AN: Hello everyone, Asori here welcoming the New Year (Happy New Years, by the way)! If you didn't already know, I am participating in Lea Ootori's and Stardust16's Lab Rats FanFiction Secret Santa. And the person I wrote this short story for is *cue drum roll* Lea Ootori herself! I dedicate this to her!
About this story: it is rated K+ for romance and near death, you could fit this within more genres, there are more characters than listed, and this takes place right after Spike Fright from Season 3 of Lab Rats.
So yeah, pretty straight forward. I hope you all enjoy this - especially you, Lea!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any of the characters, just the plot. For now ;)
"Mis-ter Davenport!"
Chase snapped awake, sitting up quickly and scooting back in his seat away from his chemistry teacher looming over him.
"What happened to all of your enthusiasm for this elegant science?" she asked snarkily. The bionic didn't need his super-intelligence to tell him that she was angry with him.
Chase shrunk back in his chair, mumbling "Sorry, Ms. Johnson. Sleep depravity…?" He chuckled nervously.
Her eyes narrowed, but she seemed to accept the excuse as she turned to make her way back to the front of the room. Chase let out his breath as he relaxed a little, shaking his head as he wondered how in the world he had fallen asleep in class. He never did that.
He looked around at his classmates, making eye-contact with Sabrina as he did so. She gave him one of her small smiles, raising her eyebrows as if to say "Really, super-genius?"
Chase raised his own eyebrows, but in confusion. He turned away quickly, staring at his desk as he tried to make sense of this. Did Sabrina just make eye-contact with him? Did she just smile?
But I thought she hated my guts now. He looked back to the blonde-haired girl, who was facing the teacher again. She seemed serene as if nothing was awry, specifically between the two of them. But Chase knew that that wasn't the case – she should be so mad with him that she would refuse to acknowledge his existence.
Girls were confusing. Far more confusing than any complex math problem.
He was mulling over this when the bell rang, dismissing class. The bionic quickly rose to his feet, packing away his class materials neatly before exiting the classroom with the herd of other students. He was walking down the hallway when he heard his name called from behind him, and he turned to see Sabrina catching up.
"Chase, you left without me!" she huffed, shoving the rest of her books into her backpack and redoing the clasps as they walked. Slinging it over her shoulder, she turned to him, saying "In a hurry, were you?"
"Um, uh," he said awkwardly, unsure of how he was supposed to respond. He settled for a nervous shrug.
She smiled, sighing as she shook her head. "What should I expect from a super-genius? I guess that I'm not surprised that you get distracted sometimes."
"Yeah… Right," Chase replied. What was going on?
They stopped as they arrived at Sabrina's locker, Chase frowning for a moment. He hadn't intended to come here, but he must have unconsciously let Sabrina lead them. He watched as she whizzed through her combination, opening her locker and exchanging books and folders. When she was finished, she closed her locker, turning back to him.
"I have to get to civics class, so I will see you at lunch," she said sweetly, staring into Chase's eyes with her beautiful brown ones. Without warning, she leaned in and pecked him on the lips before flashing him another smile and turning away.
His eyes wide with shock, Chase watched her go. He violently shook his head, wondering if what he had just experienced was real. But as he watched once more as her blonde curls bounced while she walked down the hallway, he knew that that hadn't been a cruel trick of his mind.
She was supposed to hate him. But instead, she had just kissed him. He had just had his first kiss, and he didn't even know what was going on.
Chase set down his lunch tray, pulling out one of the cheap plastic chairs and plopping down in it. Bree frowned, cocking her head. "Where's Sabrina?" she asked.
"What?" Chase blinked, shoving a bite of chicken and rice into his mouth.
"You always sit with your girlfriend," she explained, studying him.
Chase choked, and he covered his mouth with his fist so that he didn't spray half-chewed food everywhere. Sabrina was his girlfriend?
"Chase, you left me behind again," he heard from behind him, and he quickly swallowed his food through a couple of small coughs before turning to face Sabrina. She wore a miffed expression, confusion creasing her eyebrows. "You're acting really strange today," she told him.
