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It had all started the day after their public disagreement in history class which had led to them making their “arrangement that wasn’t yet a relationship” exclusive. They still didn’t use labels but Devi had agreed to be exclusive to soothe Ben’s jealousy.
Mr. Shapiro took them aside before class that particular morning.
“Your arguments have to stop,” Mr. Shapiro said and sounded unusually stern “I had my issues with your arguments in my class before but now that they’re turning into arguments regarding your private life, I need to intervene. I hope you understand,” he said and both teenagers lowered their eyes in shame for a second before nodding “From now on you aren’t allowed to have any kind of discussion with each other in my class.”
“Excuse me?” Devi said at the same time as Ben said “You can’t be serious,” a little too loudly.
“I’m dead serious,” Mr. Shapiro shrugged “Your disagreements are severely disrupting to my class and I will never know if you’re still arguing about the current topic or if you two drifted off into private disagreements without me realizing,” he clarified and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Before either Devi or Ben got the chance to argue, the bell rang and Mr. Shapiro gestured them to be quiet and take a seat.
Devi couldn’t help but throw curious glances at Ben throughout their lesson that day. Ben seemed to adjust a lot better to Mr. Shapiro’s new rule. She saw him bite his tongue every time Mr. Shapiro called on her but Ben quickly started scribbling something on a piece of paper in front of him instead of speaking up every time it happened. Devi needed to know what the hell he wrote on that paper. So she did the only logical thing and pulled out her own piece of paper to write him a note.
What the hell is written on that paper in front of you?! You write some shit down every time I start talking.
She folded the paper and tried giving it to Ben. Devi was sure she wasn’t subtle at all because she simply wasn’t used to middle school note passing but it reached Ben without Mr. Shapiro noticing nonetheless. She watched him read her note and his mouth suddenly morphed into a big smile as he scribbled another sentence on his own piece of paper in front of him and started folding it. Ben wasn’t subtle while passing his note either. She knew he wouldn’t be due to the fact that he was a much bigger teacher’s pet than she was. His note reached her too though.
I can’t believe Devi didn’t mention that German concentration camps were initially created to hold the Nazi’s political opponents such as Communists or Social Democrats prison.
The laws that caused Jewish people to be excluded from public life in 1935 were called the Nuremberg Laws. She didn’t mention that either.
Oh damn, did she just compare the German Gestapo being placed above the law with the American police today?
It’s just me trying to deal with the fact that I can’t correct you because you’re a ticking time bomb and Mr. Shapiro will send us both to the principal's office if we argue.
Devi’s jaw dropped as she read what was written on the note in front of her and she immediately grabbed her pen to respond.
Of course, you know more about the Holocaust. You are Jewish and therefore should know more than me. You also must know I’m lowkey right about the American police. Just google American Gestapo, Dickhead.
Devi watched as Ben read the note and went from shaking his head in disbelieve to furiously grabbing his pen to probably scribble yet another note. She couldn’t be too sure but she may have even seen a tiny smile as Ben started folding the note.
David. David. David. I can’t believe you try to excuse your lack of knowledge with the fact that I’m Jewish. That’s not just damn close to offensive but also really lazy. Do you want to hang out at my place after school? We can research the Gestapo thing together.
Devi wasn’t sure what she felt while reading this particular note. Ben calling her lazy and “damn near offensive” certainly stung but also made sure to prove Ben’s point. His words wouldn’t have affected her as much if they weren’t true to some extent. She also realized how weird their dynamic was nowadays as she read him basically asking her to research how racist and fascist the American Police is but her heart skipped a beat at the thought of hanging out with him no matter what the plans were.
Look out, Gross, or you might have to say goodbye to your republican bullshit sooner rather than later. How can you even be Jewish and a republican? That doesn’t go well together, right? Did you hurt yourself in confusion like a Pokemon?
Devi just now realized how little thought she had given Ben’s political views before sticking her tongue in his mouth. Maybe even more importantly, how little his political views showed when he spent time with her. Devi got so lost in her thoughts about it that she didn’t even realize when the next note landed on her desk which led to Ben clearing his throat rather loudly to redirect her attention to the piece of paper in front of her.
N O T
A
R E P U B L I C A N
anymore
Even my parents aren’t republicans anymore but they also refuse to vote so they are just a different kind of idiots and them having used their brains for once in their life was for nothing. Do you want to do the “Young Republicans” extracurricular instead, David? Feel free. I would definitely trade.
