Chapter Text
Lani had decided to take up peer tutoring after school at the advice of one of her counselors. She hesitated but decided that she had nothing better to do, so she signed up to be a tutor.
Once word got out she was a tutor, Lani was bombarded with appointment times and requests for her specifically.
She wasn’t exactly ready for everyone to sign up, especially since it required everyone to know ASL, but she did her best to help everyone as she could.
Except for ‘The Boys’ or at least that’s what everyone else called them. Lani just thought they were stuck up, rowdy, and unpleasant. Trent and Chris were both in her Bio 213 class. How she ended up stuck with both of them in her class, she didn’t know, but she did know she hated it. Usually, there was no problem until they started bothering her for ‘help.’ They made a point to sit right behind her, and it bothered her immensely.
She knew they just wanted easy answers without doing the work, but it never got too far. When they noticed she wasn’t acknowledging them, they left her alone. It was still annoying, but it was manageable. Unlike Bio class, Trent was the only one in her Gov 110 class. He made a point to constantly annoy her. Whether it was sitting right beside her, stealing her pencils, bumping into her on purpose, etc. Trent did it all.
He was the first to sign up for tutoring, and she immediately rejected it. When the tutoring started, Chris was the first one there. There was a designated table where Lani sat reading her favorite book. As he approached her table, he took time to look at her.
Lani was wearing a white tube top with a burnt orange shawl that was tied in the middle. She had on blue jeans and a brown belt with beads in front. There was a gold swirl pendant sitting just above her cleavage. Her hair was up in a loc bun, and she had cowrie shells dangling from the strands in her face. Lani had a golden sun as her belly button jewelry. It hung just over her pants. She looked downright ethereal. Lani's outfit
Chris cleared his throat as he sat down so as not to spook her. She looked up, smiling sheepishly, and handed him the sign-in sheet. Once he finished signing in, he opened up his bag, handing her the papers he was struggling with. She shook her head and pushed the papers away. ‘I’m not giving you the answers, I'm helping you.’ She signed.
He huffed and pulled the papers back. ‘I know, but I don’t understand any of this.’ Chris signed back, looking at Lani expectantly.
She rolled her eyes and beckoned him to scoot closer to her so she could actively explain what to do. He leaned over watching Lani, and she pointed to the paper and explained what it meant. He smiled as she lit up, talking about all types of chemical reactions and how they related to biology.
She seemed to really enjoy biology or science in general. In class, he could tell when their annoying antics really upset or annoyed her when she actually stopped paying attention. That’s when they backed up and willed themselves to leave her alone. Both Trent and Chris couldn’t explain why they bothered her; they just did. It never went far, but to them it was entertaining.
As Lani finished up her explanation, she turned to Chris, blushing as she realized he was already looking at her, smiling no less.
‘Do you understand now?’ She signed, hoping what she said made sense.
He nodded and looked down at his paper. She was delighted as she watched him scribble away on his papers. ‘Huh, he actually listened to me,’ she smiled to herself at that thought.
He was delightful to be around when he wasn't trying to distract her from class. Lani would consider herself a huge nerd. I mean, you don’t become one of the best by not being some type of nerd, but she wasn’t ready for the overwhelming response to her tutoring.
She was extremely glad it was going well, and she couldn’t imagine what would happen if Trent decided to show up. She shuddered slightly at the thought, but was quickly taken out of her head when Chris tapped her shoulder.
‘Hey, pretty, can you explain this to me?’ He signed.
She nodded, choosing to ignore the random compliment that definitely didn’t make her blush. As tutoring went on, it seemed he really started to understand what she was saying and was actually listening, which shocked her, but she brushed it off, assuming that he just wanted to get this over with. As the hour came to a close, she packed all of her stuff up, waving to him as they went in the opposite direction.
As Chris walked back home, they started to think about Lani. He didn’t notice it before, but she actually always looked really pretty. She was always wearing long dresses or colorful skirts. They saw her many times throughout the day just because of how she stood out. She was of moderate height, but her outfits always turned heads. There was always some type of aesthetic she was going for, and it fit her so well. Walking into their shared house, Chris sat down. Trent came from upstairs and looked at him funny.
