"Oh man, that guy is a goner." Steve clenched his fists in anger and pounded on the table top. The Aerospace guys had arrived early at the lab and called Brad to reach earlier as well, so that they could tell him about what they had witnessed the previous evening.
The Aerospace guys sat at one of the spare tables around the lab, and there weren't even a lot of students there yet because they were so early. Brad, who had been absent during Aerospace's spying trip, raised his brows questioningly at Steve, not understanding what the fury was about. "Explain, anyone?"
Henry just let out a huge sigh and propped his chin up with his elbows. "Yesterday we were, you know, spying on Alex and Deliah." Henry murmured. "It was after school hours, and we saw Alex looking for Deliah. He was supposed to give her a ride home." Joe let out another huge sigh.
"What's up?" Brad asked with a frown. "That's nice, isn't it? Why the fuss, especially from Alex?" he gestured towards the tall guy.
"Wait and hear us out," David interjected. "We were discussing how Deliah was the one who made the first move by holding onto Alex's arm and everything, but then when they were leaving, Alex halted the car."
"He rolled down his window and actually shouted at this other girl who was walking home, while his girlfriend was in the car!" Philip exclaimed.
"Girl?" Brad asked with concern. "Who?"
"Sarah Johnson," the other four said in unison.
"Sarah Johnson?" Brad exclaimed in shock.
"Sarah Johnson?" a voice from behind them inquired.
The Aerospace boys turned around and saw Alex raising his eyebrows at them, asking for an explanation.
"Why did you guys arrive so early today? And why were you shouting Sarah Johnson's name?" Alex asked with curiosity,
"Why are YOU so early today then?" Philip responded with a huff,
"We have to submit the article for printing today. I have to meet Sarah Johnson to finalize the adjustments." Alex explained.
"Ah-ha! Sarah Johnson again! What about Deliah? Don't you think about your girlfriend?" Joe exclaimed
Alex appeared puzzled and scratched his head, "Wait, what does Deliah have to do with this?"
"Because you are not treating her well enough, and we are disappointed for her! Alex, we thought you could handle a girlfriend, but apparently not!" Philip interrupted,
Alex stepped back and raised his hands in defense, "Okay, I am thoroughly confused. Can any of you please explain what all this is about?"
"I must admit, I'm not the greatest boyfriend and I have to constantly remind myself to do better," Alex defended. "But come on, I did drop off Deliah at her place yesterday!"
"Yeah, along with another girl," David muttered loudly.
Alex's eyes widened and he blinked at his friends. He looked at their accusing glares and felt a wave of panic wash over him. Damn it.
"Oh, no." Alex closed his eyes briefly. "You guys saw?"
"Hell yeah, we saw!" Henry nodded vehemently. "We saw you drive Sarah Johnson home. We saw her getting into your car, especially with Deliah in there too!" he accused.
"Alex," Joe sighed dramatically. "I seriously doubt if you're ready for a relationship."
"Agreed," Alex muttered. "But you guys have it all wrong! Deliah wasn't upset that I gave Sarah a ride, and it's totally fine!" he protested.
"And why is that?" Brad asked, furrowing his brows.
"Sarah Johnson is Deliah's elder sister," Alex muttered. "And it's only logical to send both sisters home if they live under the same roof, right? Come on, guys!" The other boys frowned and shook their heads at Alex's explanation.
"Alex, that's one of the worst excuses I've ever heard," Steve said with a disapproving click of his tongue. "You may think you're being clever with the similar names, but it's nonsense, and we both know it. Can't you just tell us the truth?"
"It is the truth!" Alex protested.
"Seriously, what's going on between you and Sarah?" Brad inquired with curiosity. "No lies this time, please."
Alex sighed. "If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask her yourself!"
"I honestly can't see how she could be Deliah's sister," Philip murmured.
"Are you certain it's necessary to approach her?"
"In order to prove my innocence, we have to do it." Alex replied, making a face and sighing.
He motioned for his friends to wait by the side while he waited for most of the crowd to disperse after school before making a move to speak with her. When there was no one around, he quickly took hold of Sarah's hand and pulled her along with him to where the rest of the Aerospace members were hiding behind the pillar.
