Chapter 25 - Luke

That Monday morning, after I had left school, I walked home and started scribbling ideas on a sheet of paper. I didn't know how to prove to Alexia that I trusted her. What could I do? Give her something of mine and hope she wouldn't lose it? Promise her to kick anyone who would try and sabotage our relationship? No. That probably wasn't what she wanted. She's expecting an apology. But what if I don't give her one? What if I do a whole game, with me as the prize?

An idea started to form in my head, and I wrote it all down.

I went to school for the next few days, but I tried to keep my distance from Alexia. I didn't want to, trust me, but I thought that by avoiding her it would make the surprise even bigger. It was hard, but I managed in the end.

I didn't go to school Friday, because I was busy with all the preparations. I had to run around and place some roses. I always had to ask someone to look after the flower or ask some employees to give it to Alexia when she arrived. I had to describe her so that people would recognize her. It was hard; it took me almost a whole day. That's why I had to ask help to Lisa.

Finally, at sunset, I saw Alexia approaching the beach. Everything was ready, so why was I so nervous?

As Lisa hid behind the trashcans, I went into the lifeguard's hut. Don't worry, I asked if I could and they were actually pretty nice. They gave me the keys and told me to leave them under the doormat when we would go away.

I could see Alexia stopping right where I wanted her to, then I clicked a button and the song started playing. Perfect. Then Lisa popped up right at the right time. As they talked, I slid out and walked to them.

"Can you tell me something?" Alexia asked Lisa. "What is this exactly?"

"Declaration of my love for you," I said. She turned around, showing me the beautiful girl I fell in love with. She looked really surprised, so I guess my plan worked.

"I know I messed up with Vanessa, and-"

"And the red-head," Alexia interrupted.

"And the re- wait, you know about that?" I asked, completely surprised.

She nodded. "Kind of saw you through the window."

"Oh. Well, I can assure you that nothing is going on between us. I actually pushed her in the pool two seconds later."

"Wow, really?" Alexia asked excitedly.

"Yeah, Anyways, you told me to prove that I trust you. This doesn't really prove my trust, but it does prove my love for you. I love you, Alexia Bates, I have never loved anyone as much as you. You make me happy, and I can't imagine a future with someone else other than you. I promise never to hurt you again. And I want to assure you one thing," I said truthfully. "The next time Vanessa does anything to hurt you or to break this relationship, I will personally get her expelled from the school."

"You can do that?" she asked.

"My dad is pretty rich," I told her as if that explained everything. "In conclusion, I want to be with you and help you with anything you may need. What I'm trying to say is…" I paused to build a little suspense, the spoke the words I've had in mind for days. "Will you be my Annabeth?"

Some part of me knew she would say yes, but another part said the opposite: What the hell are you doing?! She told you no once, what are you trying again for? What will you do if she says no again? Run away and leave her here alone? Cry?

Fortunately, my fears were silenced by Alexia's voice.

"This is all beautiful, Luke. I don't know how you did this, but I really appreciate it." Oh-oh. This wasn't going the way I was expecting. This was bad. I could already anticipate what she was going to say, and I didn't like it. My hopes started to drop.

"This is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me," she continued. "But,"

No. No. No. Please Alexia, no. I prayed in my mind.

"I told you what I wanted and you obviously didn't understand," she paused, as my heart split. It felt like I was dying: my chest was hurting and my mind was foggy. I fell to my knees, unable to sustain the heartbreak that was pushing me down.

"However," Alexia suddenly said. "I can't say no to that proposal," she smiled. "Yes."

My heart started beating faster than ever, my brain became as clear as the air, my body mended itself. Happiness surged inside me, finally the pain all gone. I jumped up and kissed her furiously. I kissed her cheeks, her nose, her lips… I was ecstatic, and I couldn't hide it. In the meantime, Alexia was laughing at the joyful boy in front of her. I held her head with my hands and l made our foreheads touch. I whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied.

I tilted my head and kissed her lips again. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, as she put her hands on my chest. She slowly moved her arms around my neck, asking for more. I gladly complied. When we were both out of breath, we broke the kiss, but still kept out foreheads connected.

"Hm-hm," I heard somewhere near us. I looked up to see Lisa smiling at us.

"A little respect?" she complained. "I don't even have a boyfriend, and you two are just making out in front of me."

Alexia giggled. "You could've looked away."

"I could still hear you," she told us. "You moan a lot." Both Alexia's and my eyes widened. Do we, really? Oops.

"Sorry," I said.

