Chapter One Hundred and Seventy

"Definitely glad I got my English notes done," Lila smiled as she took her place next to Asher in English that Tuesday morning. "Now to read it through a million times."

Asher chuckled, his tone as golden as his smile. "I thought that method gave you mixed results."

"You remember that?"

"'Course. It's a pretty concerning technique. It's been etched into my brain alongside a feeling of horror."

She playfully nudged him and he chuckled again.

"Are you at least using the techniques I'd suggested to you way back then?"

Way back then – a time when they actually avoided each other in an attempt to nip the rumours surrounding them in the bud so that Holly wasn't upset. The day he'd suggested those studying techniques was also the same day they'd played their first board game together and the first time of many she'd laughed so hard with Asher that her stomach ached.

Nostalgia was a feeling that came to mind as she smiled at him again. "Of course. Hey, you know what, we should play Jenga at yours again. Or maybe just any of your board games."

"Jenga?" Asher paused before his eyes lit up in recognition. "I'd love that. When're you coming over next?"

"Not sure," Lila replied, readjusting her collar slightly, the memory of Asher doing so yesterday flashing so quickly in her mind that she'd hardly recognised it though her breath spiked in response. "I think you'll need to invite me."

"Invite you, huh…" he looked thoughtful, glancing up at Ms Shard who was still battling with the projector. "I… hate to say it, but… I think it'll have to be the weekend."

She couldn't hide the disappointment on her face as she responded. "Alright."

"Sorry, my love. As much as, well, my focus has been excellent the past few days, I think… we should avoid getting carried away with final exams upon us."

"You're right," she sighed. "As usual."

"But maybe you could stay over on the weekend?"

She grinned, the suggestion resetting her mood immediately. "As long as I get to stay in your bed again."

"Of course. Why would I kick you out now?" He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "My bed has smelt just like you for the past few days, but it's starting to fade. I'd like you back in it so it feels like you're with me even when you're gone."

She placed her hand on his thigh, her heart fluttering. He really felt like that?

"Well, how could I say no to something like that?" she responded, her voice a touch under giddy.

"Could you two stop flirting?" Liam's intrusive, disparaging voice made Lila let go of Asher's thigh and he turned to Liam, his body language already combative.

"Don't hit me," Liam said instantly, taking a large step back. The fear in his face looked genuine to Lila and she smirked. He hurried off to Ms Shard's desk, distracting her from her projector woes with a question.

Asher sighed, shaking his head. "I thought Liam would stay away after camp," he murmured, opening his laptop.

"From what I know of Liam, he's not a thinker," Lila replied, also opening her laptop. "Says whatever comes to mind first before realising it's a bad idea."

"That's true."

"Seems like he remembered you gave Jackson a black eye at the end there, though."

Asher groaned. "Don't remind me, please."

She laughed, looking through her English notes. "Look, hopefully it means he won't bug us again. He's been in my PC class for the past few years and he hasn't gotten any less annoying."

"I'm begrudgingly glad to be of service, then."

"Thank you, my love."

He beamed at her in response before they both grew distracted with their studying. Study also passed with Lila and Asher dedicating themselves to wordless studying. In fact, Lila had been so dedicated that she'd completely forgotten their promise to Elise to accompany her and Isaac at morning tea to tell Grace about their relationship until she laid eyes on a stressed-looking Elise outside her locker.

"Try not to be stressed," Lila said comfortingly as she placed her belongings inside her locker and pulled out her morning tea. "It's Grace."

The corners of Elise's mouth upturned for a brief second before stress set in again upon her face. "But what if she feels betrayed?"

Lila considered this as she locked her locker. Grace would likely reach the same conclusion that Lila and Asher had – that they didn't really have a right to feel betrayed since they'd kept big secrets from Elise and Isaac over the course of this year.

"I doubt it," Lila responded lightly, pressing her back against her locker as she waited for the rest of their group to show up. "Again, it's Grace we're talking about."

Elise's stress seemed to abate just a little. "Yeah. It's Grace."

Asher and Isaac soon appeared, with Isaac looking a bit too relaxed in comparison to Elise.

"Aren't you nervous?" Elise asked him, holding her morning tea tightly to her chest.

"Nah," Isaac replied with a broad smile. "Already told Asher, so that's all my nervousness gone. Anyone else is just a small hurdle."

