She didn't come through his window that night, and Kaidan was somewhat relieved. Not that he didn't want to see her again - he did so badly - but he was filled with anxiety when he thought about all of the things having her in his room could mean. He didn't know the first thing about having a relationship with a girl - if that's even what this was - and he definitely didn't know anything about sex other than what he'd seen on the internet, and that was hardly a reliable source.

The next morning in Bio he was disappointed to discover she wasn't there. The day seemed to take a turn for the worse from there. There was a pop quiz that he wasn't prepared for since he had spent most of his evening going over the events in the park in his mind again and again. Fredricks and his latest cheerleader seemed to be around every corner, calling him names when he passed. And for the icing on the cake, Tali was pissed at him because he had missed the last two saturdays at the library. She wasn't too pleased when he told her the truth either.

"I'm not jealous or anything, Kaidan." she said between bites of her pizza at lunch. "It's just - you could've called or something." she shrugged and she was keeping her voice light but he could tell she was upset. She was right though, he should have called at least.

"I know, Tal, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just blow you off." he smiled at her and she finally gave in, sighed, and smiled back. "I'll make it up to you this Saturday, I promise." he said, and he meant it, and she seemed to accept his apology.

After lunch he walked her to her next class and was just grabbing his books for study hall when the bell rang. Shit, he thought. The new Earth Science teacher was supposed to be observing study hall and he hadn't met her yet. Being late was probably not a great first impression. He closed his locker and was about to take off in a run when someone grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie.

He nearly fell right on his face from the pull and when he whirled around to face his attacker he realized it was Shepard. He sighed and she giggled at him.

"What's the rush, handsome?" she purred at him, winking exaggeratedly when he flushed. He rolled his eyes at her but couldn't help himself and ended up grinning at her like an idiot. She was leaning with her back against the lockers, one foot on the ground and one back on the locker behind her. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans but he was overcome by how badly he wanted to kiss her in that moment. So he did.

Her hand never left his elbow from where she had pulled him by the sweatshirt, but her other hand went to rest against his hip. He tentatively reached a hand to her cheek, his thumb resting below her lower lip. The pressure he put there caused her to open her mouth and deepen the kiss and she sighed into him, her body relaxing and responding to his touch. It was instinct, pure and simple, he didn't know what he was doing but it seemed like he was doing it right. It wasn't sloppy and awkward it was slow and patient and just when he was about to wrap his other arm around her waist and pull her into him, someone to his left cleared her throat.

He dropped his hands to his sides, and Shepard continued her hold on his sleeve as they turned to face the woman who had interrupted them. His first thought was that she was beautiful, much too young to be a teacher, and that she was pissed.

She had chestnut brown hair and stunning blue eyes and her cheeks were littered with freckles, her hand was on her hip and her lips were pursed and she was clearly annoyed with the sight before her.

"Mr. Alenko, is study hall interfering with your private life?" she said in a quiet voice that was anything but soft. He sputtered before being able to answer.

"I - uh - no - I mean - I didn't mean - I -" he attempted to say he was sorry and it wouldn't happen again and ma'am and other polite things but he was caught in an awkward situation and wasn't quite sure how to fix it. Luckily she put him out of his misery.

"Okay, go ahead and take your seat in the room and I'll be in shortly." she said, dismissing him, and turning her eyes to his partner in crime. When he looked back to Shepard she was smirking, seemingly not caring about getting caught and he shot her a warning look.

"Now, Mr. Alenko." the young teacher ordered and he could do nothing but turn away and head to class. Whatever she said to Shepard and whatever Shepard said in reply was a mystery, because they were both whispering too quietly for him to hear.

A few minutes later the woman walked into the room where study hall was held during fifth period.

"Good Afternoon, some of you may know me already from your Science classes, but for those of you who do not - I am Ms. T'Soni." she said brightly. "I am an archaeology student at UBC and am currently filling in until your school is able to find a replacement Science teacher." she seemed excited about the prospect of teaching high school students which was something that Kaidan could not understand. "I will be running this study hall until that time as well, and I will ask that you follow a few simple rules during this period.

She proceeded to list off the basics: no cell phone use, no music, no excessive noise, focus on school work before socializing. When she was done with the rules she flashed Kaidan a bright smile and he flushed a bit before turning his attention to his math homework.

What a weird day, he thought, still tasting the kiss from the hall, still smelling the scent of lavender around him. He smiled to himself, thinking he could get used to weird days.