Chapter 15

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It's near impossible not to give myself away at school the next day. Walking around beside Ash, and not reaching out and touching him, is painful. Especially since not a single person knows what happened between Ash and I last night. After our mini-confession, my parents came home, and Ash snuck out. I didn't think pretending would be so hard.

Before lunch, we're standing at my locker before we go to the lunch hall. Dawn and Chloe are distracted, so they don't notice that Ash is staring at me, a burning look in his eye that's making my blood heat up.

I turn to look at him. "Stop looking at me like that," I whisper, furrowing my brows. An amused look crosses his face, and he actually smirks. My legs start to feel a little weak, and I hate that he has such an effect on me without even trying.

"Why?" he asks with fake innocence, tilting his head. He didn't even bother to whisper. I feel the blush spreading across my face and shake my head, turning away from him. I'm being serious. He really needs to stop looking at me like that.

"Okay, hurry up, I'm hungry," Dawn says, coming up on my other side. I slam the locker shut and we head to the lunch hall. Inside, Gary is sitting alone again, pushing his food around his plate with his fork. He looks up as we walk in, chin resting in his palm, but his face doesn't change. I have to quickly look away, feeling guilt clawing its way up my throat.

"Goh, Ash!" I turn to see who's calling, and it's Misty, waving us all over to her table. Trying not to look at Gary again, I head over there. We sit down, Ash sitting so close to me that our legs touch. He pulls something out of his bag and hands it to me.

"My mum made this for you," he says. I realise it's a sandwich. I already have my own, but I'm not going to say no to something Delia made. She somehow even manages to make sandwiches exciting. Feeling the blush spread again, I take it from him, saying thank you. In compensation, I hand him a bar of chocolate that I know is his favourite.

"How'd you know this is my favourite?"

"You eat it all the time," I say, raising an eyebrow. He looks genuinely surprised that I know.

"I didn't realise you paid so much attention."

"To you? Of course I do," I say quietly. Just like that, it's Ash blushing, and I smile, but he just grumbles something and turns away. Under the table, I give his hand a quick squeeze and then drop it again. He doesn't turn back to me, but I see the smile tugging on the corner of his lips.

May, Serena and Drew join us, and then the table is too loud to really have a private conversation. I spent so many years watching this exact table, listening to their loud laughing and banter, thinking they were annoying. I always thought that I'd be so out of place amongst them. Now, here I am, and I realise they're just happy, and that I can belong in a group like this too. I may not always be as loud or energetic, but that doesn't matter. None of them care. And I'm happy to listen and laugh along. Especially with Ash by my side.

After school, Ash offers me a ride home. I get in his car, but he doesn't take me home. Instead he pulls up on a quiet street, and leans over to kiss me. I can tell from the urgency of it that he's been waiting to do it all day, just like me. The moment makes my heartbeat flutter and my stomach flip, and this all feels so secretive, but I kind of love it.

"You looked really good today," he says when he pulls away.

"I look the same as I do everyday," I argue, flustered. Ash just smiles.

"Exactly."

Fuck. "You're an idiot," I say, shaking my head. Clearly, he likes making me flustered, then watching me blush, because he looks amused again.

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