Hard [Zac]

[Fifi Hart]

Fifi tapped her pencil against her chemistry book, her other hand knotted in her hair. She sighed heavily and stuck the back end of the writing utensil in her mouth, her clear blue eyes heavy with stress.

Chemistry was just.

Too.

Hard.

She sniffed back some tears of frustration and peeked at her cell phone. No word from Zac, but he wasn’t technically late yet. Deciding that it was better if she just saved her brain power for when she could actually do the work, Fiona sat back in her chair and closed her chemistry book and notebook. Shoving it to the other end of the table with JD’s notes, Fifi folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath.

She had to pass chem to graduate on time, and right now she was sitting on a pretty daunting “Incomplete” grade…and that was only because her teacher had left it that was so it wasn’t an ‘F.’ Groaning, Fiona rubbed her temples.

“Fuck chemistry.” She grunted.

[Zachary LaRousse]

While he’s known Fifi for quite some time – not personally at least; he’s rather cautious about the girl’s powers to mingle with her a bit too closely before – would the girl have asked for help a few months back, Zac wouldn’t have thought about his answer. No. Plain and simple. Tutoring falls under the volunteering umbrella, and it’s been established ages ago that Zac doesn’t do such tiring, usually unpaid work that brand of charity work.

But the girl’s disappearance changed everything. Zac doesn’t really care much about her, but there’s just something ominous about her sudden vanishing act. And the fact that she’s changed a lot, combined with her reluctance to disclose the reason behind her sudden absence, just makes the boy all the more curious.


Armed with nothing more than a pen and his signature smug grin, the Prince made his way through the library aisles, his eyes trying to find said lady. “I’d rather fuck something else personally,” he chuckled as he slid over to the chair across her, winking as he did.

“So where do we start?”

[Fifi Hart]

“You and everyone else.” Fifi shot back. It wasn’t the truth (as far as she knew), but it would hopefully shut Zac up. “Help me get an ‘A’ and I’ll see if I can hook you up with Verax.” She teased. An ‘A’ was probably impossible at this point, but she could dream, right? Sighing, she pulled over her homework and JD’s notes.

“We need to start at balancing equations.” She explained. “I’ve gotten most of the periodic table memorized…that’s not too hard…but there’s just…” She made a frustrated face. “God there’s just something about fucking balancing equations that I just can’t get.” She leaned her cheek on her fist and looked helplessly at Zac. “Any tips? JD’s notes have helped some—I’m getting more right on the first try—But there’s still something going wrong and I just can’t figure out what it is.”

She blinked for a second and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms skeptically. “How did you even get good at chemistry, Zac? You don’t seem like the studious kind to me.”

[Zachary LaRousse]

“I already got into Verax’s pants. Nothing special really,” he said as he gave Fiona a coy wink, “You’d have to settle for a ‘B’ then. Sorry. Unless of course, you have another offer in mind.” Whether or not Fifi would believe his statement, he could care less. He’s already had more than one rumor about him sleeping with a guy; he doubts being linked with Vincent would make any difference.

A huge smile suddenly appeared on his face when he saw JD’s familiar writing. “You got his notes already? You’re fast.” So the two have met already. Good. This would make setting them up together a bit easier than that last time with Logan. (Yes, he’s apparently playing Cupid to JD these past few days). He reached over for Fifi’s homework and gave it a quick scan. She’s still in this level? And she’s having a hard time? It seems he’s got his work cut out for him then.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Being a ‘nerd’ was never really part of Zac’s dreams. And besides, he figured that by having a surprisingly good academic record, he wouldn’t appear so shallow as most people would peg him to be. “I got tutored privately when I was young. But to be honest, I think it was being angry-competitive at JD being so damn smart in every class that pushed me to study more.”

“Instead of counting the elements separately, I usually try to balance molecules and/or ions together,” he nodded. “Like for example this one, Pb(NO₃)₂ becoming simply NaNO₃. I try to focus on the NO₃ first, balance it on both sides then work on the Na or the Pb later on. You get it?”

