A/N: Your comments are so inspiring, so thank you for taking the time to share your impressions with me, that really means a lot. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Detention was supposed to take place in one of the smaller classrooms at the back of the school building. Kim was wandering around because she had no idea which one. As she was dragging herself along the hallways, she noticed Jared near the door of one of the classrooms, pacing about. Well, that had to be the place. As soon as he saw her, he smiled, like he'd been expecting her.

"Kim, hi! Just the person I wanted to see."

"Why?" she frowned.

"Well, I didn't want you to go into your first detention alone. I kind of feel responsible."

"You are responsible. And I can take care of myself, thanks," she brushed past him and entered the classroom. It was empty.

"It's actually this one," Jared said, suppressing a smile. He motioned to the next door. "I can't believe you've never gotten detention."

"Yup, that's me, Kim the nerd." she muttered sourly and followed him to the right classroom.

"I didn't mean it like that, come on."

"I don't really care what you meant."

The detention classroom was almost empty. There were three regular detention goers, plus Jared and herself. They all stared at her in wonder. What was happening to her life? She sighed and sat down. Jared instantly took the chair closest to hers, even though there were plenty of seats to choose from.

"Ok, seriously, what is with you today? Is this some prank? Hidden camera? Why are you acting so weird?" she blurted out and demonstratively moved her chair farther away from him.

"Am I? I didn't realize, sorry," he got all flustered.

"Seriously? You didn't realize we hadn't talked to each other in over a month?"

"No, I did, obviously, I-"

"And you don't see how it's weird that we're suddenly talking again?"

"Ok, yes, but-"

"And it's not, I don't know, strange to you, at the very least, that I don't even know why you stopped talking to me in the first place? Or why you've started to now? My best friend told me that he can't hang out with me anymore, but he doesn't seem to have a problem with hanging around you and Sam Uley all the time. So, what's up with that?" she was panting by the time she'd finished the sentence and her eyes stung.

He sighed, looking deflated. "Look, you're right, ok? Everything you've just said - totally true. I'm not arguing with that. But I would like to make it right. I would like to-"

"Alright, settle down please," said Mr. Stone, their English teacher, as he entered the classroom. Then he did a double-take when he saw Kim.

"New faces here, huh?"

Kim blushed to the roots of her hair. She liked Mr. Stone. He was a good teacher. And to be humiliated in front of him like that... She blinked fast to stop the tears.

"Yeah, that's kind of my fault, sir," Jared said sheepishly. Mr. Stone smiled.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I ask too many questions."

"I don't need you to defend me," Kim hissed quietly at Jared.

Mr. Stone cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Well, anyway, I'll let you use this hour to catch up on any homework you're supposed to do," he said and took out a book. "Silently, ok? Maybe tackle the essay you were supposed to turn in last week? I'm looking at you, Jared."

"Yes, sir," Jared gave a mock salute and Kim snorted at him. Yes, sir, he was all honey, when mere hours ago he was growling at Ms. Jones. What a kiss ass. Was it because she was a woman? Was Jared secretly a chauvinist pig? Did Sam brainwash him? Did he do the same to Paul? She winced at the thought.

"What?" Jared whispered to her like he wanted in on a secret only Kim knew.

"What?"

"You snorted?"

How on earth did he hear that?

"So? It's a free country," she mumbled. "I'm allowed to snort as much as I want."

"You two are really unstoppable today, aren't you? Is there a problem or?" the teacher asked.

"No, no problem, really. Everything's fine, we're sorry," Kim blurted out and glared at Jared. She didn't need to get into any more trouble.

"I'm-" Jared started as soon as the teacher stopped paying attention.

"For the love of God, Jared, stop! I'm in enough trouble as it is because of you!"

"Ok, sorry."

"Stop apologizing and leave me alone!"

He gave her a sad look and finally focused on his notebook. Instead of feeling relief, can felt something like pecking inside her stomach, something dangerously similar to guilt. Guilt? Why on earth would she feel guilty? She took out a book and started reading. Every now and then, she would glance at Jared but he never looked back at her. He was making angry scrawls in his notebook, almost like carvings. They looked nothing like an essay. He kept scrawling and poking his notebook for a while until Kim couldn't take it anymore.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing your essay?" she finally whispered.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to talk to you. I'm not allowed to," he said without looking up from his notebook. "A cute girl told me not to," he pretended to be serious, but his lips twitched a little.

All the blood from Kim's body went straight to her face. " Fine, your choice. I was simply-"

"If you keep distracting me, I'll have to tell the teacher," he whispered and his dimples started showing. "I don't want to get into any more trouble, you know."

Kim rolled her eyes at him and returned to her book. She reread the same page over and over again until something small grazed her hand and landed in her book. It was a crumpled piece of paper. She uncrumpled it. "Hi! 😊 " it said in big rounded letters.

"Seriously?" she whispered to Jared but he just shrugged.

"What do you want?" she wrote back and threw the paper on his desk.

"Nothing. I'm just bored. And judging by the fact that you haven't moved from that page in a while, I'm guessing you are too. What are you reading? It looks boring. What's your favorite color?"

"For the record, books aren't boring. They're educational. So, stop staring at my progress, Stan.

P.S. Who, over the age of 12, has a favorite color?"

"Hey, you started it. You asked about my essay (or the lack of it). Educational, you say? Isn't Bridgerton that TV show with lots of sex and English people? I think my mom watches it (insert vomiting emoji, because I can't really draw)." Kim let out a chortle but quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "P.S. Asking about somebody's favorite color is a legitimate way to start the conversation."

"I've already told you; I don't want to talk to you."

"Yeah? Why are you writing this then 😉?"

Why was she indeed? She wrote the first thing that came to her mind.

"Because I'm polite?"

He actually laughed out loud when he read that and the whole classroom turned to see what was happening. Kim buried her nose into her book and pretended to read.

"Jared?"

"Sorry, sir, I had a funny idea for my essay. I'm so sorry," Jared said, still smiling widely.

Mr. Stone smiled. "I think I'll have to separate you and Kim. You two are having way too much fun over there, considering this is detention. Kim, if you don't mind," Mr. Stone motioned to a seat closer to him. Jared let out a dissatisfied sigh but he didn't say anything as Kim moved to the front of the classroom. She spent the rest of the detention trying to read but she couldn't shake the feeling that Jared was watching her, that his eyes were burning holes in her back and willing her to turn around and look back at him. She didn't.