Sweetheart, Just Be Real

"So, you left the party with John on Friday...Care to explain?" My friend Laura asked me as she wiggled her eyebrow. She was Tim Kirch's girlfriend.

I proceeded looking through my messy locker for my history book and rolled my eyes.

"Nothing happened, Laur." I told her.

"Mhmm, well he so likes you." She stated as she played with her blonde hair.

"Yeah right. And even if he did, I don't like him." I replied.

"Come on, Kimmy! How can you not like John? You two are practically clones of each other." She exclaimed.

I slammed my locker shut and started walking to my first period class.

"Don't just walk away from me, you bitch!" Laura joked. "C'mon, you have to admit that you and John are really similar."

"Yeah, we have a lot of the same interests. Lots of people like the same things I do." I shrugged as I kept walking down the hallway, trying to avoid bumping into anybody.

"Really? Do a lot of people have Christmas movie parties like you two where they eat pumpkin pie ice cream and sweet tart candy canes?" She asked.

"Maybe. You don't know everybodies business." I countered.

I arrived at my history room and was about to go in when Lauren stopped me.

"Give it a chance, Kay. It'd be good for you." She said seriously.

I mumbled a "Whatever," and walked into the class room.

I took my seat and some girls in the next row started whispering. Probably about me. For some reason everybody at this school made a huge deal out of the fact that I've never had a boyfriend. I don't think it's a bad thing. I mean, love never lasts so why give yourself the heartache?

I sat through history class hardly paying attention and answering easy questions so the teacher would think I was listening.

Finally, the bell rang and I gathered my papers and left. I walked out of the room and looked to my left to see John waiting for me as usual.

"Ready for Latin?" He asked.

"Yep." I replied as we started walking to the opposite end of the building.

"You just left me hanging on Friday, you know that right?" He smirked.

"Sorry, I didn't think you really cared." I answered honestly.

"Ouch, Kimmy. This coming from the girl I taught to drive. I thought we were tight." He said, feigning hurt.

I got nervous as he started flirting again.

"I guess." I shrugged.

There was an awkward silence before John spoke up again.

"Hey, um, I don't get the new verbs at all. Do you think you could come over tonight and help me?" He asked.

Oh no. Not a little 'study date'. Damnit. I really loved hanging out with John and now everything is just going to be weird.

"Uhmm, I think my mom wanted to go-"

"Your mom works on Mondays." He interrupted. "Come on. My mom's making lasagna..."

Oh damn him. He knows I'm a sucker for his mom's cooking.

"Okay, fine." I grinned.

We turned a corner and arrived to our classroom. John opened the door for me with a sweet smile on his face and I got a weird feeling in my stomach. It made my cheeks heat up and my chest flutter.

We took our seats just as the bell rang.

"Okay, class. This week we'll be working on translating poems from famous roman poets. Get to work." He said before passing out copies of the poems.

"Partner?" John asked from next to me.

"As always." I nodded.

"Let's do this one first. It's short." He suggested as he pointed to the third poem on the page.

"Okay, Liber eram et vacuo meditabar vivere lecto; at me composita pace fefellit Amor. Cur haec in terris facies humana moratur? Iuppiter, ignosco pristina furta tua." I read aloud.

John stared at me for a moment and I looked away from him.

"What?" I asked softly.

"Nothing." He said as the corners of his mouth turned up. "Now what does it mean?"

"Well this first line says I was free and intended to live..." I trailed off as I tried to figure out the rest of the sentence.

"With my bed being unshared." John finished.

"Yeah, good." I nodded as I wrote it down.

"But love, after truce had been established, tricked me." I translated as I wrote the words down.

"Why does beauty exist on Earth." John read.

"I think it's Why does such mortal beauty exist on Earth?" I corrected.

"Oh, yeah." He nodded as I kept writing. "And then it's Jupiter, I forgive you for all your past love intrigues."

"Awesome." I smiled. "Are you sure you need tutored?"

"If you saw my last test grade, you wouldn't be asking me that." He laughed.

I just chuckled and shook my head as I kept writing.

"I think I got the next one." He stated.

I read the poem before he read it aloud.

Ama me fideliter, Fidem meam toto,
Decorde totaliter, Et ex mente tota,
Sum presentialiter, Absens in remota.

"I got Love me faithfully, See how I am faithful, with all my heart and all my soul, I am with you, even though I am far away." He spoke softly and genuinely.

"Amazing." I nodded.

"Like you." He whispered, thinking I wouldn't hear.

My stomach twisted again and my palms got sweaty. I just kept writing and pretended I didn't hear him.

I am not going to fall in love with John.

No way.