After nearly a semester of anatomy lab, the lingering stench of formaldehyde doesn't bother me as much anymore. It's become familiar as I step into the small classroom and walk over to my table, my girlfriend's back to me.

Delilah looks up and catches me walking in, a knowing smirk on her face. Olivia probably filled her in earlier this morning about our new official relationship status.

Slowly, quietly, I sneak up behind Olivia, leaning over her shoulder to smack an unexpected kiss on her cheek. She jumps, mildly startled.

Twisting at the waist, she looks back to see my grinning face, a grin breaking out across her own.

"Hi, girlfriend," I murmur, leaning down to plant a proper kiss on her mouth.

"Hi," she responds, a cute little blush spreading across her cheeks. I don't know if I'll ever get over how adorably shy she gets after I show her affection.

I shrug off my backpack and jacket before taking my seat, reaching over and grabbing the leg of Olivia's chair. Dragging her closer to me, I drape my arm over the back of her chair and place another kiss to the side of her head, causing her to giggle and shake her head, amused at my likely overkill of affection. But I can't help it. It's like everything inside of me itches to be near her, touch her.

"Alright, you two love birds are so cute I want to throw up in my mouth," Delilah sarcastically jokes.

Olivia's cheeks burn red in embarrassment as she shrinks lower in her chair, and I can't stop beaming. I glance at Delilah and she gives me a secret smile, letting me know she's happy for her best friend—and amused by her agony.

For the first time, I glance across our table to find rat boy madder than a hornet. I can practically see the blood boiling beneath his pale ass skin, the murderous glare in his beady little eyes. His jaw is clinched tight and his nostrils flare. He looks like he's going to implode in T minus ten seconds.

I have to admit, with pure male satisfaction, it kind of makes me happy to see him so pissed off and jealous. I'd be even happier if I knew it didn't upset Olivia so much, though.

Honestly, after he stormed out of class yesterday like a child, I didn't think he'd show up to lab today. I thought he'd be locked up in his room, pouting like a baby. Especially since it's a review day in this class for the final. I thought he'd think he was too good, too smart, to even show up and review any of the material. But I guess he's still trying to keep tabs on Olivia.

Tracy walks into the classroom, winded, carrying stacks of papers. She sets them on her desk and walks over to the computer, booting it on while smoothing out her red hair that's fallen out of her haphazard bun. I can tell the week leading up to finals is taking its toll on her, being a grad student and TA.

Watching Tracy, I accidentally catch a pair of envious green eyes.

Adrianna scowls at me—Olivia rather—her arms tightly folded over her chest. I can tell she's analyzing every little thing, scrutinizing. Wondering where she went wrong in her conquest to get us to end up together. Wondering what makes Olivia so special or what game I'm trying to play.

"Alright, everyone," Tracy cuts in, gaining everyone's attention. Adrianna's eyes reluctantly peel away from my direction. "As you know, the final for this lab section is next week on Wednesday at 8:00 AM," Tracy announces, causing a couple of students to groan at the reminder. "I know it's way earlier than our normal time," she cuts in, " but just think, at least you're getting it over with first thing," she finishes, trying to be optimistic.

"For today," she continues, grabbing her stack of papers and passing them out, "I've made some review sheets for you to study over and a mock final for you to try out. Turn it in by the end of the class period and I'll give you a few bonus points.

"Now I know your professor has come up with the brilliant idea of having you take the finals in pairs," she says cynically, letting us all know she's not too keen on the idea. "So work with your partner on the mock final and figure out how you want to execute the real thing by either divvying up the sections or studying it all each and coming together. Whatever you want. Rats are in the back corner if you want to grab one to study, and let me know if you have any questions."

Wordlessly, Olivia and Delilah stand up and get in line to go grab a rat, leaving me at the table with rat boy. Alone.

Thanks guys.

I feel the tension coming off him in waves, and I'm pretty sure if he clinches his jaw any further some of his teeth are going to start cracking.

Not wanting to focus my attention on him any longer and get in trouble for punching him in the face for looking at me too long, I grab my phone out of my pocket and stare at it, pretending to be unbothered. I scroll through some of my socials to distract myself from the hostile and awkward tension, until I hear a small collision and a loud, surprised gasp.

I immediately look up to find Olivia stood frozen, her eyes wide and jaw slack. Taking a closer look, I see something spilled all over her light pink sweater. A girl from Adrianna's table is standing in front of her, holding a tray that the cadaver rats are usually set in, and I look down to see a rat at Olivia's feet.

"Oops," the girl—one of Adrianna's minions—says insincerely, giving her best grimace.

The legs of my chair screech loudly against the tile as I get up and immediately go over to assess the situation.

"Seriously?" Delilah spits at the girl, her eyes narrowing and growing hard behind her glasses. "Don't you watch where you're going?"

