^^Principal Morgan's office

After the toe-curling kiss, I shared it with Andrew. We walked back to our group, silently holding hands and enjoying the sweet breeze. It was good to know that everything got cleared between us.

The next day, we packed our bags and went home back to our normal lives. I told my parents everything about Andrew me and my kiss. Mom began fangirling over it and asked if we were now in a relationship and I wasn't sure.

I mean, we went on a date and then kissed... Twice... but he didn't ask me to be his girlfriend, so we were still at the dating stage. It was my first time, and I wasn't sure how things worked, so I left the things for Andrew.

The weekend passed slower than ever. I kept repeating the entire week in my head and the secrets I was keeping. They felt like a burden on me, but I was glad Andrew was there to distract me. He called me at night and we chatted about whatever came to our minds.

I felt relieved, but also the secrets were nagging me, and keeping them away from Andrew felt like I was lying to him even though they weren't mine.

On Monday, I rode my cycle to my school and wondered what the day would bring me. Now that I was dating the West High Playboy. I knew I would get stinky eyes from the girls and would hear whispers when I'll walk around the hallways.

As I parked my bike and went inside the high school, everyone was chattering among themselves and none paid attention to me. Sighing in relief, I went to my locker and placed my books inside.

"Lilly!" I turned my head towards Chloe and saw her running towards me.

It felt like the first day after winter breaks when she came running and hugged me, but this time she had a frown on her face.

"What's with the face?"

"You haven't heard about it?" She tilted her head.

"About what?"

"Before the Spring breaks at Nate's party after we left. Andrew and Ben fought with Dexter's gang!"

"What?" My eyes widened. "But why?"

"No one knows the reason."

"How did you find out?" I inquired.

"Well, when I came early morning. I heard the girls gossiping in the bathroom. They were there when the fight happened." She said, looking around and then stepping towards me. "Everyone was talking about it so I asked Louis, but he wasn't aware of it either, then Maddie told me."

"What?" I questioned, closing my locker.

"She said they were playing games in the basement, then heard a commotion upstairs and when they got there, they saw Andrew and Ben beating Dexter and his gang into a pulp and when they asked what happened, Andrew and Ben refused to answer." She finished it all in one breath. "Nate also knows what happened, but he isn't telling anyone either."

I think I know what might have happened. This was the reason I didn't tell Andrew what Dexter did with me. Despite that, they got in a fight.

I was about to open my mouth but the chattering in the corridor paused and everyone made way for... Guess who...

The Clichés.

Deja vu.

The same feeling I had at the start of the year came back as I watched the group confidently walk past the crowd and not paying attention to anyone.

This time, one thing was different.

My eyes didn't go to Nate instead, they remained on Andrew and I saw him looking at me intensely with a smirk on his face. He walked past everyone in a rush and pulled me into a bear hug.

"I missed you." He mumbled and picked me up like I weigh nothing.

Giggling, I hugged him back and watched Tiana and Nate wave at me. I waved back at them as they walked away with Brittany and David, while the others stopped.

"Ah, the love." Madeleine wiped her fake tears. "How much I missed it."

Ducking my head in embarrassment, I let go of Andrew, but he plopped his arm around my shoulder, keeping me to his side.

"You guys met like what... Two days ago." Ben raised his brows at us.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Ben," Andrew smirked.

"Like I have nothing better to do." Ben scoffed. "In fact... I have something to do." He saluted and I hid my smile as I watched him walk away.

Going to the library.

"Louis, you can let her go now." Jordan eyed Louis and Chloe as they hugged. "You'll suffocate her to death."

"I don't want to," Louis mumbled, making Chloe giggle.

"Alright, that's too much love for me." Madeleine clasped her hands. "Now my stupid maths teacher looks more interesting than seeing you guys going all googly."

I laughed at her word and remembered once Abigail said the same to me. She must have learned it from her.

"See you guys later!" Jordan said, walking away with Madeleine.

"Let's go to my locker. I need to stuff these heavy things in it." Louis grumbled, showing his backpack. Chloe nodded, and they left.

