Romance Me

Me? Love Her? Ha! - Part Two

Cody stared at the clock.

8:15.

8:15, dammit! Where was that girl?!

Mr. Fitz had finally shushed the classroom to a hum and was attempting to educate his students about an aspect of retail development - though anyone could see he was having a hard time concentrating, taking into consideration the extent of his flushed face and the deathly grip on his marker.

"Now," the man ground out between his teeth. "If we compare this statistic with that of-"

Suddenly, the door flung open, and in waltzed none other than the extremely tardy student: Miss Lynnette.

The class - teacher included - stared in utter shock as numerous eyes traveled across her appearance. Her red uniform was muddied, frayed, and rumpled beyond belief. Numerous bruises and scrapes adorned her legs, and a small trickle of blood ran down her elbow, betraying a nasty scrape across her skin.

Lynn shifted, brushing away a strand of tangled hair that was ridden with leaves and twigs as her blue eyes, bright with exercise, scanned the room. Her lips and cheeks were flushed as if she had just run a marathon and, almost to prove the point, she lifted her hand to wipe away the sweat on her brow - which only spread another smudge of dirt on her fair skin.

The room was silent...then:

"How the hell were you so late, Lynn! What happened to you? You look like a train ran you over!"

The girl's eyes snapped to Cody, who had stood up from his desk and approached her, anger clouding his features. Her whole expression melted like butter. Cody froze.

Oops.

"CODY!!" the girl cried in utter joy, her arms flinging out to execute the bear-hug he had been haunted with for ages. Hey - just because he had grown bigger and stronger over the years did not diminish the way his breath caught in his throat at the sensation of her enveloping hug (not to mention the butterfly tornado in his stomach).

Cody braced himself for impact, when suddenly, another voice boomed into the classroom:

"LYNNIE!!"

A collective gasp sounded as a blonde-haired boy ran into the room, scooping Lynn up from behind to spin her around in a tight hug.

Who the hell??

A squeak sounded from the girl as she was lifted, and when the stranger set her down, she stumbled back, turning her head to spot her attacker.

"How dare you pi-" she stopped, her mouth falling open as her eyes rested on the boy. "How? You? W-what is going on?!"

"I know right?" her attacker replied. "I can't believe we're in the same class! Let alone the same school! Though I've heard there's only one high school around here, so perhaps that isn't surprising."

Lynn stared at him for a moment, countless feelings spreading across her features. Finally, after various emotions of confusion, disbelief, suspicion, and incredulity, her face broke out into an enormous grin, and Cody watched in utter horror as she catapulted herself into the boy's arms, giving the stranger his crushing hug.

"Waah!" she squealed, unable to express herself in any other way. The boy returned the hug, one of his arms wrapping around her waist.

Cody's stomach twisted in the most awful, sour sensation, and before he knew it, he had marched up to the embracing couple and pulled them apart.

"Who the hell are you?!" he growled, shoving a finger into the boy's chest. Channeling every uncomfortable and frustrating emotion clawing within him, he drilled a glare that was so intimidating, the largest tackler in football history would've cowered underneath it like a toddler that had wet his pants.