On the weekend, Antonio and I decided to work on the biology project that we'd been assigned. Although we'd been partnered together a while back, it had slipped my mind until he'd reminded me a few days ago during lunch. So here I was in front of his grand house, ringing the doorbell on the breezy Saturday afternoon. The door swung open a mere two seconds later.

"Flower," Antonio greeted me with a pleasant grin smothered across his face.

I briefly surveyed his lazy attire before my eyes rested on his face. His black eye, although slightly faded, was still very much present. I couldn't help but grimace, which did not go unnoticed. The smile left his face and he brusquely turned around.

"Come on in," he said in a different, more cold tone.

Anyone else would've overlooked it, but I could see the small shift in his behavior. As I stepped inside, I pried off my jacket and tentatively apologized.

"Sorry for staring," I sheepishly said.

We walked side by side through the front hallway. Meanwhile, he looked down at me and offered a coy grin.

"It's okay. Hard not to."

Unimpressed, I narrowed my hazel eyes. This only provoked a boisterous laugh from him.

"This way," he jerked his head to the right, amusement still plastered on his face.

As I followed Antonio's direction and turned right, I suddenly bumped into a strong chest that had me gasping and stumbling backwards.

I looked up at the person and was surprised to see a middle-aged man. He was undoubtedly Antonio's father—the resemblance was uncanny. The only obvious differences were his faint wrinkles and graying hair.

"Sorry," I apologized for bumping into the man.

He remained tight-lipped and peered at me with contempt. The suit he wore made him look all the more intimidating, and I found myself taking a step back.

"Father," Antonio droned in a surprisingly bitter tone. "What are you doing here?"

I was taken aback by his hostility and shuffled on my feet.

"It's my house," his father replied with a sneer. "In fact, how dare you bring one of your little prostitutes into my home?"

My eyes bulged once I realized he was talking about me. Well that escalated quickly.

"You know good and well she's not a prostitute," Antonio snarled through gritted teeth.

There was a cold stare-off between the father and son, although Antonio's father was slightly shorter, so he had to look up to meet Antonio's piercing eyes.

"Y-Yeah, Mr. Brown, I'm just here so Antonio and I can work on our biology project together," I carefully defended.

There was a moment's silence.

Mr. Brown curled his upper lip at me. "Might as well be a monkey and I still wouldn't notice the difference."

My stomach dropped at the racist insult. Antonio aggressively stepped in front of me... almost as if to shield me from his father.

"That's it!" Antonio barked, his jaw clenching. "You need to leave. Now."

"Alright," Mr. Brown innocently raised his arms, his briefcase swinging in his hand. His obsidian eyes flickered over Antonio's face—specifically on the bruise around his eye. Then, he smiled.

I rapidly blinked in disbelief. Before I knew it, the man was retreating. He slammed the front door so hard that the portraits nearly rattled.

I winced and swiveled around to face Antonio with incredulity. "That's your dad?"

Antonio was nearly shaking with anger, and I wondered if he'd even heard me.

"I'm so sorry, Flower," he earnestly apologized, refusing to look into my eyes. He seemed almost ashamed. "He had no right to—"

"Hey," I gently placed a hand on his broad shoulder, which seemed to snap him out of his rage-induced stupor. "You don't have to apologize for him. I'm okay, really."

His dark eyes carefully roamed over my face, as if to ensure I wasn't lying for his sake. "I would've never invited you over if I knew he'd be home, I swear. He's usually gone this time of day."

There was a silence in which I thoughtfully stared at Antonio. From the horrible argument I'd just witnessed, it was very clear to me that the father and son did not get along. Why did they seem to hate each other so much? And why did Mr. Brown look at Antonio's bruise so... smugly? What kind of father does that? He didn't even seem worried! Perhaps he—

"Jeez, Flower, your head is about to bust. Save the thinking for the project," he shook his head before leading me towards one of the many living rooms in the upscale house.

"How did you know I was thinking?" I asked curiously.

"When you're in deep thought, you twirl your curls," he said knowingly.

I froze and looked down at my hand. True to his words, I'd subconsciously been playing with my bouncy curls. Antonio chuckled as I sheepishly let go of my hair. However embarrassed I felt, I couldn't help but smile. How had he managed to notice a detail so small about me?

I never got to ask, because we promptly made our way to the couch and pulled out our work.

Antonio wasted no time in getting started. "Alright, you take care of the mitosis section, I'll do the meiosis, and we'll split up the structure and function of..."

While he continued talking, a small smile graced my lips. I hadn't expected him to actually do any of the work–he seemed like the type of guy who didn't care about school. Though, I should've known by now that Antonio was full of surprises.

• • •

"Okay," I leaned back on the couch with a relieved sigh. "I think we're done."

Antonio and I had spent the last few hours slaving over our project, and I was certain we'd pass with flying colors.

