A/N: Enjoy this chapter…

Chapter 36: Apology Accepted

Bender was in such a good mood after English that he decided to go to his third period class, American History. His teacher, Mr. Petruzzi, wasn't half as good looking as Tess, which is why he rarely showed up, but he figured that he should probably give the guy a chance and not be so judgmental.

Ten minutes later, Bender was falling asleep at his desk again, thanks to Mr. Petruzzi, who sounded as though he were trying to speak from his nose or ears instead of his mouth. After about thirty minutes of off-and-on dozing, Bender gave up on academic success and asked for the bathroom pass.

Out in the hall, Bender headed towards his locker. Once he got there, he realized that he still didn't remember the combination to the lock Carl had given him the week before. He groaned and walked to the cafeteria, where Carl had just finished mopping the floor. Bender snuck up behind him and grabbed the giant bundle of keys hanging from his belt loop.

"Hey!" Carl turned around swiftly, nearly hitting Bender in the face with his mop handle. When he saw who it was, Carl sighed in frustration. "Come on, John. Give me a break, will 'ya?"

Bender smirked and started swinging the keys around in circles. "Can't you at least pretend like you're happy to see me?"

Carl grabbed the keys, nearly taking off one of Bender's fingers in the process. "No."

Bender pouted. "Carl, I'm hurt. I thought we were friends."

Carl looked back at him, amused. "Oh, you did, did you?" He clipped the keys onto the other side of his uniform and grabbed his mop again.

Bender nodded. "Plus, Vernon and I had a little spat. He said I can't come to his birthday party anymore."

Carl smirked. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, it's a shame, too, because it had a superhero theme and I'd just picked up my Wonder Woman costume from the dry cleaners." Bender shot Carl his best wounded deer look. "You're all I have left, Carl."

"Then I feel sorry for you." Bender nodded sadly and Carl sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

Bender whipped out Mr. Petruzzi's bathroom pass and smiled triumphantly. "Bathroom pass."

"So, go to the bathroom."

"But you just mopped…"

Carl rolled his eyes. "What do you want, John?"

Bender shrugged. "I need a new lock."

"What happened to the one I gave you last week?"

"Forgot the combination."

"I'm not givin' you another one."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not."

"That's not a very good reason."

"I don't need a good reason."

"But I do need a lock."

Carl smirked. "Okay. What're you gonna do for me then?"

Bender narrowed his eyes. "Are you asking me to get you drugs?"

Carl rolled his eyes. "No, but I appreciate the sentiment. I was thinking of something along the lines of you showin' up to school everyday."

Bender wrinkled his nose. "That's what you want?"

Carl nodded. "That's what I want." When he saw that Bender was still confused, he smiled. "I don't need much. I'm a simple man."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Bender sighed. "So, how long're we talkin' for? A week?"

"Actually, I was thinking the rest of the school year."

Bender's mouth dropped open. "That's impossible. What if I get a cold or something?"

"I'll give you a tissue."

"What if I'm throwing up?"

"I've got buckets in my closet."

"What if I get shot?"

"I'll give you a Band-Aid."

Bender sighed. "So, I just have to show up, right?"

"Right."

"There's not a hidden homework clause, is there?"

"I'll take what I can get."

Bender narrowed his eyes. "Fine."

Carl smiled and held out his hand. "We've got ourselves a deal."

Bender reached out and shook his hand. "Now, where's my lock?"

Carl put his mop down and led Bender back to the janitor's closet, where, once again, Bender opted for a blue lock over a pink one. They walked to Bender's locker so that Carl could cut off the old one.

"You gonna remember the combination this time?"

"I'll tattoo it to my forehead."

Carl shook his head and left Bender at his locker to replace it with a new one. When Bender was finished, he glanced at the clock on the other end of the hall and realized that he still had a few minutes before lunch officially started. Not that anything official really meant anything to him anyway.

Bender started walking outside to the t-shacks, hoping he'd have enough time to smoke a cigarette before Jimmy showed up. He dug into his pocket for his cigarettes and turned down the next corridor. When he saw who was standing there, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Claire froze, one hand on the locker door and the other on the hall pass Mr. Waverly had given her to leave class early to run errands for the prep club sponsor. She heard footsteps coming up behind her and whirled around, ending up face to face with John Bender. He smirked. "You skipping?"

"No." Claire could feel her face turning beet red. "What are you doing here?"

Bender shrugged. "Didn't feel like going to class."

Claire slammed her locker door shut. "I have to go."

"So soon?"

Claire furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"This!" Claire gestured wildly at Bender, who was standing only a couple of feet away from her. "Can't you go torture someone else today?"

Bender's smile disappeared for a moment, but it was back again soon enough. "I just thought maybe we could have lunch together."

Claire gaped at him. "No!"

"Why not?"

"Because." She paused as he came closer, forcing her to take a step backwards. With her back flat against the lockers, she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Because we can't," she said weakly.

"Hmmm…" Bender took another step towards her, reaching out to touch her. His fingers alighted softly on the crook of her arm and trailed down to her wrist. He opened her hand up very slowly, then traced the lines on her palm with his callused fingers. She held her breath expectantly, wondering how someone could make her feel this way just by touching her hand.

Suddenly, the pain and embarrassment of their encounter after detention came flying back to her in a single instant. "No, John. You can't!" She jerked her hand away and looked back up at his face. "You can't just treat me like you did on Saturday and then expect to come back today as if nothing's wrong."
Bender sighed. "Damn, why do you have to make this so difficult?"

Claire glared at him. "Why do you have to be this difficult?"

Bender smirked. "I thought that was your favorite part."

"Just… just leave me alone, alright?" She started to edge away from him, but he put a hand on the locker beside her, blocking her path.

"Okay, I'll let you go. There's just one thing…" He leaned closer and closer until their faces were only inches apart. "…just one thing I need to tell you…" He brushed a few strands of hair away from her ear. She could feel the heat radiating from his body… or was it from hers? It didn't matter. They were standing so close that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek, then her ear. He put a hand on her waist, but she didn't protest or even move.

He moved down to her neck, never once kissing or even touching her. She could still feel him breathing against her skin and wondered absently what she would do if someone walked by just then. Would she scream or push him away? God, would she even notice? Finally, his lips found a soft spot on her neck and her own breathing stopped altogether. The hand on her waist tightened its grip, this time to keep her upright. Tentatively, she reached around and put a hand on his side, grabbing onto his blue flannel shirt. He laughed softly into her neck then trailed back up to her ear and put his lips against her earlobe. "How's that for an apology?"

It took Claire a moment before she realized what he was talking about. She blinked a few times and glanced around nervously, pushing him away. He smirked, still waiting for her answer.

Claire swallowed and tried to look as dignified as possible under the circumstances. "Apology accepted."

A/N: Please review : )