“You okay there?” He questioned.
Chris smiled and nodded. “She’s so pretty and smart. I can’t believe I haven’t tried to talk to her more. She’s amazing, we gotta do something.”
Trent looked puzzled.
“Who are you talking about?”
“Lani. The girl from our Bio class. She’s gorgeous, and she’s smart. I went to tutoring, and she was there. Apparently, she’s tutoring until break. We gotta talk to her.”
“Ohhh, her. I have her in my Gov class. She let you come to tutoring?” He questioned.
When he tried to sign up, his appointment was canceled, but he never rescheduled. Now, he was starting to think she did that on purpose.
You always seemed so irritated with him specifically, but it didn’t matter to him. It was so fun to bother you and make sure you always knew he was there.
“Dude, we gotta have her. She’s amazing.” Chris spoke. His smile dropped. What’s so special about Lani? She’s just a quiet nerd, nothing more, nothing less, really.
“I went to her tutoring session today. You should’ve seen her, she looked so cute, and she’s hella smart too.” Chris beamed as he thought back to you explaining some random chemical reaction to them.
“Well, of course she’s smart, but I mean that's nothing special.” You never seemed particularly amazing to him when he bothered you in class, but maybe that’s because he doesn’t pay much attention to you, deeply anyway.
“Do you seriously like her? She’s just some girl, what could be so special about her anyway? I’ve never seen you actually like someone before.”
Trent's good mood had turned sour in a matter of minutes. Chris shrugged it off and continued to ramble, figuring Trent was upset about something else.
“Just try and talk to her tomorrow WITHOUT being annoying. Or ask her for help.” Chris suggested.
He nodded and decided to try to talk to you tomorrow.
-
It was the Friday before break, and Lani was ready to get it over with. She was extremely tired and needed a break. She had gotten a mysterious package in the mail that contained a green and gold necklace.
She was slightly confused but figured it was a gift from her parents, who were in Greece. They traveled often, sometimes too often, and usually brought back gifts to make up for it. She didn’t really mind their traveling, but being home alone all the time was lonely.
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she got ready for school. After 30 minutes, she finally decided on a multi-colored two-piece set. It had a strapless top and a long fitted skirt. She accessorized with a gold sun belt, a gold sun necklace, and small gold hoops. Her makeup was gold and red with hints of green eyeshadow in her inner corner. Checking herself in the mirror for the last time, she smiled, grabbed her bags, and got in her car. outfit
As usual, Lani arrived early, parked her car, and walked to the library. She spent 80% of her time in the library since they had a gazillion books. She waved and smiled at all of the admin as they walked in and out. As the first bell rang, she walked to her class, dodging stray elbows and bags as she pushed toward her class.
She was always the first one there and had become the teacher's designated assistant. She took a small pride in being a favorite, but honestly, who wouldn’t? Anyway, as the students piled into class, she settled in. Since today was the last day, there was honestly nothing to do except put in grades, which was her job. She filled in grades for each student, skipping over only one; she always did his last.
Trent was the bane of her existence, and she made sure to save his grade for last so she wouldn’t be tempted to lower it. He had surprisingly good grades for someone who never listened.
Speaking of the devil, Trent had walked in and immediately set his sights on Lani. She had headphones on, tuning out the world as usual. He rolled his eyes but smiled as he noticed she was distracted. ‘Maybe I should leave her alone today.’ He thought when he remembered what Chris mentioned. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding to leave you alone until he could figure out how to talk to you. After about 45 minutes of terrible brainstorming while texting Chris, he finally got the idea to just walk up to you and ask for your number.
Chris: real original
Trent: fuck off
He ignored the texts and got up, walking toward you. As he got closer, he got nervous. ‘What if she says no?’ He asked himself. He didn’t know why he felt weird asking for your number. He had gotten millions of girls' numbers before and never felt like this, but he brushed it off and focused on his mission.
‘Just walk up and ask Trent, it's not that hard.’ He tried shaking the feeling of nervousness, but it wouldn’t go away.