Just as Devi tried to write a note back, the bell rang and Ben stood in front of her desk, demanding her immediate attention, “I can’t believe you thought you made out with a republican and were cool with it. I expected you to be more woke, David.”
Devi sighed before answering “Me too, Gross. I expected more from myself too but to be fair you never really acted like a republican,” Devi watched proud grin appear on Ben’s face “Except maybe bragging about your money and calling me and my friends UN.”
“I already explained and apologized for the UN thing and me bragging about my money isn’t necessarily a give away for my political views,” he said and crossed his arms in front of his chest “Or is it alright to stereotype people now?” his brow shot up.
Devi knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her and therefore didn’t even dignify that with a response. She instead said “By the way, I am taking you up on the suggestion of researching together at your house. We need to educate you as soon as possible. I can’t have your tongue in my mouth knowing you support the Police.”
“Again, I never said that. What’s it with you and stereotypes today?” Ben whined as he and Devi left their history classroom.
The rest of their history classes that week followed pretty much the same recipe. They always started by adding to or criticizing each other's contributions to class and somehow their note discussions always ended with a completely different topic than they had started with.
Ben was the one who took Devi by surprise with one of his notes the following week. Or rather the end of one of his notes.
Did you know that in 1940 the Madagascar Plan was presented which suggested deporting Jewish people to Madagascar? I bet you didn’t.
Also, you forgot to mention that Great Britain and France were the first to declare war on Nazi Germany.
But other than that your facts were surprisingly accurate. You also look really pretty today.
Devi stared at the last sentence of the note. Her heart skipped every time she read it. When she finally looked up from the note in front of her, she couldn’t help but let her eyes wander to the boy who wrote it. The boy in question had his eyes fixated on her as he looked over his shoulder with an uncertain smile on his face. Devi met his eyes for a second to smile at him before she started working on her own note.
Great Britain and France being the first to declare war on Nazi Germany wasn’t relevant to the question Mr. Shapiro asked, Smartass. Neither is your Madagascar Plan fact by the way. If you can’t find anything to criticize just stop trying. It’s pathetic.
I can’t believe we’ve been making out with each other for a week now and this is the first time you complimented me and of course it made my dumb heart skip.
Also, stop staring at me with your stupid pretty blue eyes.
Ben threw Devi another smile after reading her note. It was a confident one this time. Him smiling at her still didn’t last too long though, as he began writing a note back immediately after.
Every piece of information is relevant to a question if you try hard enough. Just say you feel threatened by my brain and leave.
Do I need to remind you that we barely make out? It’s weird because we haven’t even officially labeled our relationship yet but are still grossly domestic. We fell asleep cuddling a lot more times than we made out with each other. Also, you have no idea how nerve-wracking it is to compliment you. I spent the last few years holding back every compliment I wanted to give you and instead tried to hide the fact that I like you behind roasts and dumb insults.
That interaction set off a new tone in their notes. Almost every note suddenly ended with a little compliment thrown in the mix but that wasn’t all. Devi caught herself suddenly wanting to compliment Ben a lot more than before. She suddenly found new things she liked about him around every corner. Something kept her from actually complimenting him without pens being involved though. At least until the end of that week.
“I like your arms,” Devi said as she and Ben made their way from the History classroom to the cafeteria. Ben stopped dead in his tracks which made Devi bump into him. Slowly he turned around to face her.
“Was that a compliment? Did you just actually compliment me out loud?” Ben asked, clearly mocking her “Don’t get me wrong, liking my arms is the weirdest compliment I have ever heard but it’s still a compliment.”
“Shut up,” Devi pouted but still took hold of his arms to place his hands on her hips. Relief washed over her as Ben immediately understood what she was suggesting, pulled her closer, and ultimately into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her “Just take the weird compliment and don’t be a dick about it,” she said. Her voice was muffled as a result of her burying her face in his shoulder just a few moments before. Normally she was uncomfortable with that kind of PDA but she just couldn’t bring herself to care as she breathed in Ben’s scent.
“You guys are gross,” she heard a familiar voice complaining behind her “I definitely liked it better back when you were nothing more than rivals,” Fabiola kept talking which led to Devi pulling away from Ben. His hands wandered back to her hips as she did so.
“You say that as if I didn’t walk into you and Eve using my bed to make out last week,” Devi threatened. Her voice lacked the needed persistence to be taken seriously though and she knew it.
Fabiola started fidgeting nervously nonetheless “You know everyone but Mr. Shapiro sees you guys exchanging notes in history class, right?” Fabiola said after having cleared her throat, clearly ignoring Devi’s objection “They all think you are writing each other sexy notes.”
