My Straight Teacher? [Discontinued]

28-"On the count of three."

A/N:

Steve Grand's new album just came out! It's called 'Not the End of Me', and the cover is showed above (photo). That's why I'm posting an extra chapter—and I was bored, but...

This chapter is a little shorter, but I couldn't drag it out too much.

Ajax-

After a week of sneaking around and kissing Steve, I finally told my friends.

We all needed something to get college off our minds.

It was already December 18th. We were told we'd hear back around December 15th. All we knew was that Echo got into Duke on December 14th.

We got everything figured out with Mom, Nate, and the baby. As of know, he or she was perfectly healthy.

I spent more time with Griffin, preparing to be an older brother. Phoenix and Orion were very thankful for the help.

I was relaxing in my room, Grace, Echo, and Addy all with me. I was waiting to hear back from the gallery as to whether or not I got in.

Grace had been making no progress with Addy—but to be fair, she had made no effort either.

"So," Addy said, "should I just take my $50 now? Or wait until the end of the year?"

I sighed. I took my laptop off my legs, and turned to face my friends. "Actually," I told her, drawing out every syllable, "you're not getting your money."

"What?" Addy asked.

The right side of my lip twitched up. "Because... we are kind of sort of maybe back together I guess," I explained hesitantly.

"Jaxie!" Echo exclaimed. "Congrats, man!"

I shrugged. "Been going on for about a week, or something. Nothing special."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Of course it's special! He makes you happy." Her eyes flickered to Addy so fast that I wouldn't have seen it had I not been looking for it.

I gave her a sad smile that only she could see.

"Well, bro, I guess the bet is back on!" Addy said.

I nodded. Before I could speak my agreement, my laptop binged. I opened it so fast that it almost broke.

"What is it?" Addy asked immediately.

I scanned over the email, a smile creeping up. "'Dear Contestant, your photo has been entered into the gallery'!" I read.

Everybody started cheering.

I sighed. "If only I knew about college," I muttered to myself.

We went out to dinner to celebrate.

The first day of the show was on the 21st. I went with my family that day, showing them my picture along with the others. From a distance, it all created a sea of various blues.

The second day, I brought Steve.

"Wow," He said when I showed him my photo, "I don't know which is more amazing. Your photography or your modeling."

I smiled as he bent down to kiss me.

We spent the whole day together. We went to watch a movie, ate dinner, played soccer, and kissed.

Eventually, we ended up making plans for winter break together. We would stay at his cabin, and I'd tell my parents I was with Grace. I'd spend the first two days with Grace, and the rest with Steve.

On December 23rd, I got a letter from UAL London, Addy got one from Stanford, and Grace got hers from USC.

Sitting in Grace's bedroom, we all hesitated to open ours. "I can't do it!" Grace said, anxiously tapping her foot.

"I know!" I agreed.

Echo giggled. "What if you guys just switch around the letters?" She suggested.

We all agreed that it was a pretty good idea.

So, I ended up with Grace's, Grace ended up with Addy's, and Addy ended up with mine.

"On the count of three," Addy prompted. "One. Two. Three."

Excited squeals escaped our lips as letters were torn open.

I scanned over Grace's letter, and my face fell.

"Ajax!" Addy said excitedly. "You got in!"

I gave a weak attempt at a smile. "So did you, Addy!" Grace informed her.

Then, everybody looked at me. Grace was the first to realize what the letter said. "Oh."

"I'm so sorry, Grace," I apologized. "They... you didn't..." I sighed.

Grace nodded, clearly holding back tears. "You know what?" She said. "I-It's Okay. I just... I have to go do... something." She walked out of the room.

Echo started to get up, but I stopped her. "I'll handle this," I assured her before rushing after Grace.

I caught up with Grace in her bathroom. Tears were falling and her body was shaking from her sobs. Carefully, I approached her. She couldn't see me, because her head was in her hands.

I knelt down beside where she sat on the toilet, and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay," I told her. "It'll be okay."

Grave shook her head, her tears turning my shirt damp. "No i-i-i-it's no-o-ot," she cried. "That's-that's-that's my dream," she explained.

"Hush," I told her, parting her back. "You're Grace fucking White, you can do better," I assured her.

Grave let out a giggle. She wiped away some tears, and took a deep breath. "It's just that... well, my grandma lives in California, and... well, she's sick and I... I wanted to be there for her..."

I nodded. "Well, there are other schools in California, if that's what you really want. And, maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

"But... I don't know. I had my mind set on USC. I don't... I don't know where else I'd want to go."

"You'll find a place! Just look at your passions! And, just a crazy idea, maybe try to go somewhere close to Addy?"

Grave looked at me. "You can't be serious."

I nodded with a chuckle. "Okay, maybe that was a little too crazy. But, my point is, you can do anything you want. USC isn't the only option for you."

She nodded. "I know."

After a little bit more reassuring, we finally made our way back the Echo and Addy.