Kiss Gone Wrong

18- Salvation.

GEMMA'S POV:

LATER ON MONDAY MORNING.

I was walking towards the last class of the day- Biology. I usually wouldn't attend if Bio was the last lecture, in fact I would be hanging out with Max and Logan right now. But today the teacher was discussing our term project and I didn't want to miss it. I walked into the room just a few seconds before our teacher.

"Good afternoon everyone. Today will be all about your term projects. This project counts for ten percent of your final score so I expect you to take it seriously. Your topics are in this bowl; once I assign you a partner, you are to come and pick your chits." She said. I nodded as I watched her empty chits into a plastic bowl. "This year we have decided to mix up your topics a little. Based on your curriculum, we have combined two topics, which will be the basis of your project. I am now calling out your names. Please come forward and pick your topics." The teacher said.

I anxiously tapped my finger on the desk as I watched people get called forward in pairs. Finally it was my turn. "Roberta Clarke with Jamie Wayne; Gemma Kyle with Matt Anderson; David Evans with Chris Paul..." I completely zoned out.

I mutely stepped forward and joined the line with Matt next to me. We stonily ignored each other till it was our turn to pick. He poked my shoulder. "Huh? What?" I looked around to see him staring at me expectantly. "I asked you if you would like to pick a chit." He repeated slowly. "Yeah. Yeah I'll do it." I said and plunged my hand to the bottom of the bowl, mixing up the chits with my finger. I picked one and brought it out.

Puberty and teenage psychology, the chit read. I sighed in relief. At least something was going right. This topic was easy. "That's a good one." Matt said as he read the chit over my shoulder. I jumped at the sudden sound of his voice, and started walking back to my desk. Matt slipped into the seat beside mine and grinned. "So, your Bailey's friend right?" I rolled my eyes. "Yes. I am." I forced a smile in his direction.

I brought out my text book and a notebook from my bag and set it in front of us. "Okay..." I started. "So I was thinking that I could collect all the information and do the formatting and stuff, and you could get us pictures and draw up diagrams. Or maybe you should just stick to printing pictures, I can do the diagrams at home..." I ranted till Matt interrupted me.

"Do you think I'm dumb or something? I can do more than just print pictures." He said. He seemed really offended. "Okay, so what would you like to do?" I asked slowly. "The project is psychological effects of puberty, right? So let me research the biology bit and print pictures. You can do the psychology half and draw diagrams. Then we can meet up and finalise the content in our project." Matt said.

I was impressed. He must've noticed because he snapped, "I'm not just a basketball player okay? There is other academic stuff that I'm good at. Give me a chance." He said and turned to face forward. I took the hint and backed off.

After a few minutes he turned to face me again. "How well do you know Bailey?" He asked me. "I've known her for almost ten years. So very well." I said. "Does she hate me?" He asked. I detected a hint of insecurity. "Kind of. Why are you so intent on troubling her?" I asked. I was in enemy territory anyway, I might as well scope it out. He was silent for a moment before saying, "I want to get to know her."

"Why now of all times? You've had ages to talk to her." I pushed. My curiosity was overpowering my unwillingness to socialise. "Let's just say I never noticed her till now." Matt said. "And you noticed her at the party...when she left you behind." I said. "Yeah. Girls usually run towards me, not in the opposite direction." Matt chuckled. I nodded and silence fell. I kept waiting for Matt to speak, but he never did. Finally I couldn't take it and spoke my mind.

"So in your effort to get to know Lee, you fight with her, almost get her into detention and then sneak into her room?" I asked. "I thought I could scare her out of her shell." He said. I groaned. "What?" Matt snapped. "You're doing it all wrong! Whoever said that you were good with girls must've been high!" I exclaimed. Matt shook his head and muttered, "And whoever said you're the non-judgemental one must've been lying."

I closed my eyes to calm down a little. "Look, I know that people say that if a boy teases you it means that he likes you and stuff, but you're taking this to the extreme. At this age you need to be patient and understanding if you want to get the girl." I said. "That's what Jonah keeps telling me." Matt said. I threw my hands up in the air. "Yes! Yes! Jonah's right!" I said.

The bell rang and the teacher left the room. Matt shouldered his bag and began to walk. I hurried after him. "Stop running away!" I said as I caught up to him. Matt looked down at me. "Jonah's waiting for me. And you're too short to keep up." Matt said and continued walking. I glared at his back and half jogged to keep up with him. We had almost reached the exit when Matt realised that I wasn't going away.

"Why are you still here?" He asked me. "Because I want to meet Jonah officially. I have a business proposal for him." I replied. "What?" Matt asked confusedly. I ignored him and walked out first. As expected, Jonah was waiting in his car. I knocked on the window, causing him to jump. I motioned for him to come out. By the time Jonah came out, Matt had joined us.

"What's going on?" Jonah asked. I stuck out my right hand. "Hi. I'm Gemma, maybe Lee mentioned me to you." I said. Realisation crawled onto Jonah's face. "Right. Yeah, of course Lee's told me about you. It's nice to finally meet you." Jonah smiled. I silently wondered how Amber had managed to turn down this gorgeous specimen.

"Okay, get this over with. She has a 'business deal' for you." Matt used air quotes at 'business deal. Jonah looked at me. "Okay. All I'm here to say is that if we work together, we can clear up this mess that Matt and Bailey have created. I'm offering to join you in teaching Matt how to befriend a normal girl." I said, grinning.

A/N: Hi everyone!! What did you think of this chapter? Do you want more of Gemma? The other characters? Because if yes, there's a lot of that coming your way. I've decided that this story will be told in multiple POV's.
Don't worry about getting confused. I will put in pictures/gifs of the characters and I will mention who's POV it is at the start.
Let's chat in the comment section! And don't forget to vote too. See you in Sunday with the next chapter! (Warning- the next chapter is going to be awesome)
Lots of love-D :)