Easier Said Than Done

Aileen squealed hardcore when we walked through the door because she knew what had happened. “You guys are back together, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” I replied as Sam pulled me close against his side.

“Oh, I just knew you were perfect for each other.” She smiled at us creepily for a second before her face changed, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head. “Hold on right here. I’m going to get a camera.”

“Uh, why?” I called after her, my eyebrows pulling together in worry.

“To document the occasion, of course!”

“You should go,” I hurried, turning to Sam.

He nodded and kissed me quickly. “I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow?”

“7:15?”

“Yeah. See you then. I’ll text you later.”

“Found it!” Aileen exclaimed from another part of the house.

Sam eyes widened in fear before he slipped out the door, closing it softly behind him.

“Oh…” Aileen trailed off when she reentered the kitchen, seeing that Sam was gone. “Where’d he go?”

“He had to get back to his little siblings. His parents are going out for dinner and he promised he’d babysit,” I lied easily and smoothly, having absolutely no idea where it came from.

“That was nice of him,” she commented, putting the camera down on the counter. I noticed that her hand was shaking a little bit and laughed.

“How much coffee have you had today?” I questioned, figuring that it would easily account for her strange behavior.

“Um…five cups? Maybe six? Or ten?” She let out a laugh that was a little too loud.

Shaking my head, I walked over and unplugged the Keurig machine. “I think that’s more than enough for today.” With that, I carried the thing under my arm up the stairs, hiding it in my closet so she wouldn’t be able to get to it.

* * *

“Ugh…” Aileen groaned, leaning against the cabinet. When she heard me come down the stairs, she looked at me, irritated. “Okay, I learned my lesson, Mom. I didn’t sleep all night. Am I allowed to have caffeine now?”

“Oh, yeah,” I laughed. “I forgot I confiscated it.” After fetching it, I put it back on the counter where it belonged. “I still think you need to go to some sort of support group or something.”

“Mind your own business,” she muttered, allowing the machine to start up. It made whistling noises as the water heated.

Outside, there was a loud car beep. Grabbing my backpack and a granola bar, I headed to the door. “Bye, Aileen! Talk to you later!”

All I got was an annoyed grunt in return.

Right when I climbed into the passenger’s seat of Sam’s car, I blurted, “Sorry about Aileen’s weird behavior yesterday. She was hopped up on caffeine.”

“It’s okay. I figured she was high on something.”

I shot him a look before rolling my eyes. “So how was your night?”

“Good. I just kind of watched old episodes of Star Trek and texted you.”

I sighed. “Just make sure that you don’t announce to everyone that you watch Star Trek, huh? You’re going to make me look bad.”

“Yeah, because you’re so cool,” Sam retorted sarcastically.

“And don’t you forget it.”

We pulled into the parking lot at the school and got out. Everyone immediately started staring, watching the two of us walk toward the school, our hands intertwined. Whispers followed us, talking about how I had finally made a decision, and oh, shit, what would Puck do when he found out?

It didn’t take too long for us to find out the Puck part. He was at his locker, stuffing a couple of notebooks into his backpack forcefully.

He looked up at the same second I glanced over at him. His eyes went from my face to our hands to Sam’s face and back to mine. He just gave the subtlest of nods, telling me without words that he understood, that he wouldn’t hold it against me.

Not that I really cared anymore. He was no longer an influence in my life. Sure, he was important to me while he was around. He was my first boyfriend, my first kiss, the first person I slept with…but it was over between the two of us. He probably felt it in that instant, too. At least, that was what I liked to think.

Sam gave my hand an encouraging squeeze. “Do you have to go to your locker?”

“Nope. Do you?”

“Yeah, kinda.” He laughed. “And of course, mine’s the one across the school.”

“It’s okay. We’ll go.” I leaned my head against his shoulder for a second. “It’s good that I didn’t have to go to my locker, then.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

We were almost to Sam’s locker when Kurt intercepted us. He squealed. No exaggeration.

“Oh, Ellie, I just knew you’d make the right choice.”

“You are just as bad as Aileen,” I muttered, but Kurt ignored me as he joined our walking group on the other side of me.

“So we’ll be shopping on Saturday to buy presents for our boyfriends, okay? And if you had plans with Sam, then cancel them. No offense,” he added, looking around at Sam.

“Uh, none taken,” he replied, showing that he wasn’t actually listening to a second of the conversation.

“That sounds fine,” I replied. “How are you and Blaine doing?”

“Fantastically, of course. I’m pretty sure that we’re soul mates.” Kurt gave a dreamy sort of sigh before he snapped out of it. “But don’t change the subject. God, what’s wrong with you?”

“Uh…”

“Never mind, that’s a long list.”

“By any chance,” Sam voiced, looking down at Kurt over my head, “have you had any caffeine this morning?”

“No.” Sam and I exchanged a look before looking back at Kurt. “Okay, so I had a little. Blaine offered to take me to the Lima Bean before school, and how could I say no?”

I laughed aloud as we arrived at Sam’s locker. “God, what is it with everyone and caffeine?”

“It’s too good to resist,” Kurt responded without missing a beat. “Anyway, I have to get to English. Bye-bye, lovebirds! See you at Glee Club!”

Once Kurt was gone, it was noticeably quieter. “So, remember when I proposed about seven years ago for you to meet my parents?” Sam questioned as he pulled open his locker door.

“Yes, I seem to recall.”

“You want to do that on Sunday? The offer about the ice cream still stands.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I agreed, smiling at him.

When he slammed his locker shut and interlocked his hand with mine again, a very warm sense of a reassurance surged through me, calming my mind and confirming that I had absolutely made the right decision in my choice.