Sorry for dropping off the earth with this one. I just needed a break I suppose. Well, I hope you enjoy.
Just as Zane wanted, and fully intended to happen, Duncan showed up at school the next day. This didn't mean that he was at happy about his decision, it was just that he saw no way around it. "Well." He grumbled, arms crossed over his chest.
Zane smiled from ear to ear. "Well?" he shrugged.
Duncan emitted a low growl. "Well, you better start telling me what's so important that I came back to this dump." A pause. "Otherwise I might hit you." He added for effect, not planning on doing so at all.
Zane chuckled, crossing his own arms in amusement. "You seem to be forgetting something." He said with cheer, wagging his finger at Duncan.
Duncan made a scrunched up face, frowning deeply. "What are you talking about?" He asked suspiciously.
Zane stifled a laugh. "I never said I'd tell you right away." His smile broadened further. He was looking forward to what he knew would be an explosion.
"What!" he exclaimed, breathing elevated. "You liar!" He swiftly got up in Zane's face, eyes ablaze. "You tricked me!"
Zane shrugged. "No I didn't." He snickered. "I merely played my cards right."
Duncan grit his teeth hard, clenching his fists with equal force. "You little-!"
"Whoa!" Zane cautioned. "Chill, man." He patted his shoulder. "I'm going to tell you." A pause. "Just not this second."
Duncan loosened his fists and allowed his tense gaze to relax some. "Fine." He said begrudgingly, averting his gaze.
Zane was pleased by how quick he was to compose himself. "Ok. Now go to first." He glanced up at the clock. "You don't want to be late."
Duncan snorted. "Why the hell not? It doesn't matter to me whether I get there now or five minutes before it's over." he said this matter of factly, nodding firmly.
Zane frowned faintly. "No, it does matter." He crossed his arms again.
Duncan's frown deepened. "Why?" He couldn't understand it. All he wanted was to hear what Zane had to say about this so called game. So why did he havee to go through so many meaningless tasks to get there?
"It just does." He repeated, nodding ever so slightly.
Duncan groaned in disbelief, throwing his hands into the air to further show this. "Whatever, man. I'll go." He shook his head. "But I won't like it!" Duncan reasoned that the point of going was to get Duncan to like it and come more often than not and as such swore he would do no such thing.
Zane snorted. "Ok. I don't expect you to." He shrugged, walking away from his friend and down the hall to his class. This way Duncan would have to do something other than bicker with him. He'd have to think. And he hoped the topic would be Courtney.
Duncan shook his head after Zane, knowing full well he could not see. It was just nice to pretend.
Duncan leaned back against the wall, keeping his arms crossed to create the perfect image of a cool, tough guy who meant business. It was because of this that millions of people started to either give him a big welcome or shift to the far end of the hall. He didn't care either way. All that mattered was that he felt right at home.
Over in Spanish class a little ways down the hall Courtney sat, eyes dull, staring blankly at the door. She couldn't say she expected him to come walking through the door, but she couldn't say she didn't hope to be wrong either. And she found it impossible to comprehend her logic.
The clock on the wall clicked over to 8:09, catching Duncan's eye for once. Zane had said he'd tell him the game if he went to first on time. And it was only this fact that pushed his body toward the class as time went on, at least that's what he forced himself to believe.
Upon entering the room the bell rang loud around him and everyone else in the school. But it wasn't as annoying as usual. All he thought about was looking to the back of the room where he knew she would be.
Courtney sighed heavily at the sound of the bell, head resting loosely in her hands as she gave one last look to the door before she would never think of it again. She was even halfway through banging her head down on the table when she realized she'd seen something.
She jerked her head back up, eyes wide in disbelief. There he stood, trademark smirk gracing his lips and usual skull shirt and pants covering his body. She could scarcely believe her eyes nor her heart. It was aflutter in her chest, a content sigh escaping her upturned lips.
Duncan saw her at almost the same instant she did, trying to pretend he didn't care that she was still here and appeared well as he walked back to the seat beside her. "Sup." He muttered absently, looking the other way upon taking his seat.
Courtney too avoided looking at him, sneaking a peek only when she figured he wasn't looking. "I don't know." She said in a similar tone, unable to hide the wide grin that forced itself to the surface.
Duncan snuck just as many looks at her, wanting to see if her demeanor shifted in any way. "Whatever." He grumbled.
