#pshhh he deserves a good telling-off

[buckysgrace]

I both love and hate that Billy won’t admit his true feelings to a girl he cares about. That’s just so canon. I can see him the second he starts having feelings, freaking out in his head and distancing himself. Poor Bills 😫 Maybe that’s why I love fanfic where he has a happy ending. He really deserves one

Idk if you were asking for little blurbs but, that’s what you GET! <3

Ughhhh same same. I think he’s just so…. Fearful perhaps? Really afraid and stubborn to just open up and share what he feels (also also also the fear of being abandoned is soooo strong when he’s with someone he cares about in my opinion).

So then yes he starts distancing himself because it’s easier for him to put up those walls before he gets hurt, but maybe you’re also a little stubborn. Or just oblivious. And despite the fact that he is really trying to get away from you, you just can’t let that happen. <3

I think he’d be pretty strict on you two being “Just friends.” No arguments, he’s too scared to fully talk about labels or that he’d like you enough to consider you to be his partner (he’s crazy about you).

And I think you’d also have to deal with this man staring at you just all the time. He loves eye contact already but he also just loves to memorize how you look?? Definitely has your little quirks down and when you ask him why he’s staring he’s always gonna say you have something on your face lmao.

I think he’s also like reserved about physical touch? Very scared of accidentally hurting you at first and it’s just so uncommon to him that he gets all nervous and his hands get all sweaty and clammy lol. But once he’s over that?? He’s touching you all the time, everywhere and it doesn’t matter who’s around lol.

And so yeah maybe he won’t admit that he’s absolutely whipped and crazy about you but I think you could certainly tell by his gestures? Soft nose kisses, tracing your lips and holding you close any time he can <3

He will definitely refer to you as his pretty girl (or pretty boy whichever you prefer). I think he’d definitely warm up to like baby or babe but calling his person pretty really warms his heart <3

Piggybacking off of that like… he would get so flustered and defensive if you compliment him. Would act like he cannot believe you did such a thing and pshhh, him? Pretty?? Absolutely cannot handle you saying such things about him. He knows he’s attractive but something about you saying it so gently, so sweetly and softly makes his knees weak.

Okay and I think at first too he just… is not the best gift giver. He has not had that practice before so it’s not necessarily sloppy but when he buys you things it would be within the hobby that you enjoy, but more of his style (for instance if you like reading he’s 100% getting you his favorite genre or book). Which is also, sweet but I do think he’s observant enough that after the first few times he truly understand what you like and what you don’t like.

I also think he’s down with restaurant dates and going to the movie theater and what not but I truly believe he loves to do things that are more sensual and deep? He’s definitely a late night, lying under the stars and having deep talks kind of guy. It takes a lot for him to open up but you best believe he has you memorized like the back of his hand.

AND I also think he is just such a gentleman?? Holding the door open for you, holding your hand as you step up a curb, giving you his jacket?? All of those omg.

I think he’d also ask your parents permission to date/marry you and all of that stuff (granted you have a good relationship with him). He just seems like he’d really want to have a good relationship with them too??

I’d also like to think that he just admits his feelings just randomly, maybe not even fully realizing he did it either?? Say you’re sat together on your couch early on a Saturday morning watching cartoons, definitely a little hungover, and he’s just like “You know I love you, right?”

And you’re just so taken aback and this is definitely not the scene that you imagined (neither did he) but it just works. Takes a lot for you to muster the words back because how emotional would that be?? Then he’d just squeeze your knee with a little smile and settle back into comfortable silence 🥺

Idk if any of this made sense but but he’s just my special little guy I luv him very dearly hehe

[feeldresearch]

For most of my life, I’ve been a monogamous good girl, keeping my intimate encounters reserved only for partners I was emotionally attached to. You know, the whole Christian, cis-het normativity that’s been drilled into us since the 1900s. But this year, I decided—since I’ve been single for a while and there’s not a single suitor in sight—that I deserve pleasure without a relationship. Why limit myself when I can explore my needs and fantasies both alone and safely with others?

So, a couple of weeks ago, I opened a Feeld account. I threw up a flirty bio detailing exactly what I was looking for in a sexual encounter, sprinkled in some cheeky but tasteful photos, and hit post.

And within minutes, the floodgates opened. We’re talking 100 likes and 12 pings right off the bat—without even posting a full photo of myself! I thought, Damn, if they knew how fine I was IRL, this app might crash! Letting the ego boost wash over me, I swiped through my options like I was at a kinky Costco, shopping for a stranger to fulfill my research needs.

“No, no, hell no, ew—yikes—maybe, no, gross…oh, wait. Hmm…yes.”

Ok, we got one. I read his profile:

- Black and attractive

- Pleasure dom

- BBC (okay, let’s keep that in mind)

- Experienced in kink

- Big on consent

- Provides aftercare (major bonus points)

Perfect. Just perfect.

I shot my shot with a playful, ego-stroking message:

“Hey sexy, you look like a man who can teach me some things…”

He responded immediately.

“Hey, sweet baby girl. I most certainly can.”

I got nervous because I didn’t expect him to respond so quickly, but here we are. We banter, trading sexy innuendos that get me excited. He asks what I’m doing and if I can come over. I pause, nervous but excited. I tell him I’d prefer to meet at a bar first to check the vibe. He agrees.

I take a quick “everything” shower, shaving all the parts that matter, and scrub my skin until it’s baby soft. I slather on body butter, spritz on perfume, and throw on a cute outfit—low-cut floral half top, jeans, and boots. My Uber arrives, and my heart is pounding. What am I doing? Am I really about to fuck a stranger? I take a deep breath and remind myself: I’m in control. I only do what I want—nothing more.

While in the Uber, I text a close friend with my location and a note “bout to go do some hoe shit, if I don’t text you and say I’m home later, call the police!” She responds “ I got you, be free beautiful.” I arrive at the bar before him because I’m painfully punctual and need a drink to calm my nerves. I order an old-fashioned and gulp it down. No time for sipping—liquid courage is necessary. Halfway through my drink, I realize he doesn’t know what I look like or my name. I check my phone and see a message describing what he’s wearing. I glance left and spot him.

He’s reasonably attractive—nothing extraordinary, but good-looking enough. Tall, dark, well-dressed. I walk over and introduce myself. “Hey, I’m Zahzah.” He looks aloof and says, “That’s nice. I’m meeting someone.”

I reply, “Yeah, it’s me.”

Embarrassed, he says, “Oh, damn, you’re way prettier than I expected!” (Pshhh ikr)

I settle on the stool next to him. We make small talk, though I can’t remember anything he says because the alcohol has kicked in. I stare at him, deep in thought, wondering if I’m going to let him touch me tonight. He misreads my stare as interest and abruptly asks, “Should we get out of here?” I snap back to reality, take a deep breath, and decide, For research purposes, fuck it—let’s do it.

On the walk to his place, I recall his profile. He’s a pleasure dom, so I expect to be pleasured. He’s supposed to be a BBC, so I expect a good stretch. He’s rough, so I’m hoping for some tossing around, maybe a little choking, and gentle but commanding dirty talk. This might actually be fun.

His place is clean and minimally decorated with a nice city view. I put my things down and get comfortable. He offers me water. I take a sip, set it down, and he pulls me to my feet, kissing me passionately, hands all over me. Okay, I’m into this. Clothes come off, layer by layer. He excuses himself to the bathroom. I walk to the window, crack it open, and light a joint. Sex is always better when I’m high—I feel more relaxed and present.

He returns to find me ass up in a chair, blowing smoke out the window. I offer him a hit; he declines. He starts rubbing my ass as I take one more drag and put the joint out. I turn to face him, and we kiss again. He picks me up and carries me to his clean, minimal bedroom, tossing me on the bed like a rag doll. We kiss and touch as he caresses my body, his fingers sliding inside me and then teasing my clit. It feels good—I’m moaning, whispering, “Yes.”

Then he tries to enter me without a condom. I pull back. “Whoa, whoa—get a condom, dude. What the fuck are you doing?”

He sighs (first red flag). “Aw, come on.”

“Put it on. Now.”

He obliges, and I watch him glide it on before easing inside me. He’s kissing me, grinding, and groaning, “Damn, this is too good.”

I giggle because, duh, I know. But also because I expected a BBC, and he’s just… regular-sized. Maybe seven inches. Shrug.

It still feels good, though. He knows what he’s doing. But it’s starting to feel too intimate for a random encounter. I turn over. “I want you from the back.”

He smiles. “Absolutely.”

From this angle, he feels bigger but still not BBC big. I start giggling again. He notices and fucks me harder. I tease him. “Aww, you thought I couldn’t take it? Look at you—out of control in this good pussy.” He bites my neck, and I laugh, fully enjoying the mix of pain and pleasure. He’s moaning about how good it feels and saying he doesn’t want anyone else to have me.

I’m into it, though. I guess a kink I realize I have is an ownership kink. I like the way it feels to be possessed by someone—I like being wanted and owned. So his words (albeit a second red flag) made me wetter, and I start bouncing back on him. Our thrusts are loud and hard. We’re breathless and moaning like crazy, wrestling all over the bed. I don’t know if it’s because I was high or what, but I kept laughing, knowing it was provoking him—making him both angry and turned on at once.

High and deep in pleasure, I keep laughing, provoking him. I want him to dominate me—grab my throat, slap me, and tell me to shut up. The thought excites me. Maybe it’s linked to past trauma, but being roughly dominated like that is a huge turn-on.

The more I laughed, the more aggressively he fucked me. The harder he fucked me, the more I talked shit. “Aww, look at you giving me your all! You thought I couldn’t take this dick, didn’t you? Look at me—taking it. Look at you—losing control.” I kept laughing until he grabbed my throat from behind and, panting breathlessly in my ear, whispered, “This pussy is so fuckin’ good, and it’s mine now. Do you hear me?”

I laughed louder, and he pulled out suddenly, busting on my back. He ran to the bathroom to get a towel. When he returned, I asked, “Where did the fucking condom go?” He wiped me down, tossed the towel, and casually shrugged. “My bad. I took it off. I wanted to feel you from the back.”

I became enraged. “What the fuck?! You can’t be serious. You really fuck strangers raw? What is wrong with you? What’s my name?”

He paused.

“Exactly. You don’t fucking know me!”

I stormed out of the room, grabbed the glass of water, and downed it. As I started gathering my clothes, he came over and grabbed my hand. “Hey, that’s my bad. I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking. I’m so sorry.”

I softened—for reasons I didn’t fully understand. This stranger had just violated me. Maybe I was too high to listen to my own instincts, but I let him talk me back into his bedroom. Before I knew it, I was lying on his bed as he fingered me until I came—once, twice, three times. Utterly spent, I got up to grab more water.

“Just bring the glass in the room,” he yelled out. “You’re gonna need it.”

I returned with the glass, set it down, and crawled up his naked body until I was sitting upright, straddling his mouth. I stared him dead in the eyes and asked, “Are you ready to eat me now?”

He stared back and said, “No, I don’t do that. And I don’t expect you to do it to me either.”

I quickly repeated, “So you don’t eat pussy?”

“NO,” he replied firmly.

“Cool,” I said, hopping off and grabbing my clothes.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” he asked, getting up.

“Yes. I’ve gotten all I need from you,” I said as I ordered an Uber.

“Wait, I can take you home!”

“No way. I already called my car,” I said, slipping on my shoes.

He sighed. “I wanted you to spend the night.”

I kissed his cheek. “I don’t do sleepovers, love.”

We walked to the elevator in silence. He touched my neck and shoulder, grinning. “I left you a little something there,” he said, pointing to the purple hickeys on my skin.

I rolled my eyes, annoyed, and nearly ran off the elevator to get into my Uber. He opened the door and said hopefully, “I’ll see you again soon?”

“Probably not,” I replied, quickly shutting the door.

As the Uber drove off, I opened Feeld and immediately deleted him from my connections. Because seriously—what the fuck am I gonna do with a man who fucks strangers raw and doesn’t eat pussy?

(Note: I got a full-panel STI test after this encounter.)

[tyb1]

If It’s The Right Thing To Do (4)

Words:2886

Character: Seth Clearwater

Note: let’s imagine your Sam’s little sister 

Dialogue prompt:“So let me get this straight when I need you you’re nowhere to be found but when I do something dumb you magically appear.”

Series List

tag list:  @alecvolturiswifeforever​ @scoverdale1​ @anndaydreamer​ @fae-lore​ @queen-of-embracing-uncertainty @nickangel13​ @bi-bi-spencer​@a-vild-bluemyrtle​ @little-miss-naill @crystalxavlove @ilovesethclearwater

Seth Clearwater Masterlist

A/N: message me or comment if you’d like to be on the tag list. sorry it took so long I love you guys:)

“I’m sorry Seth but you and I both know that what you’re saying is bullshit.” I snatched my hand away from his chest, the feeling of his racing heart was no longer there. I knew he wasn’t lying about what he said but for his and my sanity, we both needed this to end here. This entire relationship was causing too many problems...well before he decided to join the Cullens. 

