She agrees.

“Oh, is that it?” Shelly sighs in relief. “For a moment there I though you didn’t want me anymore now that you have a girlfriend!” She laughs nervously.

“Of course not!” You say. “Of course I want you! I just… don’t want to cheat on Vivian. You’re the one who said we need someone who’ll share me with you. If I cheat on her, she’ll only hate me!”

“Yeah, you’re right…” Shelly nods, but her mood has obviously dropped. “I know you are, but… What will I do without my daily dose of John!?” She pouts.

Gah! She even looks sexy when she pouts!

“We’ll just have to… hurry up? Do you have a plan?” You ask her.

“Kind of? I’m thinking of inviting her here more often and for us to act really close when she’s around, so that she thinks this is natural for us. Slowly, she should get used to it and we can move from there.” She says. “But that’s gonna take a while.”

No kidding. Deep inside, you know there’s no way Vivian will agree to this, but you want to believe it’s possible.

You say goodbye to Shelly and leave for class.

It turns out to be a pretty shitty day, until it isn’t. One of your teachers was in a bad mood and gave a terrible lecture, even getting angry at you when you asked a question. You almost lost your phone, but a classmate found it and returned it. Nice guy, really. On the other hand, you overheard another dude badmouthing you. Thankfully, other than his group of friends, no one gives a damn or believe him. He’s one of those that still believes he’s in high school. You barely managed to avoid a fight in the bus with an angry woman because no one would give her their seat. She wasn’t even old.

But none of that matters. You forget everything as soon as you reach Vivian’s school, and see her at the gates waiting for you. Just seeing her is enough to make you smile like and idiot, but when her face lights up when she sees you, your chest warms up.

Vivian runs to you and hugs you. You’re a bit startled by the strength of the hug, but soon return it.

“Hey.” She greets you with a big smile.

“Hey.” You return the smile. “You look happy.”

“Well, it’s been a nice day.” She says. “No problems what-so-ever with you-know-who, so that’s enough to make any day good.” She starts giggling suddenly, as if laughing at her own joke. “Plus, my boyfriend came to pick me up.”

After futile attempts of calming your fast-beating heart, you manage to respond.

“That’s good. And while I don’t want to ruin your good mood, don’t let your guard down, okay?”

“I know.” Vivian answers, a bit more serious. Thankfully, you don’t even see the cheerleaders.

You get on the bus and are on you way back home, making small talk with Vivian. You’re holding hands all the way.

“One of my teacher’s scolded me today.” She admits with a wry smile.

“What? Why?” You ask, curious.

“Because I wasn’t paying attention in class today. He asked me a question and I didn’t hear him.”

“I’m not going to defend you. You SHOULD be paying attention in class.” You say.

“Well, I couldn’t help it! I was thinking about… You know, yesterday.” She admits, and her face becomes as red as her hair.

You can feel the heat in your face as well, but you push through the embarrassment.

“Still, remember I’m your tutor. If you don’t show results in school you mother will fire me.”

“Oh, right.” Vivian grimaces. “I’ll… try my best?” She says with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, you do that.” You sigh.

When you get home, you ask Vivian if she wants to stop by your place, but she looks disappointed when says she has to go to her tennis club soon. You say goodbye with a deep kiss, and part ways.

You go back to your room, write a couple of paragraphs for an assignment due next week before getting distracted and watching a series of videos analyzing a video game you’ve never played.

You might have a girlfriend now, but some things just don’t change.