Title: Chemicals

Summary: A chemistry equation mocks Grace. Luke is Arcadia's geek version of superman, even though he stutters a lot. Set post Pilot.

A/N: Again, first person doesn't exist in my world, but this is Grace's POV. Kind of.

"All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here"

"You and Me" by Lifehouse

"You might need to start over again," Lishack suggested as she danced around behind Grace, checking her chemical equation. "Clear the slate, get a fresh start."

Grace sneered at the teachers back as she pranced back up towards the front of the class and Adam snickered, earning him a nasty look as well. After Adam was silenced and turned back to his own problem, Grace rolled her eyes at the paper, sure that the stupid equation was mocking her.

"Do you, um, I could-"Grace looked up to find the blonde geek who sat in front of her turned to face her as he tried to stutter out an offer of help. "Can I take a look at what you have?"

Those geeky types, always rushing in like academic superheroes to help fellow students in need. Must be the reason she always felt like breaking bones any time they got within two feet of her. However, he didn't seem to have the intelligence superiority complex the others did; he seemed sincere. Okay, so he seemed like the nicest person she'd ever met, but that didn't mean she had to like him. Or tolerate him. Or acknowledge that he even existed. Oh, what the hell, it couldn't hurt for him to look at the damn thing.

"Sure, whatever," She agreed with a roll of her eyes. He fumbled his way over to her, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose as they threatened to fall off. She handed him the paper and slumped down on her table. He looked at it a moment before venturing as close to her as he dared, which to his credit, was a lot closer than most would.

"There's only one oxygen in ethyl alcohol," he pointed her out, not a hint of snobbery in his voice. That was the reason she didn't snap at him; tell him to speak freaking English, she told herself. Since when did she start reasoning about ethical treatment of geeks? Used to be, if they annoyed her, she chased them off, simple as that. Fortunately, for him, before she could reconsider that act of kindness, he caught on and gave her a shy smile.

"That two, right there, shouldn't be there," he restated as he pointed to a spot on her page.

He translates, she noted mentally. My kind of geek. Wait, since when is any type of geek is my type?

She tried her best to shake the weird thoughts she was having and erased the two he had pointed out. Adam was looking back and forth between the geek practically bent over the table and her, no doubt surprised the geek had stood there that long without getting any form of 'Now scram, freak!'.

She glanced up at the boy who still stood towering over her as he continued on.

"Better, but there's one last thing," he encouraged. "The law of conversation states that-"

"Oh, cram it with the laws," she finally said, successfully shutting him up and earning a fleeting hurt look from him. Was that a twinge of guilt she felt?

And Luke was still there, re-gathering himself and starting to talk yet again.

"Okay, since there are six carbons on this side, we need six carbons on this side too," he explained, pointing with his pencil as he talked. "So, if we put a two here… and here..."

Grace studied Luke out of the corner of her eye as he leaned in to write on her paper, realizing that, yeah, she had felt a little guilty snapping at him. And he wasn't helping by being all patient and helping her and leaning in so close that it made her nervous.

She stopped listening all together and marveled that she could probably count his eyelashes if she wanted to. She suddenly felt very, very uncomfortable.

"Is taking up my breathing space a part of the formula too?" she asked, leaning back a bit to get away from him. Being near him made her think strange thoughts; thoughts she was sure couldn't be her own.

"Oh, uh, sorry," he stammered, and she swore his cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he backed away from the table, and with it, her. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but was afraid of getting snapped at again.

She rolled her eyes yet again and prodded, "Spill it, four eyes."

"If you want… I-I'd be more than- I mean I could tutor you."

"Tutor?" Grace's eyebrows shot up so high they nearly cleared her hairline. "As in actively try to do well in school?"

Luke shrugged and opened his mouth to say more, but she cut him off with a snort.

"I don't think so."

He looked pretty disappointed, but still stayed in the same spot, as if he had grown roots and become implanted there. Was there nothing she could say to make him leave her alone? A million insults flew through her head, none appealing to her. Finally she just leaned her forehead into her hand, hiding from him. It seemed ignoring him did the trick because his feet shuffled across the floor as he moved back to his seat. She pressed her fingers against her now aching temple.

"I need more caffeine," she muttered.

"Unchallenged," came Adam's reply from her side as he rubbed sleepily at his eyes.