My mom looked over at me and Bernard. A smile was forming as tears continued streaming down her face. I looked over at her and she nodded her head at me, assuring me that she really was happy for me, accepted me for who I really am.
I smiled back at her. Bernard looked at me, then my mom, and then back at me. He had the biggest and cutest smile I have ever seen.
"I know it's getting late, but, Bernard if you would like to stay the night since the both of you have school in the morning, I'd be okay with it, especially with the current situation."
"Thanks ma'am, my mother said the same thing to me when I rushed over here earlier."
Bernard wrapped his arms around me tightly and slowly helped me off the couch to go up to my room for bed.
"Let's go Blakey Bear!"
I smiled, blushed, and giggled to myself.
"Goodnight you two!" My mom said, while heading to bed herself.
We headed up the stairs, into my room. Bernard wrapped me into his arms and kissed me, once we got into my room. He felt so warm and it filled me with this sense of protection and love.
We got into my bed and fell asleep cuddling.
I have never felt love like this before. It was such a welcoming feeling and I didn't ever want it to go away. Sleeping next to Bernard, I just knew he was the only one for me. The perfect one for me.
Bernard woke up before me. He woke me up with kisses. The best way to wake up, in my opinion.
I woke up, wrapped my arms around him, and started making out with him.
He giggled and broke the kiss.
"Dang Blakey, I was just trying to wake you up for school, now you've got me wanting to get back in bed and cuddle with you."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea though, now does it, Bernie?"
"Nope nope nope, we gotta go to school. As much as I would love to get back into bed, we've gotta go now, Blakey!"
Bernard grabbed my hands and pulled me out of bed and into his arms for a hug.
I hugged him tightly and pushed him onto the bed.
Bernard just laid there, looking up at me smiling.
"Alright, I'm going to get you back for that one, but later, you've gotta get ready now. You don't wanna be late, do you?"
"Oh, how will you get me back?" I teased, sticking my tongue out. "Yeah, I really can't be late."
"You'll see when we get out of school." Bernard winked at me. My face flushed red. "Now come on, get your clothes on, brush your hair, and teeth!"
I got ready and we headed outside to Bernard's car for school. Bernard, of course, opened the door for me, like he said he would be doing from now on.
We got to school and my stomach felt like it sank all the way down through the floor board of the car. I was so nervous for what the others were going to say about Bernie and me.
Bernard could see the nervousness in the face and we quickly grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers.
I looked up at him and he was smiling at me.
"It's going to be okay, Blakey. If anyone says anything, don't let it bother you. I'm here to protect you and I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I love you!"
"I-I love you too!"
I felt much better now that he said that to me. I was ready to get out of the car and walk into the building.
We held hands as we walked into school together. Immediately people started starring. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I was holding my breath, shaking in fear. All I could hear was Bernie's soothing voice, whispering, "It's okay, Blake, you're okay!" He repeated it a few times until I was able to let out a long breath.
Some people were gasping and others were looking at us, disgusted.
I didn't have to worry about Eva, Brian, or Vicky bothering me since they got expelled for the rest of the year. Everything felt like it was going to be okay for the first time ever in my life. I felt like I could die right now and I could confidentially say that I died happy.
We got more positive reactions than anything the rest of the day at school. It made me feel so much better about myself and I knew that I could actually begin to live my life happily. Bernard brought the best out of me and although being happy was a foreign feeling to me, It felt amazing.
"So, Blakey, wanna go talk to the councilor about getting your name changed in the school records? I think that it would be the perfect first step for you!"
I smiled at him, tears forming in my eyes. Bernard smiled back at me, wiping one of the tears that had formed off of my face with his thumb.
After classes were over, we went to the office. My councilor was very happy to see me. She immediately greeted me with a big smile.
"Well hey there, Miss Bailey. What a pleasure it is to see you. You never really make meetings with me, what's the occasion? How can I help you today?"
Bernard decided to speak up and take control of the situation for me,since he could tell that I wasn't feeling as confident or really ready to have this type of conversation with anyone yet.
We walked into her office and took a seat in the super comfy chairs.
"Well, there's actually a couple of things that we need to talk about, actually." Bernard started.
"Well, go right on ahead."
"This is, Blake. We'd like a name change for the files."
"Oh no, I am so sorry, I had no idea! I am so gratefully sorry about calling you by the wrong name! I will go ahead and put it into the system right away!"
I smiled at that. "No need to apologize, you had no idea!" I reassured her.
She nodded her head. "It's all fixed, what else was there that you wanted to talk about?"
Bernard squeezed my hand tightly. I knew exactly what he was about to bring up.
Blake's father passed away yesterday. He may be acting a little differently for a bit and we're both going to need to take a few days off to prepare for the funeral.
She gasped with sadness, tears forming in her eyes. "I am so very extremely sorry for your loss. I will grant you as much time off as you need. This won't effect any of your grades at all! I'll be sending an email to all of your teachers for you so that they're informed about your current situation. As for you Bernard, why do you need the days off as well?"
Bernard lifted the hand that was interlocked with mine, up in the air to show my councilor.
She nodded her head, "Alright, I get it. I shall grant you the time off as well." She smiled and typed on her computer for a bit.
"You two make such a cute couple!"
We both blushed and looked at each other.
"Thanks." I said.
"You're welcome. Alright, if that's all, get out and enjoy the rest of your day. At least, try to. Times are tough right now, but don't let it bring you down too much. You both have each other to help bring the other one up now." She smiled.
We both left the office and walked out of the school building.
When we got to the car, Bernard pulled me in for a hug.
"I love you, I always will. I want you to remember that forever, Blakey."
"I love you too, Bernie. I'll never stop loving you."
We kissed and held each other for what seemed like minutes.
I didn't ever want to feel the loneliness that I felt before.
