He looked happy to exist for once. He walked by with a smile on his face, and he looked invincible. The stammering, shy kid you begged answers from in pre-calculus was replaced by a grinning, proud one.
"Hey, Y/N," he waved as he passed you in the hall.
Your jaw nearly dropped at his change in demeanor. You had heard he had got detention that past Saturday, but his sudden change was shocking.
He stopped at his own locker several feet away. As he exchanged his books, Andrew Clarke came up to him and engaged him in pleasantries, like old friends. This was new, you noted.
In math, you sat behind him and watched the way he moved, suddenly noticeable. Before, he would only answer questions the teacher asked and was awkward with peer interaction, but when a kid made a joke, he laughed! A natural laugh that made you smile to yourself.
You had always found Brian Johnson fairly cute, and his sudden confidence was highly attractive on him. Suddenly realizing you had hardly paid attention to anything the teacher had said, you tapped Brian on the shoulder.
"Hey, I don't understand how to do this," you admitted, though this was common. "Can you explain it to me?"
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah sure." He took your paper, making marks and relaying what to do with each equation. "You get it now?"
"Um," the information slowly clicked into place, "yeah. Thanks a lot, Brian."
"No problem." He turned back around to do his own work.
You tapped him again. "Brian, how was your weekend?"
His smile this time was one of someone with a secret. "It was good. I hung out with some friends of mine. I had a really good time."
You smiled back at him. "That's really great."
"What about yours?" He looked at you with genuine curiosity in his eyes.
You shook your head. "Not nearly as good as yours. I stayed home and watched TV." Before he had the chance to turn around again, you blurted out "Do you want to hang out sometime?"
You weren't sure what your sudden, special interest in him was, but it was there, and you were chasing it.
His cheeks tinted pink, and you could see who he was just the week before. "Sure. I'd love to."
"I swear, I won't ask you for math help," you teased to ease any awkwardness.
He puffed out a little laugh. "Sounds like a deal."
My bean is so precious. I legit feel like after detention his self-confidence was suddenly, I don't knoe, existent. Ugh, I love him so much. M'kay.
~Mariah