42. Outside Is Overrated
When I got home, I just sat on my bed and did homework for what seemed like hours. I heard feet stomping hurriedly on the stairs outside, and I looked up when my door opened and Jean barged in.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"What did I do?"
"You post on social media now?" she asked.
Oh," I said. "That. On a scale of one to ten how mad is mom right now?"
Jean chuckled. "Oh she's-"
"MORGAN NICOLE HALL!"
"She's coming up here, good luck sis," Jean said and then stopped. "On second thought, I want to see this."
I rolled my eyes.
"Morgan!" my mom yelled again when she got to my room.
"Anything I can help you with...mother?" I asked bitterly.
"What in the world drove you to pull a stunt like this?"
"Take a wild guess mom," I told her. "Me and Josh? Really? Do you know how disrespectful it is to me and the boyfriend that I already have?"
"It just slipped out," she said. "I merely embellished."
"For what?!" I exclaimed in annoyance.
"Don't raise your voice at me young lady," she warned.
"Don't do that," I told her. "Don't start acting like a mom all of a sudden. You don't listen to me, and you think you can control my life, but not anymore. That's not how it works."
She held her forehead and sighed. "I'll talk to my PR agent. You'll retract your statements an-"
"What part of that's not how it works don't you understand?" I said sharply. "I'm not dating Josh, I'm not scared of you, and I most definitely not taking back all of what I said. It's the truth, get used to it."
This is how I die isn't it?
She chuckled sourly and shook her head. "When you regret this, come find me."
"I won't," I muttered.
She left and I groaned, falling back onto my bed.
Jean chuckled. "You, my dear, are one brave soul."
"I only posted it a couple of hours ago," I said. "I didn't even think she'd find out this soon."
"Uh...you might want to check your phone."
I picked up my phone and took it off silent mode, and my eyes widened at the notifications. I opened my Instagram page and saw that I had almost ten thousand followers.
The hell? I made this like three hours ago.
"H...how is...wow," I remarked incoherently.
She got up and laughed. "Like it or not Morgan, you're famous."
I didn't say anything as she left. I just sat there silently freaking out.
What did I just do?
~~~~~
By the next morning, I had a hundred thousand followers if not more. Honestly, it made me nervous. Very nervous.
You did it to yourself Morgan, you put yourself out there. Deal with it.
"You are blowing up," Sienna remarked. "This is gold."
"Did I take it too far?" I asked. "Shit, maybe I shouldn't have done that."
"Are you kidding? That was a power move," Shannon said. "You stood up to your mom, I'm proud."
My phone began to ring, and I declined it.
"Who was that?" Shannon asked.
"Josh," I muttered. "He's been calling me nonstop since last night."
She chuckled, and the three of us kept walking down the hallway. In front of the girls' bathroom, Paige was just stepping out.
She smirked at us. "Well well well, the three musketeers huh?"
I rolled my eyes. I didn't have the energy to go back and forth with her.
"Paige just go," Sienna said.
"Look who suddenly has a voice," Paige scoffed.
Shannon sighed. "I swear I'm getting an aneurysm just listening to you talk. Look, we just want to go to the bathroom so can you-"
She stopped when the door opened and Cole stepped out, fixing his tie.
Oh shit.
Shannon looked at him, and then Paige, and then him again. The smirk on Paige's face was enough to give the situation away.
"Shannon," he began. "I-"
"Don't," she silenced him. "You talking will only make it worse."
"Are you really smiling right now?" I asked Paige, desperate to wipe the smug look off her face.
"Congratulations Paige," Shannon said. "This is what you wanted? Well you've got it. You shut me up. You won."
With that, she walked away.
"God you're such a bitch," I seethed, before turning to Cole. "And you're an even bigger one."
She began to speak, but Sienna distracted me by walking off in the opposite direction.
I turned and began to go after her. "Sienna!"
I quickened my pace and walked up to her. "Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm sorry okay?" she said. "Paige she...I..."
I caught on. "That's what you found out isn't?"
"I wanted to say something but I couldn't risk my secret getting out," she explained.
"I know, and it's not your-"
"I gotta go," she interrupted and then walked away.
I sighed. This was all a mess.
I turned around and went to find Shannon. I knew she'd be in the library, and so that's where I headed.
She rose her head when she saw me and I gave her a small smile. "Hey. You okay?"
She sighed as I took a seat. "You warned me. You warned me and I didn't listen. I'm so stupid, how did I not see?"
"You just chose to see the best in both of them," I said. "There's nothing wrong with that."
She ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm so stupid."
"No you're not."
I looked behind me to see who said that, and saw Sienna standing there.
She came back.
"Shannon, I'm sorry."
Shan looked at her in confusion. "Why are you apologizing?"
"I knew what she was up to and didn't say anything," she explained. "I was just scared she'd let it slip about Mr. Wilden and I and-"
Shannon looked at her. "Wait what?"
