Reading Enoch was like trying to master integral and differential calculus in an hour. He had his moments when he was so transparently bothered by something or someone, and then most of the time, he was the very definition of 'enigma'. One moment Enoch was scowling and sulking and the next his fingers were cool on her cheek and he was quite literally taking her breath away. It could have lasted forever and Olive would have been perfectly happy to just stay there. It was like both their confidence had increased by tenfold after just one kiss and her fingers drifted up to touch his cheeks which were still remarkably cool.

She felt giddy the moment Enoch moved away. That hadn't been the unsure, awkward little first kiss that had still very much made her head spin, but something more established and sure, albeit brief. But he was still frowning when she opened her eyes and it occurred to her suddenly that she'd never seen him happy. She'd seen his little smile, and his hard façade crack, had certainly seen him happier, but not really happy.

"What?" Her eyes widened and immediately possibilities flooded her mind why he should still be frowning. Did she kiss that awfully? Was he changing his mind before he'd even made it up yet? "Was that not...for what it's worth, I thought-"

Enoch grunted and rolled his eyes as he leaned away from her and touched his mouth with the back of his thumb, a subconscious little movement that made Olive blush. "Well I ain't got much ta compare it to, 'ave I? No, I'm just thinkin'."

"Oh, well...what about then?" Olive let out a breath of relief that it wasn't her, not that Enoch didn't always look like that anyway, and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Don' bother. Nofin'."

Of course he wouldn't tell her. There was a lot more besides just a plain lack of care about school that had Enoch in so much trouble so regularly, of that Olive was certain, he was certainly intelligent enough to do well. He'd been bothered by something long before they'd started to get closer. Maybe one day he'd pull down that wall for her too. But she wasn't about to push her luck when something so shiny and new had the potential to start. Whatever she was to him.

"I should probably go...time went really fast. Thanks for helping me." She brushed her hands over her skirt to smooth the creases and pushed herself up to stand, smiling down at Enoch. His thoughtful frown had lessened back into his usual, impassive expression and she could feel his gaze following her as she turned to pack her paper and her books back into her bag.

"Yeah, probably. Can't put this off forever."

Olive spun around to face him again, her eyes alight with happiness. Was he talking about her? Or specifically, them? Enoch was standing again and had taken a few steps towards the door as she pulled her bag over her shoulder. "Put...what off?" She asked, crossing her toes inside her shoes so as not to be too obvious, that he meant properly asking her out.

Then her big mouth and optimism got the better of her and at the same moment Enoch opened his mouth to answer her, she blurted out a "I'd love to."

Enoch looked at her like she was crazy and Olive's eyes bulged at her slip of the tongue.

"...I mean the "Get ya act together or we'll ship ya ta military school' talk. What are you talkin' 'bout?"

Oh. Right. His parents. He'd been talking about the trouble he was in. Of course he wasn't talking anything to do with her, damn it, Olive! She scolded herself and must have looked embarrassed because Enoch's expression just kept getting more and more confused. Salvage something, Olive. Say something. Any words would be good.

"I just meant...I'd...love to know. The answer. Which you just said now...never mind." Gosh darn it she was a terrible liar.

"...Okay..."

Determined to change the subject and not make a complete fool of herself Olive caught onto his choice of words and quickly added, "...Would they really want you to go to military school?"

Enoch scoffed and there was a hint of amusement on his face as he looked at her which Olive knew very well was at her expense, but enjoyed seeing there anyway.

"Course not. I made that up. I was jokin'."

"Oh...well forgive me for not knowing you were joking." Olive wrinkled her nose slightly but smiled coyly as she stepped through the door behind him. Safely out of his sight behind his back for a second she reached up to touch her lips again and smiled to herself. Then Enoch's mother appeared from the kitchen doorway as they passed it and she dropped her hand right away.

"If you kids have finished your homework-" Olive heard Enoch groan. "-you're welcome to join us for dinner, Olive? It's certainly not every day Enoch has a friend over."

"Mum, I'm almost seventeen, I'm not eight."