“What (Y/N)....what are you talking about?.” He stood there with tears in his eyes, I’m surprised he didn’t let them fall like I was letting mine fall. That was one thing I hated about him. He held in all of his emotions and then when it came to the breaking point he would explode. Trust me when I say it’s not a good sight to see.

I had to put off a bold face for him. I couldn’t let him know that I was actually dying inside. I was letting a few tears slide down my face but that didn’t compare to the aching feeling that I was feeling inside of me. It was the same feeling I felt when he first left me.

“Fine since you want me to say it so badly”- I roughly pointed my finger in his face.- “ Leave me alone. We’re breaking up so don’t call me, or text me until you get your priorities straight. I’ll be home when you get your shit together.” 

Seth couldn’t look me in the eyes, he started to kick the dirt with his feet. The sand below him started to change different colors from the tears that were falling upon it. He started to mumble a few words but the only thing I could hear was. “You don’t have your priorities straight either (Y/N).”

“It’s because I’m dealing with your shit! I’m around here following you like a lost puppy when you only play mind games with me! I’m so done with you and your bipolar ass!” I spat bitterly, I turned my back to him then marched towards Sam. I turned around to look at him once more, I instantly regretted it. He stood there with his hands in pockets with his head still hanging low. His head shot up instantly making eye contact with me, I quickly snatched my gaze away from him. This was going to be a new start for both of us so I didn’t need to be drawn back in with his puppy dog eyes.

Seth POV 2 weeks later

 I was too much of a coward to say goodbye. I was truly heartbroken. I wish I could run to her and tell her that I love her and tell her that I cherish everything about her but I know she wouldn’t believe me. I was all out of options. The only thing that felt right to do was to cry and that’s what I did. I cried so hard that day that Jake had to carry me home on his back. It’s been two weeks since I have last spoken to (Y/N), two of the longest fucking weeks of my life. I thought losing my dad was painful but this...this has won the race. I couldn’t bear the heartbreak so I started to stay out longer. I asked to take over Leah and Jake’s patrol hours. I don’t even remember the last time I ate. I can only remember our last encounter, it’s like a nonstop movie in my head it was causing me to go insane.

I hate it here.

I have been spending most of my days down at the border. I was monitoring the days where Colin and Brady patrolled, they were my best option to trick into letting me cross the border. It was my only way to apologize to (Y/N). So here I was trying to wave down Collin and Brady so I could continue with my ridiculous plan.

“Hey! Colin, Brady pshhh, come here!” I yelled out in the distance to the two wolves. I was standing at the border waiting for them to shift as well. I wasn’t in my wolf form. The last thing I wanted to do was be a threat to them. 

Brady was the first to walk from behind the tree while Colin stood behind the tree too nervous to face me. I could read their body language from a mile away, they were very uncomfortable with being around me. 

Brady snarled at me, I observed as all of the muscles in his body grew tense as he spoke. “I heard you got into it with Paul. He should have ripped your fucking head off.”

“Wow I wasn’t expecting that from you Brady, but thanks I guess.” I wasn’t trying to be an ass but it just rolled off my tongue. Straight away I regretted it, it only pissed him off even more. 

Brady pulled Colin by the collar of his shirt pushing him towards me. The kid could barely keep his posture straight or his eyes focused on me. He had no confidence in his steps and started to trip over the branches on the ground.

Brady pointed between the both of us with his thumb. He had an irritated facial expression plastered on his face. “Tell him what you told me when he left.” he spat bitterly, a small smirk was rising on his face but soon faded as Colin spoke.

“Do I have to?” Colin mumbled, he waved shyly at me. I took this opportunity to wave back to him. I gave him a small smile as well. Colin, Brady, and I were always close but Brady was always the fiery type while Colin was timid.

“Yes, you have to say it!” Brady exclaimed.

Colin rolled his eyes, “Fine, I said that you were an ass for leaving us behind. It wouldn’t be the first time that you left us.” Brady glared at him to continue, “I also said that you have a reputation for turning your back on us.”

I noticed Brady smiling at Colin; he must have felt accomplished. I must admit, I did feel bad, I left them behind but it was some things that they have not come to reality with.  “Listen I need a huge favor. I need you to let me cross the border so I can see (Y/N).”

Brady rolled his eyes, “Wow so you just completely ignored what we have to say? Why would we let you cross the border and jeopardize us? Yeah, that was a stupid request.”

“You’ll do it because I am your superior. In Jakes’s pack I’m the beta...but don’t ask Leah or else she’ll lie. She thinks she’s the beta because she’s older but in reality, Jake named me the beta.” 

Colin had a questionably look on his face, by now he has grown more comfortable with me and now is standing face to face just like Brady. “Why would you want to see someone who doesn’t want to see you?” 

I was taken aback, “Why do you mean? She wants to see me, there is no way that she would not want to see me.”

“Umm I highly doubt it, she’s been living well since the accident. We went skating last week with us and the others. Not once has she mentioned your name.” Brady slapped Colin across the back of his head. I watched as the two bickered back and forth. Brady pushed Colin away from him. He snapped his fingers to gain my attention from my feet. I hadn’t realized that I was getting sidetracked but I was trying to figure out why (Y/N)  wasn’t heartbroken.

“She made it clear that she didn’t want to be around you anymore Seth. Dude if I were you I’d really leave her the fuck alone. She really wants nothing to do with you. If you try to see her she’ll probably freak out on you. You’re pretty much dead to her.” Brady then smirked, “There’s also another guy that has been keeping her busy lately.”

Ouch. Well, that hurt...it actually hurt a lot. I cleared my throat so I could stop the tears from arising. We’re not about to cry in front of them!

Colin now slapped Brady beside the head. “You could have said it nicer, idiot.”

“What! Her words, not mine!” 

“Just forget about it.” I spat bitterly, If you wanted to forget about me and everything we had then so be it. I could forget you just as fast as you did me. I could care less about those stupid ass memories we made together. Just like you said I really didn’t love you it was just the stupid feeling of you being my damn imprint. 

I continued to walk and degrade our relationship. Jake tried to stop and talk to me but I just shoved him out of the way. He started to piss me off as well. He had his nose shoved so far up the Cullens ass he couldn’t tell you what roses smell like. Then here comes my second problem, Leah.  I didn’t dare shove her. I didn’t want to pick a fight with her right now. I could explode on her and say some things I didn’t mean. 

“Where the hell have you been!? Were you down at the border again?”

“Does it really matter?” I rolled my eyes at the screaming woman. If she wanted to be my mom then she should have birthed me out. She tugged me backward pulling her face up to hers. I stared into her lonely eyes as she did the same with me.

“You’re my little brother so you are my business. Stop doing dumb shit, Seth.”

 I ripped my face from her hands. “So let me get this straight when I need you you’re nowhere to be found but when I do something dumb you magically appear.” I already knew where the conversation was heading. I was not in the mood to hear her shit right now because I was a walking bomb ready to explode.

“Did you go see (Y/N)?”

“No! I didn’t see her. Why do you make everything about her? I could care less about her.” I couldn’t control myself. I threw my fist into a nearby tree. It cracked and fell to the ground. I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the tears roll down my cheeks.  As much as I wanted the tears to stop falling I couldn’t. I have never felt so empty in my entire life. That same feeling of heartbreak resurfaced throughout my body. My chest began to tighten, a sharp pain shot throughout my body as I tried to walk forward.

”Make it stop hurting Leah.” I began to sob uncontrollably. “It hurts so bad, why did she have to go? Why is everyone leaving me? What did I do to deserve this….I just try so hard to make everyone happy but when will it be my turn to be happy?  Mom is fucking dating Charlie now. We barely see her anymore only on fucking holidays!  Why did dad have to fucking go!? And you only check on me when it’s convenient for you Leah! Why is everyone leaving me, Leah!?”

“Seth I-”

I cut her off, “Don’t say it.” I knew I was going to apologize about the accident that happened with dad. I never blamed her for the accident. She didn’t mean any harm by it. I could never bring myself to blame her.

 I started to wipe my tears with the sleeves of my flannel shirt. It brought back the memories of the time that (Y/N) would take my flannel and wear it with her converse and shorts. I started to cry all over again at the thought. I started to choke on my words, everything that was coming out of my mouth was undetectable. “(Y/N) was always there for me and now I chose the bloodsuckers over her. She doesn’t understand that it was the right thing to do. They were going to kill a baby. Leah, I don’t have anyone else. I’m so fucking lonely!” 

“I know how it feels Seth. It hurts like hell but you’ll get over it. I’m sorry that you felt like I wasn’t there for you. I must admit that I was being completely selfish. I love you Seth and don’t you forget that.” I started to relax under her embrace. I haven’t seen this side of her since she and Sam were together. It was good to have her back though. “I love you too.”

I followed her gaze, she was staring up at the stars. “I want you to cry it all out, Seth. All of that heartbreak and sadness you have deep within you I want you to let it the fuck out. If you hold it in it’ll turn into anger then that anger will turn into bitterness. I’ll come back and check on you in the morning.”

I don’t want to be alone…

Leah’s footsteps started to become faint, I was left alone in my thoughts once again. I honestly didn’t want her to go. All I wanted for her to do was to hold me and tell me everything was going to be alright. I was stuck on ground zero like I was when my dad died, no one was there for me except (Y/N). She would probably hold me in her hands while whispering the things I wanted to hear. I wish you were here right now, maybe I wouldn’t be so angry at the world. 

“Fuck it!” I started to yell out in the night air. I threw punches in the nearby tree to try and let my anger out. I hit each syllable of the words in the tree. “Fuck you, Sam! And Fuck you too Paul!! I’m not scared of you!” “I don’t care what anyone does and says to me. I’m going to see her and no one is going to stop me.” I didn’t stop until the tree flew back by the force of my hits.

I shifted into my wolf and ran towards her scent. Brady and Colin were still on patrol however they were both on the other side of the forest. It would take them a while to catch up to me at the speed I was running at. A sinister laugh escaped from my lips. This power or maybe it was the adrenaline….no, this was most definitely power. It made me feel invincible, By no means this was me finally sticking up for myself, or how (Y/N) would say, this was me finally growing some balls.

Her scent was in the direction of the beach, oh how could I miss that scent. I followed the dominating scent but there was something a bit off with her scent. It was a mixture of something foreign. I gazed out to the beach scanning every person that was out there. It seemed like there was a party, there were so many teenagers out around the bonfire. I growled out as I watched you sit on a log with another guy’s hoodie on. His cheap polo cologne filled my nostrils. You were sitting there laughing at something that he said which probably wasn’t that funny. 

“Tch, I want to know what’s so funny.” Anger arose in my body causing my teeth and claws to sharpen. My breathing became irregular and there was a tight feeling in my chest. I tried to ignore it but the harder I breathe the more painful it becomes. I took a step forward and instantly collapsed on the ground. My wolf form quickly disappeared and there I was laying on the ground in the fetal position. I tried to crawl but my body felt numb. The only feeling I had was the tears falling from my eyes down my cheeks and onto the ground. I even tried to scream out your name but nothing came out but a gasping sound.

Was I dying?

I started to cry even harder, the thought of dying always freaked me out but the thought of leaving you with guilt made me feel even worse. The sobs were coming out more frequently than I anticipated. I didn’t have time to catch my breath or even think straight. Everything felt like it was closing on me. The air around me started to thin out making me feel dizzy. The pain in my chest starts to become more unbearable. 

“(Y/N) wait...I..I...can’t breathe!” I choked out the words barely having the strength to do it. My head started to pound from the lack of oxygen I was getting. My hearing was becoming undetectable. I felt my body go stiff and my eyes fluttered shut as well, everything became dark and warm. 

It took every bone and ounce of energy to draw a tiny heart near me. If (Y/N) found me like this then she would see the heart. She’ll know that I died loving her...right? Was I even dying or am I just being dramatic? I don’t know, I just want to embrace the warmness that surrounding me right now. 

[whootwhoot]

»»—— 𝘛𝘛𝘛𝘊 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 2: "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘴" ——««

Akaashi Keiji x Fem! Reader

author’s notes: holy shit im so sorry for the not posting in such a long time ;-; i had stuff i needed to clean up + i was lazy- anyways this is the second chapter for my first long fic “Third Times The Charm” sorry for the delay ^^ compared to the previous one this one involves more conversations since im not good at writing movements lmAO enjoy uwu

☕ synopsis: Iwaizumi Y/n, a student who goes to Aoba Johsai as well as the second year manager for the school’s male volleyball team. What happens when she sets eyes on the cute setter from Fukurodani?

[ CHAPTER 2 - First texts ] 

“Oh shit.” 

Your phone screen fades to black as you sit there biting your lip. Baffled by how stupid you were, you slam your face into the pillow next to you.

