John was walking through the hallways at school on his way to first period the next day when he noticed people kept staring at him. He was wondering why, but then he realized he had a nice visible bruise on his jaw which was what they were most likely staring at. They were probably trying to figure out what happened if they didn't know already. Some people who witnessed the scene had big mouths so it wouldn't surprise him if some knew about the little fight after football practice. His parents asked about it and he waved them off saying he hit his jaw during practice and it wasn't a big deal because it was a prety physical sport and stuff happens and they actually believed him. He started to think about whether or not Lita knew what happened yesterday. It was only a matter of time before he found out.

John finally made it into the classroom and noticed his partner wasn't sitting at their lab bench area, but her backpack was on the table. He didn't care where she was at so he went to the his side of the lab bench and started to take his books out.

It hadn't been long when he heard someone, presumably Lita, sit next to him.

"Hey Cena." He mumbled something in return and she couldn't quite figure it out because his head was turned the other way as he was looking through his backpack, but it wasn't like she cared so she didn't ask for clarification, rather opting to turn around so she could chat with Victoria before class began.

"Hey Red," he tried to get her attention after a little while. "Can I see your homework from last night? Just wanna compare answers."

Lita rolled her eyes while turning her attention from Victoria to John. "He only gave us the assignment to see what we remember and don't remember from bio. You probably didn't even-" She stopped herself when she caught sight of the bruise on his face. "Whoa. What happened to you?" He said nothing so she decided to continue. "Someone get tired of your bullshit and finally deck you? Who was it? Man, I'm kinda upset with myself that it wasn't me. Who beat me to it?"

He rolled his eyes at the look of amusement on her face. It looked as if Randy didn't tell her anything. He started to wonder why. Or maybe she was pretending and planning on payback or something when he least expected it for what he said to about her. "You really don't know?"

She looked genuinely confused. "No. Why would I? Unless it was..." She trailed off as realization began to set it and she sighed. "It was Randy." That was more of a statement than a question. "What did you do?"

He raised a brow. "And what makes you think I did somethin'?"

She was about to say something, but then the two heard Dave snort from behind them before he spoke. "Maybe because you did."

John glared at him. "No one asked you."

"Well, now I'm asking him since you don't want to tell me."

"It was nothing"

Lita ignored John and focused her attention to Dave. "Why did Randy hit him?"

"Because John here likes to run his mouth," Dave simply replied. He wasn't about to tell her right before the school day started for many reasons including that she would probably end up beating the crap out of her lab partner. Like John, he too wondered why Randy didn't tell her anything.

"I was joking."

Lita glanced between John and Dave a few times before she decided she didn't care and turned around to face straight forward once again. "Whatever. Don't tell me. I have decided that I don't care."

"So about that homework," John started to say when he too turned around.

"We still have a couple of minutes. Just write down you don't know anything because you most likely don't."

"So is that a no?"

She groaned in frustration as she took the assignment he was talking about out of her binder and slammed it on the table right in front of him. "This is the first and only time. I'm only giving it to you so I can have some peace and quiet before class starts. He wants to know what we already know and what we need to focus on more. Try not to copy everything." He took the paper and started to copy some of her answers. "You're welcome by the way."

"Whatever," he responded as he continued to copy off her homework.

He heard her mumble something about ungrateful assholes and how he was lucky she didn't just take the paper back from him. He rolled his eyes before he decided to give in. "Thanks."

"Whatever," she mimicked his earlier statement with a tone of annoyance. "I think your eyes should match your jaw. I'm gladly help you with that."

He didn't reply and finished up the last couple of questions. He was just giving her paper back when Mr. Regal decided to start class by going over the assignment first. Fortunately for John, the assignment wasn't going to be graded. They were just going to go over the questions and answers during class and he was just going to collect it as a reminder of what needed to be focused on more. Each unit they would be covering in class for the school year was covered in the assignment. When they finished going over a particular section, Mr. Regal asked if they had any questions. He gave basic answers and said it would be answered in detail when they covered that particular unit. John was quiet until they went over some genetic questions.

"Yes Mr. Cena?" Mr. Regal acknowledged the student who had his hand raised.

John glanced over at the redhead, who wasn't paying much attention, with a smirk on his face before he asked his question which was the same thing he asked Hunter the day before and made sure Randy had heard it. "Hypothetical situation. If I were to have kids with Red here one day," that grabbed her attention as her head snapped to look at him,"what hair color would they have since I have brown and she has red?"

That earned a couple of snickers from his classmates especially when they saw the look on Lita's face. He himself wasn't looking at Lita, but he knew she had a scowl present on her face and he was enjoying every minute of it.

"Well, we will get into that later," Mr. Regal started to explain, oblivious to why John was interested in asking that question, "but more than likely, they would have brown hair because that is the dominant gene over red which is the recessive gene. The dominant one almost always wins over. We will learn more about when the recessive gene wins over when we get to that unit." He paused and glanced at all the other students in the class." Any more questions?" No one said anything so he turned his attention back to the blackboard before introducing the next unit.

