It was already the middle of the week. Allen and Isabelle had just started to eat together at lunch this week, along with Kyle and Cassidy; catching everyone's attention.
Rumors had been spreading since that Friday, Sean appeared at school, and they pretended being on a relationship. Many were reluctant to believe it as Allen had never dated anyone before, but the more they were seen together, the more the rumors started to turn more into a collective reality. Isabelle was not a popular girl, but had more than a couple of guys crushing on her for a long time; a fact that only made Allen's ego buff.
Isabelle could hear all types of comments coming from her female classmates. They were never meant for her to listen, though, as she always heard them by mistake. On the bathroom, halls, lunch line; you name it.
She should have known that those comments would appear: "He's too good/hot for her", "I'd like to know who she sold her soul to get someone like him", "Knowing he had those low standards, I would have tried to seduce him first". And yet it made her nervous. She knew she was not the most beautiful girl in school, and sure knew she was not the hottest either, but she had her own value and she knew it.
The best she could do was to ignore all of it.
"Well, it sure is awkward as hell." Cassidy mumbled before sipping from her juice box. Kyle looked around, finding at least five pair of eyes over them.
He laughed. "We're used to getting attention, but man, this is way more than usual."
"Just ignore them," Allen looked over at Isabelle, curious about what she was writing down. "They'll come to terms with it, want it or not."
Cassidy chuckled. "What's funny is that you're not even dating." Isabelle's pen stopped moving for a second, but immediately continued its course.
His icy eyes landed on Cassidy, making her gulp. "Relax, Al." Kyle's arm slipped over her shoulders playfully. "Besides, it's not like she's wrong."
Allen grunted a little, but didn't answer back. His eyes went back to Isabelle, wondering what she thinks about it. Her head shot up, closing her notebook and setting it aside. Her eyes met Kyle's and Cassidy's, then stopped at Allen. "It makes me nervous, but what can I do?" She smiled, turning her gaze to her best friend, then over Kyle. "You guys should worry more about yourselves." She said, pointing out that they were still practically hugging.
Allen chuckled when Kyle awkwardly retrieved his arm from Cassidy's body; her starting to blush.
"That's—" but she fell silent again. Kyle snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Nice one." Allen said to Isabelle's ear. His eyes traveled for the first time over those around them, forming a mischievous smile on his lips. He stretched his arm over Isabelle's chair, dragging her to his side of one pull. Taking advantage of her surprise, he put one arm around her shoulders. His face drew closer, his lips caressing her ear. Isabelle shivered for the contact, but didn't back off. "Want to give them something to talk about?"
She looked up from the corner of her eye, but after noticing he was actually having fun, she relaxed and nodded.
Her hips rolled, so it was easy for her to place both her legs over his. His free arm landed on top of her legs, his hand circling softly over her thigh. And there he was, smiling again. A smile everyone noticed, and no one had really seen before. She started blushing, noticing how people started watching again. Even Cassidy and Kyle were staring.
Allen chuckled. "You're doing great."
"You don't look like you do, but you sure are enjoying this" Her voice was low, almost a whisper. She rested her head on his arm, looking at him. "Maybe I'm overdoing it?"
His light orbs detailed her face for a second. "It's no problem," then, he made the distance between shorter. "At least not to me."
To this point, their faces were mere inches from each other. She asked to herself if that was a good idea, but deep down she did not care enugh to pull away from him. As for him, he wanted it to be a show, but now was seriously considering about kissing her right there. Isn't it normal when couples kiss? We're not official, true, but I wouldn't mind that... he thought, taking his chances and leaning the rest of the way over her.
Cassidy made herself tiny on her seat, sucking up the air of the already empty juice box, embarrassed to the core. Kyle, on the other hand, started recording the moment Allen pulled Isabelle closer. He was still, concentrated on getting the best shot of their cuteness and everyone's reaction around them.
Allen didn't push it, so he left it at just a not so slow peck, followed by a fast kiss on her forehead. He was smiling again when their eyes met, his very light blue orbs tiny as his smile was bigger than usual. He felt strangely happy about something so trivial. She smiled back at him, snuggling her body against his.
