Until You Met Me

Resting his weight against Molly’s desk, Gerard watched the classroom door, smiling to himself as he listened to the sound of her voice travelling up the corridor towards the empty room. She knew that he was there. After he had left Ava’s office, he had sent her a text, telling her that he was going to be nearby when her day finished and could offer her a ride home, and Molly hadn’t hesitated in accepting, even if it had come with a warning that a staff meeting was likely to make her slightly late. The delay had afforded Gerard the chance to try and get his thoughts in order.

Ava had made a lot of good points. She had pointed out that what had been just a dinner to him, had been a date in Molly’s mind, and Gerard knew that that was something that they needed to discuss, even if they had made an attempt at talking about it the previous evening. He needed to explain what had happened, what he had been trying to do, and hope that it was something that didn’t hurt Molly too badly.

“You waited”

Gerard, who’d allowed his stare to drift off into space, looked up at the doorway, smiling as Molly padded inside. “Of course I did” he quipped “I offered you a lift home, didn’t I?” he added.

“You did” Molly confirmed as she walked towards her desk “I just thought you’d get bored. That meeting went on for longer than I was expecting” she added, flashing him an apologetic smile as she packed up her things.

Gerard dismissed her apology with a shake of his head. “I don’t have anywhere better to be” he said.

Molly scoffed out a laugh. “Would you have left me for a better offer, Gerard?” she teased.

Gerard let out a slightly bashful laugh, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “Depends” he quipped “Though, I think I can honestly say that it would take a lot to get me to drop out of helping you, Molly” he added.

Molly’s eyebrows lifted slightly, caught off guard by the comment, but she was saved from having to try and come up with a response when someone called her name from the corridor. Rolling her eyes, she flashed Gerard a bright smile and apologised before she stepped out of the room, pulling the door closed after her. Gerard stared at the closed door for a beat before he lifted a hand to his forehead, rubbing it in frustration. It had felt awkward when he had said it, but the look on Molly’s face had confirmed it, and Gerard wished he could have just taken it back.

He cared about Molly. It was no secret that she was easily his favourite person, but he never said it, and when he did, it had the effect of making things feel ever so slightly uncomfortable. It didn’t need to be said. The way that they were, the way that they had always been, spoke volumes about how much they both cared for one another, so Gerard avoided it, worried that he would eventually let slip the one thing he couldn’t say. He knew it. No matter how much he tried to not think about it, or how many times he avoided answering the question when he was asked, he knew how he felt about her, but he couldn’t say it. He couldn’t find the words to tell her that he had feelings for her.

Pushing himself away from her desk, he moved to tidy some of the stuff he knew that she would want to take home into her bag before he heard the door open again, something which caused him to lift his head, smiling at Molly as she walked back towards him. “I know I said that I didn’t have anywhere to be, but I was actually expecting to leave at some point this evening” he quipped “Are you expecting to be called away again?” he asked.

Molly rolled her eyes playfully. “If I am keeping you from something, I can make my own way home” she countered.

“I’m already here” Gerard said “Besides, I have something I want to talk to you about” he added.

Molly, who’d moved to pull on her coat, tilted her head. “That’s funny” she quipped “I have something I want to talk to you about” she added.

“Oh?” Gerard asked.

Molly nodded her head. “I want to ask you something” she said “But I am worried that it might be weird” she added.

“Weird how?” Gerard prodded.

“Well, we haven’t really talked about last night, yet” Molly said.

Gerard’s eyes dropped to the floor as he nodded his head. “We haven’t” he agreed “But is what you want to ask me something you’d have asked me before?” he asked.

Molly didn’t hesitate to nod her head. “It is” she confirmed.

“Then ask” Gerard quipped with a lopsided grin.

Molly rolled her eyes, smiling back at him. “My mother’s throwing my father a birthday party” she said “I was kind of hoping you’d come with me so that I don’t have to spend the night talking to my parents’ friends or to Poppy. Is that something you might be interested in?” she asked hopefully.

Gerard felt his lopsided smile fade a little. The request wasn’t a strange one. He had gone to countless parties with Molly, and she had come along to a lot with him, but that fact did little to stop his stomach from sinking.

Molly let out a slightly confused laugh, seeing the change in his expression. “I didn’t realise that the prospect of attending a party with me was so unappealing” she quipped.

Gerard was quick to shake his head. “It isn’t” he insisted.

“Then what’s with the face?” Molly quipped “That’s the face you made when you kissed Poppy” she added with a smirk.

Gerard huffed out a laugh before he shook his head, exhaling a quiet sigh. “Is it a date?” he asked.

Molly’s expression softened a little, her cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. “I...I don’t know” she answered “I was thinking it could be like last night. We don’t have to stick a label on it. I like spending time with you, and no one is going to ask awkward questions at my parents’ party. They’ve seen us together too many times for it to be weird now. I just...I thought about what would make it better, and I kind of landed on you” she added, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

Gerard had so many things he wanted to say. All of the things he and Ava had talked about that morning sprung to mind, as did what had really happened the previous night, but none of the words came out. Instead, he found himself smiling back at her and nodding his head. “How can I say no when you put it like that?” he quipped.

Molly scoffed out a laugh. “I’ll text you the details as soon as I know them” she quipped, pulling her bag onto her shoulder.

“I’m looking forwards to it” Gerard said.