Oh, No
Chapter One

-o-

Raven cursed under her breath, her fingers tightening around her pen as she sighed. She had read this passage at least three times over and it still wasn't making any sense to her. Why in the world was a phylum? Where did that go on this stupid chart? Above kingdom? Below it? Another soft curse fell from her lips and she bit back a groan. Why wasn't this making any sense? Who in the world invented biology and why couldn't she find them and teach them a well-deserved lesson?

Growling, she let her head fall forward into the pages of her text book, fighting back the sudden push of emotions that rose into her chest. Something twisted and tightened within her, and she couldn't stop the pungent taste of anger from bubbling up into her throat. If she failed this stupid, pointless class, her GPA would be ruined in her last semester of high school, and then what? She would have a blemish on her record all over a stupid science class.

Determined not to let this get the best of her, Raven picked up her head and pushed at her hair, trying to read her textbook again. So help her, she would ace this class if it was the only thing she did this semester. Looking down into her book she tried to read the last paragraph again, getting through the second sentence before the sudden, soft sound of snoring pulled her back out of the pages and into reality again.

"For the love…" She glowered and tightened her hands by her side. "I cannot believe someone is sleeping here!"

This could not be happening. Not in the library. Not in her once place of solace of solitude. Someone could not be taking a nap here. Slamming her hands onto the table she stood up and walked through the shelves to the table at the back of the library. There, nestled in between the pages of what appeared to be King Lear was a boy who looked barely younger than herself. His hands were sprawled out over the aged wood, crumpled papers folded into half-hearted airplanes underneath his fingers.

Raven's nostrils flared in anger and she reached forward, yanking the book out from underneath his head. There was a moment where it looked like something out of a cartoon, his head smacking into the wood before he yanked himself back up into a sitting position.

"Ow." He rubbed a bump growing on his forehead. "What the hell?"

Raven sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you done snoring?"

"Awe man… was I really? That's super embarrassing." He let his head fall into his hands and groaned, his cheeks darkening to a bright pink as he stared up at her from between his fingers. "I amso sorry! I've been here since this morning working on this essay and I'm not getting anywhere and I think I just kind of nodded off."

"You were sawing an entire forest." Raven dropped the book down in front of him and pursed her lips. "A library is no place to nap."

"Says who?" He shrugged and pulled his book back toward him. "It's quiet and no one is ever in here… except for you apparently."

"And you." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him, feeling that bubble of anger rise up into her throat again. He was so flippant about it! He should have at least a little bit of humility! "You're here, sleeping of all things."

"Yeah. But maybe it's because this stupid play is so boring." He let go of a dramatic groan, his head falling back against his shoulders. "Like, who cares, dude. Yeah, you're an old king and you've got daughters that betray you, like every other Shakespeare play. I don't even know why I should care about you."

Raven lifted an eyebrow, tapping her fingers along her upper arm. He bemoaned his fate for a little while longer before finally snapping his mouth shut. She let to of a soft, irritate breath. "Are you done complaining?"

"Yeah, for right now anyway." He picked up the book and began paging through it. He glanced up at her from between locks of sandy-blonde hair, his too-green eyes catching her stare with a mirth. "Maybe later I'll actually get around to complaining some more, just to remind you I'm still here."

She rolled her eyes. "Before or after you fall back asleep and snore loud enough to wake the dead?"

"Before, of course." He stretched and sat up straighter, pushing his hair out of his eyes. There was a flash of something dark behind his irises, and he smirked, leaning forward to look at her. "And probably after you wake me up by muttering under your breath about genus and species and phylum. Man, I can't imagine what that's like. At least I'm acing basic biology instead of struggling over basic concepts."

Low blow. Raven's hands clenched at her sides for a moment before she pitched forward and pushed herself into his suddenly shocked face. He obviously wasn't expecting her to fight back, and she refused to let him get the better of her. Gnashing her teeth, she pushed her face close to his own and growled.

"Well, at least I get the basic themes of King Lear and fully understand what Shakespeare was trying to say within the context of his words." She reached forward and flicked his forehead, watching with a bit of satisfaction as he he winced and rubbed the small, red spot tenderly. "But, you know, I got those concepts in my freshman lit class and didn't wait until I was practically graduating."

The boy cocked his head to the side, his lips pursing into something resembling a pout. "Well then, it seems we're both good at something the other isn't. Congratulations, we're human." He shuffled his feet before standing up, extending his hand. "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot."

"You think?" Raven eyed his hand cautiously, not sure if she wanted to shake it or not.

"Okay okay. Sorry." He sighed and gave her a sheepish look. "My name is Garfield, and I'm going to give you thirty seconds to make fun of it before we go back to normal conversation."