“You had one chance, one chance and you did what? You forgot about it, your stupid brain forgot about it. Are you kidding me?”

You let out a loud groan as you sit back up, the bed sheet wrinkles while you release that breath of air you’ve been holding. Your hands wandered around your phone’s keyboard, too nervous to reply but too anxious not to. 

Akaashi seems like a genuine guy, he doesn’t show off or boast about himself. He’s just always there, the way he smiles when he successfully makes a perfect set, the way his delicate hands toss the ball, his eyes only focusing on you…

“Y/n! Get a grip! What are you even thinking?!” a couple more groans and turns on your bed and you are more awake than before. 

Honestly you never expected a reply from him at all. Sure, the idea of that crossed your mind, maybe more than several times but the thought of it actually happening? There’s no way.  

“It’s like my brain short circuited somehow.” you whisper while sitting up, leaning against the headboard of your mattress. 

Maybe the impression of you from your previous lover affected you more than you want to admit. “You’re annoying.” “Undeserving of love.” “No one can even stand a clingy person like you.” 

Your vision turns blurry as you feel cold tears gently running down your face. You wipe them away, hoping to erase the emotions bubbling up inside of you away too. 

The insecurities you try to push away seem to have formed a wall, a never ending wall that just stacks higher and higher. Just when you thought you have gotten over it, the tiniest shard of the most fragile moment can make you fall back down again.

The creaking sound of your room door makes you jump as your brother peeks his head inside your room. 

“Haji? It’s 2am you, you should be sleeping!” 

“You didn’t close the lights in your room so I thought I’d check up on you.”

“Your eyes look reddish, are you okay?” 

You lift your shoulders in a shrug, Hajime comes into your room and stands right in front of you and folds his arms. 

“Is this the older brother's lecturing time?” you ask while raising your eyebrow

“And for the record, I’m fine. You don’t have to-”

“I think I do.” Hajime stares at you intensely 

“You should've gotten over that jerk ages ago.”

“I know, I know” you release your breath and repeat the sentence he once told you  “The first love cuts the deepest, but not every cut leaves a scar.” 

“And?”

“Well, I don’t know but just… what makes you think I deserve love?”

“Iwaizumi Y/n, you are my sister. No one knows you better than I-”

“DOUBT! THERE’S NO WA-.”

“SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH.”

You laugh in amusement while Hajime licks his lips as his mouth forms a small smile. 

“Ok but the point is, you’ll find someone who’ll love you as much as you love them eventually. No one in the world is undeserving of love.”

You rest your chin on your palm while eyeing and slyly grinning towards your brother.

“Eww since when have you learned to be so cheesy?” 

“It’s called quality love advice, you should try them sometime.”

“YOU DUMBASS”

He ducks just in time to avoid the pillow you flung at him. 

“Stop yelling or the neighbours are going to hear you!”

He continues to laugh while rushing to the door. He stands at your door and gestures his hand at the light switch.

You grab your blanket and nod your head while laying down, the bed softly creaking causing him to chuckle. Hajime closes the lights and leaves your room quietly.

His warm words hang around  in the cold room as you slowly drift off to sleep. 

“Thanks Haiji-nisan.” 

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Y/n:

Hello, it’s me  😓

The girl who was randomly texting you last night 

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

No reply

You furiously type on your phone while staring at the screen intensely in hopes that he sees your messages. 

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Y/n:

I forgot about that photo 😓 😓 , I'm sorry if it seemed weird or uh rude

And uh i just hope that maybe we can get to know each other

Unknown:

Okay.

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

Okaayyy he replied,  so that’s a good sign… right? 

Biting your lips, you place your thumb on the phone to prevent the screen from fading and eventually closing. 

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Y/n:

Soooooooo I’m Iwaizumi Y/n  😇 😇

Unknown:

Akaashi Keiji.

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

“God damn it, he’s such a conversation killer.” you mumble under your breath 

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Y/n:

I’m from Aoba Johsai!! 

Akaashi: 

You’re the spikers younger sister? Iwaizumi?

Y/n:

Well duh  😂

Where are you from? 

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

You ran your hand through your hair, cringing at how hard you're trying. 

Maybe you could just tell him, you know like “Hey hot stuff, I think you attracted me with your stunning good looks so I want to date you.” you mock while pointing finger guns at the mirror. 

Just then, the familiar ringtone of your phone notification rings and you scramble to see who it was. 

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

El is best girl:

Heyyyyy, you got the text yet? 

Y/n:

Yeah

El is best girl:

Daaaaaaamn I take it you're disappointed that it wasn't him who appeared on your notification?  😔 😔

Y/n:

NO NO NO OF COURSE NOT 

I love texting you  😘

El is best girl:

Awhh save it lmAO 

Did you text him back?

Y/n:

😤 He’s not giving anything to work with here 

El is best girl: 

Pshhh I mean just ask him how his day was or like 

At least try to keep the conversation going 

Y/n:

I'M TRYING

LIKE  😩

REALLY HARD HERE

El is best girl:

lmAoOOOO

Y/n:

HOLD UP HE JUST TEXTED ME 

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

You hurriedly press into your chat with Akaashi

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Akaashi:

I’m from Fukurodani.

Y/n:

Isn’t that just a few minutes away from my school 😮 ?

Akaashi:

I think so.

Y/n:

Cool 

Anyways

Um how was your day?

“Akaashi is typing”

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

“I can’t decide if he’s typing really slow or he’s sending a long text…” You decide to place your phone down and doodle on your papers while waiting for his reply. 

----

“Bokuto-san, she asked me how my day went.”

“Don’t reply to her anymore! Let her wait for you to text back, it builds a sense of mystery.” 

Bokuto suggests while winking. 

“Bokuto-san it’s not really nice to leave people on read.”

“Akaashi, I’m the ladies man, listen to me and your love life this time wouldn’t end like the last two.”

Akaashi can’t help but grin at his confident “wingman”, it’s no secret his past relationships were… well not that good, but to ask for Bokuto for help? 

“But-”

“Hey you were the one who asked for help when a girl texted you.” “Plus, didn’t you find her cute too? The short girl manager watched our match at camp.”

“What?”

“You were staring when she wasn’t looking, and after the first time you saw her from the bus you were trying to get to know which school bus it was.”

Akaashi’s jaw almost drops at his friend's observant nature that he didn’t know existed, apparently when it comes to love Bokuto isn’t as… well, dumb, as he seems. He tries to form words to deny Bokuto’s accusation but he can’t seem to find a reason to do so. 

“Also just play hard to get, girls love a challenge.”

“...” “Maybe I’ll wait a little longer before I reply to her.”

---- 

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Y/n:

Um Akaashi?  😅

Uh  😅 😅

You know, if you’re not interested in talking to me you could’ve just said so

Akaashi:

Sorry I was busy, I had volleyball practice.

Y/n:

OH I’M SO SORRY 

I didn’t know you have practice on weekends ;-; 

Akaashi:

It’s all right.

Y/n:

Anyways how’s practice^^ was it fun?

Akaashi:

Yeah, it was like usual.

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

“HE’S” “SUCH” “A” “DRY” “TEXTER” “AAAAAAAAAAAA”

You scream inside your head while holding yourself back from banging your head on the table. 

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

Y/n:

Do you think we can maybe, meet up?  👉 👈

Like 

Uh  😶

Akaashi:

Date?

Y/n:

NO NO  😲 

I mean we never met of course not haahahahaha 

Akaashi:

Meeting up just to get to know each other then?

Y/n:

Ah yes that’s it, like a gathering

If you don’t mind 

Akaashi:

I’ll see if I’m available. 

Y/n:

Cool! Is next Sunday fine?

Akaashi:

We’ll see. 

Y/n:

...

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

----

╔═════ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ══════╗

El is best girl:

Wowww playing hard to get huh 

He sure is a tricky one

Y/n:

I don’t think I like where this is going

El is best girl:

It lowkey kinda ruins the impression you have of him huh 

Ah well 

It’s probably his first time or something

Have a little hope  😔  

Y/n:

Well 

I have one week to prepare 

HAVE FAITH  😍 😍

El is best girl:

Hell yeah 

Any thoughts on where you’re taking him 

If you don’t I mayyyyy have suggestionsssssssss 

AHHAAHAHAHAHA

Y/n:

God damn it El 

We’ll just be talking okay 

I do have a place in mind though

El is best girl:

Go on

Y/n:

You know the ice cream shop? At the street? 

El to is best girl:

Ohh an ice cream shop 

Very intriguing  🥺

Don’t tell me it’s because of that article 

Y/n:

I mean

El is best girl:

LMAO you 

You seriously believe you can tell someone’s personality by their favourite ice cream flavour?

Grow a brain Y/n 

Y/n:

You’re one to talk  🙄 🙄

Anyways I’m off to prepare dinner for tonight

El is best girl:

Owh Iwaizumi-kun teaching you to cook again

Let’s hope you don’t bring the kitchen down with you okay dear

Y/n:

Sometimes I wonder how we’re friends

El is best girl:

Nah it’s simple really

You looooooooove me uwu

Y/n:

Ew

Go away 

El is best girl:

😳 😳 😳

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

- end of chapter 2 -

« masterlist / previous / next »

(author’s end notes: i hope yall enjoyed this lmAO its pretty long ^^ anyways im writing their texts from y/n’s POV so the nicknames she gives her contacts might change owo)

[shookmybones]

Thank God for Cafes and Hot Guys

Ch.1 (PerryX3)            

She sat down and watched, over and over again, the way he walked, back and forth, back and forth. His eyes met with hers. Finally. She thought. She tried not to seem excited, even though she looked like a dog waiting for his owner to come walking up to the door. The dog’s eyes raised his body, and his hopes. So was she; just like the dog; raising her hopes farther than she could ever reach. Those blue eyes are enough for today.

          As a matter of a fact, she did this everyday. Only because she can’t and will possibly never be the same way after those blue eyes met hers. Her eyes were so dark, so brown-black-dark. Perry. Her eyes said it as she looked at the busboy of her dreams. (More like, her “real-life”-everyday world.)

“Darlenys? You’re drooling again!” Arlin snickered.

“She’s like so in love with that busboy guy.” Marlen told her.

“No! Really?! Ya think?!” Arlin replied sarcastically.

“Arlin, don’t mock her!” I said.

“Sorry!” Arlin said, sarcastically saying things to get me worked up.

“Let’s go! I’m tired of staring at him!” Marlen pointed. I wanted to kill her! (Not really, but, yeah. I had the urge.)

          Perry came closer as if someone had planned the script in a movie and the guy was just desperate to meet that girl who drove him crazy.

           My heart was beating faster than ever! I was sinking deep into my seat.

“Oooops! Dropped…uh…something…”

“Here let me help you…”

“No! …I…uh…?”

           He looked at me, as I looked like an idiot who actually puts her whole body under the table just to get a…thing.

“Hi.” He said.

“…Hi…um…yeah. Let me…uh, get out from under this table.” I said.

“I’m Perry, and I’ll be your waiter this, uh, morning.” He smiled.

His smile was…amazing (ah-may-zing)!

“Oh. Hi Perry! I’m Darlenys, your customer this morning!”

“And I’m Arlin and this is her sister, Marlen!”

Shoot me now. I thought.

“Hi Perry!” Marlen waved.

“Hello Marlen! Hey Arlin!” Perry greeted them.

“So what brings you guys here?” He asked us.

“We have breakfast here…” I said.

“Since she’s too lazy to make any!” Marlen interrupted.

“Hahaha. I can’t cook!” I explained.

“Neither can I! I’m just the busboy!” He said, smiling. I felt so relieved.

“Wow, we have so much in common!” I said, sarcastically.

“Yeah! I mean, you both can’t cook, and wait…what else?”

Perry whispered something to Marlen in her ear. She giggled.

“And…” She continued., “You both like each other!!!”

“Lol! What?!” Arlin seriously laughed out loud!!!

“Ummm…?” I was so embarrassed! I felt my cheeks getting warm; the urge to pee; I wanted to cover and run!

“Excuse me!” I went to the bathroom.

           Perry knew where I was headed.

He followed me…and waited and listened to hear if anyone else was in there. Then, he

barged in quickly.

“Hello?”

“What are you doing in here? This is the ladies’ room!” I laughed, even though I was crying.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Perry asked me.

“My little sister comes up with the silliest things!” I kind of cry-laughed.

“So? Kids are always embarrassing their brothers and sisters! It’s one of those natural things, like girls being pretty just like you.” He smiled. I blushed naturally.

           Perry stared. Then he whispered in my ear; or tried to I giggled.

“What? What did I do?” He asked.

“…Nothing.”

“…?”

“I don’t like whispering. It tickles me.”

“…O…K?”

“I know it’s silly!”                                                          

“Well, no. Different, a bit. At least you’re one of the people that don’t gossip. I hate gossipers!”