Ben choked on air, forcing him to take another step back from Devi as he coughed violently into his elbow.
“Well, not that it’s any of their business but they are wrong,” Devi explained with a shrug.
“I know that. Eleanor knows that. I think even Paxton knows that,” Fabiola said raising her eyebrow at the last part. Devi looked at her, the confusion clear on her face.
“Excuse me?” Ben wheezed, his breathing clearly still hadn’t recovered from earlier “Why would Paxton know that?” he turned to Devi.
“I have no idea what she’s talking about,” Devi said and raised her hands to emphasize her innocence.
“He sits behind you, Devi. He can probably read every single note,” Fabiola explained her point “So he may not think you’re writing notes as foreplay but the rest of the class sure does,” she gave the two of them a last shrug before making her way to the cafeteria “See you later, Mr. and Mrs. Gross,” Fabiola said at last. It was just loud enough for them to hear.
Devi didn’t really bother with worrying about what Fabiola said. At this point, the rumors didn’t faze her anymore. Her reputation was stained beyond repair anyway and she thought Ben would have forgotten the whole thing as they laid on his couch that afternoon, wrapped up in each other but he quickly proved her wrong.
“Do they really think we get turned on by school?” he murmured into her hair.
Devi rolled her eyes but still lifted her head off his chest to look at him while having this upcoming conversation “Does it matter?” she shrugged for emphasis.
“I guess not,” he said but without any conviction behind it “It’s just weird. Them talking about our sex life when it isn’t even existent yet,” Devi saw his neck turning red at the last sentence.
“Do you want it to exist?” Devi asked ignoring the voice of reason in her head who was currently screaming at her.
“You don’t want to call yourself my girlfriend but you want to lose your virginity to me?” Ben’s eyebrows shot up in confusion “I’m not Paxton. I don’t want to be your little sex experiment,” he grumbled, the hurt evident in his voice.
“Of course not. That’s not what I want either,” Devi clarified and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before burrowing her face into the space between his shoulder and neck. Looking at him while having this conversation turned out to be a lot harder than she thought it would be “I just thought you might get bored without sex. You and Shira probably had sex all the time,” her voice was a lot smaller now.
“Hey. Devi,” Ben said his voice now full of confidence “Please, look at me,” he put some space between them and turned to his side in order to face her “You are the single most interesting person on this planet and even if you weren’t I would never get bored of you,” Ben took her hands into his and started stroking them reassuringly “I also never had sex with Shira. It wasn’t the right time,” his voice got smaller with every passing word “Or the right person for that matter,” he pressed a quick kiss to Devi’s lips.
“You don’t think, you can just say stuff like that without me kissing you senseless after, do you?” Devi whispered. A soft smile appeared on her face. She buried her hand into Ben’s hair and effectively pulled him close enough to be able to kiss him.
It felt like something clicked between them after that particular conversation. Suddenly Devi couldn’t keep her hands off Ben no matter how hard she tried. Them being home alone at his house suddenly felt like a much bigger problem than it did before. Ben had assured her that he didn’t need sex but for some reason that made her more forward than ever. Ben mostly stopped her attempts to go further during their now regular happening make-out sessions and if she was being honest she was grateful for that. Their notes also didn’t stay unaffected from her sudden spike in forwardness that occurred during the weekend.
Devi was the one writing the first note that week due to the fact that Ben had just spent most of the lesson having a basically one on one conversation with Mr. Shapiro about the effects the holocaust still has on society today. Which prohibited him from receiving notes.
I know you are expecting me to criticize the shit out of what you just said but I won’t for several reasons. Firstly, you probably know more about that particular topic than I ever could. I was also distracted by the fact that you sounded really smart. Maybe our classmates were right after all and this is my kind of foreplay.
Speak nerdy to me, Gross.
Devi could see the blush spreading on Ben’s cheeks as he read her note. She got an immense amount of satisfaction every time she managed to make Ben blush. Which these last few days increased a lot. Ben hadn’t really shared the same sentiment the last few days which was the reason why his following note surprised her as much as it did.
Just tell me what topic I need to talk about to get in your pants and I will. I would prefer it not to be government-funded mass murder though. I know it’s more about the liberal wet dream of a speech I just gave but please try to restrain yourself, David.
You can jump me as soon as we’re out of school. I have a car and an empty house and my not-girlfriend still rather wants to have sex in school. Or maybe you just have a thing for public sex?
When Devi looked up from the note she was already met with a smirking Ben staring at her. He was obviously proud of himself. Devi just couldn’t let him get away without getting back at him for that. It went against everything she stood for.