I come up behind Olivia, wrapping my arm around her and protectively tucking her into my side, getting a large whiff of formaldehyde. Looking down at her, I realize its formaldehyde spilled down her sweater from the rat Adrianna's minion must have dropped on her.

"What's going on here?" Tracy jumps up from her chair and walks over, her eyes flicking between the four of us.

"It was an accident," Adrianna's minion insists, her overly sweet tone telling me she's lying.

I glance over at Adrianna, finding a smirk on her lips, letting me know that this was no accident at all.

"She ran right into Olivia and spilled the tray all over her," Delilah informs Tracy, annoyed, gesturing to Olivia's soiled sweater.

Olivia grabs the front of her sweater, trying her best to pull the wet fabric away from her skin, grimacing.

"Olivia, you need to go change right away," Tracy instructs, her voice surprisingly calm. "Do you have any extra clothes?"

A flash of worry passes in Olivia's eyes. "No."

She immediately looks to Delilah who gives her an apologetic look, letting her know that she doesn't have any extra clothes with her, either. Instantly, I whip off my hoodie and offer it to her.

"Olivia, go change in the restroom and be sure to wash your skin off thoroughly," Tracy instructs. "It should be fine, but if your skin starts to get red or irritated let me know immediately."

"Come on, Finch," I say, gently grabbing her arm and leading her out of the lab.

She carefully steps over the dead rat at her feet and follows me down the hall to the nearest restroom, still clutching the front of her sweater, preventing it from touching anymore of her skin.

"Are you okay?" I ask, holding the ladies restroom door open for her.

"Yeah," she mumbles. "Thankfully my sweater is pretty thick, so not much seeped through." She breezes past me, and I go to follow her inside. "What are you doing?" she asks, looking back at me, eyes wide.

"Um, coming to help you?"

She looks at me as if I have two heads. "Bronx, this is the ladies room," she whisper shouts, like it's the biggest crime of the century if I step foot inside to help her.

I try my best not to roll my eyes. "Finch, I'm just coming in to help you, people will understand. No one's even in there anyway," I point out. "Hello!" I call out into the restroom, my voice echoing off the tiled walls of the small space.

Silence.

"See," I say, my point proven. "I'll even make sure to lock the main door so no one comes in."

She gives me a weary look. "No, it's okay. I'll just clean up and change and you can stand outside the door to make sure no one tries to come in."

I open my mouth to argue but end up shutting it, realizing she may not be comfortable with me coming inside with her when she has to change. I think about offering to turn around when she swaps clothes to still try to help her, but ultimately I decide against it, not wanting to push her or waste any more time.

"Okay," I grumble out in agreement.

She gives me an appreciative smile, standing on her tippy toes to place a kiss to my cheek before slipping into the restroom. The lock to the main door clicks into place once the door is fully shut, and I post up on the wall right next to the door, my arms crossed over my chest.

The hallway silent, I'm able to hear the faint sound of the faucet running behind the door, water splashing as Olivia washes off the formaldehyde that touched her skin.

Standing here, I mull over what just happened, knowing this most likely, without a doubt, was some sort of petty revenge from Adrianna, making my blood boil.

It's one thing to mess with me, but there's no way I'm going to allow her to make Olivia's life a living hell at my expense. I did her wrong, not Olivia. Adrianna has another thing coming if she thinks she can get away with this.

I make a mental note to talk to her later to set things straight.

Down the hall, I hear a door open and close, and I peek around the corner to see Delilah walking down the hallway, her dark curls bouncing with each step.

"How is she?" she asks, walking closer.

I give a helpless shrug. "She could be better."

Delilah frowns, rounding me and the corner to try to push open the restroom door, only to find it locked. She knocks on it twice, her voice cutting through the wood. "Liv, it's me. Do you need any help in there?"

"No... I'm okay," Olivia's weak voice drifts behind the door, over the sound of the running water.

Delilah huffs in defeat and I frown, wishing she would at least let Delilah in to help her or just be there.

Delilah posts up on the other side of the door, waiting with me.

"What happened in there?" I ask, my tone hushed so Olivia doesn't hear.

"Malibu Barbie with highlights brighter than the sun totally dumped that rat on her on purpose," Delilah insists, crossing her arms tightly over her chest with a slight sneer on her face.

I scrub my hands over my face, cursing under my breath. "Fucking Adrianna."

Delilah lets out a humorless laugh, shaking her head in disgust. "Of course. The classic pretty, popular, mean girl revenge."

I sigh, unable to argue that. Not that I'm looking for excuses for Adrianna at all.

"I'm going to talk to her," I say, determined. "This is bullshit."

"Damn straight it is."

I glance over at Delilah, appreciative of how protective she over her best friend. Not to mention, she's head strong and upfront. I'm surprised at how fond I've become of her and how we've somehow formed a bond over the semester.

