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Liam leans against the wall of the school as kids all around him talk in small groups. A bell rings to signifiy that classes start in 5 minutes, and slowly the groups thin, until only Liam is left outside. The second bell rings and he continued to wait, his hands in his pockets. A few minutes later Elizabeth comes into view, strolling toward the school. Liam watches her with a peculiar stare, and she notices that he seems to be glancing at her breasts far more frequently than usual. As she gets closer he resumes full eye contact, but does so with an odd grin. She smiles a little as she peers at him. "What?" He smiles widely, and after a moment says, "Nothing." He glances back to her chest. "Nice shirt." Eyebrow raised, she says, "Thanks." "Really," he says, sliding his hands onto the hips. "I mean it." "Hey now..." She pushes him away slightly, but he keeps his hold on her as he looks into her eyes. She can't help but grin a little. "So what got into you all of a sudden?" He leans forward to kiss her, but she turns her head to the side. He nestles himself against her neck and she can feel him smile against her skin. She breathes in deeply and looks up at the trees. "Don't you remember what I told you to do about this?" He lifts his head and speaks quietly into her ear. "I tried it. It didn't work." She laughs a little and disentangles herself from him. "Come on. We've got school." "We're already late. Let's just stay out of here." She gives him a level stare. "No, we're going." A quick look of confusion passes across his face. "Why?" "Because you don't want to go." She smiles. "And I know that you'll go wherever I want." He waves her away. "Pah. You're not the boss of me." "Yes I am." Her smile grows. "You can go home and be by yourself or you can spend first period sitting next to me. We both know there's no contest." He frowns slightly. "Dammit, you can't just say that. You're breaking the rules." "And what rules are those?" "You're not supposed to let somebody know that you have that kind of hold over them. You can use it to manipulate them all you want, but you can't tell them that you're doing it." She smirks. "Why not? It's true, isn't it?" "Maybe. But there's a whole game to it. You can't just skip steps." "You're full of shit and the game sucks. Now are you going to follow me around or not?" He crosses his arms and raises his head, peering at her. "If that's how you want to play, then I'm going home. Now you have the choice of going to school or following me." She chuckles increduclously. "You think this works the other way around? Look at you! You're just a boy. You've got no cards." "Okay then, I'll see you later." He gives her a quick smile before turning and walking away. She watches him until he turns the corner of the school, disappearing from view. For a moment she stands in place, staring blankly at the horizon. She then thinks, I can't believe he actually left. Shit.
Liam glances into each classroom window as he walks alongside the school; when he arrives at Jennifer's class he's surprised to find it entirely free of students. She sits at her desk, and he spends a minute watching her as she silently grades paperwork. Eventually she pauses, hooking her hair behind her ear as she leans back in her chair. He decides to move on before she spots him. He circles around the school to a side door and lets himself in. When he reaches Jennifer's class he finds her looking absently out the window. The classroom door is slightly ajar, and he quietly pushes it open. He begins to creep across the floor, careful to make no sound. He's slightly amazed when he reaches her and she still hasn't heard him. He looks down at her for a moment, focusing on the bare skin of her neck. Grinning, he puts his hands gently on her shoulders. He feels her tense immediately, and notices that she's stopped breathing. He leans down next to her and whispers, "Hey, little girl..." "Jesus... Fucking... Christ!" She spins around in her chair and punches him in the arm. "Fuck you!" Looking at him angrily she says, "You scared the shit out of me!" "Listen to that mouth." He glances around. "Where's your class?" Still scowling, she says, "On a field trip with Ferguson's class." He looks down at her with a smile, but her face remains hard. He leans down, placing his face unusually close to hers, and focuses on her eyes. She watches him back, and after a brief pause, he says, "I'm sorry." She holds her frown for a moment, but finds it quickly melting away. They remain still for a long moment, looking at one another, until finally he says, "God, you are beautiful." "Liam!" She knudges him back and turns away, toward her desk. He slides up behind her and kisses her softly on the neck. "What?" She closes her eyes at the feeling of his breath blowing lightly against her skin. "Liam, stop it..." He smiles and gives her another kiss. She breathes out slowly, then says, "At least close the door..." Just then a sound from the hallway causes her to jump slightly, and they both look quickly to the doorway. Liam pulls away from her and goes out, but doesn't see anyone. He raises an eyebrow, and closes the door on his way back into the classroom. Jennifer is looking at him sternly, so he stops. She says, "I think you should go." "You really want me to?" Her glance slides down his body, and she can feel the beating of her heart distinctly in her chest. She looks back to his eyes and says, "Yes, you have to leave. Please." He smiles. "Alright. I'll see you in class, then." The small wave he gives her strikes her as almost mocking, and he turns to go. She waits until the door closes behind him before turning back to her desk and putting her head in her hands. Oh god, what is going on? She leans slowly back in her chair and stares up at the ceiling, emmiting a long sigh.
