Lockers and Love

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mr. Garibaldi made his way to his desk and wrote INDUSTRIALIZATION on the board. He took attendance quickly and got on with his lesson. The four of them took their notes and finished their assignment fairly quickly. So far, no one had homework as of yet. The bell rang signaling that it was time for lunch. They all gathered their things and made their way to the cafeteria. Everyone had brought their lunch except for Tony, who unfortunately forgot and had to go and get some school food.

As he was walking towards the line, a hand found its way on his bicep. He looked over to see Jeanne looking up at him and batting her eyelashes. He yanked his arm away from her. He kept walking towards the line, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of his attention. She didn't give up though. She put her hand on his arm again and he saw that her jaw was clenched.

"What do you want, Jeanne?" She scoffed.

"Isn't it obvious?" She looked him up and down. Tony rolled his eyes.

"For the last time, I don't want to be with you. I'm happy with Ziva. Move on, Jeanne."

"What if I don't want to?" Tony moved further through the line for his food.

"Then you're going to be very disappointed." Jeanne's face twisted up in anger.

"What has she done to you, Tony? We were happy before she came along and ruined everything!" Tony had enough.

"No we weren't Jeanne! You were controlling, and rude to everyone that passed you. You treated everyone like dirt just because you're you! I want nothing to do with you, I want you to stay away from us and never ever touch me or disrespect Ziva ever again!" He took his tray of food and walked back over to their table. He was aware of all the eyes that were on him as he passed, but he didn't care. It was about time she stopped being such a child and got what was coming to her. Ziva was looking up at him as he took his seat at the table, silently asking him if he was okay and if she could go beat Jeanne's ass. He leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head, assuring her that he was fine and no she couldn't go over there, at least not right now. She gave him a slight nod and went back to her food. They all ignored all of the looks and ignored Jeanne as she stormed out of the cafeteria.

They finished their food and talked about their new classes until the bell rang. They walked out of the cafeteria and made their way through the hallway. Abby and Tim separated from them to go to AP Statistics. Tony and Ziva held back as he wanted to talk with her. He pulled her over towards the lockers and pulled her into a hug, needing her comfort. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let her head rest on his chest.

"Are you okay, Tony?" He gave a slight nod.

"Yeah. Just needed to hug you." She smiled against him.

"Anytime, my love." He leaned down to place a kiss upon her lips and she responded equally. Before the kiss could turn passionate, they pulled away. Tony looked at his watch and noticed that it was about time to get to class if they didn't want to be late.

"I'll see you after class." She nodded and placed another kiss upon his lips then made her way to her Art class. He turned in the opposite direction and made his way to Chemistry. He made it to the classroom and took his seat at one of the open desks. He looked to his side to see Zoe coming to sit next to him. He rolled his eyes and almost got up to find a different seat. She placed her books on the desk, probably hadn't opened a single one this whole year, and looked towards Mrs. Williams. Thanking god, he did the same. At least she wasn't trying to start a conversation with him. Throughout the class, his mind drifted to Ziva. She had been so strong all year even though Jeanne and her "friends" practically targeted her because she was with him. He couldn't help but love her even more seeing as she didn't leave him. It couldn't have been easy coming to a new school and immediately being targeted by the most popular girl in school. When he was sure Williams wasn't looking at him, he pulled out his phone and pressed on Ziva's name.

Tony: I love you.

His reply was almost instant, almost as if she had her phone out to text him to.

Ziva: I love you too, Tony.

Tony: How about a date night tonight? I want to take you out and get away from school and the eyes of everyone.

Ziva: That sounds nice. Where are you planning on taking me? ;)

He thought back to an idea he had the other night. He wanted to take her to the treehouse and have food and the view of the lake. He wanted her to feel special and loved in every way possible.

Tony: It's a surprise.

Ziva: You know I do not like surprises.

Tony: I promise you'll like this one.

Ziva: Fine.

Tony: I'll pick you up at around 7.

Ziva: Okay. See you then.

Tony: See you then, Sweetcheeks.

He put his phone back into his pocket and focused on the lesson. He couldn't wait.

When the bell finally rang, he practically jumped out of his seat and gathered his things quickly. They had their next period together and he went to pick her up from her Art class.

When she saw him, she could see that he had a new found excitement in him. She guessed it had to do with the surprise he was planning for tonight. Even though she hated surprises, she couldn't wait to find out what Tony had planned for her. They had been together for months now and every time they did something together, her heart soared like it was the first time. If someone told her that when she moved to America that she would fall in love with an American Basketball player, she would have laughed in their face. But now, looking at his boyish smile and the kindness and love in his eyes, she couldn't help but be grateful for it.

"Ready for English my beautiful Israeli?" She smiled at him and nodded. He took her hand and they walked to their next class. They sat next to one another and took all the notes for the day. Mr. Miller gave them their first book to read, telling them to read chapters 1-7 in the next two days. Ziva immediately started reading hers, while Tony kept thinking about their upcoming date for tonight. It was last minute, but he was sure he could get it done.

The bell rang, signaling that class was over and it was time to go home. Tony and Ziva packed up their things and headed out of the classroom, hand in hand. They met back up with Abby and Tim and they all made their way out of the building. Tony was glad he didn't have practice tonight, not when he wanted to spend it with Ziva. He drove Ziva home and gave her a quick kiss before he reversed and drove out, with a promise to be back later. He raced to the store and picked up everything from roses to expensive food for dinner. He was going to make sure tonight's date would be perfect.

He drove home from the store, gathering all the items he bought, and made his way inside. He put everything on the dining room table, and made a beeline for his bedroom. He stripped of his clothes and found a pair of sleek black dress pants and a white button up, long-sleeve shirt. He put his dress shoes on and made his way to his bathroom. He styled his hair in the way he knew Ziva would like and brushed his teeth again. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled. He went down the stairs to see his mom, dad, brother, and Abby standing around his pile in the dining room.

"What are you planning to do with all this, Tony?" Abby spoke. Tony smiled brightly.

"I'm going to give Ziva the best date she could ever ask for." He moved over and gathered the things in a cooler and in a bag. The plan was to take all this out to the treehouse, set it all out to make it look good, then go and get Ziva to bring her back and present it to her. This was going to be the best date ever.