I sighed. “That comment really shows your maturity level, Brody.”

“Yeah, my advanced maturity level must shock and amaze you considering who you date.”

I stood up. “Let’s go, Jenna.”

“I’m not done—”

“Bring it with you.”

“See you tomorrow,” Brody called.

I wonder if it’s too late to be homeschooled.

“You guys so like each other. It’s amazing,” Jenna said as soon as we got in the car.

“What the hell are you talking about? We can’t stand each other!” I nearly screeched.

“Nope. That’s chemistry. You’re fighting it. When you stop fighting, there are gonna be fireworks… like I said before, you need someone to rock your world. Turn it upside down. Brody Victor is gonna do that and more.”

The next day, Brody and I snapped at each other like always. In biology, Jaden walked me to class. When he left, Brody asked, “Is it hard carrying on a conversation with him? I mean, it must be like talking to a toddler all day.”

“You know, Brody, you are the best proof that reincarnation does occur, because no one could be that big an idiot in just one lifetime.”

After that, we didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the day. We dropped our books on the table, flipped through pages harder than necessary, slapped our pens down, shoved our things in our bags, and made it known to each other, and anyone around us, that we were not happy to be near one another. It wasn’t until independent study that we spoke to each other.

I had my ear buds in, listening to music, when he walked up to the table where I worked. Taking out an ear bud, I looked up at him. “What?”

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” Brody asked.

I shrugged a shoulder, looking away from him, which was hard considering he was so very easy to look at.

He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. “Calculus, huh?”

“Mm-hmm.” I popped a baby carrot in my mouth.

“Oh, you’re a rebel. You’re not supposed to have food in here.” He smiled.

“Why do you think I sit in the back, genius? Want one?” I held out my container filled with veggies and dip.

Brody looked at it like it was poisoned. “What is that?” He made a face and glanced up at me.

“They’re vegetables. Surely, you’ve seen one or two before. You know, they’re those things your mom makes you eat.”

“Not the veggies. The other gunk.” He took a celery stick and poked at my dip.

“It’s hummus. Do you want some or not? I’m not sitting here all day while you play with my food.”

“I’ll take a pass. Thanks.”

“Whatever.” I dipped a piece of broccoli in the hummus and ate it. Brody watched me with his nose scrunched. “It’s good,” I said, my mouth full.

“Okay. I’ll take your word for it.” He opened his calculus book and pulled out his notes. “Did you understand the chain rule we went over today?”

“Yes.” I tried not to look at him.

“I hate to admit it, but I didn’t completely get it.”

“Oh.”

“Willow, do you think you can use more than one-word answers when you talk to me?”

I put my pencil down and looked at him. “Maybe.”

Brody laughed. “You don’t like me much, do you?”

“Not particularly.”

“Whoa, was that a two-word answer? Progress.”

I rolled my eyes and put my ear buds back in, hoping to end our conversation and focus on my assignment.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him look at his textbook and tap his pencil against his notebook a few times before he looked at me. He reached out and pulled an ear bud from my ear.

“Hey!”

“Would you mind helping me out?” he asked.

“Really? You’re asking me to help you with your homework? You, a member of the honor society, are asking me, a bimbo jock chaser, for help?” I looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m sorry about the bimbo comment. That wasn’t cool.”

“Ya think?”

Brody lifted his book and looked at me. “Please?”

I sighed. “I can explain it to you, but I can’t learn it for you.”

He tilted his head to the side and considered what I’d said before laughing loudly. “I deserved that,” he said when he stopped laughing. “I promise, I’ll try to keep up.”

“Let me see what you’ve got.” I leaned over to look at his calculations and nearly groaned. He smelled so good. He looked beyond good. I had the overwhelming urge to touch him.

Focus. Calculus. The chain rule. Think about that and block out Brody. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.

I forced myself to look at his work. “Okay, the chain rule allows us to differentiate a function that contains another function.”

I reached over and pointed to his calculation as I explained the problem. He strained to see what I was pointing at before he reached out and pushed the sleeve of my hoodie up my arm.

“Don’t!” I jerked away.

“Sorry.” He held out his hands, palms forward. “I was just trying to move it so I could see. That’s a pretty nasty bruise,” he said, pointing to my forearm.

I pulled my sleeve down, not looking at him. “I don’t like to be touched.”

“Okay, no problem. I’ll just turn the page sideways so I can see what you’re pointing to. Is there anything else I’m screwing up?”

I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart. “Um, yeah, remember if one function depends on another, and can be written as a function of a function, then the derivative takes the form of the derivative of the whole function multiplied by the derivative of the inner function.”

“So basically, I’ve messed up the entire thing,” he said with a grin, looking at me.

I sucked in a breath when I looked in his eyes. I’d never seen eyes quite like his before. I was so close I could see that they weren’t just blue, but striations of different shades of blue. Leaning back in my chair, I looked down at my own work.

“You didn’t do too badly. It’s a hard concept to grasp at first,” I said.

“You didn’t seem to have any trouble… for a bimbo, I mean.”

I glanced up, and he smiled at me. I laughed. “Please take a moment to appreciate my vast knowledge and experience.”

“I’m amazed by your exceptional calculus skills.” He chuckled.

I inclined my head. “As you should be, Mr. Victor.”

The bell rang, and I started gathering my things. I shoved everything in my bag, threw it over my shoulder, and stood to leave.

“Thank you for your help, Willow.”

“Sure.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“‘Bye, Brody.”

The next morning, while getting ready for school, I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black tank with an emerald lightweight sweater that fell off one shoulder. Jenna bought it for me for Christmas, saying it made my hazel eyes look green. Scrunching my hair, I blew it dry, letting it fall in waves. I lined my eyes with my new eyeliner, smudging on some smoky green shadow on my eyelids. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t think I looked too terrible.

Jenna cornered me at my locker when I got to school. “You are totally going for it!” she whispered.

“Going for what?”

“Brody. The fireworks.” She smirked at me, her eyes twinkling. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

“I am not,” I hissed.

“Then why are you dressed to the nines this morning?”

I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling. “I’m not. Jaden likes this outfit, and this happens to be one of my favorite sweaters. You bought it for me if you remember.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever you say,” Jenna said over her shoulder as she walked toward her class. “I expect details. Lots and lots of details,” she sang as she walked away.

What am I doing? I don’t normally dress like this. What am I thinking?

I started to go into the bathroom to wash my face, but the first bell rang and I didn’t have time.