'So much homework.'

There was a loud sigh as Aerrow rested his head against his desk in defeat, before boredly rolling a pen back and forth across the surface. 'Okay,' he decided 'Time for a break.'

Becoming absorbed in this ground-breaking entertainment in the form of a pen, Aerrow sat there transfixed for what seemed like a number of hours before his attention was drawn to the bedroom door by a gentle knock.

"Come in."

At his invitation, the familiar face of his mother appeared as she stepped in, her juniper eyes sweeping the room, noting the scattered Teenager mess with just a hint of motherly despair.

"So," she began tentatively "Mr Rex just ca-"

The older woman's hesitant statement was cut off by an audible groan from the young redhead, who had once again found refuge in the tabletop, smacking his head against it in annoyance.

Perfect.

Raising his head slightly and squinting through strands of copper hair, Aerrow watched his mother roll her eyes fondly at his dramatics, a sympathetic smile growing on her face as she took a seat on the end of his bed. "Come on, I thought you liked English."

Aerrow let out a soft sigh as he leant back in his chair, slumping down in the seat despondently. "I do like English," he muttered, before adding quietly "English just doesn't like me."

He flicked a rubber moodily, before a light hand on his shoulder caused him to look up, seeing his mother reaching for his only moderately crumpled English notes. "Let's see," she trailed off as she scanned the page, her brow furrowing in confusion as her gaze landed on the selection of scathing comments left by no one other than the charming Mr Rex. "Does he say things like this to everyone?" she questioned, her eyes searching his wonderingly.

Yeah. As if.

"Nope," Aerrow replied, his voice oozing sarcasm."That's just for me, I'm special."

Too caught up in gloomy school-related thoughts, Aerrow failed to notice the mischievous glint in his mother's eye as she reached forwards, grabbing his face and squishing his cheeks between her hands. "Yes you are," she affirmed with child-like glee. "Very special."

After several minutes, Aerrow was free from his mother's painful display of affection, and was now wearing what he hoped was an Adult expression of Disapproval, rubbing his cheeks for effect. However, watching his mother fight off a smile was making it hard for him to maintain his composure, his glum exterior rapidly failing him.

"Okay but seriously," the now composed woman said. "Maybe you should get someone else to check your work for you, because this,"- she paused, gesturing to the now even more dog-eared notes - "doesn't seem right."

Aerrow watched fondly as she began retrieving any stray items of clothing strewn across the floor, folding them neatly.

"Well, actually," he ventured, addressing the back of her head. "I was wondering if I could have a friend over to study tomorrow?"

Friend. Could he really call her a friend yet?

"A friend, hm?" his mother turned, flicking a strand of chestnut hair away from her face as she fixed him with a curious look. "Have I met this friend?"

A heavy silence fell over the room as the question hung in the air. Aerrow swallowed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled to piece the right words together for her. "Well, uh, she's this new girl in my English class. She started this week."

Upon saying this, Aerrow risked a look at his mother, who was both trying and failing terribly at feigning nonchalance, as she turned her back on him again, continuing her valiant efforts to make his room presentable.

"So, a girl," she clarified, a teasing note in her voice. "Is she pretty?"

Yes.

"No, well..yeah..I mean..." Aerrow floundered, desperately trying to find a somewhat coherent response. "I mean she's pretty nice I guess."

He really needed to work on that.

Despite his less than perfect 'talk' with his mother the previous day, Aerrow couldn't help but feel cautiously optimistic about his plans for the day as he sat in the school yard at lunchtime, soaking up the rare beams of sunlight filtering through the clouds. Today would be a good day.

"So you're gonna be going straight home today right?"

Aerrow turned to his right, where Finn was lying flat-out on the grassy bank they had found for themselves, his eyes shut as he enjoyed the warmth of the sun. "Yeah," he replied cautiously, turning his attention back to the many games of tennis taking place on the courts just below them, smiling distractedly as he watched a small weedy kid score a point only to be crushed in celebration by an incoming pile of friends. "I'm gonna walk with Piper to make sure she gets the right house."

