Danny walked into the library, ready to get his history grade in order. After failing his last test, his teacher kindly referred him to the principal for being distracted and suspicious. Being the school socio had one perk, the principal was cool and had his door always open. Out of everyone he seemed to understand or at least he was good at pretending to.
He sat down at the first table he saw and opened up his books. He looked up and saw everyone staring, everyone but her. Lacey was flipping through pages of her chemistry book, groaning here and there and writing notes down. It wasn't until one of her friends had whispered something to her that her eyes shot up. She sighed and continued to work, more frantically than before.
Danny smiled. Even when they were eleven she was a braniac. She loved maths and science. Completely forgetting about his own work, he stood up and walked over to her.
"Do you need help? You look a little…stressed." He said. Lacey looked up and scoffed.
"Like you coming over here is helping me."
Danny sat down.
"Well, we'll just have to find out. What are you working on?"
"Chemistry." Lacey answered. She knew everyone was watching, but she just couldn't get this chemistry homework and Danny always knew how to make sense of things.
"Oh, mols. These are easy. Here." Danny took the pencil out of her hand showed her formulas.
"So you just multiply iT by Abiyoyo's law?"
Danny chuckled lightly.
"Avogadro's law, but yeah, basically."
"You always knew how to explain things."
"I'm surprised you're struggling with it. You were always a science geek."
"Things have changed." Lacey closed the book and sighed. Danny could tell she meant more than just science. He missed her too and he was about to say so until…
"What the hell is he doing here!" Archie yelled, he put his arm out to grab Danny ,but Danny ducked it and stood up.
"I thought I'd help her with her homework." Danny said. He ran his fingers through his long dark hair and smiled. Archie wasn't intimidating, just full of himself ...and protein shakes.
"Get the hell away from her." Archie said. He put his fist out beneath Danny's chin. "You may have everyone else he scared of you, Socio, but not me. You want to know why?"
"Please enlighten me, oh wise one."
"Because I see right through you and guess what, I can take you."
"Okay." Danny backed away and patted Archie on the back. "Cool it, Ghandi. I have history to do and clearly you have weights to lift. Bye, Lacey."
Lacey frowned and lifted her hand goodbye. Danny walked off, grabbing his books on the way out.
The next morning, Danny walked into Chem help, as "suggested" by his mother. 'You can't bring unwanted attention to yourself', she'd said. The thing was, there was always unwanted attention. If anything, he'd see Lacey and continue their conversation.
Danny sat down and opened his books, skimming through the pages and then re reading them, to pass the time. He stared at the clock wondering if she'd ever come.
"I should file a complaint against you for stalking." Lacey said. Danny looked up and smiled. He pulled out the chair beside him.
"You wouldn't be the first one. The whole town seems to think I'm stalking them."
Lacey put her books on the table and began studying. Danny watched her carefully. Everything about her was beautiful, the way she frowned, the way she would tuck her hair behind her ear then untuck it so it would look better, even the way she breathed.
"Shouldn't you be studying."Lacey said. She blinked
"What's to say that I'm not."
"Um the fact that you keep staring at me." she said.
"I can't help it."
"Well try to, we have a test today. Wait, why are you here anyway? Aren't you good at science?"
"Yeah, well it makes a better impression to my teachers that I'm focusing on my work and not on murdering them."
"Why do you joke about that so much."
Danny saw the hurt in Lacey's face. He didn't realize how much it still affected her.
"No one seems to want to."
"Would you blame them."
Danny shrugged and returned to his books. They sat in silence, neither of them studying, until the bell rang.