His (BxB)

Part 12

"Guess what, Bitches?" Emily suddenly pops up cheerfully and enters the classroom where I am currently in. The class was dismissed since few minutes ago, but I'm still here having small talk with Jess regarding her upcoming birthday party. We share few other classes beside this one. She's quite a nice person and very friendly. It's no surprise if she has a lot of friends that she needs to invite to her party.

To be honest, I'm not into parties. I'm too shy for such crowd. But I can't simply decline her invitation because she's like the closest friend I've got ever since the bullying stopped. Tim doesn't count anymore. I can't believe he has the heart to tell Mikey about my private matter such as Ethan's necklace and my old feelings. I feel like I was being betrayed.

"What?" Rolling her eyes, Jess asks Emily who's still showing us her big goofy smile since she showed up in here. I'm always amazed that she seems to be in a constant cheerfulness like that most of the time. But to Jess, her loud cheer can also be translated as annoying sometimes.

"Daniel asked me to be his prom date!" Emily enthusiastically breaks the news. Her typical loud cheer soon follows.

"Congrats, Em." I'm genuinely happy for her. I know she's been trying to get close to one of the players of our school's football team. I don't know which one but I'm sure that guy must be Daniel.

"Thanks, Louis!" She's still wearing that wide grin on her face. "I can't wait to go shopping for the dress."

"You guys are lucky." Jess complains. "I don't get to go to prom since no one asked me to be their date. And I don't have boyfriend who is a senior like Louis does. Life is unfair."

"Don't worry, Jess." I comfort him. "Prom is still another two months. I'm sure somebody will ask you later. You've got quite a lot of friends who are seniors, right?"

It's almost impossible for Jess to not joining the senior prom. She's been having the luxury of getting asked to be somebody's date every year, even when she's still in freshman year. Isn't that awesome? Yeah, her friendly and easy-going nature has proven to make her sort of popular in school. And if that isn't enough, she's also famous for her cute smile and charming look. But she isn't inclined to hang around with other popular girls, like the school's cheerleading squad for example. Jess thinks they're extremely competitive one another and rather mean.

"Okay, back to our conversation before." Jess reminds me again of her question that's left unanswered when Emily came. "You're going to be there at my party, right Louis?"

"I would love to. But I have to ask William first." I give her explanation instead of straight answer. "You know he doesn't want me to go anywhere by myself. I have to ask him to come with me."

"Okay, you tell him today. Try your best to convince him to come because I'm not having any of my besties skipping my birthday party."

I chuckle at her statement. "I'll try."

"You too, Em." Jess speaks to Emily. "You're going to come to my party, and I don't take no for an answer."

"Would it be okay if I bring Daniel?" Emily asks.

"Sure." Jess replies. "The more, the merrier."

"Uh, Louis, can I ask you something?" Emily asks. All of a sudden, she's shifting into serious mode. This also makes Jess fixing her curiosity onto Emily.

"Sure."

"Is the rumor true?" Emily inquires shortly.

"What rumor?" I'm a bit amazed, for such a small school, this place surely got quite a bunch of rumors. I hope she's not talking about William cheating with whom ever.

"There's this poster stuck on Ethan's locker door, saying that the necklace you're wearing is actually a gift from him. Is that true?"

Oh. My. God. Was it Mikey? "Who made that poster?"

"Are you sure, Em? Because I didn't see anything unusual when I pass by his locker this morning." Jess seems a little skeptical.

"It was really there this morning. No one knows how that poster ended up there in the first place. Ethan was furious. He ripped it off when he came. But I guess some people have already seen it. And now the rumor is spreading." Emily explains. "It got me thinking, why would anyone make a twisted joke like that? It's plain to see that Ethan hates you. Right, Louis?"

I just nod. "Yes, he's homophobic."

"But I notice that you're indeed wearing a necklace." Jess voices out her doubt. I guess she notices this black thread around my neck. "Is it not from Ethan?"

I chuckle at her guess. "William gave me this." I pull out my new necklace and put it back inside my T-shirt after they're done looking. "Come on girls, it's not that hard to believe that Ethan can't possibly give me any gift, is it?"

They both merely nod. I know they will believe me. No one in this school who doesn't know how ugly my relationship with Ethan is. I bet no one would even consider calling it a relationship.

"Your necklace is similar with your bracelet. Is this also from William?" Emily traces the tricolor ring on my bracelet. I just nod.

"Are you fine with wearing that sort of jewelry?" Jess curiously asks. "I mean they look expensive. You could become a target for robbery."

"I think that's rather unlikely." Emily replies on behalf of me. "Don't you see he's never had to go anywhere alone? William always gives him a ride to school and back home. Louis can't even go to your party if William doesn't want to come also."

"Uh, uh. No way. None of you get to skip my party, alright?" Jess reminds us again. "Try your best."

Smiling sheepishly, I glance at the door and take in the sight of William standing outside the classroom waiting for me. He just got there. I know because I've been looking at the doorway every few minutes. We both are sharing French class on the next period. He's here to pick me up and walk to the next class together. I immediately gather my stuffs and excuse myself to leave.

"Girls, I have to go now. See you at lunch."

"Bye, Cinnamon roll." Says Jess, "and don't forget your mission."

I laugh at her reminder then leave the girls to meet my boyfriend. She's determined not to have any of her best friends pass her party. It feels good to know that there are people who actually consider me as their best friend. At least it means that my personality is rather acceptable for some people, right? This is important to me since I have very little self-confidence when it comes to socializing. And the bullying I suffered from before surely did make it even worse.

