xxxi. blush and bashful

——

~Mission Creek High School~

Adam, Bree, Chase, Leo, and Freya were eating lunch in the cafeteria. Freya was sitting in between Chase and Adam with Leo next to Adam. Bree was getting her lunch.

Perry walked up to Flo, who was serving lunch to Bree. "You double-crossed me for the last time, Flo! First, I catch you smuggling fish sticks in your panty hose and then you think you can walk all over me just because you look debonair in a hairnet?"

Flo smacks mashed potatoes on Bree's plate as Perry walks away. Bree pulls out a massive hair and Freya gagged at the sight, looking away in disgust.

"Wow, hm, well, I guess the hair net's just for show." Bree said in disgust and Flor rolled her eyes as Bree tossed it in the floor. She made her way over to her siblings and Freya. "Okay, heads up, stay away from Principal Perry."

"Got any other advice? Cuz I already do that," Freya remarked.

"Trust me, that's the first thing I tell myself every morning when I wake up." Leo added and Freya nodded.

Adam frowned. "Really? The first thing I tell myself is shaving cream only looks like food."

"First thing I do, is text Freya 'Good morning beautiful.'" Chase smiled and Freya blushed, smiling at him.

"I immediately text back 'good morning handsome.'" Freya replied, caressing the back of his neck and Chase blushed, smiling back.

"We don't need to know everything," Bree interrupted the couple.

Perry pops up next to Flo, scaring her. "What's the matter, Flo, nervous? You should be! One more mess-up and I will take you out!" Flo scurried off and Perry saw Leo staring at her. "What are you looking at?!"

Leo leaned on his chair. "You keep me asking that question and I'm still not sure I can give you an honest answer."

"Mind your own business! If I wanted to be stared all day I'd still be a catalog model for Burt's Chainsaws." Perry snarled and then made a chainsaw noise.

"I found it hard to believe you were a model," Freya folded her arms.

"Quiet Thumbelina!" Perry snapped as she walked away.

"Hate that nickname," Freya grumbled. "I'm taller than her!"

"Still short, babe," Chase grinned, rubbing her shoulder and she glared at him.

"You're happy I'm small," Freya remarked and Chase smiled.

"Yeah," he giggled bashfully and Freya rolled her eyes with a faint smile.

Juliet walked over and put a paper in front of Freya's face. Freya's eyes grew as she read it.

"Oh! Paper!" Freya took the paper and Juliet put her hands on her shoulders.

"Read it," Juliet told her firmly.

"Jules, I know it's my algebra test." Freya sighed, putting it down. "Why do you have this anyway?"

"I was in your locker." Juliet shrugged.

"Why?" Freya asked with a frown.

"That's irrelevant information right now. What's important if you failing algebra," Juliet told her and Freya sighed, lowering her head.

"You're failing?" Chase asked with sorrow putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Algebra is my worst subject," Freya admitted, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "I've never been been good at it."

"You are dating Chase, how is that possible you are failing?" Leo asked with confusion.

"He doesn't tutor me," Freya remarked and looked at Chase, who was looking at her test.

"Maybe he should." Juliet advised.

"Since when are you so concerned with my grades anyway?" Freya asked her sister, looking up at her.

"I know mom told you that if you continue to fail, she will get you a tutor. And who better than your own boyfriend to help," Juliet explained and Chase nodded with a soft smile. "I'm just saving you from working with someone you would hate."

"I can tutor you, babe." Chase offered.

"Make sure it's tutoring and nothing else," Juliet patted Chase's arm and his siblings groaned.

"Don't put that image in my head," Bree cringed and Freya and Chase blushed.

Freya was worried Chase would find her stupid when he finds out how awful she is at algebra. She has dyscalculia, which is why she struggles so much.

The bell rang and everyone got up, leaving the cafeteria and throwing their food away.

"Juliet," Adam called and the red head turned to him.

"Yes?" She asked, fiddling with her bracelet.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to...uh... you know.." Adam got flustered and rubbed his neck. "I practiced this over and over again in my shower. You were my soap."

Juliet chuckled, biting her lip. "I feel so flattered."

"You want to go on a date?" Adam asked her and Juliet tried to hide her smile. "Like...we could go anyway. You pick! I'm happy as long as I get to spend time with you."

