~Snickers~

       They don't know how special you are
       They don't know what you've done
         to my heart
       They can say anything they want
        'Cause they don't know about us
         •
          One Direction

Notice! Some chapters are going to have events that happened in the past, so to make this easy/less confusing, I'll be underlying the signs. In short, the past will have underlined signs like this (•<>•/•<<<>>>•) while the present won't. I hope it's clear. Back to the story.

                                 •<>•

The sky is blue, and the sun is golden and warm as it spreads its rays over the cream-white walls. It has been a few weeks since school resumed, and I am excited to be a freshman in high school. Having watched my cousin flourish throughout her years in school, I couldn't wait to be like her, to dress better, and feel more like a young lady while still maintaining my grades.

Yes, I am that annoying kid who follows the rules regardless of how much my cousin teases me about it. I always keep the perfect attendance, the perfect grades, and engage in school activities and not a single thing about my school life is out of line, until now.

I hate detention.

The large clock on the wall is slowly ticking away as I sit here in my chair, doodling patterns in my notebook. Time seems to be passing very slowly, everything seems to be in slow motion, and I am very bored.

While I continue drawing in my book, I catch sight of a girl hastily scribbling in hers. When I glance her way, she releases an exasperated, sharp breath.

Noticing that her pen has run dry, I glance at mine and extend it to her, accompanied by a friendly smile.

She gazes at me briefly before reluctantly accepting the pen from my hand. With a quiet expression of gratitude, she resumes drawing in her book.

Though shrouded in a black hoodie, her face bears a striking familiarity.

"You don't happen to be in Mr. Johnson's history class, do you?" I whisper and it takes her a moment to reply with a 'yes,' and a 'why are we whispering?'

Only when I shift my gaze to the board do I realize the teacher is absent. A soft chuckle escapes me as embarrassment tingles my skin and colors my cheeks.

"I didn't notice him leaving," I speak, and she simply responds with a quick tight-lipped smile before redirecting her attention to her task.

Curious, I lean forward to see what she's doing, and immediately my eyes land on her book, I'm amazed by what she's drawing.

"Nice work," I whisper once more, and she responds with a faint smile before returning her gaze to her drawing.

"I'm starting to think whispering is your thing," she speaks without casting a glance in my direction, and I reply with a smile, even though she hasn't noticed.

"I'm Mallory by the way," I say and she remains silent for a minute or so without offering a response.

"Keyara," she murmurs without lifting her gaze from her notebook. "You know," she pauses, briefly locking eyes with me before returning her focus to her book, "For someone who's a goody-two-shoes, it's quite unusual to find themselves in detention."

Her comment catches me off guard. Before her, no one else had ever referred to me that way, except for my cousin, whom I'd inevitably end up chasing around the house or wherever we happened to be whenever she made that remark.

"I guess correcting a teacher is an offense," I respond, arching my eyebrow for a fleeting moment while crossing my arms over my chest.

"Ah, so you're worse than a goody-two-shoes," she conveys, and I respond with a faint chuckle.

"So how about you? Why are you in detention?" I ask while hanging on a thin string. The uncertainty of whether or not she will respond has my mind reeling. From what I can gather, she isn't very open, and despite the doubts swirling in my mind, a part of me hopes she'll reply.

Seconds pass, and there is still no response from her. Folding my arms once again, I lean back against the chair, patiently waiting for her reply, even though hope is starting to fade away.

"'Cause I love it here," she speaks—her expression blank, leading me to believe she's not joking.

Uncertain how to react to her statement, I simply stare at her. Even though her eyes are averted, it's evident she's not joking.

"Do you come here often?" I ask her cautiously, my eyes wandering over her side view.

"Can you tell?" she responds nonchalantly, her eyes still glued to her book.

                            •<<<>>>•

Resting my chin in my palm, I focus on Ethan as he wraps up today's topic before dismissing us. Describing his ability to keep our relationship discreet as impressive would be an understatement. In public, he maintains a calm, cool, and collected demeanor, keeping things professional between us. However, when we're alone, he transforms into a lovestruck teenager, unable to keep his hands off me— nor can I resist him.

I'm utterly captivated, and the mere thought of him brings a smile to my face. Since he confessed his feelings to me, I've been immersed in a sea of Cupid's arrows, soaring on cloud nine with butterflies of every hue dancing over my head. There are moments when I have to pinch myself just to confirm that it's all real.

As our eyes lock, a gentle smile unconsciously graces my face. I attempt to conceal the emotions bubbling inside me, but it proves futile. How can I hide what I feel when pure happiness envelops me in his presence or even at the mere thought of him? Maintaining a composed expression seems impossible when the cause of my joy is right before me, looking effortlessly appealing in a white collared shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

As the class eventually comes to an end, Key and I exit the classroom in step with the other students, all appearing a bit weary. Despite the thrill of engaging in something new during art class today, I can't ignore the fact that it was somewhat exhausting. I understand why the students are hurrying to head home and seek some rest.

"You know if we were only classmates, I wouldn't have thought that something is going on between you and Professor Mcdreamy as Autumn calls him," Keyara says as we walk down the hallway.

"We don't want to get ourselves in a situation that will get us in trouble," I respond as I adjust the strap of the bag hanging from my shoulder.

"Girl, you already got yourselves in a situation that would get you in trouble the moment you decided to act on your feelings, whatchu talkin' bout?" Key chuckles softly — her tone carrying a hint of playfulness to it.

I'd be lying if I denied feeling blessed to have such wonderful friends. They don't always align with every decision I make; in fact, they're brutally honest about certain choices I make, and that's one of the things I truly value about them. Despite their encouragement for Ethan and me to be together, I am grateful for their genuine concerns. There's much at stake if our secret is ever exposed, especially for him, and I'm determined to prevent that from happening.

