April 2nd, 2014

The sunny smile on her lips flickered out like the dying embers of a bonfire, slowly fading as she stared at the unwanted guest. Dominic had called her earlier to inform her that he planned on dropping by to see her. He wanted to spend some time together before he went over to his family house. She was ecstatic, Jonathan was out on a trip, and she was alone by herself. The idea of having someone to spend some time with was a prospect she didn't intend on passing up. So, she went to work, cooking small meals they could eat and preparing the house. Packing away most of Jonathan's toys and vacuuming the room.

Dominic never really cared what she wore, so she didn't bother to change her shorts and large shirt. They had been in a hide-and-seek relationship for over six months, she wasn't a fan of it, but the people that mattered were slowly being dragged into the loop. Like his brother, who they ran into at the carnival. The news had spread to his family, according to him, but he wanted to wait until she was done with school to formally announce what everybody already knew. Well, she suspected everyone knew. It was what they had been accusing them of since the beginning.

When the knock came, she was at her study desk, studying, running through her classes for the week. She scurried barefoot to the door, turning the lock and pulling back the deadbolt, only for her joy to bottom out when she saw who stood at the other end.

"Miss Kyle." The professor smiled like it was a normal afternoon house call, her short-bobbed hair hiding half of her face. "Can I help you?"

"May I come in?" Kyle looked behind her with a small but tight smile. "I don't want to be standing out here if that is okay with you."

Nadine entertained the temptation to shut the door in her face, it wasn't like she didn't know why the woman was here. She stopped herself, stepping away from the door and holding it open for Kyle to enter. The woman walked in with a brilliant smile on her face, she pushed her hair away from her face.

"How can I help you today?"

"It's true, isn't it?" Nadine folded her arms, standing tall even though she was a bit shorter than Kyle, she kept her chin up and her eyes squarely set on Kyle's bogus smile. "You and Dominic, it's true."

"It's none of your business, that's what it is." Nadine stepped back, breathing in, and fishing for the words she had practised when she started dating Dominic, knowing she would need them on the day. The day had finally arrived. "Whatever happens out of the classroom, is no business of yours."

"I always had the hunch you were up to something; it wasn't hard to spot your fascination with him. You denied it and denied it, but now, how would you deny it now."

"How does this even concern you? Please leave."

"Dominic is an important man in this town, and his family is equally as powerful. I don't know what game you intend to play, but the backlash would not fall on you because you have nothing, and he would take the brunt of most of it. He is a professor in another school, he is the face of many foundations, and his eyes are even set on the mayor's office."

Nadine clicked her tongue impudently, "Are you giving me his autobiography, ma'am? I am well aware of all these..."

"Then show a little care and step away. The scandal that would break out when your relationship does would harm him far more than it would do you. That doesn't mean it wouldn't affect you greatly though. Remember, you are almost done with school, but not completely out the door. How do you think your colleagues would react to the news of you dating the son of one of the school's biggest sponsors? There is no telling how the rumours would resurface, what might happen to your last days. The shame of walking through the halls, hearing the whispers. That is, of course, if you can even feel shame."

"Oh, I can't believe it." Nadine flattened her fingers against her face before pushing them in her hair, clarity flooding her mind like a tsunami. "All this time I wondered what made Denise hate me the way she did. We were never friends, to begin with, but we had mutual respect for one another. Up until the day, we entered that competition, and I won. I am sure now that you concocted a ridiculous story about me winning because of some imaginary relationship between Dominic and me. That's why she turned against me. You made her believe she lost her opportunity, not to my intellect or with my skills, but because I was sleeping with Dominic."

"That's not true."

Nadine laughed. "Stop. It's all over your face. Those may not have been your exact words, but I am sure it felt within the marks of what you said. Denise is too reasonable a woman to fall for rumours, but that gift prize was something we both needed. Denise is also not a sore loser, she knows when she lost, and she did, for the first few days. A reliable source had to have given her the information she has been throwing in my face since then."

"So, what?" Kyle finally spat back, grabbing Nadine's arm roughly and dragging her closer. "It's true, isn't it? You think you both hide it well because you aren't making public announcements, everyone suspects. Everyone knows who you are."

"Let go of my arm." She tore herself from the tight grip, internally trying to tighten the leash on her anger. "You think I don't know about your half-relationship with Dominic? If you got one thing right in your rant, it is the fact that this town, especially that school, know how to spread gossip. I know all about how you and Dominic dated when he was initially teaching over there, it didn't end well, but I guess you are still holding on to hope. A little candle lit in the dark for him to find his way back to you."

"Don't insult me."

"Trust me, I am not. As angry as I am, I know how to show respect. I...just like you, I am just putting the truth on the table. I am sorry if my relationship, and yes, I admit it is a relationship, offends you. I am sorry if you feel like I am stepping on private property. I apologise if you are hurt or offended. What I don't apologise for, is my relationship. Dominic is not a child and, neither am I, we don't need anyone's permission for anything. So, if it does offend you, I apologise, but that sounds like a personal problem."

"I was right about you."

"I won't try to even convince you otherwise. I don't want to hear the rest of your reproaches." She gripped the handle of the door. "Unless I am failing your class or am late in submitting an assignment, I ask that you don't come back here. Please leave."

