More than Best Friends?

Chapter 24 - Don't Let it Slip

"It must be nice to have time to go out on dates."  Pe was confused by the President's statement and was about to ask him what it meant, but the school bell rang, signaling the end of the meeting.   The students trickled out the door, talking about the plans for the upcoming festival.  Pe grabbed her folder and bag, then looked around to make sure the room was clean before leaving.  As she walked out, she felt something wrap around her waist and turned to find Adrijan.

"Oh, you scared me for a second," she said, relaxing a bit as she looked up at him, "I'm glad to see you."

"What do you say you come over to my place and we can... work on the history project some more?" he asked with a wink and brushed some stray hairs out of her face.

"Of course, but... I'm not sure we can keep calling it that," she said, clutching the manila folder to her chest, "I feel like people might find out soon..."

"I guess we could come up with a different name, but this one seems to work well," he said, leaning closer to her, "It hints at the fact that I have to do some... research."  He was now centimeters away from her and licked his lips seductively.

"Ah, not here," she said, shaking her head, "Someone might see..."

"I don't care about that anymore.  I wanna be able to tell people about us."

"Soon... I'll just have to find the right time to tell him..."  Pe let out a sigh; it was difficult to be dating two boys at the same time.  If anyone found out, she would be pressured to choose only one, and she knew that both truly did care for her.

"Well, just shoot me a text when you're on the way," he said, backing up and combing his hand through his hair, "I'll be waitin' for you, babe."  He gave her a curt nod before walking towards the school exit.  She giggled and started to walk toward her locker, humming an upbeat tune.  But she didn't know that the President was still in the meeting room; he had gone to the closet to put away some supplies, but he had heard the entire exchange between Pe and Adrijan.

"Hm," he said to himself, as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "I'll have to keep an eye on them."

~*~

The next week, Pe was pinning reminders for the cultural festival on the various cork boards displayed at the school.  As she took a step back to inspect her handiwork, she noticed Kyle walking in her direction.

"Oh, Kyle-san!" she called to him and waved, trying to flag him down, "I wanted to ask you about something important."  Kyle flinched and his eyes widened.  Is she going to ask me about her current situation? he asked himself.

"Uh... sure? What's up?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Well, the truth is, I've been thinking about someone for a little while," she said, putting her index finger to her chin.  Kyle gulped; So it is about that, he thought.  "I've just come up with a great opportunity for him!"  Pe clapped her hands together in delight.

What does she mean by that?  It can't be... she and that guy are going to...?!  Kyle coughed into his hand, his cheeks displaying a reddish hue from processing what she had said.

"Shouldn't you be... talking to Henry about this instead?" he asked, looking away, "Things might be better if you bring it up with him..."

"Huh?" she tilted her head and her eyebrows drooped in confusion, "Hm... but I don't think that he would be right for this job..."  Kyle felt that something had punched him in the gut; things sure had moved quickly between her and that boy!  "I feel like it should be someone more... active, and athletic."  Kyle choked on his breath, surprised that she would want to take it to the next level with such an edgy looking guy.

So he has some muscle under that flannel of his, he thought.  "I'm not really sure if I'm the one you should be talking to!" he sputtered.

"Ah, but who else would be better to light the bonfire at the festival in a few weeks?  I was thinking you could run with a torch, like in the Olympics," Pe said, "But if you don't want to do it, I understand."  A wave of relief washed over Kyle; so it was just a request for the festival and not something about her affair.

"No no, I can do it!" he said, waving his hands frantically, "I just thought you might have been talking about someone- I mean something, else."

"Oh, that's wonderful news! I'll tell the President right away," she grabbed the stack of flyers and her bag before dashing toward the student council room.  Kyle sighed as she ran off, wondering when she was going to approach Henry about what was going on between her and Adrijan.

Hopefully, this issue gets figured out soon, Kyle thought; he wasn't sure how long he could keep quiet about what he saw.

(1503 words, 05 July 2020)

(1510 words, updated 06 July 2020)

Sorry that it's been a little while since the last update! I recently enrolled in a few summer classes, so I've had a huge workload: tons of lectures and around six quizzes a week, but that's what I get for choosing accelerated science courses...