"Hey Sarah Johnson!" Sarah gasped, stumbling after him and unable to free her hands from his strong grip.
"Shh!" Alex turned her head to look at the other boys, and her eyes widened, blinking in confusion. "What-" she hesitated.
Her eyes suddenly darkened, and her jaw clenched, her fists wound tightly. "Oh."
Alex bit his lip. "I'm sorry," he blurted out before she could say anything.
"I didn't intend to reveal it to them since I knew you wanted it to be a secret! But don't worry, they won't spill the beans," Alex whispered.
Noticing Sarah's distress, Alex inquired, "What's the matter?"
Sarah closed her eyes and muttered, "I know they won't." She let out a sigh and continued, "So are you going to beat me up? Kick me and punch me? Insult me and criticize me? I'm telling you, it won't hurt when you go through it every day."
Sarah's words caught Alex off guard, and the rest of the group appeared perplexed.
"Hey, what are you talking about? We have no intention of hurting or insulting you," Alex clarified, nudging her.
Sarah stared at the ground. "Well, didn't you bring me here to bully me or something? I thought one day, the popular clique of the school would notice a plain Jane like me and subject me to abuse," she said.
"Excuse me, but we are not like that," Steve spoke up. "We're popular because we are likable, but we don't engage in fights. Hitting a girl? That's not our style."
"Oh," Sarah turned red. "I guess I jumped to conclusions too quickly."
"What made you think we were going to do that?" Henry asked, curious. Sarah fiddled with her shirt. *Because when I'm walking on the road, even people from other schools pick on me. Because I always thought you guys were the same as them.* She said inwardly.
Alex watched her, frowning. This obviously meant some sort of suffering on her side for her to have misunderstood their intentions. "It's well, nothing." Sarah cleared her throat. She turned to look at Alex accusingly.
"So why did you drag me here?" "Well uh," Alex rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "To clear my name."
"They wanted to know if you were really Deliah's sister." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Of course I am-" she faltered, smacking her mouth shut. "Nothing. You heard wrong." she convinced. The boys looked at each other in wonder.
"You're really Deliah's sister?" Joe gaped. "But you two don't look alike at all!"
David nudged him for his insensitivity, but Sarah simply shook her head. "It's okay," she said with a shrug. "I know we look different, and I choose to stay this way," she murmured. "Just please don't tell anyone that I'm her sister. I have my reasons for being who I am and hiding my identity, so please respect my decisions."
The Aerospace boys nodded. "Okay," Steve said with a shrug. "We might not understand, but it's your choice."
"So, uh, Sarah, are those rumors about you true?" Philip asked nervously.
Sarah raised her eyebrows, not knowing what he was talking about.
"Well, you know," Philip shifted uncomfortably, unconsciously moving closer to Brad beside him. "You cutting your wrist, you being a prostitute, and everything."
Before he could finish, Sarah choked on her saliva and started coughing hard. "What?" she rasped, pounding her chest in shock.
Alex smirked at Sarah's reaction. "So it's true, then?" he asked.
She glared at him, and he quickly raised his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, we all know those rumors aren't true."
Sarah nodded and let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't understand why people feel the need to spread rumors about me. Can't they just leave me alone?"
She turned to face Alex, her expression serious. "And now six more people know that I'm Deliah's sister. Alex James, you better have a good explanation for this," she warned.
Alex nervously bit his lip, unsure of how to respond.
"We saw him picking you up yesterday after he picked up Deliah," David explained. "So we asked him about it, and he said you were her sister."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously. But why didn't you make sure no one was around when you stopped the car?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Excuse me but you were the one who had the choice to take my car or not. You took it!" Alex refuted back. "It's your responsibility!"
"But you spilled the beans!" Sarah pointed out.
"I'm defending myself okay!" Alex told her. "They were suggesting that I was a bad boyfriend and I had something to prove. You're not taking my car this afternoon." he huffed.
"Fine! I never said I was anyway!" Sarah made a face.
The Aerospace guys looked at each other in wonder. "Wow. I never knew Sarah Johnson was feisty like this." Henry whispered.
"Me neither." Brad muttered. "Perhaps there's more to this wallflower image she has created for herself."