When Summer Ends

by Isabelle Rae

  “Hey, I don’t have worms!” he cried with fake horror. “They’re snakes,” he added, patting his stomach and grinning. I burst out laughing and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the kitchen to choose what he wanted for dinner. I really had some incredible people in my life; I was a seriously lucky girl.

  I didn’t sleep a wink that night. After studying with Nick, he’d driven me home and I’d immediately called Will, talking to him until well after midnight. I was tired, but I just couldn’t relax enough to succumb to sleep. I just couldn’t stop worrying, trying to think of any holes in the plan. I was pretty sure we had everything covered; there was no CCTV in the classrooms so no one would have seen us kiss. We never did anything in the hallway where there were cameras; no one else had seen, or suspected anything.

  The thing I was worried about was the jobs that I did for Erika. What if she had some footage of me arriving at her house or something? She could show the Principal, and then he would ask why I was at Erika’s house doing chores for her. I was pretty sure she wouldn’t go down that route though; wouldn’t she be in more trouble for blackmail if she admitted it? Anyway, if she did go down that route I was going to say that she paid me to do those things. It would be her word against mine, and she would already look bad in the eyes of the Principal because of all of the teachers that would hopefully back us up.

  I turned off my alarm before it even beeped and just sat on the edge of my bed, cradling my aching head in my hands. I was exhausted, but at the same time extremely keyed up and excitable, like an adrenalin rush or something. It was like an oxymoron, the two feelings inside me were clashing against each other, part of me wanted to fall into bed and sleep forever, the other part of me wanted to run to school and see what was happening.

  I dressed slowly, wanting to kill some time, and then pushed my food around my bowl not really wanting to eat anything in case it made me feel sick. My stomach was already full of butterflies; I couldn’t possibly fit much else in there. My cell phone rang in my bag so I pulled it out expecting it to be Amy, it wasn’t, it was Will. I smiled tiredly and answered it.

  “Hey, Cutie. So I was missing you really badly, and I wondered if I could pick you up a little early today?” he asked.

  I smiled happily. I would love a few extra minutes with him this morning. I needed him to wrap his arms around me and tell me that he loved me in person, rather than over the phone. “What time were you thinking?” I asked, looking at my watch. It was just before eight, he didn’t usually pick me up until eight thirty.

  “I just pulled up outside. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll wait,” he replied.

  I laughed. “You’re eager,” I teased, grinning like an idiot and throwing my untouched Lucky Charms down the waste disposal.

  “Always,” he confirmed, laughing.

  I grabbed my bag and shouted to my mom that I was leaving early, and then headed out of the door quickly. I practically ran to his jeep, so excited to see him that my whole body was tingling and prickling. I climbed in his car and sighed contentedly as he smiled at me. His beautiful smile brightened my day and made me forget how tired I was. His smile made everything right in my world. I would do anything for that smile. All of this was just a blip on the horizon, something we would look back on and laugh at one day - at least, I hoped so anyway.

  “Good morning,” he whispered, his gaze raking over my face. “You look like you didn’t sleep well.”

  I laughed and scooted closer to him on the seat, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Was that a polite way of telling me I look terrible this morning?” I asked, pretending to be offended.

  He smiled and shook his head slowly, tracing his finger across my cheek lightly. “You never look terrible to me, ever. You just look like you need a few hours sleep; maybe you should sleep at mine tonight. You always seem to sleep well in my bed,” he whispered, running his nose up the side of mine lightly.

  My insides danced with happiness at the thought of spending the night with him. I bit my lip and nodded. “Your bed is a lot comfier than mine,” I mumbled, playing along.

  He nodded. “It’s agreed then. I’ll pick you up at about half past three,” he suggested.

  I smiled at the thought. “Will, just stop talking and kiss me already!” I ordered, trying to look stern.