This was a dead end for the conversation as far as Courtney figured and as such she didn't bother saying any more.
It was quiet albeit the buzz of the teacher's voice for a while until Duncan finally forced himself to ask something he'd been wanting to ask since last night. "How you been?"
Courtney was caught off guard by this. "What?" She said with a half laugh of uncertainty.
"Since I left." A pause. "Did you act as stuck up as usual?" he jabbed unusually playfully, flashing her a devilish smile.
"Ah!" Courtney was offended. "Stuck up? Me?" she cried shrilly, clenching a fist. "I'm not stuck up!"
Duncan chuckled in amusement. "You keep telling yourself that."
Courtney let out a low growl, mouth twitching uncontrollably. "Prick." she hissed, shoving her nose in the air to further prove his point of her attitude.
Duncan shook his head. "My point exactly." he was satisfied now.
"Why does it matter how I've been anyway?" she snapped, lowering her head back down to normal level.
"It doesn't." he snorted. "I just thought it was nice to ask."
Courtney snorted right back. "Since when did you conform to the rules of society?" she teased in a less than playful manner. "Did you bump your head while you were gone or what?"
Duncan's easygoing demeanor slipped away, along with his smile. "Yes." he hissed. "Maybe that's why I thought I could say something to you without you acting like a witch!" he snarled.
Courtney was taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me!" he said a little to loudly, catching the attention of a few of the students closer to them.
Courtney seethed. "Fine! Then I won't tell you anything about me! Not how I was doing or anything!" she wiped her head around away from him, crossing her arms on the table, and began tapping her foot in irritation.
Duncan watched her a moment more, taking in the interesting look she had when angered that he found himself strangely attracted to, before looking away as she did.
The both of them basically twiddled their thumbs as class went on without their attention. They were too consumed with the other even now, more so now, that they'd bickered.
In the end it was Courtney, upon getting up the courage to ask the forbidden question, that broke the silence. "Where..." she trailed off, wringing her hands out.
Duncan looked over at her more noticeably now, seeing the unease all over her face. "Where what?"
She shrugged slightly. "Where...did you go?" She mumbled.
Duncan had been half expecting this at some point so it wasn't as shocking as it could have been. "Home." He said shortly.
"Why?" She found that Duncan had the right line of thinking. Short answers and queries were best.
"I dunno." He shrugged. "I felt like it."
Courtney frowned deeply, staring intently at her now untensed, clasped hands. "Because of me." She said bluntly.
This stung Duncan slightly. Yes, it was you. It was all your fault, everything that happened. Even though this was true, he couldn't say it. "Maybe." he half lied.
Courtney cringed. She expected as much. Only she kind of expected to get the whole truth, not him trying his best to avoid blaming her. It wasn't like him. "Maybe?" She repeated.
Duncan nodded, looking to the front of the room as a distraction.
"What does that even mean?" She grumbled in an almost irritated way.
His mouth turned into a tiny snarl. "Nothing."
Courtney rolled her eyes. "Fine." She didn't care if he told her, she didn't care one bit. It wasn't like she needed to hear him say, 'You screwed up, but it doesn't matter.' Because she didn't!
Duncan shook his head, rolling his eyes to match her almost perfectly. The only difference was that Duncan honestly didn't care.
By the end of the class the two hadn't said a single word after that. But that didn't mean they hadn't exchanged hand gestures. Courtney preferred sticking her tongue out while Duncan flipped her off. And this was what they did, back and forth, until the bell rang.
"See ya Princess." he sneered, flipping her off one last time before heading for the door like the rest of the students.
Courtney let out an irritated groan, fists shaking angrily. "That's not my name!" she screamed after him, kicking at a desk leg while pretending it was him.
Courtney hated how arrogant he managed to be. Not only that but she hated how she was constantly the subject of this arrogance. He could pick any other person, yet he chose her. Why?
Courtney shook her head faintly, lifting it high in the air as she took a different path than Duncan to her next class which she thankfully didn't have with him. She would enjoy the break. And yet...she sighed. It just didn't feel right without him. Nothing ever would be now.
...
Duncan was pumped, racing to his next class excitedly. He couldn't wait to here what this stupid game of Zane's was. It was eating away at him like nothing else ever had. The only thing that bit at the outer edges of his mind as he tried to focus on what was coming was the previous class with Courtney.
