Kisses after midnight (WICKED #0) | ✓

20

SURPRISINGLY JAY ACTUALLY WAS at school Monday. Gabriela had really expected him to skip again, but he was even on time and when he passed Mateo, he nodded. Sahar however only appeared after fourth period, her hair dishevelled and pink paint smeared on her cheeks.

"Where have you been?" Gabriela frowned when she took place beside her.

"I joined a LGTBQ rally," she beamed.

Gabriela rubbed the paint off her cheeks with a handkerchief, before the teacher could come in and get her in even more trouble.

"Okay," she said slowly," I'm all for that, but can't you do it after school?"

"But why would I do that when I can do it now?"

Gabriela shook her head. "You need the attendance, Sahar."

The paint was off Sahar's cheeks then and Gabriela tried to fix her hair, unsure how much the girl had been moving to get her dark waves so messy.

"Mid-terms are coming up too," she said," how are your marks usually?"

"Consistent," Sahar said.

"Okay, that's good," Gabriela said, feeling faint relief," that means I only have to work on getting both of your attendances to be perfect."

"Oh no," Sahar said as she raised a hand," I didn't mean they were good. I just meant I score consistently bad."

Jesus Christ, how was she supposed to get anywhere with these two?

"Come to my house after school," Gabriela said," we'll do a study session." She pointed at Jay, who had just walked in with Mateo. "You too, Ryder."

"What?" Jay frowned," hell no."

"Come on now, Jay," Mateo grinned," it'll be fun."

Jay parted his lips automatically, but instead of a snarky reply he just nodded. For a second Gabriela wondered if Mateo was threatening him, but when he smiled at Jay it was so sincere she knew it was something else. Had they become close friends already? And if so, when?

Well, it wasn't up to her to know every detail of Mateo's life, but she was happy for him. It was hard for him to open up, truly open up, and the fact he could have someone beside Chase and the principal he honestly liked made her glad.

Jay walked to his seat behind them and Mateo followed, but when he walked past her he hesitated. She looked up at him, the tension between them still there, lingering in their gazes.

"Is it okay if I come, Gabriela?" he said quietly, his hand grazing her shoulder.

There was no pressure behind the question, just genuine worry. She could feel her heart squeeze as she reached out to grab his hand then, electricity sparking between them when she touched him.

"Of course, Mateo," she said.

When he smiled he seemed angelic, his relief lighting up his face, before quickly making place for his usual confident expression. He raised her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. She raised an eyebrow, but he just flashed her a cheeky grin, so mischievous she couldn't even say anything.

The rest of the day passed quickly and it was only when the four of them split up to get to Gabriela's house that she realized the dynamic between them was the most tense it ever had been. Sahar and Jay were uncomfortable around each other ever since the party and that discomfort was clear when they stepped into Sahar's car together. And then there were her and Mateo, their whole ride on his motorcycle towards her house silent, her hands awkwardly placed on his hard stomach.