I'm still pondering about this, hesitating to just put the packet in my locker and forget it, when I'm about to close my locker door, and someone closes it for me, making me jump in surprise.

I feel a silhouette towering over me. I'm rather short since I'm 5'3, so basically almost everyone is overhanging me, but this figure doesn't stand out by the height; it's the dark aura attracting the light and my eyes. I'm not really surprised to find Alex Carter because I don't know anyone else as impressive without even talking. Yet my breath still gets caught in my throat when I meet his tenebrous gaze, and it's probably because I would have never expected to see him standing by my locker that my heart has stopped for a second.

"Hi." He leans casually against the lockers.

"Hi," I reply quietly. A million questions and thoughts are rushing in my mind about the reason why he's here during the few seconds of awkward silence.

"I think this is yours."

I blink several times before my eyes can finally make out what are the black wires he's holding out my in front of me.

"Oh! My headphones! I didn't notice I hadn't them... Thank you."

"Maybe I could have kept them then..." A mischievous smile forms on his lips, and I can't decipher if he's joking or if he's serious.

"Er... Well, thank you... and t-thank you for Friday..." I stutter under his intense gaze, yet it's also these penetrating eyes that make me add quietly, "By the way..." I fumble nervously in my bag to take out the little packet of cookies, and I quickly hand it to him. "T-This is to thank you... I-I made them with my Mom."

I feel ridiculous as his eyebrows lift up, and I'm withdrawing my hand when he grabs the packet. "Um... Thanks." The smile he gives me doesn't make me regret offering him the cookies, and my cheeks obviously take a red tint, which deepens under his unsettling stare.

The bell rings, making me jump once again, and I take this as an opportunity to get away before my cheeks literally light up on fire.

"Er... I gotta go... in class," I say, before escaping as fast as possible.

As I arrive in front of the classroom, trying to calm my heartbeat, I'm startled once again.

"So... We saw you with Alex Carter at your locker..." Judy assails me with her eyes twinkling as I don't even have time to catch my breath.

"This is not what—"

"What we think?! Again?! Really?!" she asks, raising her eyebrows with a suspicious look.

I sigh. "He drove me home Friday, when it was pouring down, and I forgot my headphones in his luggage carrier, so he gave them back to me today,"

"You went on his motorbike?!" Lisa – whom I haven't even noticed the presence – pops up beside us with a shocked stare as Judy makes "ooh" sounds.

"Yeah, this is no big deal. He drove me home. That's it! Stop looking at me like I'm an alien!"

"No big deal?!" Judy gasps. "Alex Carter, THE bad boy drove you home!!" She insists on each word as if we were talking about something as incredible as an alien invasion.

"He was just being nice," I argue, shrugging it off like I've done with my Mom, even though I'm not used to this kind of nice gestures from anyone.

"And since when Alex Carter is being nice?!" Judy asks, and Lisa nods in agreement.

I don't get to reply because the teacher arrives and the class begins soon after, a class I don't have with Alex Carter, luckily.

***

The last class of the morning is Physics, and I'm one of the first seated, like always, a place in the middle. I'm already looking through my notebook, barely noticing the humming of the last students coming in, when I hear the metallic sound of a seat being pulled behind me – that is nothing really extraordinary at the beginning of a class, but what catches my attention is Lisa next to me looking like she has just seen a ghost. I give a quick glance behind and my eyes widen as I glimpse none other than... Alex Carter. I almost do a double-take, once again not expecting to see him here because the bad boys always sit in the back of the class. But I don't dwell on it; I immediately turn back to my notebook before he can catch me staring at him.

I stay with my eyes on my book and my mind lost in my thoughts until the teacher starts the roll call, and that's not my name being called out by the teacher that pulls me out of my thoughts, but the whisper of it near my ear. "Elena, the cookies are delicious. I almost ate them all."

Each word is tickling the skin of my neck nicely, and it takes me a few seconds to process them before I turn around to see Alex Carter leaning over his desk.

"You're a really good cook. I'm impressed!" He puckers his lips briefly before one of his devious smirks stretches them. "You're definitely full of surprises..."

"And you haven't seen everything..." I surprise myself with a confidence I haven't known I could have. It seems like those dark eyes are pulling those unusual reactions out of me before I can even think.

I look ahead as the lesson begins. Yet I still hear him clearly when he whispers, "I'd love to see..."

I bite my lip to prevent from the foolish smile threatening to form as Lisa is eyeing me weirdly, and I hide my burning cheeks behind my long hair.

I try to push Alex's few words replaying again and again to the back of my head and concentrate on the lesson for the next 50 minutes, but I don't really succeed, my senses vividly aware of Alex's presence behind and of eyes on me.

***

'Not bad', I'm fuming inside at this comment. 'Not bad', well, some people find my cookies 'delicious'; a warmth tickles my skin at the memories of earlier today. I'd rather give them to these people than to this ungrateful moron, Moose, sitting beside me right now. 'Not bad', he sounds like my Dad. Besides, Moose seems to really appreciate our 'not bad' cookies since he is already serving himself again as his mouth is still chewing on some crumbs. I lash out on my paper napkin, tearing it into little pieces as I stare between the soon-to-be-empty plate of pastries and the cookies disappearing into Moose's mouth. This night is really getting interminable.

