He only really got to know her when they were paired together for an assignment. She had seemed pleasant enough through the years, but he had had some ideas about her. That she was a brown-nosing swot, for instance, was one. That she was a good girl, who never broke the rules, was another. Oh, how wrong he was.

He found that she wasn't at all as goody-goody as she seemed at first glance.

He found that she swore so much more than he had ever thought she would.

He found that like him, she didn't trust the teachers to pull them through their exams.

He found that she really didn't need to study as much as he did. She was brilliant anyway.

He found that she was an excellent baker.

He found that her hunger for knowledge rivaled, if not encompassed, his own. He thought he would learn better with her. She agreed.

So they met at every opportunity outside and within school. They'd spend entire hours, poring over books in the library at school, or doing their homework together at a café near where she lived.

That was another thing. They were both surprised to find just how close their houses were.

"Just a few streets away," he had said in awe when he had first found out. But he didn't stay the entire week. Come Friday afternoon, he was always gone.

"I wish you would stay," she had said ruefully, "I miss working with you."

"You like me that much?" he had joked in reply.

"You and I both know my wanting you to stay has nothing to do with your sunny personality," she had retorted. They both knew it didn't. He would fly into fierce tempers if he couldn't find enough to quench his thirst. Only she, and sometimes not even her, could bringhim back to reality.

"Relax, it is only two days, you know," he had consoled her. He did that a lot. Sometimes she would break down crying, when she had too much, when she had too little, when she couldn't control the emotion any longer. It wasn't nearly as often as him, but it seemed like too often to her. Then, it was only him who could calm her down, tell her that everything would be okay, and it was only to him that she would listen.

Outwardly, he was one of the cutest boys in the class, the one who always did well with schoolwork, the one half the girls had a crush on.

Outwardly, she was the smart one, the one whose hand was always in the air first, and the one who could be pretty when she tried.

Outwardly, they were good friends, the two best students, the ones who studied together a lot, the ones who were rumored to be in a relationship.

Not that they were, of course. Knowledge always came first.

A week before the exam, when they were the last people in the library, she had put down her pen exasperatedly and sighed.

"I don't think I'll be able to do it," she had said, resting her forehead in her palm before crying. Crying her silent, shiny tears that he had seen so many times, but never gotten used to. He had wrapped his arms around her and she had buried her head in his chest.

"It'll be alright," he had said, and almost unconsciously, kissed the top of her head. Her head had shot up at that. It was the first time they had ever been, ever tried to be, more than friends. More than partners in the quest for knowledge, helping each other along where needed.

But she had just nodded and hugged him again. And he had hugged her back.

And it was alright. They had written their exams and continued taking external courses. They had waited for months for their results.

"We did it," he had breathed, after staring at the screen on the computer for quite some time. "Five A stars apiece. We did it," he had repeated, with more conviction this time.

The room swarmed with people wanting to congratulate their class on their scores. A flurry of hugs and high-fives had ensued. And then the room was empty.

"We did it," she had echoed softly, before screaming it again. A slow smile had spread across her face, a smile much like his, as she hugged him. They stood that way for a long time. They stood that way until he pulled away a little and she looked up, surprised. They stood that way until he kissed her, slow and sweet, a conclusion of two years of hard work. A conclusion of two years' tantrums, tears and textbooks.

A/N: This is my first fic, so please leave a review, along with any prompts you may have. Don't hesitate with the constructive critisism, but no hate, please. Affly, M.