A/N: Short update because I owed you guys one. I am still working on this and plan to finish it! I have gotten sidetracked because another ship is flowing easier right now but don't worry this story is still on my priorities list. I hope you guys enjoy this update! Thank you for sticking around!

Happy Reading!

angellwings

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: What Is and Isn't

"Just a small-town boy and girl,

Living in the crazy world,

Trying to figure out what is and isn't true,

And I don't try to hide my tears,

My secrets or my deepest fears,

Through it all nobody gets me like you do."

-"I'm Only Me When I'm With You" by Taylor Swift

Tuesday at school without Lucy sucked. Especially because the teachers seemed to think he should be suspended too or at least that's what Wyatt took away from their stern glares. He managed to keep his head down and power through. He ended up spending a lot of time with Rufus and Jiya yesterday just to get his daily dose of nerd. That didn't stop his bad mood, though. Nothing could. It was weird to think that when the school year began, he could get through the day alone. Now, he couldn't go one day without Lucy Preston. His attachment to her happened quickly even if it felt like it took forever to be on the same page.

He got a text from her late Monday night letting him know she'd been grounded for the rest of the week and reminding him that they had a meeting with Agent Chrisopher after school on Wednesday.

Both were bits of unpleasant news. He'd almost forgotten about the meeting with their principal in his haste to have Lucy back on campus. And the grounding...

Well, no way was he going to go the rest of the week without their study sessions, especially since his dad was out of town. While he was gone, Wyatt didn't have to worry about being caught coming and going.

Which meant Lucy's balcony was going to be used a lot between now and Friday.

Lucy thought it was best that she drive herself to school on Wednesday. She never said but he had a feeling her mother blamed his influence for Lucy's fight. Her insistence on driving herself confirmed it.

So, now he was waiting for her in the parking lot, eyes peeled for her old Honda. He hadn't seen her since dropping her off on Monday and, even though it made him a total sap, he missed her. Finally, her car pulled into the lot. He waved her over to park next to him. The engine had barely been cut off a minute before he was suddenly surrounded by Lucy.

The force of her hug sent him bracing them against the side of his car.

"I know it was just one day," Lucy said, her words muffled against his shoulder. "But I missed you."

He held her tighter and nodded. "I missed you too."

"I heard," Lucy told him with a giggle. "Dave texted me and called you a, and I quote, miserable bastard."

Wyatt scoffed and made a mental note to beat Dave's ass later. "Snitch."

"Oh, totally, but I won't lie, I kinda like that your day wasn't the same without me," Lucy replied with a wide smile as she arched away back from his embrace. "Cause mine definitely wasn't the same without you. Admission essays are boring. I could have used a little distracting while I worked."

"Oh don't worry, I plan to distract you plenty this week," he declared with a dangerous smirk. "You'd better leave that balcony door unlocked for me."

She quirked a brow before she responded. "Wyatt, I really don't want you getting caught. Me getting in trouble is one thing. My record is pretty clean, but you—"

"I won't get caught," he assured her. "Trust me. She'll never know I'm there. I'm not letting Emma baiting you into a fight keep us from our study sessions."

Her gaze narrowed but after a moment her smile reappeared. "Fine, but we have to actually get some studying done. Study sessions can not become make out sessions. Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered with a smirk and a deceptively agreeable nod. He'll make sure they get a little studying done first, at the very least.

"Wyatt," she warned with a knowing grin. "I'm serious."

"So am I," he replied. "Completely serious."

Lucy shook her head with a disbelieving expression and a chuckle. "I'll pretend to believe you." She moved her arms from around his neck so her hands could frame his face and then pulled his lips to hers for a kiss.

He banded his arms around her and pulled her even tighter against him, requesting to deepen the kiss with a light nibble to her bottom lip. She sighed happily and let her mouth fall open. He was well aware of their surroundings and of the fact that this was not the place to take things too far. The minute another car pulled in the lot he broke the kiss. But he promised himself, then and there, he'd find time for more of that later.

They parted the grab their things from their cars and then joined hands as they walked toward the school.

"I'm ignoring anyone who wants to start a fight," Lucy told him. "Especially, your ex. Ugh."

Wyatt brought the back of Lucy's hand to his lips and nodded. "No more fights for either of us. Deal?"

She nodded and beamed at him. "Deal."

As he predicted, the day is much better with Lucy on school grounds. Even if they only share one class, it's like he can feel her presence everywhere he goes. He still notices glares from a few teachers but he finds they bother him less than they did yesterday.

They had lunch with his friends and hers. They are really starting to gel as a group which would have seemed like a preposterous concept at the beginning of the school year. It's just another way Lucy changed his life.

The end of the school day finally arrived and with it came the meeting he'd been dreading. Their meeting with Principal Christopher.

They were seated in her office, waiting for her and trying to sit as far apart as possible. He purposefully met Lucy's gaze and gave her an encouraging smile. She looked more nervous than he felt, which seemed impossible to him.

Finally, Christopher breezed into the room and shut the door behind her.

