashed to the table and floor, scattering shards everywhere. The twins stumbled away from their table coughing.

As the laughter shook Merida's frame, she lost control of her movements and bumped into the shelves.

Clink-clink-clink-clink-clink

Her eyes darted upwards to see a few bottles shaking precariously. When they had almost all stopped, one bottle of clear liquid labeled HCl tipped over and plummeted down. Long fingers darted out and wrapped around it with ease.

Her eyes darted to Jack's face; a smirk pulled at his lips. "Careful. That wouldn't have been too pleasant in your eyes."

"My hero."

He let out a single laugh. Merida wasn't sure whether or not he had had plans on continuing it. His lips remained parted slightly; his breath airy like he was still attempting to. The red head found herself trailing her tongue across her own parted lips. The bottle clinked into place somewhere on one of the shelves. The fingers that had been holding it now cradled her cheek as their brethren splayed themselves across the small of her back. He turned her gently until her back pressed against the closet door. The weight of his slender body rested against hers as his lips brushed across hers in silent request. Her fingers tangled into his mop of hair and pulled him down onto her.

Jack responded enthusiastically until the door was yanked open and the two toppled out into the classroom in a tangle of limbs. Two pairs of blue eyes looked up from the floor to a pair of green.

"Jack, I knew you liked chemistry, but don't you think this is taking it a bit far?" the teacher asked with an arched eyebrow and twitching lips.