dammitreese

His eyes were trained on you from across the room, he currently sat at his desk near the bedroom window, your figure on his own bed. You laid on your stomach, drumming your fingers against the hardcover book you had stolen from his shelf.

He was trying to be subtle, something he was never good at. He took a deep inhale, his green eyes practically boring into you. He even had begun to overthink the angle his head was tilted at, the timing of his own breath, and how many seconds he’d give between each blink.

You were positioned onto his bed like you had done so a hundred times, flipping through his book absentmindedly. It didn’t seem to intimidate you, the same way that you didn’t question his brain and the constant noise that resonated in it. You didn’t care.

Normally, this would’ve been comforting for someone to experience. But this was Malcolm we’re talking about. It was anything but comfortable.

With a heavy sigh, you slowly lifted your head from the book and looked at your boyfriend with a raised brow. “Okay. You’re overthinking again and are about to say something?”

Malcolm froze at his, his brows furrowing as he tried to cough up a laugh. “I was not-“

“You totally were.” You cut in, trying not to let the amused smile you were holding back make its way onto your face. “You practically look like your brain blue-screened on itself.”

Malcolm continued to stare at you, a beat of silence between you two before he spoke again. “My brain what..?”

You let the smile show this moment, a soft laugh leaving your lips as you amusingly looked back at him. “Blue-screened.” You repeated as if it were the most obvious answer. “You go quiet for maybe 5 seconds, and your eyebrows do that thing… And then you start talking incredibly fast about something that, in all honesty? Shouldn’t have bothered you in the first place.”

Malcolm opened his mouth as if to retort, but he quickly closed it. Then he repeated this. He looked like a fish before he finally spoke again. “I don’t do that-“

“You’re quite literally doing it right now!” You sat up a bit on his bed, pointing an amused finger toward him.

His jaw snapped shut, taking a deep breath in his chest. The silence felt thick and strange to him, yet it seemed like it had no effect on you at all.

The silence was long enough for you to laugh again, and for his brain to start racing to further shut out the quiet.

“Ok, that’s not— no, that’s not even remotely accurate,” Malcolm spoke quickly, his words tripping over one another as he straightened out his posture in the desk chair. “That’s a generalization based on a limited number of observations, which means it’s inherently flawed because you’re not even considering for situational variables-“

“Aaandd.. you’re about to start pacing…” You dragged out your words, watching as Malcolm’s hands gripped at his desk as if he was about to push himself up from the seat.

“I am not about to-“ His body seemed to have a mind of its own, now fully standing and making his way across the room. Malcolm caught on, stopping in his tracks. Very slowly, he looked toward you.

You were way too smug right now. You simply gave him a small, knowing shrug like this was obvious. Like it was always this obvious.

It took him a moment, but something in his brain seemed to finally click into place. It felt like it was all coming together at the worst possible time.

Because, for him, it wasn’t that you had just guessed right, it was the fact you didn’t even hesitate. You didn’t have to think twice about it, there was no second guessing, no over analyzing. You just knew.

“… This is weird.” His voice was quiet, as if he was speaking to himself despite his eyes being glued onto you.

Slowly, you set his book down, giving him your full and undivided attention. You pushed yourself off of your stomach and sat criss cross onto his bed. “What is?”

Malcolm let out a short sigh, just as he began to pace again. With how much he paced, you were surprised there wasn’t a hole in the carpet just from that alone. He didn’t even seem to notice the fact that his current pacing had completely contradicted what he had claimed earlier.

“That!” He gestured toward you, his arms flailing around like he was drawing a diagram that only he could see. “You just.. You keep doing that!! Predicting me!”

You sighed, but you weren’t irritated. Not in the slightest. If anything, you sounded as if you were amused by his spiral. “I’m not predicting anything, Malcolm. I just know you.”

“That’s arguably worse.” Malcolm looked toward you, his sandy blond hair falling into his eyes.

You were confused by this answer, blinking at him as you stared at him in return. “How.. how is that worse?”

“Because that means there’s a pattern!” His words began to speed up again, his hands brushing his hair out of his face this time. “That there’s a consistent, repeatable set of behaviors that you observe enough for me to be predictable!” He then pointed to himself, his eyes wide in terror. “I’m predictable!” His voice cracked at the end of that sentence, scared of what he was finding out.

You slowly leaned back, your amused expression quickly making a return to your features. “Uh huh… You speak as if you’re a background character-“

Malcolm quickly cut you off, “That is not at all what this is!” He then immediately pointed to you, “And don’t deflect! You know I’m right!”

You couldn’t help but laugh, making Malcolm shrink more into himself. “Oh my god. You’re spiraling.”

“I am not! I am making a completely valid-” Malcolm was cut short by your voice.

“You’re pacing again..” He could practically hear the smug smirk on your lips. He stopped mid step, looking down to his feet and let out a heavy sigh.

“Fine. That one might be happening, yes… But that is not at all the point.” He lifted his head, his eyes nearing the gleaming, amused grin on your face. “Why are you looking at me like that?!” He quickly grew defensive.

You hummed quietly, shrugging your shoulders. “Like what?”

“Like you already know what I’m about to say!”

Your silence seemed to answer that, but Malcolm noticed it, of course he did. “You do, don’t you?” His defensive tone was quickly replaced with uncertainty.

You hesitated for a moment, long enough for him to sigh and plop himself down next to you on his bed. “I do, most of the time.”

Your boyfriend let out a hollow laugh, “Wow. Okay. That’s great. Love that for me.”

You slowly reached your hand to rest atop of his, his eyes daring toward your touching hands and back to whatever the hell he could focus on in front of him.

“You know, that’s not a bad thing.” You hesitated as you spoke, shrugging your shoulders slightly.

Despite how frustrated he felt, he couldn’t help but quickly lace his fingers with yours, another irritated huff coming from him. “It is a bad thing! Because if you know everything I’m going to say, what’s the point of me saying almost anything??”

His hand gently squeezed yours, a stark contrast to the heated, almost one sided conversation the two of you were having. “I’m basically just trying to figure out whatever internal script you have of me,” He then used his free hand to point at you, very gently jabbing at your shoulder as you quietly laughed.

“Which, by the way, is really weird. Maybe even concerning, because I did not at all consent to being documented like I’m some sort of.. some sort of-“

As he seemed to struggle to find the words, you sighed quietly and spoke up. “A case study. You’re about to say a case study.”

Malcom froze. his eyes shifting between yours. “… I wasn’t going to say that.” You simply rose an eyebrow at his response, which he immediately huffed once more. “I was considering it, yes. But it’s not the same thing-“

“It kind of is…” You teasingly shook your head.

He was quiet for a moment, as if actually wanting to think about what he wanted to say, but that didn’t last too long. “Now I can’t even think without you beating me there to it…” The way he spoke didn’t sound accusatory, just confused and frustrated by the situation.

“Like.. There's like no more privacy for my thought process, which is already limited by how much I talk-“ His rambling was cut off by you once again.

“You’re not a problem I solved.” You stared at him, your previous amusement completely out the window.

This seemed to have stopped him, Malcolm taking a small glance toward you. “I didn’t say you-“

“You didn’t have to, Malcolm.” You tried to reassure him, running your thumb over his knuckles.

Without you knowing, your touch was anchoring the male into place. “I know you,” you said. “Yeah. I know when you’re about to spiral, I know when you’re pretending you don’t care, I know when you’re about to go on a rant-“

“I don’t rant..” Malcolm muttered stubbornly, his face now facing you fully as you spoke, but his eyes kept glancing around the room awkwardly.

“… When you’re about to compulsively rant?” You tilted your head to the side, watching as he sent you a sharp squint before sighing.

“… That might be fair enough to say.” Malcolm bit at the inside of his cheek awkwardly.

You smiled just a little, then continued in a softer tone, “I didn’t figure you out like an equation, Malcolm. I learned you, because I wanted to. Ya know.. as your girlfriend?”

He opened his mouth to argue out of habit, but quickly closed his mouth. He had nothing to say, but only for a moment. “I don’t see how that’s any different.” His voice was hushed.

With a small sigh, you turned your body toward his, lifting your free hand to gently cup his cheek in effort to get him to look at you. “I don’t do it in effort to understand you, I do it because I love you.”

Malcolm stared at you, slowly blinking. His brain was blue-screening, just as you had said earlier.

“Don’t you dare try and add this all up like it’s math-“

Malcolm huffed, shaking his head. “Yes, I was trying to.. but that’s not the point.” He stared at you for another second, like he was trying to come up with some sort of rebuttal, but there was none. “Soo..”

You watched as he was comprehending your words, his cheeks turning the lightest shade of red as he stared at you more.

Then, almost abruptly, he let go of your hand and reached his arms around you without fully thinking it through. It was a bit awkward, his elbow knocking into your shoulder before he eventually settled with his hands finding comfort against your waist.

You couldn’t help but laugh, immediately relaxing in his soft, yet slightly uncoordinated touch. He seemed to go into deep thought again, his eyes staring into yours, trying to confirm you were truly in front of him.

But you were just as lost in thought as he was, watching as he slowly seemed to relax as he held you close. Your arms snaked around his neck, finding a comfortable position against his shoulders as you sat side by side. But what surprised you, was him breaking the silence.

“… Are you thinking about whether or not you were going to hug me?” Malcolm rose a brow, watching as you stared at him in slight disbelief before letting out a soft laugh and leaning your forehead against his.

“Maybe.” You hummed, watching as Malcolm tried not to smile.

“I knew that.” He was suddenly confident for someone who was just going through a downward spiral just mere moments ago.

“I’m sure you did.” You were quiet, simply enjoying the moment between the two of you.

“… I did.” He sighed, pulling his head away from yours as he looked at you, his voice quiet.

“Right….” You drawled out, slowly and mockingly nodding your head.

He was about to go into another deep thought, but his eyes sharpened slightly. “You’re trying to predict me again, aren’t you-“

You let one arm leave from behind his neck, pressing a finger to his lips as to shut him up. “Stop, and just kiss me.”

Before you could even question it, you could hear a small gasp from Dewey who stood to your right. “Oh my god! The line for The Chinese Express is so long! How am I going to get my orange chicken..?!”

