Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

Lila hadn’t been able to sleep very well that night. She had been worried by the idea that Zack would run straight to Jason, and wondering whether he would take the bait and give them what they needed.

She had some small comfort, though, when her eyes landed on an equally tired looking Asher that Wednesday morning as he paced outside of English.

“Good morning,” Lila yawned, stretching her arms. He turned to face her, a smile on his face.

“Good morning,” he replied, striding forwards and collecting her into his arms. “You don’t look like you slept much.”

“Neither do you,” she said quietly, nestling herself in his chest. His heartbeat sounded strong and stable, casting a wave of solace over her.

“Hard to,” he responded candidly. “Mind’s been working in overdrive.”

“That’s relatable.”

He looked down at her, pressing his lips to the top of her head before stepping away.

“You promised me that you’d get your draft done,” he said lightly, gesturing towards the classroom door. They began to walk that way as Asher continued, “So I’ve been thinking about what to do tomorrow night for our date.”

“Well, don’t think too hard about it,” Lila laughed as they made their way to their seats. “Spontaneity can be good.”

“Or dangerous,” Asher murmured. She glanced at him, seeing that the colour of his cheeks were a light pink, before remembering with a sudden jolt how he’d kissed her neck yesterday. Her hand leapt to the side of her neck as she cleared her throat, readjusting herself in her seat with terribly suppressed nervousness. That had been something else that kept her up last night.

“I-It can be,” she conceded in a whisper as Ms Shard sailed in to the room with a loosely knitted, brightly coloured beanie on her head. As Ms Shard started to write the agenda for today on the whiteboard – which was, unsurprisingly, to work on their drafts – Lila found her eyes drawn to the pink pompom bobbing away at the top of her head. It was rather mesmerising, and she was disappointed when Ms Shard wrenched it off with an air of embarrassment after she appeared to realise that she had the class’s full attention for reasons other than being the teacher.

Asher seemed equally amused as she did as he opened up his laptop with a smirk. Lila did the same, her eyes pointedly fixed onto her screen as it booted up. If their eyes met, she wasn’t sure she could stifle her laugh.

With the assurance that Asher had been thinking about their date, Lila opened up her draft with a newfound eagerness. She rapidly typed away, falling entirely into her focus. She almost missed it when Ms Shard dismissed them for their next class, and hurriedly turned her laptop off. She was now far more confident that she’d be able to hand in her draft on time – perhaps even this afternoon, during Study.

Asher patiently waited for her to pack everything away before taking her things from her with a smile.

“You know, I really like it when you look focused too. I ended up not being able to concentrate,” he commented as they exited the classroom and started heading towards the STEM area. The unexpectedness of what he’d said made her stumble slightly and he steadied her with his hand with a breathy chuckle. She felt the embarrassment rising on her face as she took a moment.

It seemed like he wasn’t going to otherwise comment on her stumbling, so she instead settled for taking his hand, her heart beating faster than she could think of a response. He squeezed her hand, a small smile on his face.

“You had quite a few words down, though,” he said seriously. “Is there anything you wanna do on Thursday?”

“I’m fine with anything. But… there is a ramen place at the shops that I’ve always wanted to try.”

“Ramen?” Asher looked surprised by the idea. “I don’t think I’ve had that.”

“Seriously?”

“I mean, not at a store. Gabriel’s made it before, but he was never happy with it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Something about the broth, or it not being authentic enough. It’ll be interesting to try it from an actual restaurant.”

“Glad I suggested it,” Lila smiled.

The rest of the journey to Lila’s Biology lab was filled with light-hearted conversation, laughter and careful avoidance of the topic of what they did yesterday. The back of her mind still worried about what Zack would decide to do, but with the amount of ears around, she couldn’t let them out.

“See you after class,” Asher said quietly as he returned her belongings. “I was thinking of having morning tea in the library.”

Lila took a moment to respond, her eyes resting on his, before flickering to the bags that sat under them. “Sounds good.”