Juliet faintly blushed with a nod. "Sure. When do you want to?"

Adam shrugged, bashfully. "Anytime is fine. We can go whenever you are available. I'm always free, but I figure you do stuff."

"I'm free after school." Juliet smiled hopefully and Adam gave her a wide smile. "We can go to that arcade!"

"Absolutely. I can pick you up after school." Adam offered.

Juliet kissed his cheek, before walking away and he blushed bright red.

"That just happened. Just asked out the prettiest girl in the world," Adam chuckled happily and cheered to himself.

——

After school, Freya went over to the Davenport house for tutoring. She was so worried and had a lot of anxiety, which she thought was dumb because it's Chase. He would understand, but she sometimes feels like she isn't smart enough for him.

Freya walked in the door and saw Chase on the couch. He had some notebooks, textbooks, and pencils on the table. Along with a calculator and a tablet there.

Freya nervously picked at her skin, looking at the stuff on the table.

"Rey," Chase smiled, standing and greeting Freya with a kiss and a hug.

"Hi," she greeted shyly, dropping her hands to her sides and taking a breath. "I see you are prepared."

"I want to help you as much as possible," Chase said and pulled her to the coffee table with the couple sitting down together. "Looking at your recent test, I tried to make it as simple as possible for you to learn."

"Simple can be difficult for me," Freya awkwardly chuckled and Chase shook is head, rubbing her back.

"You're smart. You'll get it," Chase assured her and kissed her cheek. "I believe in you."

Freya took a deep breath as Chase started to explain some equations that Freya didn't understand. When he explained it, she was understanding, but when he wrote it down, she got completely lost.

The numbers and symbols got messed up in her head. They mixed around and she wasn't understanding anything Chase was doing. It frustrated her because he was being so kind offering to do this. She felt like she was wasting his time and she felt awful.

She feels too dumb for Chase.

She hasn't noticed she was picking at her skin again and she had drew blood.

She hissed in pain and looked down, immediately hiding the cut. Chase immediately looked at her with concern and his eyes found the area where she hurt herself.

"Babe," he sighed with worry and removed her hand to see the blood, dripping. "No, no."

Freya bite her lip, trying not to cry. It wasn't from the pain, it was from the humiliation she felt from how dumb she felt around Chase. She feels like he will leave her.

Chase immediately got up and gently led Freya over to the kitchen. He grabbed a paper towel, wetting it and placing it on top of the cut.

"Sorry," Freya quietly mumbled, trying to hide her tears.

"Don't be sorry," Chase assured her, gently dapping the cut with the towel. "Are you okay?"

Freya looked at Chase and all she saw was concern in his eyes. He was focused on the cut.

"It's just a small cut." She told him and Chase looked up at her. He saw her eyes getting glossy.

"It's not. It's you're hurting yourself, because of your anxiety. You do this when you have anxiety." Chase protested and lifted the towel, putting it on the counter. He grabbed a bandaid and put it over the cut, leaving a gentle kiss on it.

Freya smiled softly as he did this, appreciating his kind gesture. Freya loves how kind and gentle he is with her.

"I'm fine, Chase," Freya assured Chase, but he wasn't buying it.

"No, you are not," Chase grabbed her hand, placing his other hand on top of their interlocked hands. "What's wrong?"

Freya could not lie to him. He's too good to her.

"I appreciate you wanting to help, but it's useless." Freya confessed, shaking her head. "You are the smartest man in the world and I can barely understand basic math. It's stupid and I'm sorry I'm wasting your time."

Freya turned, walking away and Chase followed her, quickly standing in front of her.

"You are not wasting my time," Chase softly told her, putting his hands on her arms. "It's not stupid. Not useless at all."

Tears dripped from Freya's eyes and Chase wiped them away and left a kiss on both her cheeks. She giggled, blushing and Chase smiled sodtly, looking at her.

"I was worried you give up and... leave," Freya admitted.

"Never," he shook his head. "I'd never give up on you." Chase gently caressed her cheeks, staring in her eyes.

Freya smiled, leaning into his warm touch. "I won't either."

Chase and Freya sat down again and she took a deep breath. Chase put a hand on her back, giving her a reassuring look.

"You okay to start again? I'll go as slow as you need," Chase offered and Freya nodded.

"Yes."

