The Roseview High Rumors

CHAPTER ELEVEN - Augusta

People spoke of that moment when they were so embarrassed it were as if the ground should cave in and swallow them whole. Others mention cringing until they winced with the pain of humiliation.

Augusta was convinced that nothing before or after this could compare to her epic error -sending Pedro a document about her deepest thoughts, instead of a study plan.

At first, it appeared to be a ridiculous way to cope with the feelings swirling in her heart. But after anxious nights of intermittent sleep, Augusta typed the words she had left unspoken. Her mind was accustomed to examining and analyzing ideas. Seeing her secret passions in bold, size twelve, Times New Roman font brought temporary relief.

Unfortunately, like all analgesics it was prone to abuse. Augusta took pleasure in reading it. Over and over again. Despite her original intention to delete it, she found her finger hovering over the delete icon and never clicking on it.

Pedro snapped his fingers in front of her eyes with his most devilish grin ever plastered on his face. "Earth to Inkaychee," he teased. "You're not solving an AP Chemistry problem. I rock your world." He shrugged and tapped the tip of her nose. "There's no rationalizing it."

Augusta remained silent. Waves of mortification crashed over her mind. Try as she might to say anything, her mouth refused to move. Pedro moved a little closer and her pulse quickened. Hormone fueled, teen desire was a force even Augusta could not wrap her mind around.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you would be speechless," Pedro said.

"I-"

"She speaks!"

"Um, I wasn't in the right state of mind when-"

Pedro raised a finger and wagged it to silence her. His eyes twinkled with amusement. "Does the queen of books, law and order get high?" He gasped in exaggerated shock.

"No. I was nauseous..." Augusta wanted to kick herself as her voice trailed off. Even she thought her excuses were terrible.

"You're pregnant?" he asked as he brushed his cheek against hers and nipped her ear lobe with his soft lips. "Touchdown. I'm the daddy," he growled.

Augusta snapped and she shoved him with both hands. Pedro did not budge, but his eyes flared with surprise at her strength. "Congratulations, smooth groove! You have something to share with your fellow f-boys in the locker room. Are you happy now?"

Pedro pinned her back to the wall and looked towards the door of the study, which was still wide open. His hypnotic eyes burned into her defiant ones. "After all the time we've spent together, you think I would do that?" he hissed.

"I don't know. Wouldn't you?"

"No. That's childish."

"Really? That means you should do it!"

A nerve ticked in Pedro's jaw. "I cannot freaking believe you! You are arrogant, narrow minded and judgemental. You pretend to be simple but you're complicated and everything revolves around you!"

"Bite me, golden boy. Some people have to look out for themselves 'cause no one else cares!" Augusta shouted. Both her hands were pinned to the sides of her head and she wriggled in his grasp. "You're cocky and entitled. You've spent all your life in a pretty boy bubble, and when it hit a rock I was sent to prevent it from popping. Other people sink or swim." She grit her teeth to punctuate her outburst.

"I admit that I was out of touch before, but since I met you I see things in a different way. I think it's high freaking time you do likewise!"

"What?"

"See things from another damned perspective!" he snapped. "You're so blind you can't even see how I feel about you," he said in a softer voice.

Both of them faced each other squarely. They huffed and puffed after their heated conversation.

"Why didn't you tell me that you got 71% in your Biology test?" Augusta whispered. "Ms O'Brien told me," she added when Pedro's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Because you're difficult and would say my Biology lessons were no longer necessary," Pedro admitted. "How about you? Why did you push me away after the Performing Arts night, but started spending three hours instead of two at our lessons?

"I care about you and couldn't think of another way to see more of you but protect my heart, Pedro."

"Ditto, Inkaychee."

Augusta threw her head back and sighed. Overwhelmed with a cocktail of emotions as she stood in the domineering presence of Pedro. His size, muscular figure and unmistakable aura of prestige made him a center of attraction. But it was the warmth of his heart and sincerity in his eyes that made her defenses falter.

Pedro's hands slid to Augusta's waist and her hands drifted to his broad shoulders. The air stilled and the tick tock of the wall clock resounded in the study.

"I'd also like to add that you're sincere, ambitious and beautiful," Pedro whispered as her drew her nearer. "You can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but your focus and determination is admirable.

Augusta stroked the back of his neck and could not hold back a smile. "Well, apart from being an infuriating alpha male you're also thoughtful, charming and kind."

"That means a lot to me," Pedro chuckled as he shook his head. "You're not easy to please."

"You're not the first person to say that," Augusta admitted with a small smile. "But I like you, flaws and all."

Pedro brushed his lips over hers. "Shut up and kiss me before your dad comes to kick my butt."

"Why don't you shut up and kiss me? My dad is harmless."

"His stern glare said otherwise." Pedro scoffed.

"Fine. Let's kiss each other on the count of three."

"Good idea, Inkaychee. One, two-"

Beep, beep, beep

Augusta groaned when she touched her pocket. "It's my phone. Ignore it. One, two-"

Beep, beep, beep

"Answer it," Pedro insisted. "Maybe it's important."

Augusta reluctantly swiped her phone screen to check for updates. Her mind spun when she saw over one thousand notifications on Speakaverse. She avoided social media but opened a Speakaverse account because of an online STEM conference over a year ago.

"What is it? You look horrified," Pedro said.

"I've got over a thousand notifs on Speaka."

He arched a surprised eyebrow. "About what?"

Augusta clicked on the notification tab and was flooded with more notifications. "W.T.F!" she cried. Her heart beat out of rhythm at what she saw.

"Heck yeah!" Pedro cheered, starling Augusta who looked up to see him scrolling on his phone. He flexed his hips and gave her a seductive wink. "Let's make this work, work, work, work, work," he sang. "Apparently, we're hashtag hooking up and hashtag secret lovers so I'm trending by association with you, sweetheart."