Blinded by Limerence

22 | Be Careful Out There

Morgan

"Because most of you failed your first exam," Mr. Donavan announced with an exasperated sigh, "we'll be doing a short exercise today to give those who failed the opportunity to pull their grades up."

He began to distribute the worksheets, and when I got mine, I stared at it blankly.

Define resolution of vectors, the first question read.

I felt my mind go completely blank at the question. Recalling past discussions, I ran the question in my mind a few times, trying to piece together a logical answer.

I knew the answer—I swear, I did—but nothing was coming to me right now. Collin occupied my thoughts and blocked out all the physics I had studied a few days ago. Well, that and I tend to forget topics after they've been quizzed, which, probably wasn't the best thing.

"I'm down."

His voice had been playing in my head nonstop like an earworm. It was extremely distracting to both me and my grades, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was like Last Song Syndrome, except the 'song' that was stuck in my head was Collin agreeing to hang out with me this weekend.

"Class, here's a clue," my teacher continued, "resolve."

Even after hearing his considerate clue, I was still stumped. "What does that have to do with anything?" I muttered to myself, running a hand through my hair.

Staring at the empty seats next to me, I terribly missed Killian and Eric. Why weren't they in today? Was it a coincidence that they're both not around?

It's finally Friday, my brain told me instead. Tomorrow's the big day...

Distressed, I buried my head into my hands and let out a heavy sigh. "I am so flunking physics..." I choked, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

|

After physics class, when all my classmates were gone, I nervously approached Mr. Donavan. "S-sir?" I stuttered.

"Yes, Ms. Darhk?" he said without looking up from the stack of test papers on his desk. He was grading papers, and I could practically see him writing a big old 'F' on the upper right corner of mine.

"I, uh, was wondering..." I trailed off.

"Yes?" His crystal blue eyes were icy and unfathomable, which only frayed my nerves even more.

"I-if there was anything I could do about my grades," I mumbled, my voice growing softer as the words left my lips. "They're... dropping... at an alarming rate." Okay, that may have been an exaggeration, but still; I was worried.

He finally looked up and met my stress-filled eyes then put down his pen. "Oh?"

"M-maybe—" I looked away shyly "—I could make it up to you somehow? Tomorrow?"

I felt absolutely ashamed of myself for resorting to this kind of method to pull my grades up, but... was there really any other way? Life's tough, especially when you've built up a list of expectations then failed to meet them; for me, that was my physics grade. My dad was a physics whiz, after all, and I guess I had subconsciously expected that I inherited his brain cells. 

But, on the other hand, was I really crossing any lines if the circumstance meant that I got to pull up my grade and hang out with the person I like? Really, wasn't that a win-win situation?

Mr. Donavan crossed his arms across his chest and eyed me carefully. After what felt like forever, he cracked a mischievous grin and said softly, "I'll see you tomorrow, Morgan."

||

The moment the final bell rang, I fled my last class as quickly as possible. I looked around the hallway teeming with students rushing home, my eyes scanning the busy halls in an attempt to find Addie.

We had an unspoken rule to always walk home together, though the reality of it is we keep missing each other.

With a sigh, I decided to head to my locker instead, seeing as I couldn't spot her amidst all the students.

As I walked down the hall with my head down, trying my best not to bump into anyone, I bumped into someone.

"Ah—" a male voice groaned as the sea of students, whose minds were buzzing with the thought of ending this school day, pushed me against the boy, and I'm pretty sure they hadn't even noticed the two of us who had started to block the flow—if they did, they certainly didn't care.

"Ugh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean—" I was quick to apologize, tilting my head up to look at who I had bumped, but before I could, some students shoved me from behind, causing me to unintentionally shift my weight more onto the guy I bumped.

Protective arms took a firm hold of my elbows for support. I finally looked up, and intense gray eyes stared back. I gulped. 

"H-hi, Archer," I stammered. "Is H-Hanna around?"

His grip on my elbows tightened as he pulled me aside, safe from the horde. "No. Why do you ask?" 

"Nothing," I mumbled, averting my eyes from his unfathomable ones. "Um, have you seen Addie anywhere?"

"She went home early," he replied. "Said she wasn't feeling well."

"Ah," was all I managed to say.

I mean, here's Archer Hastings, the guy I've been stalking my whole high school life, looking at me, talking to me, and yet, here I am, wanting to escape—both from his grasp and this conversation.

"Um, I should really get going," I said as I felt his intent gaze settle on me. When I finally faced him, his gray eyes seem to be searching for something in mine.

"Are... Are you going anywhere?" His voice was hesitant, almost wavering as he spoke. It almost seemed like he was... restraining himself?

"Tomorrow I do," I answered, though I wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to know.

Then, as if on cue, Collin walked right past us, and because I couldn't help myself, I stared at his figure walking away to the far end of the corridor. 

Feeling my cheeks flush, I covered them with my hands and smiled. I may be failing physics, but at least I get to see that charming smile of his tomorrow.

"Morgan?" Archer called out, snapping his fingers in front of my face. "Was that... Mr. Donavan?"

I snapped back to reality at his action and nodded.

"Look, s-stay away from him," he warned, averting his eyes shyly. "He's... He's no good. Trouble."

A tad offended, I inhaled sharply. "Trouble?" I echoed with arched eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... You're... You're a good girl, Morgan. Don't let someone like him mess you up," he said, lowering his gaze to the ground. "I-I'm worried about you."

"And who are you to be worried about me?" I snapped with a tone that surprised even me.

A look of hurt flashed across Archer's face, and he took a step back. He stumbled over his words. "I-I didn't mean it like that—"

My gaze softened, a wave of guilt then overcoming me. "Yes, you did," I mumbled somberly, "but I'm going to be fine. D-don't worry about me."

He nodded slightly, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Just be careful out there, is all I'm saying."

With that, he walked away without another word, following the flow of students leaving school and heading into the weekend.

I was left standing there, flabbergasted at what had just happened. Yes, it was an undoubtedly weird, not to mention, questionable, encounter with Archer, but the fact remains—

"Archer Hastings is worried about me," I whispered to myself in contentment as a slight smile made its way to my face before I even noticed.