The air was bitterly cold when Kori stirred from her sleep. She opened her eyes and glanced around, confused at first about where she was. She shivered beneath the sheets and remembered that she wasn't wearing any clothes. With that in mind, she suddenly remembered everything that happened the previous night.

She smiled. Dick had been so gentle and delicate with her; like she was some kind of porcelain doll that he didn't want to break. Her smile began to waver until it turned into a sad frown.

Although Kori had feelings for Dick and had enjoyed what they did the night before, she didn't want to let herself fall for the boy. She began to think how she was just another girl for him; that she didn't mean anything. Kori didn't want to let herself be so naive in believing that they had any kind of romantic future together. She swallowed the lump in her throat and felt tears prick her eyes. She shook her head and prayed that Dick was still sound asleep. She sighed and tried to convince herself that their actions were just a mistake. It was nothing.

With that, Kori bit her lip and silently slid out from beneath the sheets. She carefully turned to see Dick sleeping with his mouth open and his arms above his head against the pillows. For a moment, she couldn't believe that she was attracted to him. She smiled at his dishevelled appearance. She shook her head and exhaled deeply.

She searched for her clothes that were sprawled all over the floor. She tiptoed around Dick's room and collected different pieces of clothing. She pulled on her underwear, her bra, her jeans and her vest top whilst tying the overall shirt around her waist. She combed her fingers through her hair whilst she picked up her phone. 5:36am.

Kori glanced over at Dick before she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. The least she could do was leave him a note, to explain some things that she didn't have to guts to say in person.

After she finished scribbling down her message, she stood up straight and grabbed her shoes and her jacket. She carefully tiptoed around the bed and made it to the door.
She gulped as she cast one more look at Dick. She felt a tear trail down her cheek. She had been fighting so hard not to cry but the aftermath caused her to be unbelievably upset. She desperately wanted to be with Dick but she knew that could never happen. Kori had come to realise that Dick cared about his social status too much to ever let anything publicly happen between them. She decided she simply had to accept it.

With that, Kori opened the door and left.

Dick's eyes shot open and he was met with a chill in the air. He groaned and pulled the sheets around him a little tighter. He wasn't sure why but he felt a pang of concern; like something was wrong. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. 6:13am

He yawned and remembered the night before. With a fond grin, he turned and made a move to wrap his arm around Kori but he felt nothing. He patted the cold space beside him and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Dick sat up and scanned his room, "Kori?" He paused, "Kor?"

He caught sight of the note on the bedside table and reached over to take it. He felt his breathing quicken as he noticed Kori's handwriting.

Richard,
I understand that last night was a very foolish mistake. I believe it happened for an array of reasons, yes? We were both very tired and emotional... It was late and we were both experiencing stress for the test this morning. I believe it will be easy to act as though it never happened because we will both go back to the way things were before the tutoring began. We shall remain distant from each other and act as though we never met. I believe this will be best.
Good luck on the test. I know you will do well.
- Kori

Dick dropped the note without realising. He couldn't process how he was feeling. Mostly, he felt his heart drop when he read the words on the note. He had never felt so strongly about a girl before and he didn't want to just end things with a note. He was going to find Kori and he was going to talk to her about how they felt and what they did. Dick wasn't going to let this slide without trying to make things right. He threw back the covers and started to get dressed for school.

Dick sighed as he wandered through the hallways of the school. He hadn't seen Kori yet and they were taking the test in less than 2 minutes. He suddenly spotted her by the lockers and started to walk over to her but of course, the universe had other ideas.

The bell rang out and Dick cringed at the irritating noise. When he turned back to Kori, she was gone and there were students beginning to crowd. He growled and headed for maths class.

As he reached the door, he stared at Kori who was sitting in her usual seat with her hands folded neatly upon the desk. She refused to look at him, even when he gently brushed past her to sit in his seat which was situated diagonally from her.

He felt hurt that she wouldn't even acknowledge him. However, he assumed that she was just going by what she said in the note. She was going back to the way things were before the tutoring began.

Dick continued to gaze at Kori who was trying hard to fight the urge of turning around to him and kissing and hugging him. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as the other students in her class began to file in.

"Alright, class. Today, you'll be taking the end of semester test. I expect a lot of you to get good score on this." Mrs Bliss announced, eyeing Dick momentarily.

With that, the teacher handed out the question booklets and pieces of lined paper. She stared at the clock for a moment before turning to the class, "You may begin now," She stated.

The students simultaneously began opening up the question packs and scribbling down their answers and methods. Kori kept her head down the entire time to stay focused and to not give in to looking at Dick. She knew if she even glimpsed at him, she would crack.