  He grinned. “Yes, Miss Henderson,” he stated, crashing his lips to mine. I smiled against his lips and pressed my body to his, feeling everything fall into place. Everything that was going on at the moment, everything that was stressing me out and making me lose sleep, it was all so totally worth it. He was so totally worth it.

  He pulled back and looked at me curiously. “Did you eat breakfast?” he asked. I shook my head, chewing on my lip. He smiled. “Great. Let’s go to that coffee shop that does the pastries that you like,” he suggested happily.

  I nodded in agreement. “Okay, but I’ll run out and get them and we eat in the car,” I compromised. It was a little way out of town, and it was early so no one should be there, but it wasn’t worth taking the risk, not when we were in so much trouble already.

  He started the engine, putting the car into drive, and then took my hand. “Whatever you want, Cutie.”

  The morning was almost painful. Every second felt like an hour, every hour felt like a day. All I could think about was the Principal asking around and making his investigations. Erika was walking around smirking at me whenever she saw me, she made a couple of “nice knowing you” comments, but I just ignored them. Nick, bless his little heart, was by my side and made a couple of sarcastic remarks back to her which she seemed extremely offended by. I silently wondered if I was right, was Erika hot for Nick? Even if she was, it wasn’t going to get her anywhere with him though. He really hated her, now more than ever.

  In the middle of my Spanish class someone came in with a note and handed it to the teacher. She immediately walked over to the front of my desk and looked at me curiously. “The Principal would like to see you, Chloe,” she said, nodding to the door.

  Oh God, please let this be okay!

  I nodded, swallowing my fear and shoved my books into my bag. Amy was whispering over and over that everything was fine, that it was all working out perfectly. The Principal had approached Amy early this morning, asking about Sam. She had confirmed everything, even dropping herself in trouble by telling him that she was one of the ones at the club with me, and that she met Sam that night too. She’d encouraged Principal Sherman to speak to Nick too, and from what he’d told me, that meeting went well too. Nick had just said that I talked about Sam nonstop and that I was completely in love with him, but that he hadn’t met him yet.

  When I was all packed up I headed to the office and took a couple of deep breaths, gathering my confidence. As I walked to the office door and raised my hand to knock, it opened before my hand could make contact with the wood. Will was heading out of the office, Principal Sherman behind him, obviously seeing him out politely. They were both smiling. I gulped. Yes, they’re smiling! That’s a good sign. Please let this have been fixed.

  “Oh, Chloe, great timing. Come on in,” Principal Sherman enthused.

  I looked at Will curiously just as he turned back to look at the balding little man. “Thanks for getting this all sorted out so quickly, Richard. It’s nice to know that there is such a supportive network here at the school, something like this could have been disastrous if it wasn’t handled in the timely and professional manner that you handled it in,” he stated.

  Wow, there’s the professional Will again, using the big words.

  Principal Sherman smiled warmly, and Will turned to walk out, stepping to the side so I could get past him. “Kiss ass,” I whispered so quietly that the retreating, ageing Principal wouldn’t have been able to hear me.

  I heard Will chuckle as he closed the door behind me, leaving me in the office to fend for myself with the head of the school. I wanted to beg him to come back and hold my hand, but instead I put on my big girl panties and mar
ched over to the free chair, sitting myself down and looking at Principal Sherman expectantly.

  He smiled. “Okay, Chloe, I expect you know why you’re here. I told you I would investigate the complaint that was made to me, and I have. As I’m sure you were expecting, the accusation has been proven false,” he said, smiling almost apologetically.

  I felt my leg spasm. I pressed my feet together to stop myself from jumping on his desk and doing a happy dance. I tried my best to keep my cool calm exterior as I nodded confidently. “Of course it was, it was just plain stupid,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes for dramatic effect.

  He nodded. “I’m very sorry you were dragged into all of this. I’m not sure if it was just a harmless prank, or if the complaint was made with malicious intent, but rest assured the complainant will be dealt with properly. I do not take kindly to time wasters, especially those that make up lies about one of my most promising young teachers.” He frowned angrily and I felt a wave of sorrow for Erika. She was in deep trouble by the look on his face.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, wanting to know what her punishment would be, but at the same time not really wanting to know.