She watched him go before turning and heading inside the Biology lab. She figured that his suggestion to avoid Tuckshop was both so they could talk about the next steps, and because Zack might be feeling paranoid. If he was paranoid, he’d likely be on the lookout for people hanging around him, close enough for pictures and videos of a deal to be taken.

Of course, if he was still entirely convinced that Dwayne the Rock Johnson was the one that had taken the pictures and approached him, then he might not be on the lookout for students. She wished that she knew a little bit more about Zack before all of this, if just to predict what he’d be thinking.

Cecelia and Lucas greeted her as they sat at their usual shared table and she gave them a lacklustre smile in return.

“Everything okay?” Cecelia asked as she opened her laptop.

“Yeah,” Lila replied, trying to appear as casual as possible.

“Boyfriend troubles?” Cecelia queried, concern behind her blue-grey eyes.

“Not in the slightest,” Lila shook her head firmly. “He’s been the only thing keeping me sane.”

Cecelia exchanged a look with Lucas, both of whom seemed rather pleased by this statement.

“What, then?” Cecelia pressed as Mr Johnson wrote today’s agenda on the whiteboard – an almost identical one to Ms Shard’s. It was that time of the term, Lila supposed.

“Just… schoolwork,” Lila dropped her voice to a whisper as Mr Johnson surveyed the three of them suspiciously.

“Ugh, what, is he making you do schoolwork too?” Cecelia didn’t appear to get Lila’s hint as she wrinkled her nose in displeasure.

“I’m not making you do schoolwork for the fun of it,” Lucas frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“I never accused you of that,” Cecelia said shortly, mirroring his frown with her own. “Schoolwork’s never fun.”

“That’s not-”

“Are you three finished with your assignment already?” Mr Johnson’s question was obviously rhetorical, the answer to that question clearly in his mind with the way his lip curled.

“Sorry, sir,” Lila responded quickly, opening her laptop lid. He simply nodded, before wandering off to another chatting table.

“Anyway,” Cecelia murmured, flipping her low ponytail over her shoulder with a flourish, “if it’s not that either, then what?”

“Cee, leave her alone,” Lucas said disapprovingly. “You’re being nosy.”

Cecelia’s eyes turned pleading as she pouted at him. “Am not.”

“Are too. Come on, before Mr Johnson tells us off again. This is due soon,” Lucas replied briskly, the faintest trace of a blush on his cheeks. From Lila’s perspective, Cecelia definitely had some wiggle room to circumvent Lucas’ impositions. But, despite Cecelia’s sulky expression, she heeded Lucas’ words and began to type away on her laptop.

Lila kept her impending sigh inside as she too began to look through her Biology assignment. If she hadn’t been worrying about something quite so serious, she might’ve told them what was on her mind. But she needed to hold her tongue. Even if she thought they were trustworthy, there was no telling how tight-lipped they would be about either the fact that there was a morphine ring at school, run by the Head Boy of all people, or that Lila and Asher were trying to extort information from Zack about it all.

She wasn’t exactly sure what the outcome of her Dad’s investigation would be, once they connected the dots for him about this particular offshoot, but expulsion was definitely on the cards for some of the key players. Would Forestglade College look kindly upon Jason, given his status as Head Boy, or would he be expelled regardless of his role?

It would be a scandal, in any case. They’d just expelled Piper, who ended up being brutally murdered, and potentially the leaders of Grade 12 would be thrown out, too. Surely the reputation of their school would fall. Would it affect Asher, once he graduated?

Lila blinked rapidly, trying to redirect her focus back onto her Biology assignment. She hadn’t considered what kind of future Asher might have if they went down this path of tearing down their school’s reputation. He had stellar grades – but they’d been told over and over again, since becoming old enough to have a part-time job, that their school carried a certain amount of prestige that would propel them forwards. It was one of the reasons why Lila and her siblings had been enrolled, after all. Of all the private schools in the area, it was highly regarded.

