Jude had laid his down on his desk and scribbled notes as Mrs. Braxton lectured. His head wasn't really there today. He kept think about other things, like why date had been cruel enough to pair hin with his tormentor. Why did it have to be Fiori? Why couldn't it have been some nice boy who would have cared about him? But forever reason, every time he imagined some other person, his head always went back to Fiori. He couldn't stop thinking about him and ut was drivubg Jude insane.
Jude was confused on why Mrs. Braxton had asked hin to stay after class. He hadn't done anything wrong. He would have suspected she was worried about him if she hadn't called Fiori to stay behind as well. He packed up his things and neared the desk, trying ti stay as far away fron the other without beinf suspiscious.
Jude snorted once she had began to talk. Of course the other's grades were awful, he didn't care about them. However, his eyes went as wide as saucers when she mentioned he would be tutoring the other. "Wait what?
Fiori's eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth to protest right as Jude did. Mrs. Braxton stopped both of them with a serious look. "Boys, I know you're not the closest but Fiori needs the help." It was true. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to make sense of the material. All the stubbornness drained out of him and Mrs. Braxton turned to Jude. "Jude, you're my best student. I want all my students to unlock their true potential and I know that you can help Fiori improve."
Jude turned his head to Fiori and just glared at himnfor a very long minute. Then he turned vack to his teacher and sighed dramatically. "You're lucky you're my favorite teacher." He shooked his head and looked down before looking back at her. "Is that all? Because I need to go to class." He didn't want to be around Fiori any longer but his body was trying to pull him towards him. He was on very dangerous territory at the moment.
Mrs. Braxton laughed jovially, smiling at Jude. "That's all. I expect you to meet tonight." She turned to Fiori, who ducked his head sheepishly. "Don't think I didn't notice the way your eyes were glazing over when I started talking, young man. Now get out, both of you." She strolled over to her desk, ruffling through some papers like she hadn't just made their lives a hundred times more complicated.
Fiori gathered his things in a daze, not so subtly glancing over at Jude to try and gauge his reaction. "Um… my place or yours?"
Jude groaned and checked his phone as he started walking out of the class. If he hurried, he could make it to class on time. Though at this point in the day he didn't really care about that. He'd already missed half the day, he didn't really care much about his other classes.
Jude tensed as Fiori caught up to him. "Well, seeing as you already know where I live, since you wanted to egg my house, just come over to mine."
It wasn't so much wanting to egg Jude's house as wanting to keep his friends away from Jude's tires, but Firori doubted the distinction would be appreciated. Fiori watched Jude, carefully searching for any sign of a limp. Would it be rude to bring over painkillers as an apology present? "I will. What time?"
"I don't care. Show up whenever. Can I go to class now?" Jude asked just tiredly. He was just so tired, of everything. Maybe coming to school wasn't a good idea. He should have stayed home in the comforts of his bed.
Fiori nodded and, after pausing to make sure there was nobody around, leaned a little closer to Jude. "I'd find an excuse to leave class early. I think someone decided to beat you up after school." He pulled away as soon as the warning was given, giving Jude one last concerned once-over before he started walking to his next class. "Take care of yourself."
Jude couldn't stop the pounding in his heart, but it wasn't because he was afraid. No, it was something entirely different. Something that he wasn't ready to start feeling. His mouth opened but decided to close it. He stood in the middle of the hallway longer than he cared to admit. All in his next classes he couldn't stop thinking about Fiori. His body, his eyes, his smile. Why was he suddenly so caring towards Jude, and why did Jude like it so much? At the end of the day, he had managed to get one of his friends to drive him home. He walked quickly with his hoodie up so no one would stop him. When he got home, he fell face-first on to his bed and let out a loud groan.
Fiori had to work a shift at the quaint little cafe where he worked, but he managed to leave an hour early which meant he ended up on Jude's doorstep at 7:15 precisely. He'd decided to bring some cookies, the cheap 5 dollar kind because that was all he had the money for, along with the Advil. "Jude?" he called, knocking on the door. "I'm here."
While he had been waiting, Jude had changed into some plaid pajama pants and an oversized sweater that had belonged to his father. He was curled up on the couch watching netflix when he heard the knock on the door. He got up and unlocked it, letting him in. "Oh, look who showed up. I was really hoping you weren't going to come." That was a lie but Fiori didn't need to know that.
"Sorry to disappoint." Fiori followed him inside, pressing the painkillers into Jude's hands and setting the cookies down on the coffee table. He was trying his best to avoid thinking about the way Jude's sweater was starting to slip and expose his shoulder and how adorable he looked in oversized clothes and at this point, it was best not to think about Jude at all. "I brought my homework, how do I do it?"
