15. School Life

Karmen inwardly cringed as she read Steve's essay, finding it got worse the longer she read it. She couldn't understand it, he had been doing much better in his studies lately.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Karmen inquired, turning to him.

"What do you mean?" Steve shrugged, from the driver's seat of his car.

"This isn't good and we both know it. Why are you trying to flunk this application?" Karmen suggested.

"What? No…no, I'm not" Steve stuttered, in response.

"Tell me the truth, asshole" Karmen insisted, swatting Steve's arm with the papers.

"Hey, watch the merchandise" Steve laughed.

"Is this about Nancy?" Karmen figured.

"No…not everything is about her" Steve dismissed.

"So, you're not trying to stick around so you have a longer time to win her back?" Karmen went on.

"…Okay, it's one of the reasons. Along with the fact that my dad has been busting my ass about working for him all summer…and well you know…" Steve trailed off.

"What?" Karmen frowned.

"Well I don't want to leave my best friend, now do I" Steve admitted, as a smile grew on Karmen's face.

"You're so adorable, it sickens me" Karmen giggled.

"And I have to stop you from pining after Jonathan now that he and Nancy have broken up" Steve stated, raising an eyebrow.

"I do no such thing" Karmen grumbled.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were doodling his name over your textbooks" Steve mocked.

"Says mister broody" Karmen retorted.

"I don't brood…I…allure" Steve suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, someone's been studying" Karmen laughed.

"I'm serious though, okay? We're going to ignore them just like they've ignored us the past few months" Steve insisted.

"You got that goddamn right" Karmen replied, as Steve chuckled.

"You've been hanging out with Dustin too much. You're got a dirty mouth, Karmen" Steve teased her.

Karmen didn't know why but she felt herself begin to blush. It had been happening increasingly recently, and only around Steve. She was thankful when a loud car stole Steve's attention, as the colour of her cheeks died down. They both exited the car, as the loud motor parked not far from them. A guy exited the car in some of the tightest jeans Karmen had ever seen. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and unimpressed expression on his face. Karmen watched as a young ginger girl rushed out of the car and began to skate down the hill, not giving the guy a second glance. However, the boy in question had certainly noticed her. For the second time in only a minute, Karmen felt herself blush again when he winked her way.

"What the hell is his problem?" Steve grumbled, as they watched him walk past a flock of girls who were almost dribbling.

"Are you jealous that someone might steal your title of best hair in the school?" Karmen giggled.

"Hey, remember who drives you around everywhere, yeah?" Steve suggested, as Karmen held her hands up in mock surrender.

"Hey Will! Wait up" Karmen called after the small boy.

"Oh hi, Karmen" Will nodded, when he saw her approach.

"How're you doing, kiddo? Heard you're going back to the labs this afternoon?" Karmen exclaimed.

"Yeah…it's nice to hear someone say it. Not just brush over it" Will admitted.

"People are stupid" Karmen shrugged.

"Can I ask you a question?" Will inquired.

"Do you only hang around with me because you hope you'll run into my brother?" Will asked.

"No. Of course not. I don't know…I guess with everything that happened last year…I just like to check up on you kids" Karmen confessed.

"I think you and Jonathan would have been good together" Will informed her, as she smiled.

"Maybe" She shrugged.

"And he is single now..." Will trailed off, a shy smile on his face.

"Are you trying to pimp out your brother?" Karmen questioned, as he shrugged with a laugh.

As if on cue, Karmen noticed the boy she was just talking about walking towards them, and quickly said goodbye to Will and walked over to her locker. She had hoped Jonathan wouldn't follow her, but she had no such luck.

"Hey" He offered, as he walked up beside her.

"Hey" She replied stiffly, not turning to look at him.

"Are you…um, are you mad at me?" Jonathan questioned.

"No" She shrugged.

"Because you seem to be avoiding me" Jonathan stated.

"Must be your imagination" Karmen told him.

"I…I miss us being friends" Jonathan confessed, as Karmen then turned to look at him.

He gave her those big puppy dog eyes that she just couldn't resist. She could see he had managed to get a nice tan over summer. It suited him, she thought to herself. She felt herself stutter over her words for a moment before she suddenly felt hands wrap around her waist. She was sent spinning around, as she heard a familiar laugh from behind her. Unable to keep the smile off her face, she whipped around and slapped Steve on the shoulder, who only laughed harder.

"Take those stupid things off" Karmen teased, as she grabbed the sunglasses that Steve was wearing.

"Hey!" Steve exclaimed, as Karmen then went to put them on herself.

"Do I look like a douchebag?" Karmen suggested, as Steve nodded.

"Pretty much" He informed her.

She then realised that Jonathan had already walked away, clearly feeling awkward watching the interaction. She watched him saunter down the hallway, hands in his pockets and head down. She felt her heart drop for a moment.

"What did he want?" Steve inquired.

"I don't know…he said something about being friends…" Karmen trailed off.

Steve raised his hand out as he pulled the sunglasses back until they were resting on top of her head, tangled into her thick brown locks.

"So, what now that he and Nancy have broken up suddenly he wants to speak with you again? What an asshole" Steve mumbled, darkly, as he rested against the locker.

"I think he's just lonely" She shrugged, as Steve sighed.

"So?" Steve retorted, as he seized the sunglasses from her hair.

"You deserve better than him" Steve insisted, smoothing down the side of Karmen's hair that had fluffed up.

Karmen shivered lightly, as Steve ran his hand down her hair. He pushed back the locks behind her ear and patted her shoulder softly, in a way that was too friendly compared to his earlier actions. He gave her a quick smile and began to walk away, clearly oblivious to how she could take what he had just done. As Karmen watched him walk away, she shook her head in annoyance. Why were boys so confusing, she asked herself.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I've started a new fanfic which you can find here s/12973267/1/The-Most-Important-Thing or just go check out my profile. It's for Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, so if anyone of you used to watch that or any of the Terminator series, please go check it out:) Sorry that this chapter was a little short, I'll try to update quicker next time. Please leave a review:)

Micky-Moo: Sorry, this is a short chapter too, but I think it's got some fun interactions in it!

uNICOrnDIANGELO: Yep, adorable is the exact word I would use to describe them, haha. I'm glad you're liking them so far!