AU MVB High School

This was the first time John had actually seen her truly relax and be at peace, and he hadn't a clue what he should do. Aside from just watch her slip off her shoes and breathe a sigh of relief. Celi really did seem a little too uptight and it was quite easy to push her buttons. Not that he minded.

If there was one thing John enjoyed most, it was pushing people's buttons.

But this was nice too.

So much that he couldn't bring himself to look away.

Drifting closer towards her, John took a seat nearby and began unpacking his lunch. It was a handmade reuben sandwich on rye bread, jam packed so full that it was a miracle it held together. But not only did it hold together, it was delicious. There was never a shortage of meat or protein at the Wilder residence and it showed in the solid muscle mass that the boys honed. And of course, there were some chips and celery on the side.

He was about halfway through his sandwich when he actually noticed what Celi was eating. Was that a wrap from the little corner store down on Third Street? No, it couldn't be... could it?

"Did you get that wrap from Bubs's shop?"

Of course she had to ask right as he was biting into the enormous sandwich. The savory flavors of the homemade corned beef and saurkraut mixed deliciously with the swiss cheese that had been piled on while it was still hot. The way John was holding it somehow prevented the dressing from leaking out, not to mention the rest of the contents. The sandwich was massive - even in his large hands it was huge.

That didn't slow him down, however.

Once he swallowed his mouthful, John asked, "What do you mean 'how can I eat all that'? I'm a growing boy." To emphasize his point, he released part of the sandwich to flex an arm. Though he clearly wasn't putting much effort into the flex, he looked like he could crush a man's skull between his bicep and his forearm.

"See?"

"Aww, you do care!" John snickered and lifted his sandwich in her direction, "Want a bite? Go ahead Celi. Maybe if you eat some real food, you might stop being in danger of blowing away in the wind."

Her little pink tongue drew his interest immediately. And not just his visual interest, but also that of several body parts as well. The heart in his chest beat a little quicker, a little firmer. His palms felt a little clammy and a very specific part of his anatomy decided to wake up. He discreetly shifted in his seat to try to lessen the sudden pressure.

John needed to focus on something other than the mysteries of that tongue. Now.

"Glad you liked it." He motioned with the sandwich, "Now you just need to grow four more stomachs and you can be healthy too." With that said, he promptly ate another few bites of the huge reuben. When it was just over half gone, he motioned again to her wrap.

"If you and your sister decide you wanna eat some real food instead of that bland shit, let me know. You can join us for dinner sometime."

John wasn't expecting her to nudge him with her shoulder or scoot closer to him. If he had been, maybe he could have prepared himself for it. As it was, nothing could prepare him for the delicate scent of the rosette that was nearly cuddled up to him in the school's rooftop garden. The smell of her shampoo drifted towards his nose and a thrill went down his spine and straight to his groin.

To be as classy as possible: he went from half to full chub.

Vaguely the realization that Celi probably hadn't the slightest notion that they weren't supposed to be up there in the first place. But they were also alone and had the entire lunch period to themselves. If John wanted to, he could absolutely take advantage of the situation to get what he wanted. He was big enough, he was strong enough.

But he wasn't that much of an asshole.

Besides, it'd be much better for the both of them for her to come to him willingly. And he wasn't above bribing her with food.

"All I'm saying is that my mom's a great cook." John said with a grin of assurance, "Hell, I'm pretty good myself. Especially on the grill."

What was supposed to be a laugh came out as a half-laugh, half-snort.

"'Scuse you? I always look good." He joked.

But the way Celi was leaning her head on his shoulder made him want to wrap his arms around her and do all sorts of not-school-appropriate things to her. Oh, she was helping him, sure. Helping his crotch grow and stiffen more.

He needed to take his mind off her proximity and fast.

"But if you really wanna eat my meat, I'll be more than happy to fill you up." That was a terrible choice of words, "With food. For dinner, of course. And I can do other stuff too, breakfast fritters, pancakes, vegetables... you'd be surprised what can be made on a grill or griddle." That was a safer topic of conversation.

John's eyebrows shot up in surprise as Celi drifted off to sleep while leaning against his shoulder. He couldn't believe she'd fallen asleep after all of that. And what was more - this was only the second day they'd known each other! What kind of a life did she have before she and her sister came to the island?

Heaving a sigh, John finished his lunch relatively quickly while his 'problem' eased itself away without any assistance. Once he was done, he packed away his lunch bag and turned to look at her. For a few moments, he watched her sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

Unbelievable.

As gently as he could manage, he brushed her bangs out of her face. "Celi, wake up."

"First off, lunch is almost over." John began, letting her sleep-induced crankiness roll off of him, "Second, what are you doing falling asleep on someone you've only known for two days? You're lucky I was raised well enough that I wouldn't take advantage of a sleeping girl. Not all guys are like that. Not in general and not even on this island."

He kept his voice gentle, but still scolded her.

"Be more careful."

John frowned at hearing her explanation, considering how much shit she gave him. He supposed that it was warranted though, since he'd deliberately given her a hard time as well. All's fair in love and war, after all. Still...

"I've got half a mind to poke you in the boob to prove my point anyway, but I'll let it slide if you promise you'll actually be careful around others in the future." He gave her a meaningful look, "I'm not kidding either. I know I can be a jerk, but there are others that'll take advantage of you. And what's worse is they make themselves out to be upstanding residents here."

John's facial impression clearly said that he wasn't convinced, but he shrugged and decided to drop it. However, instead of answering her right away, he dug a small scrap of paper out of his pocket. Scribbling something onto it, he passed it over to Celi, revealing it to be his phone number.

"Here, take this." He pushed it into her hand, "If you do find yourself in trouble, give me a call and I'll take care of it."

His tone didn't leave room for argument, but he nodded towards the door. "I'm heading to phys ed next. If you have it too, I'll show you how to get to the gym."

"Alright then, follow me."

He waited until she was ready, then left the room with Celi in tow. As they walked through the school hallways, students and staff alike moved out of their way. It was clear that most of them wanted to make sure they didn't catch the hotheaded boy's ire. His pace was brisk, but he made sure that the rosette was able to keep up with him.

Once the two of them reached the gymnasium, John pointed towards a door labeled 'girls locker room'. "There you go, Celi. I'll see you inside."

The maroon blur of a dodgeball whizzing by at breakneck speed was just barely visible before one Buster Neally, dressed in a white tank, basketball shorts and sneakers, leaped nearly four feet straight upwards and catching the bottom of the net he'd been standing under. The projectile barely missed him, air whooshing between his shins as it hit the wall behind it with a resounding THWOK!

He dropped down to the gymnasium floor, grinning cheekily at John. "Haha, you missed," Buster teased, then added in a ridiculous tone, "bitch!"

John raced towards the bin full of dodgeballs for another and Buster took off, laughing like hell.

John was blindsided by Celi's choice of outfit for gym class, so he was caught off guard when a dodgeball thunked him upside the head. He paid it no mind, however, as no one in this class except Buster had the balls to do that. He'd deal with that fucker later, after his brain was done trying to process the heavenly image before him.

John let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"It should be against the law to look that good for gym class of all things." He muttered bluntly.