Chapter 49 CHAPTER 49

Chapter 49 CHAPTER 49
"I’m sorry I couldn't get you more flowers. Next year when I'm in a better place, I'l go all out for our anniversary" Cross promised.

We sat on a bench beneath the late-afternoon sun, a bouquet of soft pinks and white resting on my lap while I licked my strawberry ice cream.

I bumped his shoulder. Cross was knee-deep in football practices, additional drills, and studying to keep his grades up. I didn't expect him to have much money. I barely had any myself. I was grateful he used whatever he got in allowance on me.

"These flowers are perfect. And I like that they're different," I said.

Earlier, he'd shown up to my house with two bouquets. One for me, and one for my mom, who practically melted when he asked her permission to date me. Now, we were at the park, savoring ice cream and our time together.

"Do you want to know their meaning?" he asked.

I brushed a petal, admiring the softness. "Tell me."

"This one," he said, touching the white roses, "means new beginnings. I know my past isn't perfect, but I want us to have a clean start." He pointed to another flower, the baby's breath. "This means pure heart. I wanted it to show my intentions. That I'm serious about us."

His voice softened, ears turning just a shade pink. "I've asked before, but I want to ask again..will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," I said, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Unsatisfied, Forrest caught my lips instead. His tongue swirled in my mouth, deepening the kiss until I tasted cookies-and-cream and the unmistakable sweetness of him. His finger threaded through mine over the flowers, sealing the promise between us. When we finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead on mine.

"Good," he murmured. "Not that I was giving you an option anyway."

Thursday after school, I found myself at our final cheer practice of the week. Though there was school tomorrow, most of us wouldn't be here. Coach buses would be lined up in the parking lot before day-break, leaving promptly at four in the morning.

Anyone late would be left behind. No exceptions. And excited buzz thrummed through the air; even I couldn't deny my excitement. Dancing -the part of practice I usually dreaded-was miraculously fueled by a burst of energy. We all knew that the second Coach Kit ended practice, we'd sprint home to finish packing. No bathing suits or fancy dresses could be forgotten. Not this weekend.

Amy no longer stayed with me. When I'd walked into my house Friday night, her room had been swept clean. According to Mom, she planned to stay at Eliza's house for the rest of the school year. I had to admire the efficiency: an entirely empty closet and bare drawers, which meant the moment she read my text she got straight to packing.

Good. It saved me the trouble of kicking her out myself.

"I can't stand her," a voice hissed in front of me, copying the moves of the glossy haired new captain at the front.

Larissa stood center, demonstrating step-by-step our new dance routine. Judging by Eliza's tone she was hating every second of it. Must suck to lose the captain spot, especially to the new popular girl. To add insult to injury, Larissa was quite good. She spoke clearly and each movement was sliced to perfection. We were learning faster with her than we ever had under Eliza's care, which only made Eliza's scowl deepen.

"Samantha, your hip is too far to the right. Try not to look like you dislocated it, please," Larissa clipped.

Predictably, Coach Kit lit up at the correction, practically glowing with maternal pride. Only one thing bothered me. of all the obvious mistakes I've made today, not once did Larissa call my name. No criticism, no correction. It was like I didn't exist.

Kelly had been called out four times already. The kind red-head sent me a curious glance when we made a mistake at the same time, yet only she was reprimanded. I came to two possibilities: one, she wanted me to stay a dancing mess. Or two, she was pointedly ignoring me.

The blaring music came to a screeching halt. Coach Kit stood and blew her whistle. "Excellent practice! We'll be even stronger next game, and we have Larissa to thank for that. Practice is canceled tomorrow due to the trip. Make sure to rehearse the moves during the three-day vacation. You're dismissed!"

Like a stampede the cheerleaders bolted. I stuck close to Kelly as we made our way to the front, where the football team had been released twenty minutes early. The squad hurried to hang out with the players before it was time to go.

"That was strange how Larissa didn't pick up on your mistakes," Kelly mentioned. Then, seeming to catch herself, "N-not that you're horrible or anything, I just noticed."

I laughed. "It's fine. I'm actually glad you pointed it out because it means I'm not seeing things."

She exhaled, cheeks flushing right as her gaze drifted toward David. Surprise, surprise. He stood with Cross and Theodore, surrounded by a flock of cheerleaders pining for their attention.

Cross's eyes found mine immediately. He gave me a side smile, the edges of his teeth glinting in the sunlight. I waved back, staying in place. I wasn't about to elbow through a crowd of girls just to get to him.

"Babe, that's not the proper way to greet your man," he called, evidently dissatisfied by my faraway figure.

I indulged him and sent him a blown kiss. Cross caught it dramatically... and then shoved it straight into the waistband of his pants. Ugh, some things never change. Even with us in a serious relationship.

