I might rewrite this whole thing from Cedric's POV later, after this is uploaded, (since it's already done lol) until then I hope you enjoy what I have :)
2.
Cedric tutored her after school every day, even though Sofia quickly got a handle on algebra. She actually didn't need any help, she discovered. But he didn't seem to mind her doing her homework while he read next to her either outside or in the classroom. She tried to make conversation with him, but he was blunt and told her to focus on her work.
Finally, other students began to go for tutoring, and he would ignore her, so she stopped going. She didn't need the help, anyway.
At lunch she would sit with her friends, but would usually peek out the windows to catch glimpses of Cedric. Then one day when she peered out, on the way to her usual table, she saw something upsetting. Aa boy was holding Cedric's book over his head. She forgot about her lunch, and went outside to investigate. Two boys were taunting Cedric, who sat on the grass looking up at them with an annoyed expression.
"Give me my book back," Cedric said. If he stood up he'd easily reach the book, since he was so tall, but she doubted the boys were going to make it that easy on him.
"Hey!" she said, hands on her hips. "What are you guys doing?"
The boys turned to look at her, amused to see the short girl in a purple sundress address them. Cedric didn't look nearly as pleased. He covered his face and sighed.
"Go away, Sofia." He told her, but she didn't move.
"Is this your girlfriend?" one of the boys asked him, the other laughed in response.
"No way, she's way too pretty to go out with a loser like him." He said.
"Give him his book back," she said, hoping she wasn't beet red in the face. She didn't like the way the boys were looking at her, at all.
The boy dropped the book, and they both turned to face her, seeming to forget about Cedric.
"You're a freshman, aren't you?" One of them asked her. She crossed her arms and didn't answer him.
"Oh, come on. Look at her, she's obviously a freshman." The other boy said.
"She's pretty cute, for a freshman." One said, taking a step towards her.
Cedric stood up, "That's enough, don't bother her." He told them. They ignored him.
"I like the way you look in that dress, Sofia." One of the boys said, causing her to take a step back. They were being annoying.
"I bet she looks pretty good out of it, as well." The other boy said. Sofia gasped, shocked at the boy for saying something so crass. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but was cut off when Cedric punched the boy in the face. He fell over, and Sofia jumped back with a squeak.
"Look out," she managed to say. The other guy went to punch him, but Cedric moved out of the way just in time.
"Stop that right now!" A voice echoed through the courtyard, stopping everyone in their tracks. Cedric's shoulders fell, and he scooped up his things. The two boys were glaring at Cedric. A woman marched through the courtyard. It was Mrs. Flora, the art teacher. She must have seen the start of the fight.
"You four, follow me to the principal's office, now! Come on! Move it." She waved them on, they groaned, but obeyed her.
#
Once at the principal's office, Cedric wouldn't look at her. That didn't stop the other boys from glaring at her, but she ignored them. They were called in one at a time, but after Cedric went in they dismissed Sofia. He had told them that she hadn't had anything to do with the fight, and had only been a bystander.
She wanted to stay, but was shooed away. Her stomach growled from missing lunch, so she stopped at a vending machine to buy some pretzels. As she ate them and walked back to class she thought about Cedric, she couldn't believe he had actually punched that boy. Even more surprising was the way it made her feel. It had just been… so cool. She couldn't think of another way to explain it.
As soon as school was over she rushed to the math classroom, hoping to catch him before he started tutoring. But, when she got there, there was a notice on the door. There wouldn't be any tutoring for the rest of that week. Defeated, she went on to catch up with Amber and James.
"What happened at lunch today?" Amber asked, when she saw her sister. "I heard a rumor that three boys were fighting over you." Amber's eyes were wide while she looked at Sofia.
"What?" Sofia laughed. "No, these two guys were messing with Cedric, I told them to stop, but they started…" she trailed off, she didn't want to repeat what they had said. "Saying gross things to me, so Cedric punched one of them."
"Cedric? Your math tutor?" Amber asked, she had never met Cedric, but she knew about him.
"Well, good thing I wasn't there." James said.
"Yeah, I was really surprised." She admitted, "I hope he didn't get in trouble." She frowned, but her sister perked up.
"Maybe he has a crush on you," Amber said lightly.
"I doubt that," Sofia said, bushing. No way was that true, not with the way he normally avoided her.
"Hm, if you say so." Amber said, but Sofia could tell by the way she said it that Amber had come to her own conclusions. She knew her sister well enough by now not to press the matter.
#
The next day she heard that the three boys had been suspended for three days, which made Sofia feel incredibly guilty. A lot of people were whispering when they saw her, since everyone seemed to think that the boys, juniors, had been fighting over her, a little freshman. When she was asked about it she cleared up the rumors as best as she could, but they still seemed to circulate. She really hoped they died down by the time Cedric got back.
The week passed by slowly, and the weekend ever slower. She focused on her homework, and studies. Amber began pestering her about the winter dance, which Sofia had been excited about. But, not nearly as excited as Amber.
When Monday came she made it a point to track down Cedric, but wasn't able to find him until lunch. He wasn't at his usual spot, and instead was outside at the back of the school. It had taken forever, but she had finally found him.
"What do you want?" he asked, putting his book down.
"You got suspended," she said lamely. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, though. She just wanted to see him, and figure out if he was still mad, or not mad, or whatever.
"I did. Thanks to you," he added. He picked at the grass, and didn't look at her.
"I'm sorry about that, but why did you punch that guy?" she asked. It wasn't her fault that he had done that.
"Jason? Because he's a creep." He sighed and looked at her finally, "Why did you even get involved. They would have gotten bored eventually." He sniffed.
"It wasn't right, and I still," she swallowed, her throat suddenly felt dry. "Think of you as my friend."
Cedric laughed at her coldly, "Of course you do."
"What's wrong with that?" she asked, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.
He stood up, grabbing what was left of his lunch and his books, and said "I don't want to be friends with you, Sofia. Leave me alone." He stormed past her and back into the building. When he was gone she kicked a rock, sending it flying into some nearby trees.
"Jerk," she said.
#
She didn't bother trying to talk to him after that.
Don't worry, that's not how it ends! (that would be lame of me, probably...)