Something tells him he’s really not cut out for this job. Not at all.

[/justify][/blockquote]

ooc:
I might've rambled a bit. I am sorry. >.<
- Jam

[Fifi Hart]

Fifi balked open-mouthed and then pouted, wilting slightly in her posture. “Christ, everyone gets to my conquests before I do.” She grumbled, tapping her pencil’s eraser on the table with gloom. First Moe had told her that he’d gotten with Zac and Vincent, and then Zac turns around to point out he’d gotten with Vincent too. She was sincerely about to give up. “Besides, I don’t
think I can even scratch a ‘B’…I just need to pass.” She admitted.

Not exactly a stupid girl, Fifi just hadn’t applied herself where she’d needed to. She loved English, and was excelling in that aspect. Chemistry just wasn’t interesting! Fifi blinked when Zac brought up JD. “Come to think of it, I’ve only ever heard people tell me how smart he is. Does he work hard or is he just a fucking genius?” She asked, wondering if she should switch tutors. It seemed that Zac might let his ego get in the way.

When Zac began to explain something, Fifi poised her pencil over her notebook. No words were written down, she only looked blankly at Zac, the tip of the pencil hovering over the paper, as lost as she was. “…What?!” She said, peering at the problem as if it were written in another language (it basically was). “Don’t you have to do things in order, or something?” She said, scratching her head.

It was clear that she was quickly becoming frustrated. She just hated feeling so stupid. “Fuck. I’m not even high.” She whined, wilting again. “and I still look like a goddamn tool.”

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Think like that and you really won’t get an A,” grinned Zac, eyebrows playfully going up and down as he flipped through JD’s notes. While he isn’t new to them, as he has been borrowing some of them to use as a guide for his own notes for the past few years, he still couldn’t believe how immaculate the boy was – from the color-coded diagrams and examples, to all the extra (and extremely useful) information on the topic at hand.

Lucky for Zac then! After this session, maybe he could ask Fifi to help him with some of his AP English requirements. He wasn’t really poised to take that subject a few months ago, but since he got wind of JD taking it (being the huge copycat that he is) he promptly jumped at the wagon without thinking twice. Now he’s suffering the consequences. (Not dismal grades though, but more along the lines of stress, stress and more stress).

“The boy’s a natural,” he said without much thought, quickly following it with a “But don’t tell him that.” He doesn’t need his teddy bear knowing that he’s actually acknowledging that he’s better than him. “Add his ability to understand and read stuff fast due to his powers, and you’ve got a fucking genius. It’s so hard just to keep up with him.” Which explains why he treasures that moment when he got ahead of him in Biology.

Zac’s grin was quickly replaced by a confused look, pursing his lips and rubbing his chin as he tried to think of an easier way to explain it. He apparently forgot that he only developed that technique he was teaching Fiona after he himself was comfortable with the subject. And since she doesn’t seem nowhere near that level, well, he definitely needs to ‘start small’, as they say.

“Well, I found it easier at first to write the elements at the side in a table. One column for the reactants, one for the products. Then do the ones in parenthesis.” Hopefully that’s clearer.

“You’ll get an A, I tell you.” She was under his wing after all; logic tells him that should she fail still, it’ll be a poor reflection of him. And a poor image of him is definitely not something he could take.

[Fifi Hart]

Fifi grimaced at him. “You sound like a therapist.” She grunted. She hated therapists. She’d had her stint with one in juvie, and while she appreciated the woman’s help, she didn’t like the way they were taught to talk to people. If she was a therapist…man would she be different. But that would require a fuck ton of school…nah.

Fifi rolled her pencil boredly on the back of her hand, grinning at Zac’s quick recovery from his compliment to JD. “My lips are sealed, dude.” And by that she meant totally not. She nodded in agreement. “He seems really smart. Genius even…complete with the weird social persona.” JD was cool. It was a snap judgment, seeing as she really hadn’t spent that much time with him, but he seemed like the loner type. She thought he was cool anyway…just a little weird.

