Work Text:
Every Tuesday and Thursday after school Claudia accompanies Reggie home before band practice to tutor him in chemistry. They made their way into the house and down the hall to Reggie's room. Assuming their usual spots in the room, Claudia at the desk in the corner and Reggie on the bed, they both pulled out their study materials. The final was quickly approaching and Claudia promised herself that she was going to help Reggie pass the class. Reggie on the other hand could care less about the studying and used his tutoring sessions as nothing more than an excuse to spend time with Claudia without their bandmates around.
***
"Reg could you please focus?" Claudia pleaded for what felt like the millionth time.
"How could I focus when not even the Kelvin scale could measure how hot you are?" Reggie responded putting down the pencil he was trying to balance on his nose.
"I know I should be upset with the fact that you made yet another chemistry pun, but I am going to take this as proof that you are actually learning something instead," Claudia laughed as she tried to hide the blush that was slowly creeping up her cheeks.
"Of course, I'm learning something. I have a great teacher," Reggie said winking at the girl.
The pair continued to study going back and forth asking questions and completing the review guide the teacher had given them. Reggie started to lose focus again as time passed and Claudia recommended a break. The two made their way to the kitchen to get a snack. Once in the kitchen, Reggie started rifling through the cabinets while Claudia jumped up to sit on the counter. Reggie placed a package of Oreos on the counter next to Claudia and turned back to the cabinet to get a bag of chocolate chips and a bowl. The girl immediately picked up the bag of chocolate chips and started eating them. He quickly grabbed the package out of her hands.
"Hey! I was eating those," Claudia pouted as she crossed her arms.
"I know but if you eat them all now you won't be able to have any to melt and dip the Oreos in!" Reggie laughed as he explained his idea to the girl. He poured some of the chocolate chips into the bowl he had gotten down and placed it into the microwave to melt them. The two talked about anything and everything that wasn't chemistry-related while the chocolate melted. When the microwave beeped, Reggie pulled out the bowl stirring it a little to make sure everything was melted. He set the bowl on the counter next to the package of Oreos. Claudia immediately grabbed one and dipped it into the chocolate before she placed the entire thing into her mouth dripping chocolate on the counter. Reggie laughed at the girl before turning around to grab a paper towel to wipe up the mess. When he turned back around the chocolate on the counter was gone. He looked at Claudia who was bringing her chocolate-covered finger to her mouth. They both laughed at her actions before proceeding to finish the rest of the Oreos without any major mess. Claudia stayed on the counter as Reggie placed the empty Oreo package in the trash and the bowl they used to melt the chocolate in the sink.
Reggie held his hand out to Claudia to help her off the counter. She happily accepted and grabbed ahold of his hand before jumping down. She had trouble sticking the landing and ended up tripping. Luckily, Reggie had a tight grip on her hand and was able to pull her into him to stop her from falling.
"U-uh thanks," Claudia stuttered out realizing how close the two now were.
"No problem," Reggie said as he winked at her before pulling her back towards his room. Claudia couldn't help but wonder if the boy was purposely trying to make her weak in the knees.
"Let's get back to studying," Claudia said as they entered the room.
"No, we've done enough studying," Reggie groaned as he fell onto his bed causing his papers to bounce around a little.
"C'mon Reginald you can do it. We don't have that much time before band practice so let's use it well," Claudia laughed as she pulled on Reggie's arm so he was sitting up before moving back to sit down in the desk chair.
"Fine," Reggie mumbled as he grabbed his binder and placed it on his lap.
"Oh, and no more chemistry puns," Claudia added.
"What! Number one, they're pick-up lines, not puns, and Number two how can I resist when I've got my ion you," Reggie said with a smirk.
"Reginald!" Claudia yelled, "I said no more!"
Reggie just laughed before turning back to his review worksheet. The two worked quietly for a while before Reggie broke the silence.
"Hey, Clau..."
"What's up Reg?" Claudia asked without looking up from her worksheet. Suddenly Claudia felt something large and softly hit the back of her head. She spun her chair around to see a pillow laying on the ground next to her, and a laughing Reggie. "What was that for?" she asked picking up the pillow.