Raven snickered. "Please at least tell me that you have a dog named Odie."

"You know…" He tapped his fingers on his chin. "I've heard that one before. Got anything I haven't?"

Raven rubbed along the line of her jaw, pretending to think for a moment before looking down at him. "Nope, I guess I'm fresh out." She shifted a little bit before putting out her hand, not quite meeting his stare. "Raven."

"Do I get thirty seconds to make fun of your name?"

She blanched, pulling her hand back. He could not be serious? "No."

"Awe, really?" He looked a little put out by the shortness of her response. "Because I could think of about a hundred great jokes for your name. I mean I could say-"

"No, Garfield."

"Alright. I get it, Rae."

"Rae!?"

Garfield grinned. "It's cute, right?"

"It's not cute." Raven was unable to control her blush, and she felt her cheeks redden as she stared at him. Just what was it about him that kept her from telling him off? She should have gotten angry and lashed out, but here he was, giving her pet names and she was just letting him, like an idiot.

He smiled and cocked his head to the side, his blonde locks falling into those too-bright eyes. "Oh, come on, Rae. It's a little cute."

Raven swore she heard the twang of Cupid's bow somewhere in the distance, and all she could think was:

Oh, no.

-o-

"See? Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species."

Garfield hummed under his breath and tapped his pen on her book for a moment before drawing an inverted triangle, doodling in the margins of her textbook. Raven watched his fingers move quickly, suddenly finding herself drawn to a scar near his right wrist. He smelled faintly of mint and lemons and cool, clean water, and Raven found herself drawn to the scent, as if it were a strange kind of cologne. Fighting back a blush, she pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up into his face as he smiled at her.

"See? It's kind of like a… like an upside-down pyramid. You start with the biggest thing at the top with the most blocks, and then you end up with something small and specific." He set the pen down and handed it to her, still smiling that too-bright smile. "Does that help?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"No problem, Rae." He put emphasis on the nickname he gave her, grinning from underneath those blonde locks. "I'm happy to help you pass basic biology anytime you want."

"Thanks for rubbing it in." Rolling her eyes, Raven took her notebook back from him and propped her head up on her hand. She watched him for a long moment, his little pink tongue sticking out from between his lips as he hastily scratched notes in between the lines of his half-written essay. Her eyes landed on a sentence and she cringed, leaning over the table to take the notebook from him. "That's not what that word means. In fact, it's not even close."

His face fell and he leaned forward, scratching out the word with a soft, defeated sigh. "Damnit. I really thought I nailed that one."

"You know, you don't have to throw big words in there just to make it sound better, right? It's all about organization and pacing. If you think carefully about what you're going to say and simplysay it, it sounds better than when you try to add three dollar words." Raven offered him a sympathetic stare and she took the notebook from his hand, taking a few moments to reorganize his thoughts and remove all the words he thought he understood. After a few quiet minutes, she handed it back to him. "See? Better."

"Woah! Way better!" He took the notebook from her hands and smiled brightly, his eyes lighting up. "That's exactly what I was trying to say! Thanks!"

"You're welcome." She blushed a little and avoided his eyes. "I didn't really do much except help you figure out what you were trying to say. You were close, just not quite there yet."

Raven cocked her head to the side, feeling her heart start to do that strange skipping feeling in her chest again. What in the world was it about him that made her feel this way? Like she had forgotten how to breathe and which way was up. Everything seemed to tumble end-over-end, and she wasn't sure how to keep a hold on her head just yet. She pushed at her hair and began fidgeting with the pages of her book. "You know… this could be a good arrangement."

"What?" He smirked and watched her. "You help me with my lit class and I help you not fail basic bio?"

Raven shrugged, trying not to focus on the way his eyes lit up as stared at her. "It's just for this semester."

"You are pretty crafty with a pen, Rae." He closed his notebook and nodded. "I wouldn't mind the help."

"Yeah, I guess." She shifted in the chair, unused to the weight of his compliment, and she nodded. Tapping her fingers on her closed book, she looked into his eyes, trying to focus on anything other than how green they were. "And you're not half-bad with helping understand what the hell a phylum is."

"That's what I'm here for." If possible, his smile got even brighter. "So… what do you say? I'll tutor you if you tutor me?"

"All right." Raven's blush deepened and she looked away with a nod. "I think that's a fair trade."

"Perfect!" He leaned forward and rested his hand over hers. "So, we'll meet here again tomorrow?"

"S-sure." Raven stared down at his hand covering her own and tried to hold onto her thoughts before they flew far away from her control. "I'll see you here tomorrow."

"Great! It's a date!"

Raven blanched. Had he just said…