"You wouldn't be avoiding me, would you, Candy?"

She shot him an irritated look even as her face reddened. Those eyes of her seemed to take in everything and she seemed torn between being flustered and annoyed. "Of course not, there's no reason to avoid you. We've had the same classes since school started a month ago."

"How'd a girl like you end up in detention?" He knew it had to have something to do with Sera, and normally he wouldn't care one way or the other, but there was something odd about her. He was curious.

Her gaze, which had been darting around their small space in a clear effort to find an escape route, shot back to him and she frowned. "There was a misunderstanding. Mr. Patrick believes I threw food at his daughter. It's against school policy for students to fight."

So matter of fact; so precise. "You should stick up for yourself more." It wasn't in Coop's nature to give advice. More often than not, he considered anything that didn't directly affect him barely worth thinking about. Still, here was a girl being targeted by a jealous peer, and aside from yesterday's amusing outburst, she seemed determined to duck her head and wait for it to blow over. He leaned in closer and had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen and nostrils flair. "Trying to think of a way to run off again?"

***

Candice's heart was in her throat, and was it just her, or was the janitor's closet running a tad thin on oxygen? "We aren't permitted to run in the halls. It's against—"

"School policy." He smiled at her, a predatory smile, as though he might devour her at any second. Before she could decide how to escape, he was straightening up and taking a step back. "I'll see you around, Candy. Enjoy your lunch." Still flustered more than she'd ever been in her life, Candice watched him open the door and slip out, her eyes wide and confused. What was happening to this school?

***

"It's not like you to actually go to detention," Spence said later, walking with Coop toward the detention room. "I mean you get it all the time, but I've never seen you show." Despite the other boy's pension for gossip, and Coop's tendency to simply ignore almost every attempt at a conversation that Spence made, the two had been friends ever since their first week freshman year after Spence had broken Coop's nose when the latter had been found with the former's girlfriend underneath the bleachers. The girl had been long forgotten, the unlikely friendship had not.

"Wanted a change of pace," Coop replied. He didn't consider it necessary to mention Candy, Spence would immediately make it more than it was.

The two showed up to detention on time, another unusual occurrence, and Coop was more than a little pleased to see the shadow of unease in Candy's eyes. He'd love to see her temper flare again. Seeing the smirk on his face, her face went carefully blank and she ducked her head, turning her attention to the history book laid out in front of her.

"Hey Coop, that's that chick Matt was hanging around with yesterday morning...Chloe or Carly or something," Spence remarked, elbowing his friend in the side.

"Candy," Coop replied, his attention still centered on the flushed brunette at the back of the room.

"Mr. Daniels," Mrs. Taft said, looking at him with surprise. "You're here."

"Thought I'd change it up," he replied with a shrug, making his way to the seat beside Candy with a smirk. He watched her face color even as she struggled to pretend she hadn't noticed him.

Spence, pain that he was, took the seat on the other side of her and leaned towards her. "I'm Spence."

Candy's head shot up and those eyes shifted from one boy to the next, a small frown on her face as the color on her cheeks deepened. She cast Coop an uneasy, suspicious look before she turned her full attention back on his friend. "I'm Candice," she whispered before turning back to her book.

He waited for Mrs. Taft to go through attendance and make her typical detention speech, and then he waited some more, leaning back in his chair and staring at her. He got more than a little satisfaction, watching her back go rigid as she struggled to focus on the text in front of her.

"I've never seen you in detention before. What are you in for?"

Coop felt a prickle of irritation at Spence's whispered words. Couldn't he see that this was Coop's game? And hadn't he listened to Spence go on and on for at least half an hour just that morning about exactly how Candy had gotten detention?

Candy frowned and turned soft eyes towards Spence. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "I don't mean to be rude, but we aren't supposed to be speaking during detention."

Coop didn't miss the surprise and amusement in his friend's eyes. Spence met Coop's gaze with a raised brow as if to say, 'Who is this girl?'

After ten more minutes had passed and no page had been turned, he leaned toward her. "You look a little flushed, are you feeling okay?" Before she could move or reply, Coop's hand was pressed to her forehead. "You're burning up."

Her brows furrowed, her face flushed even more, if possible, and she frowned at him, casting an embarrassed look towards Spence. "No, I'm not. I'm—"

"Mrs. Taft, Candy has a fever."

Mrs. Taft looked up from her book and Candy's face was an impressive shade of red at this point. "You do look a bit ill. Are you feeling alright?"

"I—" Her eyes shot from one face to another, widening as the entire room turned to look at her. "I don't—"

He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the fear on her face, but used it to his advantage as he stood up and began packing up her things. "She should go see the nurse."

Mrs. Taft frowned, and although she shot Coop a distrustful look, there was a definite look of concern on her face. "The nurse has already left for the day...perhaps you could take her home."

"No!" Candy shot out of her seat, and Coop noticed the way her hands trembled as she struggled to pull her things from his grasp and hide from the rest of the room. "No really, I don't want—"

But he was already dragging her towards the front of the room, flashing his most innocent smile (something he hadn't much practice with) at Mrs. Taft as he went. "I'll get her straight home." And just like that, Spence was left to fend for himself.

"Feel better Ms. Fitz."

