Everyone stares at me, shocked by the atrocious words that came out of my mouth.

I cringe slightly and internally blamed my slow-witted brain. Fawn was crouched at my feet, her face beetroot red from embarrassment.

"What did you just say?" Zoe asks, raising an eyebrow.

I glance at Zyair. He has a huge smirk on his face as he stares at me, visibly amused.

"Who had sex with-,"

"I'm gay," Elliot announces, raising his hands dramatically.

My eyes almost bulge out of my eye socket at his words. I thought he wanted to keep it a secret from everyone.

"You as gay is not surprising, Elliot," Zoe snorts, inspecting her nails.

"You as a bitch is not surprising anymore, yet you keep reminding us," He shot back.

I look over to Zyair and Aaron. While Zyair still had his amused expression, Aaron looked disgusted with everything going on.

"What do you think you're doing?" He eyes him skeptically.

That's a very nasty reaction from him, but I suppose he's scared Elliot might spill his secret.

Fawn is still crouched at my knees, probably too embarrassed to go back to Zyair. I get up and allow her to sit next to Elliot.

I walk and sit next to Luca instead, just as the teacher came in. Luca has his head bent over, typing furiously on his phone. He hadn't even realized what just happened.

"What are you doing?" I peer over his shoulder, into his phone.

Immediately, he shields his phone from me and switches it off. "Nothing."

I frown slightly at his secrecy. I figure it must be something super private and didn't pry further.

"Wanna go on a date with me tonight?" He asks, breaking the awkward silence.

"It depends. Would it be just you and me?" I ask, and he chuckles slightly.

"Yes. I apologize for the other day, " He says, holding my hands and rubbing it softly.

I feel my insides light up at his touch. His hands were firm yet soft.

"Where would we be going?" I ask, trying to divert my attention from his touch.

"We could grab dinner, " He shrugs and gazes at my eyes. "That's if you'd like to."

I smile and nod my head gently. "I'll love to, " I mouth to him.

I deflect my attention to the Physics teacher, who had begun teaching.

~~~~~~~~~~

Literature is the last period before lunch break.

Except for days I have literature, I'm usually drained every day before the lunch break. I found comfort in writing.

The bell rings, a bunch of students springs from their seats and head for the door.

"Submit your essays before you leave, " Mrs. Johnson, the literature teacher, announces.

Some students groan and drop their bags down. "Ma, we aren't done and it's lunchtime now. We can't possibly write it now, " Zyair points out, grabbing his hoodie from his chair.

"Then you can submit your half-written essay and get whatever mark you deserve, " Mrs. Johnson smiles sweetly.

I snicker and submit my essay, while Zyair groans.

"Dove, don't leave, " He calls to my retreating back, and I throw him the peace sign.

I walk into the cafeteria and grab a tray. Scanning the crowd, I look for Fawn. She wasn't anywhere in sight, so I just walk towards the lunch lady.

With my tray of fries and burger, I walk to sit at an empty table.

I take a bite of my burger and bring out my phone. I see a message from Zyair.

I chuckle and ignore his message. He was referring to me not staying back and helping with his essay. That wasn't betrayal. I was just hungry.

I look up from my phone and see Amy. She smiles and waves at me, which makes me smile. Zoe comes from behind and locks arms with Amy, while Ashley was at her other side.

Ashley and I lock gazes, staring at each other for a while. They eventually pass by and I return to my food.

I hear a tray clatter on my table and look up to see Elliot.

"You seemed like you needed a friend, " He winks and seats opposite me.

I rolled my eyes. "I was fine by myself."

"Your face said otherwise."

"How you seem to know more about MY own emotion baffles me, " I deadpan and he chuckles in reply.

Fawn soon joins us, a huge grin on her face. "Hey, babies!"

"She's got the sex glow again. What? Did you guys do it in the janitor's closet or something?" Elliot raises a brow mischievously.

Fawn's face turns a pearl pink shade and she tucks her hair behind her ear.

"Did you?" I widen my eyes.

"No!" She exclaimed, hitting my shoulder playfully.

"She's lying, " Elliot whispers to me.

"You know I can hear you, " Fawn rolls her eyes, and Elliot shrugs in return.

"I got an A+ in my Geography quiz, " Fawn says, holding up a quiz paper.

"Quiz? Isn't it like the first week of school or something?" I laugh, sipping my cranberry juice.

Elliot raises an eyebrow at me, while Fawn tries to stifle her laugher.

"What?"

"It's the third week, " Elliot blinks.

Really? Time really goes by fast when all you do is sleep in class.

"Anyway, how does it feel to be gay, " Fawn leans on her arms and stares at Elliot excitedly.

I mentally shake my head at the insensitivity of her question.

"Well, how does it feel to be straight, " Elliot asks, mimicking her facial expression.

Fawn didn't seem to get the memo. "Normal?" She raises an eyebrow.

"That's how it feels to be gay too. Normal."

"Got it, " Fawn presses her lips and pops a chip in her mouth.

"Do you have a boyfriend or someone you are seeing?" Fawn inquiries, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Elliot and I exchange nervous glances before I pull my gaze away from him. "Don't you think that's a personal question?" I furrow my brows.

Fawn shakes her head. "Have sex is a personal thing, but I told you guys, " She shrugs, feigning hurt.

"Technically, Doves guessed. You didn't actually say, " Elliot replies.

"Fine, don't tell me. I just thought we were friends that didn't keep secrets from each other, " She buffs, staring down at her food.

I chuckle. I knew that vibe all too well. Reverse psychology wasn't going to work on me. "That's good then."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Pink or red, " I ask my dad, holding up two different dresses.

I was getting ready for my date with Luca and enlisted my dad's help. He yawns and points to both dresses. I sigh and drop my hands, frustrated by his lack of enthusiasm.

"D-a-d, " I groan and stomp my feet.

"We've got two females in the house, why don't you ask them for help?"

"I'm not familiar with Sheila yet and Chloe is like 5 years old, " I whine, pouting my lips.

"She's 8."

"Same thing, Dad."

Dad sighs and gets up from my bed. He holds my hands and looks in my eyes. "Why don't you just give Shelia a chance?" He asks sincerely.

I frown slightly, feeling a bit hurt by his words. I was giving Shelia a chance. I really liked her, but something about her being Gray's mum didn't seat well with me.

"But, I am giving her a chance, " I whispered softly.

My Dad gave me that 'no you're not' and 'you could do better' look.

"Are you planning on marrying her?" I ask.

He seemed a bit taken aback by my words before he pulled me into a hug. "You know you'll always be my First Lady, right?"

That wasn't the answer I was looking for. That basically meant, I might marry her but know I'll always love you first.

I sigh and hug him back. "I know dad."

