Welcome to New Haven (43 page)

“Excuse me?” Holly said, getting pissed off at this girl.
 

“They like each other, so back off.” Said Dev.
 

“Jeez, I was just asking!” Said Clare defensively.
 

“Why do you want to know?” Asked Holly as Clare was backing away.

It was nobody’s business if there were something going on between her and Alex and for somebody to walk up and ask outright was, in Holly’s opinion, bad mannered.
 

“Um…well…” Clare looked nervous. “…There’s a party on Saturday and a few of us were going and, well, if Alex was going…you know…one of us would, like, kind of, ask him to go with us.”
 

“Like, on a date?” Said Dev, mimicking Clare’s whiny voice.
 

“Well yeah.” She replied.
 

“Well that’s not going to happen, so bye bye.” Said Dev, waving her off.
 

Holly was gripping the edge of the table in anger. She was breathing deeply to calm down.
 

“How
dare
she say that!” Dev whisper shouted so she didn’t attract the attention of the other students.
 

“At least she was honest though…” Said Holly through clenched teeth. “…Even though I wanted to rip her fuckin’ head off!”
 

“Is everything ok?” asked Alex as he walked over.
 
He’d seen the girls having a conversation from the back of the room, and he’d seen the same look in Holly’s eyes that she had when talking to Stacey.
 
So it couldn’t have been anything good.
 

“Oh…yes…fine.” Said Holly.
 

“Nothing we can’t handle.” Said Dev.

Alex looked to Holly again, concerned,
 
as she took a controlled breath.
 

“Holly?” He asked gently.
 
She was angry.
 
He knew that much.

“We’re fine…but thanks.” Holly said as she smiled weakly.

She was still mad that Clare had to audacity to say that she or her friends were going to ask out Alex, after Dev had said him and Holly like each other. Holly had asked though.
 
Clare was backing away until she’d stopped her to ask why.
 
Maybe she wasn’t going to do it after all.
 
But, then again…hearing some of the things people had done in that school…she wouldn’t be surprised.
 

Holly looked into his eyes and his concern for her had her knees turning to jelly.
 
Her eyes dropped to his mouth, and she slightly sucked her lower lip in.

Oh shit,
she thought as Alex’s lips parted.
 

“Ok class, let’s get started!” the teacher said as he walked in. “Mr. Valencia, to your seat please.”
 

Alex glanced once more at Holly, before going to his seat next to Ben. He gave Holly a little lopsided smile before sitting down.

Holly turned to Dev.
 

“This is going to be around the whole school by lunch, isn’t it?” she asked.
 

“You’ll be married and on your fourth kid by then.” Chuckled Dev and Holly stared at her open mouthed.
 

Dev snorted a laugh.
 

“Did I ever welcome you to New Haven?”

After class, and a few sly glances from Clare, they left the room for their next lesson.
 

“What was Clare saying?” asked Ben as they walked to A.Calc that he and Holly had together.
 

“Um…just about the party on Saturday.” Said Dev. She knew Holly would have been uncomfortable talking about it in front of the guys, and Holly was grateful that she didn’t elaborate.
 

“What about it?” asked Alex.
 

“She asked if we were all going.” Dev replied.
 

“So why was Holly giving her the death stare?” smirked Ben.
 

Holly’s face went red, and she knew Alex didn’t miss it. Just by looking at her he would’ve known that it wasn’t just that.
 

“Um…she irritated me a bit.”

Alex knew the girls weren’t telling them everything. He hadn’t known Holly for long, but he knew that she didn’t lose her temper easily.
 
If she did, he’d have no doubt that Stacey would be sporting a pair of black eyes.
 

“If you say so.” He said and winked at her with a knowing smile. He loved the reaction he got from her when he did.
 
She’d blush and pull her bottom into her mouth in that shy way that she does.
 

Alex wanted to taste that lip himself.
 
He wanted to suck it, nibble it, and lick…
 

“Alex!” Said Ben.
 

“Huh, what?” He said.
 

“We have to go into class now?” Ben said as if he were asking a question.
 

“Oh yeah.” Said Alex as he blinked a few times.
 
He could feel his own cheeks growing hotter and, of course, his pants were tighter.
 
“See you at lunch” He said and turned to Holly.
 

“Bye Holly.” He said in an almost whisper.
 

“Bye.” She replied
 

“See you Dev.” He said as the girls quickly hugged.

“Soooo.
 
What
really
happened with Clare?” Ben asked Holly when they took their seats.
 

“Nothing.” She replied, flatly

Ben looked at his phone.
 

“Uh, huh. Then why have I received eight text messages from the others asking whether you and Alex are dating?”
 

“What?!”

“Yep. So, obviously something was said by Clare.
 
She pissed you off and now you’re dating Alex.”
   

“How the hell did she spread rumours so fast?” She groaned inwardly.
 

“New Haven and the power of the text.
 
She probably texted her friends when we were in Chem class.” Ben explained.
 

“Oh my God.” Said Holly with her hand over her mouth.
 

“Well Alex hasn’t mentioned it so I’m guessing it’s not true?”
 

Holly shook her head in reply.
 
She was mortified. Would Alex think she had said it? That she was being presumptuous and had old Clare they were dating?

Oh shit, shit, fucking shit!

She blew out a breath to calm the coronary she felt she was going to have right there in the classroom.

“Well…?” Ben asked. “What happened?”
 

Holly gave up and told him the conversation that had passed among the three girls.
 

“So I don’t know why Clare would say that we’re dating.”

“She probably didn’t.” Ben said as he shifted in his seat to talk closely to her so nobody would overhear. “Things like this spread fast and Alex, being Alex…it’s big news.”

