Rumors

Goodbye, Derek.

When a week passed with nothing major happening, Bridget started to think that Brittany might not have spread that vicious rumor about Derek. That, just maybe, the girl had realized just how wrong it was to say something like that. But all of her hopes were squashed just a few days later.

She was with Robin, spending time with him during lunch rather than the others. Quinn and Danielle had gotten quite huffy with her when she said she would be going out with Robin, but Arielle had made her feel better by explaining that none of them really minded. So for almost a week and a half, Bridget had been going to fast food restaurants and lingering in the library with Robin, getting used to the new feeling of being in a relationship.

They were starting out slow, since it was a fresh romantic relationship, only kissing at the end of their dates. And, hadn't that been surprising! The few dates that Bridget had gone on with boys, they had told her that if she truly cared for them, then she would have sex with them. Of course, the next day, they dropped her like yesterday's garbage, but still. Robin was definitely different from other boys that she had dealt with, which was refreshing.

Currently, after Bridget claimed that she didn't mind where they went, they were at McDonald's, placing their order in the drive thru. Bridget watched as Robin turned towards his wallet to grab his card, smiling slightly at the way his brow was furrowed in concentration. She had offered to pay for her part of the food, but Robin had immediately shot that down, interupting her arguments with a chaste kiss. Bridget had wisely shut up.

"God, that smells good," Robin muttered after handing his card over, sending a longing look towards the bags in Bridget's lap. She waited for him to meet her eyes before reaching in and grabbing a french fry. "For me?" he asked, wiggling his brows when she held it out towards him.

Bridget rolled her eyes and nodded. "Duh!" she laughed, yelping when he snapped at her fingers when he ate the fry from her hand. "Jerk," she grumbled. Robin didn't respond, too busy placing his returned card and receipt in his wallet, so Bridget focused on the view outside her window. Clean cut grass, with birds pecking at the ground in random spots, and a busy street on the otherside of it.

"Hey, Bridget," Robin said, making her look towards him. He gave a sweet smile, holding his hand out and waiting for her to grasp it. Bridget quirked the side of her lips and slid her hand into his, giggling when he lifted it and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

Her hand stayed in his as they drove back to the school. It was strange how such a little thing as holding hands made Bridget's heart beat so rapidly. It was something that she was beyond happy to experience with him.

When they were finally in the back room of the library, eating and talking quietly as to not disturb the calm silence of the library, Robin brought up a topic that Bridget did not want to be a part of. A rumor about Derek that involved Bridget.

"I heard he tried to attack you," Robin sighed worriedly, tucking a strand of hair behind Bridget's ear. She avoided his gaze, feeling the shame from agreeing with the spreading of the rumor fill her once more. "I didn't hear about it until this morning. Why didn't you tell me?"

Bridget cleared her throat and sipped at her soda, letting the fizziness of the drink distract her from answering for a long moment. Finally, when she knew that Robin would begin getting impatient, she set her drink aside and ignored the bubbly feeling the soda left in her rolling stomach. "I didn't want you to worry," she said softly. Robin made a noise from the back of his throat, but she coninued. "It was nothing, really. He just knocked me to the ground and practically yelled at me."

Was that the rumor they had agreed to spread? Bridget couldn't really remember the details, so she hoped that she got it right. She didn't know what she would do if Robin found out that it was a lie.