Olive would have jumped at the chance, she really would have. If it had come from Enoch, or at least if he hadn't looked extremely awkward and uncomfortable about it. If things were uncomfortable enough between him and his parents, she hardly wanted to add to that and bring another theoretical elephant to the room.

"Oh, that's very nice, thank you." She smiled politely and glanced at Enoch who was decidedly not looking back at her. She looked back at the fair haired woman who was also looking curiously at Enoch before snapping her eyes back to Olive, "But I should be going. My parents will want me home soon."

"Of course, of course. Well, just know that you're very welcome...and I do apologise for earlier I hope that didn't..." Mrs O'Connor smiled and Olive realised Enoch much have inherited his smile from his mother's side.

"No! Of course not." Olive said quickly, feeling incredibly welcome all of a sudden by the knowledge that Enoch's mother liked her. Even if they might have liked anyone Enoch brought home to prove he had friends. "Enoch really is a very good friend."

"Does everyone fink I'm not 'ere or somefin'?" Enoch was scowling, his face, dare Olive say it, had a hint of pink to it that he surely would have turned around to hide if he'd known.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, my dear."

"Okay, she said she 'ad ta go. Shouldn' we let 'er go?"

And with that, Olive found herself bidding a quick goodbye to Enoch's mother and hurrying at Enoch's heels to the front door.

"Well you are a good friend..." She muttered defensively and felt a little, but barely there, tinge of disappointment that she couldn't call him more than that. She liked to think they were a right shot more than friends by now.

She stepped out onto the step and promptly crossed her arms over her chest against the chill in the air. Enoch stood in the doorway, his face still slightly flushed and looking at her with that scrutinising stare she was so used to.

"I hope they're not too hard on you." She smiled a little and Enoch scoffed and reached a hand up to scratch at the back of his head, a few dark waves shifting in the breeze.

"Probably 'ave it comin'. I don' care. Fink you probably softened the blow though so..." He shrugged, "that's somefin'."

"Thank you for letting me come around. I really had a good time. Even if it was around biology." Olive beamed, toying with the sides of her jumper between her fingers.

"Olive..."

"Yes?"

But whatever Enoch had been going to say seemed to die on his lips after a few agonisingly long seconds and he pressed them together in a thin line before settling on a half way smile instead which disappeared soon after. "Nofin'."

xxxXxxx

"Olive!"

The bell had just rung to signal lunch when Olive turned around on the spot at the unfamiliar call of her name and sidled to the left side of the hallway by a bank of lockers out of the rush of students.

Henry Golan who she'd rarely so much as spoken to, was a fair-haired boy who shared her English Literature class and who's least redeeming feature was the fact he hung around Jack Bentham frequently. She might have spoken to him all of twice so far this year, why he was suddenly trying to get her attention she had no idea.

"Yes?"

The boy ducked out of the group of students to join her and over his shoulder she thought she could see Bentham and another one of his cronies leaning against the other side of the hallway watching.

"Yes..." She asked a little warily and held her books a little closer to her chest as Henry smirked at her and tucked the binder he was holding under one arm. He, not unlike most of the bullying crowd at the school, fancied himself a good deal 'cooler' than he was.

"Mah mates thought I didn't have the guts. Wanted ta know if you'd..." He cut his brown eyes over Olive's shoulder to something or someone she wasn't sure of, while she wrinkled her nose at the little grin started to spread over his thin face. "...catch a movie or somethin' sometime?"

"Uh..." Olive's jaw dropped but before she could call him out for being mean, or politely turn him down, she wasn't even sure which would have come out, there was a loud bang from behind her that made her jump and Golan snicker slightly.

She turned on her heels to see Enoch, she hadn't even noticed it was his locker she'd stopped at, had slammed his locker shut with such ferocity several people turned to look as they passed.

He was glaring straight by her head at Henry with such an intense contempt she'd only seen on his face around Bentham before. He surely wouldn't really think she would ever have been interested in any of those cronies would he? He knew exactly how she felt about him.

"Enoch..."

"Oops..." Golan snickered behind her as laughter erupted from the group of boys across the emptying hallway. "Didn't see ya there, O'Connor."

