The Price of Popularity (BoyxBoy)

{11}

Sweat cooled on his skin as Asher ran from the football field and to the bleachers. He ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair and smiled up at his friends who sat faithfully on the bleachers as they had for the past two and a half hours.

‘You look hot,’ Jess commented as he approached them.

‘Why thank-you,’ he smirked. ‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’

Jess blushed deep red. Beth, who sat next to her, laughed, ‘Gosh Asher, any chance to flirt aye?’

Asher just smiled, sitting on the row below them and turning around to face them.

‘Where’s Chad?’ Jess asked him, the pink fading from her pale skin.

‘Yeah, where is that boyfriend of mine?’ Beth asked, her eyes searching the emptying field before them.

‘He left something in his locker so he went back for it,’ Asher explained.

The girls nodded in approval, apparently that was an acceptable excuse for being absent.

‘What are you and Chad doing tonight?’ Jess asked Beth.  

Asher was quite pleased that the two girls had gotten along so well in the last couple of days. At first, Beth had immediately believed that the girl had been unworthy of her friendship due to her past affiliation with Maisy, but it only took a few minutes for Beth to see that there was much more to the shy, smiley girl than her past with Maisy.

Beth scrunched up her nose, ‘We are having dinner with his parents, god help me.’

Jess smiled, her hand touching Beth’s arm reassuringly, ‘I’m sure it will be fine!’

Beth shrugged, ‘Eh, they seem to not really like me.’

‘Who couldn’t love you?’ Asher asked. ‘You are like the poster child of perfection.’

Beth smiled downwardly, ‘Shut up,’ she said half-heartedly, her hand coming up to lazily fling away the somewhat unwanted compliment.

Chad joined them then, a history textbook in his hands. ‘Have fun watching us sweat for two hours?’ he asked sarcastically.

‘Oh, such fun,’ Beth laughed.

‘You know you love it,’ Asher smiled. ‘Anyway, it’s a girlfriend’s job, you have to do it,’ he told Beth.

‘Does that mean you two are an item?’ Chad asked with a smirk.

Jess looked at Asher with wide eyes. Beth looked between them with an almost analytical expression, like she was trying to see if them as a couple would be a good fit.

‘No, she’s here to support me, like a good friend.’

‘He’s also coming to my house now to study for that history test Monday,’ Jess explained. ‘He’s going to follow me home.’

‘You make it sound like I’m your stalker,’ Asher huffed, sounding offended.

‘I’m glad!’ Beth ignored him all together. ‘History’s his weak subject,’ he told Jess.

‘I know and I’m going to make sure he passes Monday’s test!’ she smiled at him.

Asher was grateful for the thousandth time in those last three days that he had befriended her. Although he had received quite a few hate and spite filled glances from Maisy and her current friends, he still believed that he had done the right thing. He had done what Danny would have been proud of him for doing and in all of this, he needed to do the right thing here.