Despite her protests, Seeley insisted on walking her to class, but walking mostly turned into carrying when they realized just how much time it had taken Seeley to wrap Temperance's ankle.
"Seeley! Put me down! You said yourself that you can't afford to be late again, and your first class is on the other side of the building! If you take me all the way to my class, you are going to be late." Temperance struggled to get her feet under her as Seeley had his arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her feet off the ground as he hustled her down the hallway. While she appreciated his gesture, the way she was being held was beginning to aggravate her side, which she suspected had a fairly nasty bruise from last night.
"Stop wiggling Bones! Or I'm going to drop you!" Booth jostled her a little bit and tightened his grip. She ground her teeth together and held back a whimper.
"Look, there's the girls' restroom. Just drop me off there and I'll explain to Ms. Nielson that I sprained my ankle, and I was moving slower than anticipated this morning." Her chauffer hesitated for a moment, but continued on past the restroom. Temperance groaned inwardly and gripped Seeley's left shoulder tighter.
"We're almost there Bones, no point in stopping now."
She sighed when she saw her classroom come into view and Seeley slowed down, gradually letting her feet gain purchase on the ground, though he still supported most of her weight. They were only a few painful steps from the door when she tensed. Her tormentors from history class were making their way toward them.
With a flash of fear, Temperance realized that she had yet to interact with them when Seeley was at her side, except that first day in the cafeteria of course. But to them, it had only been a onetime occurrence. She highly doubted that Seeley advertised that he spent his lunch periods with 'Garbage Bin'. Her steps faltered, causing her to land painfully on her ankle. In one swift motion she was once again being carried bridal style, only Seeley wasn't moving.
"Alright Bones, I'm putting my foot down here. There is no way you are going to be able to get from class to class on your own!" Temperance opened her mouth to protest, but the words didn't come fast enough. "Don't get me wrong, I would be more than willing to help you, but I have the feeling it would be one fight after another, all day, and while you might have a high pain tolerance, I don't. Every time you wince it makes my stomach hurt. So, either we are going to the nurse, or we are going to my truck, and we'll go wherever you want. It's your call Bones."
Temperance stared at Seeley, mouth slightly open, as she tried to formulate a response. He certainly could talk fast. His serious expression began to unnerve her, and she felt anger boil in the pit of her stomach. Just who did he think he was, laying down ultimatums and acting like she was his responsibility? The only person responsible for Temperance Brennan was Temperance Brennan herself. She took a deep breath, a sharp rebuke on the tip of her tongue, but once again, her words never made it out of her mouth.
"Hey, man! What's up?" Temperance paled, all fire leaving her gaze as she lowered her eyes to stare intently at Seeley's chest; she had forgotten who she had spotted coming down the hallway. "I thought trash day wasn't until tomorrow, but I don't mind moving it up a day." She heard laughter coming from somewhere in front of her, but it had a hollow sound, like her head was under water. She felt Seeley's arms tighten around her, pulling her body flush against his, and despite the completely rational fear that he would turn on her like everyone else, irrationally she still felt an immense amount of comfort from the gesture.
"I don't have the faintest idea what you are referring to Daniels, and if I were you, I would hope that I don't find out." Seeley's voice was hard, dangerous, and Temperance could only imagine the faces of the boys it was directed at, as her face was still safely hidden in Seeley's chest.
"Oh come on Seel! She's the foster freak! What else is she good for? I mean, I'm sure she's an easy lay, but come on man! You could have any girl in the school! If you need an excuse to shower just go for a run or something. You don't have to roll around in the dumpster with Garbage Bags."
For a moment, Temperance felt the world spin. Then there was a tremendous bang that left her ears ringing, and they were moving again. She was still pressed tightly against Seeley's chest, and she could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage underneath her cheek. She turned her head and was surprised to find that the hall had emptied.
"When did the bell ring?" She got no response and was silent for a moment. "Where are we going?" Again her question was met with silence, although she could feel his heartbeat decelerating. "Seeley?" She felt a tinge of annoyance but tramped it down. "Seeley!" He stopped moving but didn't meet her eyes, instead starring at the empty hallway before them. "What… what was that noise?"
He started moving again, and in a few seconds, she saw what he was headed for: the door to the student parking lot.