No matter how hard he tried he could not help but think about her and how conceited the princess managed to be, especially around him. Not only that but he had a continuous nagging on his conscious that how he acted toward her was wrong. He loathed the feeling, the only part of him that made it hard to be bad.
And it only ever happened with her.
Duncan shook all thoughts of her as he stepped through the door of his class, eyes shooting over to the seat Zane always occupied. He was already there too. Good. Now he could tell him all there was to tell right off. Not that ignoring class mattered to him, he was merely obsessed in a sense. he needed too know this game.
"Zane!" he called, waving at him as he trotted over to take the seat next to him.
Zane waved back, smiling broadly over at his friend.
It was time.
He would now have to fulfill his promise of giving Duncan an activity to occupy himself during school. And he actually had something now. It had taken him all last night and this morning to think of something and for a while he had almost given up. But he didn't. He saw it through to the very end and therefore kept what he had told Duncan from turning into a lie.
Duncan situated himself into a comfortable position, smug grin on his face, eyes dancing with unbound life and interest in the subject at hand. "So..." he started, smirk widening. "What is it?" Duncan mused.
Zane's smile didn't falter in the least even though he still had slight doubts in whether Duncan would really care about what he was about to get him to do or not. "I know it's still a month away and all, which is quite a while, but you might need it." he clasped his hands together, turning himself so that he could better face Duncan.
Duncan stared intently at his friend, brow furrowed in slight confusion. "Yeah?"
"It's nothing new to you. You've played it before, the yearly fun of 'Halloween Love'." A pause. "Only this time you don't get to pick." he added, smirking evilly.
"Ah." Duncan whined. "That's not fair! Nor is it any fun!" he scowled, sticking out his lower lip. "You promised me a good game!"
"Would you hush." he ordered, rolling his eyes. "I told you. This time's different." he chuckled at his own thoughts, the sliver of guilt for putting her through this completely over shadowed by the amusement Zane was garnering from this. "You're not gonna get one of those sluts or some easy girl." A pause. "This time you get Courtney."
Duncan's eyes shot open, wide as ostrich eggs, and his mouth fell open without his consent. This was such a shock to him that he even found himself unable to form words for a moment in time. Zane was right, this was different. A very unfair kind of different. With Courtney, Zane would get so much more of a kick out of Duncan's struggles since he already knew all there was to get close to her.
Zane's smirk had grow so wide at this point that it was a miracle it still fit on his face and wasn't anime-like. "Well?" he pressed, knowing the response he would get before it occurred.
"Are you insane?" Duncan yelled. "I have to woo that snot?" he was still in utter shock.
Zane laughed heartily. "Nope, yes, and she is not a snot." he scowled lightly at having to say the last bit. Courtney wasn't what Duncan tried to make her out to be all the time. She only seemed that way to him because of all the shit he put her through from the start. What did he expect? She wasn't the type to get over big events like that, even when said person made up for it at times.
Duncan rolled his eyes. "Not to you!" he pointed out. "But she's a freaking she devil when it comes to me! Even when I try to be nice she practically bites my head off! It's either that or she asks a million questions behind my 'strange' behavior, which is just as much of a piss off!" Duncan huffed, crossing his arms over his chest to further show his irritation.
Zane shook his head, still quite entertained by this situation. "She might be more inclined to act pleasant around you if you hadn't made her look like the laughing stock of the whole school." he reminded. "You totally ruined any reputation she had. Wouldn't that piss you off?" There was a split second stop before Zane quickly added. "Don't answer that."
Duncan snorted, ignoring his last comment to an extent. "Anyone who pisses me off who isn't a girl gets a good punch to the face. That's why no one dares to. They know better than to mess with me." he nodded firmly, smirk returning to his lips. "And yes, that means if she weren't a girl I'd have knocked the lights out of her by now.
Zane rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He didn't really believe him completely. True, he didn't appear to like Courtney all the time, especially not after she snapped at him, but when it came down to it he was attracted to her. Zane saw it plainly. "But don't think you're getting out of this." He warned Duncan.
Duncan growled under his breath. "Why not?" He grumbled. "I'll still come here." He tried to bargain.
"Nope." Zane said simply. "You wanted a game and you got one. So you're going to play this game whether you like it or not. Got it?" Zane said with slight annoyance, although most of it was lost to his great amusement.
"You suck." Duncan growled, unable to find much else to say in this situation. He had pretty much screwed himself over with his own attitude. Then again…it could end up being fun. He smiled slightly. Who knows? Maybe trying to fool her into loving him would be great. "But I'll do it."
