"Henry," Cordelia giggled, pulling me closer to her, "stop it. You're making a scene."

I looked down at her, grinning. "Am I?"

"Yes," she muttered, her hand sliding down my abdomen as she looked away from me.

"Henny, hey," Hero said, jogging towards me with a smile.

"Hey," I greeted, smiling over at him.

"Hi, Hero," Cordelia greeted, wrapping her arms around me.

"Hey," he said, his eyes meeting mine for a split second.

Hero was most definitely the player, but he had a soft spot for a relationship like mine and Cordelia's. I knew it.

"Okay, I've got to run," Cordelia said, resting her chin against my chest.

I nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you. See you tonight," she said, smiling. She waved at me and ran off, making Hero gag.

"You're just jealous," I said, opening my locker.

"Not quite," he said, "although it's cute, I'll give it to you."

"So, who's coming over tonight?" I teased, looking over at him.

"Very funny," he said.

"Cordelia and I have a date tonight," I said, biting down on my lip with a smile.

"Acting like you're finally gonna get something," Hero chuckled, shaking his head.

"Smackdown!"

"E, chill," I pleaded, looking back at Eros.

Josie, Hero, and I had known Eros ever since we'd been six. Needless to say, we were all stuck like glue.

"Where's my Josie?" He asked, pouting out his bottom lip.

"Cheer," I said, "she has not shut up about being captain."

"That's a big thing, you asshole," Eros said.

"Are you guys going to the party on Friday?" Hero asked.

"Depends on what Cordelia's doing," I said, looking down at my Apple Watch.

"Simp," Eros muttered, earning a chuckle from Hero.

"It's called having respect for my girlfriend, but okay," I said.

Hero's eyebrows went into a deep furrow. "So you can't go to a party if you have respect for your girl?"

"I'd rather not."

Eros patted my back. "I think it's a real, stand-up move of you, brother."

"Thank you," I said, looking over at him.

"But I'm never getting into a relationship," he chuckled, making him and Hero do their handshake they'd been doing since they met.

"E, hey," Josie sighed, making Eros open his arms.

She collapsed into him, shaking her head. "I'm so fucking done with calculus."

"I know," he said, rubbing her back.

Francesca followed after her, shooting me a smile. "Hey."

"Hey, Frannie," Hero greeted, smiling.

"Hero, stop. You know I hate that nickname," she softly said, hugging her books close to her chest.

"Dude, for real," I said, looking over at him, "she's been asking you to stop for fifteen fucking years now."

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her neck. "She knows I love her. Sometimes."

"Hey, Fran," Eros greeted, "what's the book of the day?"

"Uh, still on Anna Karenina," she said, softly smiling over at him.

"Josie!" One of the football players yelled, "hey, does that skirt just keep getting shorter, or what?"

"Does your dick keep getting shorter, or what?" She spat.

"You can feel free to find out-"

I spun around, slamming him against the locker. Hero grabbed his collar, his eyes locked on him.

"Watch yourself," Hero said, letting go of him.

"Henry, Hero," Josie scolded, "come on."

"Don't," I warned, turning around to catch up to Josie.

"I totally had that, just saying."

"You have a fleet of security, my dear," Eros said, "I've gotta run. Josie, don't go kicking any ass now, you hear me?"

She rolled her eyes with a smile. Hero and Fran separated from us, and the two of us were left.

"Is my skirt really too short?" She asked as we walked outside, "you'll tell me, I know you will."

"No, he's just a piece of shit."

She looked up at me. "Have you noticed Mom and Dad lately?"

"What?" I asked, unlocking my car.

"I don't know, they're just kind of off."

I knitted my brows together. "I haven't really noticed, no."

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm looking too deep into it."

"Yeah, you usually are."

~*~

"What do I wear?" Henry asked, "I mean, do I go casual, do I dress nice?"

"Grey sweatpants," I said, stuffing my mouth full of marshmallows, "every girl lives and breathes grey sweatpants. And plus, you're packing."

He bit down on his bottom lip. "I've gained weight, haven't I?"

"All muscle," I said, patting his bare back, "and waffle knit, by the way."

"Waffle knit and grey sweatpants," he muttered, walking into his closet, "why am I taking advice from you, again?"

"Because I get laid once a week. At least. The women love me," I said, smiling a proud smile as I fell down on his bed.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Fred knocked on the door, peeking inside. "Hey. Don't be late for your date."

"He's having an outfit crisis," I chuckled, my eyes fixated on Fred.

"Sweatpants," he said, "the women love 'em."

"Play on, player," I chuckled, biting into my twizzler.

"How many snacks do you bring with you when you go anywhere?" Henry asked, looking back at me.

"I have a sweet tooth," I came to my defense, finishing off my twizzler.

"And the metabolism of a goddamn horse," Fred said.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Josie asked.

I nodded towards her, patting the spot next to me on the bed. "Come give your twin advice."

