"I'm sure the inside of your asshole is fascinating, but please pull your thumb out of it and get to work, Nadia."

                Nadia looked up at me from her phone. "I am working, Gabriel. If I was sitting here with my thumb up my ass, I wouldn't have just gotten you those price comparisons you wanted."

                "I wanted them printed so I could submit them," I said.

                "Well, good thing you know where the printer is. I texted you the links," she said, and stretched her legs across the couch. "My work is done for the moment."

                I swatted at her legs. "Don't get lazy on me. We still have those fundraisers to review."

                Nadia sighed heavily. "I swear, the harder you work, the more this school takes advantage of you."

                "And the better it'll look when I put it on a college application," I said. I held my hand out to her and she took it, letting me haul her to her feet. "Besides, the senior class is thriving."

                "And yet, not a single thank you," Nadia said. "I know, I know. Don't give me that look. I'm just spitting out Leigh's lines since she's currently MIA."

                I checked the time. "It is almost class time. Let's break for now. I'll print that stuff later. And Leigh is not MIA. She had to go talk to a teacher this morning."

                "I got off the couch for this," she said, dropping right back onto it.

                I sat next to her, letting her rest her legs on my lap. "Sorry about all the extra work."

                "It can't be helped. This is a busy time of year, and we're understaffed," she said, despite the fact she knew very well it could've been helped if I hadn't been so stubborn.

                I leaned back against the couch, looking around the room. The student council for each class year got their own room to do their work, but the seniors got the best one. It was more of a mini lounge, and a lot of students ran for student council positions their senior year just to have access to it. It wasn't too big, but it did have two couches, some chairs, a mini fridge and microwave, a long desk, two computers, and a television.

                "Gabriel," Nadia said, turning to look at me. "I heard that suspension is going to get their schedules changed back. We need to talk about that. All of us. It would've been preferable to talk about it this morning. Kace and Leigh deserve to know."

                "Well, Leigh and Kace couldn't make a meeting this morning, so I suppose that's a dead idea," I said.

                "You're being an avoider," Nadia accused.

                "I am not being an avoider. I am simply choosing not to talk about this," I said. "Besides, what good will talking about it do? We talked about it plenty a while ago."

                "Gabriel-"

                I nudged her legs off my lap and stood up. I held her bag out to her. "Bell's about to ring."

                She took the bag from me, shaking her head. "You're going to have to deal with this."

                "There's nothing to deal with. I have class with a lot of people I never talk to. This will be just one more face to blend into the crowd," I said, grabbing my own bag.

                "You say that like you're not a weak bitch," Nadia said.

                "Hey, yea, can you just, like, not," I said.

                "Let's go, Gabriel. You better be a strong bitch until I see you in class," she said.

                "I'm always a strong bitch," I lied.

                "You're good at pretending to be a strong bitch," Nadia said, giving me a shove towards the door. The warning bell rang and she shoved me again. "Get going."

                "You are perfectly capable of opening doors too, you know," I said, pulling open and holding it for her.

                We left the room and started down the hallway together. I could feel my nerves trying to claw their way into my mind, but I forced myself to keep calm. I'd heard about the schedule change. An attempt to control two problem students who had switched their schedules earlier in the year. They'd be back in their original classes, hopefully keeping them away from the students and teachers they kept picking fights with.

                "I'll see you later," Nadia said as we reached her first period class. She put a hand on my arm. "Keep him another face in the crowd, Gabriel. Pretend he's not even there."

                We both knew that'd be easier said than done, but I mustered a confident smile to set her at ease and waved before heading off. I'd keep my composure outside, but I couldn't make any promises about my internal suffering.

                I entered my first period class and took my seat, casually scanning the room. No sign of our latest addition.

                Our teacher came in, talking with a student. She didn't look overly pleased as she picked up the attendance sheet on her desk, but she set it down and turned her attention back on the student.

                I checked the time, feeling annoyance flicker. The bell was about to ring. His first day back in this class, and he was already going to piss off our teacher.

                Sure enough, the bell rang and he wasn't here yet. Our teacher, Mrs. Newman, began checking off her attendance sheet as she looked around the room. Students were still talking with each other, the sleepy conversations that came out of the earliest class of the morning.

                Mrs. Newman looked over at the sound of loud footsteps. A boy appeared in the doorway, looking unconcerned that he was running late.

                Mrs. Newman narrowed her eyes a little. "Mr. Torres, I'll assume you forgot where the room was after being away for so long."

                Taliesin Torres quirked his lips into a small smirk. "Been a while. My GPS sent me to the science wing, can you believe it?" He shook his head dramatically. "Technology, I'm telling you. Can't rely on it worth a damn."

                "Then purchase a map, or set your GPS to take you to detention," she said. "Take that empty desk there."

                "What, didn't save my seat for me?" Taliesin said, dropping into the empty chair.

                "We thought we'd been freed of you," Mrs. Newman grumbled.

                "Well, you thought wrong." Taliesin spread his arms wide. "Here I am, in all my glory."

                Mrs. Newman ignored him. "Everyone, take out last night's homework. Mr. Torres, you'll be silent in class until we've got you on track with the other students."

                "Works for me," Taliesin said, leaning back in his chair and taking out a book to read.

                Mrs. Newman didn't even argue with that. Anything that kept Taliesin quiet was probably a blessing to her.

                We went over our homework and began the lesson for the day. Taliesin flipped through the pages of his book, content to read and not deal with the class. Kids kept sneaking glances at him, some of them whispering to their neighbors. I'm sure gossip of him getting switched back to his old classes had started spreading, but it clearly hadn't reached everyone.