Zane smiled with pleasure. "That's good." He nodded faintly. "But remember." He thought to aid Duncan ever so slightly. "She likes being complimented and people who treat her as an equal." A pause. "That means no losing your head or calling her names."
Duncan sighed irritably. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." It would definitely be a challenge, that was for sure, but it would surely occupy him. He hadn't had a challenge like this in so long. "I know. And I'll succeed. You'll see." He nodded firmly.
Zane laughed softly, barely able to wait for the outcome of this game. And yet, at the same time, he dreaded it. What if, through all this, Courtney really did bend and let him have his way? What would he himself do? He loved her. And if Duncan fell for her as Zane knew he would, everything would become oh so very complicated.
"Zane?" Duncan asked, frowning deeply at him and the expression he know wore. It was so different from what it'd been mere moments before. It seemed very perplexed, like he half regretted what he was doing. But why?
Zane perked. "Huh? What is it?"
Duncan shrugged. "Dunno. Yu just looked kinda troubled all of a sudden." He said bluntly. There was no reason to pussy foot around it.
Zane grimaced for a split second before laughing lightly and shrugging it off. "I was just thinking about the errands I have to do today after school." He lied.
Duncan narrowed his eyes. Yeah, right. It was so obvious he was lying it was sad. He was an awful liar, especially when caught off guard by accusations. Zane only fooled him on select occasions. And that didn't include now. "Okay."
Zane's eyes widened in surprise. What? Was he serious? Did he not see that he was lying right to his face? Or was it simply that he didn't care enough to call him out on it? He was tempted to choose the latter.
"But it's ok." He insisted. "I shouldn't worry." He chuckled nervously.
"Uh-huh." Duncan murmured quiet enough so that his friend wouldn't hear. Liar. "It's cool." He said with a smile, turning back to the front. "But enough talking." A pause. "I need to focus."
Focus? Ha. Zane smiled again. He didn't mean on class. He meant on what trap he would lay for Courtney the next period he saw her. And no doubt he wouldn't want Zane interfering. So he'd oblige. He would sit at another table, at least for today.
...
Fourth came in what felt like a heartbeat for Duncan. For once the rule of wanting something to happen making seconds last for hours did not apply and he was beyond thankful. He raced down the halls of the school toward drama class and he honestly couldn't remember at time when he'd wanted to be in class so very much. Not even his anticipation of talking with Zane before this compared.
Courtney wasn't quite as chipper as Duncan as she walked at a leisurely pace to her next class. Although she couldn't help but smile at the thought of sitting down with her boys, even the Neanderthal Duncan. Actually...
Her thought was interrupted as she ran smack dab into something, wobbling back from the force of it. "What the...?" She murmured to herself, rubbing her head gently. Only when she looked up did her confusion turn to annoyance. "Oh. You." she growled.
Duncan frowned right back for a moment, scoffing, "Nice to see you too Princess." Damn it. He had just accidentally broken one of the rules he'd set for himself. No pet names. But oh well. He figured since he did it once there was no going back and he might as well keep it up.
"Can you at least try to watch where you're going?" she sighed. "I've had enough of getting ran over." She flattened her hair with her free hand, still flustered.
Duncan tensed instantly, eyes narrowing into thin slits, and lips drawn tight together. "What?" he growled with an anger usually reserved for his father. "Is someone screwing with you again?"
Courtney snorted. "Don't be stupid, stupid." she rolled her eyes. "No one is willing to even talk to me thanks to you!" she barked, poking his chest with a finger as she raised up on her feet to look him dead in the eye.
Duncan's brows raised in mild intrigue. "Well, if you'll lend me a time machine of yours I'll be more than happy to go back and let that pervert do whatever he planned on doing to you." he half joked, grabbing her hand gently to move it back down to her side.
Courtney groaned. "Forget it!" she slapped his hand off of hers before thrusting her head into the air and stomping past him.
Duncan slowly turned his head about to watch her amusedly. It only made the scene more funny when he called her out on one tiny mistake. "Yo!" he called to her.
She stopped dead in her tracks, fists clenched and eyes on fire. What now?
Duncan snickered under his breath. "Uh, I may be wrong here...but I'm pretty sure class is right here, darling." He pointed lazily to the room to his left, unable to hide his wide grin from view.