"Now that we're alone." Andrew gave me a smug smile and put his hands over the locker, sandwiching me between it and him.

"Technically, we are not alone," I whispered, looking around the crowd who were watching us with shock written over their faces.

"Who cares about them?" He shrugged, leaning in, but I put my hands on his chest, stopping him.

"You fought with Dexter?" I felt his body stiffen under my hands.

"What?" He let out a chuckled.

"You know what happened, don't you?" I asked, darted my gaze between his.

"Yes." He gritted his teeth. "And it wasn't still enough. He should have been six feet down for what he did to you-"

I cut him off with a peck on his lips. "Thank you."

"Huh?" His face scrunched in confusion.

"Even though I don't encourage fights and that's the reason I didn't tell you about it. But still..." I sighed. "Thank you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He shrugged, then frowned. "Do you realize you just ruined the perfect mood?"

"Did I?" I tilted my head, acting innocent.

He narrowed his eyes at me and then groaned when the bells rang.

"And it's time for class." I ducked and got out of his arms.

"Hey, that's not fair!" He pouted.

"Sorry Andrew, but my grades are my priority," I said, hiding my grin.

"Fine." He sighed. "I'll escort you to your class."

"No need-"

"I'm not taking no for an answer." He grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers.

As we walked towards the class, I watched everyone on our way, staring astonished at us.

"Ignore them," Andrew said, stopping in front of my class and leaning into my ear. "We'll continue where we left off after the classes." He whispered.

Heat crawled up my neck, and Andrew laughed at my reaction. Pecking my cheek, he walked away to his class, and I shook my head.

I still can't believe how things turned out like this for us.

I was sitting in my third class before lunch daydreaming about Andrew when the speakers in our class announced my name.

"Miss Lillian Smith. Principal Morgan wants to see you in her office now."

I blinked my eyes, still thinking if I heard it right, and got my answer when the entire class turned towards me, making me shrink in my seat.

If this announcement was done last year, no one would have known who Lillian Smith was, but now, after all the incidents this year, everyone knew me. The teacher told me to pack my stuff and go to the office, and that's what I did.

But what did I do?

Questions swirled in my head as I walked toward the principal's office. The receptionist asked my name and when I told her; she gestured me toward the door. Standing outside the door, I took a deep breath, and with my shaky hand, I knocked on the door.

"Come in." A strong feminine voice came from inside.

I cracked the door open and peeked inside to see Principal Morgan in her seat, studying the paper in front of her. She snapped her sharp green eyes at me.

"May I come in, ma'am?"

"Come in, Miss Smith. Have a seat."

I nodded and took a step inside her gigantic office, which was even bigger than my room. The room was like a typical principal room. The walls were white and with a combination of ancient brown furniture. There was a wall-size bookshelf and cabinets behind her. An enormous picture containing council members was in the middle of it.

I sat on the couch opposite her seat and observed her. Principal Morgan is a powerful woman in her late thirties. Her Red hair was wrapped around in a loose bun and a few locks fanned her sculptured face. She took the glasses which were on the tip of her nose off and put them aside.

She closed the file in front of her and smiled at me. "How are you doing, Miss Smith?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head. She raised her thick brow at me, making me sit straight. "I mean I'm doing great, Ma'am."

"Are you sure?" She shifted the file she had in front of me. "Your grades tell me otherwise."

Frowning, I opened the file and examined it. My eyes widened when I realized it was my profile and on the other side were my mid-term grades.

"What..." I glanced at her, then back at my scores and I couldn't believe my eyes.

Never in my life have I gotten a grade less than A- which was only once and now... All my grades were Bs, and I even had a C in bio.

"How's that possible..." I mumbled, shocked, as I read them again and again.

"That's what I thought when I saw your grades." She said, leaning back in her seat. "You are one of the brilliant scholarship students of West High and let me tell you, there aren't many students here who care about their studies." She scoffed. "I saw your old school record and last semesters, you're always acing. So what happened, Miss Smith? Everything alright at home?"

"Everything fine," I mumbled, as I massaged my forehead.

I knew my midterms weren't that good, but C?

