Friday afternoon I stood leaned against the school brick wall. I regarded as cloud rushed past. Wind played with my hair and tugged at my clothes.

     A lingering smell of smoke revealed Mike's presence. I peeped to the side, seeing him lean against the wall a few feet beside me. He blew out a cloud of smoke, keeping eye contact. "You came."

     "You seemed pretty serious on the phone last night. Didn't want to be in trouble." I shrugged, eying the cigarette he lifted to his mouth once again. "Do you enjoy smoking or breaking the rules?"

     He lifted an eyebrow, the question one he hadn't seen coming. However, if it bothered him, he didn't show it. No, he just blew a cloud of smoke the opposite way of me. "Both," he said, after having thought about it for a minute.

     "You enjoy gambling with your education and life all in one go. You have no permission to make fun of my habits."

     "I don't know your habits," he said, with a shrug. "And it doesn't seem like you're too keen on sharing anything personal either, so let's leave it at that." He let the cigarette fell on the ground and stomped on the bud.

     Once again, this guy managed to shut me up.

     Mike looked me up and down, his eyes staying on my face for a little too long. He then twirled around and headed towards the parking lot. I followed him, tugging at the strap of my bag.

     It'd been hard convincing my mom that I indeed had a deal with Mike about math. Nevertheless, I got Mike to send a picture of our agreement. After having read it, she had permitted me to study with him for an hour or two.

     As we got into the car, I turned to Mike. "Where are you taking us?" I asked, stuffing my bag in between my legs.

     The engine roared to life. "The library in town. They have some helpful books and it's usually pretty quiet." With that, he drove us out of the parking lot. I didn't fail to notice that Maya stood and talked with Daniel at the entrance.

     What?

     I pressed my forehead against the window, as I tried to keep my eyes on them. They weren't standing close or anything, however, I saw the smirk on his face. Daniel wasn't up to anything good. I was afraid Maya might have turned into his new prey.

     And don't get me wrong. I'm not afraid because this means she'll win the bet. No. I'm afraid because I know that Daniel is only good at breaking hearts. Maya didn't need that.

     "Don't do that." Mike pulled me out of my little trance. I fell back in my seat and send a scowl his way. He could at least have been a bit nicer. I'd somehow concluded that we had formed some sort of bond. If it was out of hate or love was hard to detect, but something was happening.

     With a sigh, I decided it would be best not to answer him and force a conversation. It would probably end in us fighting, or worse, he would ask about yesterday. I wasn't ready for that.

     We reached the library without much time having passed by. Mike didn't waste time to crawl out the car and head for the entrance. I stumbled after him, my bag only halfway up on my shoulder. He walked fast as if he knew exactly where the fuck he wanted us to sit.

     I half-ran after him into the library and past the librarian. She pushed her glasses further up on her nose bridge and send me a disapproving scowl. I mouthed a sorry, but it was overlooked as I was busy chasing after Mike.

     He only stopped when we reached a more private area in the back. He slung his bag down on a stool and sat. He leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. His eyes rolled around inside their sockets until he got a glimpse of me.

     "Sit," he said, pointing at the seat beside him.

     I nodded, hurrying to throw myself in the seat beside him. From my bag, I pulled up the notes I'd been writing last night.

     "Where do you wanna begin?" I asked, making sure to keep my eyes on the books and not on him. Already being this close did something to me I wasn't a fan of. I couldn't be near him without remembering his breath on my neck and those intense eyes roaming my body. It was driving me crazy, to say the least.

     I needed to plan my revenge at some point.

     "Let me hear you explain what I told you last night. Shouldn't be that hard to remember." He rolled back in his seat, his hands hanging by his side. He stared into the ceiling.

     For the next few minutes, I was the only one who talked. I kept on trying to explain everything I'd learned. When I'd successfully spoken about one subject, he demanded me to begin on another.

     After half an hour, there was no way I could keep on going. He didn't even pretend to listen. He didn't correct when I knew I'd made a mistake. No, at some point I even argued that one divided by one was forty. He didn't say a damn thing.

     "You're not my favorite person today," I said, slamming the book shut and shotting him an evil glare.

     "I'm not your favorite person on any day." He shrugged, his eyes staying glued on the ceiling.

     Well, if this was how he was going to treat me, then I had to do something that would throw him off his game. It was time for my revenge. What that revenge was, well, I had to improvise that.