Chase turned to the notebook, explaining to Freya slowly and carefully. Freya looked at Chase as he spoke, smiling gently at him with a heavy blush.

Freya will forever be grateful she fell for the sweetest and most understanding guy ever. Whether she feels good enough for him or not, she will never let him go.

——

Juliet stood in front of her mirror, trying to cover her scars with makeup. She has scars all over her body now due to Krane, and she covers them due to her insecurity. She feels like people wouldn't like how they look and people will look at her differently. Juliet is a strong and independent woman, she doesn't want to show any weakness. She's finally healed and doesn't want to be reminded of what happened to her.

Juliet looked at her reflection and let out a sigh when she could still see her scars through her makeup. The scars were still so visible, the makeup wasn't doing much. No one had mentioned them yet, so she was glad no one worried about it.

Juliet was wearing a flowy black dress and black ankle boots for her date with Adam. She has her signature red lipstick and her hair was curled. She was nervous to say the least, but knows Adam is head over heels for her. So, she doesn't have to worry about his feelings for her.

The doorbell rang and Juliet let out a breath, before walking out of her room. She put her hand on the door handle and took another breath, before opening door.

Her heart skipped beat when she saw his handsome face and beautiful smile. He was wearing the same clothes from school, but his hair was styled and he looked overall neater.

"Hi, Adam," Juliet greeted, letting him in.

Adam smiled. "Hi, Juliet." He took in her appearance and blushed. "You look beautiful."

"Do I not always look beautiful?" Juliet grinned, messing with him.

His eyes grew. "No! No! You always look pretty!"

Juliet chuckled at his worried state. "I'm messing with you."

Adam chuckled, bashfully and rubbed his neck. "Right."

Juliet blushed, looking away and fiddled with her bracelet.

He's so cute. Juliet thought to herself.

She's so pretty! Adam thought, staring at her.

"Shall we go?" Juliet asked.

"Yes." Adam cleared his throat and put on a terrible British accent. "This way, M'lady! Your carriage awaits!"

Juliet laughed softly as Adam put his arm out and she took it as he led her out the door.

——

Adam and Juliet arrived at the arcade. The couple went inside and Adam got them both a bunch of coins.

"Oh, that's so many!" Juliet chuckled, grabbing two cup fulls from Adam, who was holding three others.

"Is it too much?" Adam asked.

"No, no," Juliet smiled bashfully. "You can never have too many. It's perfect."

Juliet walked ahead and Adam smiled, nodding to himself. "Yes!"

He followed Juliet to the skeeball machine and she put a few coins in.

"I'm a master at this watch." Adam told her and grabbed a ball. He tossed the ball and it landed in right in center, scoring the highest points. Adam throw another and it landed in the same spot. Juliet watched him get them all in the middle, except one that missed and Adam sighed.

"So close," Juliet pouted and went next. "Watch the real master."

Adam watched Juliet in shock score almost a perfect score. Beating Adam's score by ten points.

"I beat you," Juliet laughed and Adam shook his head with a grin.

"Oh, it's on!" He declared and they battled on the skeeball machines.

Adam and Juliet went head to head. It was a closer match, but Juliet came out in top beating Adam. Adam folded his arms, rolling his eyes as Juliet cheered to herself.

"I won!" She chuckled and Adam grinned at her adorable celebration.

"I'll let this slide. But I'm going to win everything else," Adam told her and Juliet scoffed.

"We'll see about that, pretty boy," Juliet winked and walked ahead, leaving Adam blushing.

"She keeps calling me pretty," Adam grinned, goofily and followed her.

——

Back at the Davenport house, Chase was still tutoring Freya, who was getting bored now. It had been about an hour and she was finished with the tutoring. She wants to do other things with her boyfriend.

"Chase," Freya rests her head on Chase, who stopped writing.

"Yes?" He asked her.

"Can we take a break? I'm tired," she groaned, leaning into her boyfriend.

Chase looked down at Freya, whose eyes were shut and he chuckled.

"Sure." He said. The couple moved to the couch and Freya immediately cuddled into Chase, resting in his arms. Chase smiled softly at her, holding her close and gently rubbing her shoulder.

Freya felt so comfortable and relaxed in his arms. All her worries go away when she's in Chase's arms, she has never felt safer than when she is with Chase. Her body here instantly relaxes and becomes calm.