Elise twisted her sandwich bag in her hands and Isaac stepped closer to Elise, lightly holding her shoulders.

"It'll all work out," he said, his smile not leaving his face. "Just breathe, Lise."

She followed his instruction and he quickly retracted from her, placing his hands in his pockets. Grace dashed towards them not a moment too soon, her face flushed from exertion.

"Sorry I'm late," she called, bustling past the four of them without a second glance. "Got caught up talking to my vocal coach since I had to skip the lesson today."

Were there actual vocal lessons? Lila hadn't reconsidered this after discovering Grace's relationship with Ms Alexander. She supposed there must've been some truth to this since Grace had been attending vocal lessons for the past few years and she only started 'dating' Ms Alexander earlier this year.

Grace rejoined the group, her customary carrot sticks in one hand and blazer pocket bulging with more food.

"You said you had something important to tell me?" Grace asked, looking around at the four before resting her eyes on Elise.

Elise nodded, her face reddening. "Um, let's go to the library."

This silence as they walked in a group to the library wasn't quite as awkward as yesterday's, but it still bothered Lila. She held onto Asher's arm for comfort, her eyes on Elise and Isaac who led the charge. Elise and Isaac's hands would brush against each other, as though they were fighting back the temptation to hold them. Lila wasn't exactly sure why they were still doing that, since Grace was about to find out, but perhaps Elise just wanted to talk about it before engaging in coupley behaviour out in the open like this.

Today's meeting room was a different one, to Lila's delight. It had been quite distracting being in the one from yesterday, and she wanted her full attention to be on the conversation at hand.

Everyone took their places, with Grace facing Elise and Isaac. Lila was next to Grace and Asher had taken the end chair next to Lila, looking between both pairs as he placed his morning tea in front of him.

Elise took a few deep breaths, slowly putting her morning tea in front of her as though it was an offering to appease Grace. Grace looked at it with curiosity and placed her carrots down before looking up at Elise again.

"So… Grace," Elise began, glancing at Lila uncertainly. Lila nodded, encouraging Elise to continue.

"Yeah?" Grace's face had paled, her eyes flickering to Lila. It was only now that it occurred to Lila that Grace possibly thought Lila had told Elise that Grace was dating Ms Alexander. She tried to convey with her eyes that it wasn't the case, but Elise beat her to the punch.

"I… I've been lying to you. Me and Isaac." Elise looked at Isaac, who gave her a small smile.

"Lying to me? About what?" Now Grace looked intrigued, rather than alarmed.

"… We've been dating."

"Oh," Grace gave a breathy exhale of relief. "Is that all?"

Elise tilted her head in confusion. "That's… not the reaction I was expecting."

"Well… now that you've said it, it's pretty obvious."

Elise and Isaac both turned pink.

"I mean, we've hardly had lunch together all term. You guys kinda ditch me."

And now Elise looked guilty. She fiddled with her sandwich bag, her eyes darting between the food within it as though she was trying to find a response in her almonds.

"Not that I've minded," Grace continued, looking pointedly away from everyone, staring instead at her carrots. "It let me spend time with my girlfriend, and I figured leaving you alone together would mean you guys would get together. Did it work?"

Elise shifted in her seat. "Actually, that's kinda why we're here. Um, we've been dating since the last day of the school holidays."

Grace snapped her head up to stare at Elise. "Huh?"

"… Yeah."

"And you're telling me this in week nine?"

"… Yeah."

"Why?"

Isaac placed his hand on Elise's trembling ones, which seemed to stop the trembling. Grace blinked but didn't say anything.

"At first, we kept it a secret because Lila and Asher weren't together yet and we were working so hard to make it happen. So… we didn't want to distract them and get in the way with our news," Elise began.

Grace nodded very slowly.

"Then it was kinda a bit late to tell you guys. I mean, you all would've had questions."

"Naturally, but I don't see why you couldn't announce it the week after they got together," Grace replied, her tone bemused.

"There's… something else, too. Do… you remember when Lila asked you about having sex?"

Grace blinked again. "Yeah?"

"Well… um, you waited a couple months and you were already dating your partner, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, um…" Elise trailed off and Isaac tightened his grasp on her hands. "The thing about Isaac and I is that… we kinda did it backwards."