At that, Finn abruptly opened one eye, looking Aerrow up and down in silence before leaning up on his elbows, a concentrated look on his face. "Are you sure you don't wanna take a quick detour to my place to, y'know," he paused, making vague waving motions with his hands before continuing. "Jazz you up a little?"

The redhead took a moment to process that someone had just offered to 'jazz him up,' blinking at the blonde in question helplessly before sighing and mirroring his spread-eagle position. "I think I'll be fine without your help, thanks Gok Wan."

The two drifted into a companionable silence, the pleasant heat making them drowsy as they listened to the laughter and chatter of their fellow classmates. Aerrow was just dozing off when he heard the unmistakable blare of the bell, signalling an end to lunch. Reluctantly, he sat up and began to brush off the small tufts of grass that seemed to have congregated onto his shirt, noticing Finn doing the same.

"Time for Biology," Finn sighed, stretching loudly before getting to his feet. At his friend's laid-back words, Aerrow felt the need to check something. "Did you finish your homework then?" the older boy asked flatly, trying to bury the growing feeling of amusement and worry as he watched his friend's face contort into an expression of dread. That was a no.

"Crap," Finn groaned, smacking his palm to his forehead. "She's gonna kill me."

Aerrow was merely an onlooker as he watched Finn search frantically for someone, anyone, who had done the homework set. With an involuntary sense of dismay, Aerrow saw Finn's gaze land on Steve, the thin, weedy boy in his class who always did the homework. Poor guy, this wouldn't end well.

"Yo, Steve! Wait up man!"

Oh no.

At the blonde's yelled command, Aerrow saw Steve jump, turning in Finn's general direction only to be greeted with the sight of a wiry, sugar-loaded boy racing towards him as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did. The older boy buried his face in his hands, ready to deny any affiliation with the doofus heckling Steve as he witnessed him throwing his arm over his shoulder and laughing slightly too uproariously. Always a smooth talker.

Risking a peek through his fingers, Aerrow was taken aback to see Steve actually handing Finn the work willingly, although not without flinching at any and every form of human contact. 'How the hell does he do it?' he thought, almost in awe at his friend's skills of persuasion.

"See you later dude!" Finn yelled cheerfully, shooting him a relieved thumbs before hurriedly making his way to his lesson.

'He's out of his mind.'

Leaning against the school gate, Aerrow blew upwards in an attempt to unstick the hair from his forehead. The unusual heat of the day had caused him to begin panicking slightly, mainly due to the fact that he didn't want to go home and study feeling all hot and bothered. Especially not...with someone. 'At least everyone'll be in the same boat,' he thought, in an attempt to reassure himself.

Everyone except for Finn. Who seemed fine.

As if on cue, Finn bounded over to Aerrow, giving him a totally subtle yet completely unsubtle wink, before disappearing through the gates to make his own way home. Not soon after it seemed others were following suit, either leaving in gaggles of friends or simply alone. Aerrow made sure to return any polite nods or waves he received from classmates and acquaintances, one of which was Cyclonis, who offered nothing but a minuscule nod before rushing off. It was something at least.

Moments later, the grounds seemed eerily quite, with only Aerrow left, and the gently dimming light of the early evening was doing little to calm his mind. To distract himself he checked his phone, wondering if perhaps he had missed her. Or maybe she'd changed her mind. He glanced at the time. 3:45. At least 20 minutes late.

On the verge of leaving or calling someone, Aerrow was interrupted by the sound of frantic footsteps steadily getting closer. The boy looked up to see Piper dashing towards him, midnight blue hair flying about wildly as she attempted to shove paperwork in her bag whilst running.

"Sorry," she gasped, coming to a stop just in front of him. "Chemistry teachers just love to pile on the homework. Yay." Rolling her eyes at her last comment, Piper turned to her bag, where she continued the fight with her worksheets. "Almost...Oh, oops."

Whilst most of the papers submitted to a higher power and obediently went into the bag, one stray paper escaped, a light breeze carrying it to the gate, the old, rusting metal grates blocking its path. "I got it," Aerrow smiled, attempting to be helpful as he made his way over to the rebellious worksheet, picking it up carefully so as not to rip it. "Titrations, huh?" Aerrow read curiously, as he smoothed the paper out, his eyes scanning down the masses of lines and symbols covering the page. "I never got to do those properly."

