It was a Thursday and Zoe Conner's AP history course loomed ever near. She entered the room with hunched shoulders and a frown appeared on her face when she saw Where she always sat, it was occupied by Lydia Martin who apparently had to talk to Danny instead of sitting in her usual seat up front. Lydia Martin was not a nice person and she really wasn't a fan of talking to people let alone her. That left two seats the one in the front where Lydia Martin usually sat it was prime for getting called on and the teacher to look when he needed some help. The other was by Tasha Brenan who was very intelligent not as much as Mrs. Martin but it was getting close in front was Bradley cooper a bulky guy who had the brain of a peanut this making it the best seat to never get called on only problem was it was where Isaac Lahey always sat. She went through her options quickly and made her way to his seat in the middle.
It seemed that half the people in the room quieted and eyes were drawn to her or more however where she sat even she had a little trouble with it. Had she really just sat in Isaac Lahey seat? Yes she had. She shook her head as if trying to shake off the stares. She reached into her bag for her felt tip pen and uncapped it and peeled down her cardigan to start drawing on her already doodle covered arms. There were a few calls of freak that she ignored as usual she did this for only a minute before she heard the rest of the room go silent and she felt a looming presents. She looked and sure enough there was Isaac Lahey. She met his eyes and smiled.
Her tone was a sickly sweet as she asked "can I help you?" And watched as a cocky smirk appeared on his lips as he put a hand on her desk and leaned on it.
"Yeah you can you can get out of my seat." It started off innocent but ended in a threatening tone and she mentally could here the part of her brain that was fight or flight screaming at her to just move but she kindly told it too shut up. She never flew she always fought.
She looked over the desk and even looked under it. "What are you doing?" the boy asked again and his tone was laced in agitation.
She stopped looking and met his eyes again "I'm looking for your name it doesn't seem to be on here." She offered him a smirk.
His nostrils flared in furry and she was so very aware who she was pissing off that she almost gave into the flight response or even let her heart spead up too show any ounce of fear but she stood her ground. He opened his mouth to say something else probably a threat when Mrs. Turner's heels clicked into the room. "okay class lets quiet-" she paused noticing the eary silence and Mr. Lahey looming over Mrs. Conner "Mr. Lahey please take a seat please" the young man turned towards her and his jaw clenched but none the less made his way to the only empty seat in the front. It was the start of something very big and very dangerous but nobody knew that yet.
There was no further altercation for a couple days for Lydia Martin went begrudgingly back to her seat for the sake of the greater good which is code for Isaac wouldn't stop complaining about it so Scott made him and Zoe returned to her original seat. But then Friday came.
Zoe being Zoe had started the day as she always had her mother had made her and her 10 year old little brother Zebediah breakfast and they had given her double cheek kisses said there I love you's and headed out the door. They had stopped at star bucks and gotten a chocolate milk for Zebe and a frap chino for her. And so it was normal that as she walked into school said coffee was in her hand she walked quickly to her locker when a figure who seemed to be going at a light sprint had his head turned back wards running straight into her effectively spilling the coffee all down his shirt. The hallway went dead silent and she knew who it was before she even looked up but still when her blue eyes met his she couldn't hold back the short laugh that came out Isaac Lahey.
His eyes were filled with fury as he looked at her "you think this is funny?" his teeth were clinched and his jaw was set and Zoe was left to wonder if he thought this was her fault.
Now the smart thing in this situation to what any sane person would do is sputter out apologies and get on their knees and beg for mercy. "Well, yes" oh how she wished she were sain.
The rage evident on his face seemed impossible to multiply but right before her eyes it seemed to multiply by 10. "You spilled coffee all over me."
She rolled her eyes "I would say no one likes someone who states the obvious but instead how about I give you a fact check hmm? You ran into me." She was going to be late if she didn't hurry this up and she couldn't be late. "You owe me a coffee" she shoved the cup into his chest and gave him a sweet smile before brushing past him and walking to her locker.
