"Yeah - last night"

“Yeah,” I said.

“Well?”

“Last night; it really hurts.”

Chrissie sniggered quietly into her hand. “Sheesh, you aren’t exactly taking it slow.”

I shifted uncomfortably, and blushed. “Yeah, I know.”

“You gonna tell me who he is yet?” she asked eagerly. “I mean, if you’re already on anal –”

“It’s a secret,” I grinned.

“Goddammit.”

The rest of the day passed without much incident – I passed Nick in the corridor a couple times, and felt him mentally undressing me, but I **** myself not to react. I didn’t see Freddie at all. I think he was avoiding me. Thankfully there were no packages in my locker that day. I managed to nip home and change into a hoodie and jeans before I went out to meet Freddie.

I waited on a low stone wall next to the McDonald’s nearest the school as the sun dipped below the horizon. My earphones were in, and my hood was up, so I had no idea how Freddie recognised me.

“Hey,” he said, tapping me on the shoulder. I practically jumped out of my skin.

“Hey,” I replied after I’d calmed down, taking out my earphones.

We queued in awkward silence. Apart from last night, we hadn’t talked much – we sat next to each other in Spanish class a couple of years ago, but … yeah, as previously stated, very awkward.

“What do you want?” he mumbled as we neared the front.

“Chicken burger. And fries.”

He nodded and ordered. “Drink?” he asked.

“Yeah, Sprite, thanks.”

We waited until our food was ready, and sat at a table by the window. I tucked in, not exactly willing to talk. The processed chicken didn’t taste great, but hey, it was food, and I was starving.

“So … how are you doing?” Freddie asked through a mouthful of buffalo wings.

“Fine.”

Brief silence. “Look, I’m sorry about all the, uh, stuff. I saw the pictures, and –”

I cut him off with a look. “Freddie, you’re a nice guy, and you’re really hot. Stop worrying.”

He blushed. “Sorry.”

“Jesus, are you Canadian or something?” I rolled my eyes.

“No.”

“Rhetorical question.”

“Sorry.”

I rolled my eyes again, smirking to myself.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re really hot, too,” he said after a while.

I smiled awkwardly. “Thanks.”

We finished our food. The silence that followed was far more comfortable than earlier now that the elephant in the room had been taken care of, and I found my mind wandering to his muscular chest. Goddammit.