I've known, right when I've come back home from school and have been met by the desolate look in my Mom's eyes, that something unpleasant has been coming. When I've seen the kitchen buzzing with pans, dishes, and food my Mom has made, I've immediately understood my plans for a relaxing evening have been screwed up. Indeed, my Dad has invited some friends that he's run into at work for dinner. So, even if it's a Monday night and there is school and work tomorrow, I have to endure this never-ending evening, something I really loathe because it hasn't been planned and I have to socialize with people I don't really like.

I know a lot of girls would be jealous of me right now: Moose is a football player; he is handsome, popular, and what's more top of his class. I might have fallen for his charms when I've been younger, but now, I know better, and his act only annoys me. He's the son of one of my Dad's friends. I've known him since we're little, and like every time we see each other at home – or at least where there is no one from school – he's all over me. Whereas, when we're at school, he doesn't acknowledge me; he doesn't even say 'hi' because I guess I'm not good enough for his popular friends. Yet right now, there are only our parents around the table, so he keeps smiling at me with his 'perfect son-in-law' smile.

Sure, he is handsome; he has a nice cute face and beautiful blue eyes, but they cannot be compared to a pair of warm and hypnotizing dark ones, attracting the light to mix with their darkness. Actually, everything about Alex Carter is intense and dark, yet I've seen some light too when he's smiled. In short, Moose would pale in comparison to Alex. Alex is impressive; he screams danger, and it's clear he can fight, but at the same time, I've felt safe with him as if he would protect you against anything with his strong arms. Moose has strong arms too, but he's not the kind to step out of line or stand to protect you; he follows the rules and goes with the crowd. I don't even know why I'm comparing the two of them, why I'm thinking of Alex Carter right now, and why my mind keeps wandering back to him. Now I'm not even listening to what Moose is saying. Though it's easy to guess; Moose only talks about what he loves, which means two things: sports and himself! So, I just nod and fake a smile. It's too late, and I'm too tired to focus on the conversation, although I'm pulled back in when I hear my name.

"And you, Elena, do you already have an idea of what you want to do next year?" Moose's Mom asks, setting down her cup on the table and looking at me.

"I—"

"She's gonna study to get a master's degree in engineering, but we don't know in which college yet," my Dad replies before I can say anything, so I just faintly nod and bite down on my lip.

My Mom gives me a sad smile and gentle look that tell more than words. She knows...

I just gaze down at my paper napkin, going back to fiddle with the last shreds of it.

***

I hide my yawn behind my hand during the roll call, missing some good hours of sleep because of last night. It's the last course of the afternoon: Physics, again. One of the many drawbacks to be in a scientific path, even if you don't like it... But I push it aside and try to summon some more energy for the next 60 minutes.

"Come in!" the teacher interrupts his declaiming of names as we hear knocks, and everyone turns around to look at the door.

"Sorry, I'm late." Alex Carter appears casually by the door, not even out of breath, proof that he surely hasn't rushed to get here, though I have trouble imagining something that could catch his breath.

"Alex Carter, late again! What a surprise!" our physics teacher remarks, raising an eyebrow.

Alex doesn't seem to be embarrassed at all, always unfazed, unreadable.

"Well, I should ask you to go get a late slip, but we won't waste more time." the teacher declares, seemingly in a good mood today. "And two days in a row attending my class, it's a miracle! What's happening to you?!" he asks, slightly widening his eyes.

It is true that Alex is often skipping class. He seems to choose which course and when he wants to attend. In the past week, he has been absent in almost half of the classes we've had together.

"Maybe I've found something interesting to make me come," Alex looks directly at me, with one of his famous smirks.

I lose my breath and quickly glance away, feeling all the blood burn my face. I don't dare to look back to make sure I've seen and heard right, instead I find interest back in my notebook, but the doubt keeps lingering inside.

"Go take a seat," the teacher says, not raising what he has just said.

"This project is gonna count as 75% of your mark this semester, and of course, count to get your diploma," the teacher explains halfway through the class, bringing out documents.

This is only the second week, but we can really feel the serious work starting and the diploma already foreshadowing on the horizon of this year.

"You'll work in pairs." Some people start to raise their hands to ask questions. "I finish, and then, you'll ask your questions. If I haven't already answered them," he adds, the raised hands lowering slowly. "You'll have to work outside school hours. You'll take an oral at the end, but you will also give me reports, which will be graded along the way." Faint huffs and whispers start being heard here and there, but they're shut down by the teacher walking through the aisles and handing out documents.

I take the document as he's passing by me, and I scan rapidly the simple page from which we will have to take directions to make out a full paper and one-hour long oral.

"Your partner and the topic will be imposed." The whispers and annoyed sighs resume, this time a little louder, and I myself let out a shaky breath.

I fiddle with my pen, thinking of the worst possibilities... I hope I won't be with someone who lets me do all the work, or someone who commands everything, or someone mean... My stomach knots, remembering too well past works in groups.