     I took in a large amount of air before standing from my chair. I swung one leg over his lap and sat down. That got his attention.

     As my arms snaked around his neck, he stiffened underneath me. His eyes found mine. They stretched out wide. For the first time, it was an expression of pure surprise that met my gaze.

     "What are you doing?" he asked, as I got comfortable upon his lap.

     A smirk graced my lips. "You tell me." Oh, how the roles had changed.

     Mike noticed my use of his own words against him. His gaze hardened as he stared me down from behind his glasses, however, for once, I wasn't afraid of him. He wasn't an unknown stranger anymore.

     I let one hand run down his cheek, then his jaw and down along his neck. It settled on his chest as I pressed my stomach against his. Our faces came close, close enough for us to taste each other's breaths.

     "Get off me," he said, his teeth clenching as his hands shot up and grasped my hips. Wrong move, dude.

     Tingles shot up from the warmth of his hands. I pushed further into him, not even knowing what the heck I was doing. My hands found his hair and hooked themselves onto the locks.

     He'd realized his mistake as well, however, he did nothing to remove his hands. He didn't try to move them either. We both sat frozen, staring into each other's eyes.

     For one moment, for one fucking moment, I felt secure.

     I bit my lip, my eyes staying glued to his.

     However, he only had to open his mouth to ruin the mood. "Why where you crying?"

     Everything came crashing down. I fought to hold back the tears once again as I pushed away from him. He didn't let me come far. He yanked me back into him, keeping me in place on his lap.

     In pure surprise, I held onto his broad shoulders. My hands clutched harder than necessary.

     "Why where you crying?" he asked again, leaving no room for me to leave.

     I couldn't dodge this bullet. He wouldn't let me go without answers. You could see it in his eyes.

     "It's a long story."

     "I have time." His hand tightened on my hips. Heat build up between our bodies and my face went red.

     "My parents are arguing."

     He holstered an eyebrow, seeming unfazed by my confession. His entire expression screamed that a bit of arguing wasn't anything to be upset about. And I guess it wasn't. Everyone fought. Especially couples. However, I wasn't crying because they argued, no, it was because of what they said.

     "Apparently I'm a huge disappointment and they can't decide who's fault it is." I held back a sob, my mom's voice echoing in the back of my head. Oh, how the words had hurt.

     As if Mike felt my sorrow, he pressed me even further into him, his arms shifting to hold around my waist.

     "Why would they say that?" He tilted his head, seeming as serious as always, however, I swear I saw something different too.

     I gulped, my eyes finding a book to look at. I regretted sitting on his lap. I'd thrown myself into this situation. My revenge had gone wrong. Very wrong.

     "I party too much. I act without thinking. I have a bad attitude. I'm failing most of my classes. I don't see why they wouldn't be disappointed. I didn't turn out as they wanted." A lone tear slid down my cheek as I spoke.

     Mike reached towards my face. His thumb slid over my cheek and whipped away the tear.

     "You know, I always saw how you were there for everyone else. How you were always ready to help. I never saw anyone being there for you," he said. His hand trailed down my side, his thumb drawing circles over my clothes.

     I drew in a sharp breathe, waiting for him to finish.

     "I admire that. You love your friends. You're such a good person, except when you're with me of course." He chuckled, his chest ruffling under me. "If your parents can't see that, then it's them who are failing you. They shouldn't bring you into their riot. And don't think that me saying this is going to change how much it hurt to hear that. It's not, but maybe, just maybe, it'll be the first time someone was there for you."

     He'd never spoke as much as he did then. Of course, he talked a lot about math, but this was different. This was uncharted territory. This wasn't something I'd prepared for.

     "I'm still hurting," I said. "It didn't help shit."

     Once again, he chuckled. I shifted my gaze to look at him. Those eyes still held his usual seriousness. I sat crying on his lap but he still held no form for pity. He didn't see me as some weak female.

     "I'm not known for being able to help people with their issues."

     "No, you're known for being a pain in the ass." I let a small smile grace my lips.

     "Right back at ya, angel."

     "Don't call me that." My expression turned into a scowl. Somehow he'd managed to change the topic. He'd cheered me up without even knowing me.

     "What? Angel? Well, you are a little angel."

     "I'm not an angel." I pushed away from him. He let me slid off his lap and fall into my seat once again. I rolled back, pulling my legs up towards my chest.

     "I think you are."