Then, of course, there wasn’t just Asher who might get pulled down by his affiliation with Forestglade College. Everyone sitting in this room, Mr Johnson included, would be tarnished. What prospects would Elise, who was working so hard to pay her tuition and get good grades to get into Uni, have after this?

Lila shivered, pulling the cuffs of her jumper to cover as much of her hands as she could without reducing them to nubbins for typing.

‘Stop thinking about that. This goes beyond the school’s reputation. It’ll be forgotten by the time you graduate,’ she sternly told herself, pulling her laptop closer. Besides, the school’s reputation would fall even more if students started overdosing on morphine supplied by the Head Boy – that was for certain.

With extreme difficulty, Lila found her focus once more and carried on with her Biology assignment in silence. Cecelia and Lucas would occasionally whisper amongst themselves, but Lila didn’t want to join in. It sounded more like Cecelia was attempting to bargain in a variety of ways to stop working on her assignment, which Lucas denied each time.

‘Poor guy,’ Lila thought wryly as Mr Johnson announced they could start packing up. From the look on Lucas’ exasperated face, Cecelia definitely did his head in with her steadfast avoidance of schoolwork. But Lila could also see just how smitten he was as Cecelia bounded towards the door, trying to hurry Lucas along for the Tuckshop she apparently owed him.

“Bye, Lila!” Cecelia called with an energetic wave before grabbing Lucas’ hand and pulling him in the direction of Tuckshop, the beam on his face brighter than the midmorning sunlight filtering through the lab windows.

Lila hoisted her bookbag over her shoulder before spotting Asher waiting for her just outside the door. Despite the chill in the air, seeing him diligently waiting for her, as he always did now, made the chill abate. Or, perhaps it was the heat emanating from her face that made it feel that way.

“You seem rather happy,” Asher commented as Lila reached him. She met his gaze and smiled.

“Sometimes, watching other couples be free together makes me wonder what other people think of us,” she said lightly, wrapping her arm around his. He seemed surprised as he took her things from her.

“What brought that on?”

“Just seeing Cecelia and Lucas be together,” Lila shrugged. “They’re pretty opposite in some aspects, but they seem to enjoy each other’s company regardless. For one thing, she’s really not into schoolwork, but he’s concerned about her enough that he encourages her to get on with it, much to her chagrin. It’s been that way since before they started dating, but she’d still rather loaf around.”

“Loaf around?” Asher blinked down at Lila. “Lila, she’s dyslexic. Of course she doesn’t like doing assignments.”

It was Lila’s turn to blink at Asher. “What?”

“Yeah,” Asher nodded, guiding her towards the locker room. “Not to say that she can’t simply ‘loaf’ with her condition, but her reluctance to do schoolwork is more because reading’s really hard for her.”

“Seriously? I never knew that. Wait. How do you know that?”

“She’s in my PC class. When we did all our core subjects together in Middle School, she’d always have special adjustments for exams for it.”

“She always says that she’s good at exams,” Lila replied thoughtfully.

“Yeah, well she- have you not noticed that she doesn’t take exams with you? For Bio?”

Lila paused, considering this carefully. She hadn’t, actually. When she took exams, she preferred to take one of the desks right up at the front so she would have as little distraction as possible, so she hardly noticed who took exams with her – for Bio, or other subjects.

“I… hadn’t, actually.”

“That’s surprising,” Asher chuckled. “I would’ve thought it would be one of those mysteries that drove you wild.”

Lila flushed. “Well, thank you for both introducing it to me and solving it in a manner of seconds. No need to be wild about it.”

Asher laughed. “You’re welcome.”

“Still, though, she’s never seemed dyslexic to me,” Lila added, frowning.

“How are dyslexic people supposed to seem?”

“… Not sure.”

“Then how do you know she doesn’t?”