Courtney flushed a deep red, unable to believe she had been so stupid as to skip over one of her classes. It didn't help that Duncan had had a hand in her roaming past. "Stop calling me names!" she snapped, turning at a blinding speed on her heel to head for the room and, in consequence, Duncan as well.
Duncan shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest for added effect. "I don't think so, darling." This seemed to get her more steamed than princess had. He smirked. Yeah, this would definitely do for a bit. It mattered little that he rather favored princess, he would get back to it eventually. He just wanted to try out some other ones for a bit.
"Ahhh!" Courtney stopped in front of him, taking in a deep calming breath. "Look here, darling." she said in a warning tone. "If you don't knock it off I am going to have to hurt you."
Duncan chuckled. How entertaining and unusually convincing she was being right now. For an instant he even thought to back down somewhat. But it was a fleeting thought. No pain would stop him from playing this game. This love game. "Whatever floats you boat babe."
Courtney practically screamed at this point, refusing to take part in this conversation any further. Instead she stomped past his tall figure into the classroom, head held high with an air of superiority. She'd show him. Just wait and see.
Duncan couldn't help but follow her with his eyes, taking in her stunning figure which he hadn't really noticed in the past since he had been so caught up in pestering her. She really wasn't half bad to look at. Huh. Who'd have thought.
Courtney flopped down in her usual seat with an irritated growl. She hated stupid Duncan. She didn't want to be near him for a straight hour right now. Then again, at least Zane would be here to quail the pain. And this made her smile return.
Duncan looked up at the clock which turned over to a minute till the bell would ring. He knew if he wanted to put his plan into action he'd have to not be late, so, for once, he headed on to class without a sigh.
Zane followed in behind him. "So, what are you gonna do? Huh?" Zane was extremely interested, only sad that he wouldn't get a front row seat. Still, being a table away wouldn't be to much worse.
Duncan snorted. "Nothing special." He muttered nonchalantly.
Zane was surprised. "Really? I figured you'd go all out for this one." He poked fun. "After all, she is far more of a challenge than most."
Duncan chuckled. "Yeah. But she's still a girl. And as such she'll fall into my arms in no time." A pause. "In fact…If I'm lucky I'll have her in a day."
Zane laughed out loud. "Yeah. Right." He continued to laugh lightly. "Courtney isn't one to give into hormones. Honestly, I wonder if she has any. She has never acted odd around me or anyone else."
Duncan rolled his eyes, stopping at his seat. "Meh. She merely hasn't had the right person prodding her is all." He was quite sure of himself. "Now get." He half ordered. "I'll never get anywhere with you over here."
Zane shook his head. "Yeah, ok." Not that he expected him to get much of anywhere today anyway. "But I'll be watching." He reminded as he wandered off to another table, the bell ringing shortly after.
Duncan nodded near unnoticeably. "Good…" he breathed, turning away from Zane to take his seat next to Courtney.
Courtney turned her head toward him, her lips parted as if she were about to say something, before she stopped dead. Her bright face grew grim, eyes narrowing, and mouth a sneer of the sorts. "What are you doing?"
Duncan smirked. "Sitting." He said simply, suppressing a snicker.
Courtney growled lightly. "Shut up." She raised her head, looking over his shoulder. "Where's Zane?" she pondered with concern.
Duncan snorted, watching silently as she searched the room. Even if she saw Zane it made little difference. Zane would surely tell her some sort of lie to get her back over here.
Courtney started to rise to her feet in order to get a better view of the room. She wanted to know if Zane had been checked out or something to that effect.
Duncan perked, half jumping up from his seat as he grabbed onto her wrist. "Don't." he growled.
Courtney's eyes shot down to where Duncan's hand now gripped onto her. And she didn't like it. It was nothing like that day near the skate park. It wasn't half as soothing nor was it gentle. It was much more firm in this instant. "Get off!" Courtney whined as she strained to get him to let go.
Duncan did nothing of the sorts. He did, however, raise to a full standing position. "No. I won't." There was a moment of hesitation before he went on. "Zane wants to be alone. Something about home trouble." A pause. "Besides…" he took hold of her free hand with his own, his hand which already gripped her wrist slipping down to her hand. "Wouldn't you rather sit here with me." His voice was dripping with seductiveness.
Courtney was caught off guard by both the gentleness of Duncan's hands now and the strange sweetness in his tone and for an instant she found herself unable to breathe. It didn't help that his eyes were practically piercing her soul.