Dick on the other hand was spending more time staring at Kori than his test. He just wanted to hold her for a brief moment. He missed her even though she was just a few seats away from him. But he missed her in the sense that she was trying to close off any friendship that they had and he didn't want that to happen.

The time ticked away and soon enough, it was time to hand their answers in. Dick finished the very last question and gulped. As consumed as he was in his situation with Kori, he was so nervous about his test results. He needed to get at least a C to stay on the soccer team. Being on the team was the one thing that he could do correctly.

For the first time, Kori was one of the first students to leave the classroom. Dick watched her and frowned. He desperately wanted to talk to her and if that meant spending the day stalking her when he could, so be it.

Wally slapped a hand against Dick's shoulder which brought him out of his thoughts, "Dude! You wanna head to the diner during our free?" He asked,

Dick shook his head, "Uh... No thanks,"

"Man, what's up with you recently? You don't ever wanna hang out."

"I just have some things on my mind. I'll catch up with you later,"

Vic and Wally shrugged and left the classroom. Dick followed suit but turned in the opposite direction.

The rest of the day went by painfully slowly. Kori was avoiding Dick at every chance she got. It's not that she didn't want to speak to him; it was that she couldn't. She knew that the moment he stared into her eyes, her resolve would shatter and she'd be vulnerable due to her feelings for him. She didn't want that. She was avoiding him to spare her own feelings.

Kori wandered across the soccer field aimlessly. She didn't feel like going home just yet but she also didn't want to be around the rest of the students. She sighed as she moved.
The test results had been posted on the board outside of the classroom about half an hour ago but Kori couldn't care less about her own grade. She assumed that she had got an A as per usual. She really hoped Dick's grade was acceptable but she was slightly concerned because she hadn't received a call or text from him to confirm it.

Suddenly, Kori heard her name being shouted from across the field. She spun around and she felt her heartbeat increase at the sight of him. Dick was running over to her and was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Kori! I got a B!" He exclaimed as he got closer to her,

Kori momentarily forgot about everything. She felt ecstatic about his results. Kori felt so proud of him, "You did!?" She replied, smiling widely,

Dick hugged her and spun her around slightly, "Yeah, thanks to you!" He chuckled, setting her down on her feet again. She giggled and they gazed at each other for a moment. Kori knew they had to talk about the night before one way or another.

"Look Kori, about last night-" Dick was cut off as he noticed his friends wandering towards him. Forgetting himself, he took a step away from Kori.

She followed his eyes and realised why he had changed so suddenly. She frowned and her shoulders slumped. She should have known that he was still cautious about being around her in public.

"Didn't know you were friends with the waitress from the diner, Dick," Vic mentioned, flashing a friendly smile at Kori who returned it but still felt like a complete outsider.

"Uh..." Dick paused and looked at Kori. She knew that this was going to go one of two ways. She tried to urge him to tell the truth by staring at him with her jade eyes, "I- I don't really know her... I just borrowed a pen from her, y'know?"

They all nodded to him in response. Karen shrugged, "Well, we're heading to the diner to eat. Are you coming with us?" She asked,

"Uh... Yeah, I'll catch up." Dick returned, watching his friends as they turned away and left.

He sighed and turned back to Kori. He shook his head as she had started to walk off in the opposite direction. The guilt of what he just did immediately set in.

He jogged up behind her and gently took her arm. She jerked away from him in an angry manner. He continued to trail after her and tried to salvage their friendship,

"Kori, I'm sorry-" He started,

"I do not care." Kori bit out but Dick could hear the shakiness in her voice,

"Kori-"

Kori spun around to face him and her chest was heaving where her emotions were building up at an erratic pace. Dick felt his expression turn sad as he noticed the tears that were sliding down her rosy cheeks, "Look. You received the grade that you needed. The tutoring is finished. I simply need the money and then we can go our separate ways." She hissed, keeping her eyes downcast.

Dick swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared carefully at her. His shoulders slumped and he brought the money out of his bag. He had been keeping it all together to give to her at the end of the tutoring sessions. He handed it over to her and she slowly put it into her bag,

"Thank you." She whispered.

With that, Kori spun around and continued walking away from him. Dick followed her as he heard her sniffling.

"Kori, I'm sorry." He paused, "I only acted like that because they wouldn't understand! They'd ruin things-"

Kori twisted around to glare at him. Her face was tearstained and she was visibly distraught. Dick wanted nothing more than to brush her hair away from her face and kiss her to make everything okay.

"They did not have to... You already did..." Kori cried.

Dick stopped following her after she said that. He felt terrible. He was completely in love with Kori and yet he had succeeded in ruining things with her. He sighed and bit his lip to stop himself from giving into his emotions. He shook his head and turned in the opposite direction of Kori. He wasn't going to the diner. He didn't want to see or talk to anyone. He just wanted to go home...