Chapter Twenty Two: A Thousand Open Mouths

684K 26.4K 18.8K
                                    

You're literally all amazing and I love you. Please read the author's note at the end! dedicated to july for the very thoughtful cover on the side! Ignore weird mistakes and typos, this was quickly edited and I had a fuzzy brain as I did it haha. Enjoy :) xx

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two: A Thousand Open Mouths

 

A few blocks away from school, Jessica and I stood in front of a local Starbucks. Being as, admittedly, whipped as I was, I took her to get a warm drink after the complaints of her cold hands as we were walking this morning. Not only did I do this in attempt to be a decent boyfriend, but there was something we needed to stop and talk about before getting to school.

 

Sipping on some special autumn drink they brought back around this time of the year, Jessica leaned against the wall and said, “So you really want to?”

 

I took her hand in mine and brushed my thumb across her knuckles, taking in her casual stance even though I knew she was a little nervous about this.

 

It’s been well over two weeks since we started going out, and Jessica was finally giving in to letting the fact known. The thing is, though, is that I have no idea why she would be nervous about people at school knowing that we’re together. Sure people will be surprised; it’s not really what they were expecting out of the school’s sunshine girl and “bad boy,” but it’s not that big of a deal . . .

 

“Yeah, I do. But why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do you not want to?”

 

She shook her head. “No, I do, but it’s –” Jessica bit her lip, looking suddenly uncomfortable as she said, “Do you not care about what people are going to say?”

 

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.

 

“Isn’t your reputation going to be ruined or something? Almost everyone doesn’t expect you to be with someone like me. They might think you’re going soft and –”

 

“I kinda am going soft, to be honest,” I interrupted with a shrug. At her genuine concern for the future of my reputation, I laughed and pulled her close. “You’re being ridiculous. Jess, you’re not honestly worrying about this, are you? Since when have I cared about what other people said? I don’t give a damn about their opinion. If anyone should be worrying about what shit people are going to say about us, it’s you. You are dating an asshole, after all.”

 

“You’re not an asshole!” Jessica protested instinctively before frowning. “Well, maybe a little bit,” she said after consideration.

 

“Oh, thanks,” I muttered.

 

She smiled and nudged my shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

 

“Yeah, I do,” I chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her down the sidewalk before we ran late. “High school is a gossip central, sunshine, you can’t avoid it. Trust me, all the talk about us dating will blow over as soon as some other scandalous thing happens.”

A Thousand Words | ✓Where stories live. Discover now