You smiled, letting out a quiet laugh as you sympathetically patted his shoulder. “It might go by fast, wait and line and see. If it takes too long, maybe Reese will let you have some of our pretzel bites we’re gonna order.”

Reese scoffed beside you, shaking his head as his grip on your hand firmed up slightly. “I don’t share my food.”

You don’t miss the way his grip lingered, your chest swelling up slightly. 

Dewey and Malcolm side-eyed him, before the youngest would straighten up slightly and firmly nodded his head. “You’re right. I’ll do that.” He quickly thanked you and rushed off to The Chinese Express line.

Now it was Malcolm’s turn to complain, saying there wasn’t anything sustainable. “Everything here is covered in a thick layer of grease.. There’s nothing here that’s even sustainable.”

Reese immediately rolled his eyes, “But that’s what makes the food here so good! It adds a whole ‘nother element of flavor!” Reese quickly defended, using his unoccupied hand to gesture around in the air as he spoke.

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face at the way he defended it so seriously, like it genuinely mattered.  

Malcolm sighed through his nose, but after a moment he seemed to have given up and made his way toward Mario’s Pizza. 

Once it was just you and Reese, he immediately began to tug at your hand and steer you toward the pretzel stand. “Okay. You picked the cinnamon bites last time, It’s my turn to pick."

Truthfully, you had no real complaints. There was no argument in his tone, there was no reason for it to be. You knew how Reese could be when it came to food, you were just glad that he let you choose half the time. It was a compromise in his own Reese-like way. You were just happy he wanted to share anything with you at all. 

When you approached the stall, Reese quickly ordered the shareable box of the pepperoni pretzel bites, with extra cheese sauce for the two of you. As you pulled out your wallet, Reese was already shoving some cash toward the worker as he sent a smug grin your way.

Muttering a small thank you, the two of you got your food rather quickly and walked to the table Dewey and Malcolm sat. You grinned to the two boys, just about to sit down before Reese rushed in front of you and pulled the seat out for you. 

“Sit down.” His voice came out assertive, automatic. But it didn’t feel demanding, it was habitual. You smiled toward him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

Both Malcolm and Dewey stopped mid bite, staring at the scene before them. 

Reese moved like nothing odd happened, sitting beside you without another care in the world. Though, there was a slight fist in his expression, the way the corners of his lips twitched as if he was actively trying not to smile. 

To you, this wasn’t anything new. You were used to this treatment from Reese. The second you two had begun dating, his hand would immediately find its way around your waist without second thought, his head snapping toward anything that just even slightly involved you. You never questioned it, it was all natural.

Malcolm and Dewey slowly went back to eating, watching as Reese set down your shareable cup of the pretzel pepperoni bites. He nudged it just slightly closer to your side before realizing he had done it. 

“Dude.. that’s a lot.” Malcolm’s nose scrunched up, but only slightly. Dewey quickly would nod in agreement.

Reese scoffed, looking at his brothers and shaking his head. “I’m not eating it by myself.” 

What he said was so simple, but it seemed to have held a lot of weight for the two younger boys. The both of them froze again, this time Dewey’s eyebrows quickly knitted together as his jaw dropped. 

Malcolm set down his pizza on his plate, slowly narrowing his eyes. “Ok. What is happening right now?”

You had your own pretzel bite in your hand, dipping it into the cheese dip and tilting your head. “Huh?”

Reese kicked at Malcolm under the table, the sandy blonde glaring immediately in response.

Dewey spoke up, “He’s sharing food! He doesn’t do that at all!”

You chewed on your food thoughtfully before swallowing. “Uh.. He does with me?” You sounded genuinely confused at this. “I don’t even ask, he always offers.” You shrugged your shoulders and grabbed another pretzel bite.

Reese pushed the box just slightly toward you once more, almost declaring it once more it belonged to the two of you. 

Malcolm and Dewey seemed horrified, watching as Reese ate from the same cup as you.

“You guys are being annoying.” Reese simply stated, though his attention seemed to be drifting elsewhere. A group of guys walked past your table. They didn’t even glance your way, but Reese sat up slightly and glared at them as if he were a guard dog. His arm snaked around your waist, the moment tilting you slightly. Your hand caught onto the table and steadied yourself, yet you didn’t pull away. If anything, you leaned just slightly more into his touch. 

Malcolm whipped his head around, watching as the guys simply walked past. He turned back to Dewey, as if making sure he saw the same thing, and he sure did.

Dewey sighed, shaking his head slightly. “They weren’t doing anything wrong Reese..” 

Reese snapped his head toward his brothers once more before huffing and pushing himself up from the table. “I’m getting a drink.”

As he began to walk off, he stopped for a moment and turned to look at you. “Do you want a Dr. Pepper?” 

The question was casual, yet it made you happy to see how he remembered even the little things about you. You nodded in response, calling out another thank you as he walked off to get the drinks.

The second Reese was gone, Malcolm leaned forward and stared at you. “You know he’s not normal about you, right..?” 

Dewey quickly nodded. “He’s not normal about anything!!”

You went quiet for a moment, trying to process what they were saying. “I mean.. he’s my boyfriend. I'd hope he’d be a good one.” You laughed nervously, shifting awkwardly in your seat as Malcolm and Dewey stared you down.

Dewey let out another exasperated sigh, waving his hands around as he spoke. “He doesn’t even yell at you!!”

You let out a playful scoff at him, rolling your eyes. “He yells at everyone, I’m not sure what you both are getting at.”

“That’s exactly our point!” Malcolm retorted, his hands gripping onto the table. “He yells at everyone, but not you!”

You didn’t have an answer right away, hesitating slightly. “That’s not a bad thing…” Your voice was growing quiet.  

“He was never this way with Allison..” Malcolm’s expression softened, the volume in his voice growing softer as if he was realizing something. 

Reese had made his way back, but he only had one cup in hand. “I changed my mind, I don’t want anything.” He shrugged slightly, sitting down beside you and handing you your Dr. Pepper. 

You reached a hand up and affectionately squeezed his shoulder, Reese immediately flashing a smug smile. You had no clue, but for Reese, seeing you smile was like winning a trophy. 

Malcolm and Dewey seemed tired of this, their food half eaten as they both stood up at the same time. 

“God, this is disgusting.” Malcolm huffed, grabbing his plate and walking off. Dewey was quick to follow suit.

Reese watched as they walked away, before looking to you with a smug grin. “Soo.. are we going to walk around soon? Just us and away from them?” 

You hesitated for just a second, their words lingering. But when his fingers found yours again, it grounded you instantly. Sure, you knew how he acted up at school. God forbid you had a thing for “bad boys”… you were just thankful he treated you well as his girlfriend.

Reese leaned in, inspecting your face as he seemed to be calculating something. Sharing the silence between the two of you for a moment, Reese was the first one to speak. “Did they say something? What did they say?!” His tone raised slightly, standing up quickly and looking toward the direction they had walked off. 

You quickly were taken out of your confused daze, looking to the now standing and fuming Reese. “No! No, no.. they didn’t say anything!” You quickly defended Malcolm and Dewey, standing up at his side and linking your hand with his. “I think they were just confused…”

His face that previously showed anger had quickly shifted. He looked calm, his tone shifting as he was immediately soothed at your voice, looking at you as his expression quickly adjusted slightly. 

“… Oh.” He went quiet once more before changing the topic. “So? Where to first? I heard Zumiez had an entire restock and I need to get new shirts-“ You didn’t argue, your smile widening as you listened to your boyfriend, letting him pull you along.

⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧

Inside Zumiez, he drifted off toward the skateboards almost immediately, leaving you near the racks. You didn’t mind. Watching him from a distance, the way his attention lit up over something as simple as designs on wood… it made your chest feel oddly full.

With slow strides, you let your hand brush past different fabrics that hung on a rack. Zumiez didn’t really carry anything that was your style, but Reese swore up and down that this was the coolest place for him to get some new t-shirts.

So, you thought to yourself. Why not help him look? I mean, clearly he wasn’t doing so at the moment. A couple feet away stood your boyfriend, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the designs on the back of each skateboard. 

Rummaging through a new rack, you didn’t notice a taller male was trying to approach you. 

“You seem out of place here..” His voice was soft and kind, a hint of flirtation hidden behind his words.

You looked up hearing him, your eyes wide as you stared at him. He was an employee, probably a year or two older than you with a name tag that read ‘Zack’. Yup, typical skater dude name.

Offering a small, yet sticky polite smile, you spoke up. “Mhm.. just looking.”

He leaned his side against the wall, quickly eyeing you before a smirk grew on his lips. He was lingering longer than you expected. “What even brings you into a store like this? We don’t normally get pretty girls like you-“

“I brought her.” Reese’s voice cut in, his presence almost immediate. He made his way beside you, his hand settling against your waist like it had always been there. 

Zack deflated for a moment, before huffing and adjusting his posture. “What, you forced her to the mall with you?”

“She’s my girlfriend.” It was simple, straight to the point. He stated it like it was blatantly obvious, like it was a fact everyone in the world knew. 

Zack stiffened, before looking over his shoulder rather awkwardly. “Yea, well. I have to go back to work anyways.”

As he walked away, Malcolm and Dewey’s earlier words seemed to resonate in your mind. Reese wasn’t like this around others, but you were different. 

“Reese?” You spoke quietly, looking at him with a soft gaze.

Reese immediately looked to you, his scowl quickly disappearing. “Hm?”

You were quiet for a moment, just before speaking. “You didn’t have to do all that for me, you know?”

He shrugged as if it were nothing. “I know. I wanted to.”

You felt your heart melt, you could feel yourself falling more for the male. “I know but.. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I could’ve handled it.”

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Huh? Was I supposed to be casual about it? I’m not casual about you.”

Your chest tightened in a way you couldn’t explain, a soft smile gracing your lips. Stepping closer without thinking, your hands lifted up to cup his face and leaned in, pressing a lingering yet quick kiss to his lips.

It was enough to make him pause for a moment, his expression quieter as something seems to settle in his eyes. It was rare, Reese had nothing to say at that moment. All he could do was look at you with adoration.

⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧

Ready to wrap up the day, Reese had insisted you’d go to his home for dinner. You felt intimidated immediately.

You only knew Reese, Malcolm and Dewey. You met Lois in very brief passing when she picked up the boys after school, but that was the most interaction you had with any of his family outside of the 3 boys.

