Disguised As A Boy To Attend Belmont High School
Chapter 147: When Love Blossoms.

Chapter 147: When Love Blossoms.

Olive quickly slipped away from Lara and Mark, making her exit from the classroom before they could bombard her with more questions. As soon as she stepped out, Mark and Lara immediately rounded on Lucas, startling him.

"W-what do you want?" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Lara gave him a playful tap on the shoulder. "Relax," she said with a grin, though her voice dropped to a whisper. "What happened between you and Olive last night?"

At the mention of Olive’s name, Lucas’s expression tightened. Mark, noticing the shift in Lucas’s demeanor, exchanged a glance with Lara.

Lara spoke again, her tone curious. "He knows Olive’s secret already so there’s no need to worry."

Lucas’s eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze toward Mark. "You know?" he asked, his voice low and accusatory.

Mark gave a resigned nod. "Yeah, I know. Since vacation house."

"Vacation house?! And why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner?" Lucas demanded, his frustration rising.

Mark shrugged. "Like you told me about you knowing too."

Lucas let out a sharp breath, his irritation evident. "That’s not the point. You could have just told me since you’re aware I knew too."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Relax. Her secret’s safe with me. I’m not going to blab."

Lara chimed in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "So, what happened between you guys yesterday?"

Lucas hesitated for a moment before confessing, "I kissed her again."

Lara gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "That’s not exactly news, Lucas. She’s already told me about the times you two kissed. But judging by how you both were acting this morning..." Lara leaned in closer, lowering her voice further as she locked eyes with Lucas. "Did something else happen? Something more than just kissing?"

"No!" Lucas blurted out loudly, startling several students nearby. His outburst caused heads to turn toward him. "Sorry!" he muttered under his breath before everyone resumed their business. He then turned back to Lara and Mark, shaking his head. "Nothing like that happened. We kissed and... we cuddled, okay?"

Lara raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Cuddled?"

"Yes, cuddled." Lucas crossed his arms defensively.

"Why don’t you guys just date already?" Lara asked, exasperated.

"Exactly!" Mark added with a grin. "Lara and I can see the chemistry between you two. You both clearly like each other. What’s stopping you? We could go on double dates, have picnics, all that cute couple stuff."

"You think I don’t want that?" Lucas sighed heavily, his expression softening with frustration. "I do. But Olive... she doesn’t want to date me. And I really don’t know why."

Mark shook his head, his tone casual. "Girls can be like that sometimes. This isn’t your first rodeo, man. You know how to win a girl over."

Lara shot Mark a hard look, and he swallowed nervously under her glare.

"Olive’s different from other girls," Lucas muttered. "It’s not about money or fancy things with her. In fact, she’d probably get mad if I tried any of that."

"Then plan something simple," Mark suggested, his voice serious. "It doesn’t have to be about money or expensive gifts. But hey, you’ll still need to spoil her a little."

Lucas shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I don’t know, Mark. Last time I confessed my feelings, she told me she hated me. Hated everything about me. But I know she’s lying... I can see it in her eyes. She’s just trying to push me away."

"Of course she’s scared," Lara said, folding her arms. "She’s pretending to be a guy to attend Belmont. If word gets out that you two are dating, it could ruin everything for her. She could lose her scholarship here and the one for studying abroad."

Lucas’s eyes darkened with determination. "Who says she’ll lose it when I’m here? I’m the heir of this school. My mother wouldn’t dare expel someone I care about."

"You’re not your mother," Lara reminded him sharply. "The school isn’t yours yet, and Olive could still get expelled if her secret comes out. That’s exactly why she doesn’t want to date you. She’s thinking about her future. She won’t let a relationship ruin that."

Lucas clenched his fists. "Even if she gets expelled, I can get her into another school. Hell, she could attend an all-girls school, and we could still make it work. It’s not like we’d be all lovey-dovey on school grounds. Nobody would have to know unless we wanted them to."