There was a pause, Elise looking anxiously at Grace. Then –

"What, you pegged him?"

Grace's question, her tone incredibly earnest, sparked a multitude of reactions. Lila inhaled sharply to prevent a laugh, Asher snorted into his hand, Isaac spluttered, and Elise looked flabbergasted.

"No!" Elise managed to exclaim, her face incredibly red.

"That's… not what doing it backwards is?"

"NO!"

At this point, Asher couldn't contain his laughter and excused himself to a corner of the meeting room, his hands on his knees.

"It's not that funny," Isaac called reproachfully, his cheeks just as red as Elise's.

Lila let out a snicker before taking a deep breath and collecting herself, which was quite a feat considering Asher's not-so-distant laughter.

Eventually, Asher returned to his seat, wiping at his eyes. Elise looked miffed but took another deep breath before starting to explain the situation to a confused Grace.

"No. I didn't peg Isaac. What even got that idea in your head? I didn't think you'd know that kind of terminology. Did you actually think I called a meeting here with our friends to tell you that?"

"You said you did it backwards – that was the only explanation that fit," Grace replied sheepishly. "Clearly that wasn't it, though."

Elise sighed. "What I meant was… we started banging before dating."

"Oh." Grace uttered, her expression thoughtful. "So, you thought that wasn't how it was supposed to go?"

Elise nodded.

"But you heard what else I said at the time, right? About every relationship being different?"

"Yeah, but… I was scared you'd judge me."

Grace firmly shook her head. "Elise, every relationship is different. As long as you're happy, there's no room for judgement." She glanced at Lila who quickly looked away. "I'm really happy for you guys, no matter how it started. I'm just a bit sad that you kept it hidden for so long. I would've loved to have celebrated with you guys."

Elise's shoulders relaxed. "Yeah, well… when Lila and Asher finally got together, it felt like we couldn't just come out there and say we were together for a while, you know? And I didn't want to lie about when we started and it just… felt easier at the time to keep it a secret."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Even though Lila was bugging you?"

"Hey, I didn't know," Lila interjected with a pout. "I was just really excited for them to get together."

"I think we all were, but you were pretty fired up about it," Grace replied.

"… Yeah," Elise said after a brief pause. "I… thought that you guys finding out later would hurt you. Since we're really close and… well, I thought you'd feel betrayed that I kept it from you for so long."

Grace shook her head again. "Elise, sometimes secrets are secrets for good reason. I would've loved to have known earlier, but if keeping it a secret made you feel better, then that's okay too."

"Now I feel doubly stupid," Elise murmured, exchanging a look with Isaac. "I wish… I'd followed your lead. Sorry."

"Lise, it's fine," Isaac replied, running a thumb across the back of one of her hands. "We're here now and we don't have to keep hiding it."

"I feel even more stupid about how relieved I am, now that everyone knows," Elise mumbled. "Like, why was hiding it a good idea?"

Isaac tucked a loose curl behind Elise's ear. "We had our reasons. You didn't know everyone would be fine about it. You can't change what happened."

Elise leaned into his shoulder with a sigh. "For someone so silly, you can say smart stuff once in a while."

"Hey!" he laughed, poking her in the side. She giggled, angling away from him to escape another one.

Lila smiled at their antics, glad that it was all over-

"Why'd you decide to tell us now, anyway?" Grace asked. "Well, me, I guess. It feels like Lila and Asher already knew. Why's that?"

Lila placed her hands over her face, her sudden embarrassment making her squeak. Isaac started to laugh, his hyena-like cackle something that Lila hadn't realised she'd hardly heard this term until now.

"That doesn't make it any clearer," Grace said.

"You can't escape from this, Asher," Isaac said pointedly. Lila looked up from her hands to see Asher half out of his chair. He sat down, his face bright red.

Isaac then gave Grace an easy-going grin. "Well, you know the pupil-free day?"

"Yeah…" Grace replied, giving Lila a confused look.

"I ended up catching these two trying to buy condoms," Isaac smirked. "Except I was a dummy and slipped up."

"Slipped up? How?"

"I may have recommended something when I should've had no business knowing anything about anything."

Grace wrinkled her nose. "Gross."