Looking to her tutor, then back to her page, Fifi rolled her pencil into her palm and started making the table. Fortunately, she knew the difference between reactants and products. That was about all she knew. When the table was finished, immaculate in her fine, even handwriting, she leaned back slightly from the page. “Like this?” She asked hesitantly, seeking some validation before she went any further. “Then what?”

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac didn’t bother hiding the frown on his face when Fifi likened him to a therapist (or rather, his advice to one). While he knows being a therapist isn’t such a bad thing (isn’t Dr. Neville one, to an extent at least?) but he certainly wasn’t dense enough not to notice the disdain carefully sprinkled in Fifi’s words. “Dude, that wasn’t supposed to be encouraging. More like a taunt or a challenge really.” Guess that was a bit too obscure, wasn’t it?

Positive reinforcement has never worked for Zac anyway; his ego has been large enough to give him compliments on its own. Pointing out his inadequacies however was a good way on making the boy improve further; rubbing it on his face would make the process a whole lot faster. And since he wasn’t much of a teacher (this is probably the first time he offered his services for someone), he figured what must work for him must work for everyone else too. Only, he forgot that Fifi doesn’t really have an ego as huge as his, nor was she driven primarily by testosterone.

“More than weird really. Life’s never normal when he’s around.” The mimic grinned as memories of some of their misadventures flashed through his mind. While most of them are due to his stupidity, there are a notable few that happened because the speedster’s too damn uptight for his own good. “Which reminds me, are you, by any chance, interested in him?” And yes, he’s taken it to heart that he’ll be little Mr. Cupid for his best friend. Isn’t he the sweetest? (Not).

“Pb(NO₃)₂ + Na₃PO₄ ==> Pb₃(PO₄)₂ + NaNO₃”

Zac mouthed the equation a few times, trying to do it in his head so he can easily correct Fifi if needed. “Just like that,” he nodded, noting the intoxicator’s handwriting. Mine looks like chicken scratch next to hers. Then again, she’s a girl and he’s a guy, so he thinks it’s understandable. “Well, count the number per atom first. Then I usually find it easiest to start balancing with those atoms I see only in one molecule per side.” He pointed at Pb(NO₃)₂ and Pb₃(PO₄)₂. “For example, lead only appears in one molecule in the reactants and one molecule in the products side. Unlike O which is like a whore and is bound to all four molecules and all that.” And yes, Zac found it easier (for him) to give elements personalities and insult them at times. Makes studying more fun, he says.

[Fifi Hart]

Fifi simply rolled her eyes and reminded herself to dumb it down for LaRousse. She’d been trying to cut back on her sarcasm as much as possible…part of her turning-over-a-new-leaf bit. But sometimes it just didn’t work. A silver tongue was a silver tongue, and Fiona had just been born with one. She just let the whole thing slide for now, seeing as she was more preoccupied with conquering her Chem homework than with schooling Zac in the ways of witticism.

She huffed a quiet laugh at Zac’s goofy grin, chalking it up to some adventures she’d have to ask about later. “That’s cool that you guys can have some excitement, y’know?” she said. When he asked if she was interested, Fiona blinked, cutting her gaze away. “Uh…I don’t know.” She said nonchalantly, shrugging. “I mean he’s super fine.” She admitted, that was no big deal. Fifi was totally fine with admitting she found someone attractive; anything else and she started having issues. “But honestly? I don’t know.” Shyly she scratched the back of her neck. “I don’t think I’m smart enough to get along with him. Especially if he’s as genius as you say he is.”

In order to keep the conversation from going anywhere, Fifi pretended to be concentrating with all her might on the chemistry. It seemed to work for a bit, as her tutor offered no more words than those pertaining to the work. She nodded slowly, chuckling at his “O is a whore” comment. To keep track of things, she underlined lead. “Okay. Lead. Once. Right.” Following his lead, Fifi managed to balance the equation on her own.

She stared at it grimly for a moment before nodding resolutely. “That’s right. It’s right. Right?” She looked to Zac for confirmation, biting her lip nervously. Truth be told, most of Fiona’s issues in science and math would probably be lessened if she could just calm down some.


