Please Don't Tell My Parents - Espresseleine Highschool Au

♡Chapter 13♡

Espresso sat a couple feet above the ground on a tree branch, sipping his coffee. It was lunch, and while he normally would be sitting inside the cafeteria with Latte, (and now Madeleine since he joined them) he just needed a lunch period alone to think. He was so confused lately, and he just needed to decide whether he liked Madeleine or not.

On one hand, Madeleine was sweet and amazing and kind and funny... He made Espresso feel feelings he'd never felt before, ever. His heart yearned for Madeleine's warm touch.

But on the other hand, grades were so important. His grades mattered to him because if he wasn't the best, if he wasn't the top of his school, who would even bother to love him? What's the point of being good if he wasn't the best? How would he prove to his parents that he was worth loving if he had shit grades?

Plus, everyone at his school knew that he was the smartest kid there. What would they think if he failed? They would make fun of him and hate him because he was no longer the best.

If he wasn't smart, what was he?

Besides, how many high school relationships actually lasted? Probably only a few. The chances of their relationship actually working out in the end and not being a waste of time were so slim. It most likely wouldn't be worth it.

He uncomfortably shifted his weight as he thought about this, taking another sip of the hot coffee. He hated how he had to choose between grades and Madeleine. All he wanted was for both his parents and Madeleine to love him, but he knew he could only have one or the other. Life was shitty that way.

"Would I rather have love from abusive parents, or love from a hot and popular boyfriend?" Espresso thought to himself as he swung his legs underneath him, leaning against the tree.

His eyes wandered around the yard of the school. The other students were eating and talking happily with their friends. Normal students with normal lives. Normal students who weren't obsessed with their grades and didn't have a panic attack every time they got a grade lower than a 90. How did those people even live like that? How did they just not care if they weren't the best?

A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his tired eyes, resting his head against the tree. He was super tired. He had been studying all he could possibly study for the last couple days, yet his parents still weren't proud of him. It was okay, though. Being the best was a process, and he just needed to try a bit harder. Then they would be proud and it would all be okay.

"There you are, silly!"

Madeleine's voice caught him off guard and his eyes opened. He looked down and saw him standing on the ground looking up at him. "What are you doing up there? Why didn't you come to lunch with us?" Madeleine asked.

Espresso sighed. Of course Madeleine found him while he was trying to decide whether he liked him or not. "Oh, just... Just sitting. I need a minute alone."

Completely ignoring that he just said he wanted to be alone, Madeleine climbed up the tree and sat next to him on the branch. "Whatcha thinking about?" He asked, smiling at him.

Espresso's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Nothing."

"Are you tired?"

"Take a wild guess, Madeleine," Espresso bitterly responded as he leaned his head back up against the tree.

Silence filled the air again as Madeleine continued to stare at him. He knew Espresso wasn't a big fan of small talk, but he felt like he should say something. Besides, he really wanted to talk to him. "The flowers on the tree look very lovely, don't they?" Madeleine asked, gesturing up to the flowers hanging above and around them. He glanced at Espresso.