"I'd rocked up there trying to buy some for Elise and me but then these two did that thing they usually do, y'know, ask questions and I tried to leave but… it was too late. I found myself confessing and then I ran off. Called Elise straight away and she freaked out, like, a lot." Isaac grimaced. "I didn't mean to do that, but… it was such a relief. I'd wanted to tell Asher about it since we started in the holidays."

Grace then turned to Lila. "Is that why you've looked like you could fly away with happiness at any given moment the past couple of days? You actually started-"

"Yes," Lila admitted shrilly. "Stop thinking about it."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Isaac insisted, pointing dramatically at Lila. "You were asking all sorts of questions yesterday! What do you mean, 'stop thinking about it'?"

"Maybe you should get pegged," Asher piped up.

"Maybe you should-"

"Maybe we should all just shut up and process," Elise cut them both off, her face red once more.

The group fell silent before Asher and Isaac exchanged a look and then some laughter. Elise sighed, placing a hand on her forehead as though nursing a headache but Lila could tell she was relieved it was all over. Once the laughter subsided, Grace smiled.

"Thanks for telling me. I'm really happy for you guys. I'd say it took you long enough, but I guess it took us long enough to find out," Grace said with a chuckle. She looked at both Lila and Asher before taking a deep breath, her expression turning both anxious and serious. "There's… actually something I want to tell you guys."

'She's not seriously going to tell them she's dating Ms Alexander, right? Right?' Lila's thoughts were a panicked scramble. Should she stop Grace? Or let it happen? She'd never considered what Elise's reaction would be, but it might end up being similar to Lila's – reluctant acceptance because of how happy Grace was. But Isaac… he was a mystery. Asher seemed to think Isaac would report it – but would his relationship with Elise stop him?

"I… think it's time to tell you about my girlfriend-"

"Grace, are you sure?" Asher interjected.

"Wait, what?" Elise looked between Asher and Grace. "Do you know something, Asher?"

"Actually, Asher and Lila both do," Grace murmured, now looking rather ashamed as she picked at her nails. "Elise… um. I don't know how to put this but since she's only here for this week and next, I think… this is my only opportunity to tell you."

Elise's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she glanced at Isaac, who looked just as lost.

"Um. My girlfriend is actually-"

"Grace, are you really sure?" Lila found herself saying.

"Yeah. I am. Since… well, the stuff you'd mentioned. About keeping her a secret forever. I don't want to do that, and since Elise and Isaac revealed their secret, I think it's time for me to stop running from it. At least with my close friends."

Lila clutched Asher's hand in hers. She didn't want to watch, but at the same time, she really wanted to see Elise and Isaac's reaction.

Grace took another deep breath. "So, here goes. Um, I'm dating… Ms Alexander."

Isaac looked at her blankly. "Who?" he asked.

Elise stood up, her face drained of colour. "You don't mean that teacher that's leaving, right? The one Mr Lockwood talked about at Assembly?"

"A teacher?" Isaac repeated, looking aghast.

"Is that why she's leaving?" Elise asked, her voice faint. She was still standing but looked to be on the verge of collapsing back down into her seat.

"No, no, go back. A teacher?" Isaac said, staring at Grace.

Grace slowly nodded. "Yeah. My… Music teacher and vocal coach."

The confirmation sent Elise down to her chair. Isaac's eyes flickered to Asher, who had folded his arms across his chest, his expression stoic.

"Grace – isn't that illegal?" Elise whispered, clasping her hands together.

Grace gave Asher an uneasy look. "N-No-"

"Grace, it is," he said firmly, not wasting any time in his response.

"B-But-"

"Grace, it is. We've been through this."

Grace fell silent as Elise looked between Asher, Lila and Grace with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"It's… not a joke, right?" Elise eventually breathed.

"No, it's not," Grace replied. "We're in love."

At this point, Isaac gritted his teeth and seemed ready to stand. To do what, Lila wasn't sure, but he remained seated. He met Lila's gaze, then looked at Asher before finally looking at Elise, who appeared incredibly unsure of herself. Lila readjusted her posture. Sitting next to Grace was pretty unfortunate, it seemed.

"And you two knew?" Isaac managed to ask incredulously. Asher's eyes flashed.

"Yeah. We've known since about week two or three," he said, his tone measured.

"And she's moving 'cause you reported it, right?" Isaac asked.

Asher didn't respond.

"You… didn't report it?"

