High School Treachery | ✓

15 | Awkward Apologies

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Awkward Apologies

"Ms. Prince, Mr. Uccello! If you can't control yourselves, I will be forced to separate you."

My jaw drops at the sound of Mr. Gonzalez's words. Not only do they sound inappropriate, but they attract the attention of everyone in the class. To top it all off, Mr. Gonzalez has a ghost of a smile on his face.

As if my teacher's un-professionalism and my classmates undying love for gossip isn't annoying enough, I have Jalen and his immaturity to deal with.

Because when I turn my head his way, avoiding the lingering stares from my nosey classmates, the smug smile coming to my teacher's face, and the concerned glance from my twin brother, I'm faced with Jalen—who's smirking.

"Really?"

We don't need to give these people anymore reason to talk about me, about us.

Not that there is an us! We're friends... that's all we are.

Despite how fun our time in SoHo last week was, and no matter how many times I sat in my room thinking of what could've happened if he'd just leaned in, nothing actually happened. And nothing's happened since.

And I'm fine with that. Totally fine with it.

I have to be, considering everything that's happened with Liam since I moved back to New York. I have to keep reminding myself of this.

Jalen's making it easier to be one hundred percent fine with just being friends, especially when he shrugs his shoulders and keeps smirking.

"No issue at all with what Mr. Gonzalez just implied," I try again.

In the recent week since our hang out—as I've decided to call it after Noah asked what I was doing that night—Jalen and I have talked a lot more.

Over the last week, we've spoken on the phone four times. He doesn't seem big on texting, as he can go days without answering a message, and when he does reply, it's usually short or one-worded.

But as we've spoken more, in and out of school, I've made it very clear to him that I can't stand the rumors. We agreed to not even talk about them, but that didn't stop me from complaining whenever he'd come up to me in the halls and a thousand eyes followed our every move.

So, now that Mr. Gonzalez has just ignited a whole new set of rumors with one sentence, I'd expect Jalen to at least try not looking so entertained by them, especially when our classmates are still eyeing us.

"What?" Jalen asks innocently, raising his hands. "He's not wrong. I do have a problem with self-control."

I roll my eyes, because it seemed easy for him to control himself the three times I thought he'd kiss me.

But instead of looking lame and saying that, I mutter, "I can't stand you."

Jalen laughs, knowing I don't mean it. "Okay, Lyndon."

My attention goes back to the worksheet in front of me. Apparently, laughing with your partner results in the teacher putting you on blast, so to not repeat past mistakes, I ignore Jalen's contagious laughter, and continue working on the sheet.

Jalen's attention goes to the worksheet as well, but rather than doing any work, he's drawing on the sides. I refrain from smacking his pen out of his hands. He may make class feel less like schoolwork and more like just sitting around, enjoying each other's company, but it's not reality. We have an assignment to do, and we were paired together. I won't lie and pretend my stomach didn't swarm with butterflies when Mr. Gonzalez said our names together when announcing partners, but that excitement dies down every second that passes where I do all the work and Jalen does none.