“That’s nice…LOL. I’m not much of a gossiper. But everyone sort of is, in their own way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. See, there are people that say a thing or tow to a friend who begins a long train of lies. And then there are people, who… take what they’re told and just repeat it for the world to hear. Like…? Uh…?”

“Like…uh?”

“Oh, like, ‘Perry and Darlenys speak in a ladies’ room.’ ”

“Or, ‘Perry kisses Darlenys in a ladies’ room.’ “

“What?” I paused, then continued, “So that’s what you whispered!”

“Huh?” He joked.

“Noth-…”

“…-ing.” He kissed me.

           He held my face. His eyes closed. Mine, shut tightly. (I had a tendency to peek!)

“A bit forward, Mr. ..?”

“Delloplane.” He continued. Then stopped to look for something; A sign. He put it on the doorknob from the exterior.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“It’s kind of like a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign…What? You want women to come barging in here with the urge to pee and disturb us?”

“I guess not.” I shrugged.

“You’re guessing now?”

“…LOL. No.”

“Good. Because I want you to know that I like you.”

“Well…I could have guessed that!”

           He kissed me.

“So does this mean I don’t have to come in here and stare at you anymore?” I asked, feeling embarrassed by my question.

“What?…Oh! Well,…you can still do that, if you want to.”

“So, you knew?”

“Yeah; I stare at you, too.”

“Wow! Marlen was right!”

“I’m glad.”

“I have to go. I promised Marlen and Arlin that I’d take them to the mall!”

“Now I’m sad!” He puppy-dog pouted. (Adorably, of course!)

“And I’m sorry to hear that, but I have to go!”

“Well-okay. But we have to say good-bye/”

“Okay! Bye-…”

           He kissed me. (It was pretty passionate!)

“Bye!”

“How are you going to get out of here without being noticed?”

“Ehh…I’ll find a way.”

“Okay.” I smiled at him.

           I came out of the bathroom with an odd face of carefully-considered caring (?).

(In other words…I was happy enough to burst!)

“What’s with you?” Arlin asked.

“You know, stuff.” I replied smiling.

“Can we go to the mall now, Neni?” Marlen asked.

“Oh! Yeah! Can we?” Arlin reminded herself.

“Sure!”

          I saw Perry come out. Well, actually, I saw that he was out. I didn’t recall the exiting-part. As long as he wasn’t in there anymore and got out without getting in trouble…it didn’t really matter.

“Here’s the check, ladies. Have a beautiful day!” Perry secretly winked at me.

“Mm-hm…”” Arlin and Marlen stared at me.

“Oh, I guess you guys don’t want to go to the mall…”

“Wait!…” They both said.

          So, we’re driving to the mall, the car was full of… “I’m hot; You’re cold. You go around like you know who I am, but you don’t. You’ve got me on my toes!

I’m slipping into the lava. And I’m trying to keep from going under. Baby, you turn the temperature hotter. Cuz, I’m burnin’ up, burnin’ up for you, baby!”

“LOL! Okay! Okay! Let the chouffer drive!” I said.

As We arrive, I laid down a couple of ‘ground rules.’

“No: running around like maniacs; no leaving Marlen alone; always have your cell phones on and off of silent mode. Are we clear?”

“Question: What if I see my friends? Can I go with them and walk around the mall?” Marlen asked. Arlin agreed.

“Well, let me put it this way, if you both know where you’re going to be; say, meet each other somewhere in the mall where you’d go.”

“Limited Too!” They both giggled.

“Whatever, as long as you know.” I replied.

“Always pick up your phone! Especially when it’s one of you guys, or me!”

Ch.2 (Keep Your Receipt!)

           “Thanks Neni!” Marlen got out with her ‘boys’. (JB tote bag)

“Thanks Mom!…” Arlin’s sarcasm dared to come out.

“…” I gave her ’the excuse me-I’m looking for-the swimming pool-look’

“I mean, Darlenys.”

“That’s what I thought you said.” I said.

“LOL! Okay, bye!” I waved.

          Turns out Marlen was on to something because as soon as she and Arlin saw me turn the corner, she ran into the mall and looked for her friends, a small posse of girls that were waiting for her at Limited Too.

“Wait! You mean, you called? OH!…Uh?? Sneaky! Air five! Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!” Marlen completed her portion of the air five.

“Hey Marlen! Com’on! There’s new stuff in here! You gotta come check it out!” Krystal pointed to the store.

“Jonas Brothers stuff?!” Chelsea’s eyes widened.

Brithany, Xiomara, Alexandra, Miranda and Aishah stared at the marvelous-ness (?) that was come to be called “Limited Too.”

“Okay, I want to see quick and then I’m going to Hollister.” Arlin said. (So typically.)

Back to more important things, like Perry.

           I rush home; fast enough not to get in trouble and start giggling at the fact that all of this happened today. Thank Marlen! (I think I actually thought that?!) I did! Well, now all I want to do is see him again! “The last time I freaked, I just kept looking down. I stu-stu- stuttered when you asked me what I’m thinking’ ’bout…”

“Hello?”

“Lenys!”

“Keyra?!”

“Where are you right now?!” She asked me, getting up and going to a door.

“…Uh…in California. Why?…”

“Just asking.”

The doorbell rang.

“Keyra!!!!!!” I screamed, throwing the phone. (Who cares?!)

“OMJ! I’ve missed you so much!!!”

“Pshhh! You’ve missed me??!! I’ve missed my besterist more than anyone else!”

“AHHHHHH!…” We both screamed.

“So,…enough of this out here! Let’s go inside!” I continued; “I’ve got so much to tell you!”

As Keyra and I caught up, we shared very important details.

“So, guess who I’m going out with?” Keyra jumped up.

“Uh…no idea. Who?”

“…JOE JONAS!!!”

“OMJ!!!!!” I thought about Nick, but didn’t dare to ask her.

“So?”

“You’re wondering about Nick, right?”

“Actually…,” I sigh, “Yeah!”

“He’s fine, I guess. Not really up to much. Don’t worry Lenys, I mentioned you to him; Nothing embarrassing though! I just told him that you love their work, and you really, really think he’s a great guy, and that he deserves better.”

“Keyra! You did not say…”

“What? Yeah, I did! He had to hear it from someone other than his brothers!”

“You’re ah-may-zing!!! (amazing!)” I hugged her.

“I love you, Lenys!!!” She hugged back.

“So…?” She gave me ‘the look’.

“Uh…oh yeah! I met someone…”

“Well, I was going to say, ‘Ask me why I’m here?’ but, okay, let’s go with that!”

“…Thanks for putting me on the spotlight and all, but…yeah. His name is Perry Delloplane. He’s got dark, black hair; deep blue eyes; he wears those skinny, tight Jonas jeans (we) I like so much! He’s sweet, really nice, and he…”

“What?”

“He likes me back!!!”

“Oh, you go Lenys!!” We high-fived; Keyra cheered me on.

“Hey, why is it so empty in here?” Keyra asked looking around.

“Marlen’s at the mall with Arlin; we took pictures in front of her house the day of Camp Rock..”

“Oh, yeah!”

“Wow!”

“What?”

“He kissed me in the ladies’ room!”

“….?”

“Long story-short: Marlen embarrassed me and I went to the bathroom. Perry went in to see if I was okay. He comforted me…”

“Oh, yes he did!”

I shoved her.

“What?” She said.

“It’s complicated, but, trust me, that’s it.”

“What do you mean?”

          I told her how Marlen embarrassed me. I told her about what I thought Perry whispered. (I was most likely right, by the way.) Then ,I told her how Perry ‘comforted’ me. He liked me too! (Yes!)

“Hey! Want to go see him?” I asked.

“Sure, I mean, if you’re sure.” She replied.

“I just have to call Yasmin, my besterist from home.”

I called Yas.

“Yas! You have got to get your butt over here! It’s urgent! I want you to meet someone!”

“Uhmmm….okay. I’m going to sound a little bit like you, but…should I be scared?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, where should I meet you?”

“At The Breakfast Club Café.”

“Okay…what time?”

“Now-ish…”

“Not going to say anything.”

“Fine by me! I love you!”

“Love you too!”

           As Keyra and I get our stuff together to go to the café, I remember something…from this morning. The receipt!

“Wait! Wait!” I looked for the receipt.

“What are you looking for?”

“The receipt. It might have the hours.”

“It says 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.” (It was Tuesday.) Keyra said, reading out loud.

“Well, I don’t know his work hours, or what shift he usually works. To me, I’m guessing he works in the morning..”

Then I realized that there was something written on the receipt.

           “Your eyes are dark, mysteriously wonderous and empty. They make me braver. Brave enough to kiss you, (which I’m sorry if I was too forward, btw.) and just as brave to ask you out, maybe. (?)

Circle       Y   or   N  

“Well now you know his hours. And we’re in no rush, it’s only 1:36 p.m.” Keyra said.

“Yeah, okay! Let’s go!” I said, pulling her.

“Lenys, I said no rush!!” She yelled after me.

“And why can’t I get through the night without another fight? I’m tired of the hurting…”  My phone rang. It was Yas.

“Are you going over there?”

“Uh, yeah…I’m getting in the car.”

“Okay. Actually I’m closer, so I’m going to walk there.”

“Okay then!”

“Bye!”

“Bye!” I hung up the phone.

Ch.3 (Counting On Time)

          Yasmin decides to walk. Why? No idea. She’s texting who knows who for who knows what reason when she bumps into someone in the same thing; texting. It causes accidents.

“Oh, my gosh! I am so sorry! I..” She’s being helped up by Kevin Jonas!

“No, it’s okay! Things happen…” he got a good glimpse of her.

“..And for a reason, apparently.” He continued, “I’m Kevin Jonas.”

“I recognize you, yeah. I’m Yasmin Abreu.” They shook hands.

“Oh, Hi, Yasmin.” Kevin’s hair was in his eyes. (And we all know how hot that is!) His hair was straight.

“Where are you headed in such a hurry?” He asked her.

“I’m meeting my friend at a café just around here.” She replied.

“Oh, what, uh, your boy…”

“No! Just, just a good friend my best, most dearest girlfriend.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Can I ask why you’re in a hurry?”

“Sure! Ask!”

She laughs. “So, why are you in such a hurry?”

“Honestly, I wasn’t.”

“Oh, but I like now. This is a good time.” Kevin says.

“Why?” Yasmin looked befuddled.

“It could be because it’s California, where the sun’s shining 85% of the time…or because I just met you, Yasmin.”

She blushed. (Awwww!)

“Where is she?” I looked for Yasmin up and down the street.

“Maybe she’s inside already.” Keyra suggested.

“Maybe.” We went inside. She was inside; Talking it up with Kevin Jonas. He kind of turned, noticing Keyra. Yas got up when she saw me.

“Hey Yas!” I hugged her, whispering, “Why is Kevin Jonas here?” in her ear.

“I bumped into him on my way over here.”

“Hmmm…okay.”

“Well?”

“What?”

“It’s nice that you are getting to know him and I’m very extremely happy for you! Both of you!”

“Hi Yasmin!” Keyra greeted her.”

“Hey Keyra!” Yas said “Hi” back.

“Well, we better see who this guy is, before…” Yas said.

“Can I get your order?…”

          Perry was a couple of tables away, but I could hear him perfectly, as if there were no single person but us two in the room of that bathroom in that café. He came towards Yas and Kevin’s table. (I hope he still remembered me.) When he got there, he made no eye contact whatsoever with me. I felt so confused and hurt all at once. Then I thought about going to the bathroom to make it all better, but Keyra could have gone with me, or even Yas.

“So you’re just going to ignore me?” I didn’t hesitate in saying this to him.

“Yes.” He made no eye contact with me. He kept going about his business.

“Okay.” I was about to leave.

He grabbed my hand, “Only because I’m being watched.

“Huh?” I turned to him.

“The inspectors are here and I’ve got to do so much stuff today and the boss left me on duty for almost everything!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

“Hey, if you were to get excited about something right now, would you get in trouble?”

“Uh…tell me in the bathroom. Go in like nothing’s ever happened and you are just going to use the bathroom and then I’ll close it for clean up.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey!” He made eye contact with me, smiling.

“Yeah?”

“I LOVE YOU!” I whispered; more mouthing the words than whispering itself. Perry.

“Really?” He said to himself. “Time to clean the bathroom!”

          He told two workers to work on orders, both in and out. He rushed, went back to get the mop and cart to play it out.

“Is anyone in here?” He looked around, as he looked for me, as well.

“Just me; I hope it’s okay.” I looked at him.

“What did you want to tell me?” He asked.

“I read the receipt.” I replied getting closer.

           I showed him the receipt. He read it and said that I didn’t fill it out.

“That’s what I came to tell you. Yes, Perry, I’d love to go out with you!” I smiled.

           He started jumping around everywhere.

“This is…is ah-may-zing (amazing), this is, is insanely-crazy-good…Wow!!!!” He grabbed my face and kissed my lips for a good five minutes.

