**Well, after a short MIA vacation...and by that, I mean being swamped by work...I'm back for now! This chapter is post-fight and pre-football game. Oh, and Angela goes crazy on Temperance with clothes, curling irons, and make-up :) Review, please please please!
Don't own them, sadly.**
"Where are you taking me after the game Friday?" Temperance asked, walking hand-in-hand with Booth through the crowded hallway. It was funny…nobody seemed to run into her when he was by her side.
"It's a surprise," he told her with a wink.
As her eyes narrowed as she looked up at him. "I hate surprises."
Booth smirked as he pulled the classroom door open for her. "Don't knock it before you try it, Tempe," he chuckled.
"Why would I knock whatever it is?" she asked, more confused than before. What did knocking have to do with anything in this conversation?
Letting her pass through the door first, Booth's hand softly pressed against the small of her back as he guided her to their lab-station. "Too literal," he reminded her as he sat on the stool. He had noticed over the past few days that she had a tendency to take things a bit too seriously, which could only lead to severe confusion when she was with him.
"Where's your book?" she asked, placing hers gently on the desktop.
"I don't need a book," he informed her.
"Well that probably explains why you're taking this class for the second time," she told him bluntly as she hid a grin. This was her second time to take Anatomy, but it was by choice. Booth, on the other hand, not so much by choice.
"That's why I have you!" he grinned, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her towards him.
Temperance looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow. "I'm not doing your work for you," she informed him, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning back onto her stool.
"I don't expect you to," he assured her. "I do believe you'll make an excellent study partner, though."
"Are you volunteering me for things I haven't agreed to?" she asked with a chuckle, her blue eyes wide.
"I would never do that!" he smirked his Booth-y grin. "Oh, hey!" he began changing the subject, "Ange!" he called out.
A beautiful girl at the table in front of them turned around, her eyes similar to the color of Booth's. "What's up, sexy?" she asked, a mischievous smile on her face.
Booth turned and saw Temperance skimming over the day's anatomy lesson. "Temperance Brennan, this is Angela Montenegro," he introduced them as Temperance looked up.
"She's cute, Seeley," Angela spoke openly as Temperance's cheeks flushed.
"Hi," Temperance spoke softly.
"I was thinking we could all hang out today after school," Booth invited, "Maybe go get some pizza or something."
"Sounds good," Angela replied, her eyes narrowing as Temperance went back to looking at the anatomy pages. "I'll bring Jake," she told Booth as the final bell rang. "And of course, my lab partner isn't here today."
Smirking, Booth, and the rest of the class, looked over as another nerdy kid stumbled through the door. "I'm here!" the kid yelled out before the bell stopped ringing.
"Scratch that," Angela sighed, placing her head in her hands as she turned back around towards the front of the class.
"You okay with going to get pizza after school?" Booth asked in a whisper.
Temperance's eyes narrowed. "Yes. Now hush so you can learn," she instructed and nodded her head towards the halfway bald man at the front of the classroom.
"But that's no fun," he whined, propping his chin up with his hand.
"Mr. Booth!" the teacher snapped. "Since you're talking, I assume you already know the bones in the arm," the man spoke loudly.
"Uh," Booth stuttered, attempting to slide Temperance's book in front of him.
"Radius, ulna, and humerus," she whispered, pulling the book back to her.
"Radius, ulna, and humerus," he repeated, looking back up at the teacher.
With a smirk, the teacher shook his head. "I'm impressed. Miss Brennan is proving to be a smart choice for your lab partner."
"He's correct," she whispered with a smirk. "I am the most competent student in the class in this subject," she told him matter-of-factly.
Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Booth chuckled. "Lucky me," he replied. Temperance sensed sarcasm, but decided not to respond to it. Instead, she slipped her hand under the lab table until she found his. As he turned around with a grin on his face, she put a finger to her lips, shushed him, and pointed at the board.
That afternoon, Booth had driven Temperance to a local pizzeria that had the absolute best pizza in the entire state. Guiding her to an empty table, Booth pulled out a chair for her and sat down in the next seat. "Thanks," she replied with a smile.
"You okay?" he asked, putting his arm on the back of her chair. "You've been kind of quiet this afternoon."
Biting her bottom lip, Temperance shrugged. "Were you and that Angela girl ever…you know…a thing?" she asked. She hated to pry, but for some reason, that had been irking her all afternoon.
Booth let out a light laugh and rubbed her shoulder. "No," he answered her, "We've just known each other since elementary school." Temperance's mouth formed an "oh" shape as Booth looked up and waved. "That's not Jake…" he observed quietly.
"Hey, guys," Angela greeted with a smile as she dropped her back to the floor. "I'm not sure if you remember him, but this is Jack Hodgins," she introduced the nerdy-looking guy behind her.
Attempting to hold back a chuckle, Booth reached out a hand. "Yeah, you're Ange's lab partner, right?" he asked as Jack shook his hand. Booth wasn't meaning to make fun of the poor kid, he just knew that this guy wasn't Angela's usual "type."
"Yep, that's me," he smiled.
"Well, I'm Booth, this is Temperance," he introduced.
