Chapter 11

The revelation that Xander might be bi, didn't surprise me in the slightest. With his cool front, good looks, and smarts, it was no wonder he'd have both girls and guys alike swooning over him. And I found myself agreeing with Drey. It wasn't fair.

"Ah, jeez," I said, sighing. "Life isn't fair."

"You're right about that," Drey said. "I'm book smart but unattractive, and you've got the looks but you're just plain stupid."

"You didn't have to put it that way," I replied. "But anyways, you're not going to have any time to tutor me now, right?"

Drey brought his hands to his head in frustration. "Damn it! Then I also won't have any time to hang out with May either. She's going to dump me for sure this time."

"She might not. You see, there's something else I should tell you," I said.

"What is it?"

"Xander offered to tutor me in your place."

"He did?" Drey asked. "Why would he do that?"

"I kind of just bombed the first exam and he heard my grade," I said and looked down. "I've got to make up for it on the rest of the exams coming up and I can't afford to do poorly."

"So you're going to take him up on his offer?" Drey asked.

"I guess," I said. "But, the more time he spends on tutoring me, the less time he has for himself to prepare for exams. It'll be a win-win situation for both of us. I'll pass mathematics and you'll keep your number one rank in the class."

"I didn't know you had it in you," Drey replied. "To think that far ahead and plan all of this. Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought you were."

"Maybe I'm not," I replied and grinned before turning over and closing my eyes.

---

The next morning, I rose slowly out of bed and got ready for class. I remembered that Hayden was in my Anatomy class and sent him a text, asking him if he'd arrived on campus yet. He replied saying he was running late and to head to class without him.

I sighed as it was unfortunate that we couldn't walk together. And then I cursed myself because Xander was in Anatomy as well, when I honestly did not want to face him. It was shameful that I had to rely on him now and all I could think was that he'd look down on me.

I slowly trudged to class, irritated, and forced myself to stop thinking about Xander. Hayden was going to be there anyways.

When I walked into the cramped classroom, I noticed that Hayden was yet to arrive. I chose a seat towards the middle of the class, remembering that it wasn't too close to the front of the room but not too far from the board. I pulled out my notebook and collapsed my head on my desk, my hands on my head.

The chair next to me slid out from the desk as someone slipped in beside me.

"You okay?"

I picked my head up and found Hayden looking at me, a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, hey," I said. "I'm fine, just waiting for you to get here."

"Sorry we couldn't walk together like usual, Brian had me helping with the laundry this morning," Hayden told me.

Ah, the beautiful man.

"Brian seems pretty cool," I said and glanced over at him. His blond hair fell across his forehead and I bit my lip, resisting to move it.

"I guess," Hayden replied. "He's cool when he's here, but how often is that? Only back for the weekends, how could my mom stand it?"

"Your mom is something else," I said, leaning back in my chair. "The patience she has is astounding. I wouldn't be able to be apart from yo-". I slammed my mouth shut. What the hell was I saying?

"What? Why'd you stop?" Hayden asked, grinning. "It sounded like you were about to say something about me."

"I wasn't," I insisted. "I always thought your ears were bad, but I see it's just your ego. Why would I say something so-"

"I wouldn't have minded," he cut me off. I darted my eyes towards him.

"What?" I asked, turning my body towards him.

"I know you were going to say you couldn't stand being away from me, Jasper," Hayden said, staring directly into my eyes.

"How would you know?" I asked. "I could've been talking about your damn dog."

"You're as stubborn as always," he replied. "I don't have a dog."

"I know-"

"A lover's quarrel so early in the morning?"

I whipped my head to the side and glared at the guy with the mysterious, light green eyes.

"What?" I spat. Hayden laughed next to me and Xander slipped into the desk on my other side.

"Relax," Xander replied, slightly grinning. "I'm just messin' with you."

I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes before I leaned over to Xander's desk. His eyebrows went up in surprise and I made sure to speak quietly so Hayden wouldn't hear.

"I know you're not," I hissed.

Xander's deep laughter erupted from the back of his throat. "You're right."

"Just butt out, will you?" I whispered. "I don't need you getting involved."

"Selfish," Xander replied and pretended to pout. "Hayden isn't all yours, you know."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You don't need to tell me that."

I sat back in my chair, removing myself from Xander's proximity, as the professor walked in.

"Good morning," Professor Michaels addressed us, her light blonde hair tied tightly in a knot on her head. "I'm a few minutes late because I had no one to watch my son today and ended up bringing him here."

A small child stepped out from behind Professor Michaels and sucked on his fingers. I'd thought the boy would be around three years old. His eyes nervously glanced around the room in every direction and he immediately began to wail.

It startled the professor who reached down to pick up her son, but he darted away and ran as fast as his stubby legs would let him. The boy ran through the rows of desks as we all stared and watched the scene. Nobody reached out to grab the child, instead, we all sat and did nothing. It appeared as though nobody knew how to deal with children as we watched the professor chase her son.

"Come here," she said sternly.

"No!" her son screamed, turning his head to find where his mother was. While he did this, he tripped on Xander's backpack as he was not facing the same way he was running and failed to see it. He went down with a thud and screamed louder.

Xander immediately reached his hand down and scooped up the small boy who wailed into his chest. Xander rubbed his hand on the boy's back, whispering in his ear, "Shh, it's alright. You're okay. Don't cry now."

I was shocked as the boy sniffled once more before he completely stopped crying. The boy wrapped his tiny arms around Xander's neck as Professor Michaels approached.

"That boy never lets anyone hold him," Professor Michaels said, looking at her son in disbelief. "And he's suddenly stopped crying. I'm sorry for all of the trouble, Xander."

"It's really fine," Xander said, still rubbing the child's back. "I don't mind holding him for a little."

Professor Michaels smiled warmly at Xander before replying. "You're unexpectedly good with children, aren't you?"

"It seems so."

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