Walking up to the front door, Reese was giving you a quick rundown of how his family was. You could tell he was nervous, his eyes shifting anywhere but yours.

“I’m just.. serious you know? About us..” His voice was really quiet, as if admitting it out loud would scare you away.

Before you could even process what he had said, you could hear a loud crash from inside the house. It was already loud before you had stepped inside. You could hear Lois yelling from somewhere deep within the home, Reese then opened the door without much hesitation as before and walked in as this was his normal.

“It’s fine,” Reese briefly looked over his shoulder to you, “They do this all the time!” It didn’t exactly reassure you, but you simply smiled and nodded.

Still, you stepped inside after him, your hand brushing against his as he led you in. The house definitely looked lived in. Messy, chaotic, and warm. Exactly how you imagined it. It made your chest tighten slightly, it was exactly how Reese was. It felt oddly comforting to you.

“Mom!” Reese immediately yelled, your head snapping toward your boyfriend. “We’re home!”

There was yet another loud sound, followed by Lois’ voice cutting through the house. “If one of you broke something, I swear-“

Turning the corner, the woman stopped mid sentence. Her eyes had landed on you, then back to Reese. It was like she was confirming something. “This is her? Your girlfriend?”

You felt yourself stiffen, but Reese was quick to gently squeeze your hand. “Yup.” He said it so casually. It made your stomach flutter. 

Lois blinked, before looking back to you and offering a polite smile. “Welcome in."

Hal slowly appeared from behind his wife, peeking over his shoulder. His expression lit up at the sight of you. “Oh! Oh wow, hi! You’re the girlfriend!” He hurried toward you, sticking out his hand with such an enthusiasm you never expected. “I’m Hal, Reese’s father. That boy talks so much about you-“

“Hal.” Lois sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Quit embarrassing the two of them, you’re going to scare her off.”

You gulped, already having an overwhelming feeling in your chest but you forced it in. You gently accepted Hal’s hand, Reese’s father firmly shaking it before looking over to Lois with wide eyes. It was like they were surprised that Reese brought home a girl…

Hal turned back to the two of you, straightening out his posture and smiled once more. “How long have the two of you been together?”

You glanced at Reese, who was already looking at you. He looked like he was thinking, his eyes staring at your face. “Hm. I think over 7 months now-“

Lois gasped immediately, cutting him off.” That long..?! And you’re just now bringing her over?!”

“Yeah? I knew you’d have a loud reaction!” Reese defended his decision, looking back to you once more as if he was confirming you still, were in fact, real and present. His hand squeezed yours once more, the corners of his lips twitching slightly before looking back to his parents.

This definitely didn't go unnoticed. 

From the couch, Malcolm slowly leaned forward, staring as if he was watching something so unnatural.

Dewey, from beside him, looked between you and Reese as his eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s happening again.” The boy quietly murmured.

“Even worse,” Malcolm whispered back. “It’s happening in our house now.”

You shifted slightly under their attention, clearing your throat and offering another polite smile. “It’s really nice to meet you guys..” 

Lois’ sharp gaze shifted, her expressed softening. “Well, at least someone here has manners.”

Reese scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I have manners!”

Lois sent him a pointed glare, pointing to his shoes. “You just tracked in mud from outside, you didn’t even wipe your feet on the mat!”

Reese glanced down at his shoes, huffing and shrugging his shoulders. “That doesn’t count.” 

Hal clapped his hands together, laughing a bit too loud and uncomfortably. “So! Dinner! We’re having dinner.. Everyone loves dinner..!”

You glanced toward the table, tonight’s meal already set up. Plates and silverware set at each chair.. minus one. You watched as Lois went to the cupboard and pulled out another plate with one hand, the other digging in the dish rack to grab another set of silverware before setting it down at the empty seat.

“Didn’t expect another guest, please don’t mind the mess.” She quickly muttered, everyone rushing to the table to sit down.

Except Reese, who pulled out a chair just as he had at the mall. “Sit.” He spoke suddenly amongst the shuffling of the rest of his family.

It definitely broke the silence, the room going quiet. 

Malcolm froze halfway to his chair, Dewey’s jaw dropped once more. It was something they both had witnessed earlier, but it still baffled them to their core. Hal stared with wide eyes, and Lois simply blinked looking at the two of you.

You felt yourself shrink under their gaze for a half second, glancing at Reese with a small smile. “Thank you.”

He shrugged, staying next to you for a second longer than probably necessary, like he was making sure you were comfortable at the dining table before moving away to his own seat beside you.

Hal slowly leaned toward Lois, both their eyes still trained onto the two of you. “Did you see that?”

“I saw it.” She muttered back, eyes locked onto her son as if he might just start levitating toward the ceiling.

Dinner felt tense, but not because of you. Because everyone couldn’t stop watching how Reese was around you. 

Reese had scooted his chair closer to you, his knee brushing against yours under the table. You began to reach for some food, but Reese gently pushed your hand away and began to grab at it first.

Malcolm tried not to laugh, thinking Reese was already trying to get his first claim over food, but immediately stopped as Reese put the food on your plate.

“Here.” Reese said, plopping it onto your plate.

“Thank you, Reese, but you don’t have to-“

He shot you a look, making you quickly stop talking. “Do you want more?” He seemed eager, a smile prominent on his face.

“I’m okay, but-“

“You can eat as much as you want, there’s plenty. Eat more.” He added, already putting more food onto your plate.

With a small laugh, you couldn’t help but relax at his actions. “Okay, you're bossy.” You spoke sarcastically.

“I’m not bossy.” He huffed, but he didn’t take it back.

Across the table, Malcolm looked like he was going to combust. “He just served food to someone. Before himself.” His voice was low, but still full of intensity. He looked over to Dewey, “Do you even know what that means?”

Dewey hadn’t looked away, “I think we should be scared. I am scared. I am terrified-“

Hal, meanwhile, had been clutching onto Lois’ upper arm. There was a faint smile on his lips, “He’s.. growing.”

Lois didn’t have a smile, she was studying. Watching every interaction between the two of you, the way Reese’s hand briefly would touch your back when he shifted, how his attention snapped toward you whenever you spoke, how his tone would soften without him realizing it.

She wanted to test it. She had to know.

“…Reese.” She spoke suddenly, everyone looking at her. Malcolm and Dewey seemed excited, leaning forward slightly as if a show was about to be displayed in front of them.

You had no clue what was going on.

“What.” Reese spoke defensively.

“… Pass me the salt.” The corner of her lips twitched slightly, as if challenging the male to do something.

There was a long, quiet pause. Reese stared at her, normally he'd tell her to do it herself. But then, without a complaint, Reese grabbed it and handed it over.

Another pause. Malcolm had dropped his fork, Dewey leaned back in his chair, his eyes wide. Hal clutched his chest, “Oh my god…”

You blinked, glancing between everyone in the family with pure confusion. They were acting like he did something unusual. 

Reese noticed you, his attention snapping toward you. “Ignore them, they’re being weird.” He had sent a sharp glance toward his family, as if he was asking them not to embarrass him.

Dewey spoke up, “We’re being weird..?!”

You softly smiled, looking at Reese. “I don’t mind weird.” 

Reese’s expression softened, something quiet and almost proud.

And that’s when Lois saw it, really saw it. Not just the strange behavior, but the way he looked at you. Like you were something steady in the middle of all his chaos. 

She began to lean back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “… Huh.”

Hal looked to his wife, “What?”

“Nothing.” Her lips had a small, faint smile apparent. Her eyes hadn’t left Reese. But this time, there was no confusion, no anger. It was understanding. 

⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧

Dinner eventually came to an end, falling apart in a way that seemed to be normal in the Wilkerson household. 

Hal had gotten distracted halfway through clearing the table, disappearing into the living room to do something no one could even identify. Dewey had slipped off quietly, with Malcolm muttering something under his breath as he followed. He seemed still visibly distressed.

Reese lingered for a moment next to you, like he wasn’t sure if he should leave or stay. 

“I’m…- Uh. Ok. I’ll be right back-“ He gestured vaguely down the hall. “Don’t go anywhere.” He pointed at you firmly, his eyes sharp as he looked at you.

You laughed gently, shaking your head. “I won’t.”

He hesitated for a half second, his hand brushing past your shoulder as he almost leaned in to kiss your head, but he turned over his shoulder and saw Lois staring at him. He sighed through his nose, before walking off.

And then it was quiet, well. A little less quieter than before, it was the Wilkerson family house after all.

You stood awkwardly near the table, still unknowing of Lois’ presence. She leaned against the wall, arms still crossed over her chest as she looked at you. I mean, really looked at you.

Unsure what to do with yourself, you felt yourself begin to pick up a couple plays, more so out of habit than obligation.

“You don’t have to do that.” Lois’ voice had made you pause, you glance dip quickly and adjusted your posture.

“Oh…! Sorry, I just thought-“

Lois cut you off, but her tone was soft. “Don’t worry about it.. you can just leave it.”

There was a beat of silence as you slowly placed the plates back down, patting them against your thighs awkwardly as you glanced toward the ground.

Lois watched you for another second. Not harshly, not in a critical way. “You’re good for him.” She spoke up.

Your eyes widened, looking at her in slight confusion. “Uh.. I’m sorry? What?”

Lois didn’t repeat herself, her smile gentle as she pushed herself off the wall. “I’ve never seen that boy like this,” She continued. “Not with anyone.”

You felt yourself shift under her gaze, unsure of how you should reply. “He uh.. He’s always been like this with me. I’ve never had to tell him-“

“That’s the point.” Her tone wasn’t sharp, nor condescending. It was sharp, with a hint of firmness in them.

You didn’t know how to respond, glancing down once again before looking back up. “Is this a good thing..?”

Lois paused at this, before sighing. “It’s new, that’s all.” There was another bit of silence between you two, before she spoke once more. “He’s not easy. But I’m sure you know that.”

You chuckled quietly under your breath, a knowing smile on both your faces now. “Yeah… a little.”

“But he’s trying.” Lois’ voice was softer than she expected. “Whether he realizes that or not.” This made your chest tighten, butterflies lingering in your stomach. 

