SWNOVELS Chapter 15
Ella turned the pages of her book in his bed. She had not been able to hang out with him recently since Ashley wanted him every single minute of every day. It did bother her, but she had her own friends that she also enjoyed being around, although she missed the presence of Kylan. This was also why she had called dibs on him, and when Ashley came to his locker at the end of the day, Ella hooked Kylan's arm with her own and diverted the other way, pulling Kylan forcefully with her and waving a dismissal hand towards Ashley.
"You didn't have to do that," Kylan had said when they reached her car. Ella shrugged her shoulders, opening her door and hopping onto the driver's seat. She had her books, and as Kylan changed into his workout gear and began doing his exercises and workout sets, she glanced upwards toward him at times. He was doing foot touches on one leg, controlling his balance as he leaned over and lifted the other one in the air, returning to his stance between every repetition. He was breathing heavily, and Ella frowned; he seemed much happier than earlier during the week.
She frowned, "How long do you plan on hanging around Ashley?"
Kylan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he glanced towards Ella for a second before refocusing on his exercise. "What do you mean, how long?"
"Obviously, you don't like her."
He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe I do."
Ella sat up, blinking. "What did you just say?"
Kylan knew she would react this way, and as he began squatting, he heaved a long sigh before saying, "I mean, I don't feel any attraction towards her, but I do like her. I don't want to hurt her." "Kylan, she's a female."
He chuckled, panting as he continued his squats, "I'm aware of that. I'm just saying she's cute, and she's kind. What more can you ask for?"
"You can ask that she becomes a man since you're gay," she argued. "And it's only going to hurt her in the long run."
"She has nice blue eyes, a tiny cute face, and she smiles all the time. I'm not planning on leaving her any time soon, and I'm happy being around her "
"Is this because of Jonah?"
Kylan frowned, standing straight and placing his palms in his waist and meeting Ella's challenging gaze, "No, it's not."
"Then there's not a connection between you and Jonah having a fallout, and now you suddenly don't want to be gay?"
With a shaking of his head, he bent down into a push-up position, "No, it does not, and I never said I don't want to be gay."
She paused for a moment before adding, "And it has nothing to do with what your dad said?"
Instantly, she heard him pause, his movement stopping. He pushed himself to his feet and approached the bed where she laid; that was not a topic he ever wanted to hear being spoken of, and as he furrowed his brow un bother, she furrowed her own. "Why would you bring that up, Ella?" he said, "You know I don't like talking about that."
"I'm just speaking the truth," she replied firmly, "and if you can't face what happened, then that's not an issue you have to talk to with me. That's an issue with yourself."
"You never thought that maybe I just don't want to talk about it with you?"
She chuckled in disbelief, pausing for a moment and looking away, heaving a long sigh before returning her gaze to his. "You just don't like talking to me about things because I tell you the truth of how they are," she commented harshly. He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe I don't need the truth."
"Can you hear yourself," she scoffed, "you don't even sound like yourself anymore. All of a sudden, you finally found a buddy, and it's as if I don't even matter to you anymore."
Kylan raised his eyebrows, "What are you talking about? You've been there for me your whole life. Of course, you matter. Do you really need reassurance all the time?"
"No," she crossed her arms, "but leaving me for lunches, and saying that you don't want to talk to me anymore about personal things it's..." she sighed, taking a deep breath, "it's as if you don't need me anymore and it sucks. I can't be myself around her, and you're always around her."
Kylan sat on the bed, letting the silence calm down the bit of tension that had started to rise. They never used to have those types of arguments, but he was not going to lose her over one. He scratched the side of his head, finally saying, "I'm sorry. For prioritizing Ashley over you and saying those things."
She placed a palm on his back, "I'm sorry too."
Planning your weekend reading? Ensure you're on 05s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively available on our site. Happy reading!
"It's not that I'm not gay. It's just...I don't want people to feel ashamed of me for being who I am. Also, Ashley isn't that bad of a person either, she has a good heart, and she makes me smile."
"And I'm not saying you need to break up with her or leave her," Ella said quietly, "I'm only saying that if Ashley is in means to numb yourself from the pain you felt, just be careful." He nodded his head, "And I love you."
"I love you too," he replied quietly and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, landing a peck on her forehead. He did not pull apart and instead hugged her tighter with a teasing chuckle, and she finally understood why. "Is that all sweat?" she yelped when she felt a drop from his hair fall on the side of her face.
He grinned childishly, "Yes."
***
"Soccer sign-up sheets are up. Please sign your name whenever you get the chance," the announcements called. Instantly, Kylan stood from his seat inside the class and headed outside in the corridor to find the sign-up sheet. It was plastered on the announcement board, and his mouth widened in surprise when he found Ashley standing there, already with a pen in her hand.
Kylan raised an eyebrow, "You're signing up for the girl's team?"
"Yea," she smiled excitingly, excited from both the soccer season and seeing him. When she was done, she handed her pen to him, not before wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a peck on his lips. Kylan returned her desire and smirked as he pulled apart.
"Okay," they heard a grumbling behind, and Kylan did not glance over his shoulder to know who it was, "we get it, you're dating."
Ashley did not like Ella, mainly because she took a lot of time away from Kylan. Kylan always had a way of choosing his cousin as a priority, which she detested, and as Ella marched towards them and pushed them aside to make room for her path, she narrowed her eyes at Ella's back. She crossed her arms firmly, "You're signing up too?"
"Best believe," Ella said with confidence as she swiveled on her heels, "I make the team every time."
"Who knows if you'll make it this time?"
Planning your weekend reading? Ensure you're on 05s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively available on our site. Happy reading!
Ella raised an eyebrow, "Is that supposed to be a jab at me?" She took a step forward, and the menacing frown was slightly frightening Ashley, who desperately stood her ground. She could feel Kylan's warmth on her back and felt a bit of protection from him.
She nodded her head rapidly, "Yes, it is."
Ella clenched her teeth, "Well you "
"Ella," Kylan interrupted uneasily, and when she raised her eyes to meet his gaze, he rapidly shook his head. This caused Ella to sighed in annoyance and crossed her arms, holding back her insults.
"Look who we have here." They heard Bradley's voice from behind, and Kylan groaned; this was all his worst nightmare. However, the voice they did not hear, nor had spoken, was Jonah's, who had taken Kylan by surprise when he grabbed the pen from Ella's hands and wrote down his name. Bradley did the same, and when Jonah pointed to Ella as the person to give the pen back to, Bradley yelped and took a step back.
"What are you doing here?" he said frightfully. After the punch she had given him, there was always a bit of fear from his body whenever she appeared.
A smug look appeared on her face as she scoffed, "I'm signing up for the girl's team. And why are you talking to me?"
"I'm not," he hissed, sharply turning his head in another direction.
Ashley was noticing Jonah narrowing his eyes at her and gulped uneasily, clinging to Kylan, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively. She reminded him of Ella when Ella was upset and needed to hug him for comfort without saying anything, which was practically what she was doing. Jonah did not say anything and instead began walking away before Bradley was done challenging Ella to a staring contest. When they marched away, Ashley pulled apart from Kylan with a long sigh of relief.
"Why does he always look at me like this?"
Ella shrugged her shoulders cluelessly, although it was evident to Kylan she was lying, "Maybe because you're ugly?" With that being said, she skipped away, leaving Kylan and Ashley with their mouths gaped open.