The Boy Next Door

Chapter Thirty-One

 "So, it's a sports college?" I asked, reading the college prospectus in my hand, leaning on Olly's chest as we lay on his bed.

"Yeah, a sports academy."

"So what will you be studying, football?" I questioned.

"I'll do BTEC sports-related qualifications then possibly a higher national diploma. I will study for fourteen hours each week and train with elite and ex-professional football coaches for fifteen hours. There are weekly matches in a competitive league."

"Wow, that's good."

"Yeah, it is; it's what I want to do, and if I'm lucky, I might get a scholarship or something. My dad reckons this route is more suitable and that A-levels would be a waste of time."

I turned my head and glanced at him, feeling my throat clench, "It's exciting. I'll miss you, though."

"I'll miss you too," he replied, toying with my hair.

"I wish I knew what I was doing with my life like you do. Two more years of school is my worst nightmare."

His hand stroked my forehead and then kneaded my temples, "At least you have transferred now; no more, Bailey."

I nodded and turned on my front, slightly digging my chin into his chest. "You're right. It will be better with Alex and the other girls. But English, Business and Media Studies, that's crap compared to what you're doing."

"It's not. You could do loads with that," Olly tried.

"Why didn't you pick P.E like you did for GCSE?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Mum swayed me with her opinions, she never did A-Levels, but it made sense to do qualifications I'll use. What would I use P.E for? I only took it in GCSE for exercise. Before that, I was always forging notes and skipping it." Sitting up, I placed the booklet down, crossed my legs and faced him. "Can we talk about you and Kyle?" I needed answers and closure before he left.

Olly straightened his posture and took his cap off, "I'd rather not," he said, rolling his eyes. He caught my body stiffen, watched me frown, and exhaled. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

I thought about everything I wanted to know, from their hostility to their secrets, "Why do you hate each other?" I asked first.

"Because he's obnoxious and full of himself, haven't you noticed?" He put it bluntly.

"I think there is more to it; I can tell."

"Sometimes, I wish you weren't so observant."

I smiled, cleared my throat and twisted my earrings, waiting.

"We used to be close. We spent every school holiday together, and we were inseparable. Every half term and summer, his family would stay with us, he made friends with mine, and we both learnt to surf."

I rested an elbow on my knee and leaned my chin on my palm, "So, what happened?"

"I don't know. Something happened between my auntie and mum, and they stopped coming down. Kyle changed overnight. He stopped talking to me, switched his surfboard for a skateboard and the only time he was in the water was when he came to compete against me. His sports clothes became black ones, and his tattoos and piercings appeared. He became aggressive, started smoking and drinking, and didn't care anymore. His family and mine only started talking again last year. Kyle and I will never be the same."

"Didn't you ask what happened?"

Olly stood from the bed and sat on his desk chair, swivelling it to face me, "I wanted to. I tried to ask my mum, but she brushed it off every time. I asked Kyle once, but he got angry and defensive and started fights with me for no reason." He sighed.

"If you hate each other so much, how did the secret between you come about?" I said curiously, and Olly strained a little.

"I said I was sorry about that."

"I know. But you never told me."

He picked up the photo frame casing our prom photo and slid his finger up and down the glass. "Before we moved here, my dad got our families together to sort out our differences and make peace. Kyle was, as he always is, untrusting and rude. He told me to stay away from him at Bailey, so I did," he paused. "Until I met you."

I looked to my hands and stroked the sweat rising on my palms up and down my trouser leg.

"Ashley, I don't regret meeting you, so don't think it for a second," he muttered, sounding threatened by my thoughts.

I shook my head. "I never thought that. But I feel like an inconvenience having made things hard for you."

Olly moved off his chair and towards me. He bent down, taking to his knees on the floor, level with me as I looked into his glossy chocolate eyes. His shimmering red lips took between his teeth, and he expanded his chest, "You are not and never will be an inconvenience to me. I know we're only sixteen, perhaps young and foolish, but I know how I feel; this is real. I love you, and I would never change meeting you."

"So why bring Kyle into it?" my voice quivered, denying the tears pinching the back of my eyes.

"I got scared. I didn't want to hurt you after what you have been through this summer. I thought telling Kyle, asking him to make friends with you may have had an effect, that may be, in a way, it would be easier if you had someone else to hang out with when I left." He rubbed the back of his neck, squeezed it slightly, and then put his cap back on backwards. "I didn't think he would be mean. I'm sorry; I should have thought better. Kyle is a prick, and I'm glad you don't have to see him again."

"Yeah, me too," I warily agreed, thinking about the idea of never seeing him again. Was that what I wanted? Yes, it was; it was for mine and Olly's sake.

"Is there anything else?" Olly asked, stroking my knees, and I shook my head.

He raised towards me, planting his lips hard onto mine. He tasted glorious, and I couldn't believe I thought Kyle kissed me better. It was only a kiss, and I wished I could tell Olly about it, but I couldn't, not after he'd opened up like that. He was right; I didn't have to see Kyle again, so I needed to stop thinking about him, even if he may have had more effect on me than Olly had planned. I'm sure many girls have experienced the same with a boy like Kyle, regretting it too.

Olly kissed me again, placing himself between my legs and pushing me back on the bed. My hands moved up his body. He took his cap from his head and put it on mine. I grinned, biting my bottom lip and then his. He pecked my neck, nibbled my ear lobe, and I took his shirt off. He took me as I was, and I took him as he was, more naked and vulnerable, emotionally, than we had ever been before.