"Really? Why not?" Piper asked, brushing away the locks of hair hanging in her face, before accepting the worksheet and slipping it into her bag. "Thanks."

"Well," Aerrow started, as they began the journey home. "They sort of kicked me out after Finn decided to shove two test tubes up his nose. For science, he said."

This prompted a laugh from Piper, who replied with a fond amusement. "I guess the teachers didn't agree."

Finding her laughter infectious, Aerrow started chuckling too, enjoying the ease of their conversation. "I guess you're right."

They walked on in silence for a few moments before Piper spoke again. "I've been wondering for a while now but, how did you and Finn become friends?" she asked, and Aerrow noted that their was no sort of pushiness or judgement in her voice, only a genuine curiosity. "I mean, he seems like quite the handful."

She got that right.

"You don't even know the half of it," he replied, rolling his eyes fondly at the thought of his goofy friend and his antics. "To be honest," he continued, "I don't think I remember a time when we weren't friends, our parents have always lived on the same street, so it was kind of impossible to avoid eachother."

As she nodded understandingly, Aerrow turned to her, a sudden thought having crossed his mind. "What about you? I've never seen you around until now, did you move here recently?"

At her small silence, Aerrow cringed, thinking for a horrible moment that he might have spoken out of turn. Said something he shouldn't have. But he was quickly calmed by her reply. "I've moved around quite a bit because of my dad," she shrugged and turned to Aerrow, who silently encouraged her to continue with a nod. "He wants to travel. See the world. I don't really mind it because he sees these amazing places. I just don't like having to start over all the time, y'know."

She seemed to deflate for a moment, before glancing up at Aerrow and smiling. "Still, maybe I'll get to stay here properly. Let's hope!"

Yeah, let's hope.

The remainder of their journey was filled with comfortable chatter, making it seem like no time at all. When the pair turned into Aerrow's street and up his drive, he paused momentarily, turning to the girl with an apologetic look. "I just wanted to say sorry," he muttered, with the beginnings of a sheepish smile. "W-what? Why?" Piper stuttered, her forehead creasing in confusion as her apricot eyes searched his face.

Here we go.

Upon opening the door, Aerrow nearly fell over at the sight of his mother, who was mere inches away from his face. 'What the hell?' he thought, cringing inwardly - more-so for Piper than himself.

"Hey sweetie, how was your day?" his mother asked brightly, a wide grin on her face as her eyes darted between the two teenagers stood in the doorway. Sweetie. Of all the days she could've brought that back. Aerrow shut his eyes, a pained expression on his face. She was just as bad as Finn. "Yeah Mum, it was okay," he reluctantly replied through gritted teeth, making motions with his eyes telling her to please leave. Instead, she turned to her next victim. Piper.

"Hello there dear, you must be Piper," she greeted cheerfully, which Piper returned with a friendly wave and a smile. "Thank you so much for agreeing to teach my little ragamuffin of a son here." To make this entire scenario worse, she chose this moment to ruffle his hair lovingly.

"Aagh, Mu-UM!" Aerrow attempted to fight her off, going a light shade of pink as he attempted to tame the mess that was his hair. If the ground could just swallow him up now, that would be great.

"Okay then," she said lightly, "I'll leave you kids to it." Unbelievable.

As she moved to finally let them pass, Aerrow glared daggers at her, gesturing at her disbelievingly. Clearly, his embarrassment wasn't conveyed clearly enough as he got only a thumbs up in return, before his mother made herself scarce. Well, it was a bit late for that.

Leading her into the living room, Aerrow gave her a sidelong glance, checking to see whether she had been permanently scarred by the events that had just occurred. Thankfully, her eyes seemed to carry that same old amused glimmer as she caught his eye, grinning.

"Okay, I just need to get my stuff, why don't you just..uh.." he paused, motioning to the general sofa area. "I'll be right back."

