Part 16: Okay, Now

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"I know," he whispers, and if feels like I can breathe again.

I knew I wasn't going to feel better until I saw Theo. So I may or may not have skipped one of my university classes to come to his school and see him and tell him in person that I am not and could never be ashamed of him. I press a gentle kiss to his forehead, and he pulls away, practically beaming. He's so beautiful, all I want to do is hold him forever.

"Awww, you two are adorable," Jillian coos. I smile a little.

"Hi, Jillian. How are you?"

"Good, now that this whole thing," she waves a hand at me and Theo, "has been cleared up."

Me, too.

I look back to Theo, who's frowning at me now. "You look tired. Did I keep you up too late last night?"

I shake my head, giving him a small smile. "No. It's good that you did, that was important."

"But... you look exhausted." He reaches up, running the pad of his thumb under my eye, like he can take away my fatigue with his touch. "You have bags under your eyes."

"I'm okay, Theo," I tell him, because I really am. Now that I've seen him.

He's not wrong, though: between practically draining my eyes of tears and staying out (smoking) nearly all night, I'm a bit of a mess today. My eyes are bloodshot, and I look a little like a vampire. Pale and with dark circles under my eyes. It's the 'dead inside' look and I'm nailing it. I'm planning on sleeping whenever I don't have a class for the rest of the day, mostly so Theo won't be worried on our date later.

He snuggles closer to me again, making my heart feel too full to be contained in my chest. The things this boy does to me.

We stay like that until the bell rings. By that point, most of his school has probably seen us together. I glance at Jillian, who seems to also be noting this, and the protective look on her face makes me feel a little better. Theo, my unbelievably precious innocent pure boyfriend, doesn't see a thing. He'll be okay, though. I warned him last night. And he has Jillian.

"Come on, the bell went," Jillian tells Theo. "You'll see Blair after school. Let's go."

He nods at her, then, blushing, reaches up to peck my cheek ever so gently. It feels like I've been blessed by an angel.

"See you after school," he whispers.

"See you," I echo, and he gives me a small smile before disappearing into the school.

I stay there for a few moments, wanting to savour the feeling a little, before hopping on my motorcycle and riding back to the university campus. I find a spot and sleep for the remainder of class.

-

Some random person I've never seen waves to me for like the fifteenth time today (not all the same person. Different random people). I wave back, confused. I get to my locker to grab my books for my next class (it's not even lunchtime yet. Fifteen random people).

"Everyone's cosying up to you now that they know you're dating Blair," Jillian says as she opens her locker next to mine. 

"Right." I snap my fingers with the realization, remembering what Blair said. "He mentioned that on the phone last night, when I asked if we could be a couple in public."

Jillian opens her mouth to respond, but she gets cut off by some dude passing by us. "Hey, Ted!"

Okay, no. I turn to the guy with an incredulous expression. "Ted? No. Just no. Never call me that ever again."

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