Chase gently kissed her head, smiling lovingly at his girlfriend. She looked so peaceful when she sleeps. He could physically feel Freya relax in his arms and it made him happy to know that he can make her relaxed. Especially after being stressed, he's glad to know he can be her peace.

His favorite place is holding Freya in his arms, making sure she is comfortable and safe.

The front door opened and Davenport walked in. Chase motioned him to be quiet and Davenport immediately got quiet, putting a finger to his lips.

"Sorry," Davenport whispered, noticing a sleeping Freya. Davenport watched Chase stare at Freya with love and affection in his eyes. He had never seen his son so happy and it warmed his heart.

Davenport walked behind the couch and leaned against the back. "You really like her, huh?"

Chase smiled and nodded, glancing at him. "Yeah, I do. A lot."

"She's special," Davenport nodded. "Don't lose her."

"I'll never lose her," Chase replied and let out a sigh. "I'll make sure of that."

Davenport smiled, patting his arm and stood up, walking to the hallway.

"I'm happy for you two." Davenport told Chase with a sincere smile and Chase gave him one back as Davenport walked away.

Chase couldn't believe that he was sat here with the most amazing girl in the world in his arms.

Eventually, Chase fell asleep too and the couple napped together, feeling the most comfortable and relaxed they have ever been.

——

Adam and Juliet had played just about every arcade game together. Juliet had dominated almost every game, except for the basketball game. Basketball wasn't her thing and Adam was destroying her at it.

"Finally, a game I can beat you at," Adam chuckled and Juliet folded her arms.

"I blame my height," Juliet scoffed. Her height had nothing to do with it. She just sucks at basketball.

She 5'7 she can reach easily with this game.

"Here," Adam offered and Juliet blushed as Adam stood behind her, putting a basketball in her hands. Adam was blushing too, but he felt confident in himself. Adam put his hands onto of hers and guided her, helping her throw the basketball into the hoop. Juliet smiled, bashfully and Adam smiled down at her.

"I did it," Juliet said.

"You did," Adam said and Juliet looked up at him, blushing.

I want to hug her so bad. Adam thought and he let his thoughts take over. He gently wrapped his arms around Juliet from behind, holding her close. Juliet eyes grew at his action and she immediately felt relaxed and comforted. He felt warm and gentle for such a large guy.

Juliet closed her eyes, enjoying the moment and the feeling of Adam's strong arms around her.

They both didn't want it to end, but they couldn't cuddle in the arcade forever.

They pulled away and Juliet turned to him, bashfully chuckling.

"That was sweet," Juliet smiled, rubbing her arm.

Adam bashfully rubbed his neck. "It's what I do."

The couple walked over to a table and sat down, still blushing.

"I had a lot of fun," Juliet confessed, fiddling with her bracelet. "Thank you."

Adam smiled. "Anytime. I'm really glad you agreed to go out with me."

"Why wouldn't I?" Juliet asked him.

"Before you wouldn't bother to give me the time of day," Adam shrugged and Juliet's smile faded, feeling guilt about that.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's a trust thing," Juliet explained. "I also wanted to make sure you actually liked me. Guys tend to use me."

Adam frowned. "Of course I like you. You're pretty, fun, nice, cool."

Juliet blushed, looking down with a smile. "Thanks. You are all those things too."

Adam grinned, blushing. "Thanks. I've been told. But coming from you means a lot."

"Adam?" Juliet nervously asked and he looked at her with his eyebrows raised with interest.

"Yeah?"

"I really like you," Juliet confessed, taking a deep breath.

Adam had the biggest goofy grin on his face. "Really?!"

"I do." She chuckled bashfully. "Just promise me that if we do go out, that this isn't some sort of fling. When I date, I don't do short term."

"I haven't dated at all!" Adam grinned and Juliet laughed softly.

"Wanna get ice cream?" Juliet asked and Adam nodded as they got up, walking over to the ice cream. Adam paid for it and they walked out, sitting on the bench and enjoying the sunset.

They sat in silence enjoying their ice cream and watching the gorgeous sunset in front of them. Juliet was, but Adam found himself staring at Juliet.

Juliet looked over at Adam and he bashfully looked away, smiling to himself.

"Staring at me?" Juliet teased and