“Well, she’s never mentioned it. And when we do worksheets together… oh. It’s me or Lucas who reads them out. She’s also always the last to finish hers. But she just says she’s unmotivated.”

“It’s not necessarily a secret,” Asher said carefully, “but I doubt she likes talking about it. She used to be different, back in Primary School. She loved reading the little card things that we read for English, or those chapter books. But as the content started getting harder, she stopped seeming so enthusiastic. I don’t know if shame’s the right word for it, but I think she’d prefer to not talk about it because she doesn’t want sympathy for it.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Huh… she’s messaged me on Insta and I didn’t notice anything, either.”

“Like I said, she loved reading back in Primary School. I don’t know how severe it is, but I’m pretty sure dyslexia operates on a sliding scale. Simple messages might be fine, but dense assignments requiring a lot of research is a battle.”

“I wonder if Lucas knows.”

“He bloody well should,” Asher replied sharply. “I’d be disappointed in him if he didn’t.”

Lila was taken aback by Asher’s statement. “Why’d you say it like that?”

“Could he really call himself her boyfriend if he doesn’t know something as basic as that?” Asher replied incredulously. “Things like that would be the first thing I’d want to know, so I’d know how to support my girlfriend. Besides, they’ve been friends for years.”

“Oh. Is there something that you want to support me with?”

“Your poetry assignment?”

“Oh.”

Lila felt a bit stupid now as they passed through the locker room door. Asher returned her things before splitting off to his locker, seeming none the wiser to her embarrassment.

“What’s up with you?” Elise asked as she passed Lila despondently stuffing her things into her locker.

“Nothing,” Lila replied morosely, taking her morning tea out of her bag. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Uh… not sure how to do that one, with a face like that on you, Lila,” Elise said, halting in her tracks altogether. “Is Asher making you do more schoolwork?”

“For the last time, he’s not making me do schoolwork,” Lila snapped. Elise took a step back, her eyes wide. Lila closed her locker, exhaling deeply.

“Sorry,” she said softly, resting her back against her locker. “Just… feeling a bit stupid.”

“Ah. About what?”

“About not picking up on things that I really should’ve.”

“Sounds vague and mysterious.”

The corner of Lila’s mouth lifted in amusement. “Something like that.”

Elise seemed satisfied with Lila’s reaction as she began to head to her locker. “Keep your secrets,” Elise called loftily.

‘Will do,’ Lila responded internally, looking towards the other end of the row of lockers to see if Asher had finished putting his things away. He rounded the corner with Isaac in tow just as Lila heard Elise rejoin her.

“Library?” Asher asked upon reaching Lila.

“Yeah. Let’s go. See you guys later,” Lila replied, waving at both Elise and Isaac. They returned the wave, and Lila and Asher set off.

She didn’t want to talk about Cecelia again, since her feeling of embarrassment at having not known that Cecelia was dyslexic and that Asher was actively supporting her with the poetry assignment because she was overtly having trouble with it hadn’t disappeared. So, instead, she spoke about the game against Mulberry Heights on Saturday, since she hadn’t joined in to Asher’s conversation with Isaac about it.

“Yeah, should be a good game,” Asher acknowledged, his eyes seeming uneasy for a split second.

“How are you feeling about it?” Lila asked quietly.

“Fine,” Asher said, though his shoulders tensed up slightly. Lila sighed. This had been a poor conversation topic.

“You don’t seem fine,” Lila replied gently, slipping her hand in to his.

“It’s just… well, that’s her school. I know she won’t be there at the game, and it’s a home game anyway, but… the name of that school is a reminder of her that I’d rather not have,” Asher finally said with a heavy sigh. Lila didn’t need to clarify that ‘her’ meant Holly.

“I see.”

“I’ve told you before that I’m over her, and everything to do with her. I’d even briefly forgotten I dated her,” Asher added softly, squeezing her hand. “It’s not a lie, but I can’t pretend all of that didn’t happen to me when I do get reminded of it.”

