RUMORS

The next day, I was walking to my class when someone, to be exact Liv, pulled me into an empty classroom.

"Whoa, looks like you're craving my touch," I said, teasing her.

"Nah, but I did want to meet you here," she said and handed me a piece of paper. It read "Rules". I was puzzled. I looked at her, confused.

"We agreed for friends with benefits, so here's an agreement with rules, so..." she said.

"Aren't you a little nerdy?" I said to her, smirking as I read the rules.

FWB Rules:

1. No acting like couples in front of people we know.

2. No falling in love with the other person.

3. Keep it a secret in front of friends and family.

4. No jealousy.

5. No personal feelings are involved in the activity.

6. This stops if the other person dates someone else.

I read it with a heavy heart. The second rule says no falling in love with the other person. What if I've already fallen for that person? I was dying inside, but I would do anything to be with her, to kiss those lips again, anything...

"I would like to add a few more rules," I said, and she nodded.

7. No sleeping over.

8. Help the other person whenever they need you.

9. No intercourse during periods.

10. Can go on dates with each other.

"Can go on dates? Wouldn't that be opposed to the first rule?" she asked.

"You said no acting like couples in front of people we know," I reminded her.

"I guess it works. And who even wants to have intercourse on periods? That's gross," she said lightly and laughed. I took a step towards her and said,

"By that, I mean if one person is on their period, the other can't ask for it. Guess you're not nerdy enough about this," I said. I did see her face turning red. She cleared her throat and pointed at the paper where it said "sign." I signed the paper and passed it to her. She did the same. We both took a photo of it on our phones in case we lost it and went to our classes.

It was lunch break when I was walking through the hallway and I heard some students talking about something. But what caught my attention was "Nyx and Alex used to date." We never agreed to reveal our arrangement to the public. How the hell are these kinds of rumors starting? I walked first towards the cafeteria. As I entered, the chatter quieted down and everyone stared at me, and then started whispering. I quickly searched for my friends and found them sitting with Olivia. After I introduced them to Liv, they kind of became friends with her, so they do occasionally sit together. I went towards them and sat. They stared at me with questions in their heads, and Liv looked confused.

"Guys, I don't know how, but I think I fucked up," I said, and their expressions changed from questioning to concerned.

"Wait, is this related to that bitch Nyx?" said Amelia.

"Amelia!" whispered Lia.

"What? She is a bitch. Anyways, state your matter," Amelia said. Everyone was at the table: Jeremy, James, Amelia, Lia, and Olivia. I thought about it and then decided to tell them everything since they were my closest friends. As I was about to speak, someone slammed their bag on the table right beside me. Wait a minute, I recognize that bag.

"Are you okay?" asked that person. I turned and looked into the eyes of my grumpy little sister. My friends have never been to my house, so they have no idea that she is my sister.

"Nope, no not at all. I am going to skip class," I said to her, and she sat beside me, side-hugging me, while all my friends looked confused. Liv looked quite angry and jealous.

"I demand an explanation. Who is this?" asked Amelia.

"Well... I guess we can't keep it a secret. So, guys, this is my sister, Lexi." As I said that, all kinds of gasps were heard. As expected, they were shocked.

"How come you never told us about your sister?" Amelia asked.

"Well, you guys never asked," I replied.

"True, but still should have told us. Don't jump scared like that," said James. I smiled at him.

"So, let me explain some things about the rumors," I said, and they all waited eagerly for the explanation.

"Wait — I also have something to say," said Lia and looked at Olivia. I felt uneasy.

"Since we were talking about sisters, meet mine. She is Olivia," said Lia, just casually dropping the bomb.

"What the actual fuck—" said Amelia.

"What the heck," I said.

"And all this time, you sat there and watched me tease her without saying anything?" I said, feeling embarrassed.

"She's my half-sister, chill," said Lia.

