Chapter Fifty Three - PDA Who?

I was grabbing a textbook from my locker when someone tapped on it. I shut it to discover Matt standing there in his jersey, one hand on the lockers beside him and the other resting over his hip as he stared down at me with a little frown.

"Hey!" I smiled in confusion. "Are you done with practice?"

"I am." He scrutinized my face, then asked after a pause, "where were you? Ten minutes into the game, I looked over at the bleachers and you were gone."

"Oh, I went to the library. To read stuff." I pointed towards my books. "I thought if I'd made it to school early, why not use that time, right?"

It took him a second to nod at me. I could tell something was bothering him, like he wanted to say something but was on the fence about it. He finally exhaled and said, "I gotta go change. I'll see you during lunch."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." His tone was dismissive.

He took a step back and turned around to leave but I quickly ran past him and lifted an arm to the lockers beside us to block his way.

"You don't look okay." I raised a brow.

He crossed his arms over his chest and held me in a silent stare, eyes accusing me of something I could not figure out.

"What is it, Matt? How am I gonna know what's wrong if you don't tell me?"

"You wanna hear it? Fine!" My eyes widened in surprise when he advanced towards me and cornered me against the lockers. "I just find it a little absurd that you could sit through the entire practice for Sean every day but you can't do the same for me for one single day."

My jaw dropped in surprise. "Matt, that's—"

"Look, I'm just fine practicing without you, always have been. I want to see you there but it's not like you have to sit through that for me. I just mean you did it...before and now, you suddenly wanna use that time to study? You know what's even more absurd?" He raked a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Me complaining about it, which is why I didn't wanna say anything but I don't know what I'm gonna do with your stubborn ass."

"Oh God!" I shut my eyes for a moment, shaking my head. "Matt, you've got to stop comparing the things I did for him to the things I do for you. I was an idiot back then. A desperate idiot."

He scoffed. "Not gonna argue with that."

My eyes narrowed for a second but I decided to let that go and exhaled slowly. "But there's a difference between desperation and intention. I was desperate for his attention. But every single thing that I've done ever since I've caught feelings for you, every action of mine that concerns you has been...intentional. I've done it willingly. Because I wanted to. No obligations. Is that not enough?"

His eyes softened and I took that as my cue to step closer to him.

"Back then, I would've done anything to impress him. But you, I've never had to impress you, you know?"

A pensive look fell in his eyes as he tilted his head a fraction. "I honestly don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"I'm just trying to say that without even realizing, I found this comfort zone with you that I never would've found with Sean—or anyone else. And that's not the only reason why I... like you. There's a lot more. Now, is that a good thing?"

For a moment, he just gazed into my eyes and then, the corners of his mouth tugged back into a smile like he'd won a battle and he nodded. "It's a very good thing."

"Good."

I sighed in relief. The last thing I was looking forward to this morning was our first banter after getting together. Thankfully, we'd cleared things. Smiling, I stepped closer to him but our little moment was ruined when the ball rang.

Awesome timing

"Either way," I continued, "it's not like I didn't wanna watch the practice. I just..." I trailed off. I really should think before I start speaking my thoughts out loud.

He noticed my hesitation and frowned.

"Just what?"

I bit down at my lip, deciding I had no reason to keep this from him. "It was Sean. He kept passing me these looks. He's still mad at me."

A wave of anger washed over him. "Did he say something to you?"

"No, he didn't. Just kept throwing me these salty looks. As much as I wanted to watch you practice, every time I looked at him, I felt guilty."

"I'll have a chat with him."

He almost walked past me but I placed a hand on his chest and stopped him.

"No, you won't, please. I see where he's coming from; I did cheat on him. It's okay if he takes a while to come around. I'll apologize again if I have to and you have to agree with me right here, right now that his anger is justified and you won't do anything to make things any worse."

He wanted to argue at first but then he probably gave it a thought as he rolled his eyes, nodding. "Fine."

"Thank you. And how was he around you? Did he say something? Was he mad?"

"I don't know. If he was, I didn't pay any attention. And honestly, I don't care."

"Of course you don't. You're not the one who cheated on him."