Steven pretends to be looking through his locker as he waits, feeling a little nervous. He peers around the side of the door in time to see Liam walk past him down the adjoining corridor. Steven moves his focus back to his locker and stands silently. Were the rumors about Liam and Ms. Cantrell really true? They couldn't be, could they? Does Elizabeth know? Should he tell her? He closes the locker and presses his head against it, then bangs his forehead lightly against the thin metal frame. Maybe he can use this to blackmail Ms. Cantrell into doing the same things for him... He smirks at the thought, thinking, "Yeah, like I'd ever have the balls to do that." He tries to put the whole thing out of his mind as he walks back to class.
Elizabeth leans listlessly against her desk, staring up at the ceiling. The teacher babbles on and on, but she doesn't pay any attention. She glances over at the empty desk where Liam should be sitting and kicks the chair lightly. Stupid Liam... She sighs.
"Y'see, the thing about The Simpsons," Lenny says to his audience of Liam, Jeff and Carl, who stand together in front of the school, "is that it's like a comfortable pair of shoes. You've had them a long time and you love wearing them more than anything. But Futurama," he continues, "is like a brand new pair, with velcro straps and little lights that flash when you walk, pumps in the soles, the works. But while they may be incredibly cool, they just can't replace the old comfortable pair. Y'know?" There's a moment of silence before Liam says, "Yeah, I guess that's right." Jeff laughs. "I think you spend way too much time thinking about this stuff, man." "Whatever. That analogy rules and you know it." Lenny looks toward the school. "We better go in soon, next class starts in a couple of minutes." "You guys go," Liam says. "I'm gonna skip." "Are you serious?" Carl asks. "You've got Cantrell this period. You never miss that." "Ah, I think I freaked her out a bit. Time to lay low." Jeff grins. "What'd you do? Just whip it out?" With a smirk Liam says, "Yeah, that's what I did." "Then fuck that," Jeff says. "Get in there and get her while she's still off guard, shake her up a little. Chicks love that. They want you to take control." He nods at Liam sagely. "Follow the dick, son. The dick knows what it's doing." Liam rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right. Who here has the best chance with Ms. Cantrell?" He looks toward the other three. "Well, you," Lenny concedes. "That's right. And did I get there by following my cock? No, I got there by being the smartest motherfucker around. It's all about the brains, gentlemen. The brains will get you the chicks. Unless you just want to get down with Jeff's sister, that is." "Oh, now that's low!" Lenny laughs. Liam prepares for a counter-strike, but Jeff only shrugs and says, "She is who she is." "As we all know well," Carl adds. "But that's the thing I don't get: Since when is Ms. Cantrell all that smart? Has she ever said anything that really struck you as all that insightful? I think she just tells you what you want to hear because she wants to fuck you." His words ring with a strange air of authority. Liam is silent for a moment, then looks at Carl. With a look of minor irresolution he asks, "You think?" Jeff slaps him lightly on the back and says, "Yeah, and I think you're dumb as a post too, for that matter. You're playing the same game, saying what somebody wants to hear, because you want to fuck Elizabeth. And she obviously sees through your charade, 'cause there's been no joy yet. Am I right?" Glaring at him, Liam says, "None of your business, cocksucker." "Yeah, that's what I thought. Despite being a total bitch, she's probably the only legitimately bright one in this little tangle." "Hey, I'm pretty smart too," Lenny says earnestly. Jeff gives him a quick look. "Shut up, Lenny." Carl turn to Liam and says, "Hey, if you're skipping anyway, you should come to the gym. The girls volleyball team is practicing all morning." "So what are you going to do?" Liam asks. "Hide up in the balcony?" "Yeah." "Cool." Jeff says, "I think I'll join you. You coming, Lenny?" "Nah, I'm gonna go to class. Gotta stay the smartest somehow." Smirking, Jeff says, "Sure, man. You show 'em." He and Lenny touch fists, and he leaves the group.
Jennifer pays particular attention to the students who are making their way into her class, though she does her best to seem inconspicuous. On the surface she thinks it would be best if she doesn't see Liam, but since he left she's been feeling excited in a way that she hasn't for a long time. The thought passes occasionally across her mind: Does she really want to have sex with this boy? It's something she really doesn't want to deal with right now, and she's slightly relieved when the bell rings and he hasn't shown up. She stands to begin her prepared lesson, but with a glance out the window knows that she'll never make it through the entire period.
