How To Stop Smoking

Keep it PG

Chapter Twenty-Two

Olympia

I stared at my reflection in the mirror of the girls' toilets, my pale face is obscured by water marks and stray powdered foundation, which has gathered alongside dust to form a dim coating on the mirror surface.

What surprised me the most was that the anger within me wasn't visible on the outside, the girl in the mirror looked perfectly calm, years of hiding my emotions from the criticism of Valentina had made masking the fury almost too easy.

It had yet to sink in that Sam was the girl Chris had cheated on me with, I didn't know who she was and she went to my school so god knows how he knew her. How could a girl I've never spoken to be responsible for problems with not one of my relationships but two.

That is, if this thing with Rob counted as a 'relationship', it wasn't exactly conventional. Was it a relationship? It had been a fake one, but now that everything about the agreement is out in the open was that fake relationship still intact? There was no reason for it to be anymore, there was no longer a secret so surely there is no longer a relationship.

And that hurt a lot to think about, I didn't want to lose him. I'd grown to get used to having him around, become so comfortable in his presence, being myself around him wasn't difficult because there was no one else he'd rather that I was. Even with Chris I hadn't felt this safe, this wanted. Never before had someone got into a fight for me, never before had someone opened up to me so easily or I them.

Never before had I loved someone in the way I do Rob. The thought alone made my heart skip a beat.

My head ached with the question of what now? There was one person who could answer these questions and I had left him all alone to face the bleach blonde dragon.

"I need to find Rob." I announced, Kat looked up from her phone on which she had been mindlessly staring at, and nodded. Pushing off of the flaking blue wall she had been leaning on, Kat joined me in front of the mirror.

"You love him, don't you?" she asked and I nodded, this seemed to be a satisfactory response and so she slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and held the door open for me with a smirk. Together we headed back to the common room, me walking calmly like my heart wasn't beating so hard I worried for my ribs safety.

In the common room Rob and the others sat around a table, most of the others in the room had left and those remaining were occupied with whatever homework they had to do. Dan spotted us as we came in and jumped out of his seat, taking Kat's hand he ushered her out of the room, leaving me stood alone.

Mel and Joey, saw me next and stood up, Mel smiled and Joey sent me a wink before they quickly made their exit. Ignoring how strange that was, I took a seat next to Rob at the table, who had yet to take his head out of his hands.

"Hey." I said, the head of dark hair lifted and for the first time Rob noticed me.

"Hey." He said with a smile, something about him seemed different, the smile was one of those rare ones that lit up his whole face.

"So I guess we need to talk," I started, preparing myself for the awkward what-are-we-now conversation and the highly likely possibility that this will be our last conversation. But Rob did what he usually does and surprised me.

"Talk is cheap." He declared, and proceeded to kiss me like his life depended on it.

Reluctantly I pushed away from him, I could happily kiss him all day, but it wouldn't answer the question of what we were now. The disappointed look on his face is almost cute enough for me to kiss him again but I have to keep a level head, we need to have this talk eventually.

"Rob, what are we? Now it's all out in the open about the smoking and stuff, is there any need for a fake relationship anymore?"

Rob takes a deep breath, then looks at me again, "There is no need for a fake relationship," he says and I can just about hear my heart breaking. My eyes prickled with tears and I had a pre-prepared speech about how he's right and that I understand on the tip of my tongue, but Rob continues.

"Because I'd much rather a real one." I take a second to stop and process what Rob jut said, am I hallucinating or did he suggest that we have a real relationship. Nothing to do with smoking, or agreements, or anything.

I must have been sitting with my mouth open for a good ten seconds before it occurs to me that the guy who I'm pretty sure I love just said he wants a real relationship with me and all I can do it gape at him like a dead fish.

I force my mouth shut but I can barely contain a smile, at the sight of my grin Rob loses his worried expression and smiles back.

"So is that a yes?" without a sound I throw my arms around Rob's neck and kiss him again, this time I have no pressing concerns at the back of my mind at all, content to simply kiss Rob till one of us needs to breathe.

Wrapped in each other's arms, it's easy to forget we're at school, that is until someone coughs pointedly next to us, forcing us to break apart.

"Mr Willis, Miss Rossi, if you could please refrain from such behaviour on the school grounds, we would be very appreciative."

I blush profusely and bury my face in Rob's shoulder, unable to meet the eye of Mr Smith, our Deputy Head. Rob smirks at him and apologises on our behalves, I hear the click of expensive dress shoes walking away and breathe a sigh of relief, lifting my head from Rob's shoulder.

"Well that was embarrassing."

Rob laughed, "But totally worth it, plus Smithy's cool, it's no big deal."

I tried to ease my bright red cheeks, to no avail. "What did you say to him anyway?"

Rob shrugged, the picture of nonchalance, "Just told him that I'd succeeded in getting the girl I loved to be girlfriend, he told me congratulations, but to keep it PG and left."

I rolled my eyes, but the smile on my face stayed in place. Did he just say he loved me? I must have heard wrong, that's impossible. A hand on my cheek pulled me from my thoughts.

"What's got you looking so confused all of a sudden, sleeping beauty?"

"Did you say that you loved me?" I asked, really hoping that I hadn't heard wrong as then not only would my feelings be unrequited, but I'd be incredibly embarrassed.

"Well yeah, it's the truth. I've only known myself for about half an hour but it's definitely true."

I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt, "Well that's good, because I love you too."

Rob grinned, "How long have you known?"

I shrugged, "About ten minutes."

"We really take thing slowly, don't we." Rob said and I laughed.

"Well we have been kissing for the past five months, conventional clearly isn't our style."

Rob stood up and held his hand out to me, I took it and stood up with him, "Where are we going?"

"Where all couples at this school go, to make out behind the tennis courts."

I smile, "Wow, and they say romance is dead."

Hi guys! Sorry I've been so MIA, but there's been exams, and work, and i was in South Africa (which is an absolutely beautiful country with some truly amazing people!) Anyway, there'll be like one, maybe two chapters of left, hope you enjoyed reading it and i hope it was worth the wait! Please comment/vote :)