"Hi," Temperance spoke up, before taking a drink of her water.
"So, Temperance," Angela spoke up, pulling a sketch pad and a pencil out of her bag, "Where are you from? I know you're new this year."
Booth's heart sank as his girlfriend looked up. Surprisingly, she just smiled politely. "Oh, from all over," Temperance replied. "I've moved around a lot."
"Oh, cool," Angela replied with a smile. "Jack just got back from some kind of…uh…science-y camp," she told Booth and Temperance as Jack chuckled.
"Science-y camp?" Booth asked as Temperance looked up from her book, suddenly interested in what was going on.
"Yeah, I went to South America this summer as an intern for a big lab here in town. We got to test soil and insects for different chemicals, species, ya know…all that awesome stuff," he grinned big.
With wide eyes, Temperance's jaw dropped. "That would have been so amazing!" she gasped, earning strange looks from Booth and Angela. "Did you actually get to work hands-on with specimen? Did you get to interact with any of the local entomologists?"
Surprised that someone actually knew what the hell he was talking about, Jack nodded. "Yeah! It was the best thing I have ever done. At first…" he went into a rant as he drug Temperance in deeper and deeper.
Booth looked over at Angela. Sharing a confused look, they both laughed. "Of course we get the science nerds," she told him, looking back down at her paper.
"I think mine may come in more use than yours," he joked. "She's more into bones than dirt and bugs."
Angela glanced over at Temperance and smiled. "She's cute, Seeley," she told him again.
"I know," he semi-bragged, also looking over at her.
"She looks fragile, though," Angela noted. "Like she's been through some tough shit."
"You could say that," Booth replied, attempting to clear a spot on the table for the pizza that the waitress had just brought them. "Do you think, uh," Booth began, "Do you think you could kind of help me out a little with showing her around some?" he asked quietly.
"No problem, handsome," she replied, diving into the steaming pie in front of them.
Friday eventually came around, which sent the whole school into a whirlwind of orange, black, and tiger-images on everything. The football team and cheerleaders all had to wear their uniforms, including Booth.
Stepping out of her vehicle, Temperance smirked as she saw him in his orange and black football jersey. "Well don't you look all masculine," she teased, reaching in the backseat for her backpack.
With a cocky grin, Booth looked down at his jersey and back up to her. "That means you like it, right?" he wanted to make sure.
Temperance laughed as she rolled her eyes, pulling her backpack onto her shoulders, being careful as her ribcage still hurt. As she began to walk towards the school, Booth pulled her back to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She still wasn't used to the whole I'm-going-to-hug-you-all-the-time thing that Booth had going on. However, she was okay with it.
"Will you be there tonight?" he asked, his chin resting on her head. He inhaled her scent one last time before she stepped back from him.
"I've already told you I would be," she reminded him with another eye-roll. "If I say I'm going to do something, I do it." Booth didn't know how literal and true this was.
As a grin formed across his face, he took her hand and led her into the school. "After seventh period, all the players have to go to the field-house and stay there until the game, so I won't be able to hang out between then and the game," he told her.
Looking up at him, Temperance poked her bottom lip out and batted her eyes excessively. Booth laughed and shook his head. "I know that upsets you terribly and all…" he knew she was mocking him.
"It's just three hours. You'll be fine without me," she assured him, not really understanding the importance of him getting to see her all the time, but she went with it.
"But I'll see you after the game," he told her, but it came out more as a question than a statement.
"Yes. I will be with Angela from the time the last bell rings to when I leave with you after the game," she told him with a smile as he opened the door to her first class.
Smiling back, Booth hugged her with one arm. "Have fun in English," he told her with a sarcastic tone.
"Yeah right," she mumbled, loosening herself from his grip and halfway waving at him as she walked into the room. She had another long first period ahead of her.
The rest of the day had gone by fairly quickly, but Temperance had definitely noticed Booth's absence from eighth period. Once the last bell of the day rang, she walked towards her locker to switch out which books she needed to take home for the weekend and which books could stay at school. "Thank God it's Friday," Angela huffed, leaning up against the lockers next to Temperance.
"God doesn't have anything to do with why it is Friday," Temperance replied, closing her locker. She had never really understood why people thanked this invisible god for the end of the week.
Chuckling, Angela shook her head. "It's just an expression, Temperance," she told the pale girl next to her. Standing by the amazingly-tan Angela, Temperance's skin looked more translucent than normal.
"What are we doing until the game?" Temperance asked as Angela looped an arm through hers while they walked towards the front of the school.
"We're gonna go get you ready for the game!" Angela exclaimed with excitement and a big grin.
Raising an eyebrow at her new friend, Temperance looked down at herself. "What's wrong with how I am now?" Her jeans and t-shirt left too much to the imagination for Angela's likings.
"Oh, sweetie, you have so much to learn…" Angela sighed, pulling Temperance out of the school. "Now, let's go get you all sexy for the game! Seeley will barely be able to focus on the game after I'm done with you!"
Not quite sure what that meant or what Angela was going to do with her, Temperance decided to just shut up and go with it.