  He sighed and picked up his pen, tapping it on the desk unconsciously. The sound of the rhythmic tapping started driving me crazy almost immediately. “She has already been suspended from school for a week. She’ll be stripped of her head cheerleader role, but I have allowed her to stay on as part of the team because I don’t want the squad to suffer. Mr Morris has agreed that the punishment is sufficient. He’s been very understanding and gracious about the whole thing. You’re lucky to have such a bright and gifted teacher,” he said, smiling fondly.

  Wow, Will’s making a great impression at this school!

  I smiled and shrugged. “I’m luckier that he has such an awesome brother,” I countered, grinning at the thought of Sam. That statement held more meaning that the Principal knew.

  He smiled and looked at me a little bemused, like I was that stupid school girl again that didn’t understand that she’d just dodged a bullet. Trust me, I understand all right. “Right, well, thank you for your time and you should probably get to class. Do you need a note to explain why you’ll be late?” he asked, pulling open his drawers one by one, obviously looking for paper.

  I shook my head and smiled. “No, it’s cool; I have Mr Morris right now. I think he’ll understand why I’m late,” I chuckled.

  Principal Sherman laughed too. “You’re probably right there.” He stood up, signalling the end of the meeting so I grabbed my school bag and stood too. “Thanks again for being so cooperative, I know this investigation couldn’t have been easy on you,” he said, smiling kindly.

  I shrugged. “It’s fine. It was actually pretty funny. Sam was laughing for hours when I told him that people thought I was getting it on with his nerdy brother,” I lied, faking disgust at the end. He laughed and gave me that ‘you’re a silly little girl’ smile again. “Oh, wait! You said the person was stripped of head cheerleader. Does that mean it was Erika Dennison that tried to get me into trouble?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  He smiled sadly. “Yes, but I’d appreciate it if you could just leave it alone. She’s been punished and spoken to. If you have any problems with her when she comes back after her suspension, then please come to me, don’t try to settle anything or seek revenge. If there is trouble between the two of you then I’ll have to treat it as a separate incident, and you’ll both be in trouble, understand?” he asked, looking at me sternly.

  I nodded. There goes my punching her in the face fantasy. “Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. I slung my bag over my shoulder and practically skipped to calculus. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Now that everything was sorted I felt like I could breathe properly again. I didn’t realise how stressed it was making me.

  Will smiled at me as I walked into his class. I caught Amy’s eye and nodded. A smile stretched across her face too as she seemed to relax. I weaved through the rows of seats and chose an empty one, trying desperately not to grin like an idiot that had just won the lottery.

  When the final bell rang I just packed up and left without saying anything to Will. I didn’t need to; we’d already made our plans for tonight. He was picking me up from my house in half an hour. I guess we’ll be celebrating tonight!

  As I got to my locker my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I plucked it out, expecting a call from Will so I didn’t even bother looking at the caller ID as I answered it.

  “Hey there, boyfriend,” I chirped, grinning like a madwoman.

  I heard laughter down the line. “Hey there, girlfriend,” Sam answered.

  I blushed and rolled my eyes. I wasn’t living that one down anytime soon I bet. “Hi, Sam-bo.”

  “Foxy,” he said, his tone warning. I laughed. He hated me calling him that. To be honest if he didn’t hate it so much I probably wouldn’t do it. His reaction to it was just too good to miss. “I’m outside, come meet me,” he ordered lazily.

  I frowned in confusion. He’s outside? “Huh?” I shrugged at Amy who was looking at me curiously, I mouthed to her that Sam was outside. “Okay, let me just grab my books then. What are you doing here anyway?”

  He laughed. “Just stop with the questions and get your pretty little behind out here. I’m bored of waiting already, and some of these high school girls are starting to undress me with their eyes, you know how self-conscious I get when people look at me,” he joked.