He deadpanned. "You can't carry this, Becks. Yes, you did wrong but you apologized for it. If he doesn't forgive you, that's his choice. You have to let this go."

I ran my fingers through my hair.

"And it was just a kiss," he continued. "It's not like you slept with me while you were with him. He made out with Ashley too. Yes, I know you weren't together back then but was it any different than the time when you were together? That relationship was meaningless, you told me that yourself."

I nodded. "I did."

"So, if anything, it's his bruised ego that's left him so mad at you, not because he's hurt or anything. You let me know if he gives you any crap over this, okay?"

My lips pulled into a smile. "Okay, I will."

"Good." He nodded sternly.

"When did you become this sweet and caring boyfriend?" I stepped forward, still smiling like a fool and he tried to keep a straight face, believing I hadn't caught his little smile. When I put an arm around his neck and leaned up on my tiptoes, he finally gave in and smiled down at me.

"When was I not sweet and caring to you?" He quickly ducked his head and captured my lips with his before I could tell him he'd been horrible to me initially but as his lips savoured mine slowly and with immense passion, I forgot about anything I had to say.

A loud gasp made us both pull apart and turn sideways to find Meera standing there with an open mouth, the same expression plastered on Cher and Mack's face behind her.

"We saw this coming," she finally uttered, "but when...and how?"

Matt patted my shoulder, giving me a mischievous little wink. "I really should go and change if I wanna make it to class on time. I'll see you during lunch." With that, he gave my friends a nod before leaving us alone.

"Oh my God, Becks!" Cher gasped. "Stupid question but are you two together?"

I nodded, grinning wide.

"Holy shit!" Mack let out a laugh and was the first to step forward and give me a hug, ruffling my hair in the process. "Finally!"

"I know!" I chuckled.

"Spill! Everything! Now!" Meera said with wide eyes.

And I did.

*****

I hated having a love-hate relationship. Take the vending machine for example. It was the best thing to exist in the school and yet, it found a way to be the worst.

"Come on, crackers!" I shook the machine, wishing I could get my money back and promising myself to never use it again, like I did each time but always came right back because in the end, I somehow got my food.

I was just about to try Matt's way of dropping another item on my crackers when someone cleared their throat beside me. I looked up in frustration, then blinked at the person. Sean pointed towards the machine. "Need help?"

I stepped back because he didn't give me any time to answer as he put himself on the job and shook the machine.

"Déjà vu, huh?" he asked while staring into the glass. I recalled this was exactly how we talked for the very first time.

"Yeah," I muttered.

He finally got my crackers and extended it towards me. I took it unsurely, saying, "thanks."

"No problem." He nodded with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. There was something different about him, he didn't look mad anymore. "So how are you doing?"

"Good," I replied. "You?"

"Awesome." He sounded indifferent, unlike this morning when he was passing me those angry looks.

"That's good to know." I smiled.

"Hey, Sean!" Someone walked up to us. It was Ashley. She wrapped her arm around his neck and smiled up at him, turning to me. "Hey, Becks."

"Hi, Ashley."

Then she looked back at Sean and ran a finger down his cheek. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you."

"I—" She did not give him a chance to respond as she leaned up on her tiptoes and without a warning, started kissing him. Kissing was an understatement. It was a full blown make out session—aggressively grabbing and picking at each other's clothes as if they wanted to tear them off, moaning and panting heavily with his tongue shoved down her throat. Right in the middle of the hallway.

And I was standing right next to them with an open mouth, looking around awkwardly.

My cheeks heated up with embarrassment when Sean put her against the lockers and grabbed her face.

"Um I'm gonna go," I said but they were too busy to listen or respond so I just ran away from them like a bat out of hell.

"Whew!" I sighed in relief when I was far, far away from their act of passion and near the doors of the cafeteria.

That was the most awkward situation I'd ever encountered in my entire life.

*****

"I think he was trying to make me jealous," I said thoughtfully as Matt grabbed a dumbbell from the rack and brought it over to the bench I was sitting on.

