Beauty and the Geek

Chapter 5.

I gazed longingly out of the window, sunlight beating down on my unfinished homework, as I relived the events of the weekend in a quiet corner of the library. I should have felt guilty about the Brett situation and the fact I had walked out on my own boyfriend to be with another guy. Instead, I found myself thinking about what that kiss with Will might have been like and if we would ever get the chance to repeat it.

"What are you smiling about?" Lauren asked, her eyebrows knitted together in suspicion.
"Nothing," I jerked upright.
"Everybody is talking about what you did at Brett's party."
"Me? Brett was being an idiot. Or did everyone conveniently forget about that?"
"Come on, Em...you know how it is. He was just kidding around."
"I'm getting a little tired of Brett 'kidding around'."
"You've been acting so weird lately..."
"I'm late for tutoring," I scooped my books up roughly from the table.
"Be careful, Em," Lauren called after me. "Another girl will snap Brett up if you keep treating him like crap."

I rolled my eyes in her direction and stalked off down the corridor, trembling with anger. What gave these people the right to tell me what to do? I was getting tired of being some kind of puppet under the reign of King Brett and his army. Now that we had unofficially broken up I was sure he would give me even more hell. Great.

My cell phone beeped in my pocket. As I pulled it out and scrolled through my messages, my pulse quickened when I saw Will's name appear:

"Meet me in photography lab instead of library? I have a surprise :). W x"

---

I entered the room slowly, blindly knocking over several objects in the process. The room was immersed in dim, red lighting; photos criss-crossed across the ceiling showing smiling yearbook faces. Bottles of different chemicals and materials covered every possible surface. Will stood idly with his back to me, sorting through something I had no idea about. I considered leaving the room before having to deal with the reminder of our kiss that never happened. Coincidentally, he turned too quickly and foiled my escape plan.

"Hey, study buddy," He said, playfully. "How's your day been?"
"It's been good thanks," I smiled, meekly.
"You're a terrible liar but I get the impression that you don't want to talk about it."
"Not really. Tell me about your day instead. What are you doing?"
"Just finishing some year book stuff – anyway, that's not why I brought you here! I made something for you. I just hope you know I did it with good intentions..."

Will's hands covered my eyes before I could even speak as he led me around the room. I couldn't see a thing, which was worrying, but I trusted Will more than most people. Also, I secretly liked the feeling of finally having his hands on me and I felt the familiar adrenaline rush inside and fireworks exploding in my stomach.

When I finally opened my eyes, they revealed something completely unexpected, heart breaking but heart building all at the same time; a massive photographic print of my father. I reached out to make sure it was real; I had corrupted the film from Mom's old camera by accident and had beaten myself up about it for so long. Especially, when I had realised it contained the last photo taken of my father. I had only mentioned it to Will a couple of times in passing but I had never expected him to remember, let alone rescue it for me.

"Oh, Will!" I gasped, touching the photo delicately.
"I took the film when you weren't around," Will said, gently. "I hope you're not angry - I just thought it would mean a lot to you."
"I don't even know what to say. I didn't know you paid that much attention to anything I said..."
"I pay attention to everything you say."

He looked up from the chemical bottles he had been picking at in distraction; his eyes burned into mine from behind his glasses and my ribcages rattled furiously over my swelling heart.

"Will, we need your help," Zeke poked his head round the door and interrupted the moment completely. "Ah, sorry. Is this a bad time?"
"No, no," I shook my head, wiping my full eyes quickly. "It's fine, really. I better go anyway..."

Will scowled at Zeke, his eyebrows low on his forehead. Zeke seemed both guilty and satisfied that he had ruined his friend's moment. Meanwhile, I was grateful for the interruption – I had a lot of thinking to do.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Will asked, concerned.
"No, that's not necessary," I reached out and squeezed his hand as he blushed. "You've done enough already. Thank you so much – words don't even cover it."

I kissed Will on the cheek, lingering a little and breathing in his fresh, soapy scent. After I left, I hovered outside the door eaves dropping long enough to hear a frustrated Will declare in Zeke's direction:

"Tell me, as a loyal friend, do you enjoy ruining my life on purpose?"
"Me? Ruin your life?" Zeke replied, a smirk on his face. "Never."