“I can tell…” You admitted quietly, watching as Lois watched you for a second longer. She seemed to be searching for something in you, something specific.

Whatever it seemed to be, she found it. Her smile widening just slightly. “Alright…” She spoke finally, giving a small nod of approval.

You weren’t quite sure what to say or do after that, standing there awkwardly as you fidgeted with your hands. Luckily for you, you didn’t have to do anything.

“I’m back.” Reese’s voice cut in as he reappeared,

cautiously looking between you and his mother. “… What's going on?” He stiffened slightly, looking at you as if you held all the answers, then back to Lois.

“Nothing.” Lois said, already turning away like there was never a conversation in the first place. “Now go do something productive.”

Reese frowned a bit, his eyebrows furrowing together. “That didn’t answer my question-“

“It wasn’t meant to.” She looked over her shoulder, giving you a brief, knowing look before walking away.

Reese looked back to you quickly, “Did she say something?!”

You shook your head, taking a step toward him and letting your hand rest on his upper arm. “No, it’s okay.”

He didn’t seem convinced, his eyes staring into yours for a moment before sighing and letting it go. “Cmon, my room is this way.” He jerked his head toward the hallway.

The noise of the house seemed to fade slightly as you stepped further in, but in the short distance you could hear Lois. “Keep that damn door open, Reese!”

He groaned, almost as if he was embarrassed but he didn’t defy her. His room wasn’t as different as you expected. It was messy, but undeniably him. He had told you about having to share a room with his brothers, there was no way 3 boys could keep a room spotless.

Reese hovered near the doorway for a second, like he wasn’t all that sure of what to do now that you were here. “You can sit,” He gestured toward his single bed.

And you did just that, brushing the fabric as he lingered a few steps away. It was quiet between the two of you. Not uncomfortable, but noticeable.

You looked up to him, your gaze softening slightly as you studied him. His brows were still furrowed, like he was deep in thought about something.

“Hey, Reese..?” You spoke up, taking him out of his trance.

“Hm?” He looked to you, waiting for you to speak again.

You hesitated for a moment, just for a second before speaking. “Why do you look at me like I'm the most important thing ever? And treat me so differently?”

The question caught him completely off guard, like he hadn’t expected it at all. “… Huh?” He was much more quiet this time.

You had a faint smile on your lips, your voice gentle. “You’ve been doing it all day, your family seemed to look at you like you were an alien..”

He didn’t answer, not yet. For a rare moment, he didn’t have anything to say. No comeback, no deflection. He just stood there, looking at you like he was trying to form words for his thoughts. It didn’t come easily for him. The silence seemed to stretch out longer than you thought, just enough for it to feel real. 

“… Because you are.” It was simple, honest. Your breath caught in your throat, your expression softening in a way that was way too noticeable for your own good. Reese shifted under your gaze, he felt entirely exposed.

“I mean..-“ He started to speak, trying to recover. “It’s not a big deal or anything. It’s just—“

You stood up before he could ramble himself out of the situation, closing the distance between the two of you. Pressing yourself into him, your hands found his shirt as if to ground yourself.

You leaned in, pressing a soft and lingering kiss to his lips. This one wasn’t quick, it was slower, intentional.

Pulling back, you used one hand to brush your thumb over his warm cheekbone, his eyes wide as he stared down at you, seemingly out of breath from shock.

“It’s important to me. At least… I think it is.” You spoke softly, looking into his eyes.

He didn’t argue this time, stunned beyond belief. He had no words, his hand slowly creeping up your waist. His touch was gentle, as if he was scared he’d ruin the moment. And for once, he didn’t speak. 

He leaned back down, closing his eyes as he kissed you. Pulling you closer by your waist, you could feel him smile gently into the kiss, making you laugh in between soft pecks.

He had it all written up on the chalkboard, telling the class to read over it and meet with their partner to discuss how the two of you could set a time outside of the school to sit together. You had high grades within the class, there was no secret about that. Were you at the absolute top? No, but you were smart nonetheless.

Walking up to the chalkboard to see the teachers' written partner assignments, you felt your chest tighten as you read the name next to yours. Reese Wilkerson. You spent half the year avoiding him like the plague, yet here you stood. There was no way you could get out of this one.

The taller male approached the board as well, his eyes trained onto your name before turning around to look around the class. “Who the hell is that..?!” He sighed exasperatedly.

You tried your best not to chuckle at this, of course he had no clue who you were. With that, at least your mission of never interacting with the male worked up until this point. You felt good about that.

You tapped at his shoulder, the male stiffening and turning his gaze toward you. “That would be me.” You mustered up a small smile. Reese quickly eyed you, his face scrunching up in confusion before relaxing and shrugging.

“Cool.”

You rose a brow at his response, before letting it slide and walk toward an empty lab table. It took Reese a second before following you, plopping down onto a lab stool with a loud and dramatic sigh.

“Ok. So this is how it’s going to work.” Reese leaned his arms onto the table, looking at you, setting down your notebook and pencil pouch. “You’re going to do all the work, and I’ll give you like.. 20 bucks.”

The way he spoke seemed almost rehearsed, like this was a conversation he had plenty of times.

You snorted at his words, this taking the male aback. Reese quickly straightened up, his eyebrows knitting together.

“What's so funny..?!” He spoke quickly and defensively, watching as you turned your body to look at him fully. You still had, what he called, that stupid smile on your face as you looked at him. Like you weren’t bothered by him, weren’t scared of him.

“Yeah.. no.” You sighed, shaking your head as you laughed quietly. “This is going to be a team effort, whether you like it or not.”

Your words were confident, your smile not fading whatsoever.

Reese hated this already, you pushing a packet toward him as he stared at it as if it had personally offended him.

Looking back over to you, he huffed and shook his head. “No it’s not. I’m stupid. You wouldn’t be able to get me to do anything.”

You grabbed one of your pencils, fidgeting with it for a moment as you processed his words. It wasn’t that you thought he was stupid, but you knew he didn’t do anything in this class. Glancing back toward him, you noticed how Reese had gotten confident again. Your silence seemed to have been enough to fuel it for him.

“So. We will meet at your place to work on this?” You spoke up, watching as his left eye twitched slightly.

“What? No! You’re doing this project on your own, I’ll just write my name on it once it’s done!” Reese pushed the packet back toward you, your face not faltering once as he spoke.

Your smile seemed to widen, making Reese feel his stomach drop. You had something up your sleeve.

“And what if I got your mother involved?” The male froze, what the hell? What were you on about? “I’ve seen her, ya know. That day when you had placed a bunch of thumb tacks on Miss. Jones’ seat, she didn’t seem to be happy about that. She had you by your ear and drag-“

Reese quickly pressed his hand over your mouth, his face quickly burning a deep red. “You saw that..?!”

Taking his wrist gently in your hand, you removed his from your mouth. You shrugged casually, as if you didn’t technically threaten the boy. “Everyone did.”

The male groaned, whether it was the reminder of his mother embarrassing him or the fact that you were actually about to get him to do school work, you couldn’t tell. But you knew you were winning.

Reese grabbed your packet and snatched your pencil out of your hand, leaning down and scribbling onto the corner of the pure white paper. Without another word, he slid over the packet and looked you dead in the eye.

“That’s my address. I’m available at that time and I like cherry red icees from the 7/11 down the street from the neighborhood.”

The bell rang as he finished his sentence, a sigh of relief coming from him.

You couldn’t help but giggle under your breath, watching how tense Reese was up until then. In truth, there was no denying that you thought that the Reese in front of you was cute. The one you knew would terrorize other students? Not so much.

He didn’t like this either. Usually, people were annoyed with having to put up with him. It’s what made things fun for him. Yet here you are, laughing at his misery. He hated it. He quickly grabbed his stuff, shoving past you and knocking his shoulder into yours and walked out the classroom.

You were more than annoyed at that, any previous thought that the male was cute vanished instantly. You were actually livid about the whole situation. But you knew better than to give him the reaction he wanted. You could play this game easily.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

It was Saturday, the day Reese had written down onto your packet. One thing that seemed to surprise you more than you expected was how close Reese has lived to you. He was even in the same neighborhood. The walk was maybe a 20 minute trek, your backpack secured to your back as you held a red cherry icee in one hand for Reese, and a blue one in the other for yourself.

Even from a block away, you knew instantly which house had to be where he had resided without reading the address number above the entry. The dead lawn was a giveaway for you. Walking up to the front door, you used your elbow to knock awkwardly on the wooden door.

You immediately could hear Reese’s voice from behind the door, his voice muffled and uninterpretable. The yells seemed to grow louder, the door eventually swinging open.

You had expected Reese to be the one to answer the door, but were instead met with the woman you saw drag Reese down the halls of the school. She had a dish rag in her hand, slowly tossing it over her shoulder and crossing her arms over her chest with an amused expression.

You sent the woman a polite smile. “Hello. I’m Reese’s partner for the project.”

His mother hummed, looking over her shoulder and yelling into the house. “She’s cute, Reese! How’d you manage to get partnered with her?”

You froze at this, your nose quickly scrunching up at the thought of you and Reese being anything more than project partners. The thought of the possibility of being more than just project partners briefly flashed in your mind but you quickly pushed it back.

There was a loud thud that could be heard inside the house and a red-faced Reese ran up to the door, looking at you and the slushies in your hands.

He didn’t say anything, his eyes still darting back and forth.

You sighed through your nose, glancing away awkwardly. “Are you going to let me in? The slushes are melting.”

His mother snorted at this, almost as if she was proud of you before pushing Reese slightly forward. The male huffed and grabbed the red slush from your hand and nodded for you to follow him.

The house inside seemed to be as chaotic as you imagined, following Reese as he walked past the kitchen and out the back door to his backyard.

He sat down at a brown, worn picnic table, one that you’d usually find at a park. It was completely clear of anything, something that didn’t seem to surprise you. He wasn’t prepared for this whatsoever.

Setting down your own icee, you sat across from him and set your backpack beside you.

“You have your textbook, yeah?” You pulled your own out, setting it down in front of you.

Reese took a loud, obnoxious slurp from his drink, before shrugging his shoulders. “I fed that to a stray dog. No one feeds those poor things.” He spoke as if he did something saintlike.

You did everything not to react, your hands balling into fists in your lap where he couldn’t see. Instead, you smiled softly at him, shaking your head slightly.