Asher still didn't respond, instead turning his gaze to his still-untouched morning tea.

"Asher," Isaac's voice almost sounded desperate. "Asher, why-"

"I made him keep quiet," Lila said, clenching her fists. "Grace… is really happy and… she reckons they're in love."

Elise blinked rapidly at Lila, her mouth pressed in a firm line.

"But-"

"I was debating about it until Ms Alexander said she was moving schools," Asher interrupted Isaac, who gaped at Asher.

"So you consciously decided-"

"I did."

Isaac exchanged a look with Elise.

"Grace," Elise murmured, "it… it looks bad."

"It's not," Grace replied sincerely. "I've never been happier. I genuinely feel loved and she takes care of me. You guys get it, right? T-That… when you find your person, that the thought of being separated is terrifying. A-And it's like your world is sweeter with them in it. A-And like I said, all relationships are different."

Elise placed her head in her hands, her eyes flitting to Lila's for just a second. To see both Elise and Isaac grapple with this felt validating, in a way. She'd almost thought that she and Asher had overreacted, but their reactions showed that, no, they hadn't.

The silence lingered for a very long time.

"She's really leaving?" Isaac muttered, his eyes fixed on the table before him.

"Yes," Grace whispered. "Even though I wish she wasn't."

Elise lifted her head. "You knew before camp," she said to Lila, who nodded in response.

"That's why you guys were acting weird," Isaac said, as though a lightbulb flickered on in his mind. "You talked about it at camp, right?"

"Yeah," Asher replied. "On a canoe."

"A canoe?" Isaac faltered, his expression seeming like he was unsure whether to laugh. Asher simply nodded in confirmation.

"I… think you'll understand when you meet her," Grace said softly.

Meeting Ms Alexander hadn't changed Lila's opinion for the better, but perhaps it would for Elise and Isaac.

"Meet her?" Isaac baulked.

"Yeah. Um, Lila and Asher did a-and I'd like you two to meet her."

Isaac ran his hands through his hair before looking at Elise. She looked back at him and it was as though words were being shared through that look alone.

"Okay," Elise said. "I've wanted to meet your partner for months, so… I… feel like I can't say no."

Isaac let out a slow exhale before nodding as well.

Grace's nervousness seemed to melt away with their acceptance of her suggestion. "Okay. Um, lunch? You guys too, Lila and Asher."

Isaac's eyes widened and Elise placed a hand on his.

"Yeah. Lunch," Elise replied.

Grace smiled. "Okay. Let's eat."

The rest of morning tea had a sticky atmosphere. Both Isaac and Elise semi-constantly traded looks with one another and even Lila and Asher. Lila really wanted to know what was on their minds, but considered that it would be best to talk about it after they met Ms Alexander.

When it was time to go, Lila clung onto Asher's arm, occasionally looking up at his face but saying nothing. He still looked unimpressed until the group reached the locker room.

"See you in a bit," Asher smiled at Lila, pecking her quickly on the cheek before departing to his aisle with Isaac.

Now that the boys had left, Lila tried to analyse Elise and Grace's behaviour through sneaky side glances. Grace seemed just as nervous as she had been when she took Lila and Asher to meet Ms Alexander, and Elise seemed… stunned.

'About what I expected…'

She wasn't quite sure what Grace had been expecting, but Lila was… was proud the right word? The fact that Grace made the decision to confess her secret relationship, despite the less-than-stellar reaction from Lila and Asher when they confronted her, was definitely a surprise. Had Grace been considering it beforehand? Or was it an impulsive decision because Elise and Isaac had revealed a secret themselves?

Lila definitely didn't want to ask. In fact, Lila didn't want to speak during PC, which Elise and Grace also remained silent for. Luckily, exams were a good crutch to avoid conversation.

Once it was over, both Asher and Isaac were waiting outside PC.

"That's a surprise," Lila said, glancing at Elise, who was beaming.

Grace slipped by them with a wave, heading off in the direction of Art. Elise bounded over to Isaac and immediately held onto his arm. He blinked at her in surprise before a wide smile appeared on his face, his cheeks pink.

"Well, hello," he said bashfully. "I wasn't expecting a greeting like this."

"I just realised we can do this," she said excitedly. "C'mon, take me away!"

