Within the Lines

22.

"So, I heard you have a boyfriend." 

Mandy slid into the chair next to me during lunch, grinning widely. I nearly choked on a piece of my tuna sandwich, then swallowed it down with difficulty. 

Mandy's smile turned even more smug as she leaned her elbow on the table and leaned towards me. "Who is it?" 

"Where did you even hear I have a boyfriend?" I asked after several gulps of water, taken just to stall and recover from my shock. 

Both Becky and Jonah were looking at us now. Neither of them were curious like Mandy. Jonah knew the answer, and Becky just seemed annoyed at Mandy for poking her nose everywhere all the time.

"The guys on the football team said it," Mandy replied, blinking innocently. "Julian asked me if I knew who it was."

I had absolutely no idea which one of the jocks was Julian, but apparently he knew me. Oh, the endless, sucky perks of being coach Turner's son. But how did Julian the jock find out? Did Corey talk? 

A sudden cold chill ran down my spine. 

Atticus. If the football boys were talking about it, I could only imagine his state of mind right now. His brain wouldn't be just fried. It had probably melted into a soup by now. 

Don't panic I quickly texted to Atticus under the table, before turning back to Mandy. 

"Well, they're wrong," I replied, deciding to go with the same joking, light tone I would've used if it wasn't true. "If I had a boyfriend, I'd hope I would be the first to know. Wish it were true, though."

Mandy was thrown off. I'd successfully burst her bubble. No, wait, I'd cheered to soon. She tilted her head to the side. 

"Really? But Julian said he'd overheard coach Turner say it." 

It was my turn to be caught off guard. "Dad's wrong then," I blurted after a millisecond of hesitation. A millisecond too long, as Mandy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

"Okay, I confess: you totally caught us in the bathroom a while ago. It's me!" Jonah suddenly interrupted with a wide grin. He winked at Mandy. 

"No you're not." Mandy scoffed. "I saw you getting it on with Brody in the parking lot yesterday." 

"Yeah, you wish," I teased. I'd caught Jonah's intentions loud and clear: turn it into a running gag that we're dating and put Mandy on the wrong trail. 

"No, you wished!" Jonah childishly retorted. 

Mandy laughed, and the crisis was averted. There wouldn't be a large scale data leak, no whistleblowers of Snowden proportion. Just Jonah, texting me 'be more careful' later while Dad, Atticus and I were in the car, on our way home. Oddly enough, Dad didn't ask me anything about my so-called 'boyfriend.' I still didn't know how he found out. 

I didn't need to ask if Atticus had heard too, I could tell by his clenched jaw and his sour expression. He hadn't replied to my text, and I felt like I shouldn't say anything else until we arrived home, and were safe in my attic room. 

We were safe from the parents today, too. Chiara had insisted Dad took her out for dinner together before the football match tonight (she'd teased him with the fact that he'd completely get sucked into the game and wouldn't pay her any attention for days after). 

After Chiara and Dad left for their date, Atticus wasted no time getting to business. 

"Corey swears he didn't say anything," he told me with crossed arms. "It was coach Turner who did. Julian overheard him say it on the phone."