Sienna stared at me like she was surprised. "You didn't tell her."
"Well it's not exactly the kind of secret you share at a sleepover Sienna," I pointed out. "Like you said, it's not just your life, it'll ruin his too."
She sighed and sat down too. "This makes me feel like an even bigger piece of shit. I should have said something. "
"It's not your fault," Shannon told her.
"Alright," I said, getting up. "I'm done."
"Where are you going?"
"As MJ would say, to gather somebody like a damn ponytail," I said.
Shannon pulled me back down. "No, don't do anything, don't say anything."
"Bu-"
She gave me a warning look. "Morgan, I'll deal with it. I'm fine. I'm...fine."
I conceded, but I didn't believe her one bit.
"Don't we have class?" Sienna chuckled.
Shannon leaned back into her seat. "Fuck that, I need a break."
I chuckled. "Amen."
~~~~
The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly and I was grateful for that. I walked Shannon to her car, and when we got there Cole was leaning on the side.
He stood up straight. "Shan, can we talk?"
"Hmm, not sure," she replied. "I have a feeling what you're about to say is complete and utter bullshit."
"I never meant to hurt you-"
"Aw, well sorry to tell you that you failed," she said. "And the fact that it was with Paige? You fucked up big time Cole, so don't walk up to me with sad eyes and a crappy apology and expect me to forget about it. I might not like Paige, but I'm not nearly as mad at her as I am with you."
"We're both at fault," he said.
"It was our relationship Cole, not us plus Paige. You screwed that up."
"Just leave her alone," I told him.
"Stay out of it," he spat.
I rolled my eyes.
"I probably have myself to blame too," Shannon thought. "A lot of people told me you were shit Cole, even Paige. I guess I should have seen that much earlier."
"Shan-"
"Goodbye," Shannon said with a fake smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get home."
I bit back my laughter and he scowled at me, before leaving us alone.
Shannon let out a breath when he was gone.
"Shannon, it's okay to cry you know," I said.
She held back her tears. "Nope, I can't cry. He's an asshole."
I smiled softly. "You can cry over anyone Shan, even the assholes."
She looked at me, and for the first time since everything went down she cried onto my shoulder. Regardless of everything I knew she really did like him.
"You'll be okay," I told her.
She rose her head and took in a deep breath. "That felt good."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"I'm not going to cry again Morgan," she said. "It's life. You get screwed over, shed a few tears, raise your head up, and move on. Have I taught you nothing?"
I chuckled. "You, my dear, have taught me a lot. I'll see you tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
She got into her car and drove off, and I went to find my own. As soon as I got into the driver's seat my phone began to ring.
I smiled and answered Aaron's call. "Hey, I was just about to head to the park."
"About that," he told me. "Don't. There are like five paparazzi vans waiting around."
My heart sunk. "Shit."
"Meet me at my house okay?"
I sighed. "Okay."
I hung up and started the engine, driving away.
This was going to be my life now wasn't it? I'd have to suck it up, I did do it to myself this time. My thoughts clouded my mind, but everything faded once I got to Aaron's house and saw his face.
He closed the door and kissed me softly on my lips. "Hey."
I smiled. "Hey."
"So...my girl is famous," he chuckled.
I ran my palm over my face. "It was stupid. I did a stupid thing."
"Don't think about that," he said. "Think about me instead."
The grin on his face made me burst into laughter.
"Come on," he said, leading me up the stairs.
We went to his room and I kicked off my shoes, laying down on his bed beside him.
"Morgan?"
"Aaron?" I replied.
"I'm here, okay?"
I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Okay."
He took his iPod and handed me an earphone before pressing play.
I wrapped my arm around his torso and rested my cheek on his chest.
"You know, we don't have to be outside," he said. "I'm perfectly fine here. Outside is overrated."
"Outside is overrated," I repeated with a laugh.
"It's not the end of the world you know," he continued. "Your sister does it, you'll be fine."
"What about you?" I asked.
"Believe me, you don't need to worry about me," he chuckled. "Nothing's going to change."
I sighed. "You say that now but-"
"Morgan, nothing is going to change," he repeated. "I promise."
He kissed the top of my head, and I snuggled closer to him and closed my eyes.
~~~~
When I woke up, I was still in Aaron's arms. I sat up and saw that he fell asleep too. I checked my phone and saw that I had about six missed calls from my mom, and I sighed.
Aaron stirred awake. "Hey."
I smiled. "I have to go. I have a ton of missed calls from my mom, might be important.
He pulled me back down and placed a long kiss on my lips, leaving me in a complete high once again. "Stay for dinner at least."
I chuckled softly. "I wish, but I should really get going."
"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said and then yawned.
I smiled at how cute he was and kissed his jaw. "Tomorrow."
I got off the bed and wore my shoes, making my way downstairs after. I met April and Ayana in the kitchen.
"Morgan," April said with a smile. "I was wondering when you two would be down."
