LOCKDOWN

Epilogue

16th May 2018
It had been sixteen days since school had started again, sixteen days since Peyton had told me she was in love with me, and sixteen days since I said it back. To be completely honest, it had been an awkward sixteen days. Peyton and I only saw each other at school, and we couldn't get within two metres of each other. During lunch breaks we would occasionally sneak into the girls bathroom to kiss and hold each each other, but otherwise we had to love each other from afar.

The news that Peyton and I were together had spread quickly throughout the school and even the teachers were partaking in the gossip. Before English class one day, Mr Connelly had pulled me aside and taken it upon himself to take credit for our blossoming romance.

"You see, if I had never made you sit in alphabetical order and given you the Shakespeare assignment, you never would've gotten together!" he exclaimed excitedly, and I reassured him that yes, he was entirely to thank, and yes, he would be invited to our future wedding.

Everyone seemed ecstatic that we were together, with Brayden claiming that he called it from the moment we were stuck in lockdown together. The only people who weren't pleased (besides Peyton's group of followers, because they don't count) were Aspen, Courtney, Esther, and Nora.

"Zara, you literally hated her last year, what changed?" Aspen asked me, her eyebrows furrowed and her expression one of complete confusion.

"She did," I replied. "She's a different person now."

"And how can you be so sure of that?" Esther asked, in a much kinder tone than Aspen held. "Has she told you why she hated you for so long?"

"I — no, she hasn't told me. But it seems to be a sensitive topic for her. I don't want to overstep any boundaries by asking her again," I replied. Although I knew I was doing the right thing by not pushing Peyton for answers, Esther's question did send a pang of insecurity through me. Why, if Peyton loved me, had she not been fully honest with me about our past?

"No offence, Zara, you know I love you, but something seems off. You're stuck together for three months and all of a sudden you're in love?" Aspen argued.

Before I could retort with an angry reply, Courtney interrupted, placing her hand on mine.

"Zara, we all love you so much, and we only want what is best for you. I trust your judgement. If you say that Peyton has changed, then I believe you," she spoke softly, a comforting smile on her face. Aspen huffed loudly and crossed her arms, glaring daggers at Courtney.

"You girls weren't with us for those three months, and you don't know what happened between us in that time. Things happened that has shown me that she's changed," I assured them, referring to the time Peyton had let me touch her like no one else had done before.

I hadn't told the girls about that, wanting to keep it between Peyton and myself. I didn't care if people knew that we had had sex, but I wasn't going to be the one to say it. What happened between us that night was sacred, and I wanted it to exist only between the two of us.

Lunch times consisted of me sitting on the benches behind the soccer field watching Peyton and the boys kick the soccer ball around. I watched as Peyton kicked the ball over the goalkeepers head and it soared into the back of the net. The boys on her team all cheered, and I smiled as she looked toward me and pointed her finger at me, mouthing the words 'love you' before blowing a dramatic kiss and running back towards the centre of the field.

"As much as I'm not fully on board with this relationship, I do love seeing Laine Parkin's face every time Peyton interacts with you," Aspen laughed.