He ran upstairs, entertaining the idea of barricading his mother in her room as he passed her door. She'd probably find a way to torment him even then. Not worth it. Disregarding his imaginary scenarios, Aerrow got to his room, rifling through mounds of paper until he found the worn, crumpled English notes he needed. On his way out, he caught a look at is reflection, quickly stopping to straighten his collar before running down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Aerrow returned to the living room to find that Piper had already gotten her equipment sorted as she sat on the sofa, a writing pad and pen in her lap, along with a clean copy of the reading material. Efficient. "So where do you want to start?"

"Good question," Aerrow sighed, as he flipped through the various notes he'd made for what seemed like the umpteenth time. He snorted as a came across what good old Mr Rex had labelled as a 'helpful sidenote.' "Somehow, I'm not seeing how 'Maybe you should spend more time reading' is helpful."

Glancing over his shoulder to see the notes as Aerrow sat down heavily next to her, Piper's eyes widened as she saw the 'helpful sidenote.' "Wow, he really doesn't like you, huh?"

"You think?" he joked, turning to give her a half-hearted smile which she gladly returned. "I know, why don't we just see if we can get a better understanding of the book?" Piper asked, turning to Aerrow optimistically. "Like what were your favourite parts?"

There was a small silence as Aerrow thought her question over, reaching for his copy of 'The Great Gatsby' and thumbing through it in concentration. "I guess it's probably in one of the early chapters, where the author describes Gatsby's house and his lifestyle, building it up as one big dream-world where there are no worries or stresses. But it's done in a way that makes it seem lonely, because it's all so materialistic."

After he'd finished his sentence, Aerrow turned to Piper questioningly, wanting to check that he wasn't totally off the mark with the story and analysis. He felt a pleasant, warm feeling run through him as he was greeted with a soft smile and a nod. "Yep, I'd say you're right," she mused, scribbling down some notes. "All you have to really do is figure out how to write your feelings and views on the book into words on the page. You're a natural."

Aerrow found himself once again with his signature goofy grin plastered across his face at her praise, and he stayed in this state for most of the evening. He found it refreshing to talk about the subject he enjoyed so much with someone who seemed to share the same views, and if their views were opposing, was able to hold a convincing argument.

For Aerrow the hours passed far too quickly, and all too soon it was time for Piper to leave. As she packed up her things, he tried hard to bury the feeling of disappointment in the pit of his stomach, a feeling that was becoming increasingly more frequent in the presence of Piper.

They walked together towards the front door, shoulders occasionally brushing due to the restricted width of the hallway. At the front door, they stopped, Aerrow rubbing the back of his neck as he attempted to formulate some kind of thanks to the girl. "This was..fun. I really enjoyed it," he tried, smiling shyly, "Thanks."

He saw her eyes widen slightly in surprise as she tilted her head bashfully, smiling up at him. "No problem, I'm glad I could bring some enjoyment to your learning," she replied lightly, before looking down to fiddle with the strap of her bag. "Y'know, it was really fun to study with someone who actually seems interested in what they're learning," she added, glancing up at him, the movement causing a few strands of hair to fall in her eyes. "So I guess I should thank you too."

They fell into silence again, both unsure of what to say, with Aerrow resisting a sudden urge to reach out and move the bangs drifting into Piper's face. Clearing his throat, Aerrow went to open the door. "Hey, um..do you think...he faltered, his question falling flat as he held the door halfway open. "Do you think we could do this again?"

He could've sworn he saw what looked to be a hopeful expression flicker across Piper's features, but shook it off, as she adjusted her bag strap and made for the door. "I'd like that," she answered, gently brushing past him and going out the door. "We can always sort it out lunchtime...tomorrow?"

Aerrow caught himself from going into goof-ball mode long enough to form a coherent answer.

"See you then," he confirmed, going to close the door, stopping short when he saw her turn around halfway down the drive.

"It's a date," she said simply, the soft smile that seemed to be a permanent part of her features appearing once more. As she disappeared around the corner, Aerrow shut the door, aware that he was probably gaping in a way not unlike a fish.

'It's a date.'