Senior Year

Chapter Twenty-Six

THREE WORDS
POV: Haven

Apollo was going through it. The media was attacking him left and right. Pictures of him with lipstick prints on his cheek were all over the internet. New captions read: Apollo Laurant leaves Janitor's closet after a scandalous meeting with one of his peers.

I hated it. I hated that the media thought Alexa was his girlfriend. She didn't deserve that title after what she did. I couldn't help the jealousy that I felt when seeing people call Alexa his girlfriend. The only thing that made me feel better was knowing the truth.

Watching Apollo get attacked on the internet was to torture I wanted to defend him against the internet sleuths. It wasn't right. Apollo didn't do anything to deserve any of this. The comments kept me up at night, biting my nails until they hurt.

The next day at school I decided to do something about it. I couldn't sway the public, but I could set out peers straight. That started with Sadie and Alexa. From what I could tell is that they weren't going to stop until they tore Apollo down. They wanted to become famous off of him.

I found the two in the morning. They are sitting at a table. Probably plotting their next plan of attack. I don't think as I march right up to them. Sadie smirks at me while Alexa stays straight faced. I tower over Alexa and glower at her.

"You better stop messing with Apollo," I say with clenched teeth. I wasn't trying to scare her, I just want her to know what she's doing is not okay.

"Or what?" She asks tilting her head at me like she's dumb.

"Or there is a pretty lawsuit in your future." I narrowed my eyes on her. "Defamation is a crime. So if I were you I'd be so careful." She goes quiet. "And for you Sadie, I suggest you grow the fuck up and move on." None of them move to say anything. I leave the table when they remain silent. I hope that I got to them. I will stand up for Apollo no matter what.

Apollo didn't show up to school today, but I got a text from him. He wants me to come to his house after school. When school gets out I drive up the hill to his house. He greets me at the door. As soon as he sees me he wraps his arms around my frame. I breathe in his scent.

"I missed you," he whispers into my ear. I pull him tighter against me. His fingers strum through my hair.

"I missed you more," I say, sliding my hands up his back. He pulls away to run his thumbs across my cheekbones.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs," he takes my hand and guides me to his bedroom. It's just like how I remembered. Dark and barren. The view is still breathtaking. We sit down next to each other on the bed. "I just wanted to see you today," he says as his eyes search my face.

"I'm just glad you asked me to come over," I admit. He gives me a weak smile. I can already feel my eyes becoming glossy. He pulls me to his chest. "You'll never know how sorry I am." I mutter. He rubs my back. "I ruined everything."

He kisses my forehead. "You didn't ruin anything. I was hurt, Haven." I nod my head in understanding. "A little birdie told me that you confronted Alexa and Sadie." My body stiffens. "Thank you for that," his voice sounds different.

I pull away from his chest to look at him in the face. "Are you okay?" I ask, brushing the hair out of his eyes. My heart stops beating when I see that his eyes are wet. He's crying. I run my thumbs under his eyes. "Why are you crying?" I ask gently.

He looks down in embarrassment. "Because I'm grateful for you," he says, giving me a shy smile. "You stood up for me."

I shake my head at him. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't?" I ask. "I did it because I wanted to. You don't deserve it."

He takes a shaky breath. "I've been very stressed out lately. The only silver lining has been you." He pauses for a moment. "I forgive you Haven. I forget that you were just as hurt as me. I would never do anything like that to you."

"It was my fault. I will never doubt you again," I say, pressing a gentle kiss to his soft cheek.

Apollo swallows hard. "Will you be my girlfriend?" He asks.

My mouth parts slightly ajar. "Your girlfriend?" I ask as my throat dries up.

"I wanted to ask you this a while ago. Then everything happened." A grin crawls onto his lips. I cup his cheeks as he laughs. "I don't want anyone, but you. I don't want to be without you any longer."

"I would love to be your girlfriend," I say as my face breaks into a huge smile. I jump onto him and squeeze the life out of him.

His dark laugh fills the room. "I'm so relieved!" He says falling back into the mattress with me wrapped up in his arms. I shove my face in the crook of his neck, savoring his scent. "I love you, Haven."

My body stills. He loves me? I push up with my arms to face him. His brown irises meet mine. His white teeth show as he smiles. "I love you." I lean in for a toothy kiss. Could this moment be any more perfect?