Okay let's get one thing straight Zoe Conner is so many things, a delusionist is not one of them so she was not under one that Isaac Lahey was actually going to bring her coffee, so the next morning when they were running late and hadn't had a chance to stop she was shocked speechless when she saw Isaac Lahey stood in front of her locker with a star bucks cup in his hands she's not ashamed to say she does a double take and freezes on the spot. He looks up before she can turn back though and a smirk appears on his lips as he holds up the coffee and shakes it a little bit. It's a cruel reminder that she's running on 4 hours of sleep and no caffeine so she lets out a small growl and start forward.
He's still smirking as he holds out the coffee and she takes it out of his hands and takes the lid off of it to inspect it. It looks fine in fact it looks perfect a chocolate vanilla swirl with a dash or two of cinnamon. She screws the lid back on and meets his amused eyes "what did you put in it?"
He drops the smirk head and offers her the first genuine smiles she's ever seen on him "nothing. It was my fault I spilt it yesterday and it was the second time I've been a jerk too you and I figured the least I could do was buy you coffee"
The correct thing to do in this situation would be too throw the coffee away and tell the boy no thank you and walk away. And again for the third time she did not listen. She downed the coffee in six gulps without putting it down. She took in the astonished look on Isaac's face and handed him the empty cup.
without taking her eyes off of him she unlocked her locker put her stuff in and took out her textbook and closed it without a change in her expression she gave a " thanks for the coffee" turned on her heel and walked away.
She expected this to be the last of her encounters with Isaac Lahey after all the coffee had been good and had made up for him being a jerk so that should have been it . Because the honest truth of it was they lived in different worlds. Isaac was one of the most popular kids in school he had earned this overnight and he had used to be on her level but this fact still stood prominent she however wasn't anybody she was the girl that sat in the back of the classroom with no friends and drew who never talked unless absolutely necessary she however was also the girl who had snapped Marty Byers wrist in freshmen year when he had slap her ass who had given Ella Conner a black eye when she had tried to corner her so she was known just enough to not be messed with
So it was a surprise when once more she walked in to find Lahey at her locker with coffee in his hand. Now her mother was out of town on business so she didn't have the time to get coffee this week so when she approached him and he handed her the coffee she didn't even check it and just chugged it same as she had the last time there was still some awe on his face as she handed him back the empty cup but she did not reach for her locker instead choosing to raise her eyebrow in question .
He reliesed that she was waiting on an explanation to why oh why he brought her coffee "I uhh you see…. You're uhh... And I …. Well…-" the bad boy Isaac Lahey stood in front of her a blushing stuttering mess he had his hand rubbing the back of his neck and he was bouncing back on the balls of his feet and his eyes were on the floor and all she could think was that she had never seen anything cuter. Still she decided to put him out of his misery
"Isaac." It was sharp and his eyes shot to her "get to the point." she did not want to be late.
He seemed to take this as law because he straightened and crossed his arms in the back "do you want to go out with me?" the question was timid and uncertain.
This truly caught her by surprise. She went over her options quickly and puckered her lips and looked him over he seemed to stiffen at this so she met his eyes again "why?" she tilted her head when she asked the question.
His eyes widened at the question but none the less after he got over the shock he spoke "you're not afraid of me and your pretty and you smell nice and I like you" he was ready for rejection and she wasn't 100% going to give it to him.
"it depends" her voice was laced with warmth to encourage the boy he squirmed a little bit at the tone of her voice but she thought it was a good squirm " are you going to act like this or the Isaac covered in coffee in the front desk"
He was confident in his next answer "ill act like myself" this was an answer may have not been what she was looking for but was what she needed.
She nodded at that and reached for her locker she took in how his face fell as she stuffed her stuff in her locker he was about to turn around when she grabbed his arm and took out her black pen she scribbled her number down turned grabbed her books and closed the door. She took in his smile and couldn't help but one of her own bleed through as she turned on her heel and walked away.