Accidental Love: A Griffin Johnson Fanfiction *completed*

Part 11

-two weeks later-

I was walking to class when I got stopped. Again. 
"You're Griffin Johnson's girlfriend! What's it like hanging out with the Sway boys all the time?" some girl that I didn't recognize asked. 
"I don't really hang out with the Sway boys," I responded. "Have a good one!"
Bryce had put me on his vlog a week ago, and now I literally couldn't leave the apartment without getting stopped. If this was what being an influencer was like, but times one hundred, I felt bad for the Sway boys.

I still refused to download TikTok, but sometimes, I would appear in videos that were made at Sway. Griffin told me that every comment was asking when I would have my own account, but I just wasn't interested. Things were going really well for us, and I didn't want to put myself on social media and risk causing problems.
Dixie still gave me the cold shoulder whenever we all hung out together, but I was slowly learning to avoid it. Against Dixie's wishes, Noah and I were sort of becoming friends. Griffin didn't really have a specific best friend in Sway, so we didn't spend too much time with any individual couple, but we never hung out with Dixie and Noah, which made sense, all things considering. 

I sat through class, and once again, I somehow got brought up as a topic of conversation. "Allie," the professor began, "I've been seeing a lot of you on paparazzi websites. I'd like to offer you a deal. You can choose to drop any project or paper in this course, but only if you put together a presentation on how you deal with the press and how you even got to this position."
I groaned internally, but I was ready to accept. There was a big project due at the end of the semester, and it involved reaching out to the press to job shadow. That was the last thing that I wanted to do, especially now. "Sure. I would love to. When would you like me to have it ready by?"
She let me know to have it ready by the due date of whatever assignment I chose to replace. The thought of exposing my relationship in front of one hundred other students gave me anxiety, but I would just have to push through. 

Class ended, and I called Griffin as I walked back to the apartment. "Hey, babe."
"Hey, Al. What's up?" He sounded distracted, but I let it slide. 
"My professor just gave me an alternate assignment to assess how being with you has affected my life," I laughed. 
"That's very nice," he murmured. 
"Griff, are you even listening to me?"
"What? Yeah, sorry. What's up?" he replied. 
"Call me back when you're not distracted anymore. You know how much I hate one-sided conversations," I responded, hanging up. 

I walked into the apartment, and Liz was still sitting on the couch where she had been when I left earlier that morning. "You're still in last night's clothes, Liz. What's going on?"
She waited to speak until I had sat down next to her. "It's a really long story."
"Yeah? Well, I've got a really long time to listen to it. Whenever you're ready, kiddo."
"Okay," she sighed. "It's not that long of a story. I just didn't really want to tell you." I ignored that comment, allowing her to continue talking. "Kio asked if I wanted to hang out last night."
"Liz! That's great!" I exclaimed. 
"Yeah, it was. Until his ex showed up. That was the most awkward exchange that I think I've ever seen in my life, and I've watched you interact with Dixie," she replied, her voice trailing off. 
"What happened?"
"I left in the middle of their argument. I can't go back there, Al. It was so embarrassing."
I wrapped my arms around her. "Not to be that bitch, but you're overreacting. I'm sure that it was fine. Kio has made it very clear that he wants nothing to do with his ex. I'm not even sure why she would be over at Sway."

My phone rang, and she looked up at me. "Go ahead. I'll be fine."
"Hello?"
"I'm calling you back, babe."
I let out a frustrated sigh. "What were you doing that was distracting you?"
"Cleaning," he said, all too quickly. 
"Mhm. Okay. Anyway, I was just telling you about this project that I have to do, but it's not that important. What are you doing right now? Do you want to grab lunch?"
"I would normally love to," he began. 
"But?" I asked, cutting him off. 
"I have a lunch meeting. Sorry, babe. I'll make it up to you. I promise."
"Alright. Good luck. Love you," I replied, but he had already hung up.

I looked over at Liz, and she shrugged. "Don't ask me."
"This is going to sound crazy, but should I go over there? He was being kind of weird," I asked. 
Liz shrugged again. "It's your world. I'm just living in it."
That didn't help me not do something stupid, so I grabbed my keys and headed downstairs. 
When I got in the car, I considered not going, but something in the back of my mind told me that I needed to. The drive to Sway was short, and I sat in the driveway for a few moments before I worked up the courage to go inside. 

When I knocked on the door, Bryce answered it. "Hey, Allie. Griffin didn't tell me that you were coming over today."
"Griffin doesn't know. Is he upstairs?" I asked. 
Bryce nodded. "Yep. You know where his room is. It's good to see you."
He shut the door behind me as I went upstairs. I stood in front of his door for a few moments, trying to build up the courage to go in. I gave a soft knock, opening the door, and I was shocked by what I saw.

"It's not what it looks like," Griffin tried to explain. 
"If it's not what it looks like, then what is it?" I asked, my heart dropping into my stomach.