She said nothing, instead gazing around the room.
“What? Don’t I get a morning back?” I asked, still grinning. “Don’t tell me you’re going to sit somewhere else, just because I’m here. If you do, I’ll just get up and follow you—so really, you should just give up and sit right here.” I reached over and patted the seat beside me.
Bree sighed, closing her eyes as she forced herself to inch past me and sit beside me. Class hadn’t officially started yet, so we had some time. Today her pink hair was drawn in a braid across her shoulder, a beanie still on her head. She wore different jeans and a different sweater, but still, the aura she gave off was the same.
It was more than obvious she didn’t want to talk. To me, to anybody. But you know what? That wasn’t going to stop me. If there was one thing I was, it was stubborn. Persistent. Unwilling to give up and throw down the towel.
I leaned over to her, whispering, “Any thoughts on who you’re going to partner up with for the project?”
Oh, yeah. I’d already thought of asking her to be my partner for it, but I knew if I did it now, she’d only turn me down. I wasn’t stupid. I just wanted to spend more time with her, for whatever reason. Call me crazy.
“I emailed the professor and asked if I could do it alone,” Bree said, shooting an unimpressed glance my way.
My heart actually skipped a beat at that. That was not something I’d taken into account. Damn it. My plan could be pointless, though talking to her more in general would make it worth it, still. “And what did he say?”
“He said it’s called a group project for a reason,” Bree muttered, frowning to herself. “I have to have at least one partner.” She did not sound happy to tell me that the professor had denied her request to do the project alone.
I mean, she had some balls, at least, having the courage to email the professor and ask in the first place. Most kids didn’t care enough to do anything like that. Or, I thought, maybe she just really hated everyone in class and abhorred the fact that she’d have to work with someone else.
Someone like me.
“You know,” I spoke, unable to stop smiling, “I don’t have a partner yet. I’m totally free, and I’d be more than happy to work with you.” At this point, we didn’t even know what the project would entail, but since this was a psychology class, I could assume it would involve making an experiment and conducting it, then analyzing the results.
Bree looked at me, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she studied me like I was some strange alien that just landed on Earth, like she didn’t know what to make of me, whether or not she could trust me. “Why would you want to work with me?” she asked, her voice quiet. “You don’t know me.”
That much was obvious. What I thought should also be obvious was that I wanted to know her.
Who was this girl, with the brightly-colored pink hair, loose sweaters, and expression that made me feel like I wanted to be with her, to shield her from the world? It was ridiculous, I knew: me, totally going overboard here for a stranger. I was drawn to her, I liked her. I couldn’t deny that. I wasn’t the type of person to be wishy-washy, to waver back and forth and never admit to myself what I wanted.
No, for whatever reason, me sitting beside her on Monday had started something, ignited something deep within me I could not put out—nor did I want to. I had to know more about Bree, and working with her honestly felt like the easiest way.
She, uh, didn’t seem like the kind of girl who appreciated someone pushing themselves into her life, but you know what? I didn’t care. I wasn’t going anywhere.
I shrugged, taking a sip of coffee from my travel mug, which thoroughly disgusted her, if her face was anything to judge. “That’s the beauty of group projects,” I told her. “You’re forced to work with people you wouldn’t normally talk to. You never know—you and I might just get along great.”
Bree let out a disbelieving chuckle. “Right.” She started to fiddle with her pen, doing anything she could to avoid looking at me.
I let her be, knowing that she would be my partner, whether she realized it or not. There was no one else in this class I wanted to partner up with, no one else I wanted to spend quality time with outside of these walls. Her, though? I wanted to know more about this girl, and what better way than to hang out and work on school shit? Nobody liked doing school shit. There was no better way to bond.
When Friday came, and the professor set aside the last fifteen minutes of class to jot down everyone’s groups and partners, I somehow managed to make her mine.
Chapter Three – Bree
I had no idea why Mason thought I would make the best partner in the entire class. Ever since he showed up late and sat next to me to try to avoid the professor’s dire glare, he’d been nonstop. Trying to talk to me, trying to joke with me, trying to…hell, I didn’t even know. I had no idea what Mason thought he was doing, why he wouldn’t just forget me and move on like everyone else in my life.
Like, come on. Just because he had to sit beside me one day did