Elizabeth looks up at the clock. Ten minutes until lunch. Her hand shoots up. Without waiting for acknowledgment she asks, "Can I go to the bathroom?" The teacher eyes her warily. "Is it important?" "Unless you want me to piss myself, yes." "Watch the attitude, Elizabeth. And hurry back." "No problem," she says as she picks up her things and leaves the room. She wanders the hall for several minutes before strolling by Jennifer's classroom. She glances in and is only half surprised to see it completely empty, save for Jennifer herself, who sits on the edge of her desk, reading. Elizabeth walks in and Jennifer smiles. "Morning!" "Hi," Elizabeth says, taking a seat on the other end of the desk. "So where's your class today?" "Oh, I let them go. I mean, fuck it. I'm getting really fed up with this teaching shit. These kids don't know anything." "Isn't that kind of the point? They don't know, so you teach them. I can see how you could get tired of teaching them from these cookie cutter history books, but surely you could do something with them. Not to mention that they're eventually going to fire you." Jennifer crosses her legs and smiles as she looks out at the empty classroom. "Maybe. I don't know. I don't think it really matters." She sits in silence for a moment as Elizabeth gives her a sidelong, somewhat questioning glance. The lunchbell rings, and Liam walks in a few seconds later. He looks around the barren classroom saying, "Looks like I didn't miss much." "So where were you?" Elizabeth asks him. "Me and the guys were pursuing some alternative education." Jennifer's breath catches in her chest as he walks to the desk and sits between them. She breathes out slowly while looking at his face, which is smiling as it turns to Elizabeth. "So, have I taught you a lesson today about trying to jerk me around?" "If anything I taught you a lesson about trying to fuck me," she answers. "Yeah, I keep forgetting that you're a sexless embodiment of individualistic philosophy, wandering the earth to dispense wisdom." He turns to Jennifer. "You see, Elizabeth here is a complete cock-tease, which causes me hilarious, sitcom-like rejections to no end." He looks back to Elizabeth, a small smile still on his face. "And I just keep crawling back like an idiot." "Maybe if you're good I'll let you see me in a swimsuit sometime," Elizabeth says, grinning as she looks him in the eye. Jennifer watches them and feels a twinge of annoyance grow within her. Is that jealousy? She's surprised at herself, and turns to look back through the window. "Want to get something to eat?" Elizabeth asks him. "I just have to run to my locker." "Sure." She hops off the desk and Liam watches her as she walks out the door. He then turns to Jennifer, who also turns to look at him. She stares at him for a moment, then says, "So is that how it works?" They unconsciously move slightly closer as she says, "You get rejected by Elizabeth, so you come to me?" They watch each other's eyes, stopping just before their noses touch. He smirks slightly and says, "I seem to recall getting rejected by you as well." They stare at each other for another moment, and Liam brings his hand slowly up to her face. The sound of footsteps in the hallway draws them immediately away from one another – they turn in opposite directions and sit uncomfortably still as Elizabeth walks in. "Okay, I'm ready," she says. "You want to come, Jen?" "No, I've got work to finish up here." She steps down off the desk and walks to her chair, while Liam goes to Elizabeth. "Okay then," Elizabeth says, "See you later." "Bye, Elizabeth." They turn to go, and Elizabeth finds it a little odd that Jennifer and Liam had said nothing to one another. She puts it out of her mind and smiles at him. "Guess what?" He turns to her. "What?" "I'm gonna pay for lunch today." "You're kidding." "Nope! I've got twenty bucks and we're gonna spend it all before lunch hour is through." "Wow, twenty bucks!" he says with a grin. "You think we can really spend the whole thing?" "I don't know, considering that I'm not going to buy you lunch anymore." He takes her hand, and feels her gently grip his. "So how is it that one sarcastic comment holds greater reprisal than calling you a cock-tease?" "Hey, I don't punish the truth." She looks up at him. "I know you want to fuck me." He smiles, glancing up at the ceiling. "So crass, and yet so chaste..." "Geez, you act like you've never gotten your dick sucked." "Not since I moved here I haven't. But I have in the past, several times, and I've acquired a taste for it." "I don't think it'll kill you to do without." "I think you're missing the point. And besides," he says, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I'm sure Jennifer will be more than happy to help me out..." She laughs. "Now that I'd like to see. Go for it, if you think you can pull it off. She'd be an impressive conquest for any high school boy." He smiles and kisses her on the earlobe. "I hope you're not joking, 'cause I'm going to do it." She starts to say something, but bites her lip. She doesn't know if he's serious, but a slight furrow crosses her brow as they continue to walk down the hallway.
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