Chapter Thirty

Gabby's POV

The day started out pretty average. I was just chilling at the breakfast table as per my morning routine, munching on some toast while Alfred had his arm wrapped around my waist. I loved that feeling so much… The feeling of being so close to someone I felt so strongly about, leaning into their warmth, feeling the lack of a gap between us… …Though I admit, when Al ruined the serenity by moving his hand a little too close to my butt, or slid it onto my thigh, I wasn't completely discouraged.

Nowadays, it was normal to find me in a good mood, but the same couldn't particularly be said about Caliegh. That being the case, I had to do a double take when I took note of the radiating vibe of joy surrounding my sister. She practically hopped into the seat across from me, giving me a smile that may or may not have actually been meant for me. Just to be safe, I quirked an eyebrow instead of smiling back. It was then that Mattie joined the table, and when he stepped into view, I swear Caliegh's aura brightened so much it was blinding. The moment he sat himself beside her, setting his tray of pancakes down and smiling softly, she kissed him on the cheek. And then he nuzzled their noses together.

Leave it to me to butcher the moment by spewing the water I had been sipping all over the table.

Alfred pounded me on the back, restraining hysterical giggles, while Caliegh and Matthew stared at me in alarm. "So you guys… finally dating?" I managed between coughing fits. Mattie gave a slight nod to his head, a blush on his cheeks, and he rested his hand on Caliegh's knee. She leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling up at him with her eyes in utter adoration.

Once I was no longer coughing my brains out, a slight smile appeared on my face. Nonetheless, that damned feeling of jealousy was gradually creeping up into my chest. Wasn't this a little… weird? My twin sister, dating the twin brother of my boyfriend? Seeing as Mattie and Al were twins, was Matthew really just a better version of Alfred? Had Caliegh beat me yet again…? The chilling thoughts evaporated immediately as I felt Alfred press a kiss to the top of my head, as if reminding me that he was still there, and still my lovable goofball boyfriend. Nah, there weren't any negatives to this. My sister deserved happiness, and I sure as hell was happy too.

I was distracted by the warm fuzzies buzzing inside me when Alfred tapped on my knee. "Hey, babe, you know that Language Arts essay that's due today?" he asked with his mouth half full, spewing crumbs of cereal while he dug through his bag. Oh, no.

"Uh huh… What about it?"

From his bag, Alfred produced a few slightly crumpled pieces of paper, stapled together. He smacked the thin stack down on the table in front of us after shoving aside the remains of his breakfast. "You're super smart, how about you proofread this for me?" He turned his eyes to me with the most adorable, pleading look that I would have let him get away with murder. I clicked my tongue at him, but grinned and nudged him with my elbow.

"Sure, why not," I agreed. Al's face went from begging to luminously pleased; he placed a brief yet heated kiss on my lips before smoothing out his essay and eagerly shoving it in my face. I chuckled under my breath, rolling my eyes and tucking a stubborn strand of hair behind my ear. Pushing my glasses farther up the brim of my nose, I began to read… and was immediately met with a wave of disappointment. The opening paragraph was so weak, the word "I" was overused, there were no citations… It required every ounce of willpower I had not to visibly flinch.

I almost let out a sigh of relief when I finished. "Well? How was it?" Alfred urged, his baby blue eyes zipping into mine the moment I leisurely raised my gaze. I considered telling him that I used to write essays of similar quality in third grade, but that eager puppydog look on his face erased completely erased the option of hurting his feelings. I cleared my throat and put on my professional hat.

"Well, let's see… You dived right into the essay. You need a hook, an opening to grab the reader's attention from the start… You included your opinion too much. Try to keep it more factual. And it looks like you were absent for that lesson on parenthetical citation, because you didn't cite anything the entire paper. And you lacked transition words, plus used the wrong type of 'there' a few times…" My heart started to throb as Alfred's confident expression dimmed, leaving him with an expression that made him look humbled and dazed.

For a moment, my mind jumped to the horrid conclusion that I had just ruined our whole relationship, at least for the day. That I had offended him and that my criticism made me look like some nerd that totally turned him off… But then Al spoke. "Think we could get some sick kid to cough on us so we can skip class and work on this?"