Duncan raised a brow. "Well?" He had her. Ha! What now Zane? This was way too easy.
Then Courtney snapped out of it, pushing Duncan back off of her with a sudden spur of energy. "No!" she cried, blushing a bright shade of red. "Get off!" As soon as he let go she turned fast so that he might not see her before bringing her hands up to cover her face in embarrassment.
Duncan blinked a couple of times in mild shock and confusion as he stared at her back. What the hell? One minute she was staring deep in his eyes and the next he had been pushed hard away. That had never happened before…
"Just sit." Duncan heard Courtney's voice say to him as she breathed heavily in an out.
Duncan frowned lightly, obliging none the less. Perhaps Zane was right. She was different. But at least it was an interesting different. He smirked at the thought. People like her were few and far between. What luck. This was truly great.
Zane sat a table away laughing into his hands so that Duncan wouldn't hear. Not that it mattered. This would be just as amusing either way. Not only that, but it was going a bit differently than he pictured. Courtney had been just as caught up in him for a half second as all those other girls.
Duncan glanced back at Zane to confirm the fact he was taking immense pleasure in this before he brought his attention back to the brunette trying her best to pretend he didn't exist. "What's the matter?" he teased. "Embarrassed?"
Courtney shut her eyes tight, refusing to look at him as she spoke. "I don't get embarrassed." she said stubbornly, voice holding an edge of uncertainty.
Duncan snorted. "Then why are you blushing and failing miserably at hiding it?" Duncan asked, pointing at her face.
Courtney made a soft yelp whine kind of noise as he informed her of this. "I'm not!" she snapped shortly after, rounding on him. "It's just hot in here!"
Duncan broke another of his rules then as well. No corny jokes. "Only because I'm here." he snickered, moving his face closer to hers.
Courtney groaned loudly, pushing his face away with a hand as she scooted farther away from the delinquent. "Go away." she grumbled. "Just because Zane is somewhere else doesn't mean you get to take his place."
Duncan was caught slightly off guard by her wording of this phrase. What exactly did she mean? Was it that Zane was allowed to have such a behavior as this and still get away with it simply because she liked him? Or maybe she had a crush on the guy. The notion rather irked Duncan. Still, he wasn't going to give up. He was going to win this game. "Yeah, you're right." Duncan sighed in seeming defeat.
Courtney sensed his sudden change in demeanor and couldn't help but look at him out of the corner of her eye.
Once Duncan saw he had her attention at least to a degree he went on. "But that doesn't mean I can't carve out my own niche of my own." he flashed her a charming grin as well as wiggled his eyebrows. "Right, Princess?"
"That's it!" she burst out, standing up suddenly with an intent to put him in his place.
Duncan stared blankly at her along with the rest of the class.
Courtney then flashed him a devilish smile of her own before pushing Duncan as hard as she could backwards.
Although Duncan expected something he hadn't expected this and as such had no time to brace himself. He went flying back, toppling out of his chair to the floor. He raised into a sitting position in a mere moment after. "Ow." he said in a way that made it seem it didn't hurt all that much as he rubbed his head gently.
Courtney smiled almost heartily in the moments that followed before she tossed her hair back in place and promptly left the class without a care of what the consequences might be. All she knew was that that was unusually satisfying, being in control.
Everyone in the room was stunned speechless by Courtney's reaction and spurred exit because despite the fact most feared her by extension of Duncan it didn't mean they expected similar actions and reactions. If anything the exact opposite was what most thought to get from her.
But Duncan was the only one of them impressed by both how she treated him and the way she so willingly left. In fact, it was rather hot when such a good girl acted out. It was only made better by the fact he was without a doubt the cause of her odd behavior. "That's the way..." he breathed to himself as he reseated himself. "And soon you'll have changed without even realizing it."
...
Word had it that little miss perfect got her a day of after school detention thanks to her outburst and that she wasn't all too pleased with this, which made most avoid her more than usual. But, of course, Duncan was the only person who saw this as more of a conversation starter than an obstacle to her heart.
Duncan snorted at his choice of words. Closer to her heart? Ha. Things involving the heart meant caring, which he did not. He didn't care what happened with her, all he cared about was winning a bet. Besides, when matters of the heart got in the way everything was made so much more complicated. He knew this all too well.