Once they arrived at Angela's house, Temperance's eyes got as big as saucers. "Holy crap! You live here?" she asked Angela, noticing the size of the place. It was massive!
Lightly laughing, Angela jumped out of her car. "Yeah, my dad is kind of well-known. Let's go!" she pulled on Temperance's arm.
Her eyes saying wide as Angela pulled her through the giant house, Temperance couldn't even imagine living in a place like this. As she followed Angela into another room, she turned around as the door closed behind her. "Is this your room?" she asked as Angela walked to her closet.
"Yup. Now come here! We have to find clothes first."
Temperance's whole house that she lived in with her parents could've easily fit into Angela's bedroom. Walking towards the closet still in shock, she stopped as she looked inside. Hell, her whole bedroom could fit in the closet with plenty of room left over. "Earth to Temperance!" Angela called out.
Shaking herself out of the dream she must've been in, Temperance looked over to see Angela with a hand on her hip. "Sorry," she mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she joined her friend.
"Okay, let's get you in this skirt," Angela pulled a hanger off the rack, "And…." She paused, pursing her lips. "This shirt," she finished, pulling at another clothes hanger.
"I don't wear skirts," Temperance spoke up quietly, only taking the shirt from Angela.
"If you insist," Angela easily gave in, grabbing a pair of shorts.
"These are even shorter than the skirt!" Temperance argued, her eyes pinched together. Sure, she had the body to pull these things off, but she didn't have the self-confidence.
"Sweetie," Angela began her negotiating skills, "You have the legs for these! You're 17! Use them to your advantage!"
"Why do I need an advantage?" Temperance asked, utterly confused yet again.
With a chuckle, Angela pulled her over to a floor-length mirror. "You see your body? Your legs?"
"Of course I do." Temperance looked up and down the mirror, trying to figure out what Angela was getting at.
"Sure, Seeley likes you in whatever you wear," Angela finally brought him into the argument, "But don't you want to just floor him just once?" Unsure of what the floor had to do with anything, Temperance's eyes pinched together again. "It means make his jaw drop. Make him stop dead in his tracks, unable to move, because of the way you look."
Finally catching up to the meaning of the conversation, Temperance sighed. "What about a dress that doesn't show my ass?" she asked.
A grin spread over Angela's face as she laughed out in victory. "I have the perfect dress for you!" She rummaged through the row of dresses until she came to the one in mind. "Ah ha!" she did a victory yell as she pulled the dress off the hanger and held it up. "I'll step out here. Put this on and come out to show me," Angela instructed.
Doing as she was told, Temperance slid the dress on and opened the closet door for Angela to see. Looking up to see her, Angela grinned and jumped up and down a few times as she squealed. "This is definitely the dress for you!"
Temperance stepped back, unsure of how she felt about the outfit, and looked in the mirror. Angela had picked out a dress that stopped right above Temperance's knees, but still flowed freely. With a gray tank top underneath the spaghetti straps, Temperance's eyes ran across the dark blue material. She was okay with this outfit.
Coming back out of the closet, Temperance had to endure another hour or two of hair and make-up torture from Angela. The entire time, Angela ensured her that it was all worth it. Temperance eventually lost count of how many times she was burned by the curling iron that Angela had been wielding around her head.
But looking up into the mirror after Angela had finished her beautiful creation, Temperance softly smiled. Her hair was in loose curls that definitely appeared more managed than her usual curls. Softly above her eyes was a smoky gray color that made the blue in her eyes pop out even more.
"Time to go," Angela told her, handing her a lightweight cardigan-type jacket.
"Thank you for this, Angela," Temperance spoke quietly, fidgeting with the ring on her finger.
"No problem, sweetie. What else are friends for?" she chuckled, walking out of the bedroom.
Arriving at the stadium half an hour early, Temperance sent Booth a text message simply assuring him that she was there. Smiling as she felt her phone vibrate, she pulled it out of her purse.
To: Tempe
Meet me by the field-house. 5 minutes.
-Booth
"Hey, uh…Booth said to come meet him for a minute, I'll be right back," Temperance told Angela, darting off before her friend had time to object.
As she waited Temperance, watched people go by. Some stared at her like she must have been lost, and others just frankly didn't care that she was there at all. Nearly jumping out of her skin as someone touched her waist from behind, she spun around.
Moving her eyes up to his chocolate ones, she smiled. "Hey," she spoke first, her cheeks slowly becoming flushed.
"You look amazing," he eventually told her, taking her hand and surveying her body up and down, a grin smeared across his face.
"Angela tortured me for nearly three hours," Temperance chuckled as he pulled her to him, his massive football pads obstructing how close she could get.
"Booth! Get in here!" they heard. Booth turned his head and waved off his coach.
"I gotta go. But I'll see you after the game," he promised her, tucking a curl behind her ear as he smiled at her again.
"Okay," she was sad to let him go, but she knew she had to. She couldn't understand why she wanted to be so close to him all the time.
Booth leaned down, pressing his lips to her cheek as she looked down at the ground, then back up at him as he stood back up with a grin. "Bye," he spoke softly as he began to trot off back into the field-house. He kept his eyes on her until he couldn't any longer.