"I love you." Justin whispered, pressing me back against my locker with a smirk.
"I love you more." I replied.
"And I'm going to puke." Sophia groaned a few feet away, making gagging sounds. After a moment of hesitation, Justin kissed me and pushed himself from the lockers, throwing a wink Soph's way.
"You two are like. . . like. . ."
"Perfect? I know!" I joked, looping my arm through hers and winked. She forced out another disgusted grunt as we headed for my dad's classroom; aka The Gym.
It was bad enough having to be in here for PE, where the aroma made everyone a little dizzy and disoriented. Having to be in the same place twice, was disgusting.
"Hannah!" Miranda Park greeted with a wave, earning a surprised look out of Soph and I both.
"Come sit over here!" She made a gesture to where she sat on the bleachers, patting the empty spot beside her. Sophia and I exchanged a look before shrugging and joining her, having to climb over my sister and Mason on the way.
"You look amazing!" She exclaimed, as perky as usual. Being at almost every pep rally for four years must have started to take a toll on her sanity.
"Thanks." I felt Sophia give my hand a worried squeeze. I shrugged, turning my attention to the old chalkboard in front of us. It looked as if it had been pulled out of the early 2000's and rolled in here for some sort of play that the theatre kids were putting together.
"So, you aren't going to believe this, but Micky and and I were talking and she thinks you'd be perfect for the squad. Lynn Coleman moved away over the summer, so there's a spot open and it has your name written all over it."
I had to blink a few times to comprehend what she had said. Miranda Park and Michaela Thompson wanted me on the cheer squad? Had Micky died and come back a completely different person?
"Is that some sort of joke?" I responded after a second, feeling my sister's eyes on me from below us.
"No, no. You know me, Hannah! We've known each other since first grade. I'd never lie." I nodded slowly, feeling as if my friends and sister were pushing down on my shoulders with so much pressure that they might break.
"Can I think about it and get back to you?" I questioned. Miranda giggled, nodding.
"Of course." Before we could go on, my dad stalked into the room, fixing quite possibly the ugliest tie I'd ever seen in my life.
He looked as if he'd taken a course in fashion with Bill Nye as the teacher. His graying hair was slicked back, his thick glasses askew on his nose. His clothes made me wish I'd stayed home to help him sort through them for something different. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a sweater vest that had strange looking polka-dots all over it.
I groaned, burying my face against my best friend's shoulder as she shook with laughter.
"Dad, what are you wearing?" Hailey mumbled from the first bleacher, her head shaking in disapproval. Dad shook his head, waving his finger in her face like he was scolding a puppy.
"Mr. Jacobs." He corrected. My sister rolled her eyes, but Mason looked incredibly amused beside her. I flicked the back of his head and gave him a dark look.
"Alright, who's ready to have some fun?" I buried my face in my hands as he began his lecture, beyond relieved when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.
I pulled it out and read it, covering my mouth to keep from laughing when I read the text from Justin.
"Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Hannah?" Dad crossed his arms over his chest, giving me a stern look. I glanced around the room, feeling warmth spread through my cheeks when I saw everyone's eyes on me.
"Uh-"
"Yes?" Dad tapped his foot impatiently.
"I sent her a picture of a cat." Hailey jumped in, "Sorry, could have waited, I guess." When Dad turned his back to us, I reached down and squeezed my sister's shoulder, thanking her with a nod.
"Hannah Jacobs and Matthew Acker, please join me." I stiffened, looking over at the guy sitting as far away from us as possible.
"Dad-"
"Hannah, now." I sighed, leaving my stuff beside Miranda and Sophia before finding my way down the bleachers and to my father and Matthew waiting for me at the bottom.
"Hannah and Matthew will be demonstrating a couple having difference in opinions. Matthew wants to take their relationship to the next level, but Hannah is against it." Dad shoved a script into our hands, nodding.
I could feel my cheeks warming even more as I read through the short script. When I looked back up, I found Matthew just as miserable as I was.
"You two may begin." I could see everyone on the bleachers either laughing or whispering, or a combination of the two.
I couldn't have been any more humiliated.
"It's been two months, Hannah. I thought you wanted this as much as I did." Matthew spoke, reading from the script. I swallowed, trying to ignore everyone's amused looks.
"Well, I don't." I whispered, groaning internally.
"Speak up, Hannah. We can't hear you!" Mason taunted from the bleachers. It took everything in my power not to flip him off.
"So that's how it's going to be? You're just going to sit here and lead me on for your own gain?" Matthew's eyes were apologetic when he looked back up. I felt my grip tightening on the script in my hands.
"I'm not leading you on, Matthew. I've decided that I don't want this, I don't want it to happen. Not yet." I responded, sending a quick look over my shoulder. Was that all I was doing with Justin? Leading him on?
