16 July 2012
-NATE-
The next few days were spent minding our own business. It was as if we were room mates, not engaged. We shared very little contact, and very little conversation, apart from brief questions about wedding planning. It was all planned now, thanks to Tiffany's mother, so there was less pressure on us, and all we had to focus on now was getting back into school. The night before we were due to leave was exactly like any other: I watched TV downstairs with her on a separate couch, and then we went to bed. No cuddling, no kissing, nothing. That morning, we both drove into school together, parking up my car in a secure spot which was now going to become ours. We were going to need the car a lot more often now as we were boarding in the week, but going home and living together at weekends, although it could barely be regarded as that anymore. As we walked in, I slipped my hand into hers and tried to start a conversation. "Are you ready?" "As I'll ever be" she said, placing a hand on her now nonexistent bump and swallowing back the tears that always ensued. "Good. I'm going to come and collect you from every lesson, so give me a copy of your timetable later and I'll memorise it" I said, as we reached the front doors. "Okay. I love you Nate" she said, for the first time in a long while. "I love you too. No matter what happens here today, I'm not going to give up hope. And we can make this work, trust me" I said, pushing open the grand wooden door. Inside, students were already milling around before morning lessons. It was already clear that a hierarchy had formed, with the eldest (our year) sitting casually on couches and lower areas of walls, chatting and texting people. Then there was the lowest year, who were all new to the school, whizzing around; trying to take in every inch of the school before 9am. A group of girls walked down the corridor, making others part to one side. I immediately recognised these girls as all of Tiffany's friends who were being lead by Mollie. "Tiffany!" she said, rushing over to hug her. "Great to see you today, the head told me to bring you to her office as soon as you arrive. You'd better come too" she said to me, leading us towards the large staircase that lead to the head's lair. As we passed by large amounts of people, there was a general air of gossip that appeared to follow us: "I heard she got pregnant, the little whore" one said. "And they're getting married after being together for what, five minutes? I can't believe he'd sink that low" "See, I read on the Internet that she lost the baby a few days ago, after she was beaten up. Probably just some jealous girl who didn't think she was good enough for Nate. That doesn't really narrow it down though does it?" I turned to this group of second years, who now clearly thought they were the older, more mature ones, who could make such snap judgements. "What did you call my fiancé?" I said to the first girl. "Nothing Nate, it's great to see you again, have you been working out?" "I'm warning you, stop gossiping. I'm getting married in less than two weeks, so I'm never going to ever have a relationship with you. Even if I wasn't engaged, I don't think I'd go there anyway. Watch who you're calling a whore too, you wouldn't want to be hypocritical" I could have gone on, but Mollie had put her hand on my shoulder and begun to lead me away. "I'm sorry about them babe" I said, putting my arm around her waist as we went up the stairs, carrying her slightly. "I'm going to have to get used to it. Don't worry about protecting me" she said to me, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'll see you guys later okay? Tiffany, come and meet me in your free and we'll unpack, okay?" "Yeah sure" I said, not needing to ask which room we were in this year. On our corridor was the head girl's room, which was always reserved for the head girl and one other girl. I suppose Mollie had elected herself into this role, but I wouldn't have chosen anyone else anyway. I knocked on the door to the head's office, and as I was called in, I grabbed Nate's hand and lead him in after me. "Tiffany, how nice to see you" she said, in a strong British accent. "Please, both of you, sit down" We did so, before she began speaking again. "I've brought you here to make sure you know about your new role?" "I do yes, thank you" "Well there was no other choice was there?" she laughed, taking off her glasses. "And second of all, I'd like to make sure you're alright. I know you've been through a lot over the past week or so, and I'd like to offer my most sincere condolences. I've also decided to offer you as much time off as you require. As long as you keep up with your studies, there'll be no problems with you taking a day off a week. Nate, you can take the same as Tiffany" "Thank you so much, really thank you. What we were wondering is if you'd given our wedding any thought? It's on a Thursday, so we'd really need the next week off too as we're going on a little honeymoon" Nate said, leaning forward. "Are you still on the swim team? And the baseball?" she asked. "Yes I am" he replied, not really able to join the dots between those two things. "Stay on those teams and you've got yourself a deal. I'll expect you back at school bright and early on October 1st though, alright?" "Thank you so much!" I said, whilst handing her an invite. "If you can make it we'd love it if you were there" "I'll see what I can do. Thank you" she said, smiling across at us. "Finally, if you have any problems with any students, please tell me straight away. I won't be dealing with any of it" "Thanks, we'll give them today to get it out of their systems, but after that we will" I said, placing a hand on Nate's. "I'm afraid also the rule still applies to males in female dorms after 9pm" she said, smiling at us mischievously. "Don't worry, we won't break that" Nate said, squeezing my hand. "I'm glad. One last thing: are you free to make a speech tomorrow morning in front of the school?" "Yeah, I think so. Why?" Tiffany said. "I've just thought that it'd be the best way to sort out any rumours and to establish yourself again. Feel free to decline, it must be hard to talk about it, but the offer's open. Now get to class or you'll be late!" "Thank you, but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. I just need to come to terms with it myself. Thank you for the offer though" I said, leaving the office. "So I'm not allowed in the prestigious Head Girl's room after 9?" he moaned. "Did you see her smile when she said it?" "Do you think she'll let us then?" "Oh god no, but notice how she only said no to males in female dorms... I'll just have to walk around to yours in the dead of night" I said, winking at him. "I can't wait for tonight then" he said, pulling me closer at the bottom of the stairs. "I'll see you in economics, I've got to go" I said, kissing him briefly. He caught my lips though, holding them to his for as long as possible. "Go get them babe" he shouted down the empty corridor, walking towards the boys dorms, whilst I went towards the English department.
Love You Too: PART SIXTY TWO • Opuss № I