Chemistry

Chapter 4 [JACE]

My heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that last bit? He had never called me anything like that before, and it left me stumped. I just stood there watching him wink at me and leave. Wait what just happened? Before I could process any of it, Jordan had left.
   I was annoyed when he kept denying to meet with me. It was like he didn't understand how important the assignment was. I started thinking that maybe he was just making excuses to avoid me. But when he called me "little bunny"... That was weird. Maybe he was playing around, but it left me wondering what he meant by it. I tried to brush it off, but the thought kept creeping back in.
   Once I was home, I changed my clothing to something comfortable and sat down to work on the assignment. I had so much to do, and I didn't expect Jordan to be helpful whatsoever. He didn't seem like the type to help out with assignments, and if he did - it would probably be for something in return. I chuckled slightly, wondering why I even assumed he would help.
   After four long hours of intense and exhausting work, the assignment was finally complete. Now it was time to fill out the contributor names. I decided to write just my name, but something came over me. Despite the fact that I was the one doing the hard work, I decided to enter a second name as well.
Jace Knott
Jordan Maxwell
The sight of our names written together made me giggle.
   Wait what? Ewww! What did I just think?
There's no 'our' name, there's no 'us'.
   What had gotten into me? Was my mind playing tricks on me? Was I starting to develop feelings for him?
   I scoffed at the idea, but something about the sight of his name next to mine did feel kind of...nice.
   Never thought our names would look so good together. It was almost as if my mind was playing tricks on me, and I was developing feelings for him. But the idea was ridiculous, I did not have feelings for him, not at all. I kept repeating it all until suddenly I heard a bell.
   I rush downstairs to open the door, and there he is, this tall, handsome athletic man wearing a jersey with the words "Go Bulldogs" written on it. For a second, I stand there dumbstruck.
   I snap out of my daze as Jordan snaps his fingers, "Won't you let me in?" He asks.
"What are you doing here?" I managed to ask him.
He says, "I came in for the assignment." I try to keep my tone neutral. I reply back, "aren't you busy until weekend for the practice?"
He did not disappoint and replies with a cocky grin on his face. "Aren't I here now?"
As I show Jordan to my bedroom, he follows me without a word. He waits patiently and politely. Despite the fact that I have already completed the assignment - I decide to pretend I haven't. This way, I will get the perfect excuse to have him also contribute his part to the submission.
So I ask him a question. "Define the periodic table."
"The Periodic table? That's easy. It's a collection of things that are periodic, right? All of them - are elements, I think, and they have these numbers attached to them - but I don't know what they're really for, they seem kinda random. I've always thought it was a pretty pointless table, to be honest. I mean, what good is it to have a bunch of elements all laid out next to each other like this?"
After hearing his nonsense answer, I roll my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "The Periodic table? Are you serious? It's not a collection of 'periodic stuff'. It's a chart that organizes all the elements according to their atomic number and shows their properties. And the numbers aren't just random, they have meaning. Honestly..."
"I was just testing whether you knew the correct answer or not. I knew the answer, clearly. I just wanted to see if you did as well. I didn't want to make you look dumb if you had no idea what the Table really was all about." He replied.
He tries to justify his ridiculous answer by saying he was just testing my knowledge of the subject. I can't help but smirk at his pathetic attempt to save himself from embarrassment.
"So, I can ask you another question, right?" I asked him.
"Hit me up." He replied with confidence. If only I were this incorrectly confident.
"Explain the structure of an atom and the types of atomic bonds." I ask away.
"You mean like... the stuff inside of an atom? You know, the protons, neutrons, and electrons thingies? And then the different types of atomic bonds, like the ionic and covalent bonds? Is that what we're talking about?" He answered.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking about. Can you describe how an atom is built and the different types of bonds it has and how they are associated with its structure?" I continued my question.
"You're serious? You actually want me to explain all this to you? It's not that simple, you know? There are a lot of complicated stuff and concepts and details involved with atoms and bonds and all that. It's not like we have a whole night together here little bunny, except if that's what you want."
I am shocked and awestruck by the sudden change in Jordan's behavior.
It's as if he turned into a different man in front of me. He has never been this playful and flirty with me before. I don't know what's gotten into him tonight, but it's making me feel...nervous. But...in a good way...Am I really...starting to like him? Eww no I am not. I shouldn't. But why is he suddenly being so flirty with me? Is he trying to send me a signal? Or is he just being playful? Is this what he's like usually with everyone? I don't get it.
