Chapter Text
"Alison. Alison. Wake up."
She groaned, pushing her face into the pillow. Her head felt foggy. The light in the room was too bright. "Five more minutes, Kitty."
Something dropped onto her chest. "But it's Monday!"
"I'd guessed that. 'S far too early in the morning for this."
Kitty nudged her again. "There's only five more weeks until the summer break."
"Does that mean only five weeks until I can stay in bed all morning without being woken up at -" She pulled the clock towards her, rubbing the grit out of her eyes. "Six AM?"
"Of course not! There's so many things to be done, and I can't do them on my own."
She sighed, pushing up on her elbows. Kitty dropped back down onto her own bed, grinning from ear to ear. "Monday means you can see Mike."
"I'm sure Mike is still tucked up in bed. God, Kitty, school doesn't start until eight-thirty. Do we really have to get up now?"
"You're already up. It's a beautiful day!"
"Great. I'm going back to sleep."
---
Mike met her at the school gate, sliding his arm through hers as he bent down to kiss her cheek. Kitty giggled next to her.
"You won't believe what time I had to get up this morning."
He smiled warmly at her, and suddenly she didn't feel quite so resentful of Kitty.
"I'm guessing it was seriously early. Still, the early bird catches the worm, right?"
He mimed searching for a worm in the stubbly grass by the entrance. "I can't believe you're taking her side here." Still, she couldn't help but laugh. Mike always had that effect on her - when he was around, all her troubles simply melted away.
"If I were your boyfriend, I would make you breakfast in bed every morning and serenade you in between mouthfuls."
Kitty squealed. "Thomas!"
He strode across the car park towards them, satchel swinging at his side, guitar case clutched in one hand. He brushed his curls out of his eyes, giving Alison what she was sure he thought was a winning smile.
"Alison, you look radiant this morning." She rolled her eyes and leaned into Mike. He gave her boyfriend a curt nod. "Michael."
"You know Ali's been my girlfriend since we were in primary school, right?"
"She'll see sense eventually."
Mike rested his head on her shoulder, comforting like a warm blanket in the dead of winter. "Alright, mate."
The shrill cry of the bell rang out across the parking lot, and they turned to head inside. She could already hear the chatter of the other students, Barclay's braying laugh rising above the white noise. He was one of the senior prefects, and he certainly enjoyed it. He was always looking for an excuse to give out detentions.
She liked to use this time early in the morning to watch her friends in their natural habitats. There were the Bone twins leaning by their lockers, Humphrey with his books folded against his chest like a shield, Robin already fiddling with a tiny piece of wire.
Julian and Margot, the It couple, high school royalty, were standing with a group of their cronies nearby. They were so effortlessly perfect that it was almost impossible to be near them. Julian was twirling a pen between his fingers, sneaking the occasional glance towards Robin.
There was Pat, already directing people towards their form rooms, and Fanny yelling at a group of Year Sevens, who were practically shaking in their boots. There was Captain in the corner, scribbling something in his notebook, Mary and Annie standing by the door surveying the room, William polishing his CCF boots on a side table.
Mike pressed another kiss to her jaw, squeezing her hand. "You've got that uni planning session today, right?"
"Don't remind me. It's hard to believe that this time next year we'll all be doing our A levels."
"You'll do great, babe. You always do."
The bell went again, and he began to pull away. "I'll see you at lunch, alright?"
"Alright."
---
"So you want to be in London?"
She leaned forwards in the counselor's chair, flicking through the leaflet of potential universities.
"That's where Mike's going. I want to stay with him."
He sighed. "Alison, you can't plan your future around your boyfriend. You might not always be together."
"But we might be. That's what matters."
"I just think -" He paused, exhaling and pinching his nose. "You should explore your options."
"I know, but I really think that these are good universities, and there's a future for me there."
He handed her the pamphlet, patting it gently as he set it down in her arms. "Think about it. If you really think it's the right choice then I can't stop you, but you should consider your priorities."
She nodded, already pushing the door open. "Thank you."
Julian was sitting in the waiting room, arms tucked behind his head, legs crossed at the ankle. There was a thin scratch along his cheekbone.
"Are you here for the college talk too?"
He chuckled. "We both know that I'm not." He gestured to the scratch on his cheek. "I'm here to have a nice little chat about this."
"How did you get that?"
He winked, the movement cocky and slow. "Ask Margot."
She frowned. Everyone knew that Julian was a player, but nothing like this had ever happened before. Had Margot finally snapped at him?
"Did you... Did you cheat on her?"
He sighed, something that looked almost like exhaustion flitting across his haughty features. "That's what she thought, too. Why is it that everyone always assumes that I'm unfaithful?"
She raised one eyebrow. Julian was a well known party animal, and he'd been seen snogging girls behind the garage at his house more than once. He and Robin were notorious for running some kind of black market on sweets and other school contriband, and he'd been suspended more times than she could count on one hand.
"Do you really need me to answer that?"
He blew out a long breath, tipping his head back. "I broke up with her. Of course, she assumed that I'd been shagging someone else behind her back, and -" He gestured to the scratch. "This'll be all over the school by tomorrow.
She didn't know what to say. For once Julian's mask was down, and yet what she saw wasn't what she'd expected. "Can I - can I do anything to help?"
He hummed softly, something she'd heard on the radio once or twice. "You could call Robin."
"He'll be in class. You know that."
He waved a hand at her. It was a clear dismissal. "Then you can't help me."
---
"How did it go?"
Mike ruffled her hair as she sat down next to him in the lunch hall.
"They don't want me to pick my colleges based on where you're going."
"Oh, Ali." He stole a chip off her plate. "I never asked you to do that."
"I know, but I want to be near you."
"Look at me, babe." He kissed her softly, barely more than a whisper against her lips. "I love you. We can make it work no matter where we are. Hell, you could go off to Australia and I'd still call you every day. You don't need to push your future aside to make space for mine."
She rested her forehead against his, feeling the heat from his smooth skin against hers. "I love you so much."
"I know. I'm very lovable."
She pulled back, laughing. "You've ruined it now."
"What? I was just stating the truth."
"Yeah, right."
"I was!"