She jumped on Henry's bed, sitting on her legs. "Oh, yeah, that's a good outfit."

"You think so?" He asked, nodding at her through the mirror.

My phone chimed, making me grab it.

I opened the photo and my eyes went round, making me click off my phone.

"Was that Candace Reynolds's tits?" Josie asked, giggling.

I shook my head, clearing my throat.

"Hero, settle down," Fred said, "your mom will have a complex if she finds out about you and your habits."

"Henny, why are you putting so much effort into your outfit?" I asked, "it's not like it's your first date, or something."

"He's trying to get laid," Josie said.

I looked back at her. "Hey, how do you know what that means?"

She slapped my head. "I'm older than you, dipshit."

"By a whole four months," I said.

"Four and a half, and some change, I'm pretty sure."

Henry walked over to his bed, opening the drawer of his bedside table.

I lifted an eyebrow. "You're grabbing a condom, and for what?"

"Why do you even keep condoms in there?" Josie asked, her eyebrows in a furrow, "if you're cheating on Cordelia, I swear to God I'll out you in front of the entire school."

"If it was to ever happen, Jo," he said, "and you have condoms in your room."

"Hero, how many boxes of condoms do you buy a week?" Josie asked.

"One," I deadpanned.

Henry threw the condom against the wall. "I haven't gone through one box of condoms in my entire life."

"Hey," I said, pulling a marshmallow out of the bag, "listen, man, this life isn't as easy as it sounds."

"Yeah, but you are as easy as you sound," Josie muttered, making me put her in a headlock.

"What was that?" I chuckled.

"I said you're easy," she said, getting out of my headlock with ease.

"I thought you hated those derogatory terms?"

She rolled her eyes. "Henny, take the condom. Who knows, maybe this time it'll happen."

"It won't," he said, "but thanks for the encouragement, guys."

~*~

I pulled into Cordelia's driveway, putting the car in park. Her father was waiting on the doorstep, as he usually was.

"I had a lot of fun," she said, smiling over at me.

"I'm glad," I said, gently stroking her thigh.

She bit down on her lip and looked over at me, smiling a soft smile. "Are you okay?"

She cupped my jaw, her eyes boring into my own.

I nodded, pressing a kiss to her palm. "Yeah. Your dad's staring me down, you might want to go."

She giggled, leaning over the console. She pressed a kiss to my cheek, making me grab her jaw and pull her lips to mine.

"Henry," she muttered, smiling.

I pulled away from her, clearing my throat. "Okay."

She opened her door and stepped out of the car, leaning down to shoot me one last smile. "Be careful going home. I love you."

"I love you," I said, rolling my window down, "did I get her home early enough, Mr. Nguyen?"

"Eh," he said, standing up with a smile, "your car gets shinier every time I see it."

I chuckled and patted the outside of my door. "I try."

"Be safe," he said, wrapping an arm around Cordelia's shoulders.

I backed out of her driveway, riding in silence the rest of my way home. I thought, and I thought some more.

I wanted Cordelia, that was obvious. But I didn't know how to tell her that, or let her know without pressuring her in any way.

I pulled up to our gated entry, typing in the code on the keypad. The gates opened up and I drove through the stretch of nothingness, which seemed to get longer every time.

I pulled into the garage and stepped out of my car, locking it. I jogged up to the door, unlocking it and stepping inside.

"Hey," Dad greeted.

"Hey," I said, kicking the door shut. I shrugged out of my coat and hung it up.

"How was it?" He asked.

I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip. "Good."

"You've got something to say," he said.

I walked into the kitchen, standing on the other side of the island to face him.

"She hasn't made any kind of a move," I said, shaking my head, "in that... aspect."

He nodded, bracing his elbows on the counter. "Yeah."

"Am I doing something wrong?" I asked, "I mean, I want my girlfriend to, you know, desire me."

"Your mom made me wait a year. And some change."

"Yeah, we're in the same boat," I said, raking my hands through my hair as I braced my elbows on the counter.

"Why do you want it, Henry?" He asked, "you could be wanting it for the wrong reasons."

"Of course, I want to feel what it'd be like with her,"

I said, "physically. But I don't know, I want to experience that. I want to open up a new door, be more intimate with each other. Not even physically, I don't know how to explain it."

He nodded. "It's weird."

"I've only had sex once, Dad. Once."

"Don't act like that," he said, shaking his head, "that's not the way you need to be seeing it."

"It's not," I said, "but you'd had your run before Mom. I mean, you lost your virginity when you were sixteen. You started dating mom, like, two years later. I know there were girls between that."

"Yeah, there were," he said, "but still, you don't need to worry about upping your body count. That's not why you need to do it."

He shrugged, standing upright. "But what do I know?"

He patted my shoulder before jogging upstairs, making me sigh and watch him.

"Everything," I muttered, walking upstairs shortly after.

~*~

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