That's when John turned his attention back to Lita with a smirk present on his face. She continued to give him a death glare. He winked at her and let out a small laugh which resulted in her punching on his arm which caused those who witnessed the action, mainly Dave and Victoria since they were seated directly behind them, to chuckle.

He rubbed at the spot she hit him. "Bi-" he stopped when Mr. Regal turned back around to look at him, sending him a questionable look. "I was getting up to throw something in the trash and um, kinda banged my arm against the table," he lied.

The teacher said nothing, instead turning back to the chalkboard and continuing with the rest of the class which eventually led him to start with the first unit of the year, ecology, after they finished going over the assignment. The remainder of the class went pretty smoothly without any disruptions from John or Lita.


The rest of the school day passed by with John not bothering Lita like he usually did which surprised her. What she didn't know was that he had an ulterior motive which was obviously the bet. After he had some fun with asking that question in biology, he decided he should probably focus on the bet and tone down how he usually interacts with her. If she saw he was changing his ways towards her, maybe she would want to be friends and he could win the first part of the bet.

But that was all about to change during last period because he was not going to let the opportunity pass up on him to piss off Randy and this was the only class he had with Randy which luckily for him, also had Lita in it.

He entered the classroom and took his seat next to Lita who was busy talking to Edge. He saw Randy enter the room not long after and that's when he began his plan.

"I missed you today Red." He continued after she gave him her full attention, giving him that death glare he was so familiar with and used to seeing. "Sure we start and end the day together, but I miss you in between. I'm thinking we should start sitting at lunch together that way we get to spend some time in the middle of the day as well. Or maybe I could get transferred into your other classes as well."

Lita rolled her eyes, not noticing that Randy had sudden interest in the duo from his seat towards the back of the room. "What drugs are you on?"

"You."

Lita closed her eyes and started to count to three. It was something she did a lot of when dealing with him. She took a deep breath and then opened her eyes again before she spoke. "There is something deeply wrong with you. Why don't you ever leave me alone?"

"Hey, I just said I missed you. Nothing wrong in that."

She stared at him like he was crazy for a few moments and then looked straight ahead. "You look hot today." She had to bit her lip from saying something. "Are you gonna ignore me now?" He got his answer as she kept looking straight ahead and did just that. "Red, that's not nice." He turned around and saw Randy was shooting glares at him. He sent the younger twin a smirk and turned back around and looked towards the older twin. "Red." No answer, she was determined to keep ignoring him. Edge watched on in amusement. "Red." Again no answer so he decided to poke her. She jumped a bit in her chair but still said nothing as he continued poking her and calling her name.

Randy looked like he was about to get up and head towards the two, but he didn't have to when Lita finally snapped, having enough of him. "I am so close to breaking your finger." Her outburst was a little loud so it gained the duo the attention of the rest of their classmates as well as Coach Michaels who began to make his way to the two.

"Something wrong Miss. Orton?" He asked as he stood in front of the middle of their desks.

"Yes. He was touching me-"

"I thought you liked that kinda stuff," John interrupted her, which earned him a stern look from Coach Michaels and he was simply ignored by the redhead who decided to continue after his interruption.

"-and I don't know where his hands have been so I do not want him to touch me. Why do I have to be stuck sitting next to him?"

"Because this is where you chose to sit yesterday."

"Actually," she interrupted. "I did not choose to sit next to him. I would do no such thing. Never. I'd rather walk into traffic than have to sit next to him."

She was ignored as Coach Michaels continued. "There are going to be group presentation debates at the end of most of the units like we went over yesterday. I will be assigning the groups and the units today and they will be based on where you situated yourself in class yesterday."

"Oh no." Lita shook her head as it began to sit in. "Please don't tell me. Please do not make me stuck with him. Let me change now. Please. It's not like you assigned groups yet."

"I did, but I did not announce them yet. Just wait a few minutes." He then turned his attention back to John. "I believe we had a talk yesterday about you and Orton. That should also apply to you and Miss. Orton." John fought the urge to roll his eyes but simply nodded with Coach Michaels glancing between the two again before he went to the beginning of the room and started class.

There were 21 people in the class, so Coach Michaels split the class in four groups of four with one group of five. As luck would have it, John and Lita were put in one group along with Edge and Stephanie. At least she was friends with those two and they could possibly keep her from killing John. The topic they were assigned to was ethics which was the third unit they were going to cover and that was around the end of November, so they still had time before they had to work on that. He told them he would give them their specific question in the beginning of the unit and they would have to have the debate presentation either the day that unit ended or the day after unless he stated otherwise. The reason why he had them sitting with their groups for the whole school year was when there were to be class discussions, the groups were supposed to discuss within themselves before the class discussed as a whole. Lita was hating senior year more than she was the day before. John, on the other hand, thought it would work in his favor if they had to work in Philosophy together as well. He was determined to win the first part of the bet sooner rather than later because he thought the second part would definitely take more time and effort.


"You're running too fast," Christy yelled after her sister when they went running together later that night.

"I didn't tell you to come with me," came Lita's reply, but she didn't slow down at all.