Putting in your final grade for this class, you handed your teacher back his computer, smiling at the ‘thank you’ he signed your direction. Getting up (and not paying attention to your surroundings), you bumped straight into Trent. It wasn’t hard enough to make you fall, but you did drop your phone.
He stifled a laugh, bending down to pick it up for you.
“Be careful, Lani, watch where you’re going.” He said mockingly, handing you back your phone.
You looked up at him and huffed, signing a small ‘thank you.’ As you moved to walk around him, he stepped in front of you, blocking your path. You rolled your eyes and looked up at him again.
‘What do you want, Trent?’ You signed, annoyed already.
“Awww cmon Lani, I gotta want something to talk to you?” He said, smiling as you rolled your eyes again.
Moving around him successfully this time, you walked back to your seat, planning to work on your final project. He followed you, smirking when he saw an empty seat right beside you. “You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet, Lani, you gonna do me like that already?” He asked, watching as you rolled your eyes but made no attempt to look at him.
Trent sighed, thinking he would just give up, but then he got an idea. He stood up and pretended to go back to his seat.
You huffed out a relieved breath and focused on your project. Little did you know, Trent had passed his seat and walked to the back of your row. Walking slowly up to your seat, he bent down, placing his hand on our shoulders, and spoke quietly in your ear.
“Cmon love, I just want one thing~”
You jumped slightly when you felt his hands touch your shoulders. Your brain barely registered the touch, but his words bounced around in your head over and over again.
‘Love, why would he call me that??’ you thought.
He cleared his throat, watching as you stared at your computer. ‘Did I go too far? Fuck, Chris is gonna kill me if I fuck this up. He started to panic as your expression remained unchanged. Bringing yourself out of your head, you turned to him, trying and failing to will away the blush on your face.
‘What do you want, Chris?’ You looked up at him expectantly.
He had a blush of his own watching you look up at him.
‘Cute,’ he thought.
Clearing his throat again, “Sorry if I spooked you, but uh, can I have your number?”
‘THE FUCK??’ Your brain shifted into overdrive as you tried to think of why Trent of all people wanted your number. ‘Uhm, why do you need my number?’ You signed back to him. ‘Shit, I didn't really think that far,’ he panicked internally while you tried to calm down.
“Just because I want to talk to you. I’m your favorite here, right?” His voice sounded unsure and high, and he was sweating.
You looked at him as you registered what he said. ‘My favorite? Don’t flatter yourself, and no, you cannot have my number. Absolutely not.’ You stared at him in disbelief that he even would say that.
Trent walked away without saying a word. Lani felt angered that he would even dare to ask her anything after being a thorn in her side since this class first started. He sat down in disbelief. ‘She literally told me no. I can’t believe she told me no. WTF.’
Trent: dude she told me no
Chris: really??
Chris: well damn, what did you do?
Trent: I didn’t do anything she just doesnt like me
Chris: no surprise there I guess - Trent
Trent snorted at the message. She did have a reason, but still.
Chris: well what else can we try?
Trent: uhm, maybe we could try to go to tutoring?
Chris: good idea
-
Lani went about the rest of her day as usual. She shook off the anger she felt and decided she was going to have a good last day, as good as school would get anyway. Lani liked school, but not really. She liked learning but truly hated school. It was full of loud noises, bright lights, and uncomfortable chairs. At least she got to choose her own schedule and head back to her home whenever she wanted. College had its perks.
She didn’t think anyone would come because it was the last day before break, but she didn’t have anywhere to go except home, and being lonely in a big house was not on her itinerary right now. Sitting at one of the many empty tables, Lani pulled out the sign-up sheet and placed it on the table.
Deciding to just read for an hour or until she decided to leave, Lani popped her headphones in, pulled out her favorite book, and allowed herself to disconnect from reality. Which lasted for 10 minutes before she felt someone gently kick the table. Stopping her music, she looked up, ready to kick the person back, before she stopped dead in her tracks. The hard glare she had on her face morphed into a look of shock.
Trent and Chris stood opposite her, smiling.
‘Sorry to disturb you, pretty, but can you help us with some work?’ Chris signed.