"You can't complain about people talking stuff behind your backs when you act like that, you know?" Kyle said, putting his phone down. "You guys look like a proper couple."
Yes, he was insisting on purpose. It was his only chance to piss Allen off without getting kicked in the balls. This was the only time he would suck it up and say nothing, besides, he would start thinking about finally dating officially.
Allen shrugged, still half-smiling. "Can you shut up, for once?" Allen started circling softly again over Isabelle's thigh. "That I'm not as fast as you in these things doesn't mean I don't get shit done."
Kyle opened his mouth, but Cassidy spoke before he could start talking. "So he's fast on this kind of things? Like what, dating or screwing around?" Cassidy said in a double sense, testing what Allen was about to say.
"Well, since I'm not screwing around, you can guess what I'm talking about." He paused for a second. "If you call what he does 'dating', of course."
"What the fuck does that mean?" Kyle asked, offended.
"Your longest relationship has been literally two weeks." Allen answered, raising an eyebrow.
"So you're a heartbreaker." Isabelle said, a shy smile on her face.
"No, Iry, I'm not." Kyle was now on his serious face, his dark green eyes taking turns to look at each of his friends. "I try it seriously, but after a week or two it just doesn't feel right."
Cassidy crossed her arms. "But you have to sleep with them before realizing that, right?"
"That's part of the deal, sunshine. If sex doesn't feel right with that person, then it's not the one." He winked, making Cassidy roll her eyes the other way.
"You can find good sex anywhere, handsome, but not someone you genuinely enjoy spending time with." Cassidy retorted, her dark brown eyes landing on Kyle's. "You can learn about each other's preferences along the way."
Allen and Kyle were practically speechless; Cassidy never stroke them as a mature girl. And it was not mature because of her now obvious experience in the area, but how she speaks about it. Isabelle chuckled a little.
"She's cool, right?" Her voice proudly praised her friend. "You'd be surprised if you actually listen to her."
Kyle cleared his throat. "So, what do you suggest?"
"Hmm." The blonde girl tilted her head to one side, touching her lower lip with one finger. After a couple of seconds, she finally answered. "Get to know them as much as you can before getting too excited. Then do this mental exercise: Imagine you can't have sex with this person at all. Doesn't matter the reason. And if it doesn't bother you at all, then it's the right person. Because you don't need sex to be the sole base of your relationship. Afterward, you can fuck her when and how you want it."
"Damn." Was the only thing Allen said, nodding. "Now THAT'S an advice." He looked over at Kyle. "I'm not asking you anything again."
Cassidy laughed at Kyle's hurt expression, followed by Allen and Isabelle.
"Alright, you can laugh all you want." He lifted his hands in surrender. "Keep laughing at the less fortunate."
"I can still invite you over for some CoD, though." Allen added, a thoughtful expression.
Kyle snorted. "Oh, such a good friend." Allen's smile appeared again, making Kyle smile too.
It was almost time for lunch break to be over, Isabelle took that chance of silence to stand up. She felt cold air hit her, instantly making her miss his embrace.
"I'll go to the bathroom before class. Be right back."
She hurried to the furthest bathroom, nervous about running into some awkward rumor again. She checked there was no one in there before going in, glad she was alone in there. She washed her hands, preparing mentally to go out. All the stared made her feel over the edge the whole time, the only thing that hold her still were the people around her; specially Allen. He looked so carefree about the whole thing it made her stop thinking so much about it.
With a deep breath, she stepped out of the bathroom, walking long strides to go back as fast as she could. She headed right on the next corner, only to be held by the arm and dragged back into a room. Her heart beat like crazy as another hand pressed hard against her mouth, preventing her to scream. It's too strong to be a girl, she thought. The person closed the door behind them in fast movement.
It was all dark, so she could not recognize where the person was or if there was something she could defend herself with. Isabelle was breathing quick, her entire body starting to shake a little. She felt the person's body press against her back, a strange wave of tickles running wild over one side of her neck as she felt his breath over her.
She heard him inhale, then pressed his lips softly on her ear.
"I'll let you go. But if you scream…" He paused. "There will be trouble."
I hope you're enjoying this story! If so, please let me know in the comments or throught your review! If not, critics are always welcome, too. Thank you for your support!