Falling in love with the bully * Awsten Knight

30)

Awsten strides up to me in school during break time, brushing his red fringe out of his eyes.
"I have good news!" He declares, a small smile on his face as he approaches me.
"What?" I ask tentatively as we make our way to the library - my safe haven.
"Well, I was messaging the guys on fact last night. Anyway, Otto wasn't  online. But guess what! Geoff is more than willing to be your friend, and so Is Otto!" He says.
"But Otto was only bullying me yesterday! Are you sure this isn't some kind of joke?" I ask.
"Of course I'm sure. They'll listen to me now"
"Ok, what about Otto then?" I say.
"Ah, Otto, yeah, about him, he thinks that you're a bitch. And I told him everything, honestly, I explained it all. But he's unconvinced yet. Don't worry, give him a couple of days and he'll come around no problem"
"What if I don't want to be their friends! You're going to be popular now, Lilly! Christ, even Ashley and her click are dying to be your friend!"
"But I don't really like them"
"It doesn't matter, if stops them from bullying you, doesn't it?" He points out.
"I suppose"
"See? It isn't that bad"
When we're in the library, Geoff and Otto come in. I tense up. They have guilty looks on their faces. They take a seat at our table, and I avoid eye contact with them as it's so awkward.
"I'm reaaaaaallllly sorry, Lilly," Otto begins, "we had no idea that awsten actually liked you. I was convinced you were a proper bitch, but clearly you're not" I nod at his comment and give him a small smile.
"Yeah, me too, Lilly, I apologise. We should never have bullied you; I feel awful. And don't worry about Otto, no doubt he'll follow us with all of this business"
"So can we be friends now? It would be a lot easier, wouldn't it"
"I suppose," I say quietly.
"What do you say then, Lilly? Friends?"
I nod, and Geoff lets out a whoop, Geoff grind, and awsten puts his arm around me protectively.
"How about you two come over my house tonight?" Asks Geoff.
"Sure!" Says awsten happily.
"Hmm, will Otto be there?" I ask uncertainly.
"Otto will"
"Ok"
"Don't worry, babes, I'll be there, and if you feel uncomfortable we can leave," says awsten, rubbing my back soothingly.
"Yeah, we won't bully you or anything"
"It's Otto I'm worried about;" I say.
"If he starts on you, he can leave," says Geoff.
"Ok, I'll come"
"Great! I'll leave school at lunch to pick up some munchies! What sort of snacks do you like, Lilly?"
"I don't mind, whatever you guys like," I say. "What time should we be other for?"
"4, if you like"
"Can we make it half past? I have a horse to take care of, you see"
"Wow I never knew you had a horse!" Geoff exclaims. I smile at him.
"Yes, whatever works best," Geoff replies.
"Where do you live?" I inquire.
"Don't worry, I'll pick you up and walk you there and back," awsten whispers into my ear.
Geoff gets out a notepad. "I know, we'll write a list of all the things I need to get at break!" He says gleefully, taking a black pen out of his pocket.
"Maltesers!" Geoff says, "my favourite!"
Geoff writes it down. His writing is small and neat, I am surprised to see.
"Twizzlers," Awsten suggests.
"I want .... Twizzlwrs! They have  them in the sweet store! And what do you want, Lilly?"
"I don't mind"
"Come on, say some sweets you like"
"Um, M and M's?"
"Great idea!" Says Geoff.
"Ok, what kind?"
"The peanut ones, please," I say.
"And Otto is bound to want chocolate, you know what he's like, he'll scoff the lot," Geoff puts in.
"And what do you say we order a dominoes? It's two for one on a Tuesday!"
"Yeah, it'll be awesome!" Says Geoff.
"And what movies should I order from blockbusters?" Asks Geoff .
"Dating rules from my future self! That's pretty new," says awsten.
Geoff' jaw dropped, "what about fight club, mate?"
"I'm thinking of something that Lilly will like"
"Yeah, fair point. And, um, what else can I get?"
"A horror film for Otto?" Asks awsten.
"Do you like horror movie's, Lilly?" Says Geoff, and I'm surprised at how considerate he is being.
"No, not really. But you guys can watch one, I'll just go home early"
"No, you're our friend now. What about chasing maverick? It's about surfing"
"Yeah, I love surfing!" Says Geoff.
"Same here. So, chasing maverick and dating rules form my future self. That should do it, right?"
"I should think so," says awsten.
"Ok, see you guys at lunch," he says, waving at us.
"Bye!" Says Geoff, giving us a wave. I wave back at them as they exit the library.
I can't believe I have friends now! And that people like me! Things have dramatically changed since I started to date awsten. I am waiting for him to come and collect me to walk to Geoff' place now. Suddenly there is a knock at the door: I go to answer it. Awsten, like I expected.
"Hi," I smile, coming out and closing the door after me.
"Hey, Babes," he smiles.
We walk to Geoff'' house in silence mainly. There are no words which need to be spoken. Sometimes it is just nice to be in the company of another. He has his arm around me though, which is comforting.
I discover that Geoff'' house is a short walk - about 10 minutes - from my place. Quite a nice house too.
He opens the door for us, and takes my coat. "Luckily my whole family are out for a meal, so we have the place to ourselves"
We follow him into the living room.
"Anybody for drinks?" He asks, "I have coke, lemonade, milk, juice.... Who wants what?"
The guys start calling out drinks that he had listed. "And Lilly?" He inquires, involving me.
"Milk, please," I say. He strolls out into the kitchen.
"Otter, come and help me with the food! Just don't eat it!" He instructs. Otto groans and goes to help him. Awsten turns on Otto.
"If you haven't noticed by now, Geoff is friendly with Lilly. And me and Lilly are dating. We have no reason to bully her or hate her any longer - I will explain exactly why that happened later. So what do you say to being her friend?" He asks.
"Oh, um, well that's surprising, ok then, if  that's the case...."he says, a little shocked.
Geoff hands me my drink first, and I thank him, and Otto carries in multiple bowls of sweets. I turn on the chick flick.
"Ugh, a girls movie!" Otto exclaims when the title screen comes up. "Why can't we watch a good horror instead?"
"Because this movie was chosen for Lilly. Don't worry, we have a more unisex movie after - chasing maverick. Now shut up." Says Geoff as he hits play. The move was pretty good. After it, Geoff ordered dominoes.
"What pizza do we want? Chicken and pineapple for me and Otto, as we discussed outside. Geoff what pizza will you share?"
"Ham and mushroom, please"
"And you pair?"
Awsten looks at me for guidance. "I don't mind"
"It's up to you, babes"
"Veggie, please," I say, handing Geoff some money.
Uh,uh,uh, my treat! You deserve it anyway!0
After the pizza, we watch chasing maverick with me snuggled up to awsten. All the guys say bye - even Otto, who is being civil. Awsten and Geoff are right, it won't be long until he is my friend.
And I feel really happy when I go to bed that night - knowing I have 2 friends, which is 2 more than what I used to have.