“I know. I don’t think you should be expected to pretend, either.”

He glanced at her before sighing once again. “It feels like I’m betraying you, when I catch myself remembering it.”

“Seriously?”

“Dead serious.”

Lila pursed her lips, trying to think of what to say in response. It wasn’t a betrayal, but she could see why he’d think that.

“Asher, what are you actually worried about?”

“Pardon?”

“Well… I feel like you know that I wouldn’t think it’s a betrayal, simply remembering what Holly did. So, what’s your actual worry?”

He looked incredibly uncomfortable as he opened and closed his mouth several times before shaking his head vigorously.

“I don’t have one.”

“Asher.” Lila raised her eyebrow doubtfully.

“Fuck. Fine. I guess… I’m worried that, if I remember what happened, and how she hurt me, that I’m not as over it as I think I am. That… because of that, I shouldn’t actually be dating you. Or… even worse… that you might think I still like her, or something.”

His last sentence came out in an almost indecipherable mumble, but Lila managed to catch it. Given how uncomfortable he still looked, Lila felt as though she’d intruded on some very private worries of his – one that she definitely needed to help ease.

In saying that, though… while what he said wasn’t necessarily unexpected, given the topic, she couldn’t ignore how deeply his words had cut her. The idea that he thought they shouldn’t be dating… was one that she hated.

“Asher, you’ve more than convinced me that you don’t like her,” Lila said, her voice entirely sincere. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“I know I don’t,” he replied swiftly. “Look, let’s just… forget I said anything.”

“I’d rather not,” Lila said adamantly. “I want to sort this out.”

“Lila, this is something I need to sort out in my head. It’s all me.”

“But wouldn’t hearing what I have to say about it help?”

He paused, meeting her eyes for the first time since broaching this topic. “It… might.”

“Asher, do you really think we shouldn’t be dating?”

“I don’t. But…” he grimaced, taking his hand out of her grasp. “But I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to be insecure, either. I know you like me, and you trust me. But I don’t know if I trust me. For a lot of things, things that we’ve talked about. But even with me being over everything she did to me. I don’t know if… if I just got really excited about the fact that you actually liked me back, after all this time, and so… pretended to be over it – when, actually, it’ll come back to haunt me in some way or another. If that happened… then I might push you away. And I don’t want to do that. I’d rather pull you closer. Only problem with that… is I’m a pusher. In most cases.”

“Asher, I…” Lila stopped herself. Was she just about to say she loved him? Was that what she was feeling about him? Was now even the right time to bring it up, if that was what she was feeling? She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself before she could spiral.

“Asher, if that happened, I’d understand.”

“I don’t want you to understand,” Asher replied, his tone surprisingly aggressive. She reflexively brought her hands to her chest in response. “Shit,” he muttered softly, taking a step back from her. “I… I can’t keep talking about this.”

“What I meant was… that I’d understand how you feel. So… if it does happen, you can tell me. We can work on it together. Even if your instinct is to push me away, I’ll just pull myself closer. Even if it means bringing TimTams to a bake-off purely by Gabriel.”

The smallest twitch of Asher’s lips as she said this encouraged Lila to continue speaking.

“I don’t want you to feel like we shouldn’t be dating. It… sounds really selfish, but… I’m really happy that we are. I don’t think I’ve been happier, really. And I feel like you’ve been happy too. So, with that… even if you have doubts that you’re over it, you can let me in. We’re partners, through and through. Just like how you’ve been supporting me with my English assignment, I can support you with this, too. And, I just want to point out that even if you think it’s just a problem that you need to sort out internally, it sounds more or less like how you said you weren’t going to do my assignment for me. There’s other ways I can help, too.”

Asher was incredibly silent for a few moments.

“I… don’t want to burden you,” he said reluctantly.

“You’re not, though.”

“But I would be.”

“What’s the point of a partnership if we can’t help support each other when the other’s down? I’m not just saying that it’s okay. I’m asking you to do it. Especially if you can’t trust yourself – you trust me, right?”