"Are you alright, Chase?" Bree asked.
"Fine," Chase squeaked, still coughing up inhaled rice.
"I guess I'll join you today," Sabrina said with a forced smile for Bree and Leo, sitting down next to Chase.
Chase slowly turned to look at the girl beside him. She frowned at him, and he looked away awkwardly. He just couldn't figure this out. Smartest-guy-in-the-world was utterly lost.
"So Chase, Sabrina," Leo piped up, breaking the discomfited silence. "How did your nitrogen project go?"
When Chase just sat there blank-faced, Sabrina took the helm and answered, saying "It went well – after all the time we put into it last night, we had a great showing today. Ms. Johnson was impressed with us, except for Chase falling asleep in class."
"Chase fell asleep in class?" Bree asked in surprise.
"Weren't we working on a molecule project last night?" Chase interjected.
"What?" the other three all asked simultaneously. Bree and Leo looked at each other worriedly.
"Chase, that was months ago," Sabrina said slowly. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"No, I'm not," Chase croaked, standing up quickly. "Excuse me for a moment." He briskly walked out of the lunchroom, breaking into a sprint as soon as he made it through the blue double doors. He skidded into the boys' bathroom, darting to a sink and gripping the edge as he studied his reflection.
He didn't look any different. He didn't feel any different. Then what in the name of Mike was going on? He turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on his face. He could feel it running down the minuscule crevices in his face, dripping off his chin if it didn't slither its way down his neck.
Get a grip, he told himself, sucking in air through his nose. Calm down, you can figure this out.
You just can't remember a few months of your life. No big deal, right?
"That is a big deal!" he exclaimed.
Hearing the bathroom door open, he straightened up and fixed his shirt, nonchalantly stalking past the incoming kid and exiting the bathroom. He didn't care to have company as he tried to grasp the mess he was in.
As he was walking down the hallway, he heard his named called. He stopped, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to regain his composure. Sabrina was the last person he wanted to talk to at the moment.
"Chase," Sabrina said, putting her hand on his shoulder as she came to a stop behind him. She turned him around to face her, staring into his reopened eyes with concern. "What's going on?"
Chase's gaze fell and he mumbled "I don't know. I-I –" He stopped, rubbing his face in frustration as he realized that there wasn't really anything he could say.
"You weren't saying back there that you can't remember the last two months, were you?" Sabrina asked softly, worry lacing her tone.
"Look, I didn't even know we were dating," the bionic said awkwardly.
Sabrina's eyes filled with tears. "You don't remember going star-gazing with me and telling me about all of the constellations I didn't know already? Or the time we were at the beach and helped a seal get untangled from a net? Or the spring dance, where we kissed for the first time?"
Chase shook his head, rasping "I'm sorry."
Tears traced their way down her cheeks, her eyes red and brimming with more. She suddenly leaned in, letting her lips find his own in a rush. They remained frozen like that for a long moment before she pulled away again, asking "Didn't that bring anything back? Please tell me that brought something back!"
Still dazed, he shook his head once more, stepping back slowly. Sabrina choked back a sob, bringing her hand to her mouth. She sunk down, letting her back rest against the nearest wall. Chase stared at her sadly, unsure of what to think or do. He had just been kissed the second time that day – the second time ever. That he could remember, at least.
But seeing Sabrina so distraught shook him out of the stupor that was holding him so tightly captive. He had to do something. Lethargically, he also dropped to his knees, scooting over to sit next to her. He tentatively put a comforting arm around her.
She flinched in surprise, but she leaned into him anyways, resting her head on his shoulder. He let his own head lay back against the wall as he stared off into space, his mind reeling.
"I can't believe you're gone," Sabrina whispered hoarsely.
"I'm still me," he replied.
"Yeah, but our relationship – that's gone. I feel like I don't know you anymore, and I know that you don't know me."
Chase chewed on that, contemplating what he should say next. Without his compliance, he found himself voicing five simple words. "Maybe we can start over."