The door flew open, and Dominic took a step in before rocking back on the heel of his shoes. Nadine rolled her eyes, banging her head softly against the edge of the door, just as Dominic took in the situation. Kyle stepped aside to allow him to pass, but their eyes remained glued to one another. A glance passed between them, then silently, with a shake of her head, Kyle walked out of the apartment, and Nadine banged the door shut.

"Something wrong at school." He probed as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Does that look like a woman who came to discuss my coursework?" Nadine huffed, locking the door and taking Dominic's hand to lead him to the living room. "She came to, more or less, put me in my place."

"What? Why?"

"Well, our relationship, according to her, is less convenient for you, and I should have the dignity of stepping aside."

Dominic sank into the sofa, sinking his teeth into the soft pad of his thumb, his eyes fleeting from one place to another. Nadine left him in the living room, padding over to the kitchen to pull out a jug of orange juice from the fridge and a glass from the cupboard. When she moved to leave, she decided to take a minute and centre herself, propping her hip against the counter. She closed her eyes, trying to let go of the dampening argument she had earlier. There was no reason she should allow it to ruin the rest of her day.

"Here," Nadine muttered, stretching the cup over to Dominic. He smiled, taking it from her hands and staring into it. She dropped the jug, lowering down to sit on the floor in front of him. She covered his hands with hers, bending at the neck so she could look into his eyes. "It's meant to be drunk, you know, not stared into."

His smile broadened, and he nodded, drinking a good amount before setting the cup down on the table, falling silent again. Nadine settled herself in front of him, allowing him to stew over whatever was on his mind. Her fingers traced over his ears and jaw, trailing into his hair and down his neck.

"I am sorry."

"For what? It's not like you asked her to come over here. It's not like you asked her to defend you the way she did. After dating you, I can understand why she finds it hard to let go." He smiled, inching forward when she stretched closer to kiss him. His wooden hands finally came to life, hovering over her sides before locking at the base of her spine.

"I don't want this to harm you in any way."

"Miss Kyle seemed to think the one that would be hurt is you." Nadine chewed on the inside of her mouth. "I know the risks okay. I don't want you to think of me like some fragile porcelain doll. Whatever they throw my way, I can handle it."

He cupped her face, "That's what you say now. I don't know why Penny came to your house to cause a scene, but she is just a taste of what this town can turn our relationship into. You are young, beautiful, and a few months shy of graduating from school, there is no way they won't all try to paint you as a...as a...well, a gold digger. That is what always happens."

"So? It's their opinion, not mine. And not yours, right?" he shook his head, and she nodded, more to herself than him, an invisible weight lifting off her shoulders. She pulled her hands from his own, kneeling closer to him. "They can make up whatever, say whatever rocks their boat. I don't care."

"You say that now. The reason I wanted us to hold off making our relationship public was so you could finish your final months in peace. Ever since you came to town, you have lived away from the gossip, and the crowded life of the town. When we go public with this, it's going to be even harder for you. This town is ruthless."

"Miss Kyle only reacted that way because you used to date once, a long time ago. She still harbours some sentiment, and she came here because of that little spec of emotion. The town would be different, and if not, then that is their business. The only thing I would pay attention to is your family and you. People would always have things to say, it's what makes this earth."

His shoulder sagged; he pressed his palm into her hands for a second then peeled her fingers away from his face so he could stand. "I don't know, I don't know. I have seen first-hand what they would do to a person. It's the same reason many people take breaks from being in the public eye, it is mentally unhealthy, and not to talk of what it does to your emotions. If Penny starts a rumour at school, nothing will stop them from ripping into you. We can take a break for just a few months; you have a few months left there; you should have them in peace."

"No." she shook her head. "That is ridiculous."

"You may not see it now, but it's for the best."

"I have been in a situation where people were also convinced that they were things for my own good. I have lived that life where they were so busy focusing on doing what was best for me that they didn't care to see that their 'best for me' was hurting me. I am not interested in living that way again, not now, not with you. I will not live that life with you. This town that you claim I have been living peacefully in has been harassing me since we became friends.

"This rumour of us being together has been going on for as long as I can remember. Back then, there were no facts to them, no reason for them to believe that yet they did. Now that their rumours have become true, I should give you up because they would try to make my life miserable. They have already tried."

"I don't want your life to be harder all because of me."

She stood and walked in front of him, looking into his eyes as she took his hand. "And what have you done for that to happen? You didn't kiss me, I kissed you. You didn't go after me; I went after you, and I am more than ready to defend that. I just can't do it if I think you would break up with me at any second because it's 'what is best for me.' I am not saying I am bulletproof. I know that their ridicule might get to me at some point, some things they say might sink in, but I am willing to face it as long as there are both of us in it."

Nadine knew she couldn't tell him about her past. A past where she lived more in the public eye than away from it. She couldn't tell him how she learnt to manage most of the pressures as she grew up, how she learnt to deal with them. She had left that past behind, hiding it was the safest way to leave it in the past. Yet, she knew that if the town didn't see her as some simple girl but a wealthy one, their reproaches would not be as cruel. They would know she didn't need his money, and they might even accept the relationship.

Dominic embraced her, and she wrapped her arms around him, digging her fingers into the skin of his back.