"Boy trouble?" She raised her brows suggestively.

"No, Ma'am." I shook my head, closing the file.

"Alright then." She placed her arms on the table and interlaced her fingers together. "What are you planning?"

"I don't know." My shoulders slumped in defeat.

"With these grades, your chances of getting a scholarship for Stanford are..." She clicked her tongue, shaking her head. I bit my lip to stop it from quivering.

Don't cry in front of your Principal Lillian.

"You're a bright student and I see potential in you." She got up from her seat and walked towards the immense window. "And that's very rare nowadays in kids." She sighed, looking out the window. "I'm willing to give you a second chance."

"What?" My ears perked up.

"I'll give you a week to study." She walked toward me and leaned her hip toward her desk. "Next week, every day after school, you'll have a makeup exam. If you get good scores in those, I'll discard these..." she said, pointing at the file. "...from your record."

"You can do that?" I was stunned by her offer.

"I'm the principal." She said in a duh tone, reminding me of Brittany.

"But... Why are you doing this?" I asked, not sure of her intentions.

"Do you believe in second chances?" She passed me a paper which was a schedule for exams next week.

"I never thought about it, Ma'am," I mumbled, taking it from her hand.

"I do." She gave me a sad smile. "As I said, we lack potential here, so we should give another chance to those you are willing to change the future." She took a seat behind her desk again.

"Thank you so much, Ma'am."

She nodded, taking another file. "You may leave Miss Smith."

I got up and grabbed my stuff, waking out of the door, but halted when she said.

"I hope you will not waste your second chance."

"I won't." I firmly answered. She smiled and waved at me in dismissal.

Blowing a breath, I walked out of her office and examined the paper she gave me. I know it'll sound biased, but she didn't look that bad.

"Lillian?" I glanced up from the paper and saw Andrew outside the office.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as we walked out into the corridor. "Shouldn't you be in your class?" The lunch break bell hasn't rung yet.

"I heard your name announced, and I got curious about why she needed you." He said, glancing back at the door. "What happened?"

"Andrew..." I stopped in the middle of an empty corridor. "She called me to discuss my midterms."

"What about them?"

"I'm..." I ducked my head in embarrassment. "I got bad grades."

"Come again?" He leaned his ears towards me.

"I got Bs in all subjects and C in Bio," I muttered, adjusting my glasses.

"Are you serious?" He tilted his head. "Sure, those weren't someone else scores... like Louis."

"They were mine." I felt a teardrop from my eyes.

"Hey. Don't cry." He pulled me into a hug, and I buried my face into his chest. "What did she say?"

I told him everything that happened inside and he listened to me quietly rubbing my back.

"There is nothing to worry about then." He kissed the side of my head. "She gave you another chance."

"Yeah but..." I sniffed. "How am I supposed to prepare for all of them in a week when I couldn't do it in months?"

"We'll do them together." He exclaimed, making me frown.

"What?" I pulled back to look at his grinning face.

"I'll help you study. I'm your senior, remember? I've already studied all these subjects."

"Have you studied advanced biology?" I raised my brow at him and averted his gaze.

"Well... Umm... No-"

"Thought so." I rolled my eyes, letting him go, and walked to my locker.

"That doesn't mean I can't help you." He walked beside me. "We can work as a team."

"Are you sure you won't distract me?" I asked, stopping at my locker.

"No... But I can't guarantee it for you. I mean, you can get distracted when you'll see my charm-"

"Seriously Andrew." I looked at him deadpan.

"I'm kidding." He chuckled and nudged me with his shoulder. "We'll get this through together."

Biting my lip, I nodded my head and got my stuff out of my locker.

"What are you doing?" He eyed me.

"Going home."

"What?" He looked at me, astonished. "Don't ruin your mood because of your score-"

"I'm not... I just." I sighed. "I'm having a headache and I need to go home."

"I'll drop you."

"No Andrew-"

"I will not let you cycle in this mood." He snatched my bag from my hands and walked towards the school gate.

"What about your classes?"

"Do I look like someone who cares about them?" He snorted, and I followed him to the parking lot.