"Seeley! We can't just leave! We have classes! And I thought you said you couldn't afford to miss class again? What about the football team?"
"Screw the team." He shouldered his way through the door while keeping her locked to his chest.
"And what about school? You're going to let some Neanderthal with sub-par insults and the maturity of a six year old define your education?" She felt more than saw him shake his head. They were nearing his truck.
"No. But I am going to let a beautiful, smart, amazing girl with a sprained ankle define my attendance record. I have the feeling she'll help me catch up." He didn't smile, but when his eyes met hers she felt her abdominal muscles contract and a faint case of acid reflex. She wondered if this is what other girls her age would refer to as 'getting butterflies'. It seemed mildly disturbing to her, having another human being influence your digestive tract.
They didn't speak as he opened her door and very carefully loaded her into the vehicle. She didn't ask where they were going when he pulled out of the parking lot, nor did he offer her an explanation when he turned onto the highway and headed south. They drove for twenty minutes listening only to the hum of the engine.
"I hit him." Her head snapped up so fast her neck hurt.
"You did what? How? You were holding me." He shrugged.
"That's what the noise was. I didn't… There was no thought. He was standing in front of me with that stupid shit eating grin, and then he was sliding down the lockers and we were leaving."
She stared at her hands for several minutes before answering.
"You shouldn't have done that Seeley."
"Damn right I shouldn't have!" His hand slammed against the steering wheel and Temperance flinched, tears coming unbidden to her eyes. "I should have drug his sorry ass outside and turned it inside out! If I hadn't been carrying you I probably would have, that sorry piece of shit!" Temperance cowered in her seat. Intellectually, she knew that his anger wasn't directed at her, but her reflexes had kicked in, and she had curled into as much of the fetal position as her seatbelt would allow.
The car came to a stop, as well as the engine, and silence stretched between them again. She finally pulled her gaze up only to find him starring at her with a mixture of concern and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"I'm sorry Bones." His hand moved slowly and deliberately across the space between them. She watched it cross the entire 2 foot distance until it landed softly on her arm. She was proud of herself when she barely shivered. "How long?"
She pulled her eyes from his hand to meet his gaze.
"How long what?"
"How long… the bullying. How long have they been bullying you?" They stared at each other again, and Temperance wondered if they were breaking some sort of record; the longest silent eye contact.
"Since I traded a suitcase for a trash bag; when I was put in the foster system." Seeley blinked once, then he was unbuckling his seat belt and opening his door. She was only alone a few seconds before he was opening hers as well, holding out his arms like he was waiting for an embrace.
"What are we doing?" She unbuckled her seat belt but made no other move to get out of the truck.
"There is someone I'd like you to meet. And then I thought maybe we could work on something school related, since we are playing hookie today." He smirked.
"I don't know what that means, but I'm claiming I was kidnapped." His smile faded as she glared at him for a few seconds. Then a grin spread across her face, and she surprised even herself when she used her good foot to launch herself out of the vehicle and into his waiting arms.
She laughed gleefully as he twirled her around a few times, mindful of how close her foot got to the car door, before setting her gingerly on one foot so he could shut the car door.
"So who am I meeting?" Seeley smiled and hoisted her back up into his arms.
"Only the best grilled cheese chef in the world!"
She thought about pointing out that there was no possible way to know who was the best grilled cheese chef without having first sample all of the grilled cheese in the world, and even then the results were subject to bias. But instead she burrowed her head into his chest.
"Do your arms ever get tired?" He grinned down at the top of her head.
Alright folks! News! I have had several reviews mentioning the inclusion of the rest of the cast, and more specifically, Angela. My stance on this subject as of right now is, if I include one, I have to include them all, and I really don't want to do that. I have yet to find a high school fic with a believable Angela/Brennan friendship. Plus, I think it makes Brennan's attachment to Booth greater if she doesn't have Angela to lean on as well. Just them against the world, right? =)
Also, I think I should add that the reason the plot has been moving at a snail's pace is that the bond between Booth and Brennan has to be strong enough to withstand later hardships, so I set out with the intention that at least the first ten chapters being dedicated to creating and affirming that bond. Things should start getting more interesting in a chapter or two.
And that's all I have to say! Happy reviewing! =)