[ooC:: my turn for a time skip! XD I can’t stand chemistry, so I refused to write her actually balancing anything >.<’ Sorry Jamjam]

[Zachary LaRousse]

“You’d always be welcome to join us if you want Fifi,” grinned Zac, sending what seems like a flirty wink towards her. While he vowed to himself that he’d keep himself a safe distance away from the (formerly) shady girl, he says that harmless flirting isn’t really under the compromising situations umbrella. “I mean, I would’ve invited you during that week when we snuck out almost every night as there were parties everywhere. But unfortunately, you were MIA during those days. Where did you vanish off to anyway?” Yup. Time to set his plan into action. (His ulterior motive for helping the intoxicator was to confirm the rumors running around after all).

He grinned wider when Fifi turned her gaze away from him before answering. Mischief was written quite clearly on his face should she look upon him really. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell him.” He’d tease him though. A lot. But since JD doesn’t really believe him much, it would seem like a joke. Up until he sees the perfect opportunity to set them both up for a date. Then it would be epic. Robbie would know about such things though, that much is certain. “Pfft. He may be smart, but he’s totally clueless when it comes to things like that.” Yup. He’s completely ignoring the fact that JD’s got longer lasting relationships than him over the same course of time. (Zac’s all about quantity over quality, as it seems). “I’m pretty sure you can teach him a thing or two.”

He was rather surprised when Fifi finished the stuff in half the time he thought she’d take. “You’re totally not dumb, totally not dumb at all you know that?” he said with a rather proud voice, nodding to tell her that indeed, she got the whole thing right. “You want to try some more exercises on that topic? Or we move on to nomenclature already?” They’ve still got quite the number of topics to do, but if Fifi keeps such a pace up, he’s sure they’d get through all them in no time.

[Fifi Hart]

Fifi ‘s face set in a stony mask when Zac inquired as to her former whereabouts. Truth be told, she was a little disappointed. She’d hoped Zac would be self-centered enough not to care about the gossip surrounding her. Fat chance, apparently. She looked at Zac with the best mean-girl glare she could come up with, and it was pretty damn girl. Chilling looks aside, she added an acidic “I was having family trouble.” It definitely wasn’t a lie, but the finality of the statement and the obvious anger with Zac for asking should have been enough to keep the spoiled boy from asking more.

Starting to gather her things, the tall teen shook her head. “You were pretty fucking high last time JD and I talked, but he said he’s had some serious relationships. More than you I’m sure.” Clearly upset by Zac’s prying, she stuffed her homework and JD’s notes into her backpack. She stood up and used her imposing height on Zac, planting one hand on her thin hip. “Thanks for the compliment. I think I’ll just finish up the book exercises and get someone to check them over for me. You’re a total ass, but I really appreciate all your help.”

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac wouldn’t deny the fact that he felt just a tad bit upset when Fifi suddenly stormed out of the library and left him. What he would deny though (or at least twist and change) is the reason why he felt upset. Despite the (sincere) expression of shock on his face when the intoxicator gathered her things, he’d insist that he felt bad because the act had been a blow to his ego (who in their right mind would just walk away from the awesomeness that is him anyway?), not because he realized just then that the topic was a sensitive one. He’s mighty self-centered yes, but he’s also rather curious. Nosy even. And considering how the rumors about Fifi’s sudden disappearance and comeback were extremely interesting (despite a number of them contradicting each other), he just has to know what truly happened from the source itself.

Part of him regrets not knowing that it’s quite the sensitive topic though. He would’ve given Fifi a smug, gloating grin instead of that lame, wide-mouthed expression as she left.

Suddenly feeling guilty (though he won’t admit it), Zac tried to think of ways on how to earn back the girl’s favor. It took some time, but then it finally hit him. He promptly grabbed his phone from his pocket, scanned through his phonebook and dialed the third number in listed under his contact-group listed “Favorites”.

“Oh Deee~. You’re free Saturday night right? Don’t deny it, I know your schedule.” He just needs to distract Robbie with boobs and he’s confident his plan would work swimmingly.