"Answer's no. Keep movin'..." Enoch growled and then he was by her shoulder and Olive's heart started to race as she hastily tried to tug him away by the arm.

"Enoch, don't, they're being stupid..."

"Of course we are..." And then Jack joined in, sauntering across the hallway cockily and Olive actually felt the muscle in Enoch's forearm tense as his hand curled into a fist. "What's more fun than winding up the freak?"

"Enoch..." Olive tugged on his arm again but he still didn't move, or even turn his head to look at her.

"You got a problem wiv me then leave 'er alone. Nick off and take ya pack o'rats wiv ya." Enoch snapped, fuming so much that Olive was genuinely afraid he might be thinking about punching one of them again.

"Oh but I thought she wasn't ya girlfriend, freak? Why so sore about it? Fair game if ya ask me."

"I'm not anyone's game, Jack." Olive snapped, taking even Enoch momentarily by the surprise when she rounded on them. "And I wouldn't want anything to do with any of you if it was a choice between that and a grumpy old dragon." She tried again to move Enoch who actually did take a step backwards this time. "Enoch, just let it go."

"Isn't that exactly what you're datin', love?"

"You 'eard 'er. Get stuffed."

Olive watched as a muscle twitched dangerously in Enoch's jaw but, much to Olive's relief, he did turn around, pulling his arm out of her hands as he went and started to storm away. She glared over her shoulder at the laughing group and hurried after Enoch who was subtly looking over his shoulder and she was sure it was to be sure she was following.

She hated that they were so mean to him because he different and so easy to get a reaction from when she was concerned. But there was a little, tiny part of her that Olive really shouldn't have let get too carried away, that warmed her heart knowing it was her he was so defensive of.

"Enoch, wait... you have much longer legs than I do." She huffed, as he rounded a corner before the cafeteria into an empty part of the corridor towards the library. "You don't really think I would ever have been interested in Henry Golan do you? Or Jack for that matter."

"No." Enoch spat out as he finally stopped and slumped against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly and glaring at his feet. "You're not stupid, they're pieces of-"

"I know that. Then don't give them the satisfaction of annoying you so much. They won't stop it like that."

Enoch laughed a harsh, humourless laugh and his blue eyes snapped back up to her earnest face.

"Oh they'll stop it if I 'ave anyfin' ta say 'bout it. I don't care what they say 'bout me. They're doin' it ta you now."

"And I don't care either." She insisted and took a step closer to the brooding boy whose entire being was screaming to be left to stew in his bitterness. "They're not doing a good job of starting rumours anyway. They can think I'm your..." Despite the situation she blushed slightly and avoided Enoch's eyes, "...girlfriend...all they want. It's not very insulting. Unless, you think it's really so insulting."

Enoch didn't say anything for a few seconds until Olive found the resolve to look him in the face again. He'd uncrossed his arms to stuff his hands in his pockets and was still frowning at her.

"No...joke would be on them then, wouldn' it?"

"That's what I thought..."Olive drew in a breath to summon her courage but chickened out halfway when she looked down and started to tug at her jumper instead of meeting his eyes. "Enoch...you...you don't think I'd say no do you?"

Nothing but silence. Well done Olive, you've really put your foot in your mouth now. As if he probably wasn't feeling cornered and awkward enough already.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have..."

"That ain't really it, if ya must know."

"What?" Her eyes shot up. Enoch wasn't looking at her. His eyes were fixed on a point just beyond her right shoulder, staring but not really focusing. What did that mean? Did he just really not fancy her after all? Olive felt her heart sink a little as she kept her eyes on his face.

"Frankly I just don' see why ya would. There."

Her heart lifted again like a balloon had tied itself around it and was pulling it back up again. It was the most frightfully honest thing Olive was sure he'd ever said to her. He wasn't shrugging it off or pretending that he wasn't interested. It was just Enoch O'Connor, though there was nothing on his face or in his eyes to really know exactly what he was thinking.

She stepped to the side, into his line of sight to make him look at her and smiled up at him.

"Well I see it and that's a start. I'm yours, if you'll have me."