“Why?” asked Holly.

She was
really
intrigued why Alex dating would be an issue. Clare had said that he hasn’t winked at anyone.

As if that was weird.
 
What would it matter anyway?

“Because he’s
never
dated anybody in this school.” Said Ben with a twinkle in his eyes.
 

“You mean, not this school, but another?” Holly asked, cautiously. She didn’t want to come off as jealous, even that’s how she felt.
 

“I think it’s best that
he
tells you that.” He said smiling.
 

Holly thought it was the kind of smile that held a big, fat, secret.
 
Like ‘I know something you don’t know’ kind of smile.
 
Ben’s phone vibrated.
 

“Make that fifteen texts.” He snorted.
 

“Oh hell.” Said Holly as she dropped her head into her hands.

Alex and Dev were sitting outside for their free period when Alex’s phone beeped.
 
Thinking it was Holly, he quickly got out his phone and paused as he read the screen.
 

“Devvvv…” He said. “Why are people asking the guys if Holly and I are dating?” He had a confused yet smiling expression. He wanted, badly, for that to be a reality but seeing as though he hadn’t asked her out…yet…he wanted to know what had been said.
 

He could see that Dev was answering texts from Riss and Kayla.
 

“Um…Clare might have started that rumor.”
 

“Why? I’m not complaining, but why would she think that?” He knew it had something to do with the conversation in class earlier.
 

Dev told him about the conversation with Clare and he laughed loudly.
 

“What’s funny?”

“What’s funny is that Clare thought that ‘maybe’ she or one of her friends would ask me on a date.
 
Secondly is that she told you
after
you said Holly and me like each other.
 
After what Holly did to Stacey…well, it’s hilarious!”
 

“When you put it that way, I guess.” Dev giggled.
 
“I did think Holly was going to break the table with how tight she gripped it.” Said Dev.
 

“Wait, what?” Alex was stunned by what Dev had said.
 

“Holly had a hold of the table and her knuckles were turning white. Especially when Clare mentioned dating you.” Dev said with enthusiasm.
 
“I don’t know how she kept her face so calm!”
 

Alex’s heart leaped with the thought of Holly getting territorial over him.
 
He liked it…a lot.

He looked down to his phone when he received another message.
 

B: Had lots more texts from the others asking the story. Like I would know before Dev. :\ Holly told me what happened.
 
Has Dev said?

A: Yeah. She also said the rumors would have us on our 4th kid by lunch.

B: So they’re just rumors? ;)

A: For now. :D

B: Don’t waste time dude.

A: I won’t.

They never gave their number out to anyone. After Stacey had gotten a hold of it, she’d constantly called and texted him.
 
After a few days of her getting it, he’d changed his number and didn’t tell anybody, other than his family, and friends.
 
Especially the school, because that’s how she’d gotten it in the first place. Afterwards, she’d started to text Ben and he’d changed his too. Now, none of them had their numbers registered in the school system because of it. Anything that was passed, like the video from Spanish, was sent via Bluetooth or Airdrop.

“I should text Holly.” Said Dev. “Let her know everything’s ok.”
 

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Asked Alex.
 

“The whole school thinks you’re dating, but you’re not…yet. She’s finally gotten over some of her nervousness to talk to you,
and
she probably thinks that
you’ll
think she told them.” She said as if Alex should already know that.
 

“Oh.”
 
He said. “Let me text her, Dev. I’ll tell her. Ok?”
 

“Ok then, if you’re sure.”
 

“Positive.” He said as he tapped the screen.
 

A: Hi :)

H: Hi :/

A: Are you ok?

H: Yes. Apart from 4 girls in this class shooting me some serious daggers.

A: What? How dare they do that to my wife?! Don’t they think of the kids?

Alex showed Dev what he had said to Holly.
 

“Oh my God!” she squealed.
 
“She’ll have a fit!” she laughed hard.

H: :o

A: New Haven High.
 
I guess we’re already on our 4
^th
. ;)

H: Does
everyone
spread gossip that fast here?

A: Actually, no. Not that fast.
 
We’d just be on our 2
^nd
. XD

H: I’m glad you think it’s funny. :P

A: Don’t you?

H: Clare shouldn’t have made assumptions.

A: The person she told probably did.

H: Sorry.

A: For what?

H: For her starting a rumour. I’ll make sure she knows the truth.

Dev had been watching the conversation from beside Alex and she was grinning.
 

“Aww, she’s protecting you.” She said sweetly.
 

“I don’t need protecting, Dev.” He said. “I don’t want Holly to say anything.” Alex decided to tell her just that.
 
No need to squash the rumors.
 
It was nobody else’s business anyway.

A: Don’t tell her anything.

H: Why not? Don’t you want them to know the truth?

A: I couldn’t care less what they think. Besides, is it really that bad?

H: Is what bad?

Alex thought for a moment before replying. He needed to be tactful.

Direct is best.

His Dad had always told him ‘if you want to know something…just ask. It’s that simple.’

Here goes.

A: The thought of dating me?

“I’ve just explained everything to Kay and Riss.” Said Dev. “They want to know if they should deny the rumors.”
 

“No. Don’t deny
or
admit it.” He said. “They should tell people it’s not their business to comment.”
 

Alex wanted more than anything to be able to say ‘yes, it’s true.

H: Most of the girls in this school would say no to that.

A: I’m not interested in what
they
think.
 
Just you.

Oh my God! Why did we have to be in school? We could be talking about this face-to-face and then kissing.
 
Kissing her lips.
 
Her full lips that she pursed in concentration.
 
The lips that she licks when I speak to her…
 
Beep!