"Alright," he nodded, rolling his neck and tossing aside his schoolwork. "Good work."

I nodded and then began to stare at him for a bit. "You know, I'm a little surprised. I thought you'd make me do the entire project."

Antonio stared back at me. "Hm. Didn't think of that, but I'll keep it in mind for next time."

I rolled my eyes and nudged his shoulder while he chuckled.

"I just don't get it," I continued after a small moment. "You don't seem as smart as you really are."

"So I look dumb?" he raised his eyebrows.

"No," I shook my head. "But you're not exactly a teacher's pet. You skip class, smoke on school property, land yourself in detention... I could go on." He leaned his head back and remained silent, which I took as a signal to continue. "You just make it seem like you don't care, when in reality you're actually smart. I looked over your part of the project. You can't tell me that's the work of an idiot. I'll be surprised if we don't score an A plus."

Antonio finally sat up. "I couldn't care less about school. This shit just comes naturally to me," he shrugged.

I stared at him thoughtfully. "You're lucky."

He sharply looked away. "Not really."

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he turned back to face me. This time, a devious smile graced his lips.

"What now?" he suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

Antonio chuckled at my confusion. "Night's not over yet."

I looked at the grand clock on the wall. "It's 6:30."

"Exactly," he nodded as if I'd just proved his point. "Why don't we grab a bite to eat?"

I contemplated it for a bit. "Yeah," I shrugged.

Antonio haughtily smirked.

"Shut up, this doesn't mean I wanna hang out with you. I'm just hungry," I warned.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, the stupid smirk never leaving his face.

I huffed and stood up, following after him outside. We reached his motorcycle, and for once, I didn't put up any debate. I was actually coming to enjoy riding the death trap.

As always, Antonio placed the helmet on for me. His rough fingers brushed my cheeks and I gently shivered, peering up at him above my eyelashes. His dark eyes glinted as he scrutinized every detail of my face. It was so silent that I was afraid he could hear my pounding heart.

I broke the intense eye contact, which caused him to blink and slowly step backwards. Without further ado, he hopped onto the motorcycle. As I sat behind him, I was grateful his back was facing me. Otherwise, he'd able to see the horrendous blush that flooded my cheeks.

As the engine roared into life, I realized he hadn't quite told me where we were heading.

"Hey, where are we going?" I shouted so he could hear me.

"Nearest McDonald's," he shortly replied.

"Wait! I don't have any money," I gasped.

"So what? I'm paying anyways," he dismissed over the roaring wind.

I scrunched my freckled nose. "You don't have to pay for me."

Antonio didn't reply, and I couldn't tell if it was because he hadn't heard me, or because he refused to fight me on it. Knowing him, odds were pointing to the latter. Regardless, I sighed and gripped tighter onto his abdomen, allowing the wind to blow back my hair and tickle my cheeks.

• • •

"Mmm," my eyes rolled to the back of my head as I stuffed the last of my fries into my mouth.

I smiled contently, though suddenly froze at the awestruck look on Antonio's face.

"What?" I questioned, a little self-conscious. I'd just eaten like a slob in front of the most wanted boy in town, and while I didn't quite care to impress him, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"Nothing," he finally shook his head, looking amazed. "You eat a lot."

"What's wrong with that?" I asked almost defensively.

"Nothing, of course. I'm impressed," he chuckled from the opposite side of the table, leaning back in the booth.

"What can I say? I'm a growing girl."

"Yeah," he scoffed. "Growing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I raised a brow.

"Face it, Flower. You're a midget," he laughed, a dimple forming in his right cheek.

"I am not," I said in contempt. "My height is average!"

"You barely reach my knees," he lazily grinned.

"You're exaggerating," I rolled my eyes. "Besides, that's not a fair comparison. You're a giant."

"Or you're just really small," he countered.

As Antonio laughed, I scowled and looked out at the restaurant window beside me.

"Hey, it's getting dark," I said in realization. "We should probably leave soon."

A hint of disappointment flashed across his face, but it was so quick I wasn't sure I saw it. "Or why don't we go somewhere else?"

It almost seemed like he didn't want to go home. I couldn't exactly blame him, especially with the menace he had as a father. I mean, the man had called me a prostitute and monkey within the first few minutes we'd met.

"Where to?" I asked.

Antonio slyly got up and began to lead me out of the McDonald's restaurant.

"The spot," he said, holding open the door for me.

"What spot?" I asked in confusion.

"Y'know, that place I took you when we skipped detention. There's no forgetting it."

It immediately dawned on me and I smiled, remembering the majestic waterfall we'd fallen asleep in front of.

"I remember now. But are you sure this is the best time to go there? It's getting late," I squinted up at the dimming sky.

"All the best things happen after dark," he smirked before grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

I couldn't help but laugh and run along with him.

• • •