The sound of running water stopping and paper towels being pulled from the dispenser make both Delilah and I perk up. A few moments later, the lock on the restroom door clicks open and the door opens a couple of inches, Olivia sticking her arm out.

"Hoodie please," she asks.

I hand her my hoodie and she slips it through the crack in the door. A minute later, the door finally pushes open and Olivia walks out wearing my hoodie, the fabric hanging loosely on her thin frame. Her old clothes are carefully cradled in her hands, not wanting to touch any more formaldehyde, and her hair is thrown up in a high, messy ponytail.

I take a step towards her, running my hand up and down her arm. "You okay, Finch?" I ask softly, ducking my head to meet her eyes. My heart clinches uncomfortably in my chest when I see the dejection behind her eyes, but she tries to hide it with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Do you want to go home?" I ask, knowing she probably wants to take a real shower.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm okay," she insists. "I washed my skin at the sink for at least ten minutes so I should be fine."

"You sure?" Even Delilah presses her.

"Yes," she says, flashing us a smile that doesn't quite meet her eyes.

Delilah and I both glance at each other, coming to some sort of silent, mutual agreement to let it go for now.

I hook my arm around Olivia's shoulders and the three of us go back to the lab and take our seats.

Sitting down, I can't help but let my eyes drift over to Adrianna's table for a second, catching her and her three minions staring at us with scowls. Her green eyes sizzle with envy and her jaw ticks under the skin when she notices Olivia wearing my hoodie, her plan backfiring.

I turn back around and grab the mock final, writing Bronx and Finch at the top. That seems to put a genuine smile on Olivia's face.

We both glance over the skeletal figure printed out on the paper, filling in the answers where indicated, starting top, down. When we get to the scapula, I lean over and press a kiss to her shoulder blade, her cheeks immediately burning red.

"Bronx," she scolds in a hushed tone.

I grin at her cheekily, leaning over again to press a kiss to the edge of her shoulder. "Acromion," I mumble against the fabric of my hoodie on her.

Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, eyes worriedly sweeping across the room to make sure no one is paying attention.

"I thought you liked studying like this," I whisper teasingly into her ear.

Playfully, she pushes me away, but I swoop right back in, hooking my arm around her waist and resting my chin on her shoulder. I whisper the answers to her, causing her to giggle whenever my breath tickles her ear.

"Quinton, focus," I hear Delilah snap.

I glance across the table, rat boys lethal glare locked and loaded on me. I look down at his clinched fists, his knuckles turning white.

Again, some sort of sick satisfaction swells inside my chest, and I flash him a smile that says eat shit, throwing him over the edge.

Savagely, he slams his fists down on the table top, the legs of his chair screeching loudly as he kicks himself backward, standing abruptly. He quickly gathers his things and storms out of the classroom.

My grip around Olivia's waist tightens when I feel her shoulders drop and she lets out a tiny sigh. I know guilt is settling in.

Across the table, Delilah huffs, rolling her eyes and waving her hand dismissively.

After a while, Olivia seems to relax and we finish up the mock final and study for a bit before heading out with Delilah. Walking outside, a flash of raven hair catches my eye, walking the opposite direction.

"Hey, baby," I cut into Olivia and Delilah's conversation. "I forgot, I have Brennen's water bottle he left at the gym this morning in my backpack. I'm going to go run to the café and give it to him," I lie.

"Okay." She nods, pausing with Delilah on the sidewalk.

I lean down, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "I'll catch you in English," I say, kissing the back of her hand and letting go of it before jogging off in the direction I last saw Adrianna go.

Gaining sight of Adrianna again, I watch her slip into the old math building and I follow, catching her at the bottom of the stairs.

"What the fuck?" I spit, not having the patients to exchange any sort of pleasantries, cutting right to the chase. "I hope you're happy with your little stunt back there."

She spins around, the slight smirk on her face telling me she was expecting this sort reaction from me. "Oh, hi, Bronx," she says, her voice sugary sweet as she bats her fake eyelashes at me.

"Cut the shit, Adrianna."

"What are you talking about?" she asks, feigning innocence.

"Leave. Olivia. Alone," I instruct curtly.

Her eyes narrow, mask slipping. "Or what."

My hands involuntarily ball into fists at my sides. "Or you'll regret it. Come on, Adrianna, she didn't do shit to you," I point out.

Her eyes glitter, a small smirk tugging at her pouty lips. "So you're saying you're the one who should be punished?"

I grit my teeth. "Listen. I can handle whatever shit and twisted games you try to throw at me, I get it, you're pissed, but leave her out of it."

She takes a step towards me, and I take one back, retreating. Her grin is sharp as she eyes me up and down, assessing. "Noted."

With that, she flicks her hair over her shoulder before turning around and heading up the stairs, leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Got to love petty, mean girl drama...

Anyway, anyone else love Delilah as much as I do? lol

Also, out of pure curiosity, when reading this story do you picture anyone specific for any of the characters? Let me know in the comments! :)