I chuckled. "Aaron's probably asleep and I was just on my way."
"Stay!" Ayana whined.
I gave her a warm smile. "I'll stay another night, I promise."
April laughed softly. "Einstein why don't you go get your brother out of bed?"
"Can I hit him?"
April shrugged. "Whatever gets him out of bed baby."
Ayana grinned evilly and skipped away.
I chuckled. "Goodnight April."
She smiled. "Goodnight hun."
I made my way to my car and drove home in a matter of minutes. When I walked in, my mom was approaching the door with a few people from her team...and Josh.
"Morgan!" she exclaimed. "Goodness gracious where have you been?"
"Calm down, I was with Shannon," I lied, not ready to hear anymore of what she had to say about Aaron.
"Well you missed the whole meeting," she said.
I rolled my eyes. "Is that why you kept calling me?"
"Ah, so it's not just me you ignore," Josh said, a smug smile on his face.
I just rolled my eyes.
"We were discussing the photoshoot for the new billboard we're putting up downtown," my mom informed me.
I rolled my eyes again, wishing I'd stayed with Aaron. At this point my eyes were going to fall out of my face.
"I'll see you Saturday at four," Josh winked, before walking past me and out the door.
"We'll discuss the details later," mom said.
"Whatever," I replied before walking away.
"And Morgan?"
"Saturday at four," I repeated to her. "I got it, don't worry."
At this point it was futile to argue with her, she was going to get her way anyway. I'd just have to show up, give her what she wants, and then go away. My life was easier that way.
I made my way to my room and fell face flat onto my bed. I ended up ordering a pizza which I devoured by myself, and then proceeded to take a shower. After lying in bed for a while, I pulled out my phone to call Aaron.
"Miss me already?" he said.
I chuckled. "Something like that."
"How did it go with your mom?"
"Same old," I muttered. "But I don't want to talk about her."
He laughed softly. "What do you want to talk about then?"
"Just talk to me," I said. "Unless you're busy."
"I'm never too busy to talk to you Morgan," he remarked. "So okay, I'll talk to you."
I smiled, and then lay on my side, and the last thing I remembered was falling asleep to the sound of his voice.
~~~~~
When I walked into school the next morning, the hallways were buzzing. Everyone seemed to be talking about the same thing.
"I heard she was a senior."
"I honestly don't blame her, did you see him?"
"Maybe she was failing the class."
"I wonder if he's going to jail."
The comments I heard were alarming, and so I quickened my footsteps to the bathroom, where Shannon had texted me to meet her.
"Shan?" I called.
"In here," I heard her say.
I followed the sound of her voice to one stall and heard her unlock it. The door swung open, and she was standing there with a crying Sienna.
"What happened?" I asked.
"He's gone," Sienna sobbed. "The school found out, and now he's gone."
I checked to see that there was nobody else here, and then got them both to step out.
"What do you mean he's gone?"
"I mean someone opened their big mouth about Mr. Wilden seeing a student and now he doesn't work here anymore!" Sienna snapped, and then sighed. "This is bad."
"Calm down," Shannon told her. "They probably don't know it was you."
"The only people that knew were me, him, you guys, Macy, and Paige," Sienna said. "If it got out there, then so did my name."
Would Paige really do that to her?
As if on cue, the bathroom door swung open, and none other than Paige walked in, Macy following her.
Sienna lunged at her and I had to hold her back. "You told, you fucking told! How could you Paige?"
"Sienna don't make a scene," Shannon advised.
"Are you really that hateful of a person?" Sienna continued.
Macy smirked, turning to Paige. "Paige, what is our dear friend Sienna talking about?"
A similar expression found it's way to Paige's face. "No idea Mace. Sienna, as much as I would enjoy taking credit for this, it wasn't me."
"You're lying," Sienna spat.
"Am I?" Paige retorted. "Face it Sienna, this one was all you. You ruined his life on your own."
"Let's go," I said, pulling her away from the scene.
Paige chuckled as we walked past her.
"Sienna, I know this is hard, but pull yourself together," I told her. "You can't give anyone the slightest clue that it was you."
"I don't care about that Morgan," she said. "He's gone. I care that he's gone."
I sighed. She really did love him like she said she did.
I hugged her. "It sucks, I know, but right now you've got to keep your head up. Okay?"
She took in a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."
"Good, now we should probably get to class," Shannon said. "I have Math right now."
"And we have Biology," Sienna mentioned.
And there came another round of waterworks.
A/N
"Outside is overrated." Smh the audacity of these two. Outside isn't overrated during a pandemic! Lol. Every time I write a chapter I think to myself..."How can I get an Aaron?"
If I ever find the Amazon link I'll let you know, don't worry ;)!
Sorry updates have been much slower guys, been busy. We do have more drama loading people so hopefully that'll make up for it. And cute Aaron moments of course.
Don't forget what you gotta do!
- amani