"What the fuck, chill. You basically sat there, smirking when we were trying to find out her name?" said Amelia. I'm going to agree with her this time. She could have just said this before.

"Wait, then why did you ask me that day who she was when she ran out of the bathroom?" I asked, recalling the day Liv and I accidentally kissed.

"Wait, when did I run out of the bathroom?" asked Liv, stepping into the conversation.

"When you and I—" I was cut off, and thankfully so because I was just about to spill the tea.

"Oh my god, you three," said James when Liv, Lia, and I were kind of arguing.

"I can't understand a shit," said Lexi, while laughing.

"What the fuck is even going on?" said Amelia, who absolutely couldn't understand a thing.

"Oh my god, there is so much chaos. I love it," said Jeremy. Typical. He loves chaos.

"Quiet, all of you!" yelled James, and everyone went dead silent, including the other people in the cafeteria. Everybody stared at him. He turned towards the crowd.

"Not talking to y'all," and the crowd went back to talking.

"Now the rest of you, this pretty girl beside Alex is her sister Lexi, this pretty girl beside Amelia is Olivia, who is the half-sister of Lia. Lia had a lot of fun keeping this a secret from everyone. And now let's go back to the main topic, Alex and Nyx's rumor. She was explaining something," said James, and he sat down. The confusion on everyone's faces went away after his explanation.

"Thank you, James. So guys, remember Nyx Sterling was our friend at the start of the high school year?"

"Yeah, and then she left without explanation," said Amelia.

"Right. So, what exactly happened was, Nyx proposed to me. I was just yet finding out about myself, so I accepted her proposal." I took a deep sigh as I could feel Olivia's gaze burning into me.

"Umm... Should I go into the details or just give a summary?" I asked.

"Details."

"Summary." The group divided into two while answering.

"Umm... Er..." I said while scratching the back of my head.

"Let's see, we have more than half an hour for this break, so go into details," said Amelia. One thing I love about my school is they give us an hour and fifteen minutes for a break. Unbelievable, right? Anyways...

"Okay, umm... So, I accepted her proposal, but I was quite skeptical about my feelings for her, and so we both agreed to keep it a secret from everyone, including my sister here. Everything was good, we were like every other normal couple, right? Nothing wrong with it. But then, when I introduced her to you guys, she acted extremely loving, right?"

"Right," they all replied, except Olivia and Lexi.

"But then, whenever we were out on dates, she would constantly talk behind your backs. I told her not to do it, but who was she to listen? I felt like, 'Come on, she's just talking, nothing serious. You prove her wrong and then eventually she would stop.' But it never did. She started trying to control me. She would tell me who to hang out with and who not to, and she would tell me what to wear and what not. I was not comfortable with the clothes she picked. And one day, I was picking up Lexi from her school, and she saw me. She accused me of dating someone else who was still in middle school and called me names, and everything. She insisted I was cheating on her. I told her Lexi was my sister, and why the hell would I date someone else? She just said she thought I was like her ex, so she not only accused me but she also compared me to her ex. I was furious. So, I told her I didn't want to be in a relationship with her. At first, she was begging me to keep the relationship, but I was done with it and with her. And then, all of a sudden, she said 'Okay, fine' and left the school. I found it very weird, but I guess she was planning to get back at me, since now rumors like this are spreading, and people are saying I am the reason she left school. Also, when she was back, she met me and told me how much she missed me, I told her I didn't miss her, and that I was happy having someone else in my life. I guess that triggered her?"

"Maybe it's more likely she is psychotic and doesn't want to see you better off with someone else, and will do anything to pull you down," said Amelia. I nodded in agreement with her.

Just as the tension in the cafeteria began to subside, my phone buzzed with an incoming message. I glanced at the screen to see a notification from an unknown number. Curiosity piqued, I opened the message to find a single ominous sentence:

"You think you've seen the last of me, Alex? Think again." 

My heart skipped a beat. Who could be sending me this message, and what did they mean by it?