Page 51 of Tell Me Everything
“I just wanted to spend more time with you. Since you're alone most of the time, I didn't think you'd mind staying with me.”
A pang of guilt formed in my chest. Deep down, I knew Alex only wanted what was best for me. Yet the thought of him wanting to spend time with me because I was alone made my skin prickle. I didn't want him to see me as pathetic. “So it's not because you feel sorry for me?”
Alex rolled his eyes. “I know that if you're alone, it's your choice. I'm not that stupid.”
Sometimes, well, most of the time, I wondered how he could stand me. I was annoying, and I'd ruined the morning. And it had started so well. I bit my thumbnail. Maybe it was time I learned to control my shitty temper. “I'm sorry. I just... I got carried away.”
“Oh really,” he said, arms crossed.
“I mean it.”
“Don't go for my throat like that next time. I know you better than you think.”
There was nothing I could say. He was right. Alex turned towards the entrance and motioned for me to follow. Glad that he still wanted me around even when I was unbearable, I followed in silence. We joined Lucas and Yves in the hall. They greeted each other, then his two friends turned to me.
“Hi, Lena! It’s good to see you again. Did you come together?”
Once a shy girl, always a shy girl, so I simply nodded. The boys continued chatting while I began to get distracted. Istartled when Alex dropped his forehead onto my shoulder. I patted his head.
“Tired?”
“Knackered.”
He already had trouble sleeping. Now I'd cut another one of his nights short. Alex put an arm around my waist. It was such a simple gesture, and yet it made me melt.
“Sorry. I'll try not to wake you up at night anymore.”
Alex's two friends fell silent, their eyes fixed on us, and my cheeks turned crimson. My words had been interpreted in a different way than I'd intended.
My friend chuckled into my neck. His breath on my skin made me shiver. “I didn't know you were naughty,” Alex whispered. “Was I wrong?”
Oh no, he was flirting with me, wasn't he? My cheeks heated up. I shook my head. I had to save what little dignity I had left. “Gotta go!”
Without giving him time to tease me any further, I fled to my first class. Oh God, this morning was a roller coaster of feelings.
***
“Yo!”
I looked up from my exercise when Nina, a classmate, slid into the chair next to me. She's a pretty girl with a bob cut of brown hair, and slightly taller than me. As someone who’s a hundred and seventy-three centimetres, it was rather surprising. I was used to always being the tallest.
“Hi.”
For a while, we worked in silence, but I could feel her glancing at me every now and then. She watched me with her big brown eyes. For some strange reason, she seemed genuinely curious about me. Which was odd. No one in this school hadever considered me interesting enough. Not that I'd ever cared about that before. Since I used to spend all my time at the dance academy, I’d never had enough time to worry about what my classmates thought. Unless it was the outfit that intrigued her? I hated that I looked like a clown, no matter how shallow that made me. Her stare made me uncomfortable.
“Is there a problem?”
“Are you and Alex dating?” she asked without hesitation.
Of course.Alex, the famous heartbreaker. I should have known people would ask questions. It was inevitable. “Why?”
“I thought you were.”
“Would it change anything for you if we were?”
Nina laughed, which drew the teacher's attention. We quickly looked down to avoid trouble. She moved closer to me to whisper, “Oh no, not anymore.”
“Are you... close to Alex?”