                When class ended, I grabbed my stuff slowly, hoping Taliesin would leave. Surely he wanted to avoid me just as much as I wanted to avoid him.

                But when I looked up to see if Taliesin was gone yet, he was looking right at me. There was no guilt on his face or anything; he just watched me casually.

                I let my gaze slide past him to the door, praying someone would try to talk to me. As a kid I knew walked past me, I took my chance.

                "Hey, Natalie, did you start that history essay yet?" I asked, shoving the rest of my stuff in my bag and matching her pace.

                "Not yet. Those instructions were confusing. Did you decipher any of it?" she asked.

                "Mostly," I said as we walked past Taliesin. His eyes followed us, and I did my best to pretend I didn't notice his gaze. "I can send you my notes on it, if you want."

                "Yea, that'd be great!" she said as we entered the hallway. "I've got to get to class, though. Text me your notes when you get the chance. Thanks, Gabriel."

                I hurried down the hallway, too afraid to look behind me. I just had to hope none of my teachers planned to put Taliesin back in his old seat in class.

                "Hey Gabriel," my second period teacher, Mr. Geary, greeted as I entered his room. "Everything okay? You look a little flustered."

                "Oh, yea, everything's fine," I lied, forcing a smile.

                But Mr. Geary knew me well, and his eyebrows shot up a little. "Oh, today's the day Taliesin rejoins our class, isn't it? Don't worry; I've set him up a seat where I can keep an eye on him."

                "Right, he's back today," I said as if I hadn't just seen him. "Guess it's time to test your patience, huh?"

                "I think I can handle him," he said confidently.

                "You're going to need that confidence," I said, and left to take my seat. Taliesin used to be a teacher-favorite, but now most teachers just found him insufferable.

                I sat down, looking up as Nadia dropped her books on the desk next to me. She sat down and looked around the room, making a face.

                "He's going to be late, isn't he?" she said.

                "He was late to Mrs. Newman's class. She's thrilled that he's back," I said.

                "Aren't we all," Nadia grumbled.

                I didn't mention him looking at me to Nadia. She might claw his eyes out if she caught him doing it.

                The bell rang and Mr. Geary went over and shut the door. He did that whenever he knew a student was running late without an excuse. It drew attention to them when they entered the room.

                Sure enough, when the door opened a few short minutes later, everyone looked over at Taliesin. He didn't seem to mind all eyes on him, though. Or if he did, he played it off easily, strolling into the room with his head held high and his expression easy-going.

                "Taliesin, welcome back," Mr. Geary said. "I was hoping to welcome you back on time."

                "Were you? Didn't get the memo on that one, chief," Taliesin said, looking around the room. His eyes fell to the desk Nadia was sitting at, and she stared back at him with a carefully composed expression, no trace of warmth in it.

                "We did a little rearranging of seating when you left. You're over there now," Mr. Geary said, pointing to a seat in the front of the room, closest to Mr. Geary's own desk. "Have a seat and get comfortable."

                Taliesin sat down and I felt almost a little hopeful. If anyone could get Taliesin back in line, it was Mr. Geary. He was so good with all kinds of students, and he'd known Taliesin before everything happened.

                Mr. Geary passed out worksheets for us. "You can work with your partner on these."

                "Hey, Mr. Geary, you're gypping me," Taliesin said, gesturing to the empty space around his desk.

                "Oh, I'll be your partner. I'll be catching you up today," Mr. Geary said cheerfully. "That's why I sat you near my desk."

                Taliesin sighed but didn't argue. His teachers would have to catch him up, or shift him into their units. The teachers were supposed to be on a fairly similar schedule with their lessons, but there were always variations, so integrating Taliesin back into his old classes meant finding out where he was ahead and where he was behind.

                "Hey, focus," Nadia said, elbowing me in the ribs. "Don't even pay attention to him."

                "Face in the crowd," I said, turning my attention to the worksheets in front of us.

                We worked together through the period. I stole quick glances at where Taliesin was sitting. Mr. Geary sat at his desk with him, going over some worksheets and figuring out where Taliesin was in the curriculum.

                When the period neared its end, Mr. Geary got up and collected our worksheets. He set them on his desk and turned to face the class.

                "Alright, you all got those done, so no homework tonight," he said. "I'll see you all tomorrow, bright and early."

                The bell rang and we got up. I gathered my stuff, handing Nadia one of her books as she tried to put her things away. Once we had everything, we headed for the door.

                "His worksheets are getting a little harder. We'll probably have a pop quiz soon," she said.

                "Yea, we should be sure to study. He's trying to get us to memorize everything. I'd be surprised if we didn't have a pop quiz by the end of the week," I said.

                I turned my attention to look ahead of me and nearly ran right into Taliesin. Nadia caught my arm and pulled me to the side, not slowing her stride as she pulled me past him.

                Taliesin watched us go, his lips hinting at that trademark smirk of his. Nadia released my arm once I'd gotten my balance back.

                "Focus ahead of you," she said.

                I did as she said, swinging my gaze to the hallway before us, leaving Taliesin behind. Nadia nodded a little in approval.

                "Ignore him as just another face in the crowd, Gabriel," she said.

                "I know," I said.

                But it was hard to ignore my boyfriend as just another face in the crowd.

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A.N.- It's been a while, so here's a new story! I've been battling writer's block and a busy schedule, so try to have a little mercy on this story. And a big thanks to @demblimcdembro for the cover!

Hopefully you'll all enjoy this story!