“We can just share mine, then.” You pushed yourself up from the bench, watching as Reese’s eyes followed your figure walking around the table and sitting next to him.

His eyes widened, the only time a girl sat this close to him was when he was with Allison, and even then, that didn’t even last that long.

You opened your textbook up between you two, flipping to a certain page and then grabbing your own icee. Reese wasn’t looking at the book, his eyes were still trained onto you.

You leaned forward a bit, scanning over the page and then glancing at Reese. “I got you the icee, the least you can do is help read over the book..”

Your tone came off in a teasing manner, yet deep down your words were serious.

Reese scoffed, looking at the red drink in his hand. His eyes darted toward your blue one, as if he was calculating something.

“… Mines melting. I want yours -“ He quickly took your drink, shoving his red one toward you and taking a huge gulp of the blue icee.

You didn’t do anything, you just stared. You couldn’t comprehend his audacity. You could feel your anger bubble up in your chest, before you reminded yourself that you couldn’t feed into it.

You smiled, shrugging your shoulders and letting him stubbornly switch out your drinks. You took the red slushie in your hands, taking the straw between your lips and sipping quietly.

Reese’s jaw dropped, you were supposed to be annoyed. Yell at him, tell him he’s stupid, literally anything would be better than this.

With the straw still in your mouth, he snatched his original drink back. “Maybe.. Maybe you knew I’d try and switch so you’re acting like you don’t care!”

He gave back your blue slushie, taking back the red one. But you didn’t falter. You took the blue slushie and took a sip from that, Reese slowly becoming appalled.

“No! No wait, you only did that to make me think you care! But you actually don’t care at all!” He then switched the drinks once more, the blue being snatched from your hands yet again and replaced with the red.

You laughed, and what surprised you about this, was how genuine the laugh was. This was funny, and not in a way you were laughing at him, but you genuinely found the way he rambled was enjoyable to you.

Reese felt his chest tighten hearing you laugh, his face burning. He seemed to quickly let it go, settling with the blue icee and muttering under his breath and sipping it, quietly this time.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

You came back the next day, the original plan was just to be that Saturday but the two of you discussed it and wanted to meet Sunday as well. You couldn’t describe the feeling in your stomach as you walked toward the Wilkerson home, it was beyond confusing.

Walking up to the house, you could hear your name being called from the backyard. There stood Reese, holding the fence gate open as he gestured for you to follow him.

Entering the backyard, the first thing you noticed was the beads of sweat that rested on his forehead, a basketball in his hands.

“I was just beating Malcolm’s ass in HORSE- lost track of time.” Reese shrugged his shoulders, dropping the basketball onto the concrete driveway in the backyard.

You could hear the back door of the house close, Lois clad in her Lucky Aide uniform and eyeing her sweaty son. She quickly let out a loud and exasperated sigh, as if she was embarrassed about how her son was sweaty just as a girl came over to study.

Before she could say anything, Reese turned around and looked toward her. “What? I’m going to shower now!” He sighed and looked back toward you. “Give me 10 minutes-“ He began to walk backwards, pointing toward you confidently. “Time me!”

With that, he quickly turned into the house and the door slammed shut behind him.

You slowly looked over to Lois, she basically had her jaw on the floor. Reese.. was taking a shower? Without having to be yelled at?

Slowly, she looked toward you, a strange glint in her eyes. “Did you do something to him yesterday?”

You simply shrugged. Truly? You were just as confused, slowly walking toward the bench you sat at yesterday as Lois got into her car and drove off.

And just as Reese said, he came out of the house, his hair dripping wet in maybe 8 minutes. You looked at your watch, your eyes drifting between the item on your wrist and Reese.

“You were less than 10 minutes, did you even use body wash?” You rose an amused brow toward the male, Reese grinning proudly and plopping a seat next to you just like yesterday.

“I have a 3 in 1. It’s like, the best invention ever.”

Reese was still wet from the shower, his clothes clinging onto his wet skin. You had to clear your throat before opening your textbook.

Reese shot up just as quick as he had sat down, rushing back into the house, yelling about how he forgot something.

You sighed through your nose. You hated the way the male was making you feel right now. You fully expected to hate having to work with him. But after yesterday, on your way home, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. In a way.. he was cute? You huffed at that thought, being brought back to reality as Reese came back with a bag of chips.

He returned to his spot next to you, mouth already stuffed with the snack. You stared, your eyebrows furrowing together for a moment before looking at your textbook.

Reese wasn’t looking at the book, he was looking at you. He was munching on the chips, his focus on the profile of your face. He hadn’t noticed his own staring until you took a quick glance at him, sending him an awkward smile before continuing to read over the book.

Reese felt his breath hitch quietly, seeing the way you glanced at him. It wasn’t filled with hatred, a look he was used to when it came to girls. You had looked at him like he was just a normal person.

It was like his body had no control over itself, scooting just the slightest bit closer to you, your hands brushing past each other. He felt himself freeze.

You looked to him immediately at this, but you didn’t move your hand. You didn’t even flinch. Instead, you sent him a soft, yet confused smile.

Without thinking, he pushed the bag of chips forward. “Want some-“

This seemed to have taken you aback, Reese watching as your expression quickly turned into one of shock.

One thing you knew about Reese was how he was about food. You’ve seen him haggle over school lunches on way too many occasions, and how he refused to share anything with his brother in the cafeteria. So for him to offer and share his chips with you confused you even more.

You knew he wasn’t some sort of prince charming, but maybe there was something there that you just couldn’t see.

Unbeknownst to the two of you, Malcolm and Dewey were watching from the kitchen window, horrified looks on their faces.

“Who would’ve thought?!” Malcolm huffed, watching his brother offer to share food.

Dewey shrugged, not really seeing a lot wrong with it. “Maybe she sees something in him.”

Walking by, Hal overheard his two sons and peered over to see what they were looking at. The father sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, your mother mentioned that girl. Reese apparently was freaking out yesterday before her arrival.”

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

The project was quickly due as it was assigned, a month passing by quicker than you’d imagine. Being around Reese constantly showed you a side of him you’d never expect him to have.

There would be times he’d tease you, pull a small prank but would quickly try and make up for it by being weirdly sweet.

You hated that you liked it. You fell for the male rather quickly. You fully expected to want nothing to do with him after the project was over, and yet here you were. Reese was walking you home after school.

You’d both sneak glances at each other, your hands brushing past each other as you walked, and neither of you said anything about it.

The two of you were quiet for most of the walk, before turning onto your street. Reese finally broke the silence, clearing his throat.

“So uh.. Does this mean we won’t be hanging out anymore? Now that we turned in the project earlier?”

His question surprised you, your gaze on the male softening slightly.

“Do you.. do you want to hang out more?” Your words were soft, but seemed weary. Like you were scared to make things awkward between the two of you.

Reese shifted awkwardly as the two of you walked side by side. “Maybe? I don’t know. It would be weird not seeing you around anymore.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at this, a sense of relief that confirmed that he felt the same way. You had gotten used to going to his place after school, sometimes the two of you didn’t even work on the project, you’d just talk.

“It would be weird.” The corner of Reese’s mouth twitched slightly, hearing you agree with him.

The two of you approached your house, stopping at the front porch and faced your bodies toward one another. Silence filled the air around you once more, the two of you awkwardly waiting for the other to say something.

Taking a deep breath, you were the one to break the silence. “You know, I really didn’t want to be your partner at first. I was pretty mad when reading the assigned partners..”

Reese looked up from the ground when he heard this, a look of mock hurt displayed on his face. “What?? Why would you have been mad? I’m like, totally the best person to be paired with.”

You rolled your eyes at this, biting your lip as to surpass a smile. “Yeah, I thought you’d be annoying. I hated it.”

He shrugged slightly, opening his mouth to say something but you had interrupted him.

“But.. After spending some time with you, I realized you were nothing of what I thought you’d be.” Reese had no response to this, his eyes wide as he stared at you with stars in his eyes.

His shocked expression turned into a small smile, nodding his head slowly. “Yeah.. I didn’t expect to like being around you so much either. I thought you’d be a smartass like Malcolm or something..”

It was your turn to laugh, the two of you sharing a grin before you slowly took a step toward your front door. “Thank you for walking me home, Reese.”

He could feel his smile falter as he realized his time with you was coming to an end. The male slowly nodded, shrugging as if it was nothing. “Don’t uh… mention it. Like at all. Malcolm will laugh at me.”

Your grin widened, shaking your head slightly. “I don’t know, Reese. You really are completely different than when we first met… There’s something there that wasn’t there before.”

Reese seemed confused by your words, but he didn’t have the time to ask about it as he watched you slowly begin to retreat to your house. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, you can come over, right?”

There was a tone of hope in his words, looking to you as you tapped your chin dramatically in thought.

“… I’ll consider it.” You shrugged playfully, watching as Reese scoffed at this. “Of course, same time?”

Reese began to walk backwards down the path that lead from the sidewalk to your house, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Same time, don’t make me wait.”

You’ve tried to talk to him about this multiple times, just to be reassured that everything was okay. At the end of the day, Otto was his own person, and you weren’t going to control his actions. That didn’t mean you would be nice to anyone who used your uncle and drained him of everything he was worth.

Your uncle straightened his posture, taking a glance over his shoulder and seeing you standing there. With a proud grin, he’d clap his hands together and walk up to you. “Ah! There you are, my little dragonfly!” Normally, you’d smile at the nickname, one that has stuck with you since you were little and running though the fields of the ranch when your family visited.

You sent him a flat smile, one that Otto could read immediately. His grin turned weary, before pulling you along to meet the new employee. “This here is Francis! Good lad, met him at a gas station. He’s going to be working here starting today.”

This Francis person turned, hearing his name, he looked to Otto and then you. When his blue eyes landed on you, his entire world seemed to melt.

There you stood, a splotch or two of dirt on your cheeks, the face framing of your hair out and wild. Slowly, you crossed your arms over your chest, eyeing the male before you up and down. He seemed to be your age, maybe a year or two older, but still in the same range.

He was handsome. And you were pissed about this. Everything about him screamed that he was just going to be another lazy, pretty boy that didn’t want anything to do with the nitty gritty of farm work.

