CHAPTER NINETEEN: TOUGH BLADDERS

Adam's POV

I looked up from my Geometry test and let my eyes wander around the classroom. It wasn't that I didn't know the answers. It was the fact that someone had been tapping their pencil like a front-line drummer for five minutes. Have you ever had someone constantly tap their pencil on their desk while you're trying to concentrate? It's annoying.

I'd tried to ignore it at first, but it was really starting to get under my skin now.

Slowly, I tried to focus my mind back on my test. Unfortunately, my focus didn't last very long. I set my jaw in irritation and slammed my pencil against my desk. A few students looked up from their papers and frowned at me. I didn't meet any of their eyes, but Clare was looking right at me in confusion. The teacher looked up from her desk when she noticed I wasn't writing equations.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Torres?" She watched me from behind her desk. Most of the class was waiting for my response now.

"No problem," I lied after exhaling heavily, "I was just resting my noodle."

A few dirty-minded jocks laughed from the back of the classroom. I rolled my eyes at their immaturity and tried to focus back on the test on my desk.

I'd just gotten focused again when I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. "You don't have a noodle, Gracie," Owen hissed between his teeth. I could feel the bitter taunt on my neck.

I rolled my eyes, clenched my fists, and forced myself to ignore his raspy whispers. I seriously just wanted to turn around and pound his face in. But Owen didn't stop with his gutless taunts. "Are you gonna cry? Please don't cry. I'd hate to see a girl cry."

A muscle in my jaw twitched while I imagined myself doing some crazy karate move on him. I should turn around and just punch him in his forehead. Maybe that would knock some sense into his empty brain. But something stopped me from turning around and smacking Owen. Or rather…someone.

Her hand found its way to mine under the desk. My eyes moved from the back of her head to my left hand that she was holding underneath my desk. Bianca's hand was warm and calmed my anger. She turned her head a little bit so that one of her brown eyes met mine. She smiled for a second before turning back to her own test.

"So," Bianca said as we exited the classroom together, "do you have plans tonight?"

"Study emergency?" Bianca made a face and answered, "Yes, actually. I'm pretty sure that I just flunked that Geometry test. But if I get some extra tutoring, I might be able to get a high B."

I pressed my lips together and buried my hands into the front pockets of my khaki pants. I threw the arm of my backpack over my shoulder effortlessly. "Actually, I sort of already have study plans with Clare and Eli after school."

She looked lost. "But I can totally cancel if you need me to," I reassured her hurriedly.

"It's fine just…leave your window open tonight." Her index finger ran up my stomach while she grinned deviously. I started to return the sly smile, but someone interrupted me.

Owen stood there, looking between us with his arms crossed over his hulking chest and disgust in his eyes. "Bee, you'd better watch yourself. I heard that lesbians spread a lot of diseases."

"I'm not a lesbian," I responded in a cold and stony tone.

"Bianca's a girl. You're a girl. It's all downhill from there."

I narrowed my eyes and stepped a little closer to him. Close enough so that I could smell the cheap cologne he was wearing. "I'm a guy.."

Owen laughed loudly at my statement, but he made sure to keep his eyes steady with mine. "Look, pal, you may not have boobs anymore, but you don't have balls either."

I thought about how great it would be to make a smart remark. But then I thought about how not great it would be to get thrown through a glass-plate door again, so I kept my mouth shut. The thought of having to take Owen on frightened me a bit. He was a large guy. Maybe he wouldn't be so frightening if he weighed thirty pounds less and lost a few inches in height.

Owen chuckled coldly at my silence and moved his gaze to Bianca. "We should get out of here, Bee. A bunch of guys and I are getting together at The Ravine later. It might be worth your while."

"I have plans," she retorted darkly.

"Plans more important than you, me, and the backseat of my car?" He moved a little closer, and Bianca rested a palm against his chest.. She hadn't even blinked since he'd stepped that close to her. Bianca stepped even closer to him so that they could touch noses. I watched her whisper something in his ear, but the hallway was too noisy to even get a hint of what she was saying.

But whatever it was, it wasn't very friendly. It also made Owen's face turn as white as a sheet of paper.

Bianca gave him a tight-lipped smile before giving him the cold shoulder. His mouth was hanging out in an irregular fashion, and his eyes had dimmed a little bit. Perhaps it was just the lighting? Bianca wrapped her fingers around my forearm and began leading me down the hall with a confident smile.

I glanced over at her every other few seconds as we continued to walk. "Do I even want to know what you just whispered in Owen's ear?" I couldn't help but share Bianca's confident ear-to-ear smile.

"Oh, that?" she asked innocently. It was as if it had never happened. "That was nothing. Actually it was less than nothing.

"Well it didn't look like nothing. Owen looked like he'd just seen a phantom or something."

Bianca stopped walking and turned to face me. Most of the students in the hall were already on their way to class. The warning bell must've already rung. Well, whatever. I didn't really care if I was late for my next class right now.

"All I had to do was bring up how weak his bladder is," she explained.

I made a confused face. "So…?"

Bianca looked me up and down while chewing on her bottom lip. She didn't give me any warning before suddenly kissing me with an open mouth. I was a little surprised, and I hardly had any time to kiss back before she broke away. She was still wearing that wide smile.

"Owen still wets his bed," she said simply. She gave me one last peck on the cheek before prancing off to her next class.

I watched her with an open mouth until she finally turned the corner at the end of the long hallway.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the WONDERFUL reviews! I know I've been gone for a long while, and I definitely didn't plan on it. But my Internet went out, and then my computer had to go to a repair shop.
But thank you SO much for still reviewing while I was gone. You guys are great.