Colliding worlds
1573 Words
Gray eyes, short curly hair, tall and muscular, with strong cheekbones and arms that looked like they belonged to a secret agent. He was hot, especially in that white tee and ripped blue jeans.
“You’ll sit beside Ms. Wilson,” Mrs. Addison said, pointing directly at me. My heart skipped a beat as his eyes met mine, and I quickly looked away, focusing on the empty seat next to me.
“Really? He’s sitting beside you? Ugh, I wish we could trade seats,” the blonde muttered again. I ignored her, nervously tapping my pen against my notebook.
“The law of dynamics also indicates that internal forces do not change the amount of movement of the global system,” Mrs. Addison continued.
But her voice faded into background noise. My focus wavered because Stefan couldn’t seem to stop staring at me.
“Damn! You’re staring too much,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.
“Was I?” he whispered back, a teasing smirk playing on his lips. “That’s because you’re beautiful.”
I choked, my cheeks heating up in an instant. I buried my face in my notebook, trying desperately to compose myself. Get a grip, Ellie. You have a boyfriend!
“Ms. Wilson!”
“Yes?” I snapped my head up to find all eyes on me.
Mrs. Addison raised an eyebrow. “What are the three laws of dynamics?”
Great. Just great. Luckily, I’d reviewed the topic yesterday. I straightened in my seat, cleared my throat, and began.
“In the first law, an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it. The second law states that the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. And finally, the third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
“Correct. But next time, Ms. Wilson, I’d appreciate it if you paid less attention to Mr. Brown,” she said, her lips twitching into a smile. The class erupted into laughter, leaving me mortified.
---
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. I exhaled a long sigh of relief. Physics had never felt so long, and I’d barely stayed awake thanks to last night’s restless sleep.
“Ms. Wilson,” Mrs. Addison called as the students filed out. I grabbed my textbook and approached her desk. Stefan was standing beside her, wearing that same smug smirk.
“This is Stefan Brown,” she began. “I’d like you to show him around the school and help him settle in. You’re the most brilliant student here, so I’m confident he’s in good hands.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Addison,” Stefan said, smiling at her before turning to me.
I nodded reluctantly. “I’ll show you around at lunch,” I said, avoiding his gaze as I walked past him.
“Ms. Wilson,” his cool voice stopped me. I turned to face him.
“Yes?”
“What class do you have now?”
I glanced at my watch. “Math.”
“Math? I have that too.”
“Well, I need to grab my notebook from my locker first. Do you mind waiting?”
“Let’s go together,” he said casually. I shrugged, and we walked out of the classroom.
The silence stretched for a few moments before he broke it. “Do you live around here?”
I looked at him, amused. “I should be the one asking you that.”
He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, kind of. My family moved away when I was a kid, but we’re back for now.”
“For now?”
“My dad will call us back when he’s ready,” he replied cryptically.
---
I stopped in front of my locker and turned to Stefan. "Why are you suddenly back in town?" I asked casually.
"To look for my mom," he said quietly, his gaze dropping to the floor. Guilt hit me immediately for prying into his personal life. I turned back to my locker, grabbed my math textbook, and closed it.
“Having fun?” a familiar, unwelcome voice cut through the air. I turned to see Julia and her entourage smirking at me.
“What do you want, Julia?” I asked, exhaling heavily.
Her eyes flicked to Stefan. “Oh, I see you’re chatting with the new guy.” She leaned in close and whispered venomously in my ear, “Does he know you have a boyfriend?”
I frowned, anger bubbling up. “Stop messing with me,” I said sharply, shoving her away.
To my horror, she stumbled back, landing on her butt with a wince.
“Holy s**t!” I rushed toward her. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to push you that hard.” I extended my hand to help, but she slapped it away.
“Get your filthy hands off me!” she snapped as her friends helped her up.
“Stop pretending you didn’t do it on purpose,” one of them yelled, glaring at me.
My eyes widened in disbelief. “What? I didn’t—”
“She’s such a pretentious b***h,” another sneered.
“Enough, girls,” Stefan interjected firmly. “You both saw what happened. She didn’t push her on purpose.”
He walked over and helped me up from the floor. I murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”
Julia glared at me with pure disdain. “You don’t know her,” she spat at Stefan. “She’s a hypocrite. She’ll ruin your life, just like she ruined mine.”
With that, she stormed off with her friends trailing behind her.
I turned to Stefan, gratitude in my eyes. “Thank you.”
Our gazes locked, and suddenly, the space between us seemed to shrink. Our lips were so close, I could feel the tension pulling us together. My stomach flipped as an unexplainable heat surged through me.
Realizing what was happening, I stepped back abruptly, clearing my throat. “We’re late for class.”
He smirked. “Fifteen minutes late, actually. Let’s go.”
---
Cafeteria
My friends returned to our table with their trays, shooting me curious glances.
“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s all over school that you’re showing the new guy around,” Molly teased, a playful grin on her face.
I rolled my eyes. This school always had a way of exaggerating things. I remembered how, on my first day, I’d answered a random chemistry question that wasn’t even on the semester’s syllabus. Chloe, who couldn’t answer it, was furious, and from then on, I was “the new brain.”
The buzz only grew after I won the international spelling bee for the school last year.
I glanced around the cafeteria, noticing a small commotion near the entrance. Tyson followed my gaze. “That’s Stefan, Aaron, and Wendy,” he said, nodding toward the trio walking in. “The boys are twins, and the girl’s their friend. Rumor has it Wendy’s Stefan’s girlfriend.”
I turned back to my tray, but the memory of almost kissing Stefan flashed in my mind. My cheeks burned, and I cleared my throat to push the thought away.
“You okay?” Tyson asked, his brow furrowed.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered.
“She’s pretty,” Molly commented, referring to Wendy. “They’d make a cute couple.”
The trio walked past our table, and I caught Stefan glancing back at me. I quickly looked away, focusing on my food.
“Your boyfriend’s here,” Molly whispered.
I looked up to see Jake walking over, hockey stick in hand. “Hey, babe,” he said, sliding into the seat beside me.
“How was class?” I asked, smiling.
“Not bad. Do you have any classes after lunch?”
“No, but don’t you have practice?”
He nodded. “Yeah, gotta go now. Stay safe.” Leaning in, he kissed my forehead before heading off.
“Jerk,” Molly muttered under her breath.
“Oh, stop,” I said, shaking my head. “He doesn’t deserve all the hate.”
She scoffed. “If you say so.”
Just as I was about to bite into my burger, someone called out to me.
“Hey, Ms. Wilson.”
I turned to see Stefan pulling up a chair beside me.
“Hey, Mr. Brown,” I teased. Molly and Tyson chuckled.
He shook his head, smiling. “Alright, alright. Remember our deal this morning? I think I’m ready for that tour.”
I looked into his gray eyes and couldn’t help but smile. “After lunch.”
“No, sweetheart. I’ve got a game after lunch.”
The way he said sweetheart sent a flutter through my chest. I took a sip of my Coke to compose myself.
“What game?” I asked.
“Hockey,” he replied casually.
“And my opponent just left,” he added, motioning toward the door Jake had exited.
“Wait,” Tyson said, his eyes wide. “You’re playing against Jake?”
Stefan nodded, a confident smile on his face.
“Really? I’m definitely watching that. Scratch that—I’m already your fan,” Molly said, grinning.
“This,” Tyson said, shaking his head in amusement, “is going to be interesting.”
- Writer