“This is my great niece, hard worker she is!” Otto would then gesture to you with a proud grin. “You will be following her around for the day.”

You felt your anger bubble up as you heard this. Nearly every new employee had to follow you around for the day, and you always ended up doing everything for them. No one ever had the work ethic for this job, being a farmhand at a dude ranch. It wasn’t easy work.

Francis still had his eyes set on you, his expression a look of awe as he quickly offered his hand out to you. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I hope we can get along well.” Damn, this man was eager. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest.

You didn’t offer your hand in return, your eyes darting between his hand and his face.

“Ok.”

With that simple response, Otto let out an awkward laugh and patted your shoulder. “Why don’t you show Francis the stables, there’s always things to do there, yes!”

Francis didn’t seem to falter at your cold demeanor, watching as you quickly turned on your heel and began to walk back toward the front doors.

When you didn’t hear footsteps behind you, you turned over your shoulder to see the blonde male still standing there, practically gawking at you.

“Are you going to continue standing there or are you ready to work?”

Francis woke up from his trance, muttering a couple small ‘yes’s’ under his breath before following you out of the lodging lobby.

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·

The entire walk toward the horse stables, Francis has been asking you questions. Personal ones, nothing about the job. Each question was met with a stubborn, short response. You never fed into the questions, never asked anything in return. Yet this didn’t seem to perturb Francis, as if he was used to a stubborn woman like you.

“Have you been living at the ranch your whole life? Or is this more of a recent thing for you?”

You tried not to audibly groan in irritation as the questions didn’t seem to cease. You didn’t even look at him as you spoke, approaching the stables with determined steps.

“I visited in the summers, came here to help my uncle right out of high school.” One thing you didn’t mention was your love for the ranch and animals. Ever since you were little, you always had this strange eagerness to you, even back when you could barely hold a pail full of water.

You loved the animals, you weren’t afraid of getting your hands dirty either.

Francis smiled at your response, following you into the stables and copying your movements.

“When you’re on stable duty, the first thing you need to do is make sure the horses have food and water.” You pointed to a single stable, gesturing to the empty water trough and food bin.

Francis’ eyes followed your hand, nodding as he took a look into the stall. Normally, someone would have immediately commented about the smell. It definitely wasn’t a pleasant one, but it was one you had quickly grown used to.

Turning his attention back to you, he noticed you had already walked away and had picked up two large metal pails. You tilted your head toward more.

“Pick those up. We need to go to the well.” Usually, you would’ve been met with complaints, but you didn’t hear any from Francis. He picked them up and looked at you with a soft smile. For the first time in the last hour and a half, you felt something grow in your chest.

With a small huff, you quickly turned your back and walked back out of the stables and began the walk toward the water well pump that was a few minutes walk away.

Francis had quickly caught up to you, now trying to match your quick pace.

You were both silent, your eyes staying forward. Yet, you could feel his eyes on you the whole time. You hated it. At least, you think you did.

Approaching the pump, you grabbed the handle and set down one of your pails. You’d take the handle with both hands and pump water into both of your pails before stepping back to allow Francis to fill his own.

You watched as he quickly did the task, with no complaints. Once again, when he had finished, he looked at you with another smile that made your heart swell.

You quickly scoffed this off, holding the pails by the thin metal handle and marched off back to the stables.

You both had been silent the whole walk there, you were kind of hoping it would stay that way. Unfortunately for you, that was not the case.

“Soooo…” He had, of course, ruined the silence. “I would’ve never guessed you were related to Otto.. you look nothing alike!”

His voice startled you a bit, glancing toward him with wide eyes before pressing your lips into a thin, unamused line. It took you a second before coming up with a response.

“What makes you say that?” You quietly muttered under your breath, refusing to look toward him.

“You’re pretty.”

This stunned you, stopping in your tracks as you looked at him. He didn’t seem smug, arrogant. Francis looked at you, a strange glint in his eyes.

“… Don’t talk to me like that.” You pushed every ounce of feeling that was building in your body. He was supposed to be annoying, a newbie that refused to do any work around the ranch. Yet he kept breaking that stereotype you were so used to.

“Are you normally so stone-cold?”

When he had said this, it didn’t even sound like he was trying to take a jab at you. His words were followed by an amused chuckle, watching the way your nose would scrunch up at the question.

“Pretty boys like you don’t usually last long here. I am simply making sure I can still get the job done without you messing it up.”

Your own words hadn’t registered to you, but Francis had noticed it immediately.

He let out a small chuckle, shrugging his shoulders in a casual manner.

“Yeeesh.. Then I hope you’re ready for this ‘pretty boy’ to prove that wrong.”

You stopped immediately in your tracks, your face a searing hot red as you whipped your head to look at him.

Again, he laughed. A soft, comfortable one. Not one that seemed mocking, but one that seemed to genuinely be enjoying his time with you.

“Go away..” You quietly muttered under your breath, yet your words didn’t sound genuine.

Francis was now walking ahead of you, a confident smile gracing his lips as he looked over his shoulder to catch one more glimpse of your embarrassed face.

“You can continue to pretend that you're cold-hearted, or you can leave me to figure out the rest of stable duty on my own!”

His words almost sounded like a challenge, the grip you had on your pails tightening as you followed after him in rushed steps.

You didn’t reply, you couldn’t. Any word that you wanted to say made you feel sick, as if you’d throw up the instant you try to speak up.

Returning to the stable, you approached the horses' shared trough and poured the water in, noticing Francis had already done this and had his pails already back in their initial spot.

With a stubborn click of your tongue, you returned your pails and walked over to a mini shed that resided in the stalls. Opening the door, you pulled out a box of disposable gloves and a plastic trash bag.

This task would have to make him crack, there was no way he wasn’t going to be grossed out by this. You shoved the box and bag toward him, a fake smile plastered on your lips.

“Can you guess the next task, Francis?” You spoke his name like it was toxic to your tongue, watching as the blonde set the items down on a small, wooden table and began to put on gloves.

“Waste management?” He had given it a fancy title, looking at you with a raised brow.

Taking a deep breath, you nodded once. “You have to make sure each stall of the horses is clean. That includes picking up their feces.”

Francis shrugged at this, as if it wasn’t a big deal to him. “Okay.” He then approaches the closest stall, the horse basically ignoring his presence before leaning down to the ground and picking up any waste.

You had gone silent, every other employee you had to train would immediately leave at this task, but Francis was doing it as if it was nothing. You were seething, holding your breath as to not scream in agony before entering a separate stall.

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·

Typically, you’d have been done with stable duty long ago, yet here you were. You had only just begun the second stall out of 10 total, grumbling to yourself as you picked up any remaining horse waste and bagged it up.

You were so peeved. You hated the way Francis was surprising every fiber of your being. You were so used to doing all the work, especially when you were paired up with someone who looked like him.

They always had complaints, arguments in why this work wasn’t up to their standards, how they deserved to be working inside the lodging instead of out on the ranch.

Not only did you not expect him to actually put in effort, but you were startled by how casually he’d tease you. It was like he was enjoying the sight of you in distress under his words. It irked you. He flirted with you so easily despite you being distant with him.

You hadn’t even noticed that Francis had completed his half of the work, leaning his arms against the fencing of the stable you resided in. He was quiet, almost as if he was admiring you.

Feeling his eyes on you, you slowly looked over your shoulder and stared him down.

“What.” Your words didn’t even come out as a question.

Francis once again shrugged as if it were nothing, sending you a smile. “Just watching.” He spoke casually. “You look cute when you’re focused.”

You stood straight up, shoving some waste in the trash bag you held. You didn’t believe him, not even one bit. You left your stable and checked his side and sure enough, each stall was clean of waste. He had even given them all fresh hay.

“Why are you so cold toward me?” His words were sudden, catching you off guard. “I mean, we had only just met, yet you act as if I’m vermin to this earth.”

You looked at him, your face blank yet your head was in shambles. He had a point, you barely knew him. Yet you had expected him to be like the rest of the newbies that would come in.

“If it’s because I’m flirting and think you’re cute, I can cut it out. I know boundaries are a thing.” Francis shoved his hands into his denim pockets, looking at you and expecting a response.

You were quiet for a moment, eyeing him suspiciously before speaking.

“Why does that matter to you?”

Your words had come out harsher than expected, yet Francis didn’t flinch.

“Maybe because we might be having to spend a lot of time together, just a thought though.”

You felt your hands clutch at your sides, your facing burning up once more.

“You don’t get it.” You sneered through your teeth, walking past him and letting your shoulder push past his.

“Oh, but I do!” He still didn’t seem perturbed by our attitude, turning his body to watch your movements.

You kept your back toward him, throwing away your used gloves into a bin. “This job isn’t sunshine and rainbows. You’re going to get dirty. It’s not pretty, it’s not cute.”

You refused to acknowledge his earlier comment, if you had, it felt like admitting defeat. That there was a small part of you that even enjoyed his banter.

You’re going to be covered in every animal body fluid you can imagine one day, elbow deep in a cow giving birth, smelling things your pretty little head could never comprehend.”

Francis just looked at you with an amused smile, laughing softly though his nose.

“I have 4 brothers, I’m the oldest of them all.”

You had gone quiet for a second, before composing yourself and shaking your head. “That has nothing to do with this.”

“I once launched my baby brother's dirty diapers through a giant slingshot at some kids. I’ve seen and done it all.”

This made you go silent. Your composed nature seemed to falter for a moment, your eyebrows knotting together as you stared at him in confusion.

“.. Usually the new hire makes me do all the work and complains the whole time. I’m just not used to someone actually putting in effort.”

Francis slowly nodded at this, as if taking a second to consider your words before speaking.

“Sooo.. because now you have someone that’s actually doing something.. you decide to be cold?”

“… It sounds a lot more stupid when you put it like that.”

For the first time since meeting, you let the corners of your lips twitch up slightly.

Francis took this as a win, his smile widening. “What it sounds like to me, is that you need some sort of therapy.”

At this, you scoffed. A playful one, one that seemed to surprise Francis even more. “Says the one that launched dirty diapers at children. There has to be something wrong in that brain of yours for you to want to do that.”

The blonde laughed at your words, shaking his head slightly. “Touché… you got me there. But.. I hate to remind you of something.”

