Twelve

The week following the big day ended up being pretty weird. Amazing, but also weird. As blissfully in love with Austin as I am, we've had to go to extreme lengths to hide any sort of hint of a relationship. It's turned out to be much harder than either of us imagined.

The extent of our affection at school has ended up being sly smiles and glances. It's super stifling, but it's better than nothing.

Getting home, however, is a different story entirely.

I meet up with Austin outside of school and we get ready to drive home as per usual. As soon as we get in the car, though, Austin caresses my hand, low enough so no one can see it through the car windows. I blush and start the car, beginning to head home.

"Aus, this is a little weird. I don't want to out either of us, but at the same time, it's so hard to stop myself from wanting to touch you or kiss you," I sigh, focusing on the road. I see him nod out of my peripheral.

"I know. You're on my mind literally all day, and I can't do anything about it. But, I still get to be with you, and that's all that matters to me," he smiles. I grin like a dork.

Once I park in my driveway, we both walk over to Austin's house. He unlocks the door and we head right up to his room. With no one home, we're finally free to be open.

As soon as he closes his bedroom door behind us, he pulls me in for a huge, intense kiss. I instantly put my arms around him. I kiss right back, full force.

We let go. "I've been waiting to do that all day," he smiles. He lays down on his bed and pats a spot right next to him. I grin and run to plop down right by his side. He pulls me in to cuddle and we lay intertwined.

I rest my head under his chin, using his neck as a rest.

"I like this. I like this a lot," I swoon. He lets out a satisfied sigh.

"Me too."

We lay together, not keeping track of the time or caring about anything happening outside of our little bubble.

Then, of course, we hear movement downstairs. Austin quickly jolts up, hopping off the bed. I frown.

"Is it your dad?" I ask, feeling disappointed.

He nods. "I think so."

Austin turns around and looks at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Dylan."

I shuffle up so I'm sitting on his bed. "It's fine." Of course, it wasn't fine.

Austin opens up his door as to not raise any suspicion on our part, and we attempt to act as natural as possible before his dad comes upstairs.

"Hey boys, how was school today?" Mr. Jacobs asks, putting down his belongings. He walks over to the doorframe to Austin's room.

"It was okay, just normal," Aus shrugs.

"What are you guys up to today?" he asks in response. My heartrate goes up a bit, unsure as to whether or not he's onto us.

"We're just hanging out. Might get some homework done later."

Mr. Jacobs nods, and says, "Sounds good to me. Try to behave yourselves, alright?" He winks and smiles as he walks away.

Austin turns to look at me, and he seems a little flustered. He takes a seat next to me on the bed and says, "This is a little scary." I simply nod.

"I'm glad I got to spend some time with you. But we probably shouldn't do anything else today," I sigh. He holds my hand.

"Maybe you could stay a little longer?" he asks, giving me his blue puppy dog eyes.

"Maybe a little while longer. But not too much longer," I tell him pointedly. He smiles and kisses me on the cheek.

With his dad being back in the house, we go out into the living room and attempt to act normal. We talk about random stuff from school, and sit on our phones for a bit.

Then, Tristan gets home. Of course he does.

It's like a whole different house as soon as he walks inside. The door slammed behind him, and he did a firm stomping on the stairs on his way up.

"You good, dude?" Austin asks his brother as he enters the room. Clearly, he does not look good. He has a fat grimace on his face, looking kind of cartoonish.

"What do you think, dumbass?" he snaps, stomping down to his room. Austin rolls his eyes.

"No need to be a douche, just asked a question," Austin replies. Tristan pauses at his doorway, and then turns around to join us in the living room, still angry. He plops on the chair near us.

"Marie has a boyfriend," Tristan sighs, face scrunched up. Austin purses his lips.

"Okay?" Austin asks, a little perplexed. "Didn't you just say you didn't care about her literally yesterday?"

He huffs. "Of course I care about her, dipshit." He crosses his arms and slumps down like a child. I almost want to laugh.

"Why didn't you just ask her out?" Austin asks. Tristan shakes his head.

"She doesn't like me."

I look at him, completely confused. "Um, have you met her? Of course she does," I chime in. He looks at me, eyebrows furrowed.

"You're bluffing," he says. I shake my head.

"She's so into you. Not sure how you didn't notice," I reply.

Tristan rubs his temple, likely recovering from an angry headache. "Then why the fuck did she start dating my friend from the team?"

Austin pauses. "Maybe she thought she had no chance with you."

"You think she just gave up?" he asks, calming down. Austin shrugs.

"Could be."

Tristan stands up, and walks to his room. "I'll try talking to her I guess," he says, back turned from us. He closes his door behind him.

I let out a pent up breath. "I think that's my cue to leave." Austin frowns.

"Okay." He looks around to make sure his dad isn't nearby. Then he leans in to kiss me lightly on the lips. "I love you."

I stand up and stroke his hair. "I love you too." As I walk down the stairs and out the door, my heart hurts.

Upon entering my own house, I'm greeted by my dad standing at the top of the stairs, looming.

"Where were you?" he asks, sounding slightly annoyed. My heart speeds up.

"I was at Austin's," I tell him, trying my best to stay calm. He furrows his eyebrows. I walk up the stairs.

"Why didn't you come home first?" he lectures.

"Austin was helping me with homework, I figured I'd just go with him and get it done," I shrug. He analyzes me.

"Then where's your bag?"

My face goes flush. "I put it in the car before I came here. I don't have anything else to do for the night, so I figured I'd have it ready for tomorrow."

He looks me up and down silently. Oh, how I hate the Shane Peters judgment stare.

"Make sure you do the dishes tonight," he says, turning around and walking down the hallway to his room. I breathe a sigh of relief and head into my own room. I plop down on my bed, mentally exhausted.

This is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought it would.