My Stepbrother (Secret-Possession)

White Napkin

The journey to school wasn't long today, as we didn't have to give Quinn a lift. Lilith mentioned that she spoke to Quinn on the phone last night and that her car had been repaired. After some quick chit-chat and exchanging new rumours, the girls and I made our way to our lockers in the hallway.

"Hey, I love your dress," someone hugged me from behind.

Turning around, I saw Evie in dungaree jeans. "You love everything about me," I smiled, reminding her.

"Who doesn't adore the British?" She playfully winked, and I laughed while shaking my head.

I made sure to wave goodbye to Lilith, who was standing next to PDA Quinn and Harry. Evie and I strolled to the partially filled class and settled into our spots from yesterday. We discussed the number of notes I needed to catch up on from the past week until the Modern Literature teacher walked into the classroom, and everyone focused attentively on her discussion about authors and their accomplishments.

"Who can assist us with the characteristics of Modern Literature?" Mrs. Murphy asked the whole class. Reacting without thinking, my hand shot up. "Yes, you," Mrs. Murphy beamed.

"The characteristics of Modern Literature can be categorized into individualism, experimentation, symbolism, absurdity, and formalism," I confidently stated.

Smiling, Mrs. Murphy nodded. "Good, what's your name?"

"Ava Lancelot."

"Indeed, the mother superior is definitely omniscient," a girl from the front row chimed in, and everyone burst into laughter. Evie sent me an apologetic smile while I swallowed my annoyance.

"Lisa, it would be better if you worked on improving your GPA because you only have one shot in life," Mrs. Murphy calmly shot back at the girl. With a smile, I watched her flare up and turn away. "So yes, as Ava mentioned, individualism. In Modern Literature, the individual is more intriguing than society. Modern writers present the world or society as a challenge to the integrity of their characters. Ernest Hemingway is especially remembered for vivid characters who accepted their circumstances at face value."

Smiling at my favourite subject, I continued to listen to Mrs. Murphy's explanation. "Irony, satire, and comparisons are frequently used to illustrate points regarding society."

"Excuse me, can I please give these to Ava?" a deep voice politely asked Mrs. Murphy. It was a deep, polite voice that I recognised. Suppressing the blush threatening to surge, I did my best to act neutrally as the tall, handsome, most popular student in the school appeared beside my desk—Leigh. He was wearing a brown leather jacket that made his hair shinier and accentuated his lively green eyes. I stopped breathing as he stood by my desk. "Your tea," he said, holding out a purple mini-thermo flask, and I forced my hand to accept it. "See you later." With that, he smiled and walked away.

The entire class froze, as if the air had been knocked out of their lungs, while I finally closed my slightly parted lips and regained my composure. Evie managed to whisper, "You know Leigh Boyce?" I nodded once and refocused on the lecture, or at least tried to concentrate on Mrs. Murphy's moving lips. "Oh my gosh," Evie whispered, completely shocked.

***

"So, Ava, is it true you can drive from England to France via an underwater tunnel?" Suri asked.

"I've never tried that," I answered with a giggle. It was lunchtime, and all four girls were seated at the cafeteria table, along with Harry and some other boldface juniors.

"What about Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh? Are they really based on a real person?" Suri asked again.

Before I could answer, Quinn leaned over. "So it's true, Robin Hood was a real person... I could've married him."

"He's not the same as the movie Robin Hood, baby. I am," Harry answered, appearing offended, and within a second, another make-out session began.

"Eww, gross," Embry rolled her eyes at them and continued eating while texting.

"Do your favourite dishes also include Spotted d**k, Bangers and Mash, and Toad in the Hole?" Suri curiously questioned, staring at me.

Lilith covered her mouth with her palms, and Embry groaned and moved her tray aside. "Thank you for ruining my lunch, Suri," Embry scowled. "All of you." She waved her hands around the table.

"But seriously, England's most popular dishes include Spotted d**k, Toad in the Hole, and Bangers and Mash," Suri pouted.

Harry and the other boy burst into laughter, while Lilith, Quinn, and Embry struggled with their ruined appetites. As for me, I continued to eat my lunch peacefully. "Seriously, how? How can you eat after that?" Quinn asked.

"She's British, of course," Suri smiled at me. Immediately, I sipped my tea. Suri added, "I heard there are more chickens than people in England."

Laughter rose to my throat, and the tea followed, causing me to choke instead of convulsing with laughter. "Good job, Suri. Now you'll kill her," Lilith blurted while patting my back as I coughed nonstop.

I was trying to catch my breath when another unexpected event froze me. Leigh showed up out of nowhere and sat beside me since I couldn't move while I was still struggling to breathe. Leigh must have figured I was rebooting because he brought the water bottle to my mouth and fed me. I don't know if it's just me, but the entire cafeteria fell silent as if someone had pressed the mute button on a remote control. All I could hear, apart from the perfect sound of Leigh breathing that ignited my exposed skin and made the situation more challenging, were low murmurs around the lunchroom. I consumed the water with my partially paralyzed body while the other half drooled a bit on my shirt. Leigh pulled out a neat white napkin from his trouser pocket and handed it to me. "Here..." he pressed his perfectly curved lips into a straight line and smiled at the tea flask he had brought me earlier—tea that tasted just the way I liked it. "English people consume more tea per capita than anyone else in the world," he smiled at me and stood up. Playfully, he tousled Lilith's hair. That's when I noticed five boys had been standing behind us, following Leigh as he walked away from the room.

