Only, Always, and Forever You

25 - Jealous

Amara's POV:

It's nearing the end of the day, but I still have one more period before I get to go home: AP Lit. I would normally be excited that I get to see Cole, but for some reason a part of me feels... guilty?

I don't know why, probably because of Oliver, but even then, I shouldn't feel guilty. Cole and I are just friends, so it shouldn't matter if he knows or not. I'll still only tell him if I absolutely have to, though...

I walk into Ms. Greene's classroom and go to take my seat. I set my bag down but before I can grab my chair and sit down, a hand pulls my seat out for me.

"For you, princess," Cole hums quietly, and I immediately start to blush.

I smile and mumble a 'thank you', but I can't look at him. I cant look him in the eye without feeling slightly bad. Why do I still feel so guilty??

Class goes on, and eventually we are given time to work on our group projects. I meet up with Cole, Ella, and Luke, and we start to talk about the assignment.

"Cole and I were talking the other day— would you guys want to hang out again to finish the project?" Luke asks.

"Finish is a little ambitious, but yeah I'd be okay with that," Ella replies with a nonchalant shrug.

I mutter a 'yes', and Luke starts to talk logistics, "Okay so you guys could probably come over to Cole's house tomorrow after school."

My stomach drops.

"Did you just invite everyone over to my house?" Cole asks crudely.

Oh shit.

"I basically live there anyway, it's fine," Luke explains.

Now I have to tell them.

"Yeah, but that's not the point—"

I cut Cole off, "Um, I don't know if I can hangout tomorrow right after school. But maybe later in the day?" I try to keep it short, but everyone raises a brow at me nevertheless.

"Amara has plans?" Luke jokes, but I know his intonation is fair: I never have any plans.

Ella shrugs her shoulders and doesn't care, but Cole stands silently at my side, waiting to hear my response. I can tell he's curious. Shit.

"Um, yeah," I start nervously, "I'm just hanging out with a friend."

"A friend? Someone other than us???" Luke jokes again, and I can't tell whether I should be offended by him calling me a loser or flattered that he called me a friend.

"Who?" Cole chimes in, and I can hear the intrigue in his voice, along with something else, but I can't tell what.

"Just someone from my Psych class," I answer ambiguously.

"Why so secretive?" Cole teases, nudging me with his elbow, and I can tell he's trying to be playful to cover up his curiosity.

"It doesn't matter, let's focus on our project," I respond, trying to change the subject.

Cole and Luke seem to get the hint, and we work more on the assignment. Ella and I work on the presentation while Cole and Luke feed us sources and information.

After what seems like hours of working, school is finally dismissed.

"I'll meet you at my car, I gotta go talk to someone," Cole informs me, giving me his keys before heading in the opposite direction of the parking lot.

I nod so that he knows I heard him, and then I proceed out the doors and toward his car. I unlock it, and then I climb into the passenger seat and wait for him.