Chapter 7: Pairing
1288 Words
I don't know what to do since yesterday. Diana is suspecting me, and I don’t know why she’s acting like that.
I'm already at my seat, and as usual, Cath is late—but so is our teacher, so they practically enter at the same time. Once Cath sits down, the hum of the classroom settles as our chemistry teacher clears his throat.
"Alright, class, for this quarter's major project, you'll be working in pairs."
The class cheers, and everyone eagerly shakes their seatmate, hoping to be partnered with them.
"Let’s go, let’s pair up now!" Cath shakes my arm excitedly.
"And before you ask—no, you don’t get to choose your partners." Our chemistry teacher adds.
A collective groan spreads across the room. Catherine, sitting beside me, immediately tenses.
"Random again?!" she whispers, gripping my arm. "Jade, if we don’t get paired, this is war."
I chuckle. "Relax, maybe we’ll get lucky."
The teacher begins reading the names. One by one, pairs are formed. Some students cheer, while others look disappointed—just like Cath.
"Mendoza and Cecilio."
"What?!" Cath looks at me, utterly shocked. "There’s no way." She shakes her head in disbelief.
Cecilio is one of her former suitors—I notice him smirking and looking in our direction. I glare at him and roll my eyes.
My attention drifts until—
"Morgan and Cruz."
I blink.
Wait. What?
Beside me, Catherine gasps dramatically. "Jade, why aren’t we together?! Betrayal!" She clutches her chest like the universe has personally wronged her.
I open my mouth to respond, but before I can, my eyes flicker toward River, who sits a few rows ahead.
Unlike Catherine, he doesn’t react much. Just a slight tilt of his head, a small shrug—like it doesn’t matter. I glance at the girls who I think have a crush on him. Some of them even roll their eyes at me?! I just roll my eyes back at them—an eye for an eye!
I exhale. "We can't do anything about it, Cath."
She pouts. "Fine. But you have to tell me all the gossip."
As soon as the bell rings, I pack up my things, ready to leave. But just as I step into the hallway, I hear a voice behind me.
"Hey."
I turn and find River standing casually by the doorway, hands in his pockets.
"When are we doing this?" he asks.
I blink. "What?"
"The project," he repeats, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
I stare at him. I was expecting indifference. Maybe a joke. But instead, River is… acting responsible?
"This isn’t like you," I say, raising a brow.
River smirks. "You’re not the type to actually get to know me either."
I scoff. "Touché."
"Library?" he suggests. "After class tomorrow?"
"Okay, deal."
He nods and walks off, leaving me there, still slightly thrown off.
—
After school, River and I meet at the library for our chemistry project. The usual quiet hum of the place surrounds us, and the scent of old paper mixes with the sharp smell of fresh ink. We sit across from each other at a corner table, our chemistry books and notes spread between us. I glance at him, half-expecting him to be indifferent, but he’s already looking over our project, asking about schedules and dividing up the work.
I didn’t expect him to actually take this seriously. I kind of thought he’d be the "I’ll wing it" type. But here we are—he’s already pulling his weight.
"Okay," he says, tapping a pencil on the table. "I’ll handle the research, and you can focus on the experiment part. How’s that sound?"
It throws me off. I was expecting a lazy River, not someone who’s actually planning this out. "Uh, sure," I say, trying to sound casual. "Didn’t expect you to actually care about schoolwork."
River shrugs, his eyes sparkling. "Didn’t expect you to assume things about me." There’s a teasing edge in his voice, and it makes me bite back a smile.
I swear he’s messing with me.
We both go back to our papers, and I quickly get lost in the research. I reach for a book on the shelf when, at the exact same moment, I feel a hand brush against mine. I freeze. My heart skips, and I pull my hand back quickly, pretending nothing happened.
I glance up, and there’s River, his expression unreadable.
"You okay?" he asks, his voice oddly calm.
I swallow and try to act normal. "Y-yeah, I’m fine."
But I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. My mind is racing, and I can't shake the feeling of his hand against mine. I reach for the book again, but this time, River’s hand is already on it.
"You’re not following me, are you?" he teases, glancing at me with that smirk that always makes my heart race. Why does he always say that? Even here? He knows we’re both here for the same reason.
I shake my head quickly, trying to brush it off. "Of course not. I’m just here to get the book for our project," I say, my voice a little too sharp.
River doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he just hands me the book with a small smile. It’s a subtle moment, but my heart is still doing flips.
We continue working, though now every little movement feels charged. Whenever our hands brush while passing papers or grabbing notes, it sends a strange jolt through me, and I catch myself looking at him more often than I probably should. I feel like I’m aware of every little shift of his—like his every move is... magnetic.
In the middle of our work, I suddenly feel hungry.
"Want to eat later? My treat." He says, looking at me.
I just stare at him, unable to believe what he just said. Was it obvious I was hungry? Did my stomach growl? And—
He's treating me. AGAIN?!
Well, I can’t do anything about it, so I just agree.
At one point, River asks casually, "You know, you're really into music. Do you always play like that? Not just performing, but actually feeling the music?"
The question catches me off guard. Most people only notice my playing, not the emotions behind it. "I guess," I say, trying to sound nonchalant. "I mean, music’s... personal. It’s a way to express stuff that words can’t."
He nods, his gaze thoughtful. "I get that. I started playing when I was younger, too. My dad taught me to play guitar." There’s a softness in his tone, and for a moment, it feels like we’re not just two classmates sitting together. There’s something... more.
"Really?" I ask, intrigued. "I didn’t know that."
"Yeah," he replies with a shrug. "I guess it’s just something I’ve always done. Nothing too special."
But it feels special to me. It’s the first time we’ve actually talked about something deeper.
When we finally finish, I stretch my arms above my head. The tension from before has lifted, and it feels easy. Comfortable.
"Well, that was productive," I say, a smile tugging at my lips.
River nods. "Yeah, we make a pretty good team."
Is he saying we’re a good match? JOKE!
I grin. "I guess we do."
The next day, Catherine doesn’t waste any time teasing me. How does she know? She saw us at the library.
"So, study date? Chemistry project or your chemistry?" she asks, waggling her eyebrows.
I roll my eyes. "It’s not like that, Catherine."
But deep down, I can’t deny it. Something is definitely changing between River and me.
I just don’t know what to do with it yet.
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