Out of Your League

Chapter 10

We'd got back to Ed's house after watching sunrise and had pulled up in the Land Rover laughing to find his parents standing on the front door step, looking absolutely livid and this time, his Dad didn't even bother moving out of earshot before he began yelling at Ed.

'First you date her? Then you purposely ignore what I said to you last night and sneak out the house with her? This is outrageous, this is exactly why you shouldn't date her, this is why this will ruin your future, this is... this is... preposterous.' His Dad stood there, finished with his shout, but even his body language seemed imposing as he stood over Ed and gripped his by the shoulders. Then, before his Dad could launch into another yelling session, Ed's mother came over and gently but forcefully told me I should go home. They had even packed my bags and called a taxi for me, I guess mine and Ed's plan of me staying for a few days had gone to crap, it was shame because I really wanted to spend more time with him and his parents were getting in the way of that. So, I strode towards his Dad, crossed my arms and looked him up and down before saying:

'Thanks for having me, you were really a fantastic host,' then I spun on my heel, flicked my hair and stalked off, leaving him gaping in shock that a sentence that seemed polite could carry so much disgust and anger. I felt a bit bad, I really did, I didn't want his parents to hate me, but... I needed to show them that this wasn't okay. And, also, that we were only 17 and weren't going to be getting married anytime soon.

*****

Needless to say, the rest of my half term was pretty awful. My parents nagged me about everything and were even more disappointed in me when Ed's mother phoned them to tell them why I came home early. The only blessing was that Luke wasn't home so I didn't have to deal with him and his bullshit.

And when time came to return to school, for one of the first times ever, I felt relived, but... I didn't want to go back on the first day in case I bumped into Ed's parents, so I arrived back at school three days after half term ended. I was immediately put in detention for my tardiness, but it didn't surprise anyone – in fact, it would have surprised them more if I did go back to school on time. But, the day I arrived, I made sure to arrive early so I got there in time for chapel, and no surprise, the sermon was so loud that those in the front row had to shrink back to avoid being deafened while the rest of the school snoozed in their rows until it ended. Much to mine, and everyone else's, joy, the hymn was 'immortal, invisible,' and as we were dismissed from chapel, the school was collectively being more friendly to each as a result. There was only one disadvantage to chapel still, and that was, for Belle, every time we had chapel, there were whispered discussions about her vomiting incident earlier this term. Events like that only happened once every few years and until another one did, she would be talked about much to her utter annoyance.

Anyway, it was roughly a month and a half until the end of term. And until the Truth and Lie Brigade's Christmas occasion. As we were in sixth form now, that meant hours and hours of planning until each tiny detail was perfect. There was not a single mistake allowed, even details such as which Butcher's the meat should come from was discussed in detail.

The first planning event was the evening of the day that I arrived back at school. When I'd told Belle this, she's pouted and told me that we needed our time to talk and we hadn't chatted for ages. Her expression had made me laugh which had only led to a sullen silence from her, so I promised her that I would come and speak to her as soon as I was free to which she had replied I'm not someone who waits around for other people, other people wait for me. That's the way it works, don't forget that C. So I nodded and went off to the meeting, deciding that I would go and speak to her when I became free anyway.

I strode into the meeting which was being held in the upstairs of library and a held in my laugh as I saw one of the most contradictory sites I'd ever seen. The members of the Truth and Lie brigade, that is to say, some of the most refined, coolest and most fashionable members of Barton were all huddled around the fire clutching mugs of tea in a lazy, cozy way. Tea! I could do with some of that despite having already had too many cups today. Heading over to the drinks table, I scanned who was already here, most people which was not surprising considering I was usually on the later side. Even Will was here. That was a bad sign, if you were later than Will, it meant you were really late because he was always behind everyone else. He spotted my gaze and waved to me, then, as if noticing my thoughts, called to me