I don’t know if having sex in public is such a good idea when you’re not able to last longer than a few seconds, Virgin Boy. That would be really humiliating for you. I’m just looking out for you, here.
Also, I just realized something...
A threesome is sex with three people, right? And a foursome is sex with four people obviously. I never thought I would understand why people call you handsome but now I finally understand.
Devi hadn’t spent too much time over the last few weeks thinking about how to be subtle while passing Ben the notes. Which she deeply regretted once she tried passing the paper over to Ben and Mr. Shapiro decided to look in her direction at that exact moment. She tried playing it off by slowly taking the note back but it didn’t work. Mr. Shapiro stopped talking and made his way over to Devi instead. He expectantly held out his hand.
“Come on, Devi. You know the drill,” Mr. Shapiro said, waiting for Devi to pass the note “If you can write about it in my class, it counts as class participation,” Mr. Shapiro clarified.
Devi shook her head and her eyes went wide in panic. She now suddenly remembered the first few weeks of freshman year when people had tried passing notes in Mr. Shapiro’s class and she now also remembered why they had stopped doing that “You want me to read the note?” Devi asked, already forming a plan inside her head as to what she would pretend to read to avoid the awkwardness of reading the actual note.
“Oh, no. I want you to give me the note,” Mr. Shapiro said and Devi finally gave him the note. She breathed out a sigh of relief before getting her hopes of getting out of this situation with her and more importantly Ben’s pride still fully intact crushed by Mr. Shapiro’s next announcement “So, Paxton can read it. I’m not actually allowed to look at those notes anymore.”
Before Devi could react and somehow still turn this thing around, her note had already landed on Paxton’s desk. She threw an apologetic look to Ben, who swallowed nervously, before she let her face land on the table, burrowing it inside her arms.
She heard Paxton unfold the note and she also heard him letting out a sharp breathe which almost sounded like a gasp. The feeling of her classmate’s eyes on her back also didn’t help in any way. Devi already wrote a whole apology essay to Ben in her mind. All about how she obviously didn’t mean anyone to read this except him and how sorry she was that he got hurt because she wrote that note. At least until she heard Paxton start reading.
“I know Paxton is hot and all but I like you more for whatever reason,” Paxton read and his voice was solid and confident. If Devi didn’t know it was her note he was reading and that she wrote something completely different, she definitely would have believed him. Devi’s head was now away from the table and she looked at Paxton with wide eyes instead. He gave her a quick smirk before he kept fake reading “Maybe it’s just the fact that I want to keep being friends with his sister and it would be really hard on her if we broke up. It would make things awkward for everyone involved. He’s a great kisser though,” Paxton finished fake reading and folded the note back up before looking at Mr. Shapiro and asking “Can I maybe keep that note? I mean my name is in it and I could show it to girls to prove that I’m a great kiss-”
Mr. Shapiro quickly interrupted him “Yes. Do whatever you want. Just don’t finish that sentence.”
Paxton gave him a thumbs up just in time for the bell to ring. Devi shot up from her seat immediately and hugged Paxton. It was an awkward hug because Paxton was still sitting in his chair but Devi definitely felt like he deserved that hug. Ben was still sitting in his chair when Devi let go of the boy and watched the two of them with quizzical eyes.
“Thank you,” Devi said and gave Paxton a grateful smile.
“You’re welcome,” Paxton said and returned her a smile but his didn’t quite reach his eyes. He stood up and made his way to the classroom door, letting the note fall onto Ben’s desk in the process.
Devi watched Ben stare at the note for a few seconds before unfolding it. She walked up to his desk as he read the note and therefore saw the blush spread on Ben’s cheeks and the realization hit.
“Paxton saved my ass,” Ben said with wide eyes and sounded even more baffled by the fact than Devi had been when she first realized what Paxton was doing.
“He sure did,” Devi chuckled and watched Ben hesitate for a moment before folding the note again and making it disappear in his backpack. He then stood up and kissed Devi square on the lips. Whatever Devi expected him to do that was definitely not part of it. She immediately felt the tension leave her body but put distance between them after a few seconds nonetheless “You should go and thank Paxton too. Maybe ask him if he wants a car, Rich Kid.”
Ben rolled his eyes at her “I will go say thank you. I will not buy him a car. Maybe I will do his Math homework though,” Ben said and shrugged.
“Sounds like a plan,” Devi said and smirked at him as he made his way out the door “Is public humiliation something you are into? The kiss felt like it,” she yelled after him and got a middle finger in return.