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there had been an upcoming, significant project that would be basically counted for a whole grade. you dreaded that class, but luckily you were paired up with a good and trusty classmate, walker. you two had a normal, playful friendship like any other students in the class. he'd regularly tease you secretly while the teachers taught, steal your pens and erasers, (gets easily caught and tries to prove his innocence every time,) and greet you sometimes in the morning if he wasn't utterly tired from acting. walker was mainly known for his "golden retriever" energy and his quick witted demeanor. in theory, he’s the perfect project partner—but you couldn't help but wonder if he actually liked you. i mean, from the way he treated and talked to you at school, could he have a crush on you?

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"hey! come in," you smiled. walker momentarily held a sheepish grin, as he staggered in with evident hesitation—hands full with papers and books.

"this is okay, right? i just can't believe im in your house," he stated composedly with a hint of fear.

your eyebrows raised. is he serious?

"it's literally fine dude. why are you even acting like that?" giggling, you took some books and papers from the preposterous stack he was clutching on.

you turned your head to look back at him and he tangibly paused, before muttering a poor excuse.

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"okay, covalent bonds form when atoms share electrons, ionic bonds form when one atom completely transfers an electron to another... and... UGH!! when the freak do metallic bonds form?" you sighed, rougly resting your chin against your palms. the study environment wasn't ideal. both of you were on your stomachs lying on the bed with two, fully camouflaged laptops, which were covered in paper documents, textbooks, and sticky notes. for a student like you, this was completely out of the ordinary.

"metallic bonds are found in metals, where valence electrons are free to move among a lattice of positively charged metal ions... can we take another break? please, i swear i can feel my hands vibrating with pain everytime i type on this thin, ass keyboard," he whined.

"no, walker. we took two breaks earlier that wasted three hours of our work period. we can't afford to lose time, but trust me, i really want a break too," you groaned, before cupping your face to supress a yawn.

he laughed softly. "getting a little sleepy?"

your head twisted towards him. "dude, there's a ton of things we need to do, so get back to work please."

"alright, ma'am," he rejoiced, teasingly.

he knew he wasn't wrong though. you had yawned countless times since the last break. walker could practically feel your tiredness because of how slow you'd type on the laptop. occasionally, your whole body would melt down on the bed before quickly getting up again. he felt guilty about it and blamed it on himself.

"you didn't answer my question by the way," he turned to look at you, eyes widening and then completely softening.

your head rested against your folded arms, long hair shielding your whole back. one of your hands were loosely holding a pink mechanical pencil. propped up on his forearms, walker quickly lowered himself to match your line of sight.

the bottom half of your face was covered by your arms, only your closed eyes, nose and eyebrows were visible to walker.

she's so pretty. he thought.

walker stared at you, his breathing turning incredibly soft as if the slightest sound would break a spell. it was honestly so weird seeing you like this—completely quiet, without any of the snappy banter you usually threw his way. at school, you were a literal whirlwind, always laughing at his stupid jokes or rolling your eyes whenever he swiped your stationery. but right now, you just looked calm. and effortlessly breathtaking.

his eyes traced the slope of your nose, the gentle rise and fall of your shoulders, and the way a few stray strands of hair fell across your cheek. without thinking, his hand moved on autopilot, his fingers hovering just a millimeter away from your face. he wanted to tuck that hair behind your ear so badly it actually ached, but the sheer terror of waking you up kept him completely frozen. his heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs, so loud he was convinced you’d hear it if you weren't so dead to the world.

he leaned his chin on his own arms, just watching you. a small, entirely fond smile tugged at the corners of his lips. he liked this. he liked you. way more than he ever dared to admit out loud.

then, your eyelashes fluttered.

walker froze entirely, his breath catching in his throat.

your eyes slowly blinked open, heavy with sleep, and the very first thing you saw was the intense, deep warmth of his eyes looking right back at you. for a second, neither of you moved. the silence in the room stretched, thick and suffocatingly close.

panicking internally, walker's cheeks flushed a furious tint of pink. he scrambled to pull up his usual walls, an embarrassed, nervous grin breaking across his face as he desperately tried to play it cool.