Chapter 2 : officially us
1109 Words
The next morning hit different
Chloe set an alarm. She was in the school parking lot 10 minutes early , parked, pretending to be scrolling tictok while watching the gates.
Alan arrived 7:58 No coffee she was about to complain then he pull a small cup from his jacket pocket. “You said you hated morning “ he said handing it through her window. Cloey took it hot exactly how she liked it
“You remembered?”
“I remember everything you say,” he said, then walked off toward class like he hadn’t just melted her.
AP Lit first period. Front row, right next to him. Mr. Carter was still talking about Gatsby, when Allan slid a folded note across the desk.
You’re early. I like that. Chloe wrote back: You’re late. I don’t like that. He smirked. She kicked his foot under the desk. He didn’t move it away.
Launch break came
Alan worked up to her in the cafeteria hands in his pocket acting way too casual. “Can I ask you something stupid”? he said. Chloe looked up from her fries maya and Zoe both stopped chewing. “You can try”Chloe said. Do you ……… want to be my girlfriend. Alan said it fastlike ripping off a bandaid. “Like, officially. Not just notes and walks. You and me, dating .”
The whole cafeteria didn’t go quiet, but it felt like it did.
Chloe’s brain short circuited. Boys asked her out before. Usually it was “Your dad’s rich, wanna go to prom?” This was different. He didn’t mention her last name once.
Maya kicked her under the table. Say yes, i***t.
Chloe smiled. Real, no guard up. “Yes. Officially you and me.”
Allan exhaled like he’d been holding his breath. “Good. Because I’ve been trying to figure out how to ask you without sounding like a loser.”
“You already sound like one,” Chloe said, but she was grinning. “It’s cute.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead right there. Not a big show. “Official,” he whispered.
Maya screamed. Zoe just nodded, smiling. “Trio forever, even if it’s a quartet now,” she said.
That weekend was a blur.
Saturday: Allan picked her up in the Tesla. No driver, no security. Just him. He took her to this little bookstore in Pasadena that didn’t show up on Google. They spent two hours pulling random books off shelves and reading the worst lines aloud to each other.
“You have a terrible taste in poetry,” Allan said.
“You have no taste at all,” Chloe shot back. They both laughed.
Sunday: He showed up at her house with two coffees. Black, no sugar. He met her dad for exactly 30 seconds. Victor Williams just said “Be good to my daughter” and went back to his calls. Allan nodded like he meant it.
Chloe took Allan to her room and showed him her Mustang collection — model cars, not real ones. He didn’t ask how much the house cost. He asked why she liked the ’67 Shelby the most.
“Because it’s loud and doesn’t care who’s watching,” Chloe said.
Allan looked at her like he got it. “Same.”
For a whole week, Chloe felt weightless. He walked her to every class. He texted her good morning and good night. He remembered she had a Bio quiz and quizzed her on flashcards. He never mentioned Pierce Tech. He never asked about Williams Development.
Maya said, “Okay I hate him less now.” Zoe said, “He actually looks at you, not past you.”
Chloe believed it. Maybe she could be just Chloe and that would be enough.
Then week two started.
Monday, Chemistry lab. Allan was late. 10 minutes. He was never late. He slid in, apologized to Mr. Davis, and started measuring like nothing happened.
“Everything okay?” Chloe whispered.
“Yeah, dad stuff,” Allan said. Didn’t look up.
Tuesday, short break. Chloe was waiting by the lockers. Allan texted: Stuck in a call. Save me a seat in Lit?
She did. He showed up right as the bell rang, phone face down in his lap the whole period.
Wednesday, lunch break. She found him on the same bench from last week. Phone to his ear, back turned. He looked tense again. His free hand was clenched.
She walked over. He saw her and ended the call instantly. Too fast.
“Who was that?” Chloe asked, trying to sound light.
“My dad’s assistant,” Allan said, smiling like nothing. “Budget meeting. Boring CEO things.”
“Okay,” Chloe said. But it was the third “assistant” call this week.
Thursday, after closing bell. Allan asked if she wanted to drive. “No pressure. Just us.”
Chloe said yes. They ended up on Pacific Coast Highway, windows down, music low. It was perfect. Until his phone buzzed. He glanced at it. His jaw did that tight thing.
He turned it face down.
“You don’t have to ignore it,” Chloe said.
“I do,” Allan said quietly. “If I answer, it’s always about them. Not us.”
Chloe wanted to ask who “them” was. But he reached over and took her hand,His was warm, Solid, Real.
“Don’t let it ruin this,” he said. “I like this, You and me, Official.”
Chloe squeezed his hand back. “Me too.”
He dropped her off at her driveway. This time he got out and walked her to the door. Kissed her cheek. “Tomorrow,” he said.
But as she watched his Tesla pull away, his phone lit up again on the passenger seat. He didn’t look at it. But Chloe did, through the window. Just for a second.
A name flashed on the screen. Not “Assistant.” Not “Dad.”
A girl’s name.
Chloe frowned. The car turned the corner before she could read it.
Upstairs, she lay on her bed and replayed the week. The coffee, the bookstore, the hand-holding, Official, Real.
Then she replayed the phone calls. The tense jaw. The name she almost saw.
Maya texted: So is he boyfriend material or nah?
Chloe typed: He’s perfect, mostly.
She deleted “mostly,”Sent: He’s perfect.
She set her phone down, Stared at the ceiling.
Official felt good, But “don’t let it ruin this” stuck in her head.
Why would it be ruined, unless something was already wrong?
- Writer