His gaze was piercing – as though searching for the lie behind her words. But, there wasn’t one. She steadily met his eyes, almost with defiance, before he sighed again, shaking his head.

“It feels like you’ve just checkmated me,” he finally said. “I… I think I’m in trouble.”

“Trouble how?” Lila tried not to let panic flood her voice as she continued to look intently at him.

He stepped forward, bringing a tender hand to the side of her face and caressing her cheekbone with his thumb. “I’ll explain one day,” he uttered softly, his eyes flickering to her lips. “Today… I think I’ll just kiss you.”

Although she still wanted to know what he meant just now, she supposed she could let it go in exchange for a kiss that felt like this. For some reason, as his lips touched hers, it felt as though she could almost taste the raw emotion he held behind it – something so delicate and tender, she thought he’d shatter.

It was different than the previous ones they shared, though by no means did it make her heart flutter less. She did feel that he may have been on the edge of crying, with the way his hands around her shoulders trembled, but she couldn’t think of why that would be. Was it in relation to being in trouble?

Either way, the warmth that he imparted on her placated her into breathlessness as he broke away, his eyes shimmering with flecks of gold from the sun that shined into them.

“A-Anyway, let’s go, before all the rooms get taken up,” Asher said hurriedly, taking her hand. He seemed like he didn’t want to look at her, but she didn’t push it and instead allowed herself to be taken to the library.

The journey there went by in utter silence. She tried to keep her theories out of her mind in the absence of a clear explanation from Asher. So far, all she could think was that he’d been incredibly anxious that his lingering fears would come to fruition – but as to why he said he was in trouble, she was drawing up a blank.

Ultimately, she’d need to trust that he’d come to her if he was in trouble. He said he’d tell her one day, after all. Despite that, and her efforts, she couldn’t fully shake her anxiety as they seated themselves in an empty meeting room. She placed her food on the table as Asher plopped himself across from her with a sigh. Rather than dwell on it, though, she turned her anxiety from what he meant to what they ought to talk about in seclusion.

As though Asher was on the same wavelength, he spoke with a touch of incredulity. “I can’t believe we did it. Like, I know we didn’t necessarily threaten him with the photos or anything, but damn. Still extortion.”

He sat up and pulled a green apple from the depths of his blazer pocket, crunching on it with force.

“I’ve been wondering, actually,” Lila said softly as she slowly opened her snack bag of salted pretzels. She offered him one and he took it, pinching it between his forefinger and thumb with a curious expression.

“Whether I’d want a pretzel?” he joked after she didn’t elaborate.

“No. Well, yes, but not what I meant,” she smiled. “I’ve been wondering about what his next move will be. Any predictions?”

“I don’t think he’d tell Jason, if that’s what you’re worried about. We managed to put enough doubt in his mind about Jason, I think.”

“What about him telling Jake? Or someone else?”

“Tell them what? That the Rock reached out to him from the CIA with photos of him doing a drop? Even if he did tell someone else, it sounds ridiculous from the get go. I doubt they’d believe it. Plus, showing his comrades pictures of him being caught red handed in a drop? Talk about embarrassing.”

“So that’s why you mentioned the CIA,” Lila murmured.

“That, and I wanted to test the limits of his naivety. Or stupidity, whichever. Turns out, it’s the sky.”

Lila snorted. She couldn’t disagree. If Jason found out he was taken down because Zack thought the Rock asked Zack to, he’d have a conniption. The thought made her smile.

“That’s why you don’t employ meatheads for something like this. Zack… is an alright guy, but he’s got some serious lack of critical thinking – even worse than I’d anticipated. I’m sure he’d been hired as a bodyguard first, then started getting asked to be a dealer for efficiency, since he was right there, or because he takes orders without many questions.”

“I’m surprised that he hasn’t spilled the beans before now, then.”

