The fact that Bender had picked out a dictionary did not discourage Laura from finding some way to entertain herself with it. This was evident to him as he watched her snicker at a word that looked like it must be somewhere in the "B's."

It had already been an hour since his explosive episode, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was dwelling on it. She must think he's crazy for all that, and he should have never yelled anyway. She'd only been trying to be nice, and God knows he needed her help as much as he hated to admit it.

He was sobering up enough to see straight, as Laura had brazenly walked out of the library a few minutes after she got him settled back down and announced to Mr. Vernon that she had to use the restroom and that it was an emergency.

When he asked her why she was up, and why she needed her bag in the restroom, she grinned at the man and dramatically waved a tampon in his face.

She'd thought she would earn another detention for that, but the vice-principal only turned a bright red and muttered his permission, and she took the opportunity to fill up the empty water bottle she had in her bag to bring back to John, who was still sipping on it as she laughed again at a word she'd discovered.

"Are you laughing at a dictionary?" he asked dryly.

She met his critical glare, only smirking at him before shrugging, "Bumfuzzle."

"What'd you just call me?"

She laughed heartily at that, "It means to confuse."

"You are a toddler, Laura. A real, walking, gigantic toddler."

She gasped at the insult, putting a hand over her heart for effect, "Are you saying I'm fat, John?"

"Not what I meant," he said, rolling his eyes.

She just grinned at him, then her eyes cut over to the clock on the wall, "It's already past 1:00. That's wild."

He looked too, still a little woozy, but able to read the time well enough, "Closer to 1 sharp. That's 20 minutes fast."

"I can't believe we only have two hours left," she mused, "Time flies."

John Bender stared down at the floor, the realization hitting him that his time with Laura was almost over. He'd all but blown his chances to use her to get back at Claire by making himself look like an idiot...not that it mattered anyway. The more he got to know Laura, the less he wanted her to make Claire angry, and the more he wanted her because he just liked being around her. It startled him a little if he were being honest.

Would she be like the others and pretend like this day had never happened? Would she ignore him if he were to say hello in the hallway, as Andrew had?

More importantly, why did he care?

What was she doing to him?

Laura put the book back on the shelf, deciding that they had better get back to their seats. Vernon was probably planning to check on them any minute now, and they were a long way from their designated seats. When she looked back at the boy to tell him her thoughts, she noticed that he seemed to be bothered by something.

"You okay?" she asked softly, patting him lightly on the shoulder.

He cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah. We should probably get back to our seats."

She nodded in agreement, "I was thinking that too. Hey, how about on the walk over there you can tell me what's wrong."

He rolled his eyes at her, but the corner of his mouth twitched up slightly, amused and surprised that she cared enough to ask twice, "Last week's bunch of kids. We didn't even look twice at each other once Monday rolled around."

"You're worried that's gonna happen to us too?"

He only shrugged his shoulders, unwilling to admit he was worried about anything.

She linked her arm through his - halfway to make sure he was steady - and slowly began to walk back to the tables, "Do you want us to act like today didn't happen?"

"...No..." he mumbled.

She smiled brightly, patting him on the arm, "Then we won't! We're in two classes anyway, that'll make it easier to keep in touch. You can even have lunch with me if you want to."

He let a slow grin spread across his face as he looked down at her, "You sure?"

"'Course I'm sure. I'm not scared of you, John Bender, and I'm not scared of what people may or may not think if they bother to look past the ends of their noses for once to even pay attention to the two of us," she said passionately, "Besides, I have detention again next Saturday, and if I'm right about Vernon having it out for you I'm betting you do too. Ignoring each other all week seems like a great way to make it awkward."

"Sweetheart, I got detention for the next two months," he informed her.

He was honestly thrilled. Laura wasn't like his other friends. She was nice, and she didn't judge. It was refreshing.

She made a sound that seemed to be in between a laugh and a sigh, "You and Vernon need like...couple's therapy or something."

He snorted, "Wouldn't help. Neither of us knows who wears the pants."

Laura sat down in her seat, watching John as he hopped up on top of the table. She liked him, she found. He was fun to be around, he just seemed...troubled. She wondered how close he'd let her. He'd already said he didn't need her help, but he also didn't want her to go. How confusing.