Jude looked down at the Advil in his hand, then back at Fiori, then back at the medicine. He set it on the kitchen counter next to the cookies. He grabbed a cookie and bit into it. He sighed. "You can't just ask, 'How do I do it?' You have to be specific. What do you need help with?" Jude grabbed his backpack and set his book and notebook up at the kitchen table.
Fiori sat down next to him, staring resolutely down at his homework. He didn't know if Jude had always been this cute or if it was a new thing, but it was starting to be a problem. He was 18, for god's sake! He should be able to look at someone for more than three seconds without blushing! "Um… all of it."
Jude sighed in exasperation. He rubbed his forehead again and looked at Fiori. It should be a crime to look as adorable as he did when he was confused. And it should be a crime that he was even thinking these things. "That really doesn't help me at all. Let's start off at what you do know." Jude pulled out the same homework sheet, completed of course, and out of Fiori's view in case he decided to copy.
"Um…" What did he know. He understood the basics of what Mrs. Baxter taught but applying all the principles and theories to everything else made him want to smash his head through a wall. "I get what everything is, I just… I don't know how they all fit together." His eyebrows were furrowed together in thought as he tried to explain it, completely focused on doing what Jude had asked. It was almost childish.
"So this is going to be like teaching a four-year-old what multiplication is." Jude muttered to himself. He flipped through the textbook until he came across a previous chapter about simpler theories. He slid the book towards Fiori. "Read that. If it doesn't make sense I'll pull up some YouTube videos for you." He grabbed another cookie off the plate. He hadn't eaten dinner. Besides lunch, the cookies were all he'd eaten.
Fiori bristled slightly at the comment, skimming the chapter with an annoyed huff. "I know this. I just don't get how it applies. Like… in this one!" He pointed to one of the example problems with a frown. "Why do you use it here, wouldn't the other one work better?"
Jude groaned and slammed his head against the table. He pulled out his laptop and searching on YouTube. "No, it really wouldn't work better. You can use it but it's not going to give you the correct answer." He clicked on a YouTube video. "Let's start with this one. And we'll go from here." He placed the laptop in front of him. He took Fiori's homework to see what he had gotten done already.
He'd gotten about halfway through, but most of his answers were incorrect. He didn't seem to have a problem using the theory, he just couldn't seem to match the right theory to the right problem. Fiori watched the video with a small frown that deepened as the man explaining droned on and on. All this was doing was making him frustrated. "I know this! I just… I don't know why it applies. Can you explain that part of it to me?"
Jude grabbed his pencil and started erasing everything that was wrong. He grabbed his notebook and flipped through his notes then looked back at his paper. "Just shut up okay? I'm concentrating." He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as he read over the problems and Fiori's work. He used his notes for references and started scribbling on his homework. "Alright…" Jude started explaining why what the different theories were used for, concentrating on the paper in front of them. "Does that make any sense to you?" He asked finally looking up at him.
Fiori started listening with a dark scowl but by the time Jude was wrapping up, he seemed almost in awe. For this first time this year, he actually understood what he was supposed to be learning. It felt weirdly good, especially because he hadn't cared this much about school until Jude sat him down and actually took the time to explain things. Of course, he might just feel good from being around Jude. He smiled brightly for the first time all year, looking up at Jude with sparkly eyes. He looked fine when he scowled, but when he smiled his whole face lit up and he was absolutely gorgeous. "Yeah! I understand it!!"
Jude stared at him for a moment. His smile had him awestruck. Fiori should definitely smile more often. He looked beautiful. Jude snapped out of it when he realized he was staring too long. He cleared his throat and pushed the homework towards him. "Good. Do your homework then. If you need help I will be munching on cookies and finishing my RomCom."
Fiori was looking at him like he'd hung the moon, all starry-eyed and sappy, and he didn't really realize it until Jude brought up the work. He glued his eyes to the paper, cheeks flushed despite his darker skin, and berated himself for acting like a lovesick idiot. Still, the smile lingered on his face for a few more minutes, disappearing into a determined expression once he started working in earnest.
Jude got up, the chair scraping against the floor. He grabbed the cookies and jumped over the couch. He pressed play on his movie that he was watching. He started eating the cookie again, his eyes glued to the screen. But he couldn't concentrate on the movie that was playing. He just kept thinking about Fiori. He swallowed, his breath a little shaky. Why was he feeling so attracted to Fiori? He rubbed his chest.
