Next Door

Not a Secret

Ashlyn knocked on Big Red's door the next morning, earlier than she normally would meet him. He opened it. "Biggie!" She hugged him. "We're allowed to date." She whispered.

"Really?" He hugged her back. "Great!"

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek. "For standing up for me."

"Of course." Big Red smiled and kissed her cheek in return. "Oh, and... I do love you."

"I love you." She whispered before kissing him. She put her forehead against his.

"We should get to school." He smiled.

"You're right." She nodded. She pulled away and held his hand as they started walking. "Wait, uh... do we tell people now?"

"Hm?"

"That we're dating." She continued. "We don't really have to keep it a secret anymore."

"Oh, right. Yeah, sure." He smiled. "I'm glad we can."

"Me too." She smiled. "I can hug you whenever I want now." She paused. "You better watch out."

"Oh no... what a shame..." He said sarcastically.

"It is, isn't it?" She smirked.

"I'm really dreading it."

"Same." She faked a pout.

"The sarcasm levels are high, but you're a really good actor." He kissed her forehead. "You look sad."

'You know I'm not."

"I know. But I don't like it."

"Fine." She smiled.

"Yeah, that's better."

"You're really cute." She quickly hugged him then continued walking. They approached the school.

"Hey Ashlyn." Carlos and Seb walked over, holding hands.

"Hi!" She smiled. "What's up?"

"Not much... hold on, are you holding hands?" Seb asked.

"Oh, yeah." Ashlyn moved their hands from between them to in front of them. "We're dating."

"I'm gonna go talk to Ricky." Big Red said.

"Oh, see ya." She hugged him before he left.

"Spill." Carlos and Seb said in unison.

"He asked me out a bit ago, we kept it a secret because my parents didn't like it. Then they liked it less, like 14 times or something. They're finally fine with it."

"Okay, how much do you like him?"

"I love him." Ashlyn admitted. "He's amazing."

"Ricky! It worked. We're allowed to date." Big Red told him, beaming.

"Great!"

"What is?" Nini and Kourtney asked, walking over.

"Ash and I are dating." He grinned. "She's the best."

"I knew it." Nini said.

"What?"

"You guys just always seemed like it." She shrugged. "And you guys have been acting different lately."

"Yeah... it was complicated. A whole thing with her parents... we've been dating for a little while now."