"What's up with you? You've been so distant recently!" Vergoux smacked him on the shoulder, making him snap out of his trance.

The two boys were walking together to first period. Dupin had caught a cold, so he was excluded from the conversation.

Joseph contemplated speaking about Y/n. What if he reported back to his best friend? Before he could doubt himself again, the words came out of his mouth.

"I like Y/n." He quickly blurted out, looking wide eyed at Vergoux.

He couldn't keep it a secret anymore. The guilt that Joseph felt was weighing on him.

Charles looked back at him with a faked frightened look that eventually broke into laughter. "Did you think you were hiding it well? It was so obvious!"

Joseph's ears turned bright red as he pushed away from the boy.

"How'd you know? I didn't say anything to anyone!" He sputtered as Vergoux attempted to tone down his laughter.

"I see the way you look at her, only an idiot wouldn't notice it." If only an idiot wouldn't notice, Dupin must've been oblivious to everything around him.

"It feels wrong, Jean likes her too!" His friend rolled his eyes at the statement.

"He falls in 'love' every week. He'll get over her if she doesn't reciprocate." Vergoux shrugged his shoulders as the two continued up the grand staircase.

"He seems serious this time!" Joseph exclaimed as the two were about to split up.

"Don't worry about it!" Vergoux yelled back at him before going into the direction of his first period class.

Joseph sighed heavily, processing the fact that he had to go to Mrs. Giraud's class. He hated the class even though his grades were alright.

He made sure to rush to class since the teacher hated any type of tardiness. She didn't care about valid excuses and would give out detentions like candy.

Joseph slid open the door, perfectly on time. Mrs. Giraud stared him down ominously before shifting her attention back to the class.

"Class, pay attention!" She slammed a ruler onto the chalkboard, causing students to look back at her. Once she called their attention, she began to speak.

"I will be assigning you group projects based on European historical events. I will choose who will be partnered up." The class groaned in unison at the thought of having randomized partners.

"Michèle and Simone, you are together." The two girls smiled widely at each other, clearly relieved that they had each other.

"Henri and..." Mrs. Giraud contemplated his partner for a few moments. "Annick." Pichon's face dropped while Annick stayed perfectly content.

"Alain and Daniel." Laubrac and Applebaum didn't mind each other, so there was no issue.

The teacher continued on while Y/n and Joseph zoned out until they heard their names.

She snapped out of her daydream when she heard her name being announced. "Y/n and Jean."

Joseph's face dropped as he tried to hide any disappointment on his face. He felt jealous that Dupin was able to have her as a partner.

Y/n didn't mind having Jean as a partner. He was sweet to her and hardworking, so it was like a match made in heaven.

Mrs. Giraud peered over her attendance sheet and noticed that Dupin was absent. She scoffed at his audacity for missing her class.

"He's absent today, you'll have to be paired with someone else." Her face dropped as she prayed she wouldn't be left with Joseph.

"I suppose Y/n and Joseph could work together." She spoke with annoyance in her voice. Mrs. Giraud couldn't stand the two after their disrespect to her rules.

At that exact moment, Y/n hated life with her heart and soul.

It was being paired with Joseph that really pushed her over the edge.

She raised her hand in frustration, calling attention to herself. "Mrs. Giraud, may I work with someone else or a group? I won't be able to focus if I'm working with Descamps."

The mention of his last name stung as he watched the interaction between the two women. She never called him by his last name, always Joseph.

"Two troublemakers together! You'll work well together, I'm sure." Mrs. Giraud spoke sarcastically. Her grudge wouldn't allow any requests for partner changes.

The teacher began to assign topics, giving the difficult topic to the pair. They had gotten the most detailed and unusual event out of the batch.

With the remaining time left, the students were allowed to move around and work on their projects. Y/n stayed put, beginning to work on the project from her desk.

Joseph got up from his seat and sauntered over to her desk. He stood over her, trying to find the first words to say.

She beat him to it, speaking before he had the chance to think. "Don't even think about it. I can do it myself." She faced away from him, focused fully on the paper.

"You can't exclude me from the project! This is my grade too!" He declared while attempting to make eye contact with her.

"Fine! Sit down so we can get this over with!" She spoke exasperatedly, tired of discussing anything with him.

The loud conversation earned them a few stares from classmates, but Joseph ignored it.

He slid into the seat next to her and glanced at what she was working on. She had been working on the possible goals of the opposing sides in history.

Y/n was engrossed in the material, paying him little attention. Her concentrated face brought a smile to his face, since he loved whenever she'd furrow her eyebrows or bite the inside of her cheek.

He was completely captivated by her expression and calmness. When she wouldn't pay attention to him, she seemed at peace.

She pressed her lips together into a thin line when she noticed where his focus was. "Are you going to keep staring or do some work?"

"Can't I do both?" He joked while Y/n had an annoyed look painted on her face. He took that as his sign to shut up and work.

The two attempted to fill the categories they needed for their presentation, but they refused to compromise on the work.

"I want to work on this part!"

"But this part relates to the section I just did!"

The two bickered about the smallest things and this was just another example. They didn't care about who got the section, they just wanted to argue.

By the end of the class, they barely completed any work for the project. They would only get class time closer to the date, and they needed the presentation halfway done.

The entire class decided to work outside of school hours, and they'd have to do the same. Y/n despised the thought of working with Joseph, but she refused to tarnish her grades.

The bell rang, allowing students to quickly run out of the class. She realized she had to organize a time to study with him.

Michèle had waited near the door to walk to their next class, but Y/n waved at her to go. It would take long enough to bring herself to talk to Joseph.

He had already begun walking towards the door, but Y/n grabbed him by the arm. "We need to meet after school to finish the project. When are you free?"

She let go of his arm immediately when he turned around.

She kept it short and simple, waiting for an answer so she could walk off. "Tomorrow's fine. Where do you want to meet?" He spoke blankly, attempting to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Come over to my house at four, I'll write down my address for you." She took a blank piece of paper
and pen from her bag and began to scribble down her address.

She had finished writing quickly, handing him the paper and walking off while she still could. Y/n was going to suck up and work with him.

Joseph held the paper in his hands, staring at the messy writing along both sides of the small slip. Looking at it gave him some type of hope.