Francis took a few steps closer, each step agonizingly slow. You felt your breath get caught in your throat, your body freezing for a moment as he tilted his head to the side.

“.. You think this head that holds that brain is pretty.” His grin changed into a small, proud smirk. He looked down at you smugly, watching as your face crumpled slightly at his words.

You could feel your body get chills, your fist raising up to lightly knock him in his shoulder. Francis dramatically clutched his arm, leaning his head back.

“We have more tasks. Stop being distracting.” You spoke, clearly trying to suppress a smile that wanted to spread wide across your face.

It’s safe to say, he was even more distracting the rest of the work day.

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·

It was the end of the day, the two of you entering the lodging lobby covered in sweat. The two of you had small smiles on your lips, a soft laugh coming from you both.

It wasn’t hard for him to break down those temporary walls you had built once you realized he really did want to put in the work. The two of you quickly had learned a lot about each other.

You found out he had been sent to military school to finish off his years in high school, how he and his brothers were little terrors to their mother.

He learned that when you weren’t working, you actually loved to paint. Some of the paintings in the lobby were actually some of your own work, your uncle Otto proudly having them on display.

Now off the clock, Otto handed Francis one last paper, showing where he will be staying while working here. Of course it had to be right across the hall from your room..

Francis took this as his chance to walk you back to your place, as if ending off a first date.

Now standing in your hallway, the two of you stood face to face with awkward smiles.

“You know.. you crack way too easy.”

Francis spoke first, a proud grin displayed on his lips.

“For someone who so badly wanted me to turn out bad, the second you realized I was so cool you folded.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head slightly as he had so easily called you out on the fake front you put on.

“You’ll probably do the same once a few new hires are assigned to work with you but don’t do anything.”

Francis smiled, his eyes softening as he watched you laugh at what he said.

A momentary silence filled the air, neither one of you speaking as you both stood quietly in front of each other.

“… I really need to take a shower. And you should too. You reek.” You broke the silence, looking up to the blonde with a smug smile.

He rolled his eyes playfully in response, slightly turning away from you to grab at the door handle to his room. “Yeah, okay. You reek too, you know.”

He still looked to you as he opened his door, as if a part of him wished to continue to be with you. But he knew not to push too hard when first meeting someone.

As if you read his thoughts, you quickly reached over and grabbed his sleeve. “Wait..-“

He paused his movements, looking at you with a raised brow before feeling your lips gently peck at his cheek. For once that day, he was the one who had gone speechless.

You leaned back, smiling proudly before opening the door to your own room. “I’ll see you tomorrow then..?”

Francis still stood there frozen for a moment, before slowly nodding his head as he watched you retreat into your room.

She bent down to your eye level, her eyes sharp with a hint of kindness hidden behind her stare. She let out an amused hum before standing up straight and your mother explained to you that one of her boys was in your 1st grade class, and that she had met Mrs. Wilkerson during pickup and found out they were neighbors.

All you could do was gulp, the screams of terrors growing louder. You looked up to your mother in terror, only to be met with a ruffle of your hair as Mrs. Wilkerson turned over her shoulder and began to yell.

“Malcolm! You have a friend to see you!” A loud thud could be heard, along with loud laughter and grunts before a sandy blonde hair boy your age appeared from around the corner. When his eyes landed on you, his face immediately scrunched up in disgust as he looked at his mom. You had actually recognized him, the boy was always answering the teachers questions and quite honestly, got on your little nerves.

“She’s a girl! I’m not being friends with a girl!” Mrs. Wilkerson, who later told you to call her Lois, pinched at his ear in retaliation. It felt like your eyes were going to pop out of your skull, they were so wide. Slowly looking over to your mom, you squeezed her hand tightly as if asking to go home. Your mother just simply laughed, patting your head and speaking up.

“It’s just a small play date, sweetheart.” Slowly turning your gaze back to Malcolm, he too was looking at you with an uneasy expression. Without saying anything, he slowly stepped aside and gestured for you to follow him.

Giving your mom one last look, she nodded her head encouragingly as you slowly stepped inside the home.

From that day forward, every weekend, your mother would bring you over to the Wilkersons, until eventually it just became a part of your routine. Everyday after school, Malcolm would wait for you with his older brother, Reese, and they’d walk with you to their house.

One thing you figured out rather quickly was how much you hated Reese. He was loud, dirty, and just outright rude to you and Malcolm. There had been multiple instances where he would take his dirty socks and shove them into your face until you dry heaved.

This went on for quite some time, you go to Malcolm’s, get terrorized by Reese for a bit and then listen to Malcolm’s rambles, then go home. It was like second nature at this point.

When you turned 12, your outlook on the Wilkerson’s had changed drastically. They had become a second family to you. In the 7th grade, Malcolm had been transferred to the krelboyne class. You were devastated, but at least you’d be able to see your best friend after school at his house everyday.

The more often you came over, the more that meant you’d have to deal with Reese. But the atmosphere in your immense hatred toward the older boy seemed to shift ever so slowly.

You could remember the first time you noticed the change. There was one morning where you came over for breakfast, Malcolm dragging you inside and shushing you immediately.

“Reese is being so weird! You have to see this!” As your friend dragged you toward his room, and to the jack and jill bathroom, you peeked inside to see Reese in a light blue button up, brushing his hair.

“What are you doing?” Malcolm questioned skeptically, catching the older boy's attention. He turned to the both of you, shrugging his shoulders as if he was doing nothing out of the ordinary.

You, on the other hand, were speechless. It felt like your heart was stuck in your throat. Your mouth was agape, eyes wide as you stared at him. Reese caught notice of this quickly, a smug smirk growing on his lips as he reached over and slapped at your chin, closing your mouth shut.

“You’re gonna catch flies, dweeb.” He laughed at his own words before shoving past you and Malcolm and made his way toward the kitchen to eat. It’s safe to say, Malcolm had to shake you out of your trance in order to get you to eat that morning.

When you found out the real intentions behind why Reese looked the way he did, it felt like someone had stomped onto your chest. It hurt. A lot. And at 12 years old, you had no way of knowing what the feeling truly was. All of this was just to impress a girl on the cheer team.. which he eventually joined just to impress her. You could remember how you seethed in stubborn anger at a picnic table, watching as Reese interacted with the girl.

Fast forward a year or two, Reese started to date Allison. This is when it finally began to hit you. You liked the male. And it terrified you. There was no way in hell you were going to let anyone find out about this, especially Malcolm.

Your usual banter with Reese changed immediately that day, both Malcolm and Reese noticing it. You didn’t fight back, you gave him little to no energy when interacting with him. Reese brushed it off, not caring about it for too long, but Malcolm wouldn’t leave you alone about it.

After a week of Malcolm questioning on why you were being weird around Reese, and you declining to answer or talk about it, he seemed to finally let it go. He never asked again after that.

When you turned 16, you had your first boyfriend, Wally. Wally was vastly different compared to Reese, and that’s why you liked him. He was on the football team, he was charismatic, and friends with everyone. There wasn’t anyone that hated him.

Except Reese. He claimed that Wally was the bane of his existence, never trusting the male. He’d glare at him in the hallways, mocking him in everything he did. There was even one time when Wally wasn’t looking, Reese had brought a jar of peanut butter to school and slapped a huge glob onto his seat and waited for Wally’s ‘impending doom’.

This bothered you a lot. When Reese and Allison broke up, the two of you seemed to slowly get back into the rhythm of your playful banter disguised as hatred. But with Wally now in the picture, it had shifted again. Deep down, you knew that you still liked Reese. Of course you did. But his reaction to Wally being around confused you even more.

Everything that used to bother you about Reese when you were younger were now things you admired about him. His stubbornness, the way he would tie his shoes in just one massive knot and refuse to untie them when he had to take them off, the way his eyebrows would knit together and how bossy he’d get when he was in charge of the kitchen.

Reese was a lot more mean to you than he normally would be, complaining about you to Malcolm whenever you weren’t around. He’d even shove you sometimes in the hallway, and pretend it never happened in the first place.

After being with Wally for the entirety of your junior year, that summer, he had broken up with you. His reasoning being that not only did he feel the original feelings he had for you slowly changed, but he just had the feeling there was something between you and Reese. The relationship didn’t necessarily end badly… just out of nowhere.

Late that night, you went to Malcolm’s bedroom window crying and gave your secret knock, something the two of you created when you were 9.

Hearing the window open, your emotions seemed to flood out, tears blurring your vision as you pushed your way in through the window. What you didn’t realize was that it wasn’t Malcolm who answered the knock, it was Reese.

“He’s not here, dweeb.” Reese spoke, finally catching your attention.

Your breath got stuck in your throat as you paused, wiping at your eyes to register the figure that had let you in. Sure enough, there stood Reese, clad in a hand me down t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms.

“He’s at Stevie’s. Something about a stupid movie marathon that’s lasting most of the night.” He muttered, glancing away from your crying face in a awkward manner. “Then Dewey’s is at Chads-“

You stood there, softly sniffling and nodding. You were already making your way back to the window before feeling Reese grab at your sleeve.

“You’re just going to leave? Just because Malcolm isn’t here?”

You stared at him in slight disbelief, but nodded slowly as if it was the most obvious thing he could’ve said. Why would you stay? As far as you were aware, Reese hates you.

Reese grumbled under his breath, tugging on your sleeve once more as he slowly sat down on his bed. “Why the hell are you even crying? Did Wally do something stupid or what?”

Despite never having true romantic feelings for Wally, the breakup still hurt you in a way you didn’t know existed. You invested a lot of time into him, convincing yourself that Wally was the one you wanted, not Reese.

At the mention of his name, your sight seemed to blur as your eyes had gone glossy. Reese tensed up at his, cursing quietly and shifting awkwardly to the side as if to give you room to sit down beside him.

Taking the offer, you sat next to him and spilt everything. You know, minus the fact you’ve been practically in love with him for some years now.

What Reese hates even more was how seeing you so upset affected him. There you sat on his bed, spilling every single emotion you felt with this breakup.

… And that’s how one thing led to another and you ended up straddling his lap, lips pressed against each other, hands tangled in each other's hair.

With this, it’s how it all started.. the shared glances, the small notes you’d sneak in each other's backpacks, all in effort to keep his entire family out of the loop. As far as they were aware, the two of you hated each other, the sudden change in your relationship would cause an inferno.

