Achieving A Grades (GirlxGirl) (Student/Teacher)

(21) Guilty Blackmail

Aubree's POV

Safe.

I was safe again. Peyton and I were safe again, and we could continue our relationship - extra secretly, this time. I am not going to have another crazy ex-girlfriend come along and blackmail me into losing everything I ever loved.

And so, to celebrate, I'd invited Peyton to my house for dinner, and it will be beautiful and romantic because it's no less than what Peyton deserves after suffering through a date with...her.

Sadly, we still had a day of school to get through before we could enjoy any kind of relaxtion or celebration, but Peyton was sat with me during lunch, so the idea wasn't that bad. "You know, Miss Willis, I think that maybe I should be allowed to not do that huge amount of homework you set for everyone on the Monday, since, you know, I put my life on the line last night."

I smiled at Peyton, my hand stroking the silky locks of her black hair. "Maybe so." I said, but then I turned serious. We hadn't talked about last night at all yet - the date had not once been mentioned. "So, was it awful?"

Peyton sighed, taking my hand in hers. "It was...suffocating. Congested and eventful, I guess is a way to describe it. But, I'm pretty sure she's going to delete all evidence; she wont keep it after last night."

My look was poignant. I felt terrible for putting her through that and I knew we had to be more careful. Tensing at my next thought, my mouth flapped about and spoke it before I could stop it. "Did she try anything?"

And then I saw Peyton's body visibly stiffen, and my heart sunk. She dropped my hand before speaking. "Jess? Are you kidding me? If she tried anything I would clock her one around the face." 

Peyton's eyes stared straight into mine, but her words didn't feel sincere. And, in that moment, I hated that I knew her well enough to know when she was lying, and my whole body seemed to heave and collapse at the knowledge. 

Jess had tried something. I just knew it.

But my words were jokey and pleasant. "Oh, please." I said to her, and she seemed to give a guilty smile. "As if you could ever punch someone - imagine that!"

And then Peyton seemed to visibly relax, which only made me tense in turn. "Heyyy!" Peyton whined. "I could totally hit someone. Give 'em a big ass slap around the face!" she did the motion, hitting palm against palm and emitting a slap noise. It made me jump.

"Right." I said, "That's like saying you can live a month without food. Impossible."

"Well, that's just cruel."

"No, it's not." I said to her, shaking my head, my worries dying away as we talked. Who cares if Jess tried something? Peyton wouldn't retaliate. "You're too good to do any harm - physical or mental."

But Peyton shrugged. "I don't know about that." she said. "It seems like I do crappy things on the daily."

I snorted. "Untrue."

"I'm not a saint, Aubree." she said, and then my stomach seemed to knot itself again. Was that guilt in her voice? "Yesterday, after my blackmail date thing with Jessica, I couldn't stop thinking about her - not like that!" she quickly clarified, her hands shooting up in apology. "But she admitted why she did what she did, and that she loves me, and rejecting her made me feel terrible."

"It's not your fault." I said. "You did what you had to do; accepting her would have hurt you and me, and when she found out you didn't actually love her, it would hurt her as well. Rejecting her was for the best, Peyton, don't let yourself be convinced otherwise."