“Whoah baby!” I said, biting my lips afterwards.

I giggled.

“Hey how’s about we go out tonight? I’m a Cali guy and I know some ah-may-zing (amazing) places to go out to.”

“Uh, sure!”

          We exchanged numbers, email addresses, work hours, and work emails. Anything that could be used to connect, we exchanged it. We finally left the bathroom after about a good 10 mins. Later on, I went back to Keyra, Yas, and Kevin. Yasmin and Kevin were pretty occupied with their own conversation to join us in ours, but we forgave them because of the “image” we saw. Kesmin.

“Operation Kesmin is on go: OVER!” I said to Keyra through my hand-walkie talkie.

“Copy that, besterist! Over and out!” Keyra laughed.

“So, when am I going to meet Joe?”

“Soon…!”

I froze; Then, kind of giggling, played along. Keyra’s eyes were being covered. She had to guess…which was pretty predictable because I was sitting face-to-face with her so it was definitely not me!

“Joe?”

“Good job! Here’s your treat!” He kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey! I want to meet my besterist friend in the whole wide world!” Keyra’s eyes widened.

“Hi, I’m the besterist, Darlenys. One of the reasons why she’s always smiling.” I introduced myself.

“Hi, I’m Joe, but you already know that don’t you?”

“Should I say ‘no’?”

“It’s kind of hard to do that since you’re accessorizing: Jonas style!” He pointed to the bag and the pendant that had JB on it.

“Oh,” I held the pendant, “Right!”

“Well, I’m flattered that you love me and my brothers!…and that’s a great coincidence that Keyra’s your, uh…besterist?”

“Besterist! Besterist friend in the whole wide world, actually!” I smiled, hugging Keyra.

“Yup!” Keyra def. agreed.

“Okay?…”

“Awkward!” He said, I did too (?). Which made that even more weird.

           We laughed and just talked. Perry signaled to me.

UH-OH! I was so confused! I’m completely horrible when it comes to signaling. Just the basics are good for me; “Hi,” “Bye,” and “I have to pee!” It’s really sad! I know! He gave up and went back and forth near Joe, Keyra and I.

“Wha…I can’t understand you!” I whispered.

“I’m going on my lunch break!” He whispered back.

“Lenys…?” Keyra noticed. Great! (sarcastically thinking.)

“Uh, I have to go…” My cell phone rang. Arlin! Yes!

“I’ll be right back-maybe.”

“Maybe?” Joe asked.

“You see, my sister and her friend are at the mall, and I’m their ride, so…yeah. BUT, (I have no idea why I’m saying this, but,) what are you guys doing tonight?”

           I felt so stupid after I said this, but I felt so bad that I had to leave them.

“Uh, well, I guess not?” Keyra looked at Joe.

“Uh,…no we’re not really up to much today. What’d you have in mind?” Joe asked.

“Oh, I don’t really know, but I’m going out with this guy and I really don’t want to go alone! I wanted Keyra to come and since you’re here, you should go with her! Whadaya think?”

“Well, if it’s okay with you and this guy, and Keyra…” Joe was interrupted by Keyra.

“Of course it’s okay with me! I just hope that you can have the best first-date of your life with…”

“Perry.”

“Oh, you mean, the busboy at the café?” She asked.

“He works here; he’s the one over there, with the dark black hair…”

“Oh, I see him.”

“Well, then it’s settled.” Joe said.

“…Oh man! What have I done?!” I shouted.

“ Excuse me?” Joe asked.

“What happened, Lenys?” Keyra asked.

“I have, like, no idea what to do, or what to wear or…anything.” I continued. “He said he’s a Cali guy.”

“So…? I’m a Cali girl…”

“…And I’m from New Jersey, so what does this have to do with anything?”

“Uh! I don’t know.”

“Okay, Okay! How about we go bowling and then we meet there, play a game or two, then we go our separate ways on this double date?” Joe asked.

“Okay, it sounds good!” I said. “Thank you so much! I don’t know what I would’ve done without both of you guys, literally! I mean, I’d be lost!” I left to go pick up the girls.

I get a phone call from some strange number.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Who is this?”

“Perry.”

“Oh! You scared me there, for a sec!”

“Well, I can see that signaling to you is never going to work!” He laughed.

“Shut up! I’m not the signaling type! I only know hi’s, bye’s, I have to pee,…”

“I love you?”

I got quiet, “Yeah.” I responded.

“Uhm, I’m actually driving to pick up the girls, but can I tell you something really quick?” I asked.

“Sure, what?” He asked back.

“I kinda made a little double-date with my friend and her boyfriend but it’s going to be at a bowling alley, so…it’s just a game or two and then we go our separate ways, but…does that mess with what you had planned for tonight?”

“Actually, that’s great! We can go bowling for part of it, and then, we can go around town.”

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise!”

“Well, okay; what should I wear?”

“Jeans, a nice shirt, NO HEELS!”

“Not a problem with the heels!”

“Why’s that?”

“I only wear them when it’s extremely special; not that this isn’t!”

“Okay. Well I’ve got to go! I’ll pick you up at 7:00 p.m.!”

“Okay! Bye!”

“I’ll be counting the minutes!” He added.

Ch.4 (Rendez-vous)

           He’s just as excited about this as I am! Then, I thought, what to do with the girls tonight?

“Guys! What are you up to tonight?”

“Uh, don’t know!” Marlen said.

“Nothing I guess (?)!” Arlin thought, then just figured that there really was nothing to do.

“Well, I have to go out and catch up with Keyra, but I can’t leave you guys alone, and I’m DEFINITELY NOT TAKING YOU! So, what da ya think?”

“Sleep-over at a friend’s?” Marlen almost stood in her seat.

“Uh, I don’t know? Do I know this friend?”

“Yeah. Aishah.”

“Oh! Is her mom there?”

“Marlen’s already getting it started!” Arlin laughed.

           Marlen was already calling Aishah and asking and planning their ah-may-zing (amazing) sleepover.

“Oh, wow!” I laughed. “What about you?”

“Can I just stay home?”

“As long as you don’t leave the house and don’t answer doors.”

“Okay.”

“So it’s settled? You guys officially have something to do!”

“Yup!” Marlen came into the conversation after she hung up.

Arlin and I laughed!

          We got home. I got out my Ipod and connected it to the dock ad just started dancing to my play lists. Music always calmed me down when I was feeling uneasy…because I was so excited!!!

          Perry and I were officially going out and not just as girlfriend and boyfriend, but on a date! How wasn’t this real? Then again…I pinched myself “awake” but I was already awake and I was dancing around in my room, doing invisible air-guitar solos for all of my dreams that have and were coming true!!! I was finally going to go out with the guy of my dreams!

           I was taking a shower. My clothes were all set on my bed, (Yes, I still did this!), Marlen was at Aishah’s, and Arlin was on the computer. The doorbell rang and since I was taking a shower, I barely heard anything. Arlin answered the door.

           There stood Perry Delloplane in a nice shirt and jeans with some vans. (Me like! Not that I saw!)

“Hey Arlin!” I had a feeling we weren’t alone, “Can you come here a sec?!” I couldn’t leave because I wasn’t about to go over there in just my robe.

“He’s here!” Arlin smiled, poking me.

“Okay, Okay; but I really am going to catch up with Keyra and talk to Joe some more…”

“Joe-Jo-…” Her face was paralyzed.

“Jonas.” I said.

“Whoah!”

“No, you can’t go!” I said.

“Maybe you’ll get to see him one day!” I said.

“Fine! Have fun…”

“Oh yeah, in my robe!!!” I grinned sarcastically.

She laughed out loud, “Sorry! Well, when you get dressed, have a good time!”

“Thanks!”

           I went to the living room. I did my breathing exercises on my way there. Turns out, so was he! Perry.

“Whoah! You look…beautiful!” He stared.

“Thank you! You look really nice, too! Love the shirt!” I pointed.

“Thanks! Oh, by the way,” He ruffled through some things in his bag of stuff, “I got you this.” Then he took out the bouquet that matched the single orchid.

“Orchids? Classy! Thank you!” I put them in a vase. I put the single one in the hair. “Let’s go!”

“Yup.” He took my hand. I blushed.

          We got to the bowling alley. Keyra and Joe were talking. As soon as I was in five feet of them, I heard a loud, “Lenys!” cry.

“Keyra!” We hugged. Joe walked over and said hi. Perry said hi.

Keyra whispered, “He’s cute!” in my ear. I giggled.

“Okay! Let’s do get this started!” I shouted. Keyra laughed.

“Yeah!” Joe screamed, making a funny face at Keyra.

She laughed. They kissed.

Perry held my hand and we talked about everything as the game kept going.

“Yeah! Oh Yeah! Uh-huh!” Joe danced.

Keyra pointed and laughed.

“Oh yeah?” He ran towards her. She screamed. He kissed her.

“Oh god! Not in public!” I yelled; Perry laughed, then got completely serious, getting closer, holding my face. We kissed as I tried to bowl; I dropped the ball and kissed him…getting a perfect strike?! Joe’s eyes widened. Keyra’s jaw dropped. Perry and I had no idea that that had happened. We stopped. I giggled.

Later On…

           Joe summed up the scores, even though that was the machine’s job, and turns out, Keyra won! He overreacted.

“What?” He pulled his hair. “That’s impossible!”

Then I added, “That’s illogical, Joe can’t have it!”

“Haha!” Keyra pointed at Joe. Perry and I laughed.

Ch.5 (Nine In The Afternoon)

           Perry and I decided to go our separate ways, without Keyra and Joe.

“I think we’re ready to go.” I whispered to Keyra.

“Okay…” She whispered back.

“Bye Joe, Bye Keyra!” Perry said as he held my hand. I had a huge grin on my face.

“Oh! Leaving already? Okay then!” Joe asked. Keyra shoved him.

“Bye Lenys! Bye Perry!” Keyra shouted, waving.

           I was so extremely nervous. Perry made me feel safe, although he was a total stranger, he was a caring stranger.

“Where are we going?”

“Anywhere you want!” He ran from me, making me chase him.

I laughed.

           It was like a part in a movie, the guy plays around with the girl, she plays back.

          We tumble and roll around on some grass. Perry falls on me. I laughed to a silent smile. We just looked at each other. Perry kissed me. He helped me up and we got into the car and rode off.

           All of sudden, “Shake It” comes on the radio and I scream. I, trying to be hilarious, started singing to it.

“I’ll take you home if you don’t meet me at the front door (meet me at the front door). You’re body’s cold, but girl, we’re getting so warm. And I was thinking of ways that I could get inside. So now you’re falling in love (Here we go now!). This feeling’s tearing me up! (Let me go now!)…”

Perry laughed so hard at me, in a good ‘you’re so cute’ way!

“So, Cali-guy, where are we going, tonight?” I whispered in his ear.

“I told you, anywhere you want!” He whispered back.

“Well, as you may have noticed, I’m not from here…At least let me know what we’re going to do!”

           He thought deeply, for a couple of minutes; Enough for us to reach our destination.

“Here; we’re going to have fun!” He opened the car door for me. I screamed inside my head (and outside)!

“What are you screaming about?”

“…I…like to express my feelings for the crowd to hear…?” I shrugged my shoulders.

He laughed. “Com’on!” He took my hand (tonight. We could run so far. We could change the world Do anything we want. We could stop for hours, just staring at the stars. They come down to show us.)

Meanwhile…

Marlen was at Aishah’s house doing who-knows-what and just laughing about it all the way to the movies. Marlen and Aishah heard that there was going to be a special appearance of some actor from this new movie that was premiering. Marlen calls Arlin to rub it in her face. Aishah laughs.

“Hello?” Arlin answered her phone.

“Hi!” Marlen said.

“Hi…?” Arlin answered back.

“Guess what we’re doing?”

“…Uh, what?” “We’re going to see that British guy, Skandar…”

“What???” She took a deep breath. “Where are you, right now…wait a minute, you’re trying to trick me!” Arlin doubted the girls.

“Okay…? But he looks just like that guy and he TALKS just like that guy…and he,…hangs out with…” She stared with a shocked face, “NICK JONAS?!!!”

“What?? Too bad Darlenys…never mind.”

“What?”

“She went out.”

“Com’on and see him for yourself, if you want!”

           Arlin thought. Marlen interrupted her pensive state by asking, “Where are Joe and Kevin?” “Having a life-how should I know?!” She looked for her key, some money and her phone. “Where are you guys again?”

          As Arlin walked to the Phantom of The Opera Cinema, she noticed all of the full parking lots from stores nearby. The lights, the crowd, everything-extremely crazy!

“Wow! Those little girls were right!” She actually said out loud.

(She spoke to herself, in other words.)

           Arlin barged through those doors, cutting through people like a butter knife.

“That was fast!” Marlen said to Aishah.

“Yeah!” She responded.

           Arlin found Marlen and pointed in her direction.

“You! Alright! I’m here! Where is he?”

