Enemies with benefits

Chapter 13: Mystery solved

And then I accidentally dropped one of my textbooks, so Ezra picked it up for me, and then we were talking about the English exam coming up. He looked super cute whilst he was doing it too. Anyway, he said that we should study together! Netra thinks we could make one of the cutest couples she's ever seen. Megan thinks so too. My mom is speaking to me more than ever. She keeps giving me boy advice." Sophie gushed.

All she seemed to talk about recently was Ezra this and Ezra that. Sophie made every small interaction she had with Ezra sound like the most romantic thing that's ever happened to her; and it was really beginning to get on Colby's nerves.

Why did she have to talk about him all the time? And in such a lovey dovey way. Barf.

"That's a great idea!" Finley gasped. Before he had been slouched in his chair with a bored expression on his face, but for some reason he had sprung back to life. "We should all study with Ezra!"

"What?" Colby and Sophie gasped at the same time. The blush that had rested on Sophie's cheeks had drained away, she was as pale as a ghost.

"We all need to study, right? So let's do it together." Finley said. He looked very pleased with himself.

Sophie opened her mouth a few times to speak but she just ended up looking like a fish out of water. "Wait... wait... wait..." she finally said, "I'm not sure that he meant everyone. I think he meant... just the two of us."

Finley sat up in his seat and stared Sophie directly in the eyes. "Nah, I doubt it."

"What do you mean 'you doubt it'? That's what happened. He asked me specifically." Spluttered Sophie.

"Oh yeah, he definitely asked you. But in a sense, didn't he ask all of us? What do you say, man, up for some revision?" Colby was about to reply to Finley's response when Sophie answered first.

"Why are you asking Colby? There is no way he'd want to do that. Would you Colby?" He didn't get a chance to respond. "See, he doesn't want to. He hates Ezra and he's already perfect at English, he doesn't need to study."

"Woah, hold up!" Colby finally said. "I- I don't hate Ezra." It was weird to say out loud after so long of telling anyone who would listen how much he despised they guy. Yesterday's events and especially his conversation with Finley had opened him up to the fact that he really didn't hate Ezra, at least not as much as he used to.

Sophie looked surprised at the revelation as well. "Since when?" She asked.

"I don't know," Colby started, "since the party, not last Sunday but the one before, we've just been hanging out more and you were right, he's- he's a pretty cool guy." It was a small thing to say but it felt huge to Colby.

"Nothing happened between you two at that party though, did it? And, if anything did, you were probably just drunk and didn't mean it." Sophie exploded. The trio sat in silence for a moment.

Colby was the first to interrupt the silence. "I didn't say anything did happen between us at the party. I just said we'd been hanging out since." What was up with Sophie? Colby wondered.

Sophie didn't have a response, she looked pretty embarrassed about her outburst and continued to sit quietly.

"Okay..." Finley drawled, "so it's decided then. We're all going to the study session with Ezra. Brent will probably be there, so I might not be putting all my thinking power into the right kind of head, if you get what I mean." Finley winked at Sophie who blushed profusely at the insinuation. The funniest thing was Finley's laugh. He laughed like a dirty old man who sits on the bus and makes fart noises to entertain himself and inconvenience others, that was the only way to describe it.