my weakness {gxg}

chapter twelve

True to her word, Paisley is waiting outside chemistry for me. She grabs all of my books in one fluid motion, leaving her other hand free to latch onto mine.

"How was Chemistry?" She asks, concern in her eyes, as she leads us down the hallway. People are moving away to leave space for us to walk, and I can feel everyone's eyes on us, some glaring with jealousy, some shining with admiration.

"It was fine, Morgan and I just ignored each other the whole time, and my best friend hates me, but other than that life is just great." I say sarcastically, just done with today. She squeezes my hand, trying to give me reassurance that everything's going to be okay.

"What do you have next?" She asks, stopping to give me time to think.

"Oh fuck." I mutter, realizing I have art with Mila next. Forty minutes of sitting next to my fake girlfriends ex.

Paisley seems to realize what I'm thinking about, and winces, feeling my pain for me. She grabs my hand, holding tighter as we get closer to the art room. This time she doesn't leave me by the door, this time she walks me right to my desk. She sets my books down on my desk , before gently kissing the top of my head, and walking out, sending a wink my way as she goes out of view.

"That was a cute little performance Brookie." Mila says, leaning back into her seat and grimacing.

I pretend to pout, before smiling at her. "Are you sad that she moved on so quickly? I mean, she was probably going to break up with you anyways, since she has standards."

"You little bi-!" Mila starts, before the bell interrupts her and Ms. Shea enters the classroom.

"Who's ready to make art!" Ms. Shea exclaims, her hands thrown up in the air. When all she gets is groans of acknowledgement from tired seniors, she takes that as her cue to start talking again.

"I thought I'd mix it up again today, and instead of doing independent work like usual, you're going to work with a partner! You'll be working with the person next to you, so get to know them, because this is going to be a two week long project!"

I reluctantly turn to Mila. "Ready to get started, partner?" I ask, malice in my tone.

She fakes a grin, "Born ready Heighten."

***

I feel like the day's never gone by slower, and it's only the end of fourth period. The bell rings, signaling that it's time for lunch, and I pack my things, hoping that if I go slow enough, I'll be lucky enough to miss lunch completely. Unfortunately for me, Paisley is waiting for me, like the gentlewoman she is.

"How am I supposed to sit with Morgan and Devin after the fight we got in?", I ask, as Paisley and I walk down the hallway. "Do I ignore them, or try to fix things?"

"You could just sit with me." Paisley suggests, nonchalantly grabbing my bag again and slinging it over her shoulder.

I wrinkle my nose. "That's so sweet, but I'm pretty sure all of your friends hate me?"

"My friends?"She laughs. "B, most of the people that I sit with I hate, but we sit with each other because we both acknowledge each other's popularity and accept that in order to stay relevant and popular we need to stay together."

"That is so fucked up! I mean, you're popular enough to just start a new group of cool kids, and be even more popular than the bitches you surround yourself with."

"Hey, remember that I don't make the rules here!" She says, jokingly putting her hands up in defense. "And if you're so adamant about not sitting with my 'friends', why don't we sit with your friends?"

I look at her with disbelief. "You want us to go sit with my friends? The group of friends that all still hates you? That's a suicide mission Paisley!."

She rubs her hands together excitedly. "I'm always up for a new challenge. Let's do it."

We head into the cafeteria, ignoring the calls from the people Paisley usually sits with, and heading towards the back where my table is.

As we sit down, our table goes silent, everyone staring at Paisley with shock in their eyes. We continue to sit in silence until Matt speaks up.

"I know we've all had our... differences in the past, but now that Paisley and Brooke are together, we need to respect that."

Everyone around the table eventually nods, some more reluctant to do so than others.

Morgan signals to the hallway with her eyes, and I take that as a sign that she wants to talk. She starts talking when we leave the cafeteria, the walls reducing the buzz from the cafeteria.

"You know I'll always love you B, even when I may not love the choices you make. If you think being with Paisley will make you happy, I'm happy. But, if she so much as steps over the line she'll have to deal with me."

I laugh and hug her, pulling her in tight, so she can never leave.

"I think we're good Morgan. Thank you for the concern though. Ready to go back in?"

"Let's go. I need to get a profile on your girlfriend, so I have information if it's necessary down the line."

I gently shove her. "Don't be creepy Morgan. I don't want you to scare her away."

"You think I can scare the great Paisley Lewis? I mean, it's an honor, but really?"

"She's really just a baby underneath her little tough girl facade, kind of like you."

"Oh fuck off." Morgan groans, as we both head back into the cafeteria for what's sure to be an interesting forty minutes.

I hope you liked this chapter! I love you <3