Mr. B. Urie

13

I wake up with a start when Brendon's alarm goes off. It's 6:30. Who in their right mind wakes up this early? "Go back to sleep," I mumble, reaching onto the bedside table and turning off his alarm. "School doesn't start until eight."

"But I think I should go home and get ready. Plus, your dad is going to be suspicious if he finds us in the same bed together." He stands up, shrugging on his clothes from yesterday. I get up too, grabbing his hands and setting them on my cheeks.

"Don't go," I beg, breaking out my puppy dog eyes. Brendon chuckles and gives me a quick kiss.

"Walk me to my car?" He offers with his forehead resting on mine. We're sharing the same air and I'd much rather stay here. But I nod because he's right. He has to leave, it's what any normal person would do.

We walk down the stairs hand in hand, and I can't help but notice how contrasting it is. Brendon is dressed in his work clothes: a nice button-down shirt and slacks. I, on the other hand, am wearing shorts and a baggy t-shirt, aka my pyjamas. I let out a giggle and Brendon smirks at me. "What's so funny?"

"Life," I say simply. He shakes his head at me playfully but doesn't say anything more until we reach the door to the garage.

"Well, this is my stop." He sighs, leaning against the wall beside the door. I reach up to push a stray piece of hair out his eyes, and he gives me a sweet smile. "I'll see you in an hour." Just as he bends down to kiss me, I hear footsteps from upstairs. I give him a peck and practically push him out the door.

"I love you!" I whisper-yell before he gets in his car.

"I love you too." He laughs. I press the button to open the garage and he drives away. I turn around with a wide smile, that is until I see my dad standing in front of me, arms crossed.

"You're up early." He remarks. I can't tell if he's figured anything out. He used to play poker, which makes it impossible for me to ever read his face.

"Brendon's alarm woke me," I say. It's not technically a lie; for all my dad knows, I heard it from my own room.

"I see." He turns and wanders into the kitchen. "You usually sleep like the dead, I'm surprised." I follow him and sit at the table.

"I guess I wasn't in a deep sleep?" It comes out as more of a question. I'll have to work on my lying skills later, I guess.

"Arie, I thought we were done with this behaviour!" He shouts suddenly, making me jump. "First you sleep with everyone you know, next you're stupid enough to get pregnant, and now, you're what? What exactly are you doing Ariella? Dating your teacher? I don't care if you knew him long before he started teaching you, it's still wrong. Especially if you're using him for sex like you did with all the others. I won't stand for it! I don't know how I'm supposed to trust you while I'm away. Maybe I should start working from home . . ."

"Dad!" I interrupt, standing up and stalking towards him. "We haven't. He knows everything that happened, he's the only one who knows. You can't stop me from seeing him, and you can't stop travelling for work. That makes three miserable people, and nothing good can come from that. Trust me when I say, Brendon and I know what we're doing. There's no way we're getting caught, and we only have to hide for, like, ten months. Then I'm no longer his student and we can make up some lie as to how we started dating."

My dad holds up his hands as if to say whatever. I know I haven't won this argument, but at least he's not going to fight with me right now. By the time I get home from school, I'll have better leverage.

*****

I have the most ingenious idea: I'm going to get Brendon to talk some sense into my dad. If they talk man to man, they're bound to come to some sort of agreement. So at the end of the day, I wait for the room to empty and then address him. "I need your help."

"Relax, you're doing great in the course. You're not falling behind anymore." He chuckles, gathering some papers and stacking them into a binder. I shake my head and pick up my bag.

"No, Brendon, I need your help with my dad. He found out," at my words, Brendon's head whips up to look at me. I can tell he's searching my eyes to gauge whether or not I'm joking. I'm not, obviously, and panic starts to rise in him.

"God, I'm an idiot!" He says, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "I should have gone home last night, then he wouldn't have any suspicions-"

"Stop it, B. This isn't your fault. I should have known when my dad was coming home, and I shouldn't have had you over. But the past is the past, and now he's figured us out. So, I need you to talk to him and convince him that it's not as bad as he thinks it is." I plead. Brendon's eyebrows shoot up into his abnormally large forehead, and he cocks his head to the side.

"You want me to what?" He shakes his head, walking closer to me. "Arie, I love you, but have you met your father? He seems all great at first, but when he gets down to business . . . He's fucking terrifying."

"Bren, I wouldn't ask you to do it if I didn't know it was going to work. You're an adult . . . I mean, you're not really, but you are technically. I'm not, so he won't listen to me, you're our only hope." He nods and follows me into the hallway, where we go in opposite directions and meet up again ten minutes later at my house.

Here goes nothing . . . I open the front door and cross my fingers as Brendon walks in and greets my dad. They sit down at the kitchen table while I make my way to my room to drop off my school stuff. When I return, they're completely silent.

"Ariella, as long as you live under my roof, you follow my rules. I will not have a repeat of four years ago." My dad says, so calmly that I fear the thunder of his voice that usually comes next.

"She'll live with me then if you won't listen to what I have to say." Brendon counters, narrowing his eyes. My dad's jaw drops, but he looks at me in question. This is an ultimatum, and if I choose one, there's no going back to the other if it doesn't work out. So who do I choose?