He laughed, waving at Lila and Asher, before moving along with Elise, her enthusiastic giggles causing both Lila and Asher to grin at one another.

"Y'know, it's insane that they pulled a ruse on us for about ten weeks. I'm so glad that they're free to do that in public now," Asher chuckled, offering his arm to Lila. She accepted it with a grin.

"I'm really, really happy for them," she said, tightening her hold on Asher's arm. "Like I said before, I wonder what else she's missed out on 'cause they wanted to keep it a secret. Looks like that was one of them."

They walked along to Lila's Design class in contented silence, smiles still on their faces, for quite some time – almost the full journey, actually. Then, Lila looked up at Asher, her mind wandering back to morning tea.

"So… Grace-"

"I can't believe she told Isaac and Elise," Asher said immediately, as if he'd been holding it in for the right moment. "What is she thinking?"

Lila sighed. "I think… she's thinking it's trading one secret for another. I also think she really does want us all to meet her partner and, like, be friends with her."

"Friends?" Asher snorted derisively. "I don't want to be friends with a groomer. Dog groomers are on thin ice for that one, too."

Lila flashed a small smile for his joke before sighing. "I know, I know." She squeezed his arm.

"What do you think Elise thought of it?"

Lila paused before shaking her head. "Honestly, I think she's trying to figure out why I haven't reported it."

"Really?"

Lila nodded, clutching him tighter again. "I… would've, before this year."

Asher sighed. "Before… we got up to stuff, right?"

Lila nodded again, looking around to see if anyone was nearby. It seemed safe, so she said in a low voice, "It doesn't feel right. I mean, she doesn't feel like she's being hurt, even if anyone else can see she is or will be, so… what's the harm? Especially if… her partner is as in love with her as Grace says she is. I'd say… getting four Grade 12s expelled after blackmailing one of them is far more harmful. Breaking into someone's home is far more harmful. Stalking people is far more harmful. Trespassing is far more harmful. Stealing confidential material is far more harmful."

Asher didn't say anything for several paces until he slowed down to a halt, the Applied Tech building just in sight.

"I get what you mean. It's one of the things I struggle with the most when I think about Grace's situation. Even though we have our reasons for doing all that… Grace has hers," he said quietly. Then, he grimaced. "Not sure how I can explain to Isaac why I haven't reported it without telling him about that stuff, though. He's definitely going to ask after they meet her partner, since it'll be more real to them."

Lila shook her head. "Just… say you didn't want to upset me. She's one of my closest friends, and even though I think she's being groomed, I also don't want her to hate me for reporting it. She'd be devastated if anything happened to her partner, and I don't want her to be devastated either."

"That'd… probably be the only reason why Isaac wouldn't report it," Asher said softly, resuming their walk to the Applied Tech building. "If Elise felt like that, too."

"Yeah. That's where her feelings will probably end up, to be honest."

He passed her bag to her and she took it with a conflicted smile.

"I… really hope we've been doing the right thing."

He caressed her cheek gently, his eyes just as conflicted. "I hope so too. See you after class."

"I love you. See you."

His eyes lit up, the corners of them crinkling. "I love you too."

Design was the only class she had that didn't have a final exam. As a result, Lila had a little more free time than she was comfortable with after Grace's reveal to Elise and Isaac. She tried to turn her mind to other things – happier things – since, inevitably, the visit to Ms Alexander's office at lunch wouldn't be happy.

So, she let her mind go back to last weekend, remembering each moment in fine detail. However, there was something that, now that the weekend was over, stuck out as odd to her.

Rather, it was the absence of something.

Asher had said that his Dad always made sure to come in and say goodnight to him – but she hadn't seen his Dad at all over the weekend. Actually, she hadn't seen him at previous sleepovers either – except for the first. Why hadn't he checked in on Asher? Had something happened?

'Surely he would've told me if something happened to his Dad,' Lila thought as she tried to make herself look busy, flipping to and from various pages in her graphing notebook. 'Maybe he was away on a trip?'

That could make sense, considering how… well, free Asher seemed to have felt, doing all those things he did to her, as though he knew there was no chance his Dad would come in.

Once Mr Dillon released them for lunch, Lila was one of the first out the door, bumping into Jackson along the way. She hadn't even looked for him today or yesterday, his existence having disappeared from her mind due to… other things she'd been thinking about.

