Faking It

Chapter 6: You're My Tutor?

I hated my uniform. Mostly because it made me feel like a little girl playing academic dress-up. The pants had fit horribly—too tight in the butt and too loose in the waist, the curse of thick-thighed soccer players everywhere—so I'd had to settle with the red tartan skirt. It wasn't awful, but skirts weren't exactly my thing. The knee socks were admittedly cute, though. And the navy blue blazer wasn't bad either, minus the fact it was itchy as heck. The striped red and gold tie, on the other hand, was a nightmare.

Any tips on ties? I desperately texted Jake from the locker room after practice. But he was probably already at work. Or sleeping in after another long night of coding. When he didn't reply, I did my best to imitate the other girls' knots, but they were all so used to it that they'd tied their own with a few deft twists, while all I ended up with was a tangled mess. Audra had already left, summoned away by JJ who needed help with something for the morning assembly, which left me with only YouTube as a guide.

If Emma's bark of a laugh when I sidled past her, towards Audra and Gyeong-Ja in the assembly hall, was any indication, I'd totally messed it up. But it was my first day, and I wasn't late. That alone was a win. With a sidelong look, Audra motioned for me to hand her my tie. She wrapped it around her own neck, expertly knotting it before handing it back, all while Mrs. Hawthorne—a severe, gray-haired woman with a perpetually sour expression—droned on at the front of the assembly. William and JJ stood just behind her, with the rest of the student council, and somehow, William was even more handsome in his school uniform. His grey slacks weren't as flattering as his jeans had been, but his tie had an impeccable knot—complete with perfect dimple—and his blazer fit as if it had been tailored. When it was his turn to speak, he was heartbreakingly charismatic, eliciting cheers and chuckles and never once droning on like the headmistress had. At the end of his speech, I cheered just as loud as the rest of the student body, despite Audra's glare.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of classes, most of which were a bajllion times more intense than I was used to. When I looked around, wondering if anyone else was as lost as me, my stomach sank. I was the only one floundering in confusion and not furiously typing notes on my laptop or tablet. History was even more brutal than I'd anticipated, and Mr. Harris called me aside right as the lunch bell rang to reiterate how important it would be for me to stick to my tutoring. As if I didn't already realize how deep in over my head I was.

Thankfully, Audra and Gyeong-Ja had saved me a seat at lunch, and the final soccer tryout, right after class, was a welcome outlet for all my pent-up anxiety. But I didn't have time to stick around afterwards and ask Audra if she thought I'd make starter. Not with the tutoring slip burning a hole in my bag.

I showered quickly and shoved my uniform back on, cobbling together some semblance of the half-Windsor knot Audra had tied earlier that I'd absent-mindedly yanked out while I'd changed. With both sports bag and backpack in tow, I bustled out of the locker room and nearly collided with someone coming down the hallway.

Theo Ellerby, tie loosened and blazer slung over his shoulder, sidestepped the flung-open door in a feat of grace.

"Are you trying to hit me?" he demanded.

"No. Sorry." I hitched my sports bag higher and checked my watch. "It won't happen again."

He lifted his eyebrows, clearly not believing me. His eyes fell to my neck before he strode away. "You should learn how to tie a tie."

I looked down at the pathetic knot. "Not all of us grew up at the yacht club, okay?"

He looked over his shoulder, studying me from head to toe. "Clearly."

"Jerk," I muttered again, as the door to the gym slammed shut behind him. I ground my teeth, wishing I could kick another soccer ball at him.

My watch buzzed. I cursed when I realized I was about to be late and took off at a run. I'd completely forgotten to add a location to my reminder and had no idea where this tutoring session was supposed to be taking place. Hurrying towards my best guess, the library, I dug through the papers the school receptionist had given me, holding some in my mouth as I ran. I hunted for the crumpled tutoring appointment slip, and finally found it wedged into the bottom corner of my bag.

"Ellie?"

I looked up, then barely caught the papers when they fluttered from my fallen-open mouth. William looked up at me, politely amused, from one of the library study tables arrayed beneath the massive skylight. His blazer was draped over the back of his chair and he'd rolled up his shirtsleeves, his impeccable tie knot still in place.

"Hi," I blurted.

"Hi," he replied, the edges of his eyes crinkling with his smile. "I think—"

"I really wish I could chat, but I'm already late," I interrupted, peering down at the appointment slip. "I have a tutoring session and if I don't show up, I'll be in big sh..."

I trailed off when I noticed the textbook on the table beside him.

"I know," William said, clearly amused. "And don't worry, I'll let your lateness pass. But just this once."

"You're my tutor?" I blurted again.

"Is that a problem?" His eyes danced.

I thunked down into the chair across from him, dropping my bag and mulling over the bajillion ways this was about to become a problem. A very real, very distracting problem. I'd already been unable to sit through a meal without my traitorous eyes seeking him out. Now, I'd have to sit here, week after week, and pretend to care about history when his face was enough of a distraction from all the way across the dining hall. My eyes fell to the meticulous, handwritten notes in front of him.

He'd already made notes. For me. Something swooped in the general vicinity of my stomach.

I was so doomed.

"Not at all," I said, my voice a little too high.

"Good." His smile seeped between my bones and curled around my heart like a hug. "I thought we'd start out by reviewing the course outline. It's pretty extensive, but you'll see..."

When he pushed the paper towards me and our fingers brushed, I couldn't hear anything but a buzzing in my ears. I blinked down at his neat, perfect handwriting, and a piece of my frizzy, barely-dried hair fell into my eyes. I shoved it away, along with the stomach-gnawing thought that I would've at least put on some mascara if I'd known my tutor was going to be William.

"Hey..." His hand landed on the paper, ripping me out of my thoughts. Concern creased his brows when I looked up at him. "I know this can be super intimidating, but I'm here for you, okay? We'll make sure you pass."

"Okay," I somehow managed, through the butterflies tumbling in my stomach at the sound of the word "we" on his lips.

I was so, so doomed.

**A/N: *pulls out binoculars* Is that a ship I see?! I'll have to let you decide, readers. After all, your reaction is the one I'm curious about since I already know how the story goes 😈

I have some even better news too - surprise chapter update coming TOMORROW! It's a small one, but it's almost the holidays so I won't make you wait a whole week for it! As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**