The Seductress

Chapter 1: Ice Cream

Zoe opened her locker and examined the materials inside. Her binders were neatly organized, papers perfectly placed inside. Class would be starting soon and she needed her materials. As she grabbed a binder for her next class, a small piece of paper drifted down to the floor from out of her locker.

"What could this possibly be?" She wondered, a confused expression on her face. Bending down, she unfolded the crumpled up paper and read the messy handwriting scrawled inside it.

"Dearest Zoë,

I know no other way to say this, but I am in love with you. I hope you feel the same.

-Ned"

She stood in the hallway and stared dumbfounded at the little piece of paper Ned had stuck in her locker. She hadn't ever thought of him that way before, but with her newfound knowledge of his feelings, she could see how he had liked her all this time. Every time she walked near him he would blush, his cheeks filling up with bright color.

A new feeling spread over her. She had never considered him more than a friend, but now that she thought about it— he did have a pretty rockin' hot bod. She could easily see herself with Ned. They would be the perfect couple— the kind that went on dates all the time and that everyone was envious of. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted it to be true and to actually happen.

The harsh ringing of the bell brought her back to reality as she realized she had been staring down at the note for a few minutes too long. She was late. Tardy. Her perfect attendance record would be ruined. This couldn't be happening. She quickly shoved the rest of her books into her locker and slammed it shut, not wasting a minute getting to her next class. Still, as much as a tardy would ruin her life she couldn't help but smile since a certain someone was in her next class.

"Do you have a pass?" Mrs. Mountain asked crossly upon Zoe's panicked arrival into the classroom.

"...No." Zoë stumbled out, her eyes wide with fear. She looked to the sea of students all watching their conversation play out as she conjured up a million different ways in which her teacher would kill her. She instantly locked eyes with Ned who gave her a small smile.

"Well," Mrs. Mountain took a sharp breath as if trying to decide something. "You're only 2 minutes late, but I'll let you go this time."

Zoë let go of the breath she was holding onto and let her shoulders relax. She hurriedly made her way over to the seat that Ned had saved her next to him.

"Just be more careful next time Zoë, I know you're a good student," Mrs. Mountain added.

Zoë nodded letting out a quick "Thank you" before sitting down next to Ned. She sent a quick smile his way before Mrs. Mountain began her teaching.

"Everyone please open to page 56 and begin taking notes," said Mrs. Mountain.

Zoe looked at her desk, and a jolt of panic shot through her when she remembered that she had forgotten her textbook in her locker in her rush. She turned to face Ned, eyes wide with panic.

"Ned, can I borrow your textbook and a piece of paper?"

"I thought you would never ask," said Ned dreamily as he handed his textbook over to Zoe and passed her a piece of paper.

Zoë smiled at him for a couple of seconds as she admired his deep brown eyes. Then, suddenly realizing what she was doing, she broke eye contact and embarrassedly grabbed the textbook out of his hands.

She tried to focus on what the teacher was talking about but each number written on the board made her think less of what she was teaching and more about the boy sitting next to her. She tried to ignore him but he kept swarming every thought she had relating to math. I mean he was the one who wrote the letter in the first place, why not just tell him?

She tapped him lightly on his shoulder with a pencil. He turned quickly to face her.

She stared at him and mouthed the words "I like you"
Ned squinted his eyes with a puzzled look on his face.

"You.. like chew?" He whispered.

"No!" She mouthed again "I. Like. You. Too."

He contorted his face in confusion until his eyes widened and he started to say something.

"Ned," Mrs. Mountain scolded in the middle of her sentence, barely taking her eyes off the whiteboard.

Ned shut his mouth but gave Zoë a big smile as his cheeks began to melt into a deep shade of red.

————— 2 Weeks Later—————

It was their first date. Ned had scheduled it on the Wednesday night before finals and they decided to have a study date at the local ice cream parlor.

"Hehe!" Zoe giggled at the sight of the pastel decorations spread around the room

"So how long will I have the pleasure of being with you," Ned smiled drumming his fingers on the table.

"Well, my moms picking me up at 4 so we have about 2 hours." Zoë grinned back digging into her chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake ice cream sundae.

Ned tried following suit, grabbing a spoon and then watching it slip out of his hands and clank on the floor.

Zoë let out a burst of laughter loseing the feeling of nerves they had both previously held. Ned joined in and soon they were both uncontrollably laughing together.

She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself down, letting her chest rise up and down in a rhythmic pattern. As soon as she felt herself returning to normal she caught a glimpse of Ned who immediately let out a loud snort as soon as they made eye contact. Zoë immediately burst back into a fit of laughter and slammed her head down onto her ice cream sundae. This made both of them laugh even louder. She knew everyone at the restaurant was looking at them but she didn't even care, nothing could sour her mood right now.

Ned gingerly picked up a napkin and dabbed at Zoes nose. She looked at him in confusion but he just smiled, "You got ice cream on your nose,"

She felt her face flush in embarrassment, it was her first date and she just had to get ice cream on her nose! As if reading her mind, Ned made sure to reassure her "Don't worry babe, you look adorable"

Zoe screamed on the inside, he had called her babe! How cute! She had a feeling that this relationship was going to work out just fine, but first she made sure to grab her backpack and leaf for the folder where she kept her study guides. Even though they were on a date that didn't change the fact that finals started tomorrow and she wasn't a bad student. In fact, she liked to consider herself a good student.

They spent the rest of their date studying and occasionally taking quick breaks to talk. But everything good has to come to an end, and she was reminded of that once she got the text from her mom that she was outside.

"Bye Ned! I'm so glad that we were able to do this and that um... well... we," She hurriedly stood up, gathering the messy study guides that cluttered the table. He got up from his seat too and started to help her. She grabbed the final paper on the table and turned to face Ned who stood beside her. They locked eyes.

She looked up into his warm inviting face, "What i'm trying to say is... I'm really glad we got together, Ned"

He grabbed her waist and pulled her in. "Me too,"

Then, like an electric spark, their lips met and for that second the rest of the world melted away and it was just her and Ned. The pastels in the parlor seemed to glow even brighter than they did before, surrounding them as they shared one final moment together before she left.

And just like that, she was out the door, the only thing on her mind the taste of Ned's lips and the flutter of butterflies in her stomach. Soon she was in the parking lot, its pavement a drab dark gray compared to the pastel of the ice cream parlor. Her mom's car awaited her.