“The thing about Zack is that he’s loyal. Bumbling, but loyal. If Jason asked him to keep quiet, you can guarantee he’d keep quiet as best as he could. That’s why testing Jason’s loyalty towards him was effective. At least, I hope it’s effective. Might be speaking too soon.”

Lila pursed her lips. “You really reckon it’s okay?”

“Reckon so,” Asher nodded, finally popping the pretzel in his mouth. “Salty.”

She snickered.

“Glad I can amuse you in times like these,” he grinned.

“Glad you can, too,” Lila replied earnestly, passing him another pretzel.

“Now that all we can do is wait for Zack to get back to us… let’s get our minds off it,” he said after a few moments, his second pretzel suitably demolished. Lila’s heart skipped a beat. There was one way to get her mind off it.

“So, English-”

Lila cut him off with a disappointed groan.

He laughed, winking playfully at her. “Just kidding.”

She relaxed her posture, and they spent the rest of morning tea enjoying each other’s conversation and company – sans any mention of the morphine ring, Holly or Cecelia.

The rest of the day passed by surprisingly smoothly. Lila hardly remembered what happened during PC or Japanese, and lunch with Asher was spent once more in the library, this time with honey soy stir fry courtesy of Gabriel and warmed by the microwaves. Much like they did at morning tea, they preferred to talk about things other than the morphine ring.

It was moments of brevity that Lila relished, what with how intense things had been lately. It only made her more excited for the rest of the week to fly by until Thursday, when they could be free to be a couple in the outside world.

With this mindset and mood, Design also flew by. When she left her classroom, Asher was once more waiting outside, his eyes lighting up upon seeing her.

“Shall we head to Study?” he asked, holding out his arm for her to take in an old-fashioned, gentlemanly matter.

“No hat to tip?” she replied, taking his arm. He whisked them away towards the direction of the library with a chuckle.

“Definitely not. Only nerds bring their hats everywhere during the school day.”

Lila snorted. “So, you brought your hat around everywhere last year?”

“I am so offended that you picked up on that so quickly.”

She giggled and he joined in with a laugh of his own. They settled in to their usual spot in the library for Study, sitting across from each other, when Lila’s eyes rested on Ayla’s for just a moment.

“Can you swap seats with me?” she asked hurriedly, immediately standing up.

“Sure, but why?” Asher replied, also standing up. They swapped sides before Lila explained in a hushed whisper.

“Ah. Yeah. Still unimpressed by that,” Asher said candidly, opening up his laptop. “Not sure if looking at me or you is better for her.”

“Look, it’s fine.”

Asher frowned deeply. Lila sighed.

“Ayla’s having a tough time. Lashing out at me wasn’t great, but don’t be mad at her.”

“Hard not to,” Asher replied stiffly. “She keeps looking this way. I think she thinks I’m going to deck her.”

“Well, don’t actually do that.”

“Like I would,” Asher’s tone was affronted. His eyes slid past Lila’s shoulder before returning to her face and adding, “Physically, at least.”

Lila sighed, though a small smile made its way across her lips. Even just having Asher be mad on her behalf helped her feel better.

“Anyway, I’ve got some work to do,” Lila said with a no-nonsense tone. “Looks like I’ll be the one asking you not to distract me.”

Asher’s face split into a wide beam. “Of course I won’t. Scout’s honour.”

“Have you ever been a scout?”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be distracting you.”

“C’mon,” Lila cajoled. “Now that I’ve asked, there’s no way I’ll get my work done without knowing.”

“Have you seen me?” Asher replied, raising an eyebrow. “Hell no, I’ve never been a scout.”

“Then why do you even say that?” Lila laughed.

“Just feels right,” Asher shrugged. “Besides, Isaac couldn’t shut up about ‘scout’s honour’ when he went on a camp in Grade 4 or something. Asked him if he could stop, on his ‘scout’s honour’, and after he said he would, I just kept saying it to stir him up.”

