I cut him off, "Look, can we just be clear? I'm not interested. Not now, not ever."
Then my brother showed up, "Still trying to convince her?", he said with a smirk
"Yup", Austin said to him
"Good luck with her", my brother said
"Thanks I'll need it", he said with a mischievous grin
My brother chuckled and walked off, leaving us to it.
I turned back to him, "Seriously, stop."
He leaned against the locker, "Can't. You're too fun to resist."
I huffed, "I'm not trying to be fun. I'm trying to get you to leave me alone."
He laughed, "Not happening. I'm a glutton for punishment."
My friends swooped in, "Hey, we need her for group project." Saved by the bell.
He let me go, "To be continued.", I rolled my eyes.
In class, I sat down and whispered to my friend, "Why won't he just give up?"
She grinned, "Because he likes the chase."
I facepalmed. "This is so annoying."
At lunch, he slid into our table, "Mind if I join?"
"Yes, I mind.", I said glaring
He sat down anyway, "Too late, you look cute when you look at me like that", he said with a smirk.
A faint blush crept to my cheeks
Mary was glaring drows. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be hanging out with me?"
He shrugged, "Nah, I'm good here."
The tension was palpable, and Mary's face turned a lovely shade of green. My friends were enjoying the drama, munching on their food and watching the show.
I leaned in, "Dude, seriously, stop."
He smiled, "Can't help it. I'm a sucker for punishment."
The bell rang, and I stood up, "Good, class is starting. You can leave now."
He got up, "I'll walk with you."
We walked to class, and he managed to slip into the seat next to me. I was like, "What are you doing?"
He whispered, "Getting an A in this class."
The teacher gave him a weird look, but he just smiled innocently.
Class was dragging, and he kept making faces at me. I was trying not to laugh, but it was getting harder by the minute.
When the bell rang, he leaned over, "Want to grab coffee with me?"
I said... nope, not falling for it. "No thanks."
He grinned, "Okay, maybe next time."
Ugh, why was he so persistent?
Soon school was over and I was walking home with my friends when Austin appeared from nowhere,
"Hello ladies, mind if I join you, Ann and I live in the same neighborhood", he said winking at me,
We were walking and soon ally friends left and it was just me and Austin walking,
"Ann, why won't you give me a chance??", he said no longer playful, but serious,
"Austin, I've told you already, right now I'm not ready for a relationship, I still have school and studying and..."
" Shhh", he said putting a finger over my lips,
"I won't be a distraction, I'll love and respect your wishes", he said looking hopeful,
"Austin, I really can't, I'm sorry, but we can be good friends, best friends even, you can be my bro.....",
"Why do you always brother zone every guy that comes your way, Ethan, Samuel, some guy named Peter, and now me, Ann come on"
"I'll think about it",
He looked hopeful, "that's all I need", he said then kissed my forehead and escorted me home.
I wasn't planning on telling him yes, if he can wait till after highschool, no problem, I'll be with him, but if he can't, then sorry.
The following week was a memorable one, Austin proposed, with a bracelet in the middle of the whole school.
Who did he propose to??, to me of course, and if I told him no, it'll embarrass him, and I can't tell him yes, because I don't want to.
"Ann, will you be my girlfriend?", he said on one knee, holding a bracelet and a bouquet of flowers, sorry to burst your bubble Austin,
"Austin, I'm sorry, I can't", gasps could be heard and Austin looked at me in shock,
"Ann, why", he asked, tears blurring his vision
"Austin, I told you to give me time, but no, you went to do all this, disgracing your self", "I'm sorry Austin", I said then walked away, I went to an empty classroom and he followed me.
"Austin I'm sorry ok", I said
"Ann why, why, I love you, and it's only you I'll love", he said raising his voice a bit higher, and with that, he pulled me in by my waist and crashed his lips on mine, and he wasn't gentle, he kissed me like he was merging our souls.
I pushed him but he didn't budge, then I bit his lip,
"I'm sorry, I'll be gentle next time", SMACK!!, SMACK!!, I slapped him twice,
"First you didn't give me time to think, you proposed in front of the whole school, thinking I would accept because of public opinion?, Second you kiss me against my wish, and you're telling me next time, there will be no next time", I walked away.
The following day at lunch, I was eating with my friends, when he showed up, "Ladies, could you give me just two minutes?", my friends giggled and left us alone,
"What do you want?", I asked, glaring
"I want to apologise for yesterday", he said looking apologetic
"Which part?", I asked crossing my arms over my chest,
He leaned in, "All of it, I got....carried away, I'm sorry"
I raised an eyebrow, "Carried away??!, you kissed me..... forcefully and against my wish!!", I was practically seething with anger,
He sighed, "I know I misread things"
I laughed, "Misread, you proposed in front of the whole school!!",
Austin ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, that was dumb",
I shook my head, "Apology depends on why you're here",
He locked eyes with mine, "I wanna make things right, you're different, and I don't want my stupidity to bring an end to our friendship, Ann", he dropped to his knees, "Please forgive me"
I sighed, "Get up, I forgive you, just.....give me some space,ok?",
He smiled brightly, "Alright, thanks", he left the table, and my friends came back
"Come on tell us,!you both were smiling, did you tell him yes??", they asked eagerly, I just ignored them, the rest of the day went smoothly.