I knew he wouldn't listen to me and I didn't have the energy to argue with him

"I'm home," I mumbled, opening the door of my house.

Andrew dropped me off and told me to take some rest and we'll begin studying from tomorrow. I agreed with him and asked him if he wanted to come inside, but he refused and said he'll go back to school before everyone think we had eloped.

"Lillian?" Mom's shocked voice came from the kitchen and she walked out. "Why are you here this early?" She glanced at the time and it was around twelve.

"Mom..." My lips began quivering, and I ducked my head, dropping my bag on the floor.

"My dear, are you alright?" She came over and hugged me tightly. "Did something happen between you and Andrew?"

"No..." Tears began building in my eyes.

My parents were always proud of me and praised me for my excellent grade. How am I going to tell them I'm failing?

"Then what happened?" She let go of me and grabbed my face in her hands. "My sweet baby, why are you crying?"

"Mom... I'm failing." I whimpered.

Her eyes widened and before I could see the disappointment in them, I ran upstairs to my room and jumped on my bed.

"Lillian?" My mom came running after me. "What are you talking about?"

Sobbing, I told her about my conversation with Principal Morgan. She sat beside me on the bed and rubbed my back as she listened to me.

"I'm shocked, but there's no need for you to cry over it, and you should be happy that she gave you another chance."

"But... But..." I sniffed and sat leaning on the headboard. "But mom what if I messed up again? I couldn't score better after studying for months. How can I do that in a week? I'll lose my scholarship chance."

"It's alright." She hugged me tightly and kissed the side of my head, reminding me of Andrew, who did the same. "First, I know you can do this. You're our brilliant child. And in case you didn't which I don't believe. You can still go to Stanford."

"What about the fees?"

"That's what we're here for." She smiled, making my heart melt. "Your father and I will think of something."

"I don't want to disappoint you-"

"Oh, Lillian." She hugged me tightly and patted my head. "Your father and I will always be proud of you and Luke. No matter what. Your scores don't describe your worth. You do."

"Mom..." I sobbed and cried over her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be my love." She kissed my cheek and wiped my tears again. "We don't care about your grades, we care about you. And I've seen some change in your behavior."

"What?" Now that made me pause.

"I've waited for you to discuss it with me and not push you over it, but being your mother, I know how you feel." She darted her eyes between mine. "And I know something is nagging you. Do you want to talk about it?"

How does she know?

"I wish I could tell you, mom but I can't..." I took my glasses off and cleaned my face.

"Is it something serious?"

I shook my head. "It's not about me... And I can't tell you more than that."

"Fine." She sighed. "I won't force you but... Whatever situation you are in is hurting you, then you need to get out of it."

"I don't know how..." I blurted. "I'm carrying secrets of people and I have no right to tell them."

She darted her gaze over my face as she observed me. "Then think of it like this. If that secret hurts them or people around them, then it needs to be out."

I frowned. "I can't do that-"

"You can't, but they can."

"How?" I tilted my head.

"Show them how things could be better if they let it out. If you bottle everything up inside you. One day it'll explode and then the consequences won't be good."

Madeleine is harming herself, and it can get worse if she doesn't tell anyone. Jordan should tell Madeleine that he likes her and maybe that'll help her.

Louis shouldn't go through his sickness alone. He needs people who care about him, especially Chloe. David has cheated on Tiana and she's oblivious of it on top of that. She's pregnant with his baby.

Nate is in a forbidden relationship. He thinks he's in love, but it's wrong in so many ways and Ben is still sacred to come out. But he should know that those who love him will always stick around and his sexuality changes nothing.

Everything can be easy for them if they just let it out.

"Thanks, Mom. For hearing me out."

"This is what mothers are for." She winked at me and got up. "Now take some rest and I'll cook lunch for you."

I nodded and kissed her cheek. She walked out of my room, closing the door behind and I plopped on my bed, praying to God to make things easy for me.

I know what I need to do with the Clichés, but first, let's focus on my grades.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

I'm sleepy right now so just wanted to update the chapter and I'll let you guys read in peace.😴😴😴