Forever and Always

Chapter 37 - Rumor Has It

My first day back to school was absolute hell. I had no idea where any of my classes were, and didn't have the balls to ask anybody. I had gone from quarterback of the Junior Varsity team, regular party junkie, and everybody's friend to nobody. I kept my head down, afraid to even talk to old friends for fear of outright rejection. I was afraid that everybody had moved on and I was completely alone. That was largely the case, but I heard mumbles in the hallways, just loud enough to be audible as I grabbed my books from my locker while we changed periods.

"I heard he has an older boyfriend..."

"He's gay? Damn, he was kinda cute."

"How much older? Maybe he's a sugar daddy?"

"Good point. What if he's a hooker?"

"You're saying you wouldn't hook up with people if you couldn't get pregnant? That's good fuckin' money. A gay prostitute. Weird."

"I made out with him at a party. Ew!"

I couldn't take any more. I popped some ear buds in and threw the hood to Levi's sweater over my head, walking faster towards my next class when I felt a hand grab my shoulder. Startled, I spun around and looked at who was trying for my attention.

"No phones at school, Jaeger. You know the rules," Mr. Lawrence, our physics teacher snapped. "That's one hour's detention after school today, young man."

"Right," I mumbled, "sorry." I could hear the quiet chuckles that faded into more outrageous rumors about me.

"He was out for the week because he was in juvie."

"Wasn't it his grandpa's funeral?"

"That's the excuse everybody uses. Maybe he got busted for selling himself to old dudes."

"His mom's rich, though! Why would he do that?"

The harsh whispers and hushed theories were already too much to handle, but I took a deep breath, knowing I had to graduate, not only for Levi, but for Poppy. I had to be there for them. Isabel made me promise. I clenched my teeth and I clenched my fists, stomping quickly to my next class. Feeling a set of eyes on me, I looked up for the first time since I had gotten into the building and locked eyes with a cute blonde girl waving at me from the next row over. I smiled and waved back, lucky to have found sanctuary in somebody's eyes. But the moment was gone all too soon as the teacher began his hour long lecture on some kind of horrid math. I took my notes, and did my job as a student, knowing that I would never want to do mathematics ever again once I graduated. 

I took all the notes on the board and let my mind wander. I thought about my daughter, her sweet grey eyes and her dimpled grin. I remembered playing tea party with her and snuggling her after her nightmare. I had never wanted to spend time with a toddler more in my life. I had been the kind of person that people knew not to ask for babysitting help. Poppy was different. Poppy Elizabeth Ackerman had my heart wrapped around her little finger, and I would walk to the ends of the universe just to see that she was happy. I was thoroughly enamored of her and completely in love.

"Eren. Eren! Mr. Jaeger!"

I snapped to attention and was met with the angry eyes of my math teacher.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the last minute. Would you care to share with the class what you're all twitterpated about, or can I move on with my class?"

"I-" I blushed a bright red, sinking further into my seat. "Sorry," I muttered, not wanting to draw any more attention to myself. 

"Now the question was..." He began, but I was already lost in the summertime. Married to the man of my dreams, living in our own house, with our baby and maybe even a dog, if he wasn't so insistent on the mini van. I lost myself deeper into my fantasies, planning out our entire lives together. I could see our nice house in Bel Air, Poppy a straight A student, maybe a horse or two. I had always thought that horses were fascinating and beautiful, though I'd never gotten the chance to ride one. I wondered if Levi had ever ridden a horse. I figured, coming from aristocracy, he probably would have learned how to ride a horse. I wondered if that was something that could be taught, or if horsemanship came naturally. I decided I would ask my fiancee about it when I called him that evening.