I shifted back so he could place one hand and one knee on it and start with the dumbbell row exercise. Yes, I now knew what most gym exercises were called since I kept asking him and he, very patiently, kept explaining them to me and what muscle they targeted.

Since the gym was huge and less crowded at this hour, Mindy didn't mind me tagging along with him. In fact, she was really happy to see me and squished us both in her arms when she caught Matt stealing a kiss and figured we were finally together. And, she had really strong arms. No kidding.

"Were you?" he asked, "jealous?"

"Jealous?" I scoffed. "I was furious, Matt. How dare Sean kiss a girl that's not me?"

He froze, the dumbbell stopping mid-air as he looked up at me, eyes searching mine in a panic. Then, a little smile started playing on his lips and at the same time, he tried to look pissed.

"What?" I shrugged. "Ask a silly question, get a sarcastic answer."

"Oh, you're trying to be funny, I see."

I narrowed my eyes playfully, "bite me, Williams."

He set the dumbbell between us and leaned over the bench. I broke into a chuckle when he brought his mouth down to my neck and actually bit me like last time. Only this time, he didn't stop there and started trailing small bites up to my jaw, went higher and grabbed my ear between his teeth, tickling my skin. I let out another chuckle.

Someone cleared their throat.

We looked sideways. Mindy was casually arranging the dumbbell rack, her back to us as she hummed a tune and said over her shoulder, "just minding my own business here. Not looking at you guys. PDA who? Don't know her."

With a blush forming on my cheeks, I pushed Matt away and got off the bench. "I should head home now."

"Wait up. I'm almost done," he said.

"Take your time. I'm gonna go finish my homework and meet you back at your place."

"But I can give you a ride."

"I can walk. I gotta burn the calories too, don't I?"

"Gym membership," Mindy said in between coughs and I glanced at her. She cut me a brief glance, realized I was staring and turned around, shrugging. "Just saying."

"Why do you keep telling me to get a membership? Do I look like I need it? What is it?" I asked, looking down at myself.

"Oh no! That's not what I mean. You're perfect. Trust me, Rebekah." She chuckled, eyeing me with a spark in her eyes.

Matt cleared his throat, raising a brow at her and she rolled her eyes at him, scoffing, "will you relax? She's already your girlfriend. And no, I don't mean she needs the gym. The gym needs her. The business does." She dramatically motioned her hands around the place before pointing a thumb at her chest. "And it's my job to convince everyone who walks in through that door, to get a membership. Oh, and did I mention that we have some amazing offers for couples? Just in case you guys were interested."

She wiggled her brows at us and I blushed again, barely able to hold back a smile.

"Right." Matt nodded. "So, I take it that interrupting 'PDA' is included in one of those offers? I wonder how many couples actually stay after that."

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Well, aren't you a peach?"

He put the dumbbells back on the rack with half a smile, then walked back to me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"We're leaving."

"I don't think you finished your sets." I frowned.

"I did, trainer. Let's go."

"Fine."

We left the gym and made it to his house at 6 p.m. While he showered, I was lying down on his bed on my stomach, flipping through the pages of his lyrics notebook while munching on my crackers.

Bella tried to bury her nose in the box and I shooed her away. "Not for you, Bells."

She hissed at me and jumped out of bed, went back to her corner under Matt's study table and silently stared at me for the next two minutes. I rolled my eyes, waving a cracker for her to come and get. She happily hopped back on the bed, grabbed it between her teeth and laid down next to me as I read the lyrics.

The bathroom door clicked open and Matt stepped out only in a pair of track pants, drying his hair with the towel.

"What are you doing?" He tossed the towel on the study chair and flopped down on the bed next to me.

"Do you wanna become a singer?" I asked him, closing the notebook.

"I am a singer."

"No, I mean like full time. Making music, becoming famous, releasing albums and doing concerts."

He thought for a second and shrugged. "That would be nice."

"Why don't you go for 'The Voice' or something? It's not like you're gonna have a hard time making it through with that voice you've got."

He chuckled. "Yeah right."

"No seriously." I frowned. "Why don't you?"

"I don't know. I guess I don't want to. I never gave it a thought, you know?"