Skandar was across the hall from all of this teenage-escapading from all around the state! He, who had been in a room full of girls, could only focus on the one with the shiny, long, black hair. (In case you’re wondering, a hint would be that Arlin was one of the few brunettes who had shiny, black hair.) Skandar was seriously about to go over there to meet Arlin; and trust me, that’s all Arlin wanted to happen.

“OMG! He’s coming this way! What should…Is…Does my hair look okay?” Arlin asked.

“Marlen! Is her hair okay?” Aishah snapped her fingers in front of Marlen.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Perfect!”

“What are y…”

“Don’t turn around and just pretend we’re talking about something funny.”

           They all fake-laugh their target, well, Arlin’s target.

“Hello! I’m Skandar Keynes; From, Chronicles of Narnia…”

Ch.6 (Skandar Keynes)

“Yes, I know! I loved both of those movies to death!”

“Oh really? Thanks! I’ll be sure to tell the cast!” Arlin laughed.

“So, what’s your name?”

“Arlin K…Salazar.” She starts to say his last name.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Arlin. Just Arlin!” She tried not to laugh.

“That’s a nice name you’ve got there.” He played that over and over again; same as Arlin with what he had said.

“Well, the movie’s about to start.” Skandar said.

“Yup.” Arlin responded.

Awkward-Seconds-Silence.

“Is it okay if I sit with you…?” He asked ARLIN.

“And us?!” Marlen piped (?).

“Oh, Hi!” He said.

“Hi! I’m Marlen! This is my friend, Aishah!”

“Hello!…Well, Arlin?” He almost put out his hand.

          Arlin was trying not to “break a sweat,” but then again, Skandar Keynes…And out of nowhere Nick Jonas decides to join them! And I was on what had become the best night of my life! I’m finally going out with Perry Delloplane! And then, out of nowhere, Nick Jonas seems to be available, and in the area? Great!

Going Back To PerryLenys…

          He took me to a carnival that had been in town for about two weeks. It had rides, games, concession stands and all that good stuff! We went on the classics; bumper cars, Ferris wheel, and carousel. Perry couldn’t keep up with me on the bumper cars! I was definitely on a roll! Then we bought a bag of cotton candy and shared it. My fingers were all sticky but he held my hand either way.

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“ What?” He looked confused.

“My sticky, cotton candy-smelling fingers?”

“I ate some too!”

“Hmmmm…?” I was confused now.

“Look, it doesn’t matter if your fingers are: long, short, sticky or clean; I care about how much I’ve waited for this to happen.”

“Really?” I stopped.

“Yeah.” He stopped too.

“This has been amazing! I love it!…All of it! This, here, and you and me…I’m making no sense…” I said.

“Yes you are! That’s exactly how I feel right now! I, actually, didn’t think that there’d be anything more perfect than this.”

“What do you mean?” I took some more cotton candy.

“That’s exactly it! I mean, that is what I mean? I’m trying to make sense here, if that’s ever going to happen.”

I laughed. “Apparently not!”

          He laughed too, his deep blue eyes glistening against his white skin. Then, that strand of hair…it covered his right eye-my favorite eye-because every time I did something stupid on that first date, that right, blue eye would right away tell me that it was okay. Cute, even.

          As he went on and on about something that ,clearly, didn’t interest me at all, I just stared at him. Then, he realized that I wasn’t listening and stared at me, smile on smile.

“So, what else do you want to do?” He asked me.

“I don’t know. We’ve gone on almost every ride in here!”

“Almost every ride…” He thought, getting out of his pensive trance and now pulling me to the one ride that I had said ‘no’ to.

“Oh…com’on! Please!!” His eyes begged me, his arm pulling mine.

“Uh, NO! I don’t think so!”

“Why not?” He stayed still.

“…Be…-Cause!” I set my foot down.

“For me?” He bashed his long eyelashes.

“You promise to hold on tight?” I gave in. He smiled.

“I promise!” He held my hand.

I blushed a little. “Oh Crap!” My feet stiffened.

“What? I told you I’d promised?!” He said.

          After about ten minutes, he decided to let it drop. I felt so embarrassed, but I’m extremely afraid of roller coasters. Instead we went on all of those nauseating rides that, for some reason, I was completely comfortable about!

Ch.7 (Sparks)

Now Arlin and Skandar…

They were watching the movie, (a new chronicles…movie that he had starred in, if you must know!), feeling the least bit uncomfortable. Marlen and Aishah were so intrigued by the movie, that they had completely forgotten who they were with to even pay attention.

Several times, Skandar tried to pay attention to anyone but Arlin’s reaction to the film, but she was all he could look at.

“What?” He said.

“What?” Arlin asked back, confused and laughing at the same time.

“Uhm…are you liking my movie?” He finally got it out.

“Yes. I loved the first one, why wouldn’t I like the sequel?”

“Hmmmm…good point.” He patted her hand, softly brushing the layer of skin as an excuse to touch her.

“Your hand is so soft!” It slipped from his mouth.

“Thanks…? It’s an off-day to not hear a compliment on the softness of my hand!” Her sarcasm boomed. He laughed, sighing.

As Skandar pulled his hand away, Arlin felt how cold she instantly got.

When the movie was over, everyone went from complete and utter darkness to the plain, fluorescent lighting of the mall.

“Ah!” Arlin’s sensitive eyes screamed to be closed.

Nick had the same reaction. They practically mimicked each other.

“Oh my…” Arlin blinked a couple of times. “All better!”

“Are you sure?” Skandar worried.

“Don’t worry!” Marlen reassured. “She’ll be fine!”

“Okay then.” He smiled.

Arlin was about ready to go on, when Skandar grabbed for her hand.

“What are you doing (not that it’s bothering me)?”

He chuckled. “Dancing with you in the mall, what does it look like?”

Arlin’s face was puzzled; enjoyably-puzzled.

Then she heard clearly, that melody…Twilight! It was Bella’s Lullaby!

“You read Twilight?”

“Yes I do!” He laughed a little, trying to get out the words. “Edward Cullen is dazzling!!!”

Arlin laughed as she swayed in Skandar’s arms. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“So, how is this happening, exactly?!” She finally spoke.

“What’s happening?”

“No offense, but, when there’s music like this, or any type, we Americans just walk around, humming and shopping. I didn’t really think that THIS would be going on!”

“Well, I have a few connections!”

Okay! Arlin thought to herself.

Suddenly…

“Arlin!”

“Keyra!…AND JOE JO-…”

“JONAS; yeah, I know. Hi Arlin!”

“Oh, hello. I’m Skandar Keynes.”

“Hey Joe.”

“ ’Sup, Nick?!”

They did their handshake.

Keyra rolled her eyes at how long it took for two brothers, who TOUR all around the world together, to do a handshake.

“So, what are you guys doing here?” Nick finally says something!

“Oh, you know, walking around, getting chased by fans, stuff like that! HAHAHA!” Joe responded.

Keyra laughed. “So, I chase you around?? Is THAT who this is??”

“Hey, HEY Baby! No, no, no…” Joe apologized.

“Haha! You should have seen your face!” She pointed.

“HA!” Joe said.

“Arlin, are you hungry? Because Joe and I were just about to go eat something…” Keyra waited, holding Joe’s hand.

Skandar whispered in her ear, she nodded and he explained their…“situation”. (They decide to go eat, just not in the mall, but at some pizzeria!)

“We’re actually going out…” Skandar began; Keyra interrupted.

“Congratulations! You guys look so cute together!”

“What?!” Nick was shocked. “You go out to see one movie and now you’re going out?!”

Marlen and Aishah laugh. It all happened so quickly! Arlin hid her ‘blushing’ from Skandar.

“Oh, wh…not yet!” He smiled at her, gripping her hand tighter.

Arlin looked up at him a bit too quickly, almost feeling offended. Skandar held up Arlin’s chin with his thumb and index finger. Keyra covered Joe’s eyes. Nick laughed at his brother. Skandar sealed the last moments of silence with a kiss.

“Now, we’re dating.” He smiled down at her.

Arlin smiled cheezily, as always.

“I love it when you do that.” He smiled back at her.

She blushed.

“Well…that was nice.” Joe interrupted. Keyra shoved him.

“What?” Arlin asked.

“Nothing, nothing.” Keyra said.

Meanwhile, Noriette, my best friend from grade school, was at the mall with a couple of friends. She passed right by the scene of people and superstars…backing up in the process!

Nick, part of the ‘scene of people and superstars’, was barely paying attention, feeling left out, almost.

Hey! He thought.

Oh my GOD! It’s Nick Jonas! Okay…okay! Stay calm…even if he’s coming straight towards me…

“HE’S COMING STRAIGHT TOWARDS ME!!” She screamed under her breath.

Noriette was standing next to a gumball machine. Nick was inches from her.

“Oh, gum!” (?) Nick used the excuse of gum to get closer to her.

“Hi.” He said.

Noriette froze in her tracks.

“H-hi.” She responded a second later.

“You know who I am, don’t you?” He asked.

“Uh…No?” She nodded sarcastically.

He laughed. “You’re pretty AND funny? Nice!”

She blushed slightly.

“So…how’s it goin’?” She started up some small talk with him.

“…” He took the moment to laugh at that, “Oh, you know, walking around the mall, getting chased by fans…Usual stuff.” He laughed.

“Oh!” She laughed.

They laughed. (Basically, there was a lot of laughing going on at the moment.)

Nick’s friends were all wondering why he was taking so long at the gumball machine-and then noticed the pretty girl that he was talking to, then called to him and said they’d meet him outside when he was ready-which wasn’t going to be for a while!

Anyway, Let’s finished up PerryLenys’s date, shall we?

So, as we had left off, Perry and I were out with Keyra and Joe, bowling and kicking butt as we did it! Perry and I had our big strike (kiss.) Joe was extremely jealous of that- And the fact that Keyra had wont the game. HA! Then, Perry and I left to start our date, where he surprised me, once again, with how sweet he was! The Carnival on a first date was the most perfect of perfect first dates! The roller coaster-not so much! I guess since I’m a girl (and I really HATE stereotypes, but I’ll have to make an exemption) that I should be a wimp! We rode the death trap.

“Hey! Hey, it’s okay!” Perry comforted me. He hugged me, stroking my hair and face.

I nodded hesitantly. “I’m okay! Well,…that’s embarrassing!”

He laughed. “I’m sorry! If I’d known you’d get like this, I would have dumped the idea.” He was hugging me tightly to his chest. My arms were wrapped around his neck, fingers intertwined. I giggled softly, whispering softly in his ear, “Take me home?”

He nodded.

He gave me a piggy ride to the car.

ARLIN WAS IN OODLES OF TROUBLE IF SHE DIDN’T GET HOME SOON!

I got a phone call on the ride home, one of my missed calls of the night!

“Aren’t you gonna get that?” Perry asked me. (Silly boy!)

“No.”

He shrugged. After a minute or two, he asked how I was feeling.

I nodded. “I’m fine. Just overwhelmed was all.” I smiled at him.

He smiled back. “Good. Because…there was one more thing that I wanted to show you.”

I looked at him, confused.

“Don’t worry, there are no roller coasters at this place.”

“HahaHA!”

He kissed me at the stoplight, since he was the one who had to drive.

Ch.8 (Just Kiss Me.)

We passed by the cinema, where they were giving a movie with Skandar Keynes in it. That’s when it hit me. Because we ALL know that Arlin could not resist!

“Hello?” She answered right away. She’s good!

“Hey Arlin! How are you holding out at the house?”

“Oh, good. Eating something.” It was totally quiet.

“You went out, didn’t you?!”

She started to speak, but I cut her off.

“We’ll talk about it when I get home!” I said, hanging up first.

“Oh crap!” Arlin thought out loud. She stood up, startled.

“What?” Skandar asked; He did the same.

“You have to go, NOW!”

“Why?!…I mean, I wouldn’t want to go now!”

“I’m sorry! I had a great time!”

“Me too!” He grabbed her face gently into his hands, bringing her closer to him. He smiled at her first, making sure that she’d be okay with that. Although it was obvious that she was!

          He kissed her lips gently. His tongue slipped into her mouth, where hers awaited anxiously. (They were kissing passionately. It had to be done! Surprisingly, Skandar and Arlin knew exactly how to do it.) Skandar touched her face, feeling the smoothness of her cheeks. Their tongues had their own battle inside their mouths. Arlin wrapped her arms around his pale, white neck. Finally after about ten minutes, Skandar pulled away, sadly, making it end all too soon. Arlin’s mind was clouded. Skandar was breathing heavily, his forehead against hers. He smiled at her, said “bye,” and then left out the door. Arlin was sitting on her bed, then laid down, mesmerized as soon as he left. She practiced her breathing.

Meanwhile, PerryLenys…

“Where are we?” My eyes were shut tight.

“Step inside.”

“With my eyes closed?!” I didn’t want to fall.