I take a deep breath and compose myself. I must admit that he caught me off guard. I couldn't help but feel a strange, intriguing reaction to his words. But I can't let myself get carried away. I have to stay focused on the assignment. I must not get distracted by what he said. So I tell him. "I agree. Let's focus on the research for now."
   I sigh as I try to focus on the assignment research again. But no matter how much we focus on the assignment, there is always something that sets us off. Usually it's Jordan being dumb, or me being stubborn. We argue about the most trivial of things, but it always seems to turn into a full-blown argument. It's almost like we just can't get along.
   I mumble "This idiot knows nothing about chemisty." After I checked what research he did and penned down.
"Says someone who can't even tell the difference between sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate." He replies.
"Yeah, of course I do, I am not as dumb as you are." I shot back.
"You little....What did you call me?" He questioned.
   I almost assumed he called me little bunny again. If he does, again, I'm gonna shove an actual bunny in his ass.
"Your IQ is the same as a broken toaster, and mine is definitely not."
Where's all the sass coming in me from?
"Oh yeah? Well if your IQ is so high then what does H2O mean in chemistry?" He questions me like some kindergartener even couldn't give an answer to that.
"That's water you idiot." He continued.
Why-is-he-so-stupid?
   "Can you actually fix this, it's actually a pretty simple assignment if you had a brain cell." I shot back.
"Well I bet I have more brain cells than your IQ, if you even know what that is." He continues with his smirk.
"Im just gonna ignore you there, and leave you to yourself. Whatever you messed up, fix it." And we continued with the cold shoulder again.
   We have been sitting in our own corner working on our own part of the task. We haven't even talked to each other much. And then he asks me for the chemistry textbook lying beside me.
   Without breaking my focus on my book or my assignment, I reach my hand backwards to hand him the chemistry textbook. My eyes are glued to my book, my pen is in my mouth and my thoughts busy into chemistry. I was focused and concentrated on my work, until, suddenly, an innocent accidental touch. Our fingers brushed and suddenly something sparked like a charged wire. I feel a sudden rush of heat building up in that spot. It's like a current of electricity running through my body, lighting up every nerve-ending in that spot. It's the smallest touch yet it has the strongest effect on me. I can't help but wonder if he also felt it or if it was just me...
   Even though our hands only touched for a second, it felt like an eternity, a brief moment. It was like being shocked back to life. It's like all the nerves in my body are suddenly activated at once. I feel...more in the moment...like I am actually...alive. But I still didn't look back.
After a while Jordan said, in a soft and smooth tone, "Take the book back I am done." And I reached my arm back and gestured him to give me the book, without looking at him, and there was this electric shock.
The sudden pull from Jordan felt like a shock. I wasn't expecting it at all, and it took me by surprise when I felt his hand grabbing mine. I had no control over my body, and before I could even react, I was being pulled towards him. I felt like I was getting drawn in to a vortex and pulled towards him. I didn't even realize it was happening until I was face to face with him. It's like I got drawn towards him without even realising.
We were just inches away, when Jordan slides towards me. My breathing suddenly becomes fast and deep. The suddenness and the pull of his physical presence made my whole body shiver and my breath became shallow.
As I felt his lips coming closer and closer to mine, and as our faces came mere inches apart, I found myself lost in the moment. My own body responded to his physical presence, his athletic charm and the rush of emotions and sensations made me feel as if my whole body was on fire.
We were just inches away when Jordan leans in and kisses me. It was as if the force itself pulled his lips towards mine and made us almost gravitate towards each other. Jordan's lips pressed onto mine like a key to a lock.
But then I pushed him away.
I told him "I think you should leave." He stood there, he did nothing except saying "Okay". I thought I had him fooled - I thought I could control myself...but the truth is, I didn't want to push him away at all.
I hated him. I didn't want this at all. He has a girlfriend. I didn't want to kiss him. But I didn't want to resist the pull even. I was weak and gave in to the tension between us and kissed him back. I was a fool. I am the biggest fool. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to kiss him. I just want to forget about this whole mess, all of it. Did I become a reason for someone to hate on me now? What if Tanya comes to know? Will she kill me? God no!!!!