A/N: Thanks for the replies you guys. I did get the idea mainly off OTH! Haha I'm so glad you guys figured it out. I will have other characters later on and I'll tell you guys who's based off who but you seemed to guess right.
Jason: Nathan/ Emma: Haley/ Alex: Peyton/ Jimmy: Jake/ Craig: Lucas/ Manny: Brooke
They settled into her their seats and took notice of a name on the board and the teacher's absence. "Alfred Lord Tennyson… Lexy where do I know that name from?" Manny asked confused, "He is that cute sub everyone has been talking about?" Alex was drawing a picture of a group of people and one just screaming, "Manny I showed you the poem he wrote and you whined about how long it was but ended up liking some parts of it." Manny nodded, "Oh ok… well what's his name doing on the board then?" Jason laughed, "What are you the riddler? It's probably who we're studying this week." Emma looked on and watched the exchange and leaned into Craig, "Well we can tell who doesn't have the brains in the friendship." Craig chuckled and continued to read his book and Jimmy was jotting down some lyrics for a song he was working on and whispered, "Em no trouble." She nodded and stood up to throw away some trash. Jason looked at her as she walked to the trash can and for a moment she read the board and corrected the teacher's writing. He rolled his eyes, "Look at her thinking she's so perfect… and who does she think she is just correcting the teacher like that." Manny laughed and Alex warned, "Jase… one day." He nodded and watched Emma walk back to her seat.
As she took her seat the teacher finally showed up, "Alright class take a look at the board please… we'll be studying his works and poems and one of my favorites… Emma, will you please come and pass these out." He held up a stake of papers and Emma sighed and stood up and walked to him and took the papers, "Make sure that everyone gets one." She nodded and started to pass them out. She was handed Jimmy and Craig theirs and as she neared Jason, Manny, and Alex she immediately tensed up. She gave them a tight smile and handed each other their papers. Alex simply took hers with out a problem and went back to drawing and Manny gave a fake smile and took hers, but Jason had to be difficult and refused to take it from her hand. He looked up into her chocolate brown eyes and stared at her blankly. Emma didn't want to be anywhere near them for too long but he wouldn't take the paper and her eyes found his blue steel ones and they just stared each other down. Everyone was too busy looking over the paper to notice the staring contest but soon Craig and Manny looked up and sighed. Manny touched Jason's arm, "Jase take the paper already you big baby." He ignored her and Craig whispered, "Em just put it on the desk…" She ignored him. It was as if the whole world stopped and they were the only ones left.
Emma wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of just walking away. She put her hand on her hip and forced the paper in his face. He had to admit for a small girl she was pretty commanding. He smiled and looked at the paper then back at her. Manny sighed and didn't know Emma well enough to just ask her to leave and knew that Jason wasn't going to give up. She turned and looked at Craig for some kind of help. She may not like the guy, but this was a fight waiting to happen and neither wanted that to happen. Criag looked at Emma and sighed and put his head down and looked back up to lock eyes with Manny. She gave him a pleading look and he stood up and walked to Emma and looked at Manny both thinking, 'Ok separate on three… one… two… three." Craig turned Emma just as Manny kicked Jason both looking away and ultimately giving up on their stare fest. Emma grumbled as she took her seat and Craig just silenced her and Manny gave Jason an apologetic smile and they all listened as the teacher began to talk again. "Jimmy will you read part two section four part five please." Jimmy looked up and cleared his throat but was interrupted, "And come to the front." He sighed and stood up and took his paper to the front of the class.
Alex put her drawing down and looked up and as Jimmy spoke she couldn't help listening a little bit closer. "Half the night I waste in sighs, half in dreams I sorrow after the delight of early skies; In a wakeful doze I sorrow for the hand, the lips, the eyes, for the meeting of the morrow, the delight of happy laughter, the delight of low replies." Alex bit her lip and leaned forward as he spoke and took in every word he said. Jimmy looked around the room and found most eyes on the paper or staring blankly behind him yet he found one set staring at him intently. As he finished he soon felt himself staring at her too. They stared for a bit till, "Thank you Jimmy you can sit down now." Jimmy shook his head and walked back to his seat. He passed Alex and she looked down at her paper and smiled. Jimmy sat down and Craig smiled, "True poet man." Jimmy nodded and looked at Alex. The teacher continued, "What is that part of the poem saying class?" They all remained silent and just as Emma was about to answer Jason chimed in, "It means he can't sleep cause he keep thinking about her… her eyes, her lips, her hands, and he can't wait for the next day so he can see her and hear he laugh." Emma was shocked and looked around to see if anyone else was hearing what she heard. "Very good Mr. Hoggart." The teacher said, Jason simply nodded and continued to look down.
Alex leaned over, "Aren't you glad I made you get into poetry with me?" He laughed and nudged her a bit. The teacher smiled, "Can some one tell whom this poem is about?" Emma smiled, "It's about a woman named Maude…" The teacher smiled, "Very good Miss Nelson now can you tell me you as a woman how this poem makes you feel?" Everyone seemed to be watching her now. Emma suddenly felt uncomfortable and readjusted herself and cleared her throat, "Umm I really can't say." He nodded and turned to Alex, "Alex can you tell me what year this poem was written?" She looked up, "1855." Jimmy smiled and nodded thinking, 'She's no dumb cheerleader that's for sure.' Emma was still stuck on Jason's sudden answer; she wasn't sure if it was a moment of clarity or if there was actually a person somewhere in that entire ego. Craig was still shaken by his eye contact with Manny, it was strange how he almost didn't want to break up Jason and Emma but wanted to just sit next to her and stare in Manny's eyes. He watched her as she listened to the teacher and took few notes, whether it was because she was paying attention or jotting down plans for a trip he didn't know but looking in her eyes he wasn't so sure about her. Jimmy on the other hand was completely in grossed in Alex. She seemed to be paying little to no attention at what the teacher was saying yet she knew everything that he asked as he went on to explain more.
Manny wanted so badly to look in those eyes again. She'd been friends with Jason for almost her entire life and seen his eyes a million times but something was different about Craig's eyes there was meaning and depth that she didn't see in Jason's… on the occasion his eyes were similar but it was mainly basketball that brought out such meaning and fire. She considered tossing her pencil to the floor but pushed that idea down and she wrote down a bit of what he was saying mainly to ask Alex what it meant later because it yet again sounded familiar to her. Alex sighed and sketched at her picture but soon found herself wanting to sketch that face. His words though not his spoke to her and made her almost wish that poem was directed at her and for a brief moment she actually thought that he was looking at her. She shook the idea off and tilted her head and continued to draw and threw out random answers to the teacher and smiled thinking, 'I may not be looking at you but I know what you're talking about.' Jason was still somewhat annoyed yet intrigued but Emma. She refused to just put the paper down and didn't back down from his stare.
Most girls would either blush and giggle or walk away but she did neither she simply stood her ground and then her answer for how she felt if that poem was about her and she didn't want to say… seemed to him she was a girl that didn't express her feelings too often and it made him wonder what else was going on in her mind. Class ended and as the bell rang, Craig, Emma, and Jimmy got up and walked out the door while Jason, Manny, and Alex gathered their things and exited too. In the hall Emma was headed for math and that was also where Manny and Jason were headed. Alex waved her goodbyes and headed for art which so happened Jimmy and Craig were headed in the same direction for history, all thinking of people that normally they tried not to think of.