He'd barely gotten her around the corner, out of sight of the door before suddenly her heels dug in, "Stop!" He didn't even try to hide the satisfied smirk. Finally.

***

Candice had never been so angry and mortified in all her life. When he turned those damned eyes on her, so smug, so proud, she felt the most overwhelming urge to throttle him. "You're enjoying this!" she accused him, pointing at him with a shaky finger.

"Am I?" There was a smugness in his tone that set her teeth on edge and she narrowed her eyes, her face felt so hot, she knew it had to be the color of an overly ripe tomato.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" he shrugged, but he was watching her with a predatory glint in his eyes.

Her hands fisted and she barely suppressed a scream. "This has to be a nightmare. This can't be real." Deciding it was better for all parties involved, she stepped around him and made her way to the school's entrance.

"I told Mrs. Taft I'd give you a ride home. You're not going to make me a liar, are you?"

She shot him a heated look from over her shoulder, "You did that to yourself."

"So you're just going to wait for Matt to take you, huh? Sera will love that."

"I'm going to walk." When she heard his laugh, she whirled, thrown slightly when he was only a few inches away from her. "I didn't say anything−"

***

She hadn't seen it coming. The way her harmless eyes had gone from angry slits to wide-eyed shock was all the proof he needed. The moment she'd swung around, ready to let him have it, his arm had shot out and wrapped itself around her waist almost on its own accord and he was kissing her. Was he the first to try? By her lack of response, he suspected that was the case. Most of the girls he kissed would have thrown their arms around his neck and leaned in as their eyes fluttered closed, but not her. Those brown eyes stared at him, at first in surprise, and then in hesitant curiosity. Turning them just a little, he pushed her back into a row of lockers, leaning into it as he bit teasingly at her lower lip. Finally, her lips parted slightly, and one of those small hands she'd had fisted in anger just minutes before lifted to rest lightly on his hip. Her mouth moved inquisitively against his, and Coop felt an unfamiliar feeling of satisfaction that it was him and not someone else she was pressed up against for the first time. He ran his tongue along her top lip and had the pleasure of feeling her entire body jerk. He could've gone on kissing her all night, but as fast as it had started, it ended.

Much to his surprise, Candice's other hand slid up flat against his chest and she pushed him firmly away. He stepped back, his arm dropping from around her waist, and though this had felt somehow different from any other time he'd seduced a girl, his character smirk fell back into place even as those inquisitive eyes studied him, brows furrowed in puzzled confusion. "Please don't do that again."

For the first time since he could remember, his smirk faltered. "What?"

***

"Don't kiss me." Her voice wanted to shake and she wanted to avert her gaze, but if she did, she knew he would use that to his advantage, and she was already so far out of her comfort zone, what was a little more? "I'm not interested."

"Not interested?" The look of complete disbelief on his face was almost comical. It told her, plain as day, something she already knew; no one said they weren't interested in Cooper. "You kissed back."

"I didn't want to be rude," she replied in a slow, simple tone so that she didn't stutter at the lie.

"Rude?"

She didn't even try to conceal the sliver of irritation in her voice as she sidestepped out from between him and the lockers. "Are you going to repeat everything I say?"

When she moved past him and hurried towards the exit, her heart thumping madly in her chest, she heard him growl and tried not to wince. This was taking a great deal more nonchalance and confidence than she typically had for an entire year. "Thank you for offering a ride, but I already have one."

"Like hell." Before she'd made it even ten feet, his hand struck out and clamped around her wrist like iron and he spun her back around to face him, those stormy eyes glinting dangerously. "No one has ever dismissed me like that."

"Well," she shrugged, "there's a first time for everything."

***

He'd never felt so insulted by a girl in all his life. And an inexperienced one at that! Gently, she pulled her arm from his grasp, gave him one last apologetic smile, and made her way down the hall. At a complete loss, he just watched her go. Cooper Daniels did not chase after a girl, much less a spineless, quiet bookworm with the voice of a mouse.

Of course, that wasn't all she was, was it? After all, that spine had made quite the appearance once the right buttons had been pushed. She didn't like attention or confrontation, and up until the last few minutes, she'd been terrified of him. So what had changed? Coop made his way down the hall as he considered. By the time he'd gotten through the exit, Candy could be seen walking in the opposite direction of the football field. Though she glanced over at it with a small frown every so often, she made no move to turn in that direction. Even as his irritation ebbed and satisfaction took its place, however, someone called her name. He watched her come to a halt and look back over her shoulder at the football player jogging towards her. She frowned as Jay Thomas came to a stop in front of her.

Whatever Jay said, made her look past him, back towards the field he'd jogged over from, and shake her head, her frown deepening. He bent his head closer towards her as he gestured back in that direction more insistently. Coop could see her brows furrow from where he stood and felt something unfamiliar stir in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but he sure as hell didn't like it. When she shook her head again, that little chin of hers lifting as if in challenge, he made his way over. "Ready for that ride, babe?"

Both parties stiffened at his words and turned to him, Candy's face bright red in embarrassment, Jay's with a disapproving frown. "Candy," Jay said in a warning tone.

Candy shot Jay a sharp, equally disapproving look and her chin shot back up. "Go back to practice. I'm walking home." She turned away from them both and continued on her way without another backward glance.