Love and Life

Lateness and Labs

Chapter 11

Finn's POV

I walked back to the school building in a slight daze. Mainly from the feeling of Liv's soft, warm body in my arms.

I barely registered the hushed whispers and rumours flying around me.

"Looks like Crawford's got a a new toy."

"Nikki is not going to be happy..."

"Do you know who she is? I've never seen her before."

"Poor girl has no idea what she's in for..."

I was so used to Bridgewater gossip that their words had hardly touched me.

I was always either directly or indirectly involved with the high school's rumours anyway.

I walked into my biology lab ten minutes late but my teacher, Miss Quentin, didn't seem to notice.

That or the fact that she had a huge crush on me like the rest of the female population at Bridgewater High.

Girls thought they were so discreet but the lip-licking and hair-tossing weren't as subtle as you might think.

As soon as I had taken my seat, Miss Quentin leapt up and began to address the class.

"Now class, since it's the first day back and this is your senior year..."

She paused as a rowdy chorus of hoots and cheers echoed around the room.

"I thought we could have a relaxed lesson and just watch an educational movie."

More cheers went around the room.

"But, and yes there is a huge but," she added as several snickers went around the lab,"you must take notes that will be handed in to me after the class has finished. And they will be graded."

I then spotted my best friend, Will, rush into the classroom, chest heaving and red baseball cap askew.

"Ma'am, I can explain," he started with a thick Southern twang.

"Mr Dawson, I suggest you to take your seat. As it is the first day, I'll be lenient with you," she crooned, casually batting her eyelashes at him.

If you listened carefully, you could hear the round of growls from predatory girls in the room as Miss Quentin reached over to pat Will's arm.

Will flinched only slightly at her touch before his face broke into a huge smile.

"Thanks ma'am," he drawled, winking at her as he sauntered over to his seat.

Miss Quentin's face reddened and her hands were shaky as she inserted the DVD into the television siting at the front of the lab.

I was almost embarrassed for her.

Will Dawson was probably the next best looking guy after me at Bridgewater High.

With his blonde surfer dude hair and his sparkling blue eyes, combined with his athletic body and Southern charm, the guy was like a magnet for girls.

He fist bumped me and adjusted his cap as he plopped onto the seat next to mine.

"Ma'am?" I questioned, shaking in silent laughter at the exchange between my biology teacher and best friend.

"Cougars, man," he whispered, his eyes dancing in amusement. "They never let you down."

"You know she should be fired right?"

"Well, when it comes to my devilishly handsome looks, rules don't apply as much," he answered, his grin growing wider.

I mentally noted that his accent had completely disappeared. Such a faker.

I had hardly seen Will over the holidays and I hadn't noticed how much I had missed my goofy best friend. He had spent the whole of summer break visiting his relatives over in the United States and had only just returned this morning.

His skin seemed even more golden than usual and the wisps of hair peeking out from under his hat were bleached from too much sun.

"How was America?" I asked, suddenly aware of all the stares of the girls in the classroom focused on us.

"I'll tell you later when we don't have an audience," he replied, eyeing all the girls who had conveniently turned back to the movie playing in front of us.

I chuckled and started taking down notes while he started playing with the ponytail from the girl sitting in front of us.

Unlike what everybody thought, I actually worked for my grades. I took notes and studied hard. I had never once cheated or took advantage of one of my followers to improve my test scores.

Unlike Will, who usually exploited his good looks to pass classes.

Halfway through the movie, I noticed that I had already gone through ten pages of my exercise book and that Will had disappeared from his seat.

And so had Ponytail Girl.

I laughed quietly and continued writing my notes, beginning to seriously reevaluate my choice in best friends.