Steph's POV:

Four days of lessons with Keon and I know for a fact that I am not the sharpest knife in the kitchen.

Ever since my drunken confession to Keon on Tuesday, I've attended every single lesson he's scheduled but I may as well have skipped them.

Let's face it.

I'm stupid.

And Keon has come quite close to telling me so multiple times. Yesterday, after trying again to teach me the difference between a simile and a metaphor, he murmured that I was as sharp as a marble. What's even worse is that I didn't realize it was an insult until almost half an hour later, and by then it was much too late to retort.

Kayla keeps teasing me about Keon, but trust me he and I are nothing close to being acquaintances, much less friends. He's made no mention about my confession to not being able to graduate and I'm far too embarrassed to bring it up. Right now he is the only one who knows and he could choose to ruin me at any moment.

So yeah, friends we are not.

Kayla catches up to me as the bell rings, dismissing us from lunch. I was so lost in my thoughts of not graduating and Keon that I barely touched my food. Hungrily, I grab a chocolate bar from my pocket and bite into it noting Kayla's watchful eyes on me.

"Where's Quinn?", I ask, realizing that I haven't seen her - not that its odd, I barely ever see her during lunch and when I do, she stays away from food as though it is a poisonous plague.

Hmm... maybe Keon's lessons aren't being wasted after all.

"She said that she had a meeting with the school newspaper members", she said and I nod. Sometimes I forget that Quinn is the photographer for the school newspaper; she's so quiet you hardly notice she is there. Then again, for her to take amazing photographs of unsuspecting students, I guess she has to be a bit invisible.

"You've been really quiet lately", Kayla says, and though her tone is joking, her green eyes are pools of concern. "Is anything wrong?"

I look at my bestfriend, seeing my reflection in her eyes.

I'm not okay, I want to scream. I'm not going to graduate. I'm stupid and as sharp as a marble.

I don't say any of those things though. Instead, I bottle up my emotions and fake a smile that doesn't exactly reach my eyes. "Keon's just a pain", I say with a shrug. "He gave me an assignment that kept me up most of the night"

That's partially true. Keon did give me an assignment and I did try to do it. Then I became convinced that I needed music to help me read, and somehow ended up spending an hour trying to pick a song, another hour listening to the song which reminded me of Barbie so I decided to watch Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses and... you get the gist.

"There's a party tonight by the way", Kayla says. "You've been so pent up lately I thought maybe you'd be interested. Release all that tension y'know."

I try to resist the urge to nod. I need to study, I might not graduate if I don't

But you've been working so hard all week, a voice whispers in my head. Will one break really hurt?

"I'll definitely be there", I grin, tapping my fingers against my thigh in an effort to dissipate the feeling of guilt.

"I want to come too", a quiet voice comes from beside me, and I nearly jump out pf my skin to see Quinn, holding a book. As usual she is bundled in a sweater twice her size which all but drowns her and her head is stuck in a book.

I wish I had an interest in reading like she did.

"Oh Quinn I don't think...", Kayla starts to say, but Quinn turns to her.

"The party is being thrown by Kingsley High right?", she asks and Kayla nods. I know of Kingsley High. Their a quiet school so no one from our school really attends their parties; quite a shame since for a quiet school their parties are the exact opposite.

"No one from our school would go to that party", Quinn continues.

I look at Kayla and read the message in her eyes. Every party we've gone to, something has happened to Quinn.

But this is different. Quinn gets picked on by people in our school. If they won't be at the party, maybe she'll be safe.

Quinn turns to me with shining grey eyes and I give a noncommittal shrug.

"I'll think about it"

She nods like that is enough for her and slinks off with a faint smile.

Kayla grins. "I can't believe we went so long without knowing her."

"Yeah. Hard to believe she's in our grade too. She looks much younger" Actually that's not the right word - she looks small.

Something is niggling in the back of my mind, but I can't seem to remember it as Kayla and I stroll to her French class.

"Aaron told me that your lessons are... interesting"

"How would he know that?", I ask absently, still trying to determine what I must have forgotten.

"Well, his bestfriend is your tutor", she giggles. "Keon says that your classes are..."

"Shoot", I say as I remember. "Keon is supposed to tutor me in French today. I asked the teacher and everything."

I glance at my watch and note that I am 15 minutes late. If there is one thing I've learned from Keon, he hates lateness - or tardiness as he prefers to say.

The thought of that crisp British accent scolding me yet again makes me turn and run, waving hurriedly to Kayla as I make my way to the library where my strict tutor is waiting.

👓👓👓

"Tu es en retard", Keon says coldly as I barge into the library where he is seated calmly.

"Did you just call me a retard?", I shoot at him, glaring through my hair which has managed to get itself untidily tangled and windblown.

"'Tu es en retard' means you are late in French", Keon tuts, his voice cold. I can't help but notice that when he spoke, his British accent was completely replaced by a French one.

It's attractive.

I shake my head with a shudder. When did I find anything about Keon attractive.

I look up to find his gray eyes on me.

"Assieds-toi"

This I understand and I draw out a chair to sit.

"The principal told me that you would be having a French oral test, so we'll be having our French sessions completely in French"

Completely in French?

"I can't speak French", I retort, glaring at him.

"Of course you can't", he mutters under his breath.

I don't say anything, instead I cross my arms and wait while he seems to be coming up with an alternate route.

"We're going to start with the basics first. Get a dictionary. And that textbook over there", he gestures to a shelf where all the French material is arranged and within seconds, I am back in my seat French dictionary in arm.

He takes the French textbook from me and flips it open to a page without checking the table of contents. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows the whole textbook by heart.

I look down at the page in the textbook.

