Page 7 of Only ever you-Ana & Byron
What had started as a one-off favour to help him prep for a maths quiz had somehow evolved into an almost biweekly ritual. Ana told herself it was because she was too responsible to let him fail and tried to keep him at an arm's distance. But still...somehow, he kept turning up like a bad penny. Even as he slowly drifted toward Cathy Liston and her clique of razor-tongued girls and cocky Manc lads who chewed gum and smoked stolen cigarettes behind the PE supply shed.
They were loud, glossy, and always laughing just a little too hard at Byron's jokes.
And yet... he still found time to text her.
Still sat with them-Gray, Cadi, and Ana-at lunch.
Still showed up at her house, smelling like spearmint and cheap cologne, pretending he hated algebra but always bringing his books.
And every so often, he would say something that made her heart skip and her head scream, no, no, don't be stupid.
She wasn't stupid.
But she was starting to wonder if Byron Robertson was more than just a headache in human form.
Another time, he'd slouched over her kitchen table, pinched the last biscuit from the tin, and said, "Right. Enough maths. You, me, burger. Now."
Ana raised an eyebrow. "You sound like a caveman. Me Tarzan, you Jane", she mimicked in a squeaky voice. “I’m not your girlfriend, Byron."
"Not yet," he said, grinning with that maddening confidence, "Not yet your girlfriend. Use the correct grammar and tense and shite..."
She snorted, but for reasons unknown, she found herself reaching for her coat.
They walked down to the dodgy corner shop that doubled as a grill joint. When you passed that way on the way to school, there was always the smell of fried onions and old oil, but somehow, they still made the best burgers in a ten-mile radius. The sky the colour of the lip of a seashell with early evening creeping in and they were both flushed from laughing at how Byron had mistaken the new teacher in chemistry for a hot babe.
They took their burgers in paper wrappers-greasy, slightly steaming, and with the cheese oozing out the sides and sat on the curb outside, shoulder to shoulder, thighs brushing now and again.
Ana took a bite, and let out a satisfied, "Mmm."
Byron turned to look at her, grinning. "That good?"
"It's criminal how good this is," she said, licking ketchup off her thumb. "Like, I would steal a library book for this burger."
Byron laughed and took a huge bite of his own. "I like girls who like their food."
Ana paused mid-chew, side-eyeing him. "Was that a compliment or are you calling me fat?"
Byron blinked, nearly choking. "What? No! Not fat. Never. Just... y'know. You've got curves. Real ones. Shape...ly." He said the word like he was testing it out loud in case she went psycho on him like his sis did when she was on her period.
Ana raised an eyebrow, chewing slowly.
Byron scratched the back of his neck. "What I mean is... You look good. Better than good. I'm just sayin'... It's nice. Girls who eat. And ain't like, rabbit-salad miserable about it."
Ana looked at him for a long moment. "You mean girls who don't pretend to be dainty just to impress you."
"Exactly," he said, pointing his half-eaten burger at her. "You're like a lad. That's... attractive."
He realized what he just said and went red in the face, his blush climbing up to his ears.
She kept that bitch face before losing it and guffawing, the soda spurting out of her nose.
"Why, Byron, didn't know you were into lads."
"If you ever tell anyone I said that..."
She just kept laughing and then, without any warning, he swooped in for a kiss. It was just a quick smashing together of their lips, over before they both realized it happened.
She looked away, suddenly very interested in the corner of her wrapper. "You're full of it."