"Sorry I just wanted to get your attention. I wanted to tell you to forget hydrogen," Reggie said shrugging and turning back to his work.
"What does that mean? Forget hydrogen? Reggie, I'm confused," Claudia confessed.
"I want you to forget hydrogen because you're my number one element," Reggie said looking at the girl with a cheesy smile on his face. Claudia stared deadpan at the boy before standing up, the pillow he had thrown at her in hand. Reggie was confused with the fact that the pickup line had elicited such a weird reaction from the girl. Claudia walked over to stand on the side of the bed. Reggie looked up at her, with confusion evident on his face. "What are you doing Clau?"
Suddenly Claudia raised the pillow above her head before bringing it down on the boy. "I...said...no...more...puns!" Claudia yelled hitting the boy with the pillow repeatedly. She stopped to hear his reaction, keeping the pillow ready in case she didn't like his response.
"They're not puns, they're pickup lines," Reggie smirked bracing himself for the impact of the pillow that came down immediately after he finished his sentence. Claudia continued to hit him with the pillow pretending to be angry even though she was trying very hard to stifle a laugh. Suddenly, Claudia felt the familiar impact of a pillow hit the side of her head. She looked down to see a smiling Reggie now holding a pillow himself. The two smiled at each other as they realized what was about to happen.
Claudia ran to the center of the room to get away as Reggie jumped up off the bed chasing after her. The room was fairly small so Claudia never really stood a chance. Before either could register what was really happening the two were engulfed in a full-blown pillow fight. Both Claudia and Reggie were laughing as they ran around the room attacking each other with pillows. In an attempt to get away Claudia jumped up onto Reggie's bed causing Reggie to follow her. The two ended up continuing the fight whilst jumping on the bed which led to the homework Reggie was working on earlier to go flying. Starting to get tired Claudia jumped off the bed. She wanted to get enough space between her and Reggie to allow her to catch her breath. As she was running back towards the center of the room she tripped over Reggie's backpack that had fallen over from its position propped up against the bed when the two had started jumping on it. She quickly fell to the floor. Reggie hastily dropped his pillow and jumped off the bed rushing to the girl's side.
"Oh my God, Clau are you okay?" he asked rapidly.
Claudia laughed and nodded her head. "I'm fine Reg," she said standing up and brushing herself off. Both teens were breathing heavily from the physical exertion of their pillow fight. "We should probably clean up and get going so we're not late for band practice," she said holding out her hand to help Reggie up from where he was sitting on the ground. He agreed and grabbed her hand allowing her to help him up. The two cleaned up the mess of papers that littered the floor. Claudia slung her backpack onto her back, and Reggie grabbed his bass guitar in its case. The two made their way to the door. Reggie grabbed Claudia's hand in his after he shut the door and the two began their walk to the studio. The walk was full of humorous conversation.
When they finally reached the studio, Claudia pushed the door open with her free hand laughing loudly at something Reggie had just said. The other three members of their band were all prepping and tuning their instruments as they walked in.
"Hey, guys!" Reggie greeted the band. Luke and Bobby returned the greeting before Alex commented. "Seems like you two hand fun on your little study date," he glanced down at their entwined hands before looking back up at Claudia with a knowing smirk. The girl sent him a glare but felt the blush appearing on her cheeks none the less.
"Ya, Some would say we have chemistry together," Reggie said with a smile.
Claudia looked at him confused. "Well ya Reg, that's why we study togeth...Oh," she started before the realization hit. "I swear to God Reginald Peters if I hear one more chemistry pun come out of your mouth I will guarantee you fail that class," Claudia threatened.
"Oh, you know you love them," Reggie laughed as he placed a quick kiss on the girl's cheek before letting go of her hand and going to get out his guitar. Claudia quickly dropped her backpack by the couch before heading over to her keyboard that was stationed next to Alex's drumset on his right.
"Your gonna tell me everything," he whispered to his best friend beginning to play the song Luke had told them to start with.
"After practice," Claudia quietly confirmed as the song picked up. The friends smiled at each other before turning away and focusing their full attention on their music.