He fake-gasped. "Babe, not in public. Please."

Groaning, I turned and started walking. He jogged after me, laughing.

Kelly pulled me into a quick hug, "My ride is here, see you tomorrow on the bus!"

"Bye Kelly!"

After being around Amy, who used me as a stepping stone to flirt with boys, it was refreshing to be around someone who just liked hanging with me. Someone who didn't obsess over attention from boys.

Arms wrapped around my waist from behind. Cross spun me to face him, his palms warm at my sides. Half his face was cast in shadow, his magnetic eyes travelling from my eyes, to my nose, and remained pointedly on my lips.

"Why are you being so distant?" He dipped down to kiss me, but I moved just in time for his lips to land on my cheek.

It wasn't that I was distant, I just wasn't used to PDA. When him and I were alone, it was easier. In front of everyone.it would take some getting used to.

"Did you finish packing?" I asked, changing the subject.

Tilting my head to avoid the glare of the sun, I accidentally caught view of the cheerleaders. Amy was laughing with James, fully engrossed. Ever since she left my house, she seemed to have given up on Cross completely and was entertaining past relationships.

Then there was Larissa--perfectly composed, perfectly unreadable. Like an empty canvas. She never tried approaching Cross in school anymore.

Then again, he made it impossible being glued to me or his boys. He did show me the text messages she sent him when she somehow got a hold of his number earlier in the week. She begged they meet up or at the very least video call. Cross didn't respond and blocked her.

"Clara, did you even hear a word I just said?" Cross's deep voice snapped my attention back to him.

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I was kind of distracted. What were you saying?"

"I said I finished packing. I also said that since we're sitting together on the coach bus, I don't mind picking you up in the morning."

I shook my head. "No, no, no. Who said we were sitting together on the coach bus? My room partner is Kelly, I'm sitting with her. And my mom is already dropping me off tomorrow." I tapped his forehead lightly.

I'd made it painfully clear at lunch that Kelly and I would be sticking together the majority of the trip. I wasn't about to ditch her just because Cross and I were official.

Cross shrugged, leaning his face into my hand. "Sure, you can keep thinking that."

He held my hand as we walked to his car. Since I no longer had a ride home Cross declared himself my personal chauffer. If someone had told me at the start of the year any of this would happen, I would've thought it was joke. Life had a funny way of changing things.

At three-thirty in the morning, I rolled my suitcase into the large coach bus. Kelly was ahead of me, slowly inching down the aisle past half-asleep students. The interior grabbed my attention - sleek black walls, soft lighting, and wide cushioned seats.

I had to say, our school really went all out for our annual trip. Most of the football boys hadn't arrived yet, which meant the majoring of cheerleaders were outside waiting for them. As for Kelly and I, we entered without care. It was perfect. This meant we would get first pick and not have to scramble for seating.

"Here's good," I said once we reached the middle section.

I refused to sit all the way in the back. That was the unofficial domain of the football boys. Loud, chaotic, and physically incapable of sitting still. I barely slept last night thanks to all the excitement, so I planned on taking a nice nap the long drive there.

Kelly opened the overhead compartment to lift her bag.

Suddenly, the floor shook as a wave of loud, male voices accompanied by high pitch squeals entered the bus at once.

We just made it. Barely.

"Need help with that?" Cross asked, noticing Kelly struggle.

Kelly barely managed a nod before he took it from her and effortlessly slid it in place. He then grabbed my arm and pulled me into the double seat behind her.

"Hey! I'm not letting her sit alone."

"I’m hurt Clara, since when was I not considered a person," David chimed, appearing beside Kelly and hoisting his bag into the compartment with one arm.

Instantly, the shy red-head blushed when she realized she would now be sitting with David. I covered my eyes. This was an ambush, a coordinated attack, and there was no winning, They were too stubborn, I knew them well.

Cross stole my suitcase before I could argue, leaving me to crawl into the window seat while he stowed our things. Across to my right, Theodore wiggled his eyebrows at me like an idiot. Then he purposely backed into Cross, pretending it was an accident. Cross not-so-accidentally placed him in a headlock.

"Guys, hurry up. Other people need to get through." I rolled my eyes at their typical horseplay.

Theodore cackled, cheeks flushed from all the wrestling. He eventually backed into a three-seater with two other players, but not before Jennifer passed by and threw him a wink.

Excuse me?

I shot him a glare, reminding him that we talked about this. He pretended not to see and grinned instead. "Tell your man to get off me!"

Ugh, why were they still wrestling? I'm supposed to tell Cross to back off, but he's still trying to trip him with his foot. I stood on my seat and grabbed Cross by the collar like he was a disobedient puppy.

"Break it off."

Cross released Theodore and followed my arm into his seat.

"Whipped little bitch." Theodore said, laughing like a maniac.