“I’ve got you, it’s okay.”

“Yes, it is,” I muttered.

He ignored me.

We walked inside. My eyes were still closed. It was warm inside the dark place. It smelled like…vanilla?

“Mmm…’ I took in the sweet vanilla. He scrambled around.

“Okay; open your eyes.”

It was bright. There were frames hanging around. Paintings. Artsy.  The view was amazing. The shore. The waves were coming in and out. The window was enormous! There was even a boardwalk leading to the beach. Some backyard!

“Wow!” I gasped at the view.

“I know. But you have no idea how amazing it looks right now!”

He stared at me as I stood in front of the window, the wind blowing in my face. My hair blew wildly.

I blushed. He had no idea how amazing this was for me too!

“…I, um…want to show you something,” He walked around, looking for something, “Please, make yourself at home!…Um, do you want anything?”

You. “Nothing. It’s fine, thank you.” I said.

“Okay.” He bit his lips, smiling. He went on, coming back in a couple of minutes.

“…I tend to think a lot, and well, I draw what I think about.” He came to sit down next to me. He handed me a paper from the top.

“This one took me awhile…I wanted to get it down perfectly.”

It was…me. I was being drawn by my boyfriend! crazy!

“ Oh, my gosh!” I observed myself in the drawing. It was like staring into an animated mirror; “Wow! These are really good!…It’s , amazing, actually!…” I turned to him.

“You didn’t tell me you could draw!” I accused him.

“It slipped.” He shrugged.

“Perry, what I meant to say was, ‘You didn’t tell me you could mirror your thoughts!!!’ These, everything about you,….ahh! You’re amazing!”

I gave up explaining what he was to me. Only because ‘amazing’ didn’t just cut it! He was: glorious, sweet, smart, caring, passionate; the exact replica of the Perry I used to dream about 24/7. He was all of that and so much more.

He smiled at me. “You’re everything I always knew you’d be…” He took that pause to touch my cheek with the back of his hand, “and so much more.” He leaned in closer towards me. I went forward, mirroring his actions. He stared into my eyes; I stared into his deep, blue eyes; He brushed my bottom lip with his index finger. I blushed uncontrollably. Perry smirked at my blushing, not enough for me to notice. He pulled me in to begin one of the greatest kisses of my life! The want, the need, the desire: all the same but all there, differently expressed.

Perry’s kisses had never been so intense, but all at once, it was just as sincere as the first; only longer, and more passionate and longer. When he pulled away to catch some air, I practically fell to the couch, where we had picked up where we’d left off. His tongue softly traced the outside of my lips. I was hyperventilating. I opened my eyes, knowing that I was killing the moment, but needing to look at him. His eyes were watching me. I nodded an “okay” and his tongue found mine. My fingers wove into each other around his neck, moving up to knit them into his pitch black hair. This time, I pulled him away to catch my breath. I rested my head back, onto the couch. He grinned at me. I looked up at the ceiling still learning how to inhale and remembering how to exhale. My hands were shaking, I didn’t know why, but I hope it was because I was hyperventilating.

Perry tried not to laugh at my reaction to…that. He tried to help the situation by doing the same, later realizing that he truly needed it! He looked at me, head still rested on the couch. I looked at him. He smiled. I returned the gesture. Then he spoke.

“Let’s take you home.” He reached for my hand.

Ch.9 (Mm-hmmm;D)

When I finally got home, Arlin was sleeping. I was too mesmerized to even argue, not to mention walk or even think straight.

The Next Day…

Sun was brightly shining into my window and trying to get through my eyes. I wrenched them open, screaming, almost completely falling off of my bed! Arlin had apparently been staring at me sleep.

“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!” Arlin and I screamed at each other.

She laughed, watching my reaction. My heart was drumming in my ears.

“Hi.” She said.

“…uh, hi?!” I was annoyed at my wake-up call.

“How’s it go-…”

“This is not a conversation over the phone! I’m right here…”

She laughed. “Sorry.”

“Speaking of…”

Uh-Busted!

“Okay, so maybe I left the house, but I was being mocked by your little sister and her friend. AND it just so happens that he DID notice me and he DID kiss me and I AM his GIRLFRIEND!!!” Arlin shouted out.

I waited, then spoke when I could feel her skin cool in her face.

“Are you done?” I asked calmly.

“Yes.” She waited for me to shout back at her, only differently.

“…What?” I asked.

“You’re not yelling. Aren’t you mad?”

“No. I’m not mad.”

“But you’re going to yell…”

“No.”

“Why?”

I stared at her, bewildered, then smiled. “Keyra called me while I was on my date and she had told me about you and Skandar when she had left a message. I know everything there is to know about him. He’s a pretty good guy. I trust you, too!” I scuffed up her hair.

“Hey!” She readjusted her long, black locks.

“You’re still just a teenager. Don’t screw this p and make it go too fast!”

“Ha! Of course not! What am I, stupid?!…Don’t answer that!” She put one finger in the air.

I waited a minute or two before we both burst into laughter.

“Don’t worry about it! I trust me too!” Arlin said, ungrammatically correct.

“I’m going to ask Marlen if she’s ready, because I’m picking her up from Aishah’s house! I’m going to go get ready.”

As I’m Getting Ready…  

I haven’t forgotten about Marlen, don’t worry! I sent Arlin to get Marlen, who was picking out some cute boys (Marlen, not Arlin!) with Aishah.

Arlin’s confused at why they were pointing at random little boys until she understood everything!

“Oh, wow! Dylan and Cole Sprouse…huh.” She said, staring at Marlen and Aishah. “This should be fun.” She sat down somewhere and stared, almost too casually.

15 Minutes Later…

“Arlin, Arlin! Guess what?” Marlen jumped up and down.

“What?” Her mouth tried not to hang too open.

“Cole and Dylan invited us to go see a live broadcasting of their show!”

“They couldn’t have said, ‘a movie’ ?!”

“That’s so, so much better than a movie!” Aishah stated.

“Well, duh!” Marlen said.

Marlen and Aishah talked on and on about their double date with the twins, and Arlin just looked at them as she walked them home. Suddenly, her phone saved her from hearing any more details.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Arlin?” Skandar answered back with his deep English accent that made her swoon.

“Hi.” She smiled, showing her mouthful of grillZ (braces).

“Hello.” He replied.

Moments of silence, a breath or two inhaled and exhaled almost too harshly.

“So…?” Arlin started.

“I missed you.” Skandar told her.

“I missed you too.” She said, smiling again.

“Why is she all ‘smiley’?” Marlen asked aloud.

“Are you talking to you…” Aishah stared at Marlen.

“BOYFRIEND?!” They said together.

Arlin smiled nervously.

“Tell them it’s a ‘yes’.” He told her smoothly.

“Okay.” She did as she was told.

“OOOOOH!” Aishah and Marlen yelled.

“ANYWAY…!” Arlin said.

“Meet me, today…I…need to see you.” Skandar told her.

It was quiet.

“Okay.” She giggled.

“Cool. Stop by my house, here, then.” He said. He gave her the address, too.

“Okay.” She had it written down and ready to go.

At Skandar’s…

Arlin did seem to notice that she had no idea what his house had ever looked like. He didn’t even live in the United States! Suddenly, she found the place he had said was his “house” and knocked on the door.

“Skandar?” She called.

The door opened. He motioned for her to come inside.

“Thanks.” She said.

He closed the door quietly.

“Why is it so dark?!” She yelled, nervous.

“Calm down, Arlin! I’m just trying to be romantic!” He took her through the dark room, over to the dark dining room with the candles down yonder.

“Oh my gosh! Skandar!” She slapped his arm lightly.

“What?!” It confused him to see her react to what he did. Normally, Arlin would usually just gasp, not hit him.

“I’m sorry!” She laughed, “Did you do this all for me?”

“For US. I wanted to see you tonight because I have to spend as much time with you as possible.” He said.

Arlin was a bit shocked. She really wanted to ask him why, but she held it in. Skandar stared at her, waiting for her to ask him something.

“What?” She stared at him, confused at how awkwardly silent it was, not so much the things he was saying.

“Nothing.” He grabbed out for her hand. Suddenly, he got up, pulling Arlin with him.

“What are you doing??” Arlin whispered, smiling slightly.

“SHH!” He took Arlin’s hands and wrapped them around the back of his neck. He put his hands on either sides of her waist. Arlin blushed slightly. They danced to the city sounds. It was pretty quiet throughout the rest of their time together. Arlin got extremely comfortable and laid her head on his chest. Skandar rested his head on hers. Arlin closed her eyes and drifted into her own ‘La La Land’ as Skandar held her in his arms.

Moments like these are never to be wasted. There’s always a way to keep it all together and stay ‘in sync’. We’re young now, but what if you let time pass you by? What if you love someone now, but not forever like you’d promised? I mean, sure, it happens. We’re only humans; we only have desire on our minds; we only like to live for the moment not knowing it’s all we have; it’s all we care for. That’s exactly true about Skandar. He was only human. He could only live in the moment as a rushed life of Hollywood and fame; he could only want so much as to what was given to him; he would only love as much as he felt he was loved back. But with Arlin…It was all very different. This terrain was very foreign and new. She was his want, his need, his moment; except he didn’t want anything to do with the lack of time to appreciate it. Skandar knew how much he loved her. He knew how much he wanted to be with her. From the beginning of it all…the black haired beauty from the cinema, that was his calling of desire.

After Arlin turned around and noticed him-the expression on her face, just what he had hoped for- his face lit up more than he’d ever known possible.

For as long as he had known, he’d always been happy with his early start in his career. He adored the Narnia fans. His cast had become one of his greatest buddies. Somehow, someway he felt empty; unamused. It was as if he was waiting for that meteor to shoot across his sky; As if he was waiting for Arlin to catch his eye all along.

“Why are you so quiet?” Arlin asked him, lifting up her head to stare into his eyes.

Skandar returned the look. “No reason. I just don’t find that there is anything to say, really.”

“…Oh?”

“Well, yeah. I just thought that you could hear everything I was saying.”

Arlin was confused. “Skandar, maybe it’s just me,…but I’m no Edward Cullen!” Arlin laughed to herself.

Skandar joined in. “What I mean is: ‘When it gets really quiet like this, I just feel like we can hear each others’ secrets.’ ”

Skandar came close to her left ear and whispered, “Close your eyes. Empty out any thoughts and listen carefully.”

She did as she was told. Skandar began to whisper in her ear.

“You are one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen, do you know that? That’s exactly what I was thinking that day that I thankfully noticed you out of all of those insane girls,” he laughed, “No offense, but fans get pretty crazy!

Okay, okay! Seriously, though… Pretty is just when you were turned around and your back was facing me. I never told anyone this, but, as soon as you turned around, I forgot how to breath. You were literally breath-taking!”

Arlin giggled. “I hope I ended up being breath-returning!”

“Oh, but of course!” He continued whispering in her ear, “And thanks to you being breath-returning, I spoke to you! I was clearly at the point where, and don’t laugh, but, either you were going to act like a fan and attack me with your endless shrieks or I was going to faint!”

“WHAT??” She covered her mouth.

“SHH! You can tell me your secrets when I’m done!”

“Okay! Fine!” Arlin said. She laughed at him.

“Com’on! I’m being serious!” He laughed, almost too quietly to try to be serious. “Okay,” He whispered, “So, I was thinking, as you were staring at me staring at you, that you thought that I was some kind of idiot or something.” He laughed, cocking his head back, “I was hoping you’d say ‘yes’…”

“Why…” She stared at him, starting to ask a question.

Skandar lifted his head up, looking at her. He smiled, letting her speak.

“Why wouldn’t I have said ‘yes’?”

“…I…don’t know.”

Arlin shrugged her shoulders.

Ch.10 ( GEEZ SKANDAR!)

They stopped dancing after a long discussion that they were having about their first impressions of each other. Skandar and Arlin went out to the balcony and sat on the stairs that were their own part of the boardwalk to the beach.

“Oh my gosh!” Arlin was flabbergasted.

“What?” Skandar asked her.

“It’s all so…” Arlin almost couldn’t continue.

“Beautiful?” He finished her fragment. “Yes. I always thought that you were.” Skandar touched her cheek lightly with the back of his hand.

“It’s all perfect. Everything. You. Me. This…place! I love it!” She told him.

“So, you really liked everything?”

She nodded.

“That’s good. I hoped you would.” Skandar told her, brushing her lips with his finger.

“Mm-hm!” She started cracking up.

“What?” What did I say?” He asked her.

“It was in Prince Caspian…” She paused to laugh, “I was watching the movie with the audio commentary…”

He stared at her, raising his left eyebrow.

“Uhm…yeah…you said that.” Arlin blushed with embarrassment.

He tried to remember, failing in the process. He laughed anyway to ease her embarrassment.

“Mm-hm!” He said for her to hear in person. Arlin laughed. She kissed him on the cheek. He said it again.

