Love, Hate and the Line

Chapter 4

As he took my arm and pulled me towards the library, I was highly annoyed. I stopped walking and pulled my arm back with all the force I could. He must have let me go, because frankly, if he didn't I wouldn't have gotten my arm back.

'What's the matter with you? You can't just force someone to tutor you!' I yelled.

He smirked. 'Actually, I can. It'll probably take me what, half a visit to the principal's office?'

I scoffed at his arrogance. 'I'm sure it'll be just as easy for you to force them to find another tutor for you then, one who doesn't mind spending her valuable time teaching a priviliged, spoiled, condescending and arrogant jerk who so obviously doesn't care about graduating.'

He clenched his jaw. "Not gonna happen. I want yóú."

"Yeah, well, I guess you should learn that you don't always get what you want then."

I walked away and as if I was experiencing a dejà vu, his large hand shot out to my waist again, effectively turning me around to face him.

I groaned. "Would you please stop doing that? I was raised to be polite and slapping someone is thus out of character for me, but the temptation is getting dangerously big."

"For god's sake, just tutor me. It'll take you what, 30 minutes and we'll both be happy."

I scoffed. "And how exactly would that make me happy?"

"Being in my presence makes every girl happy," he said, winking.

"Looks you've found yourself an exception then."

He smiled sourly and before I knew what was happening, he pressed me against the wall, leaning his face into mine. I sucked in a breath, shocked to the very core of my being.

"Don't pretend you don't feel it, love," he said in a husky, low tone, his hands cupping my cheek.
I pulled myself together and laughed sarcastically.

"And what would I be feeling? Could it be the sheer annoyance at your every action? Feeling myself cringing together every time I have the privilige of being in your delightful presence? Or is it maybe the relief I'll feel when you finally stop freaking touching me?"

He let me go and stepped away, looking genuinely surprised. "So what, are you gay?"

I could swear I felt my eyes popping out of my sockets. "Seriously? That's the only possible reason you can think of for someone not to fall at your feet?"

"Yes," he stated bluntly.

I laughed softly. "Thats hilarious and pathetic at the same time. Anyway, not that this hasn't been delightful, but I'll have to excuse myself. I'd like to go back to my bacteria now."

For the third time, I was stopped when I tried to turn around. "Wait."
I groaned inwardly and I promised this was the last time I was going to look at him. "What," I said curtly.

"I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse."

I smiled. "You're really going to go Corleone? That desperate, huh?"

For the second time, he looked surprised. "You know that movie?"

"Everyone does."

"Not the girls I know," he muttered. "How do I know you know the movie, not just the line?"

"Don't ask me about my business!" I said, interpreting Michael Corleone.

He arched an eyebrow. "Michael Corleone, nice. Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

I scoffed. "That's it? Clemenza, of course. In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns."

He smiled condescendingly. "Calo, sweetheart. Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes."

"Again with the Clemenza.. I don't like violence, Tom. I'm a businessman, blood is a big expense."

"Sollozzo."

I pouted slightly. "I thought you wouldn't know this one."

He winked. "I know everything, love. Now, let me make you that offer. You tutor me, whenever I want, wherever I want. You will be paid generously for your services."

I chuckled. "You make me sound like a hooker."

He smirked. "There's an idea.."

I rolled my eyes, ignoring his not-so-subtle innuendo. "I don't want your money."

He looked surprised. "What do you mean, you're a scholarship student. You must need it.."

And just like that, he annoyed me again. Although I thought it was mostly embarassement because for some odd reason, there was a part of me that felt left out in a sea of rich people. A blush crept on my cheeks as I said nothing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put it like that," he apologized to my surprise.

"It's fine," I dismissed. "I still don't want your money, though."

He sighed. "How about I make sure your scholarship doesn't get aborted, then. I know you're worried about it."

It was true, I was. My grades were still extremely high but many of the students had complained to their parents about a scholarship student attending their school and I know their parents were powerful. I could use someone with even more power, such as Ben Ashford, having my back.
We stood there for a while as I tried to logically decide whether to do it or not.

"You take that long to decide?" Ben asked.

I shrugged. "I'm calculating my options, literally. The most important variable is the chance of my scholarship being disbanded. To the power of that there's the influence parents have on the principal, which is calculated by the amount of money they have and the profit the school makes with my grades. Then there's the constant c which determines how much you annoy me. I can make a relatively accurate estimate and I think it's in your favor."

He laughed in surprise. "You have a formula for everything, don't you?"

I gave him a small smile "I do. Science is fun."

"Yeah, we'll agree to disagree on that. Now, let's get going."

"Oh, wait, I have some ground rules."

He sighed. "Yes, your Honour?"

I stuck out my tongue. "First, we go to the Biology lab so that I can continue my research while you're busy doing the equations I gave you."

He shrugged. "I'm okay with that."

"Second, no touching of any kind unless completely necessary."

"You take the fun out of everything, don't you?"

I smiled. "I do. It's my best quality. Lastly, I don't come to your house and you certainly don't come to mine. Tutoring is solely at school."

He frowned. "Why am I not allowed at your house?"

I didn't know how to explain. I guess a part of me was more embarrassed than I wanted to let on. I really didn't want him judging my house, especially when he probably had a toilet that was bigger than my room.

"Just because. Now let's just get this over with, okay?"

He nodded in return and as I felt his had graze my thigh slightly as he turned around, I wondered why that tingled so much.

A/N

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M