Conjugation

"Read up on that", he says.

"And what are you going to do?", I ask.

"Studying as well", he says. He picks up a thick book and flips it open to a page that has writings which look like hieroglyphics to me.

Hieroglyphics are Egyptian right. More like drawings. I'd probably be able to understand drawings. Maybe I should look for a different example. What about Greek. I don't understand Greek. Or French.

French.

I drag my mind back to the library to see Keon's gray eyes on mine, a disapproving expression on me. It's very obvious that he noticed me spacing out.

I revert my eyes to the text book in front of me. The boredom that hits me is instantaneous and as heavy as a ton of bricks.

I pinch my temple with my right hand while the left one fishes into my bag and pulls out a snickers bar. I unwrap the chocolate and take a bite, ignoring Keon's glare at the wrinkling sound of the cellophane.

"You aren't reading", Keon points out.

"No shit sherlock", I roll my eyes. "You gave me a book written in French and I don't understand French"

Actually I do understand French a bit but it's such a hassle to read through the whole thing. Even though there is a dictionary beside me I still can't seem to just push through

Keon takes off his glasses and cleans them, then puts them back on. I know from the past experience of these few days that he is thinking of another task to give me.

"What are you reading?", I ask him quickly before he can come up with another boring tactic to make me learn.

"Are you trying to divert?", he asks, raising a blond brow at my not-so-subtle attempt at distracting him.

"No of course not. I just realized how interested I am in...", I take a quick glance at his book "...astrophysics"

He scoffs and I roll my eyes. Maybe that wasn't my most believable lie.

"Look I'm bored okay. And we've never really had a conversation and..."

"Okay, let's have a conversation", Keon says, and I think he is joking, but he closes his book softly and turns to me.

"You want us to stop studying to have a... conversation?", I ask confused. I mean, this is what I wanted, an excuse not to read, but I didn't expect it to be this easy. I already had a whole ploy thought up to get him distracted and waste time and here he was doing it without a fight? Unless...

I cross my arms over my chest. "What's the catch?"

The ghost of a smile lights up his features as if he is pleased that I caught on. "I ask you questions in English. You have to answer in French."

I groan, leaning back into my chair, but he ignores me. "You have limited time until your oral test Stephanie. You need to practice"

I roll my eyes but nod reluctantly. He is right, as much as I hate to admit it.

"Tell me about yourself Stephanie", he says in his business no nonsense voice.

"Umm... je maple Steph", I start awkwardly, but Keon shakes his head.

"It's je m'appelle not je maple. You're pronouncing it like it's maple syrup"

I redden. "I told you I couldn't speak French", I huff.

"Exactly, that's why I'm correcting you", he replies. "Say it again"

I repeat it again and he nods.

"Do you have any siblings?", he asks.

"Non", the word hooks in my throat as my mind goes to Stephan, the brother I would never know. I shake my head trying to remove the thought of him, trying to get rid of my musty eyes, hyper-aware of the fact that Keon is watching me.

I quickly continue with a phrase I remember in French.

"Mais j'ai un serpent domestique".

Keon is in the middle of cleaning his glasses, but as I finish my statement, he pauses, and I can see the confusion on his face.

"That can't be right", he mutters under his breath and I can't help laughing at how dorkily adorable he looks when he is muddled.

"You have a pet snake?", he asks and I nod.

"That is really impressive". His voice is consumed with barely hidden excitement and as he puts on his glasses, I can see his grey eyes sparkling behind them. I

"What's his name? What breed of snake is he?"

I am tempted to answer in English, but something tells me Keon would make me answer it again in French, so why waste the energy.

"Il s'appelle Lion et il est un... boa constrictor?", I say, wondering if I've said it properly.

Keon has a faint smile on his face. "Typical of you to name a snake Lion", he says with a chuckle, and I can't help but relish the fact that he is chuckling because of me. Not because I did something stupid but because he found it genuinely amusing.

"Wait so I got the whole sentence right?", I ask.

"Indeed", Keon says. "Boa constrictor in French is the same thing as boa constrictor in English. Now", he says leaning closer, "how long have you had Lion?"

For the whole French period, Keon and I bond over snakes. I have to check the dictionary sometimes, and he often corrects me on my pronunciation, but I think I do pretty well. I'm laughing over a question he asks when the bell rings.

"Well", I say, suddenly reluctant to go. Being with Keon this period was oddly entertaining. Turns out his British accent is actually pleasing to the ear when he isn't being rude and judgemental.

"I guess you have to be off now", Keon says, and maybe it's just my imagination, but there seems to be reluctance on his face as well. He reaches for his book, but I quickly put my hand over his.

"It's been fun talking about snakes with you", I grin at him as I shake out my red hair which has gotten quite untidy again. "Maybe you could come over and see Lion? He doesn't like visitors but..."

I stop as I see Keon's facial expression change. His face has the slightest hint of pink at the edge which is just adorable, but he looks angry, pissed off even.

He slips his hand from under mine and turns away from me. "I think it will be best if we limit our contact to our tutoring sessions Stephanie", his voice is cold and back to it's haughty 'I'm better than everyone' tone.

I barely manage to hide my flush of embarrassment, as I put on a smile. "Relax Google it was a farewell statement to be polite." I roll my eyes to make it as believable as possible, but Keon doesn't even turn around, his back towards me.

I grab my bag and rush out of the library as quickly as possible. The voice in my head tells me that I've forgotten something, but I ignore it. The most important thing I've lost just now is my pride.

A/N: And the romance begins. To be honest I'm not exactly sure where I am going with this story right now, but I'm having some fun trying to figure it out. Hope you liked this chapter loves and be sure to vote and comment your thoughts 💋💋💋.