"I assume the two of you know why you're here?" She asked without bothering to greet them.

"Because of my fight on Monday?" Lucy asked in reply with a sheepish expression.

"Precisely," Christopher answered with a tired sigh. "The point of this mentorship is for you to be a good influence on Wyatt, Lucy. Not the other way around."

"Wyatt wasn't involved in that aside from the insults Emma baited me with," Lucy answered as she petulantly crossed her arms over her chest. "That decision was entirely my own. It's insulting that people keep assuming I only did it because of him. I make my own decisions."

Wyatt's eyebrows rose at the sass in Lucy's tone. She's being rude to their principal. This is new.

"You do make your own decisions," Christopher agreed. She sounds more patient than Wyatt expected. "And that was a bad one. But can you honestly say that would have happened if you weren't so close to Wyatt?"

"I can't say it wouldn't have happened," Lucy responded archly. "I am sick of having to be so poised and perfect all the time. Everyone expects too much from me. I—I'm tired, Principal Christopher. I'm tired of people thinking they know me or—or that they know Wyatt. They don't. And you know what? Maybe they don't deserve to. I just...I just want to be a normal teenager who's allowed to make bad decisions sometimes or go out and have fun." She swallowed thickly as emotions crowded her throat. "I'm sorry I gave in to her baiting but I'm not sorry I defended Wyatt. There's only so much I can take."

Christopher considered Lucy silently for what felt like several minutes. Her eyes then flipped to Wyatt. He could make out concern and understanding behind her stern expression.

"No more fighting," she declared. "I'll have to reconsider the mentorship if it continues and I don't want to do that. Despite what happened Monday, I can see everything the two of you have done to improve Wyatt's academic standing."

Wyatt cleared his throat, deciding now was as good a time as any to share his news. Two set of eyes immediately focused on him.

"I, uh, made an appointment to talk to my guidance counselor," he announced. "Thought I should talk about what my realistic post-high-school options are."

Lucy's eyes and smile widened. Her sullen mood faded almost instantly. "Wyatt, really?"

He couldn't help but mimic her smile. She really gave him no choice. "Friday, before class," he informed her with a nod.

"Well, that is good news," Christopher added with a proud smile of her own. "You see this is why I need the two of you to be careful. Progress is being made but as we've previously discussed sometimes perception is reality. Please don't give anyone any more reasons to perceive that this arrangement isn't working out. Be careful. Are we clear?"

Both he and Lucy nodded their agreement.

"Clear, ma'am," Wyatt replied. "We'll be sure to steer clear of trouble from now on."

"Good. Then in that case, you're dismissed," she stated as she waved them out of her office. "Go, get out of here."

As soon as they reach the hall, Wyatt grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her into an empty classroom. Her venting in that office worried him.

He places his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them up and down her arms in a comforting gesture. "Are you okay? What you said in there—"

"Mom and I argued after you dropped me off. She was more concerned about my not qualifying for an Ivy League school than me. I—I thought I brushed it off but…" Lucy's eyes closed and she leaned into his chest, wrapping her arms around his middle. He reciprocated the embrace and placed his lips to her temple in a soft kiss.

"You know how I feel about that. You're more than your school records. Screw the Ivy League. Go somewhere that will appreciate you. And as for being a normal teenager...you are one. You sneak out, get in fights, sneak me in—" Lucy's watery laugh cut him off and he was relieved to hear it. She deserved to laugh as much as possible. "Sounds pretty normal to me."

"Well, when you put it that way, how can I disagree?" she replied before leaving a quick kiss on his jaw. She pulled back, but didn't release him, and met his eyes with a questioning expression. "Did you really make an appointment with your guidance counselor?"

"I did," he answered honestly. "I got to thinking while you were gone yesterday and I really want to know what my options are. Plus, I promised you I would think about it and it's about time I followed through on that."

She took in a deep satisfied breath before speaking. "I'm really proud of you, Wyatt. That's a solid first step to admitting I'm right."

Sudden laughter burst from his throat and he shook his head at her. "I'm looking at more than just the Army right now. You know that, yeah?"

"I do, but I also know you. Better than you think I do. You'll see that I'm right eventually. I know it," she told him confidently. "Just you wait."

Her eyes fell on the clock on the wall and he saw the disappointment clear as day.

"You have to go, don't you?"

She nodded and took a reluctant step out of his arms. "I have to go pick up Amy and then head straight home. Mom's going to call the house at 4:00 and if I'm not there—let's just say it would be very bad for me and could potentially extend my grounding."

He huffed but nodded in understanding. "Right, well go, but leave your balcony door unlocked. I'm coming over once I finish with work."

She leaned up on her toes and kissed him in a quick goodbye. "Will do. See you tonight...to study."

He chuckled and shrugged. "Sure. To study."

She shook her head and waved as she hurried out the door, but he didn't miss her impish smile. Yeah, she planned to do just as much studying as he did. None. They hadn't really spent time together since Monday when they'd taken a pretty large step. They had other things to talk about and do besides academics.