"Hey, Baby." William greets me with a chaste kiss on my lips. "What are you guys gossiping about? I saw you laughing."

I notice that William has been asking a lot about every little detail like this. He seems too inclined to know about stuffs that can make me feel happy, sad, enthusiastic, uncomfortable, and everything. Probably it's more like a manifestation from his subconscious jealousy. He's always so curious when someone other than him can actually make me laugh. To be honest, I don't have any problem with him being like that. I mean. who doesn't love to have such a super attentive boyfriend?

"Jess is planning to hold a birthday party at her house this Friday. And I'm invited." I start to explain while we both are heading to the next class. "She said she wants her best friends to be there."

"I bet she has a lot of best friends other than you." William makes a small comment without bothering to glance at me. Somehow, I know where that's heading to. Perhaps he opposes the idea of me going.

"I'd like to think so. But she was practically begging me to be there." I curve a small smile when remembering how she 'begged' that didn't sound like begging at all. But I have to convince William, right? So, I just stick with the word begging.

"What did you tell her?" He inquires.

"I said I would have to ask you first. I can't go if you don't go as well."

William smiles at that reply. A proud smile. "Do you actually want to go, Lou?" He's finally looking at me.

"Uh… I've never been to parties, so maybe I don't know what to expect. But she's my closest friend."

I hope he understands what I'm trying to say. It's not that I'm some kind of a party-goer. I honestly don't want to let her down. That's the least I can do to thank her for being kind enough to accept me as a friend. I don't have too many friends. William doesn't like me hanging around with guys without him. That's why most of my friends are girls, and girls tend to be a bit more sensitive. So, I can't simply reject her invitation. She'll be upset if I do that.

"Alright, Lou." After a few seconds of contemplation, William finally speaks, "We're going to that party."

"Are you... sure?" I thought William would reject that.

"Don't question my decision, Baby. You know I am." William replies while circling his hand on my waist. "Why don't we go look for her present tonight?"

"Uh... Alright. Thank you." I smile brightly at him. The fact that he has the initiative to buy present for Jess is enough to tell me that he really does want to go to my friend's party. I mean he doesn't feel obliged just because I said she's my closest friend. "I was a bit worried that you'd decline."

"Don't worry, Lou." He says. "I have no problem going to parties. Especially ones with big crowds. It's a good place to show people that you're mine."

Oh well, now I see why he doesn't mind going. He's about to make silent announcement to everyone in the party that I'm absolutely taken. I smile at the thought. Sometimes it's difficult for me to understand his over-possessiveness. I mean who cares if I'm available or not? I'm merely a plain high school guy who doesn't have anything good to offer. I'm pretty sure that no one would want me anyway, single or taken. Yet William seems to think that I could easily be gone if he isn't being careful enough.

"I think people here knows that already." I respond. William likes to show public displays of affection such as kissing me in the hallway, hugging in the locker room or simply circling his hand on my waist while walking just like right now. I'm sure everyone gets the message already by now.

"No, Baby. Your friend has a lot of friends that are not from this school. I heard that she's somewhat super popular in her society."

"Yes, she is indeed."

After few minutes of walking, we finally arrive at French class. I see Tim outside the class, about to enter but frozen in his track as he sees us. I'm sure that William notices also. I almost forget that we share French class with Tim and Mikey. I look away as Tim is trying to make eye contact with me. He should know that I'm disappointed with him. Moreover, William is here. He's not going to like it if I make any contact with Tim.

Right before we enter the classroom, William shoves Tim a bit backwards by his chest. "Move, Weirdo. You're getting in the way."

Tim doesn't say anything. He's merely giving us way and then tailing us in to class. I'm walking towards the back row with my eyes cast down and not realizing that Mikey is already claiming one seat back there, not until my eyes meet his.

Mikey's currently sitting at my usual spot to be exact. And he's shooting venomous glare at me. My God, can't this just be over soon please? I don't think I can handle this kind of hatred. A jealous type of hatred. I mean, there's nothing in me that anyone should feel envious about. If he's jealous about me being William's boyfriend, then he should direct the hatred towards William. Because it's all solely William's decision.

"I can't believe you haven't dumped him." Mikey spits out his jealousy as William comes near enough. He does not understand why there seems to be nothing change in my relationship with William after what Mikey had spilled yesterday.

"Sit there, Lou." William tugs my hand, signaling me to follow him to the farthest row on the right. I guess he's also not in the mood of having anything to do with Mikey. That's why he chooses to ignore him.

I take a seat in front of William, the one he gestures me to sit at. He always sits behind me whenever we share same classes. It serves him a better observation regarding me and my surroundings. And easier access whenever he feels the need to lightly stroke my back or occasionally hold my shoulder. He once said that the gestures were simply to serve him a constant reminder that I'm still his and within his reach.

I personally think that the reminder is actually more for me instead of for him. So that I can remember that I'm always his. But, doesn't he know that at the same time, I'm not able to equally look at him? I won't know what he's doing or where his attention wanders during the class. Whether he's observing me or other people. Whether he's daydreaming while staring at my back or busy making eye contact with others. Oh shut it, Louis! How could you think like that? Are you implying that your boyfriend has a tendency to cheat? Are you blind or something?! Can't you see that William always treats you with nothing but flawless kindness?

Now I feel disgusted with myself. William is nothing but perfect from every direction. He has only one probable lacking to tarnish his too-good-to-be-true persona. And that is me.

***