Love in the Lab

The Bad Boy

my eyes met with none other than Phenol, the class rebel, slouching at the back with his arms crossed and scowling in my direction. clearly he'd just raised their hand to get out of lesson time, and even that was enough to make me wary. a student wanting to miss the most fascinating of subjects, and a dissection at that?! unthinkable. we must be so different! what would we talk about on the way to the nurse's office?

I involuntarily shuddered in fear. but there was nothing I could do, as Haem gently pulled me to my feet and gave me a last parting seductive glance, accompanied by a concerned: 'take care of yourself. I wouldn't be able to face friday periods 7-8 biology without you by my side.'

as Haem went back to his seat, Phenol smirked at me obnoxiously and sauntered out of the classroom, just expecting me to follow him without even offering me an arm in my moment of faintness.

I hobbled out of the room, sighing deeply, and struggled to keep up with him as he strode along the corridor with his hands jauntily in their pockets, arrogance palpable.

'hey, would you mind waiting up?' I sassily scowled at him.

he turned, seemingly surprised at my tone.

'huh, so you do speak,' he smirked again, eyeing me up and down. 'I thought you were just the shy girl who didn't speak up in class.'

I huffed, tossing my head so my bangs parted to reveal my icy gaze.

'clearly you don't know much about me,' I said.

Phenol tilted his head to one side, looking at me quizzically. 'hey, i meant no offense,' he drawled.

rolling my eyes, I strolled ahead. 'it's not like I care about your opinion, I'm more interested in getting good grades than flirting with bad boys.'

grinning, Phenol sped up to catch up with me. 'huh, so you think I'm a bad boy! be honest, you're no different from any of the other girls. you're into me just as much as they are.'

I scoffed indignantly, though I was unable to ignore the fact that a small part of me was blushing at the fact that he seemed to be flirting with me. who did he think he was?

'you're clearly deluded. I would never be interested in a guy like you,' I responded, though I couldn't help but feel that I was lying to myself somewhat. i'd always considered myself to be the girl who no guy could ever be interested in, but now two guys had noticed me in one day! it was like being in a fairy tale.

nonetheless, I couldn't stoop to being seduced by the player of the class, and tried to banish my thoughts.

Phenol sighed despairingly, chuckling. 'i'm heartbroken honestly. clearly my reputation has preceded me.'

'it sure has, everyone knows you're the most reactive functional group out there. it seems like every other day you're nucleophilically attacking girls by with your terrible pickup lines. I can't believe people actually fall for it,' I grimaced.

Phenol grinned. 'well clearly it works cause there isn't a girl in this school except you who doesn't want to receive my electrons.'

'damn right I don't,' I scowled. 'you disgust me.'

a look of hurt flickered over the bad boy's face and I felt slightly guilty. had I gone too far?

he sighed deeply, running a hand through his messy hair. 'look, ok, you don't understand. .no one really gets me at this school. they all just think I'm some hot smarmy flirt and that's not all there is to me. I'm...just not like other aromatic compounds, I'm just more reactive and non-polar, and people assume that means I don't have feelings but I do.'

he looked wistfully into the distance.

'I may seem like a flirt but I'm just trying to find the right girl out there. everyone I date is just hypnotised by my looks and my hexagon figure and doesn't really like me for me. but I have interests and a personality like everyone else. I've never told anyone this cause I didn't want to be judged for being a nerd but...I'm actually really good at chemistry. it's my secret passion! but I've never felt brave enough to tell anyone until you.'

I gasped in shock. the school's resident bad boy liked chemistry? I couldn't believe it! my heart fluttered at seeing this vulnerable side to him. maybe he wasn't the over-confident guy I thought he was.

his gaze met mine, and I felt myself becoming mesmerised by the copper sulphare-blue of his eyes.

'w-why are you telling me this,' I stuttered, feeling myself start to blush at the intensity of his gaze. 'i'm just some nobody!'

'you could never be a nobody,' he murmured, tucking a wayward strand of my hair behind my ear. 'I felt like maybe you would understand, unlike everyone else in this school.'

against my will I could feel myself melting, unable to hide the fact that I felt for him. maybe it wasn't so bad that I found him kind of attractive...

he seemed to notice the shift in my gaze. 'i know you just said i disgusted you, and I understand why, but would you consider going on a date with me? i feel like we have a connection, and I can definitely give you a date to remember,' he said, the shadow of his smirk returning to his face.

now that he had opened up to me the smirk was irresistible and i couldn't help blushing.

'i don't know...' i sighed, twisting one long strand of my hair around my finger nervously. no guy had ever asked me on a date before, and this was the famous bad boy Phenol! but then again he'd opened up so much in front of me, and it looked like maybe he wasn't the guy he seemed. maybe...maybe i could fix him.

he grinned, obviously noticing the change in my demeanour.

'just meet me outside LC1 at midnight and you won't regret it.'

I hummed, conflicted, thinking of Haem. just half an hour ago I had felt myself falling for him, and couldn't imagine being interested in anyone else. with his steady hands (perfect for dissections), his knowledge of medicine and devastating green eyes, he was perfect.

and yet here I was, fighting the urge to accept a date from Phenol.

'ah, there's the nurse's office,' said Phenol, gesturing to the left. I'd almost forgotten about the cut on my finger from how absorbed I was in my dilemma. 'think it over.'

'ok,' I said shyly, turning to enter the nurse's office.

'oh, and wear a lab coat!' he called after me, winking at me seductively before strolling off.

a lab coat! what could that mean?

my mind swirled with possibilities. could he be taking me on a romantic chemistry date!

I couldn't believe it - I never would have expected this turn of events. my heart fluttered with anticipation, thumping uncontrollably. there was no way I wasn't going to turn up. for better or for worse, I had to be there. who knew what the evening would bring...