A Surreptitious Relationship

:A Surreptitious Relationship: Chapter Thirty-Four

            "Don't you ever listen when I talk to you?" I asked, grimacing. 

            "No," he deadpanned, "but, no, he's not in jail. Obviously. He probably put the blame on someone else." 

            I furrowed my eyebrows together. That wasn't good. Chris would want to know about that. "So what happened?" 

            "Shawn wants you and Mr. Heywood to break up." 

            "He what?" I cried, my eyes flying wide open in surprise. 

            Aaron snorted. "Yeah. Like I'll believe him after the thing with Mr. Ross. So I told Mikey to tell him I wasn't going to do it. I can't exactly afford to be kicked out of school." 

            My heart was racing in my chest. Aaron didn't believe Chris and I were dating? Was that a good thing or a bad thing? What if he began to trust me and found out about our relationship? Would he be angry? But it wasn't like I could tell him. 

            "Holly?" 

            "Sorry," I apologized quickly. "But do you see what I mean now? Nothing good will come with being on Shawn's side." 

            Crossing his arms, Aaron turned his nose up at me. "I wasn't on his side. I just do what he asks because I owe him." 

            "Even though you have nothing against me personally?" 

            "Well, I still want better grades in biology and gym class." 

            I stared at him blankly. He couldn't be serious. Even though Shawn had his followers attack Aaron, Aaron still wanted to try to blackmail me? Maybe he wasn't worth forgiving. Clenching my fists, I opened my mouth to yell at him, but he beat me to it. 

            Instead of yelling though, he laughed. A genuine laugh. "You should see your face- ow! Shit that hurts!" he groaned, hugging his midsection. 

            Confused, I continued staring at him. "What-" 

            "I've given up," Aaron told me, becoming serious again. "I learned Shawn won't be out of jail for at least another twenty years yesterday. He told me he'd be out at the end of this year. It's not worth the wait. Maybe if he hadn't lied so much to me..." 

            "It's in his nature." 

            "I know, but it still hurts." 

            "Aaron..." 

            He blushed, turning his head away from me. "Shut up. Don't even say anything. I'm giving up on him. So you win. You won't have to deal with me anymore." 

            "Hey," I said slowly, inching my hand toward him. "It's okay to feel hurt. I've mentioned this before, but the person I loved lied to me. Remember? We talked about it?" 

            "I wasn't listening." 

            "Of course," I muttered dryly. "Anyway, it sucked, but he made up for it. Shawn hasn't tried to make up for it, right? He just is tying to continue using you, right? It's good to let him go. You can find a new love." 

            Aaron's head snapped toward me. "W-what? Love? No! It's not like that!" 

            "What's with that reaction? Denial?" 

            "N-no!" 

            I smirked. "Sounds like it to me." 

            He glowered at me for a few moments, setting his jaw. "So what? So what? It's not like I chose to fall in love with him. He's a guy. I know. That makes me a faggot, right? A fag. Go ahead, say it."