"As you can see on the paper, the topic will be a physics topic, of course." He smiles. "You'll have to develop it, but you have to link it with other disciplines too." He keeps explaining more things and makes us read the document.

"Okay, I won't make you wait any longer. I'll give you your partners and your topics," the teacher says, looking down at his notebook.

I wait anxiously to hear my name, my pen almost twisting under my hand, as the first pairs are called. I finally hear it.

"Elena and..." the teacher pauses, like he's thinking.

The few seconds seem like an eternity. Why does he have to hesitate on my name when all the other groups have been announced immediately? I bite my lip nervously rather than my poor pen, which hasn't done anything to deserve to suffer my nerves.

This project is big, and we will certainly spend a lot of time with our partners.

"... Alex."

My eyes go wide, and I swallow hard, trying to process this. At least, the suspense is over, yet not my nervousness; it's only getting worse.

"And your topic will be the Law of universal attraction."

I write down on my paper before I forget the topic, though I'm sure I will remember my partner!

The heat slowly creeps up more and more on my cheeks as all my thoughts are reeling too fast in my brain.

I don't know what to think, and that's why my brain is boiling. I don't know if it's a good news or a bad news. I'm divided... Alex Carter makes me feel weird; he unsettles me, making me confused, uneasy, and bewildered, yet safe, bold, and fearless at the same time. I don't recognize myself, but I kinda like it.

Besides, will he work with me or let me do all the work? Since he doesn't seem to take school seriously.

My doubts are increased when the guy in front of me turns around and tells me, "Good luck, I was paired with one of the 'bad boys' last year and I had to do all the work!" He uses air quotes on the words 'bad boys' and rolls his eyes.

I sigh and glance back at Alex. He is talking with his friends, balancing on the two back legs of his chair as he's leaning nonchalantly against the backrest. I can't see his face from here, yet I easily imagine his smirk and his unfazed yet unsettling dark gaze.

"Okay, for the five minutes remaining, you can start to work on the project," the teacher announces, gathering his papers.

Everyone starts to group in pairs, and I find it hard to move myself. I take a big breath and repeat to myself that this is just a school work in pair and that I can do this. Although works in groups are a big deal for a shy girl like me, and Alex Carter isn't any student; he can be very intimidating. I shake those thoughts away. I have no choice anyway. So I stand up and head towards him.

As if it wasn't enough of an ordeal for me, he's surrounded by three other guys forming a tall human wall as they're deep in conversation. I try to bypass them, but being quite short and definitely transparent, it's impossible. Therefore, I clutch my notebook against my chest before saying as loud as I can, "Er... Alex... So, how do we organize?"

They all stop talking and turn to me. I immediately regret not being invisible anymore because right now I'm as red as a traffic light, and I fear I might start flashing under their stares.

Alex dismisses them with just one look. They all disappear, and in two seconds, we're left alone at the back of the classroom.

"You can sit down, you know?" He raises an eyebrow, the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"Er...yes." I sit down and put my notebook on the desk, fiddling with my fingers once my hands are empty.

I freeze all my movements when he moves his chair closer. Slowly the heat burning my cheeks turns into a fire until the roots of my hair with his magnetic presence so close. My lungs recognize his hypnotizing perfume, and memories of our rainy ride flood my brain, making it hard to concentrate.

"Er... h-how do you want us to do?" I stutter, taking out the document.

"Like you want." His hoarse yet smooth voice makes me look up, which is a mistake because he's already staring at me with his penetrating gaze. I lose my words, getting lost in the mix of light and darkness of his eyes once again. There is an intensity in his eyes that I've never seen in anyone else, and it's almost dizzying if you look at them for too long, yet like a hypnotizing spiral, you can't look away.

It's the bell ringing that pulls me out of my trance as I jump once more.

"Er... I think we should start by doing researches at the library... Maybe we could go tomorrow morning... I think the whole class has free period from 10 to 11? If it's okay for you?" I ask, rushing my words and the papers I'm gathering.

"Perfect." He nods.

"Okay... so... see you tomorrow." I almost run to my seat to pick up my bag and finally breathe again.

While I grab my things, I take the opportunity to calm a little my nervousness. Though when I exit the room and he is passing the door at the same time, my phone still slips out from my fingers.

I'm about to curse my clumsiness or my nervousness, or maybe both, but Alex Carter picks up my precious black device before it falls on the floor.

He doesn't say anything, yet his wicked smirk is clear enough.

"Thanks." I give him a shy smile and quickly take it back. I avoid his penetrating gaze and just stare at my phone between my fingers where I can still feel this warm tickling from the brush of his skin.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Clumsy Cookie!" He waves at me with a big smile and heads to the opposite direction.

I can't help but smile and bit my lip. I think tomorrow is gonna be 'interesting'...

So what do you think of this physics project? ;) Attraction is everywhere!

And this nickname 'Miss Clumsy Cookie'? ;)

Plus, we've got introduced to a new character: Moose, your thoughts on him? ;)

I hope you like this story so far, please please let me know what you think in the comments, vote, add to your library...

I'm new here, so your help and feedbacks are more than welcome! :)