  I laughed and grabbed my books from my locker. Linking my arm through Amy’s, I skipped out of the front doors and disconnected the line. Sam was standing there, leaning against the side of his car, looking hot as usual. He really wasn’t lying when he said that some of the girls were looking at him, they really were. I couldn’t exactly blame them; the Morris boys sure were easy on the eye.

  I smiled as I walked up and he moved, pulling out a huge bunch of red tulips from behind his back, holding them out to me. I gasped and looked at them shocked. Why would he buy me flowers? And, how did he know which were my favourite? I frowned, a little bemused as I walked up to him. People were stopping to watch now. A hot guy parked in the no parking zone, holding out a bunch of flowers, wasn’t something that happened every day at our school.

  When I got up to him, he smiled and handed me the flowers. “From Will,” he whispered, stepping closer to me.

  I felt my heart speed up a little because Will had asked his brother to give these to me. Aww, he’s so freaking adorable. I suddenly realised why Sam was here - more witnesses for our fake relationship. I just wished Will had told me that he’d arranged this so I wasn’t so surprised.

  “That’s very sweet, thanks, Sam,” I gushed, running my finger along the petals, just melting inside at how adorable my boyfriend was.

  Suddenly Sam wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I let out a little gasp of shock as I was yanked forward and crashed against his chest, barely managing to move my flowers out of the way in time. He smirked at me and crashed his lips to mine, kissing me for the fourth time.

  I whimpered against his lips but didn’t try to pull away. If this was Will’s plan then I needed to go along with it. I trusted Will completely so if he asked Sam to kiss me in front of a load of students then I’d let him.

  When he finally pulled back, I smiled awkwardly. “I’d rather Will give that gift to me in person,” I joked quietly, knowing no one was close enough to hear our conversation.

  Sam laughed. “No, that one was from me,” he replied, shrugging.

  What the heck? Will hadn’t told him to kiss me? I slapped his arm and gasped. “Sam!” I cried, shaking my head shocked that he’d just kissed me again.

  He laughed and grinned at me wickedly. “You know I love to piss off my brother! He goes that awesome shade of red, it’s incredible,” he stated, laughing as I slapped his arm again. “Relax, Foxy, it’s not like I want to kiss you. I mean jeez, I need some mouthwash or something to kil
l all of the Will germs you just passed onto me.” He faked a shudder for dramatic effect.

  I closed my eyes and laughed quietly as he led me to his car. Sam really was too funny, and he just couldn’t resist an opportunity to tease the life out of his brother.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The following week was just a normal week. It actually felt so strange though because my life hadn’t been normal for so long that I was just expecting something bad to happen, some jealous ex-girlfriend of Will’s to pop out of the woodwork and tell him she was pregnant, or someone else to catch us and tell the Principal again. I was even waiting for Nick to beat the crud out of Will for ‘abusing his position in authority to prey on young girls’, but none of that happened.

  Nick did speak to Will though, in private, Will had told me that night what he’d said. Apparently, Nick had told him how important I was to him and how he didn’t want to see me hurt, how he didn’t like the situation, but he liked how happy I was. I would imagine there were a few threats involved in that conversation too, but Will didn’t go into details about those with me. All in all, Nick seemed a lot more comfortable around him; I was guessing it would only be a matter of time before they were friends. They were both great people and had awesome personalities, they would probably end up being drinking buddies or something – well, when Nick was old enough to drink anyway.

  People were talking endlessly about Erika though. You couldn’t walk down the hallway on the day following her suspension, without someone mentioning her name. Speculation started immediately about why she had been suspended and demoted from cheer captain. Will told me that night that Erika wasn’t allowed to tell anyone the true reason because that would add fuel to a ‘false rumour’, so we were pretty much out of it at the moment. If she decided that she wanted to spread the news around school about me and Will, then there would be even more trouble for her, the Principal had apparently made that abundantly clear to her.