When the cafeteria came alive again, everyone's eyes were on me, and I suddenly wished I could hide under the table until the bell rang and everyone returned to their classes. "Give that to me," before I realized what Embry was doing, she snatched the napkin away. The napkin had a different scent than anything I had ever smelled, and now that Embry had taken it, I felt like throwing a tantrum and bursting into tears until she gave it back. But then again, I was already the mother superior—I didn't need another nickname before school ended.

***

After my final class, Evie and I strolled to the lab to bid farewell to Lilith before heading to the car park. I had already shared with her the details of my relationship with Leigh, as I was concerned about the potential rumours that could arise. I had heard from Lilith and the girls about numerous rumours that had gone awry in the past.

"So you get to ride with Leigh Boyce in that million-worth car every day?" she asked me.

"For this semester, Lilith is taking after-school lessons," I replied.

"That's quite an accomplishment," she laughed, and I suddenly felt myself blushing. "I don't think he's ever let anyone ride in his car, not even his best friends Arlen and Tyron, or even his little sister... He used to ride with Hailey. She was the only person in this school, or maybe even in the whole world, to have ridden in Leigh's car before you." Of course, Lilith doesn't ride in lower cars, but upon hearing that, I realized it was indeed a significant achievement.

"Who's Hailey, and is she no longer around?" I recalled the girl mentioning the name yesterday, and it seemed like she belonged to the past.

"No," Evie laughed louder. "Leigh used to date her since freshman year. She was his first and only love. But they broke up during summer break, and she even went to the extent of changing schools around Meadows... No one knows who ended the relationship between them."

"Wow," I shrugged. Leigh does have a story. I suddenly wanted to know more about Hailey and Leigh. Who is she? Where does she live? Which school did she transfer to? Does Leigh still have feelings for Hailey? I was so curious.

Smiling, Evie said, "Teenage life can be stressful."

"I won't disagree with that," I laughed, suppressing my curiosity.

"I've been meaning to ask, have you considered joining the cheerleaders? You may not be the fastest swimmer, but you're flexible... and you're often seen with the cheerleaders in your group."

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Lilith hadn't mentioned it, and neither had the other girl. I had thought Lilith was solely focused on science, only to find out she also enjoys participating in school activities. "I don't think it's my thing, but thanks anyway," I told Evie as we reached my car in the car park. We said goodbyes, and I slid into the passenger seat for the second time. Leigh was already waiting for me, and he made sure I fastened my seatbelt before shifting gears and starting the drive.

"Thank you for the tea. It was delicious," I said when he didn't say anything.

He smiled and glanced at me for a few seconds while I stared at the boy whose heart had been shattered months or weeks ago. "Was I right?" he asked.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"My earlier statement, was I right?" His deep voice reverberated through every corner of my brain as his scent enveloped my entire being.

"Yes," I simply answered and looked away from his heavenly smile, only to notice another white napkin on the centre console. "Can I have it?" I blurted out, surprising both of us.

"What?" he asked.

"Your napkin? Can I have it? Embry took the other one," I pathetically said.

Without a reply, he picked up the white napkin and handed it to me. Our fingers slightly brushed against each other, and that slight contact ignited an indescribable feeling within me. With goosebumps, I held the napkin tightly in my hand, suppressing the smile that was already forming on my face. At that electrifying and unexplainable moment, my phone rang, and as expected, it was Sawyer.

"Hey, cousin," she said as soon as I brought the cell phone to my ear.

Sawyer filled me in on the details of her day and her ex, who kept trying to reconcile. I told her about everything decent that happened today, excluding the fact that Leigh saved me from the mother superior title, his non-innocent gestures that I believed to be flirtatious, the fact that I was the only one to ride in his car apart from his ex, and the fact that he was sitting beside me. I had a million butterflies in my stomach, anticipating the lingering memories of his presence as he dropped me off at home.

I didn't tell Sawyer, not because Leigh was beside me, but because I couldn't share with anyone the strange feelings that were brewing within me toward my mother's fiancé's son. It was a feeling that shouldn't be there, a feeling that I knew was wrong.

I could feel Leigh's eyes on me as I spoke to Sawyer about my day, my classes, and the people I interacted with.

I hung up the phone just as he pulled into the driveway. "I hope someday you'll be able to share every detail about your day with your stepbrother," he said with a genuine smile and an innocent gaze beneath his thick eyelashes.

I tried to find something amiss in his words, but his face held no malicious intent. If anything, it was friendly. Lilith had been right about Leigh. He was a good person who didn't let his reputation or other successes affect how he treated people. "I hope the same," I replied to him and stepped out of the car. To my surprise, he followed behind me.

On Tuesday, not only did Leigh come into the house, but he also stayed for dinner and spent the night without leaving. On Tuesday, the place felt complete. I fell asleep with Leigh's napkin pressed against my nose, inhaling his spicy and flavorful cologne that permeated my senses and invaded my dreams.