"Please could you just stop for a moment? I need a little break." Christy plead with her as she herself, stopped running to catch her breath and drink some water before she started to walk towards Lita who actually did as she was asked.

"I didn't tell you to come with me. You're ruining my flow."

Christy rolled her eyes as she put her water bottle back in her belt carrier and began to walk alongside her sister. "What's with you? You have been pissed ever since your talk with Randy. What did he say?"

"He told me to tell you to mind your own business."

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lita continued to avoid telling Christy the truth. "Can we just stop talking about that. It's just gonna make me even more pissed off than I already am."

"And why are you pissed off?" The younger redhead continued to press the issue.

Lita stopped in place with Christy doing the same. The two facing each other before the former spoke up. "Let it go."

"But-"

"Christy! Leave it! okay?" Christy decided to stay mum and not say anything. "Look, if you're tired, you can run back home because I'm going to continue. I'm not done yet. Or you can go at your own pace because this is not helping me."

"Helping you with what?" Lita scowled at her. "Okay, don't tell me. Just don't take your anger out on me."

Lita sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just... I'm sure you probably heard about it at school today. Randy punched John after practice yesterday."

"I did hear about that. I just don't know why. Did he tell you?"

Lita nodded. "He did. Basically that idiot said some stuff about me."

"Like what?"

"He was just being a pervert."

Christy said nothing and it was quiet for a moment as the two began to jog instead of walk. "He's cute." Lita simply rolled her eyes in response. "Can we go back now?" She asked after about five minutes of jogging in silence.

"You can," Lita replied. "Like I told you, I'm not done. And I rather run than jog."

"Alright. I'll see you at home."

"I'll run back home with you if you want."

Christy shook her head. "Nope it's okay."

"Okay. Be careful."

"You too." With that said, Christy turned so she could do as she said.

Lita had been running by herself for another half hour and was about a couple of minutes away from her house when she sensed there was a car driving right next to her. She didn't hear it at first because she had music blasting from her iPod. She only stopped in place when she heard the honk of a horn so she could see who was interrupting her. She took off her headphones and looked over to her left, ready to tell the person off. She immediately scowled when she saw a familiar red and black mustang.

"Is there a reason why you decided to disturb me?"

He shrugged, still sitting in his car, with his windows down so he could communicate with her. "I saw you and like I said, I missed you during the school day so obviously I was gonna miss you after school especially since it's Friday and I probably won't see you until Tuesday, labor day on Monday so no school and no Lita fix unless we cross paths at practice tomorrow."

"Lita fix? I am not a drug. And let's hope that doesn't happen because I rather not see you until I'm forced to." She began to jog once again, hoping John would get the hint, but no luck. He decided to drive next to her. "Oh my God! What do you want?!"

"It's late. You sure it's safe for you to run around here? There could be crazy pervs running around waiting for you."

Lita laughed humorlessly, stopping in place with John doing the same in his car. "Says the perv following me around."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you."

"Right. By the way, I finally learned why Randy punched you yesterday. You deserved it. Maybe even more. Me? I'd kill you."

Crap. "I was just messing with him. Just a little joke."

"Well, mess with him some other way. Keep me out of whatever stupid shit you two have going on."

"You look extra hot when you're angry."

She rolled her eyes. "You never look hot."

John feigned hurt. "That was mean."

"Don't care. Now if you don't mind. I need to get going home now. Bye." She was about to start running again until he got out of his car.

"Wait." He was surprised when she actually did that.

"What do you want?"

"I could drop you off."

"No you can't. I'm running."

"Like I said, it's late. You shouldn't even be running this late."

"This is Towson, not the city-"

"Close enough."

"-I even run around Fed Hill sometimes. My parents don't care, so you shouldn't either. Plus, I'm almost there and I have pepper spray. Pepper spray that I should probably use on you."

He ignored her. "I think we should start over."

"What?"

"Well, we have to work together for two of our classes, so I thought we could try to get along and possibly be friends."

She laughed just like she did the day before when he suggested it first. "I would have to like you in order for us to be friends," she began to say when she sobered up. "That's not possible."

"Why don't you wanna be friends with me?"

"Because you're a jerk."

"You behave the same way with me. That's just how our relationship works."

"We don't have a relationship." She shook her head while she thought about what she was about to say. "Look, you're right. We should probably try not to argue all the time because we do have horrible luck and have to work together."

"So you'll try stop being a mean bitch all the time?"

She sent him a fake smile. "Only if you try and stop being a pain in the neck." He was about to say something, but she thought of something else. "And whatever crap is going on between you and Randy, you should just leave me out of it."

"So friends?"

She snorted. "No Cena. I said we could try getting along so I could still have my sanity while working with you. I said nothing about being friends."

"Maybe I'll change your mind."

"Probably not. Anyways, I'm gonna go now. Bye." She began to run again so she could get home with him looking after until she disappeared from his sight. This was going to be much harder than he thought, but at least they decided they would try and get along. And if that happened, then they could become friends. He was determined to win this bet if it was the last thing he did.


Thanks for reading. Thanks for the reviews. Hope you liked the chapter. Tell me what you think, please and thanks. :)