"Not yet? That's a load of crap. I've waited and waited. You said you'd do it tonight." I shook my head, my eyes falling on my next lines.
"Just go home. I don't want to, okay? Leave!" Matthew brought the script down and met my eyes.
"I don't care. You can't do this. I won't let you." That was it. Then end of the script. Dad joined us again, taking the scripts from our hands.
"Before we get into the psychology among other things, what do you predict would have happened next?" Dad scanned the group of bored looking teenagers. Hailey raised her hand, being the first to answer as always.
"Yes, Hailey?"
"He would have either raped her or left, but I believe it would have been the former." My sister smiled weakly.
"Both of your answers are correct, but if the script were to be continued, it would depend on the person writing it." Dad turned back to Matthew and me in front of the chalkboard.
"As sad and hard as it may be for a lot of you to here, this is a common problem among teenagers and young adults. It's common for men to take an action the wrong way and believe it's some sort of sign. As you saw in this script, Hannah promised Matthew a night to remember and backed out. This resulted in a lot of the common sense in Matthew being pushed away and filled with another powerful array of emotions. Lust and anger. A dangerous mix." He went on, but my mind was drifting elsewhere. More specifically, to my boyfriend in class somewhere in the school.
He acted as if it didn't matter, like he understood. Was there a possibility he felt the same way? That he felt as if I were leading him on and wasn't ever going to push our relationship to the next level? We'd been together for a year and two months and we hadn't ever made it passed making out, and even that was always held back to a point.
"Take your seat. Thanks for your participation." Dad ushered us back to the bleachers, but Hailey pulled me down in between her and Mason before I could climb over them. She waited until our father had his back to us and to lean in and whisper in my ear.
"You okay?" She scanned my face, obviously trying to figure out what was wrong with her six sense.
"Fine." I assured her with a nudge of the shoulder. She smiled and leaned closer to me again.
"I'm here if you need to talk." I nodded, but didn't move.
I know, Hail. But there's just some things I can't tell you and I'm sorry for that.
*
"Han, what's up?" Justin lounged on my bed, propping his head on his hand as he stared across the room at me.
"Do I lead you on?" I asked.
"Lead me on?" He laughed, "What do you mean? Last time I checked we'd been in a relationship for almost a year and a half."
"I mean, do I ever. . . make you feel like something's going to happen and let you down?" I clarified, shifting nervously on my feet. He stayed quiet for a minute, taking in my worried look.
"Han, I've met Mr. Safe Sex, I know it must be hard for you to even kiss me sometimes. I understand if you're a little skeptical of letting us move any further." I sat on the bed beside his legs, his hand crawling up my own.
"But you asked if you've ever led me on and let me down, and the answer to that is yes. You've gotten me a little more than excited multiple times and held back." I bowed my head.
"I'm sorry." I breathed out.
"Don't apologize, babe. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love how innocent you are." In a quick, swift movement, he was beside me, his lips inches from my ear. "And the best part is that you're all mine."
*
"So, when are you gonna tell him?" I threw myself onto my sister's bed, interrupting the book she was reading.
"You know, Mason. When are you going to tell him you're helplessly in love with him?" I said, poking her stomach playfully. She laid a bookmark in the book gently, as if she were afraid the book would break if she pressed down too hard.
"I don't know who or what you're talking about." She looked away.
"Mason Banks. Sexy, basketball player, gorgeous eyes. Not the sharpest tool in the shed." I made gestures with my hands, but she cut me off before I could go on.
"He's smart. . . in his own way." She defended.
"You love him." I poked her stomach again.
"So do you." She retorted quietly.
"In a different way. My hearts taken." I smiled.
"Yeah, and you knew Justin almost your entire life and didn't get together until the middle of Freshman year." I stuck my tongue out childishly and laid across her feet.
"Hails?"
"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow. Some weird thing she inherited from Dad that I had always wanted to be able to do.
"I think he likes you too." She snorted, waving her hand dismissively.
"Not in a million years." She replied.
"Number twenty-four on your list should be; confess my feelings to Mason before we graduate. It'd be perfect." I said, running my fingers along the pages of her book.
"Yeah? If I do that, then you have to the next level with Justin before the end of the year without Dad's knowledge." She taunted, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Deal." I reached up and pinched her nose, laughing.
"Okay, deal for me than too." Hailey smiled.
"Girls! Dinner!" We both huffed out a sigh and headed for the door, Hailey throwing her arm over my shoulder.
"Ready for The Talk?" I nudged her. Her face twisted, and she shuddered dramatically seconds later.
"I'd rather listen to Mason drone on and on about basketball. Do you want to just kill me now?"
***AN**
Hope you guys enjoyed!
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~ChasingMadness24