I nodded. "So, what are your plans after graduation? Are you going to college?"

"Of course I'm going to college. I wanna study music at Julliard."

"Julliard." I grinned. "That's not far from here. You can come see me. Or maybe you don't have to leave at all. You can stay at home."

"Yeah, if I'm up for travelling for three hours every day." He raised a brow.

I pouted. "Fine. You can come see me on weekends. Or I can come visit you there sometimes."

"Sure, but I don't wanna talk about it right now."

"About college?"

He turned sideways to face me and propped himself up on an elbow. "About leaving."

It was okay when I was talking about it, but when he mentioned leaving, I felt this giant void inside me. He was going to leave for college in a few months and I hated it.

"Right." I nodded, popping another cracker in my mouth.

"There was a time when I couldn't wait to get out of this house but now..." He ran his fingers across my cheek gently and I smiled in awe.

"Right now, I'm not even sure I am going to Julliard. Luke wants me to study business. He wants both me and Aiden to study business so we can step in."

"And you don't want that?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't seem that bad to be honest. I've got so many reasons to be up for it, except one, which is I don't wanna obey his wishes."

"What?" I spat ridiculously. "You really hate your—really hate him. Why is that? Shouldn't you be happy he gave you a new home? A new life?"

He scoffed. "Just because he took me in, doesn't mean I'm obligated to be nice to him."

I sat up on the bed. "Um it sort of seems like you are."

He set his lips into a thin line, a sign of his disapproval.

"No seriously, is he bad? Has he ever hurt you?"

"No."

"Then what? If he's a good person, I don't think he deserves that attitude just because he's your stepdad. Stepdads can be nice."

He raised a brow.

"Right of course I wouldn't know. I've only seen in the movies and I think Luke seems like a nice person. So does Aiden. Is that why you don't get along with him? Because he's your stepbrother?"

"No. I've never treated him like a step. I've told you. He's clingy. The first time I met him when Luke brought me home with mom, Aiden started looking up to me like he'd known me all his life. He followed me everywhere and asked stupid questions all the time. It was annoying and... scary, being responsible for a young sibling all of a sudden."

I burst out laughing. "So, you give him that attitude for being a sweetheart?"

His eyes narrowed. "He's not a sweetheart."

"Of course he is. I don't think he's got a mean bone in his body. He's all fun and he totally adores you, to the point where he literally behaves like you. No one would be able to tell you guys are not actual brothers."

He rolled his eyes. "Hence, proven clingy."

"God!" I leaned over him and squished his cheeks. "Why are you so difficult, Williams?"

He wrapped an arm around me and tugged so I was lying on top of him. With a smile, I crossed my arms over his chest as his eyes lingered across my face and he stroked my hair back. "I'm not difficult on you, Andrews, am I?"

"Nope. You couldn't be. I would never take that crap from you. Or anyone."

"I feel really special right now."

I chuckled.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I fished it out. Once I saw the contact, I got off Matt and sat up on the bed in confusion.

"Who is it?" Matt asked, noticing the sudden change in my mood.

"It's Sean."

Eyeing my phone with a frown, he sat up too. I brought it to my ear and answered, "Sean."

"Hey, Rebekah."

"What's up?"

"I... I wanted to see you. Can I see you?"

"Right now? I'm sorry—"

"I'm outside your house. I promise it won't be long."

I scrambled out of bed and hurtled towards the window, feeling Matt following behind me. It was true. Sean's car was parked outside my house. The moment Matt peered outside, a deep scowl appeared on his lips.

"Okay. Just give me a minute." I hung up.

"What the hell does he want?" Matt was throwing daggers at his car.

"I don't know. He wants to see me, said it won't be long."

He rolled his eyes, then grabbed a random t-shirt from his study chair and started to put it on.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Coming with you."

"I think I should go by myself."

He looked about ready to argue until I tilted my head and pressed my lips together. Exhaling slowly, he sat down on the edge of his bed and nodded reluctantly, not looking too happy about it but agreeing with me anyway.

"Fine. But if he says or does anything he shouldn't say or do, you call me."