She nodded her head slightly, still in disbelief that both of them even showed up. She smiled at Chris, remembering how kind he was last time she helped him out. Trent smiled at her, hoping she wasn’t still mad at him, but judging by the glare she threw his way, she definitely was. He actually felt bad for making her mad, but he couldn’t be too surprised. He was always bugging her just for the fun of it. Of course, she didn’t like him. Chris signed the sheet and pulled out his Chemistry papers. Trent and Chris sat on each side of Lani. Watching as Lani rapidly signed the definition for a specific biology concept. ‘Huh, he was right. She is really pretty’ he thought. She lit up when talking about biology, and he smiled at how excited she seemed to get. Her smile was radiating and he felt drawn to it.
Chris tapped him slightly, pulling him straight out of his head and pointing at Lani.
‘Do you need help with that too, or..?’
She was confused about why he was even there. She was still slightly mad at him, but the way he was staring at her made her second-guess that.
“Yeah, love, can you help me with this? I got the general gist of this, but I’m kinda confused.” There it was again, that word. ‘Love,’ she didn’t know why he kept calling her that. She tried to ignore it, but it flustered her each time.
He smiled as she beckoned him closer to her. ‘What do you not understand about this?’ She signed.
Chris watched as they interacted. They seemed to act fine around each other, and she even laughed at some of his jokes. He wondered why Lani said no to Trent, but he figured he would try to ask before they left. With 15 minutes left, the boys finished up their assignments, and everyone packed up.
Lani turned in the sign-up sheet and grabbed her bag, heading to her car.
“Wait, Lani, can we talk to you really quick?” Chris spoke hesitantly.
She nodded her head slowly and walked back to the table, placing her things on the floor and looking at them.
She never took a step back to appreciate how they looked. They all had piercings, which made them even more attractive. It was what they were wearing that made her blush.
Chris was wearing brown cargo pants and a semi-fitted dark grey sweater. He was wearing a lot of silver jewelry, and his hair was put up in a messy bun with one piece in the front. Chris's outfit
Trent was wearing a brown shirt with white sleeves, green cargo pants, and beat-up brown boots. He had a silver chain hanging from his pants and was wearing some silver rings. He had loc shells all throughout his hair, which made his long locs long even better. Trent's outfit
They both looked really good, her exact type. Lani blushed as she watched them look at each other and back at her and smile awkwardly.
‘What do you need, boys? I thought you finished your work?’ You signed to them, slightly confused.
“Well, we did, but we wanted to talk to you about something else? Is that okay?” Trent asked. You nodded, and they nudged each other to speak. You crossed your arms and looked at them.
They were acting really weird, and it was kinda freaking you out. Chris sighed and sat down next to you.
‘We like you, and we’ve been wanting to speak to you outside of tutoring. We tried to get Trent to talk to you, but that didn’t really work out. We want to get to know you.”
You looked at him as he finally explained their intentions. You didn’t really know what to say; it felt impossible to process that they wanted to “get to know you.” A few seconds of silence later, you had finally come up with something to say, ‘both of you?’ you signed as you looked up at Chris and Trent. They nodded and smiled.
Your face was unreadable, and they assumed they fucked up. Chris looked at you before looking at Trent and dropping his shoulders. He moved to stand up, but you stopped him. He looked down at you and tilted his head.
Holding your hand out, you watched as they excitedly placed their phones in your hand. You chuckled before handing them back. ‘How can I get into your phones if they aren’t open?’ you signed. They huffed, unlocked their phones, and gave them back to you. You typed your number into each one of their phones and gave them back. Picking up your bag and turning to leave, you paused, and you felt something on your cheek. Chris had kissed you. You forgot he was even sitting next to you. Turning to him, he smiled sheepishly and grabbed his bag. You watched as Trent walked to your left side.
“Can I love?” he said.
You nodded slightly and closed your eyes as you felt him kiss your cheek. He stepped back and waved you goodbye as they walked out. You sat there for 5 minutes in disbelief as the semi-wet spots on your cheek dried. After 5 minutes of contemplation, you giggled to yourself as you walked out the door.