"And then your fan club would target her," Lara scoffed. "That would be all over the headlines. ’Poor student dating the Belmont heir,’ and before you know it, the whole school’s buzzing with rumors."

Lucas’s shoulders slumped slightly. "I’ll protect her. I just want her to give me a chance. We’ll be careful. I really love her and she not accepting my feelings is driving me crazy. I just want her to accept me."

Lara glanced at Mark before turning back to Lucas. "By the way... Olive’s birthday is tomorrow," she revealed.

Mark’s eyes widened. "What? Tomorrow? He then turned to face Lucas "Didn’t you say her birthday was June 1st?"

"That’s what I saw in one of her notebooks," Lucas admitted, rubbing his temple in confusion. "Was I wrong?"

Lara rolled her eyes. "And you claim to love her. You’re supposed to know these little things. Anyway, her birthday is May 5th and not June."

Lucas blinked in surprise. "Wait... we share the same birthday? This is awesome!

Lara grinned. "Yep, your birthday’s tomorrow too. That’s perfect! Looks like Mark and I have some decorating to do for a joint birthday celebration."

Lucas’s face lit up. "I can confess to her tomorrow! I know she’ll say yes this time. You and Mark being there could make it more easier."

"Let’s get to work, then," Mark said with a grin as Lucas eagerly stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Once Lucas was gone, Mark glanced at Lara, his expression growing serious. "What about Aiden?"

Lara waved a dismissive hand. "He’s got no doctor’s appointment tomorrow. We’ll just help Lucas with his confession. Aiden can’t know anything since he doesn’t even know Olive is a girl."

"True." Mark murmured as he nod his head in understanding.

_________

Meanwhile, Rachael, Jessica, Anabella, Peace, and Henry huddled together in the abandoned restroom.

After waiting for several minutes, two Belmont students entered and without wasting much time, they exchanged a substance wrapped in white plastic for a handful of cash.

"Nice work. You’re into drugs now?" Aiden murmured under his breath, a smirk tugging at his lips as he observed the transaction. He started coughing, quickly covering his mouth with a white handkerchief. When he pulled it away, he saw the familiar sight of blood staining the fabric.

"Who’s there?" Jessica called out, her voice laced with panic.

Aiden’s vision blurred, and everything began spinning around him . He gripped the windowsill for support as he stumbled into the restroom.

"You," Anabella began, her voice faltering. "When did you get here?" She tried to mask her voice, hoping he wouldn’t recognize her.

"Just now," Aiden replied coolly. "I’m here for some drugs."

"Drugs? When do you start taking drugs?" Anabella remarked, with a confused expression.

"What’s with the question? Why are you sounding like you know about me?" Aiden questioned, with a smirk which only made Anabella to swallow hard and kept quiet.

Jessica exhaled in relief. If Aiden had just arrived, that meant he hadn’t seen their faces. "We’re done for today, but I’ll make an exception."

Henry stepped forward, handing Aiden a neatly wrapped package, which he exchanged for cash without further words. Aiden pocketed the drugs and made his way back to the school building, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. Once inside, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Louise," he said as soon as the call connected. "You didn’t tell me your stepsister and her friends are dealing drugs now. Here I thought they’d be busy trying to erase those videos from your laptop, but they’re making cash instead."

"Drugs?" Louise’s voice echoed through the phone, surprised. "I thought they said they quit. I guess old habits die hard. But it’s not about money. They’re already rich. That’s none of my business, anyway. And besides, their video’s no longer with me. It’s with you now."

"You think it’s not about the money?" Aiden replied with a smirk. "Here’s some advice: be careful. They don’t know you deleted the video, and they’re still worried you’ll post it."

"If I wanted to ruin them, I would’ve already posted the video for the world to see. I’m not that patient, and they know it." Louise sighed. "But thanks for the heads-up. I’ll stay on guard. Those girls are dangerous, and I’m not about to tell them I deleted the video just yet. They’ll come for me eventually, but I’m ready."

"Good," Aiden said before hanging up, his smirk growing wider.