Start a Revolution

John looked like shit.

Joey's punch really did some damage, leaving a large purple mark across John's left cheek and his entire left eye swollen. Drew couldn't help but flinch every time she looked at it on the way to the nurse's office, wishing she had a pack of ice to place over it.

"Does it hurt?" she finally asks once the nurse directed them to sit. Apparently, Nurse Judy was already busy with some kid who was puking. So John had to wait.

The boy blows out a sigh. "Getting punched isn't supposed to feel good, Hemingway."

Drew felt a large weight hit her shoulders. So he was back to calling her by her last name. She bites her bottom lip and looks down, a bit disappointed. John notices her sudden change in mood and frowns, wincing when it pulled down the muscle by his eye. He brings a hand up and places it under her chin, directing her face so she was looking him in the eye. "What? Did I say something?" he asks quietly.

She smiles meekly. "It's just...you called me Hemingway. You usually only called me that when you were, I don't know, making fun of me or something..." she shifts in her seat, feeling a bit awkward with admitting this out loud. But John grins, dropping her chin from his hand. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sorry, old habit, I guess," he murmurs. "Drew."

Said girl grins upon hearing her given name, looking back at John. "Sorry. I just thought you didn't want anything to do with me after Friday."

"I thought the same thing about you."

Drew sighs, averting her gaze back to her lap. "I don't blame you." Her top teeth dig into her bottom lip again, almost making an obvious imprint now. "I didn't want anything to do with you. But when I saw Joey punch you..."

"Why did he attack me anyway?" John asks, grinning on the inside at her last comment. "I was just walking down the hall before he suddenly shoved me against the lockers."

She bites at her bottom lip, feeling as if there were a permanent indent. "Well..."

John could tell this was headed somewhere negative, and he sighs as well. "I'm guessing you mentioned sneaking out with me on Friday." It wasn't even a question. It was a statement, because he could tell by her uncomfortable silence that she had. He wasn't necessarily upset about it, but he knew it was a stupid thing to do.

"Are you mad?" she asks, wincing at the thought of him exploding on her.

They had finally started getting along, better than either of them had expected (cough, cough, kiss), but she knew he could go back to his bitter and angry personality any time soon. She was terrified of him going back to his bitter ways toward her.

"No," he smiles, ignoring the pain it brought him in his eye. He brings his hand up, running his finger under her lower lip. Drew wished he would touch her lower lip. "I'm not mad."

She felt relief flood her body. "Thank goodness."

"Did you think I would be?"

"I basically gave Joey a reason to punch you in the face," she mutters, sighing as he drops his hand back into his lap. His hand squeezes her knee lightly. "It's my fault you have a black eye and it's my fault that you were even in the area for you to get punched. I just..." she shakes her head, John cocking his own to the side. "I really wish I could just go back to Friday night. That way neither of us would be in this position."

"What would you have redone about Friday?" John asks, his lips curling at the edges. He could tell she was breaking down, her defensive walls falling. He succeeded. He finally got her to open up. He wanted to punch the air in triumph.

"I would've stayed, instead of running," she admits, her face flushing. Her eyes avert.

His lips break into a full, mega-watt grin. "Why did you run anyway?"

Drew closes her eyes, knowing this would come up sooner or later. She wasn't ready to just spill her feelings to John—how conflicted she's been, her confused feelings, and her weird attraction to him—but she knew now was the time to do it. "I ran because I was scared," she fesses, nipping at her bottom lip.

There was a hefty silence before John finally uses his hand to once again tuck under her chin, pushing up so her eyes were locked with his. He takes an inhale, his pupils dilating noticeably. "I want to bite that lip."

Her teeth immediately slide off the lip, her eyes widening as she gasps softly.

"That was..." she clears her throat, her tummy feeling warm all over, "seductive."

John laughs, using his thumb to stroke over the skin of her lower lip, her wish coming true. She closes her eyes as she shivers in delight. "I can understand why you were scared. Along with you, I'm confused over these feelings too."

"It's weird to go from hating someone to wanting to fuck them into the next millennium, huh?" she asks dryly, but the humor was there in her voice.

"I don't want to fuck you," John murmurs. "Well, I do. But it can wait. I just want to to be with you."

Her face flushes a very deep red, her heart pounding. Is this really happening right now? "Did you just say that?" she asks, her breath hitting his thumb where it was still placed on her bottom lip. She shifts on the uncomfortable bench, remembering that they were still in school and in the nurses office. Way to kill the mood, Hemingway.

"I did," he grins. "Do you feel the same?"

"You mean...do I want to be with you?"

He nods. John had to admit to himself he was surprised at his surge of confidence, just straight up telling Drew he liked her. But it was dwindling as he saw the hesitance on her face, the way her eyes drooped.

"I..." she exhales deeply. "I do. I really do." John couldn't help but grin. "But what about Joey? And everyone? Everyone knows we can't stand each other! What would they think—"

John cuts her off by pulling her in by the chin and kissing her.

"It doesn't matter what anyone thinks," he mumbles, resting his forehead against hers. The dull ache in his eyes was long forgotten, his heart bursting at the thought of finally claiming Drew as his. He felt his body throb at wanting her. "It's just us. We shouldn't give a damn about anybody else."

"But—"

"Don't overthink it," John again cuts in, wanting to curl into himself knowing he was so close at getting her. He's wanted her for what felt like too long now. "Please."

She breathes out, still feeling the aftereffects of his kiss. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say yes. To us."

"Yes."

There was no flutter, no reluctance, no hesitation in her voice. John almost thought he had imagined it, but he saw the way her lips shaped over that one word, the way her breath fanned his face as she spoke. His chest caved in at the acceptance.

"Seriously?" he asks, knowing his voice was full of awe.

She nods.

He then kisses her again, realizing they were like a real-life Romeo and Juliet. Hated each other for so long and fell into a trap. He didn't want to worry about the consequences or what would go from here. All John cared about was here and now. With Drew.