Lila laughed again, shaking her head. “So, you were a menace back in Primary School.”

“I’m not a menace now?” his eyes sparkled with a cheekiness that she instantly adored.

“Well… you’re right. You are a menace.”

“Hey!”

“A menace who’s distracting me while I’m trying to work.”

“Touché.”

They shared another smile before Lila looked back down at her draft. She just needed another paragraph or two, then she could reread it all and submit.

It took a little bit longer than she would have liked, but she urgently tapped Asher on the arm when she was on the Turnitin interface, her draft at the ready.

“I’m handing it in,” she said excitedly.

“Seriously?” He looked thrilled, immediately leaning over her laptop to take a peek. “Send it!”

She double checked that she was submitting the right document before hitting submit with bated breath.

“Don’t click off until you get your receipt,” Asher advised, still watching her screen. Her receipt arrived in her inbox not a moment later and he beamed at her.

“Look at that! I knew you could do it,” he said, grasping her hand. He kissed the top of her knuckles before shaking it with an energy that Lila could only describe as ‘proud’.

“Well, it’s just the draft,” Lila replied bashfully, her face a bright red. “So don’t get too excited.”

“Draft is just practice for the final thing,” he said sagely. “Looks like there’s only a few minutes left of class, actually. Let’s pack up.”

They did so, with Asher chattering away about her efforts. She was starting to feel a bit embarrassed by all the praise, but at the same time, something about it made her want him to keep praising her.

Once Study was over, Asher leapt up, taking her belongings and her hand.

“Time to go home,” he said eagerly. “Faster we get home, the faster Thursday will come.”

Lila laughed, his suddenly boundless energy incredibly endearing.

Despite seeming so enthusiastic about going home, his body language shifted to something more subdued by the time they were standing outside her bus stop, waiting for her bus to arrive.

“For someone who wanted to get home as soon as possible, it sure seems like you don’t want to anymore,” Lila observed, squeezing his hand gently.

“Well, yeah,” Asher replied with a heavy sigh. “You’re not coming home with me. So… even though I want to get out of here quickly, so I can go to bed even faster, it means more time away from you.”

She smiled gently at him, gripping the brim of her hat as she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Asher, have I ever told you that you’re adorable?”

“M-Me?” He seemed stunned by the idea that she would think this.

“Yes, you,” she laughed, setting herself back down on the ground. “It really feels nice, to… have you like me so much that you’re sad we have to part. I feel the same way.”

He was silent for a moment. “Well… you’re adorable, too,” he murmured, touching her cheek. He bent his head towards hers and she met him halfway in a goodbye kiss that unfortunately brought the attention of Mr Johnson.

“Oi! No kissing at the bus stop!” Mr Johnson barked as he began to make his way to them – presumably to keep them apart. Asher passed her things back to her before giving her an apologetic look.

“Gotta go, see you tomorrow!” he called as he jogged back the way they came, apologising profusely to Mr Johnson as he passed. Lila couldn’t contain her smile as Mr Johnson shook his head and turned around, resuming his careful hat checks.

The bus trundled to a stop a few seconds later, and she hopped on, her smile still on her face. She spent the ride home daydreaming about tomorrow’s date, her good mood causing a skip in her step as she hurried up to her front door, keys jangling in the lock.

“… DARE YOU!”

Lila’s heart stopped before she could turn the key fully. That… sounded like her Mum, but she’d never heard her yell so aggressively before. Was she fighting with her Dad? Should Lila come back after a walk around the block?

A second sound destroyed that idea immediately. It was sobbing. Sobbing that didn’t sound like it was coming from her Mum, but was definitely feminine.

“M-Mum-”

There was the sound of clattering, as though something had been tossed to the floor followed by a banshee-like, indecipherable yell, cutting off the speaker immediately.

Lila couldn’t just stand out here any longer. She turned the key as quietly as she could and slipped inside, her curiosity calling her forwards.