Cross flipped him off, grinning. "I like this leash. It's fine."

I urged Theodore to hurry up. "Again, there are people waiting!"

"I’m almost done," Theodore whined, dramatically adjusting himself.

The line was getting longer and longer for seats and these two just did not seem to care. What amazed me most was how everyone behind them just...waited. As if holding up the entire bus was acceptable simply because it was Cross and Theodore.

When Teddy finally sat, the line flowed again. Except because the three boys were clustered in the middle of the bus, the rambunctious crowd no longer chose to settle in the back, but in my area instead. Football players packed in around us, and girls squeezed into whatever seats they could. One of the guys sitting in Theodore's row actually ended up switching so that Jennifer sat there and he went with Hilary. It was much to Theodore's great annoyance, but his friend apparently found Hilary 'hot' and would not lose a chance to sit next to alluring beauty.

Cross and I snickered beneath our hands, earning a glare from our honey-eyed friend. Yesterday Jennifer sent Teddy a humongous text with an ultimatum that stated if he did not put more effort into their relationship (which wasn't even official) she would cut ties with him completely. Not only that, but she threatened to mess with another guy on his team who was hitting on her.

Theodore had merely shrugged and said 'screw it this is too much work'. Now it seemed the girl had a huge turn around and was not demanding as much anymore.

"What happened?" I mouthed to him.

Theodore pulled his phone out and threw it over. I caught it and went straight to his text messages.
Cross rested his chin over my shoulder as I read it, our smiles become more amused the further their conversations went. I let my finger slide past the name he gave Jenifer, shaking my head.

My Regret: i realize i was being a little to harsh ystrday and I'm sorry it came out tht way. Esp right b4 the trip, thats not an attitude i want us to carry on a weekend were suppose to enjoy together. i didnt mean it when i said i would date one of your teammates.

Theodore: It's fne.

My Regret: so what does tht make us now? i know you have a single room for the trip.

Teddy: How?

My Regret: Hilary told me. i just want to know where this is going.

Teddy: I enjoy spening time with you, but I don't want a serious relationship. I've told you this. I got the single room for myself not for us.

After that Jennifer didn't respond. Judging by her sitting next to him, I guess she was still willing to be with him.

Cross chuckled. "Dang. Savage teddy bear. He's breaking hearts."

I pursed my lips disdainfully, pulling his ear and making him wince. "Oh please, you've been no better. I know your history, savage senior." looked back to the message. "Also- look! My baby spells better than she does. My help is paying off after all," I said proudly. With my free hand pressed to my chest, I gave Theodore a dramatic look of sympathy.

"Have fun." I threw the phone back at him. Theodore caught it with a stale face, looking like fun was the furthest thing from his mind.

When I turn to Cross, I noticed he was... pouting. It's so endearing I rubbed his cheeks.

"Aw, what's wrong? You're upset?" I teased in a baby voice.

Blue eyes narrowed, yet he pressed his cheeks further into my hands and kissed them.

"Why did you call him your baby?" he muttered.

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Still," he grumbled. "And why did you call me savage senior? I'm not doing anything anymore." With his face still in my hands, I studied him. His lips were pinched, irritated, so I brushed my thumb across them.

"Why do you get like this when I reference your past?" I asked softly. "I'm with you. I'm not holding anything against you,"

It wasn't a big deal. He'd been shameless about his history before, so why did it bother him now? My response didn't seem to satisfy him. His eyes darting away, something tight and wounded flickering beneath the surface. The image of the flowers he'd given me the past weekend flashed in my memory, bringing with it regret.

I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'm sorry" I murmured.
"I didn't need to say that."

The tension on his shoulders relaxed. Cross looked ready to kiss me on the lips, but a Rubix cube whizzed past, narrowing missing his head.

"The hell" Cross snapped.

"Dude," Theodore groaned dramatically. "No kissing in front of me. Please, have mercy" he begged, fake gagging for emphasis.

"How about you stop fucking looking here."

"Then how will I know if you're behaving?"

Theodore deadpanned. "I still have my eyes on you." I broke into giggles while Cross shot him a death glare.

Seizing their attention, I said, "I’m tired, so I'll be napping the whole ride there. Try not to be too loud."

Cross pulled my legs over his lap, settling me exactly where he wanted.

After I closed my eyes, I felt him shift. Then something warm and heavy draped over my chest. His hoodie. The familiar scent of him immediately wrapped around me, pine and warmth soothing my senses.

"Thanks," I mumbled, already slipping into sleep. Cross didn't respond aloud, but I felt the faint brush of his fingers tracing the back of my calf, protective, until darkness finally pulled me under.

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A/N: look at my babies being domestic 🥹
Two more chapters and we're done, done, done.
Should I drop them both tomorrow or do I continue with one per day?