~~~~~~~~~~

I end up wearing the red gown. It's a simple plain gown that shows off my curves.

Luca picks me up a few minutes later and his jaw almost drops when he sees me.

"Oh wow. You look stunning, " He stutters, opening the passenger door for me.

He looks pretty good himself. His great style made me feel kinda basic.

"You look good too, " I smile back at him. He starts the car and begins driving.

"Where are we going?" I ask, looking out the window, staring at the disappearing houses.

"A hotel, " He smirks. I turn to look at him and raise an eyebrow.

"Cresent Hotel. They have the best steak, " He replies, his eyes trained on the road ahead.

I relax when I realize he was talking about the Cresent restaurant. Wait. Cresent restaurant!

I've heard about that restaurant and their meals are super expensive.

Ashley used to joke that they made their meals with Gold which was why it was super expensive.

The most annoying part of it all was how little the food was.

"I can't afford Cresent restaurant, " I widen my eyes, tapping his arm slightly.

"Didn't ask you to pay."

I bite down on my lower lips. Have I mentioned how much I hated people spending money on me?

It always made me feel guilty. Like I didn't deserve to take that much of their money.

"We can just go somewhere else, Luca."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I can't afford it either."

I raise an eyebrow, staring at him skeptically. "Why are we going then?"

"Because we won't have to pay."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. "Why would they give us free food."

"Because my Dad owns the hotel."

~~~~~~~~~~

We walk into the restaurant and are treated nothing short of royalty. I could help but think "So this is how it feels to be rich rich"

We are lead to a table at the corner of the restaurant. The view of the street from here was magnificent. I wonder if it's the same NY I live in that looked this beautiful.

We are served our food in no time. Luca had ordered meals for us before we got there. I take a bite of my steak and moan. It tasted really good.

I could eat this all day and never get tired. Luca raises an eyebrow at me but didn't say a word.

We ended up talking about our families and dreams. Luca's dream job is to be a travel blogger. That would be pretty easy if you're rich, which he was.

Apparently, he has been traveling a lot lately with his father. His father brought him to NY to learn about the family business.

"I could show you around some other time, if you'd like, " I say. I've lived in NY all my life. Well, just my city. But, I pretty much know everywhere.

"Are you free on Saturday?"

"Yeah. I think, " I joked and he smiled.

We were done with our meals and the waiters came to clear the table. "Do you want to get dessert, " Luca asks and I nod my head.

The food was very tasty but it wasn't really fulfilling. There's definitely still space for dessert.

Luca gets up and grabs his blazer. I stare up at him. "Where are you going?"

He holds out his hand to me and I take it. "To get dessert, " He replies, leading me towards the elevator.

"Why don't we just have dessert here?" I whisper.

"There's this new ice cream parlor that opened up opposite us. Apparently, their dessert is tastier than us. I've always wanted to try it out and see how it's better, " He explains, interlocking our fingers.

I nod my head in understanding. "A good business move, " I praise and he smiles sweetly.

"Well, I try."

We walk out into the cold night and I immediately regret not bringing a jacket along. Luca sees me shivering slightly and takes off his jacket.

He throws it around me before interlocking our fingers again. "You didn't have too, " I mutter in a low voice, feeling my face heat up at his chivalry.

We were out of the hotel and almost at the ice cream parlor. A man is standing in front of the shop, biting his nails furiously.

He looked a bit scary and I wonder why the ice cream shop allowed him to stay in front of the shop. He was probably scary to a lot of people.

A loud, deafening, sudden sound fills the air just as my hand made contact with the ice cream shop door. I bring my hand to my mouth in shock, my face a mask of fear, my eyes and mouth wide open.

The man looked at me, straight in the eye as he fell, a hole embedded in his forehead. It almost happened in slow motion.

He slumps to the ground, his blood immediately starts spilling, like a softly flowing river, from the back of his head. My eyes remain trained on him, his eyes wide open but dead.

I turn swiftly to see where the gunshot came from. A black seven van is parked opposite us, the door wide open.

My heartbeat fastens and my fingers begin to tremble when I see them. The bape masks.

My eyes widen further if that were possible. A loud gasp escapes my lips and my tears threatened to fall when I see him.

He wasn't wearing a bape mask, he was holding the gun. He makes slight eye contact with me before the van speeds off into the night.

Gray.

••••••••••

💕