Rumors

The Boy from Before.

The next day, Bridget arrived at school with her parents rather than Brittany and the others. She was in a happy daze, and she wanted to bask in the feeling a little bit more before sharing it with the others. She knew she'd tell Maggie, since the girl would really like to know, but she wasn't sure if she should share with Brittany and the others.

Even though the girl had toned down some, it was still obvious that Brittany wanted to get with Robin. "Just hook up," the girl had told her once, "to see his skills." And then the girl had done this ridiculous thing with her eyebrows, which Bridget had laughed uncomfortabley at. Telling Brittany seemed like a bad idea, though she really wanted to.

After they had gone down to dinner, it was obvious that something had happened between them. Bridget remembered catching eyes with Robin and blushing. She would look at him whenever she thought he wasn't looking, turning red whenever she caught him watching her. At one point, their fingers had touched, and Bridget had felt weak enough that she almost lost her grasp on the bowl of green beans she had been passing him. After that, her parents had confronted them.

"Are you two together?" her mom had asked with a sweet smile, glancing between the two of them excitedly. Bridget had flughed horribly and stuttered before Robin had grabbed her hand.

"I really like your daughter," is what he had said. "And I'd love to take her out on dates and be with her, if you and her are alright with that."

And as her mom squealed, Bridget had thought she would faint. Robin wanted to be with her. He wanted to be her boyfriend. At the time, it hadn't really processed in her mind what he was requesting when she excitedly agreed. But once she woke up, Bridget couldn't get it out of her head. It had finally hit her.

Robin wanted her to be his girlfriend!

It was something that she had always dreamed of being, with someone she adored, but never had she actually believed it could happen.

"Bridget?" her mom spoke up over the morning radio, looking in the rear-view mirror at her. Bridget moved her eyes over to meet hers, and gave a questioning noise. "I know you're really excited about Robin," warm feelings spread through her chest at his name, "but I want you to be careful. Take it slow - go on dates."

"I know, mom," Bridget said with a small smile. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes as she had before. Those guys were in her past - her relationship with Robin was in the present. "And I think Robin knows that, too."

A sigh escaped her mom. Her dad continued staring out the passenger window, checking his phone for what she assumed were messages from work, even though he was supposed to have the day off. Bridget waited, knowing her mom would say more. It was how her mom was. Always making her concerns and opinions known. "I just want you to be safe - careful. After what happened before..."

Bridget felt a spike of anger flash through her as her mom trailed off. What did she know about being on the end of vulgar rumors? What say did she have in Bridget's life to decide what she did with her relationships in the first place? It wasn't her call to make!

Despite wanting to speak, Bridget kept her mouth shut until they got to the school. With a mumbled goodbye, she slammed the door shut and made her way into the school. Students were milling around, talking and hanging out, unconcerned about making their way into the building until the bell rang. Bridget hurried past them all, smiling at the greetings she got but not stopping for anyone.

As she was stepping through the second set of double doors into the foyer, her shoulder bumped into another students'. Fortunately for her, her bag stayed secure over her shoulder. The same couldn't be said for the other. Two thick textbooks and a few notebooks scattered across the carpeted ground, having fallen from the students' hands.