Chapter 24: Chapter 24

No matter how Romeo kept telling me to be calm, I would never be calm.

How could I oversleep? I didn't even understand why I overslept. Was it because I slept with Romeo's arms wrapped around my body? Was it because Romeo's king sized bed was so comfortable? Was it because I'm in love with Romeo's company, that I didn't want to leave his side?

I really hoped that my mom wasn't back from her workplace though. It would be a disaster if mom finds that I slept over at a boy's house, after the fifty minute lecture she gave me last night.

"Hey. Don't overthink," Romeo's voice jerked me out of my train of thoughts.

I let out a hiss."Mom is going to be really mad at me. I bet she will ground me for years and always lock me in the house, whenever she's going out," I rambled.

Romeo stole a quick glance at me, then quickly turned back to driving.

He had a little smile on his face. What was funny? I was so worried right now, and the only thing he could do was beaming a sweet smile.

"I hate you," I said, picking my words one after the other.

"I know you don't," Romeo said, winking at me through the rear mirror. "You really love me. Have you forgotten that you disobeyed your mom because of me?"

I threw him a deadly glare."Can you keep quiet and drive? I need to get home before my mom. God! I really hope she isn't home yet," I snapped at him.

"Chill," Romeo muttered, beaming the brightest smile ever.

I frowned. I wanted to be mad at him for acting like everything is okay.

Well, he wasn't the one in trouble. There should be no reason for him to worry.

I was the one in deep shit. To be honest, I hated offending my mom. That was the reason I'm freaking out right now.

"I love you, Ivy."

I glanced at Romeo and our eyes met. I was kind of mad at him but still, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I couldn't keep a record of the number of times he had confessed his feelings to me. He was giving me the creeps.

Imagine the arrogant jerk in your high school telling you "I love you", with the most beautiful smile you've ever seen on his face.

"I love you, Ivy." Romeo repeated.

I knew that he was expecting me to say the same. Hence, the repetition.

"You know, I love you." I said. "I swear, I'm really worried. I've never left the house before without telling my mom. This time around, I know I did the wrong thing,"

The car stopped. We had reached my neighborhood. I told him not to stop the car in front of my house. I didn't want my mom to know the full details, she would be more disappointed.

Romeo leaned closer to me and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Take a deep breath," He whispered softly into my ears.

I nodded my head in the affirmative and did as he said. I took a deep breath.

"Good bye," I told him.

"Promise you'll call me in a few minutes, else I won't let you go," Romeo demanded, pouting his lips like a cute little baby.

I chuckled. I didn't have any choice than to smile. How could someone look so good looking?

"I will call you," I assured him.

I alighted from his car, after giving him a quick peck on the lips.

I bid him "good bye" and waited till his car left my neighborhood, before going to my house.

*

My heart skipped a beat when I sighted mom's car in the parking lot. I knew that I've gotten myself in trouble.

God! What have I done?

I shouldn't have spent the night at Romeo's house but I was too excited to think about the consequences last night.

Now that I've done the deed, I should think of how to correct my mistake.

I summoned courage and entered the living room. Well, mom was sitting on the couch sipping a fruit juice.

Mom faked a smile when she noticed my presence. She took a sip of the fruit juice, her eyes fixed on me.

"I've been waiting for you to come home. How are you?" She asked.

"I'm fine," I replied to her.

I was confused. That shouldn't be the first question she ought to ask me.

"Where have you been, young lady? I called your phone number but you didn't pick up," Mom broke the bombshell, glaring hard at me.

I swallowed hard.

I hated lying, especially to my mother. But, I didn't have a choice right now. Lying seemed like the best option. I couldn't say the bitter truth.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it was impromptu. I went over to Joey's house for night study. I thought it would be cool, that's why I went there," I lied, saying everything in a breath.

Mom raised her eyebrows."You should have texted me or something. I was worried."

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Was the night class cool?"

My eyebrows furrowed but I still nodded my head gently."It was cool," I answered her question.

I was confused. Mom didn't get upset. I know I lied to her, I didn't tell the truth. She ought to get mad because I left the house without telling her earlier. But, she seemed so cool and not bothered.

Maybe, it was because she really trusted me. Now, I felt guilty and I wished I had told her the truth.

"Ivy, we are going to meet someone today. Hope you don't have a tight schedule?" Mom's voice jerked me into reverie.

"I don't have a schedule for today. Who are we going to meet?" I asked back.

A smile appeared on mom's face, but it quickly wiped off. She didn't want me to see her bright smile. I wondered why she was acting so strange today.

"Well, it's Paul. He has been asking about you and he wants to see you. If you don't want to meet him, you can tell me. I will cancel the hangout," Mom rambled.

I flung my arm around mom's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. No wonder, she was cool and patient today. Paul was the reason behind everything.

"Chill, mom. I don't mind, I also want to meet the man who has been making you glow,"

Mom blushed."My Ivy,"

My phone beeped indicating a new notification. I quickly peeped into the phone. It was a notification from Instagram. I got curious as I clicked on the notification. It was a post from Romeo.

My cheeks turned crimson red. I couldn't stop myself from pressing my hands to my cheeks. Romeo posted my picture with a caption: Why can't I stop thinking about her? He added a red heart emoji and a crying emoji. This is so cute!

"And, why is my princess blushing?"

"Nothing mom. I need to prepare for the hangout with Paul." I said and ran to my room.

***

I never knew that it would be difficult to be the girlfriend of Mr Popular, Romeo Sparks.

I felt like telling Romeo that we should keep our relationship private. But, it was too late already.

The news has spread like wildfire. Romeo wouldn't stop posting my pictures all over the internet and posting screenshots of our chats. Almost everyone in our school knew about us now. I haven't told my mother about our relationship though, I was waiting for the perfect time to break the news.

The hangout with Paul went well, by the way. I liked him. He was interesting and nice. The most important thing was that my mother was really in love with him.

I wasn't tired of being in a relationship with Romeo. Why would I be tired of a relationship that isn't up to a week?

It was Monday, so it has only been three days.

I felt on top of the word being Romeo's girlfriend. He had been showering me with love and affection. What else did a teenager want?

But, his female fans were giving me problems. I had been receiving a lot of messages from them. Hateful comments about me. About how I didn't deserve to be in a real relationship with Romeo.

Obviously, they weren't happy about my relationship with their heartthrob which is now my boyfriend. They found it hard to believe that Romeo would fall for a nerd like me.

Romeo had proved that he is in love with me but I couldn't stop thinking about it too. Was he really in love with me? I wasn't hot or beautiful like those girls.

"Are you really dating Romeo Sparks?"

I heard a voice in front of me. I looked up. It was a blonde I've never seen before in my life. She was with another blonde.

I nodded my head gently."Yes, I'm his girlfriend." I replied to her.

"You can tell us the truth, girl. It's another fake relationship, right?" The other blonde chimed in.

"No," I muttered.

I was really tired. Romeo wasn't even in the class.

I glanced around the class and my eyes met with Joey's. I quickly looked away.

"How come you're in a relationship with my future husband? You're not even that pretty," The first blonde hissed loudly.

"She isn't even Romeo's type," The other one commented.

I couldn't say anything. My tongue was tied. I hoped I hadn't landed myself in another trouble by agreeing to be in a relationship with Romeo.

I didn't know that dating the most baddest and handsome guy in school could be stressful and depressing.