"It's fine. What now?" Lisa asked. Alexia looked up to me, her arms still around my waist.

"Now we go home," I declared.

I was in heaven. I was finally with the girl of my dreams. Alexia and I spent the whole weekend together, playing, kissing, talking, kissing… you know the drill. On Monday morning, we decided to go to school together and openly show that we were a couple. We walked through the doors with my arm on her shoulders and her hand around my waist. A lot of people didn't give us a second look, but a few looked at us. Noah and a few other guys gave me evil looks, but I just ignored them and pulled Alexia closer to me. Alexia got the same treatment. Vanessa stared at her, wide-eyed, and with her mouth hanging open, as we passed by. Alexia smiled at her broadly and tightened her grip around my waist. I smiled knowingly and we walked to our classroom. We were happy, and we weren't afraid to show it.

Deep down in my stomach though, I knew that something was going to happen. I don't know why, but I just had that feeling. Other than that I was the happiest guy in the world. A smile was stamped on my face, and I couldn't take it off.

Vanessa was able to change that.

It was a normal school day. Alexia and I had just stepped out of the bus when Vanessa appeared out of nowhere. Before even realizing what was happening, she pushed Alexia really hard, harder than I thought she could manage. Apparently, Alexia didn't comprehend the situation yet either, because she didn't react at all. As she was shoved to the side, she tripped and fell… onto the road.

When I had finally regained my senses and understood what was happening, I saw Alexia on the pavement and freaked out. Luckily, my body took over.

I jumped in the middle of the road, my hands up to stop the cars from running over my girlfriend. The car that was passing braked quickly, avoiding killing us by an inch. I was breathing heavily and a little shocked at what I had just done, but I unfroze and helped Alexia get up. I turned to the driver and put my hand up in thanks.

When I was sure Alexia was okay, I stormed over to Vanessa, who had watched the whole episode without moving a muscle.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!" I yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "YOU WANT HER OUT OF THE WAY AND YOU TRY TO KILL HER?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She didn't even flinch. Instead, she said, "First of all, I pushed her because she humiliated me in front of the whole school. Second of all, I didn't try to kill her."

"BULLSHIT!" I screamed. "You saw perfectly well that she was on the edge of the sidewalk, okay?! You knew perfectly well that she could have died!"

"Luke, let me talk to her," I heard Alexia say behind me. I turned around, and she took a step back. I must've looked pretty scary. I tried to wipe that face off of me and stepped back so that the two girls could talk.

"Oh, look, it's the bitch who humiliated me and then stole my boyfriend," Vanessa said in a snotty tone.

As they confronted each other, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Will, pointing behind him. I looked, but I didn't understand what he was referring to. There was a tree, a coffee shop, a bank… What was he pointing at? I ignored him and listened to the conversation.

Alexia smiled, then said, imitating Vanessa's voice. "First of all, he wasn't your boyfriend. Second of all, you deserved that humiliation. You ruined my life."

"Ha!" Vanessa fake laughed. "What life? Reading and studying? Please."

"At least I know how to read," Alexia said sassily.

"Ooooooh," went the crowd.

"Whatever. I bet the only reason you and Luke got together is so that your mom can have a man in her life too. You know, because her husband hated her so much that he killed himself."

Everything happened so fast. As I blinked, I heard the crowd go "Ouch!" then a scream. Vanessa was on the floor, holding her hands around her nose.

"NEVER, EVER TALK ABOUT MY DAD LIKE THAT!" Alexia bellowed as Vanessa cried on the pavement. "OR I'LL DO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A PUNCH IN THE NOSE, YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

"You'll get expelled for that, you know!" Vanessa said, tears still streaming down her face, ruining her mascara. I thought it looked better that way. I decided it was time for me to step in.

"No, actually she won't. Because, as you know, we are outside the school property. The school can't do anything if it's outside its territory. So, no, she won't get expelled. But you will," I said, finally realizing at what Will was pointing at.

"What? No, I won't!" she hissed.

"Oh, I think you will. You see, we are right in front of a bank. Do you know what banks have?" I asked.

Vanessa looked at me blankly, still holding her bleeding nose.

"Video cameras," I finished.

Her eyes widened in fear. Alexia gave me a fist bump.

A week later, Vanessa was expelled and had to stay three months in juvie, since she tried to kill someone. They didn't think she had to stay there for a lot: they understood it was just a high-school drama thing, but three months is still hard. Especially for someone like Vanessa.

With her out of the way, our lives were ten times easier. Alexia and I didn't have to worry about a single thing. We were in love, and we made each other happy.