Nevertheless he would get her. This was at the forefront of his mind as he entered math class and saw her sitting back in the far corner of the room. And from the looks of it what people had been saying was true. She appeared very unnerved and irritated.
Courtney was told just recently that she would be taking part in after school detention that day and she was rather shattered by the fact. It wasn't that she unused to being reprimanded for doing wrong or even that she would now have to walk home, mostly it was the thought of being in a room full of Duncan duplicates with no way of escape.
This was so worrisome to her that she was fidgeting uncontrollably, fingers tapping, feet bouncing on the floor, and eyes darting about the room. The latter was more so to keep an eye out for Duncan, but she'd never admit it regardless of the reason behind wanting to know his whereabouts because he'd no doubt find a way to poke fun. And she wouldn't have that!
Duncan walked back to where she sat, taking the seat next to her before quickly opening his mouth. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" he chuckled. "Afraid someone's gonna get you?"
Courtney started slightly, turning about to face him. "Yes! You!" she said sharply. "Do you realize what you've done?" she added, jabbing him in the chest with her index finger.
"I have a good idea." he said evenly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I have detention now!" she shivered at verbalizing the fact. This made it all the more real.
Duncan snorted, deciding not to bring up the trivial fact that she didn't have to walk out of class like she did. "Whatever. It's no biggie." He shrugged. "Everyone gets it at some point." he chuckled lightly as a thought came to him. "Some more than others."
"Not me!" She was quick to snap, scowling resentfully at him, before averting her gaze. "I never do anything wrong..." she muttered unconvincingly, wrapping her arms about herself in self comfort as pain shined in the depths of her eyes, memories of all the times she hadn't been perfect outside of school assaulting her mind.
Duncan sensed the sudden drop in energy on her part and found himself to be highly intrigued by it. "What's wrong?" The words passed his lips without his permission, he himself feeling shocked by it.
"Nothing." Courtney grumbled, looking from the corner of her eye at Duncan's unsure expression. It matched her own feelings perfectly.
Duncan snorted. There were so many things as proof against her statement that it was hard to count. "Nothing my butt..." he said softly so that Courtney might not hear.
But she did.
"Shut up!" she was quick to jump on him. "You may think you can do whatever the hell you want with me, but you can never know what I'm feeling!" she breathed heavily. "You don't know me!" she spat, eyes ablaze, mouth curved in a deep snarl, and fists clenched tight.
Duncan drew back some at her harsh words. Sure, it was rather attractive when she got steamed, but this time was different. She seemed more pained than anything. It was...sad. "Well...what if I want too?" he murmured timidly, his perfectly planned words falling right in the stream of the conversation. The only thing was that he almost meant it.
Courtney had been posed to strike at him in various ways depending on how he responded, but the one thing she didn't expect was what she got. As such the fire was sucked right of her. She untensed, fists unfurling while her overall expression mellowed. All that was left to feel was confusion and a mite bit of embarrassment. "W-What...?"
Duncan shook his head. "Never mind." he turned his head away from her, still watching her from the corner of his eye. "I was being stupid."
Courtney continued to stay transfixed on what she could see of his face for a time before snapping out of her daze. "If it was so stupid then you shouldn't have said it in the first place!" she criticized, silently wishing he'd change his mind. No one ever wanted to know her. Not even Zane said so aloud.
Duncan rolled his eyes, turning himself back around to face her. "Look." he said plainly, not wanting to wait a minute more. "I know you hate me and all, but I want to ask you something."
Courtney eyed him suspiciously. "What?" she growled with immense uncertainty. She didn't like how nervous he had suddenly become. It wasn't like him.
Duncan traced circles on his desk with a finger as he tried to pick out the perfect way to say this. Although honestly he knew he hadn't given it enough time and shouldn't pop the question without the proper preparations and what not, but he was unable to help himself. Who knows if it was because he desperately wanted to see her expression in response or if it were simply due to wanting to be able to say he did it. All he knew was that he had to ask.
"Well?" Courtney said with impatience, heart pounding in her chest all the while.
He just spit it out. "Would you go to the Halloween dance with me?" Once it was said he felt so much better. He didn't even care about the rejection. He knew it was coming, just like he knew her stunned expression would come before that. Besides, it was just a game.
Idk...a bunch of conversations between dxc. It's ok I suppose. I just hope you liked it more than I do, otherwise I'll be annoyed with myself. I also hope there are no mistakes and that you'll tell me if there are big ones. Well, please review!