Dear You. | scl

•7•

"Why is Sean texting you" Tati asks, her nose scrunched up distastefully. I couldn't tell if it was out of confusion or if she didn't like Sean. You can never really tell with Tati, she just has one of those faces.

I clear my throat, hoping it would somehow enhance my willpower. Ok, rip off the bandaid!

"We're dating!" I blurt, shutting my eyes so I don't see their reaction. They're awfully silent, so I slowly open my eyes to find them smirking with their arms crossed across their chest. Not the reaction I was expecting.

"Umm... guys what's with the face..." I trail, wanting in on whatever they were smug about.

"Your calculus tutor?" Jenna sings, emphasizing calculus. That's when it hit me, they knew the whole time!

"You guys knew?" I accuse, feeling dumb for expecting any less from them. They beamed at each other, gloating shamelessly at my expense.

"H-how? W-when...." I stutter, still amazed that they connected the dots. We weren't trying to be sneaky but I never spoken to Sean till this summer— I would never in a million years have guessed that.

"First it was that day at lunch... I caught a vibe between you two" Tati starts listing, "then it was the calculus thing— it was completely innocent at first but we called each other that night and Jen said she tots got a different vibe from you and we connected two and two together"

"... and well you just confirmed it" Jenna finishes, folding her hands on the table. They both are looking at me expectingly. I shrink back in my seat, knowing very well what they're waiting for.

Thankfully, my phone goes off at that moment. I quickly answer it, not bother to look at the caller ID.

"Hello" I greet eagerly, avoiding eye contact with my very irritated friends.

"Yo Bails, where you at?" Tristians voice booms on the other end of the line. My eyes go wide as I check the clock. Fuck, the reunion!

"I'm on my way!" I answer, pushing my seat back and grabbing my car keys. I hang up, giving the girls a brief explanation before running to my car.

—

I collapse onto the bed, pressing my phone against my ear.

"No Sean, he didn't try to make a move on me" I answer, rolling my eyes. He claims that Tristian had some sort of ulterior motive for asking me to be his pretend girlfriend.

"Bailey, I'm a guy! This is a classic 'get closer to my crush' move!"

"Ugh, I'm going to hang up if that's all we're gonna talk about!"

"No! Don't!" He exclaims, causing me to smile.

"Okay then, no more talk about Tristian or any other boy for that matter" I order, trying to sound as stern as I can.

"Fine, when am I going to see you?" He whined, "it's been like fifteen hours!"

"Well... I'm coming to dance today" I says slowly, hoping he was also coming.

"Say less— get ready, we'll go together!"

—

We're walking into the doors of immabeast when I hear my name being hollered. I turn around to find Tati and Will skipping over to us. Sean's quickly retracts his arms from around my shoulder.

We agreed to date secretly for a while and are trying to refrain from any obvious PDA.

"Does she know yet?" He whispered, referring to Tati. I laugh, wrapping my arm around his waist and pulling myself into him.

Nothing is a secret when it comes to Tati.

"Well well well" She sang as she approached us. I bite my lower lip, realizing how nervous I currently was. Tati's approval of Sean is key to us having a healthy relationship. We can't mess this up.

"Wait..." Will trails, taking in what was going on.

"Yea, can you believe it?— she's going to be Bailey Lew... or Bailey Sok-Lew or Lew-Sok" She rants, turning to face Will. My face to flush, I grab Sean's hand and pull him inside with me. I'm mortified!

"I think Lew-Sok sounds better" Sean teases, causing my face to heat up more. I shoot him a glare, before dropping his hand and speed walking to get away from him.

"I was kidding! It's definitely Sok-Lew!" I hear him exclaim, the laughter clear in his voice. I'm glad he thinks this is funny, wait till I ignore him all of class.

I walk into the studio to find most of the usuals stretching and hanging around. I instantly spotting Jenna and walking over to her. She looked up from her phone, smiling really big at me. I turn around to see if it was cause Sean was following me but I guess he went to the locker room. I turn back around, giving her a suspicious look.

"Wow, I see you pulled out all the stops for Sean" she says, still giving me that cheeky smile. I squinting, then realize she was talking about what I was wearing. I look down at my shorts and cropped sweater.

"I'm fed up with y'all" I say, dropping my bag beside her. Tati enters the room, her arm linked with Wills. Jenna jumps up, running to meet them at the door. She whispering something to Tati and look up at me. They burst out into laughter, catching everyone in the rooms attention.

Wow, just wow. Can't I date in peace!

I'm too busy glaring at them to realize Kens presence besides me. I jump, startled by his voice.

"Bailey Sok" he greets, per usual. I smiled, rolling my eyes. I tend to do that a lot when he's around.

"Yes, Kenneth San Jose?"

"Wow my name has never sounded better" he flirts, earning another eye roll.

"Smooth, what can I do for you?"

"Uh just saw you being cute and wanted to come say hi"

"Wow Ken, do you hear how douche-y you sound sometimes" I laugh, playfully pushing him away from me. We continue to joke back and forth, when suddenly Tati announces, "She has a boyfriend!".

My head snaps to face her, my jaw hanging. Why was that necessary?

Everyone went silent, their attention drawn to us. My eyes lock with Sean's, who was by the door.

"Yeah, that's me!" Sean proudly chimes in, walking over and slinging his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into him. I close my eyes, not believe this situation. I'm beyond embarrassed!

"No way!" Ken exclaims, along with similar replies from my other classmates.

I bury my face into Sean's chest, not wanting anyone to see how hard I was blushing. I really think I'm going to die from embarrassment.

So much for dating in secret.