"Just be careful alright?" she adds and I simply smile at her — reassuring her that we'll be okay.

As I make a turn to the vending machine, Key trails behind, perplexed, "What are you doing? I thought we were going to get something to eat at Mrs. Mia's café."

"Yeah, I know," I reply as I take two packs of Snickers from the vending machine. "Just needed to get something first before leaving."

"Snickers? Perfect. You know me so well, Mal," she says excitedly.

"There's the vending machine," I counter as I stow the two packs in my bag.

"Well... what about the ones you ha—oh," A teasing smile graces her face as she locks eyes with me. "Are those for who I think they're for?"

"Who?" I respond bluntly, feigning ignorance.

"Come on, you know who." She chuckles softly, "Don't make me say it out loud."

Dismissing her reply, I grab two more packs for her from the vending machine and encircle my hand around her wrist, pulling her away in an attempt to silence her.

While Key engages in conversation with her classmate, I slip away from her and find myself strolling down a familiar hallway, finally acting on something that has been on my mind for a while.

Recalling how fatigued he appeared today, standing in front of us, prioritizing our needs over his while visibly worn down, I felt the need to do something thoughtful for him. I want to provide him with a boost of energy before the demands of the day overwhelm him, and, at the same time, let him know that he's been on my mind. Although I doubt that two packs of Snickers and a bottle of water will suffice, I'm unsure of what else I can do. Taking him out is not feasible when he still has work, and carrying around a handful of food while discreetly entering his office isn't a practical option either.

Approaching the seemingly empty classroom, I nonchalantly swing the door open — giving the impression that a professor summoned me for a discussion.

Stepping inside, I gently close the door behind me and move to where his desk is piled with a mountain of paperwork. I can only imagine how exhausting it must be to contend with such a workload.

Carefully opening a drawer, I discreetly tuck in the two packs and the bottle of water before shutting it, and upon exiting the classroom, I get my phone from my pocket.

'𝖧𝖾𝗒, 𝖨 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗆𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗍𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖽, 𝗌𝗈 𝖨 𝗀𝗈𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖾𝗅𝗉 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋. 𝖢𝗁𝖾𝖼𝗄 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗐𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝗍𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾. 𝖧𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗅𝗅 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗂𝗍.'

Satisfied with the message I've typed, I smile at my phone before sending it and putting the phone back in my pocket.

Shortly after, my phone rings, prompting me to pull it out, thinking it's Ethan. However, it turns out not to be him.

"Are you okay?" Autumn asks, confusion evident in her voice through the speaker. "You sent me a message saying that you left something for me in..."

Panicking, I cut her off abruptly. Embarrassment washes over me, and I wouldn't be surprised if my cheeks were tinged with red at this point.

I sent the message to the wrong person.

"No, no, no, that message wasn't meant for you. Just ignore it," I reply, palming my forehead.

Upon realizing who the intended recipient is, she spends a couple of minutes teasing me about it before finally ending the call.

I'm sure she's not done teasing me.

Just as I'm about to start typing again, I receive a message from none other than Ethan.

'𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗐𝖾𝗋. 𝖢𝖺𝗇'𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿 𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋.'

His message sends warmth to my heart upon reading it, and I can't help but smile.

Seeing this side of him fills my heart with immense joy that's hard to explain. There's an aura about him that makes me want to be with him every second of the day; it's almost surreal. The way he lights me up like a Christmas tree and makes my body tingle with a single touch is simply crazy.

Just the other day, Autumn and I were casually hanging out in the hallway, engrossed in a conversation about nonsensical things. The moment my eyes landed on him, my entire being lit up, and Autumn wasted no time in teasing me the second she realized who had captured my attention.

He stood at a distance, engaged in conversation with his colleagues, looking as good as ever. When our eyes met, he flashed a quick smile at me before redirecting his attention back to them, seemingly immersed in their discussion as if I wasn't within his line of sight.

Shortly after, I received a message from him expressing a desire to meet, and after a few minutes of waiting to be alone, we were finally together.

Standing just a foot away from him in the storage room filled with art tools and canvases, a smile adorned his face as he approached me only to snake his arm around my waist and pull me closer to his chest.

The feel of his beating heart against my chest was beyond exhilarating, an indescribable feeling I can't put into words and the moment the slow burn of his lips started tracing my jaw, my mind went haywire.

We stayed nestled in each other's embrace for a while, basking in each other's warmth and perfect ambiance as our hearts beat as one.

I love how we'd be in each other's company sometimes, wrapped up around each other and in comfortable silence while the rhythm of our hearts beating would do all the talking.

Sometimes we'd go on coffee or dinner dates, learning little yet sentimental things about each other and still being amazed by them like we just shared the most heroic or daring stories about each other.

Sending good morning, how's your day going, and goodnight texts are one of many favorite things I look forward to. Waking up to his text always brightens up my mornings, and even though we've only been seeing each other for a week and a couple of days, and even though we're moving too fast, I wouldn't change anything about us. I love where we are, and the pace at which our relationship is progressing.

To say that I'm in awe of this man and into deep with him is an understatement — I'm deeply enamored. Everything feels so surreal that I find myself constantly pinching myself just to make sure I'm not dreaming.

                                  AN

✨I'd like to get to know you briefly but you can skip this question if you want to.

Which one is better between the two, Snickers or Twix? Or you prefer something different?

Secondly, this isn't a get-to-know-you type of question so here it goes, What are your thoughts about Keyara and Mallory's first meet?✨

                                          ***
Thank you so much for getting this far, much appreciated. Don't forget to vote, comment and share. It'd be nice to hear from you and your honest opinions/thoughts about the story.
       🧡🤎