16I am back. With yet another cliché. Bet noooooobody expected this. MWAHAHAHA.
Quinn Maylene Jackson could only be described with one word.
Captivating.
Or at least, that's what most of Huntington High thought.
Quinn just seemed to exert a natural beauty that made heads turn wherever she went, that made others want to get to know her. She was kind, helpful, and never judged a person by their first impression. Her smile was bright, her laugh was often compared to the sound of wind chimes, and well, her figure was something to brag about.
Not that she did, of course.
She was also single, for some reason. For the past two years, I should also add.
No one knew why. Her girlfriends often asked her "Why won't you go out with anyone? There's plenty of fish for you to pick from, you know. What's up?"
Quinn would always grin slyly and wink. "I'm looking for the perfect one."
Only her closest friend knew. Quinn was simply waiting for one man in particular, the one man who had yet to make a move toward her. Oh, he was interested and she knew that very well. He was just being a coward about it, much to her irritation.
"Why won't he ask me out?" she would whine to Rena. "What's taking him so long?"
Rena would say not a word, opting to shrug instead.
And so, Quinn would groan and stare at her love interest, determination running through her blue eyes.
"Mr. Montgomery, you're mine. The sooner you figure it out, the sooner we can get married and have thirty children."
"Quinn, you're drooling again."
I quickly wiped my mouth, and discovered that yes, I really had been drooling. Again. I grinned sheepishly. "Oops."
Rena rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You need to get a hobby. One that doesn't involve staring at Tax Montgomery twenty four/seven."
I grinned. "But it's so much fun. Best part is that he's always looking over at me too. His blush when our eyes meet is so adorable! But then he always turns away. Also, why does he always sit with his back facing me?"
Rena took another bite of her salad. "Probably because he's trying to refrain from looking over all the time. You know he's—are you even paying attention?"
I was not, for Tax had turned around to peek at me once more. I caught his eye, giving him a flirty wave and showing off my best Quinn-Jackson-smile. The boy flinched before swiftly swiveling in his seat.
My eye twitched. This was hopeless. He needed to pay more attention to me. What was it going to take to capture him?
"Oi. Listen to me!"
Rena's voice finally registered and I smile apologetically at her. "Sorry, Rena. I was... occupied."
Rena smirked. "I could tell. I came up with a way to get you guys together. I'm surprised you haven't thought of this already. The answer is simple."
"Really?!" My entire focus was on my best friend. "What is it, what is it?"
"Welcome to the modern age, Quinn," she said. "The age where Prince Charming exists, but is hard to reach. You want him, then you'll have to work for him."
My eye gleamed. "Meaning..."
"Make the first move. Keep making the first move. Maybe he'll finally get a hint."
I clapped my hands excitedly. "Rena, you're a genius." A sudden thought came to me. "Hey, we're getting those partner projects in Myer's class today, right?"
"Yeah, we are. Why?"
I grinned evilly. "I have an idea."
Tax Montgomery sneakily eyed the girl, watching as she sat down at her lunch table and pulled out a sandwich. Her friend—Rena, he believed was her name—sat across her, but didn't block his view of the girl he wanted.
"You're being creepy again."
Tax blinked as he faced Liam. "Excuse me?"
Liam sighed. "Come on, man. Give it up. You stare at her all the time, but you know nothing is ever gonna happen between you two."
"He's right," said Jared, munching into his burrito. "Jackson's out of your league. Big time."
Tax frowned. "Thanks for the support, guys. Really appreciate it."
Jared grinned. "Anytime, buddy."
"Tax, think about it this way," suggested Mark. "Even if you guys did get together, how long do you think you'll last? We're in our own separate world, away from that of Quinn's. Do you really think someone like her is going to be able to keep up with you and your shenanigans?"
Tax raised a brow. "Since when did you use words like shenanigans?"
"Since twenty seconds ago."
Tax wiped a hand over his face. "Look, I get what you're all trying to say, but I just can't seem to stop liking her." His gaze turned back to the blonde, despite is attempts to look away.
"You know, you never did tell us how you came to like Queen Quinn," quipped Danny, waving his fork at Tax. "Wanna share?"
Tax said nothing as he continued to watch Quinn talk animatedly to Rena, a smile growing on his face. Finally, he turned back to Danny.
"She's all sorts of beautiful."
It was during the last ten minutes of class when Quinn's plan would be put to motion.
"Alright, listen up, folks," said Mr. Myers. "This'll be your first major project assignment for the year."
Cue groans.
"And I expect you all to do your utmost best."
Cue more groans.
"Oh, just go find yourself a partner. Check in with me and I'll assign which country you'll be researching."
Jared and Tax had already discussed and decided that they were going to pair up together the previous day, but little did they know that it was all going to change.
Quinn shoved Rena in their direction. "Go."
Rena glared at her friend. "Alright already. I'm going, I'm going."
And so, Rena made her way to the two boys, who were idly conversing in the corner instead of going to Myers as he had instructed.
She smiled brightly when her eyes made contact with Jared's. "Hey, Reynolds. Wanna join me for the project?"
Jared blinked. "Uhh... But I was going to—"
"Perfect-o!" Rena squealed. She grabbed him by the arm. "Let's go find out what country we're getting."
Jared's eyes widened as he was dragged by the girl to where Myers was sitting at his desk. 'Help meeeeeeee' he mouthed to Tax.
Tax was just about to stand up to assist his friend when a melodic voice stopped him.
"Well, what do you know? Rena's abandoned me."
Tax's mouth dropped, his head slowly turning to his side. And there stood Quinn, a knowing smile on her features.
She stuck out a hand. "My name's Quinn," she said. "Quinn Jackson."
Tax shook her hand hesitantly. "T-Tax Montgomery. Pleasure to meet you."
Quinn's lips quirked upwards. "Oh, believe me. The pleasure is all mine."
Tax didn't know how to respond.
"So how about it then? Wanna be mine?"
Tax's eyes widened. "What?"
Quinn secretly laughed at her choice of words. "I meant do you want to be my partner? For the project?" She gestured toward where Rena was sitting with a reluctant Jared. "After all, our best friends have decided to desert us. It's only natural that we pair up, no?"
"Uhh..."
Quinn beamed. "Wonderful. Let's go get our assignment, shall we?"
"Uhh..."
I've always wanted to do the whole 'work-on-a-project-together' cliché. ALWAYS. And now I shall. XD