Lockers and Love

Chapter Thirteen

"If you want when I drop her off, I can help put things away. I don't have practice or anything, so I'm free." Rivka and Ziva looked at each other and each gave a small smirk.

"If you do not mind, that would be lovely, Tony." Rivka smiled. This really was a nice kid. Ziva looked at her watch and noticed the time.

"We better get going, Ima. We do not need to be late."

"Right. Well, I guess I will see you both after school." Ziva grabbed her backpack and they headed out the door. Tony went around and opened the car door for her. She smiled at his gesture. By now, he's done it 3 to 4 times and it still manages to bring a smile to her face. He went around to his side of the car and hopped in. He cranked the car and pulled out of the driveway. About a minute into the drive, Tony looked over to see her staring at him. He couldn't get the almost- kiss out of his head. God knows how much he wanted to and he probably would have if Rivka hadn't have opened the door. Little did he know, Ziva was thinking along the same thing.

"Can I ask you something?" Tony whispered.

"Of course." Tony hesitated before he spoke. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came up.

"Uh...never mind..."

"Tony." He looked back at the road and stared at it like it was some precious jewel.

"What happened last night?" He finally asked. She looked out of her window.

"We almost kissed." She said after a minute or two.

"I know." She then looked back at him.

"But we did not. I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing." Tony looked over at her again. Hurt clouding his features.

"Can we not have this conversation now, in the car, on the way to school?" Tony nodded.

"Yeah. You're right. Sorry." Ziva smiled.

"I thought that you said apologizing was a sign of weakness?" Tony chuckled, not in the mood for a full laugh. Maybe she would talk with him later.

"Yeah. Can you make me a promise?"

"It depends on the promise." Tony smirked.

"Can you promise me that you'll talk with me about this later?" Ziva sighed.

"I will try my best." Tony nodded, that's all that he would ask for. They pulled into the school parking lot and Tony pulled into his space. Ziva went to open her door but her arm dropped as Tony had already opened it for her. He smiled at her with that grin that could only be described as charming. She smiled back at him and stepped out of the car. She moved to get her backpack from the backseat, but again, Tony was there holding it for her. She took it and they made their way to the entrance. They saw Tim and Abby standing to the right of the doors, talking enthusiastically about something. They both looked up when shadows came upon them.

"Hey Guys!" Abby sprung out and hugged both of them.

"Abs..can't breathe." Abby let go, still with a giant smile on her face. It was amazing how she could be happy this early in the morning.

"Abs, how many Caf-Pow!'s have you had today?" Abby shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know like 6." Ziva looked at her like she had three heads.

"Abby, it is only 7:45 in the morning." Abby shrugged her shoulders again like this was something normal. She looked over at Tony who was just smiling at the expression on her face.

"Is this normal?" She whispered, hoping that Abby wouldn't overhear. Tony chuckled.

"Yep. Caf-Pow! Is her all-time favorite drink and if she doesn't have any then well, you kinda want to run." Abby lightly punched him the arm. The whole group started laughing. They quieted as they saw Sacks and Langer approach them. One look at Ziva from both the boys had them gulping, but apparently they came here to say something. Sacks looked Ziva up and down, something that didn't sit well with her. Tony just wanted to punch the man in the mouth for how he was looking at her.

"Hey Ziva. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but how about we go get a bite to eat and talk? I'm great company." He flashed his smile that made most of the girls in the school melt. Ziva was completely immune to it. The only smile that made her melt inside was Tony's. Being the mature, responsible teenager that she was, she decided to play nice and just let him down slowly.

"I am sorry, but I cannot." Sacks looked confused. Most of the girls in this school if he asked them out would be dying to accept his offer.

"Are you sure? I think we'll have a good time." He licked his lips, something that made Ziva's skin crawl.

"Positive." Her voice was strong and determined. Something that shocked the bullies.

"Okay. Well you're missing out on the best night of your life." Ziva was getting impatient and angry that he wouldn't leave her alone.

"I think I will manage." She wanted to get him away from her as fast as possible. He was giving her the creeps. As if he read her mind, Tony stepped in front of her and put his hands in his pockets.

"Don't you have class to go too? Or are you skipping like normal?" His tone was snappy. Something Ziva hadn't experienced with him yet.

"Leave it to Gibbs to step up. I'm having a conversation with her, how about you talk to your geeks over there." He pointed over to Tim and Abby.

"How about you leave her alone? Or do we need a repeat of the other day? She's not the only one that can fight, Slacks." Sacks' expression became angry.

"For the last time, it's Sacks. But of course you wouldn't know that since you probably can't even read."

"Get out of her, Slacks." He stretched out his last name to annoy him even further. Around this time, the bell rang and Sacks looked back over at Ziva.

"If you change your mind, you'll know where to find me." With that him and Langer walked away with anger in their footsteps. Ziva turned back to Tony. She noticed the angry glint that was in his eye. She wished for the playful, mischievous one back.

"Come on. Let us go to class. We do not need to be late." They all nodded their heads and entered the building. Tony and Ziva made their way to math in one direction, while Abby and Tim made their way too physics in the other. The same thought was ringing through all of their minds.

Today was going to be a long day.