Chapter 29

Walking down the halls with a smile on my face was something I hadn't experienced in a while.

The past few weeks of drama with Austin had really gotten me down, but today? Today I was thriving.

"Alright, tell me everything." Catelyn rushed up to me as I was putting my jacket away in my locker.

"Hey." I laughed, the grin spreading even more.

"How was it? How was he? What happened? Did he kiss you?" Catelyn asked a million questions at once, eagerly staring at me as she awaited my answers.

"Good, great, so many good things, no." I did my best to answer her questions in the correct order.

"Oh shut up, give me details." Catelyn gave me a look.

"Alright alright. So I told you about what happened before the date right?" I asked, shutting my locker.

"Everything up until the actual date." Catelyn confirmed.

"Okay so we went mini golfing. His brother wasn't actually working but he knew the guy there so we still got in for free." I explained, pulling my backpack over my shoulders.

"And?"

"Be patient would you? Do you want actual details or do you want me to just paraphrase it?" I gave her a look.

"Okay okay okay." Catelyn held up her hands in defense as we started walking down the hall.

"The actual mini golf part was horrible, I mean I'm absolutely terrible because I've got one arm right now. But it was kind of cute, he kept teasing me about it in that cute way that guys do." I shrugged, my stomach warming at the thought of the night. "And we just talked a lot, I dunno. It was really superficial stuff, like favorite TV shows, music, books, movies, stuff like that."

"I mean that's normal for a first date." Catelyn nodded, sticking her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt.

"Well yeah we spent a lot of time there, I mean we played like three rounds or so." I shrugged. "Oh! The nosebleed!" I gasped.

"Excuse me?" Catelyn's eyebrows shot up in the air. "Who had a nosebleed?"

"Me." I groaned. "It was horrible. I thought my nose was running so I like, wiped it with the back of my hand you know? And I looked down and it was bright red."

"No." Catelyn whispered in horror. "What happened?"

"So I'm like shit gotta go to the bathroom. And it took like twenty fricken minutes for it to clot it was horrible. I get them a lot but this was like, to a whole new level."

"Oh dear." Catelyn sighed, reaching out to touch my arm.

"Oh I mean it was actually kinda cute. After fifteen minutes he came into the bathroom like a total hero and literally cleaned my blood up off of the floor like how much of a gentleman is he? And then he sat with me until it stopped bleeding, it was very cute." I laughed. "Kind of awkward but like, he's a good guy."

"Damn." Catelyn was impressed. "And?"

"We left around like 10, after three hours of mini golf." I laughed. "And just drove around for a while. He had me home at promptly five minutes to midnight."

"Gentlemanly." Catelyn nodded in approval.

"Walked me up to the door, gave me a hug goodbye, kissed my cheek..." I grinned, my cheeks turning slightly pink. "Holy shit Catelyn, I could've jumped him right there he's so perfect." I whispered, leaning towards her.

Catelyn was just shaking her head at how mushy I was suddenly getting.

"And then he texted me yesterday telling me he had a great time and that he couldn't wait to see me again."

"Holy fuck. Can I have one?"

"My weekend was amazing and I don't think anything could ruin my mood today, to be completely honest." I said confidently, squeezing Catelyn's hand.

She let out a laugh, putting her hands back into her pockets.

"Would Austin Ryan and Carter Jones please report to the principal's office?" The overhead speakers crackled through the busy hallway.

I stopped dead, my stomach sinking.

Catelyn and I turned to look at each other in shock.

"Bet that could." She whispered.

"Gotta go." I muttered.

"Good luck." She offered as I turned to walk back down the hallway we'd just come from.

Why did Austin and I have to go to the office? Especially together?

I wasn't surprised that I made it to the office first. I was already seated and bored by the time the crutches came through the door and he took a seat next to me.

Neither of us acknowledged each other's presence.

We just sat in silence until we were called into the principal's office.

"Hello." She said cheerfully as I stepped aside to let Austin have the only seat not covered in stacks of papers.

He muttered a thanks but I kept staring straight at Principal Rogers.

"I'm just calling you here to discuss the homecoming ceremony." She said, glancing at her computer.

"He's not on the team anymore." I found myself saying, quicker than Austin could put together words. "And I'm like, just a coach."

"Oh but you're our king and queen." Principal Rogers smiled. "Congratulations."

"I got homecoming queen?" I asked in shock, my eyes widening.

"You're joking." Austin let out a laugh. "Her?"

I bit back my comment, knowing I had to be appropriate around the principal.

But oh would he hear it from me later.

"Well certainly the two of you are-"

"I decline." I said seriously. "Or abdicate. Or surpass it. Whatever you call it, whatever Arthur did so the guy that Colin Firth played became king."

"The King's Speech? Quality movie." Principal Rogers said politely. "But I'm afraid that just won't do. The student body voted, and you're their favorite couple."

"Not a couple." Austin and I said in unison.

Principal Rogers looked startled at how firm our denial was and I felt annoyance bubble up inside of me.

It was crazy how fast I lost romantic feelings.

Right now I was pissed off at my best friend and wanted to kick his ass until next Tuesday.

Did I want to fuck him? Absolutely not.

Did I want to yell it out and then go back to my place and eat pizza and play madden? Absolutely.

"Well... Couple or not, you two are homecoming king and queen and the ceremony is this Friday during halftime." Principal Rogers said seriously, folding her hands on the desk. "This was initially not an issue but now that Austin is no longer on the team..."

"I don't go to games." Austin muttered.

"Bullshit we saw you in the stands on Friday." I gave him a look.

Austin shot me a look of annoyance before shifting in his seat.

I scratched the back of my head while Principal Rogers just looked between the two of us.

"This will look good on your college applications. I know the two of you have pretty high hopes for the next four years."

"I'll do it." Austin said quietly, looking up at me. "Come on, do it for 7 year old us."

I tensed, narrowing my eyes him. I shook my head, taking a deep breath so I wouldn't bitch him out.

"No." I said firmly, shaking my head. "I'm not."

Principal Rogers sighed, crossing her arms. "Well then who is it gonna be?"

Ten minutes later we were both making our way down the hallway to our respective classes, complete silence between us even though I was walking slowly to keep up with his pace.

"So are you-"

"Don't do that. Don't make small talk." I said, shaking my head. "Come on Austin, just leave me alone would you?"

"You're the one walking slow with me to..."

He trailed off as I picked up my pace and walked away, leaving him alone in the hallway.

Catelyn looked up from her work as I angrily sat down next to her in class.

"What was that about?"

"We got elected homecoming king and queen." I hissed, shaking my head. "How much does that suck."

"No." Catelyn's eyes widened. "Can you decline?"

"Yeah, duh. There's no way I'm parading around with him like a fucking toy." I shook my head.

"Damn right." Catelyn muttered.

"Jones, work on the notes please." The teacher said, interrupting our conversation.

"Lunch?" Catelyn offered.

I nodded, silently pulling out my textbook and notes.