You and Reese agreed on one point the most, that Malcolm could not find out about this. Neither of you wanted to see the outcome of that. That night when you came in expecting Malcom, you would’ve never guessed you would’ve ended up dating his older brother instead.

The two of you kept it all under lock and key, a shared secret between the two of you that you wanted to keep for as long as possible. Of course, eventually you’d have to break the news.. but what was the fun in that? There was something about it all, the thrill that came with keeping something away from everyone, something that only the two of you could share.

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅

It was an early morning before school, another day where you came over just in time for breakfast with the Wilkerson’s. It was almost like a ritual, you’d come in just as Malcolm, Dewey, Jamie and Hal all sat around the table as Lois began to serve out scrambled eggs onto everyone’s plates. Lois always made sure to have an extra chair and plate awaiting for your presence, having extra food made just in case of your arrival.

Quickly dropping your bag onto the couch, you quickly greeted everyone and playfully nudged Malcolm as you walked past, making the automatic excuse of needing to use the restroom as soon as you had arrived.

Lois looked up from the pan she held, watching your retreating figure turn the corner and go straight toward the boys’ room. She shook her head slightly, her eyes sharpening before letting out a small, amused huff through her nose. She had an idea, she’s thought about it for quite some time.

Everyone knows Lois is an observant person, rarely has anything ever gone under her nose. It didn’t take her long to connect the dots between you and Reese, the two of you weren’t as subtle as you believed. Usually, Reese was always the first one to be in the kitchen, wanting first dibs on the pancakes. But when he started taking his time ‘getting ready’, she knew something was different.

When it came to you, you only lived a couple houses down from them. If you needed to use the restroom so badly, how come you didn’t use it at your own home just before leaving?

Lois couldn’t help but laugh in her mind, a part of her so badly wanted to boldly confront the two of you, see how you’d react to her knowing your secret. But the other part of her wanted to see how far the two of you would take it before making it too obvious, that maybe one of you would let it slip and she could proudly say she knew the whole time.

As you entered the boys bedroom, you closed the door behind you with a small click. Reese leaned his head out of the bathroom, a devious smile gracing his lips as he ran up to you and wrapped his arms around you instantly.

You had to muffle your laughter, Reese squeezing at the sides of your waist as he looked down to you.

“Hi, dweeb.”

“Hi.”

His smile seemed to brighten at the sound of your voice, quickly leaning down to peck your lips before taking a few steps back. He’d lick his lips, tasting the gloss you had applied this morning. “Did you switch it up? I’m used to tasting cherry, but this is-“

“Vanilla, yeah.” You’d quickly finish his sentence, laughing quietly as he used his sleeve to try and wipe off any remaining gloss off his lips.

He’d step closer to you one last time and kiss your cheek gently, a soft gesture that was rare from the male. “I’ll see you at the table.” Reese sent one last devious grin before walking past you and straight into the kitchen.

Standing in the bedroom for a moment, as if to make it more believable you were in the bathroom, you could hear Reese’s loud voice booming.

“Why can’t she just use her own bathroom..?! She doesn’t even live here! She pushed herself in and forced me out!”

Your hands flew to cover your mouth, suppressing yet another laugh. With a count to 20, you left the boys bathroom and arrived at the kitchen. Taking a seat next to Malcolm and across from Reese, your eyes met just briefly as the corners of his lips twitched slightly.

Malcolm immediately began to rant to you, something about Mr. Herbake had said that pissed him off.

You felt a light tap against your shin, the culprit in front of you stuffing his face with food without a care in the world.

Just as slyly, your foot made contact with his knee, Reese having to take a huge gulp of his orange juice just to make sure he didn’t smile at your contact.

Lois, seated at one of the ends of the table, watched as your eyes shifted between your plate and Reese, giving Malcolm short responses, as if you weren’t listening to him in the first place. With a knowing smile, she continued to talk with Hal, who had his face stuffed in a newspaper and agreeing with whatever his wife had said.

Breakfast had ended, and everyone was already heading out the door. Reese pushed past you, rushing out the door as Malcolm watched him with glaring eyes.

“Is he ever going to get over you being around? Seriously, he acts like you’re not here every day!”

Without a verbal reply, you looked at Malcolm with a small shrug and followed him toward the car. Reese was already at the driver's seat, yelling something about how slow the two of you were being.

Malcolm flipped him off, looking at you with annoyance and going into the passenger seat. Before he could fully sit down, Reese had begun to dramatically cough up a storm, covering his nose.

“Holy shit, Malcolm! You reek!”

The younger male stood there, his jaw tightening as his hand gripped the metal doorframe. “What? Are you serious-“

Reese leaned over the console of the car, pushing Malcolm away from the seat in a rushed motion. “You’re not sitting next to me while smelling like a pack of dogs took a dump on you.” His eyes darted toward you, a knowing look in them.

It wasn’t normal for you to sit in the passenger seat when he was driving, almost always ending up in the back just to avoid any suspicion. You stood there frozen, unable to try and gauge what in the hell your boyfriend was trying to get at.

Malcolm threw up his arms in frustration, turning around to look at you as if you were going to defend him. There you stood, your secret boyfriend and your best friend staring at you in expectation.

You could feel yourself shrink, hands holding on tightly to the straps of your backpack. Before you could even mutter an answer, Malcolm groaned out loud.

“Fine, yeah. I’ll sit in the back, but you realize that means she’s going to be next to you, right??”

Reese didn’t respond, he just adjusted himself back in his seat and turned on the engine, ignoring Malcolm’s weak attempt of trying to get Reese to change his mind.

Malcolm angrily left the passengers door and went to the back seats and shuffled in, leaving you standing there at the sidewalk frozen in place.

After a few seconds, you slowly sat yourself down where Malcolm tried to be originally, closing the door behind you. In all honesty, you were freaking out. In your mind, Reese was making it way too big of a deal just to get you to sit next to him as he drove.

You glanced at him from the side, Reese turning his body and resting his right elbow onto your seat to look out behind the car as he pulled out of the driveway. With the way he leaned in, it was clear to you it was intentional. From what you could tell, he seemed to like the idea of throwing the secret in front of Malcom’s nose.

There was a hint of smugness to his lips, yet his eyes never looked toward you as the car went into reverse.

You didn’t move, staying put as you anxiously began to mess with the ends of your sleeves. Now driving normally towards the school, Reese once again leaned dramatically over the console to open the glove compartment in front of you, his hand brushing past your thigh as he pulled out a CD case.

Malcolm unbuckled himself and slid to the middle seat, leaning forward and watching Reese’s movements. “Watch the road, you idiot!” He’d snatch the case from him, looking at the cover with furrowed brows.

Reese focused once more, glancing between the road and Malcolm in the review mirror. “Fine then, you put in the CD then. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.” He proudly spoke, shrugging his shoulders casually.

“Technically, I’m considered as shotgun-“ You finally spoke up after this whole time, earning a side glance from Reese as he mockingly scoffed.

“Of course you’d have something to say about that.” He huffed, having to continue the act of disliking your presence.

Malcolm leaned over the console, grumbling to himself as he inserted the CD, looking at Reese with a glare before plopping back into his seat in the back.

The music immediately met everyone’s ears, the electric guitar playing throughout the car's speakers.

You recognized the song instantly, your eyes growing wide as you tried not to give a visceral reaction.

‘Dirty Little Secret’ by The All-American Rejects, a title that you knew instantly had more meaning to it than just a random CD Reese wanted to play.

Malcolm sat with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared out the window, shaking his head at the song. “This is so stupid, you couldn’t have put in Beastie Boys or something-“

Reese briefly turned around in his seat, his hand forming a fist as he punched at Malcolm’s knee, earning a small groan of irritation from him.

“Shut the hell up, I want to listen to this!” Reese huffed, taking a small glance to see your reaction before focusing on driving you guys toward the school.

You had the faintest smile on your lips, your head shaking slightly. You really were head over heels for this guy, you couldn’t deny that. This was the closest thing to a public declaration about the two of you’s relationship you’ve had.

Reese’s thumbs tapped against the steering wheel to the beat, his eyes looking to you every now and again as Malcolm seemed to be off in his own little world, shulking in his self pity.

The drive to school wasn’t a long one, you guys parking just as the song had wrapped up. Malcolm immediately exited the car, turning to see you still seated. He groaned and opened the car door for you, not to be a gentleman, but to gently pull you out of the car. “We have Mr. Herbake first thing, and there is no way I am walking in there alone.”

You laughed quietly at his complaint, looking over your shoulder for a brief second to see Reese still sat in the driver's seat. The corners of his lips twitched up slightly, watching as you began to walk away. Just as you were about to fully walk with Malcolm to class, Stevie had rolled over and began to talk to the male.

You took this as your chance, you quietly left the two alone and rushed back toward the Wilkerson son’s shared car. The parking lot was empty of people at this point, everyone already past the entrance of the school.

Opening the passengers door, you slid into the seat and looked at a proud and smug Reese.

“Did you like it? Isn’t it perfect considering things?”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh, Reese’s grin softening into a more gentle and calm smile.

“You know that song is actually about the guy cheating on his girlfriend, right?” You rose an amused brow as you watched the color completely drain from his face.

“Wait, you’re serious?” His eyes were wide and full of terror. “I didn’t mean it like that-“

You interrupted him by taking his hand into yours, smiling toward him.

“I know you didn’t, Reese.. just listen to the song again and you’ll see.” You chuckled quietly, the male in front of you still pale in the face.

“I thought.. I really thought-“ He began to speak but you cut him off with a small, gentle kiss to his lips.

It was soft, comforting.

Reese melted slightly, kissing you lightly just as you pulled away. He was quiet for a moment, before his expression faltered for a moment.

“I really didn’t cheat-“

Before he could finish his sentence, you quickly cut him off. “It was a cute gesture, don’t overthink it.” You hummed, your empty hand reaching to open the car door. “I’ll meet you behind the bleachers during P.E?” You tilted your head to the side, biting your lip slightly as you slowly began to exit the car.

Looking like a deer caught in headlights, Reese nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah I’ll meet you there-“

You gave him one last smile, sending him a small wave before leaving him to himself in the car.