A slight smile appeared on my face and I felt my entire body relax. "Just work on it tonight, and turn it in late… You'll get a better grade for a well-written late assignment than a crappy on-time assignment." I was suddenly tense again. How could I have let it slip out of my mouth that his essay was crappy?! Stupid, I am so stupid…

"You're the boss! Meet me in my dorm, we can work on it there. Then we can have a little fun." Alfred had begun twirling a strand of my hair around his finger, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

My luck only continued when my American History period came. The professor was still sick and they were yet to find a sub (I had to smack Al and call him a jackass when he said 'Maybe the old hag croaked!' at this news), so we were given another period to roam around. We found ourselves in the computer lab, with the intent to work on Alfred's essay yet when I opened up the internet, my cursor strayed to the academy's online grading website. Might as well glaze over my grades, see if being in a relationship really did mess with my schoolwork…

Ah, perfect. I was still maintaining a pattern of A's, even if they were mostly in the lower 90's. I grinned softly as a rare feeling of pride pulsed inside my chest. However, when I scrolled back through, every part of me froze except for my smile, which rapidly transformed into a frown of horror. I was wrong, I didn't have straight A's: I had an 87 in American History. When had that happened?! Just last week I was rocking a 93… My heartbeat quickened as a sickening feeling swirled around the pit of my stomach. Don't get me wrong, 87 isn't exactly a bad grade, but in my favorite subject… The one I planned on majoring in when I went to college… I was starting to see stars, and not in the good way.

"You okay, babe? Stumble across a lesbian porn sight or something? You're lookin' pretty pale," Alfred commenting, plopping himself backwards in the plastic spinning chair beside me. When I didn't respond, he just quirked an eyebrow and stared at my computer screen. He whistled. "Damn, an 87? Even I have a 94 in American History." That snapped me at least a little bit back to reality.

"No you don't," I insisted. Shit! Once again, because I couldn't think before I spoke, I had insulted my boyfriend. Fortunate for me, it seemed his skull was pretty thick, as he was as unfazed as he was last time. He just put on a cocky smirk, leaned over the keyboard gripped the mouse (while my hand was still on it), signed me out and himself in, and sat back in triumph while I was left to stare at his grades.

If those grades showed up on my report card, I think I would have had a heart attack. Al was just barely passing most of his classes, and even on the verge of failing Algebra. He had only two A's: a 99 in PE that put my 92 to shame, and, just as he had said, a 94 in American History. I was too breathless to speak. "See? That is my subject! Looks like YOU need a study buddy," he decided, crossing his arms and sitting up tall. I glanced at him, now feeling as if I had just run a mile.

"…well, the test is next week… Wanna help me go over the study guide right now?" I offered feebly. Alfred nodded enthusiastically, his energy so radiant that it could eat mine. He reached around me for my History binder and flung it open. He sifted through my neatly organized papers (if his binders were anything like I saw his locker and bedroom to be, I wouldn't be surprised if losing things was part of the reason behind his poor grades) until he uncovered the study guide, and made a big show of smoothing it out and smacking it down on the desk.

Shockingly, Alfred really did know his stuff when it came to this subject. He knew which year each of the 50 states joined the country, the order of ever president we'd ever had and what they were most known for, why settlers chose to live in certain parts of the country back in the 1800's, which wars the USA had one and which ones it had lost, every little detail about the Revolutionary War, had the Declaration of Independence memorized, and could even speak a few words in a couple Native American languages. By the time we'd bulldozed through the entire packet, my brain was fried with facts I had completely forgotten while Al looked like he'd simply recited the ABC's.

"So how about I quiz you on stuff that isn't in the guide?" Alfred suggested, practically bouncing with pride and excitement. I smiled tiredly up at him.

"Sure."

"Sweet! Okay, so… Got one! How many wars were named after the year they were fought in?"

I furrowed my eyebrows together, way too wiped for this. Seemed like a trick question… "Um, three…?"

Alfred made a buzzer noise (sort of like 'ERNT!') so loudly that I jumped in my seat and half the room gave him odd glances. "Wrong! The answer is one. Only the War of 1812 was-" So not in the mood to hear about however he intended on finishing his sentence, I cut Alfred off with a rather lengthy kiss to the lips.

"Let's talk about this later, okay?" I whispered. Alfred blinked down at me, then grinned.

"Anytime, babe. So how about that essay o' mine?"