Cross Your Fingers

Izy spent the rest of the day wishing she wouldn’t have to ask for Stephen’s help. Things had been awkward with them recently, but she really needed to bring up her chemistry grade. After school Stephen was at her house so she decided to just suck it up and ask him.

“Hey Stephen, my bestest buddy,” she said sitting down next to him on the couch.

“What do you want Izy?” he asked her.

“What makes you think I want something? Maybe I just think you’re my bestest buddy.”

“Whenever you say the word “bestest” you want something.”

“Oh Stephen you know me so well. That must be why you’re my bestest buddy. Anyways I hear that you’re good at chemistry.”

“Yeah and where did you hear this?” he saw the opportunity to spend more time with her and thought it would be a good way to make her realize that she should dump his brother and be with him.

“From John, that’s not important. What is important is that I really need your help I’m failing hardcore right now. There is now way I can take another year of chemistry,” she pleaded with him she really needed his help even though being around him had made here a little nervous since their walk in the park.

“Do you even really have to ask?”

“So is that a yes?” Izy clarified. He nodded his head yes. “Thank you so much Stephen you really are saving my life,” she told him. In her excitement she got up and hugged him. Right after she did though she felt a little awkward and quickly pulled away.

The two of them decided they would meet on Sundays for him to help her. Slowly she started to understand a little bit more but it was still a little distracting to be tutored by Stephen. He didn’t try anything though he was waiting for the right moment. If he made his move too soon it would make her avoid him again and that wouldn’t get him anywhere. Things where going normally for Izy and her relationship with John was progressing and he made her really happy. She still had feelings for Stephen but she was getting good at ignoring them.

After a couple weeks she was stressing out though. It was Sunday and her first chemistry test since Stephen started helping her was tomorrow. Even though she was feeling more confident but she still had her doubts about how she was going to do.

“Hey babe are you ready for the chem test?” John greeted her when they met up at school.

“I really hope so,” she said reaching up to give him a quick kiss.

“Ew PDA,” she heard Justin behind her.

“Nobody said you had to look,” Izy shot back at him turning around and seeing he was also with Stephen.

“Me and Stephen were just innocent bystanders. Geez you can’t even walk into schools anymore without seeing all kinds of indecencies.”

“Aw shut up Justin.” She felt kind of awkward with Stephen being there. He was always much more quiet when he was around her and John than when John wasn’t there. It was because he hated seeing them together. It should be him exchanging kisses with her before school and his hand she should be taking when the bell rings and she walks off to class. It felt weird for him to be this jealous of John but he couldn’t help it.

“So how did you do?” John asked when the two of them walked out of the chemistry room. He put his arm around her while the two of them walked down the hall.

“I don’t want to think about it,” she told him leaning into him slightly bringing them closer together.

“But Stephen has been helping you hasn’t he?”

“Well yeah but it’s still so confusing,” she pouted.

“You know your lips look pretty irresistible when you do that.”

“What these things?” she pointed to her lips and tilted her head to the side. He leaned in and kissed her.

“Yeah those things,” he said when the two of them pulled apart.

The next day they got their chemistry tests back. Again she hesitated before flipping it over. “John I didn’t fail,” she exclaimed.

“It seems like it’s helping you to work with Stephen,” John said.

“Yep I got a 79 and I’ve never been so glad to get a 79 in my life. I can’t wait to tell Stephen.” It made sense for her to be excited but there was still a little bit of weirdness between them after she said that. John didn’t think anything would go on between Stephen and Izy. They were just really good friends and he was helping her in chemistry. It was just hard for him to see how close the two of them were. Stephen had known Izy for longer and had been really close to her. He thought the two of them might start dating before he had asked Izy out. He finally decided to go for it at the party he wouldn’t have gotten a better opportunity and he figured if Stephen hadn’t asked her out by now then he wasn’t going to.

Izy didn’t see Stephen until after school. Her and John were hanging out in her room and Justin came in without knocking. “Hey Stephen is coming over so if you two want to hang out with us you can? If not that’s cool just don’t do anything you wouldn’t want us to walk in on because if we get bored we are going to come up here.”

“Well if you don’t want to see anything awkward I wouldn’t come up here because if we get bored we are going to make out, so you should probably learn to knock.”

“Well maybe you should learn to keep it in your pants.”

“Just leave Justin,” she said and threw a pillow at him and he turned to leave the room. “Hey John do you want anything to eat, I’m starving.”

“Yeah sure,” he responded.

“Ok I’ll be right back,” she told him and went downstairs to get some food for the two of them. She walked into the kitchen and saw Stephen was already going through the fridge. “Oh Stephen I have super exciting news. I passed my chemistry test you’re actually helping,” she said and ran up to hug him.

“Yeah and why do you sound so surprised?” he asked. She pulled away slightly but he kept his arms around her. She looked up at him and before she could shoot back a sarcastic remark at him his lips were on hers. Caught up in the moment her lips moved with his and his tongue slipped into her mouth. She couldn’t deny how she felt about Stephen any more he was too important to her. Reluctantly she placed her hands on his chest and lightly pushed him away.

“We need to talk, but not right now when John leaves,” she told him and he nodded his head in agreement.