His tone was serious and he'd said that while looking me dead in the eye but I could only smile and throw him a two-finger salute. "Got it, sir. Any more orders for me?"

He crossed his arms, putting on a sombre facade but still failing to hide the amusement in his eyes from me. "I'm serious."

"Okay, serious." I laughed when he rolled his eyes in disbelief. "I'll be right back."

I made my way out of his house and crossed the street. Sean was leaning against his car, hands buried in his pockets as he stared at my house, expecting me to walk out any second.

"Hey," I called and he flipped around in surprise, eyes trailing to Matt's house before they set on me.

"Oh right! You must have been training over there."

"No. We weren't training," I replied.

He waited a few moments for me to elaborate but when he realized I wasn't going to, he cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"I'm sorry about Ashley today."

"Oh! That's-that's fine, Sean."

"She came out of nowhere. I never got a chance to say what I've been wanting to."

"Okay." I nodded. "So, what is it that you've been wanting to say?"

He scratched the back of his neck and exhaled. "I know I've been going a bit too hard on you. And when we broke up, I left you crying right here. What kind of guy does that?"

"Sean, you have nothing to apologize for. I..." I cleared my throat. "I deserved it. So, it's fine, really. I should be the one apologizing for...well, you know."

"That's the thing, Rebekah." He smiled softly. "I never even gave you a chance to. But I know how sorry you are and I forgive you."

"Oh my God, Sean! That's...thank you so much." My hand immediately went up to my heart with gratitude. "It's like I got this huge weight off my chest. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that. Thank you."

He flashed me a grin and took my hand in his. "You never had wrong intentions for me, Becks. I know that. What happened between you and Matt was a mistake. So, I'll take you back."

"Oh!" I blinked at him, slowly withdrawing my hand from his and he frowned slightly, confused. "See about that. I'm with Matt now."

"What?" he spat. "It hasn't been three days since we broke up. What happened to that weight on your chest?"

"I-I..." I had no words to fight the conclusion he was arriving at. Was he wrong though?

"So that was all a lie?" He raised a brow.

"No, it wasn't. I was feeling guilty about what happened but I really like Matt. You and I... we just...we weren't meant to be, you know?"

He scoffed.

"Shit! I could've used better words. I mean, we were great, you and I. But I feel for Matt in a way that I never felt—okay this isn't going great either," I blabbered nervously and he shook his head to himself.

"You think you guys are meant to be?" His tone was humoured like he was mocking me. "Rebekah, he's not a relationship guy. He's gonna leave you for another girl in the blink of an eye just like you left me for him. And maybe then you'll know how bitchy that was."

I bit down on my lip, then swallowed. "I think you should leave."

He sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. That's not what—"

"You heard her," came a voice beside us and our heads turned at the same time to find Matt closing in on us with a dangerous scowl on his face and if looks could kill, Sean would be buried six feet under.

"You!" Sean snapped, taking a step forward.

"You got a problem with me?" Matt closed in on him with one long stride. "Then say it to me."

I jumped between them, quickly placing a hand on his chest.

"What are you doing? I told you not to come."

His eyes snapped to mine. "And I told you to call me if he says something he shouldn't. He's been spewing this crap about you and you're just standing here, listening?"

"It's not crap," I said in an incoherent whisper but he heard it. That's what his head tilt told me as he shot me a really? We talked about this.

"I did not mean that, Rebekah," Sean said from behind.

"Shut up," Matt snapped at him. "She's given you more apologies than she needs to. Why don't you just accept that she likes me and move on? Leave her alone."

There was a pause and I couldn't look back at Sean because I was too busy holding my boyfriend in case he'd decided to lunge at him.

"I didn't know you guys were together or I wouldn't have wasted my time coming here."

Matt's brows pulled together. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I wanted her back." As Sean said that, I could feel his glare on me but all my attention was drawn by Matt's hand curling around my arm possessively. It wasn't until Sean spoke his next words that Matt's agitation cranked down a notch and his grip loosened. "But obviously, too late for that."

The next thing I heard was a car door shutting loudly, followed by revving of the engine and Sean's car speeding away.