His black eye still looked horrible, though the swelling had long gone. Their eyes met and he mumbled an apology before brushing past her. She briefly wondered if he'd apologised to Ayla yet before joining Asher across from the Applied Tech building.

"Ready to see Grace's partner again?" he asked as she took his arm.

"Not even slightly," Lila sighed. "I am curious about how everyone will react, though."

"You're curious, huh…" he looked down at her with a fond smile. "Now I'm curious, too."

They strolled along for a few minutes when Lila decided to ask Asher about what she'd been thinking about in Design. She gently squeezed his arm and he looked down at her again.

"Asher… I noticed for the past few times that I stayed over, your Dad hasn't come in to say goodnight."

He blinked at her. Then, he turned red, coughing into his free hand.

"U-Uh, well, I… let him know when you're staying over," Asher said tentatively, increasing his pace. Lila increased hers to keep up, curious about this reaction.

"And?"

"That's it."

"Why does it seem like you're avoiding the question."

He sighed, now slowing to a halt. "I am."

"Why?"

"… at Vanuatu, after he saw what I was buying you, he sat me down," Asher murmured, avoiding her gaze. "He, uh, gave me 'the talk'. Part of the reason why he decided to give me 'the talk' was because he came in the night before we went to Vanuatu and he saw you in the rumpus room. With that… he asked me to tell him when you're over so we don't have a big awkward moment."

"But we weren't dating then."

"I told him that, but… I'd also told him about what happened between us by then. I mentioned that to you before, said he jumped into the ocean and all that 'cause of how mad he was about the Holly thing. He… said he liked you better than Holly, even though you'd hardly met. I think he was pretty confident that we'd end up dating. When I said I laughed at you, he was disappointed in me and told me to take care of you from then on. Then he said he'd hate to walk in on me, uh, 'taking care of you' and I don't think I talked to him for the rest of the day from sheer embarrassment."

Lila laughed. "Why didn't you want to tell me that?"

"It's… awkward," Asher replied, still avoiding her gaze. "I love you, and I love loving you, but I don't love it when, like, adults say stuff about it. It… just makes me feel like… my intentions are being scrutinised and not in a good way. It's just uncomfortable for me." He ruffled his hair, sighing heavily. "I'm not supposed to just… well… act like an idiot."

"Is us-"

"Sorry, I don't mean that us doing that is idiotic. But when we're in those situations, my brain flies out the window. I don't want people to know that. I… I only want to show that side to you, and I only want you to know that happens to me."

"It's not as though you're telling them-"

"I know it's not exactly rational, but… it's what it is."

"You've mentioned a few times that you feel like 'you're not supposed to' be or act a certain way," Lila said softly. "Why do you feel that way?"

"It's… how I've been raised," Asher finally responded. "I've been painfully aware of my privilege and my family's reputation since birth, almost. Though my parents haven't really set expectations for what career I should go into, they've set the expectation that I need to use my brain and think. I also take a lot of pride in the fact that I've got a good one. I enjoy being known for that, and I've always relied on it to navigate all my problems." His expression was thoughtful before he snorted. "And that's why I'm an overthinker."

He pulled her in the direction of the locker room before continuing. "Anyway, I guess it feels like I'm letting them down if I do things that don't involve my brain and self-control, I guess. I mean, I'm never telling my Dad I punched Jackson."

"So… you're letting them down by-"

He stopped again, turning to her.

"I don't know what I mean anymore," he whispered. "I've just… never been in this situation before and… it's not like I've been in a sex-positive household. It's just awkward. I mean, are you going to tell your family?"

Lila felt the awkwardness he was referring to settle in her stomach. "I-I… I'm not gonna tell my parents but… Clare picked up on it when she picked me up from yours on Sunday… and yesterday. And Daniel might know something."

Asher turned red once more. "Not sure if I'm ever going to yours again."

She must've had a particularly unhappy expression on her face since Asher quickly backtracked.

"I-I'm kidding, I just-"

"No, it's okay," Lila said, lightly tapping his hand. "It is awkward. C'mon, let's go have an awkward lunch."

"Lila, I do want to go back-"

"I know. We're dawdling too much, though."

"Dawdling?"

She glanced up at him, seeing his lips twitch in amusement.

"Yeah, dawdling."

He smirked, leading her to the locker room without any more commentary.