Still, she liked the way he wasn't scared to face whatever odds he was dealt, and underneath that rough exterior, he had a certain charm.

His clothes, all of them, were very baggy, she noticed. She understood that that was the style, but they seemed like they were just too big for him. Hand me downs, maybe, but she was reminded about their lunch together and found that she could not recall many times she'd seen John Bender eat lunch during the week either. If he didn't have lunch money, could he also not bring a sandwich or something? Honestly though, she hadn't paid him too much mind before today. She, like most everyone else, had been under the impression that Bender was just an asshole.

Which he was, but he was a likable one.

The Library door flung open and Vernon stepped inside, his mouth twitching up as he saw John Bender out of his seat.

"Shit," the boy muttered under his breath.

"Care to speak up, Bender?" Vernon taunted, "You're caught red-handed this time, bub."

John made no move to get off the desk, not that it would help him now anyway, "Nothing, sir. I was just expressing my disappointment at being foiled by you. You should really think about going into detective work, sir."

"Smart mouth, aren't you." Vernon humored him with a sarcastic laugh before getting in his face, "That's another detention for you, Bender."

"Yessir," he mumbled to the floor.

"Get back in your seat," Vernon demanded.

John once again made no move.

"Your seat, Bender. Now."

The boy slowly slid off the desk and walked over to his seat.

"That's another one. Two more Saturdays. Me and you."

Laura's eyes flashed up to stare at the man in front of her. In all the years she'd known him, she'd never seen him behave this way toward anyone. Bender had actually followed directions this time and had been punished for it.

"...Excuse me, sir, but what did he do to deserve that last one?" she spoke lowly, staring unblinkingly at him.

Vernon met her eyes. He found that she'd always had unsettling eyes, even when she was little, "He can move faster than that. He's trying to get a rise out of me."

"Seems like it's working, Sir." Laura bit back.

He pointed a finger at her, "Watch it, Laura. It won't do you any good to take sides with the likes of him."

"You're making it awfully hard to take sides with you," she argued back.

Bender was...bumfuzzled... and looked back and forth in between them, why was Laura taking the heat? Why didn't she seem scared of Vernon?

"That's another detention for you too, sweet-pea," he spat at her.

She leaned forward in her seat to let him hear her next words with as much clarity as a polished wine glass,

"Fuck you, Uncle Richard."

"I told you not to call me that at school," he whispered, cutting his eyes over at Bender, "and that's one more for you too, Missy. I got you for a month including today."

Laura sat back in her seat, biting her lip to keep from slipping up again, still not breaking eye contact with the man.

Uncle? Bender thought, Uncle Richard? He was her Uncle?

"You have one more hour," he heard the man say, still annoyed with his niece, "Try not to mess anything up during that time."

He walked out of the room.

Laura looked like she was trying very hard not to be seen.

"Uncle Richard?" Bender asked incredulously, "That wasn't interesting enough to mention to me?"

Laura sighed, putting her head in her hands, "Yeah, he's family. My mom's brother. We aren't close or anything. Usually, just see him at Christmas."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't think it mattered."

"That the man who makes my life hell the second most is your uncle?"

She spun around in her chair to look at him, "Who he is has nothing to do with who I am, John. I mind my business and he minds his."

"'Cept at Christmas time," He argued back at her, not meeting her eyes. He didn't know why he felt so betrayed. She wasn't really obligated to tell him anything, and he'd only known her what, seven hours now?

She got up and spun a chair around to sit across from him, putting her head on her forearms to match his position, "John, look at me."

His brow furrowed, but his gaze didn't lift.

Laura let out a huff, "Vernon and I don't tell anyone we're related. He doesn't want anyone thinking he's biased just cause I'm his niece, and I don't really want to be associated with a hypocrite like him."

John Bender still kept his focus on the wood of the table.

"John," Laura said softly pleading with him, "Look at me, please?"

Slowly, he raised his eyes and simultaneously noticed hers for the first time. They were reminiscent of the earth itself. Her eyes were a deep blue, but specks and dots of green were scattered through them.

"I'm not like him," she whispered simply.

He took another moment to analyze her before sighing, and sitting back, "Yeah, I know."

"We okay?"

He nodded.

"We're okay," he said truthfully.