Arlin laughed, then gave him a sly look. He returned it. The stars were attempting to shine throughout the sky, but it just seemed like there were enough lights in the city, so it didn’t really matter!

Arlin actually searched his face for a kiss this time! Oh man! She was smiling as Skandar came to stop at her lips. Skandar touched her face, cupping his hand to the shape of her jaw. Arlin’s eyes were closed. Skandar started to stand up; Arlin started to pull away; to her surprise (actually, not really!) Skandar didn’t let her!  He tripped backwards, landing on his back. Good thing the sofa was right behind them! Arlin gasped. Skandar barely budged. Geez, Skandar!!!

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?”

“Better!” He really wanted to continue, but remembered the reason why he had told her that he wanted her to spend as much time with her as possible…He kissed her lips one more time, pulling her closely to his chest on the couch.

Arlin breathed heavily against his chest, clouded in her head by Skandar’s sweet kisses, as always.

“Arlin…this is too much! And it’s going to be harder to do anything that I wanted to accomplish.”

“What are you trying to accomplish…exactly?” She lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest.

“I’m going to miss you so much…” Skandar mumbled to himself.

“What are you talking about??” She almost shouted.

“Arlin, you don know that I haven’t given up my career and I pretty much do this for a living…Well, I sorta have this movie that I something, and , well, movies take a while to get worked on…”

“Okay…” Arlin tried to understand.

“Well, yes, um…I’m pretty sure that I’m getting picked for someTHING in this movie and I really want US to be okay; I want you to be okay with this, the whole ‘me going away for a wildly long amount of time’ thing…I’d really miss you if I ever had to go away too long! You know?” He stared deeply into her eyes.

“I, well, you know…what are we going to do about that?” Arlin faked a half-dead smile on her face.

“Don’t give me that.” He looked at her.

“What?”

“Give me a real expression; one that you’re actually feeling.”

She stayed with her choice of a half-dead cheezy smile. Skandar grabbed her face and tried to make more acceptable facial expressions with it: angry, sad, infuriated, jealous…etc.

“There.” Skandar finished rearranging her facial expressions.

“What do I look like?” She asked, curious.

“You look,…upset…,a bit understanding…and in love.”

Arlin blushed. Skandar looked all around her face, searching for anger. He reeled her in, closer to his lips, her face was still in his hands.

“I will NEVER forget you. It’s impossible to do that…” He brushed his nose up and down from her nose to her lips, then back to her nose, “I love you too much.”

Arlin kissed him, her saltwater tears escaped her eyes at an acceptable pace. Skandar felt his cheek getting a hint of moisture. He stopped kissing her, looking at her eyes. Arlin tried to look away.

“Don’t cry, Arlin.” He wiped away her tears.

“I’m happy for you…,really!” She wept on his chest.

They were still lying uncomfortably on the couch. Skandar didn’t say a word. Arlin let everything out that night. She fell asleep, curled up on Skandar’s chest.

“Don’t worry Arlin, I’ll figure out when I come back. I’ll be with you soon enough.” He kissed the top of her head.

Ch.11 (Nickette)

So Nick, what’s the deal with you and Noriette?!

The last time these two ever saw each other was at that mall outing where the both of them happened to have been with their friends. Nick, with his brothers and their girlfriends, where Kevin and Yas had gone to get some coffee and talk. Noriette was with her buddies and along came Jonas! She had been standing next to a gumball machine for some apparent reason (?) and Nick was walking straight towards her. He had purchased a gumball as an excuse to talk to her…And, well…they talked, alright!!! They asked each other questions about movies, music, life, friends, family, any other interests besides the apparent (Nick and Noriette were definitely on the same page with the interests!) So later on, they exchanged information, Nick’s info being a little more limited to phone number and e-mail address, and decided to make plans.

“Hello?” Noriette answered her phone as she sped down the stairs with her bag.

“Hey, it’s me.” Nick said.

“I’m walking out the door right now…!” She trailed off as she saw what was waiting for her from outside her house.

“Hi there.” Nick was outside, in some nice, tight jeans, a really cool graphic t-shirt and his green, white and black checker-laced converses.

“Um, you look great…,as always.” Noriette told him, hoping that he didn’t hear her. He smirked at her, slightly. He heard that!

“You look great, too! From what I’ve seen so far!”

“Uh!” She patted his arm lightly.

He laughed, getting a little red. “That didn’t come out the way it was supposed to!”

“Oh really, now?!” She interrupted him.

“Um, seriously though, I’ve only seen you about two times in my life, this one included, and you’ve looked really great every time!”

Noriette felt a little dumb, “Oh…um, thanks.”

He laughed. “Com’on, let’s go!” He grabbed her hand.

Noriette and Nick went to the car, where Big Rob was taking over the car as chouffer. Nick and Noriette talked on their way to the most amazing miniature golf course ever!

“Aaaaaawwwww!” Noriette shrieked.

“Do you like it?” Nick asked her.

“Yes!…But, um, I’ve never been to one of these mini-golf places.” She confessed.

“It’s okay. I have been to a couple. I’ll show you the ropes.” He winked at her.

Noriette blushed.

They stepped out, rented their clubs and started off. Nick demonstrated and Noriette looked more than attentive.

“Com’on, here…I’ll show you.” He grabbed her hand, stood behind her and positioned that same hand on the club. Noriette “pretended” that she couldn’t do any of it properly as an excuse for Nick to have to touch her even more! (wink, wink.) Nick, not being born yesterday, automatically knew what game she was playing, and asked her to try it on her own so that he could see whether she was paying attention or not. Noriette was actually paying very close attention so she wouldn’t look stupid and she scored a bit too perfectly for just a beginner.

Nick was in awe. “Are you sure you’ve never played this game before?” Nick smiled at her.

Noriette smiled at him and nodded.

During the rest of the game, obviously Nick was in the lead, him and his love and patience for golf, but Noriette was right behind him. They were practically competing against each other! Afterwards, they summed up the scores, with Nick, of course, as the winner. He did his little “victory dance” and Noriette stared at him. Nick cleared his throat and stood still.

“Are you hungry?” Nick asked her.

“Um…actually I have to probably start heading home…Can I get a ride?” She asked, seeming embarrassed.

“Did you really actually consider the thought of you walking all the way home, by yourself?” Nick asked her.

“Oh, right.”

“I’ll take you, of course!” Nick said, grabbing her hand.

At Noriette’s Front Porch…

Nick got the chance to quickly get her home, safe and sound. They were standing right outside her house. Noriette and Nick were both staring away from each other, at the sky. Noriette turned back to look at Nick, who was still staring at the sky. Noriette stared at his face, his lips, and his hair-every bit of perfection. She had the sudden urge to touch him, his face, his lips-more so with her own- instead of just his hands.

Nick finally came to look at her, right when she attacked his lips as quickly as she could with her own! She was too embarrassed to pull away, and she didn’t want to, so she kept kissing him. Nick, of course, being a guy, didn’t just stand there taking it all in for himself, he also kissed her back, which made Noriette very happy and she felt a lot better when she kissed him because she knew that he was kissing her back! Noriette’s sisters were coming to the door, Noriette tried to become unresponsive towards Nick’s kisses. It worked to the point that he stepped back slightly to ask her what was wrong. The door opened.

“That.” Noriette simply told him.

“Hi!” Nick greeted the girls.

“Mmmmmmm!!!” They screamed in muffles. (They were covering their mouths.)

“…Okay, then. I’ll see you later, Noriette.” He let go of her hand, hers slipping out of his grasp.

Can’t really tell you that hat was the last time that they saw each other…because it wasn’t.

Several Days Later…

Nick called Noriette, who was working at the time, but she couldn’t just avoid him because of that fact. She picked up and spoke as quickly as possible.

“Meet me on my lunch break, maybe?” She asked.

“Of course!”

Noriette was biting her lips on the other end of the line.

“Gotta go, bye!”

‘Love you, bye!” Nick hung up.

Noriette sighed, and when she took a good look at the clock, went back to work.

The day dragged and Noriette was organizing products and other things. The clock tolled. Nick time was getting closer.

Ch.12 (Home at Work)

Meanwhile, PerryLenys…

Ah, yes, the primary couple of the whole story shows up! Well, they’ve been busy, what with Perry getting promotion and Darlenys’s work was catching up with her. Much more time to be inseparable!

The thing is we don’t let things get in the way, we just take advantage of them and help each other get through them.

Today, I was super-busy with a couple of logo-designs for three or four big and new companies! I had no time for almost anything, not even Perry! -Or so I thought. Perry would usually try and calm me down when I got all “angsty” when it came to work. I was lucky enough to work at home, that way I could spend some time with the girls, Marlen and Arlin. This fact also allowed Arlin ,the oldest of my “roomies,” to have a life. Lately, she’s been hanging out at Skandar’s place. Every time I ask, call or even talk to her, she just simply stares back at me and then-nothing. She tells me everything’s okay with her and Skandar-whenever I can get something out of her. Other than that, he’s here with her at home. It’s nice that Arlin has Skandar. I really appreciate him keeping her occupied. And he’s really smart, so it’s nothing like that! He never seems to bring her down or anything. She’s just been a little,…melancholy. My phone rang.

“Hello?” I said, almost breathless when I saw who was calling.

“Hey.” Perry said, “Are you okay? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages! How’s the logo-de-…”

“Don’t say it!”

He paused.

“It’s…I got one done. I’m on my way to the second one. Arlin’s been worrying me. I don’t know what I’ve been doing lately because I can’t remember and…UHH! My head is spinning from how crazy life’s been!”

“Hey, hey! Calm down, Darlenys! Look, do you need any help? I just finished locking up and I have Chinese!”

“Hmmm!” I sighed, chuckling. “Okay. I mean, will you? Could you, really?” I thought about what he had said about locking up. “Wait, you said you just locked up NOW?”

“Yeah. There’s this huge inspection of the café and I’m in big trouble-the fired, kind- if I don’t make sure that everything’s perfect!”

“Oh. That sounds tough!”

“Ehh, not really. Now, let’s say we help you out. Let me in.”

“You’re here already?” I walked to the door.

“Well, yeah. It sounded urgent.”

“Thank you, so much!” I hung up, running to hug him.

“Hi, there.” he said, his face near my hair.

“Hi.” I smiled at him, looking into his eyes.

“So, how’s about that work?”

I looked down in disgust.

“I’m just kidding. You look like you’ve been at this all day!”

“Pssht! More like all week.” We went inside after standing at the door in each others’ arms.

I sat on the couch, tugging on his hand to follow me.

“Uhh! I have no idea how I’m going to finish or how I’m going to live with myself if I don’t and…(blah, blah, blah…)”

Perry grabbed my lips with his thumb and index finger, pinching them almost.

“Hey! Calm down! You can definitely finish and, I mean, when it comes to how to finish, you did the first one, what’s so much if you do two more? Something nice and simple, right?”

“Hmm?”

Perry laughed; grabbing the left side of my face to reel me in closer to his lips. He unpinched my lips, only to press them against his own.

All the anxiety definitely went away. I was calmed. Perry handled me gently, weaving his fingers into my hair. I felt my hands moving up his chest, around his neck. He stopped, catching his breath.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled. “Now, we should really get to work.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re here; after an extremely long day of work, you’re tired, and yet you come here to help me on something that I’ve apparently failed at doing myself.”

“And?” Perry questioned me.

“What? You’re not tired?”

“I’m here to help you. The last time I checked, you were desperate.”

I covered my face. “UHH!”

“Are you okay?”

“Overly-stressed disorder. I invented it.”

Perry laughed. He hugged me, rubbing my back.

“It happens to everyone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Whatever that was, back there.”

“I forgive you.” He smiled at me.

We got to work straight away. Perry spent the last four hours trying to figure out how to help. Thanks to him, I finished. The scary part would be presenting and hoping the boss likes it.

“Oh my gosh!!!” I kissed him. He picked me up. I said, almost crying with relief, “Thank you, thank you, thank you so, so much!” I kissed him again.

Perry smiled, laughing at me. “Sure, anytime!” He kissed me.

“You should get home. You’re probably really tired.”

“Um, well, yeah, but it’s okay.”

“Thanks again. Oh, and I’m sorry for going all ballistic on you back there.”

He laughed, remembering, “It’s okay. You look adorable when you’re mad, by the way.”

“Do I, now?” I said, sarcastically.

He kissed my lips one more time, hugged me and left.

Ch.13 (It’s The Best Day Ever!)

Finally, some Skandarlin…

Arlin and Skandar have been spending all their time together. They’ve be remorsing Skandar’s soon-to-be-departure. Skandar was told that he had to leave for a big movie and Arlin’s left to mourn over the fact that she doesn’t really hang out with anyone but her boyfriend, meaning, Skandar. (Meaning, this is not New Moon.)

Skandar hates seeing Arlin this way which is why he’s decided to keep as much contact with Arlin as he possibly can.

“Arlin?” Skandar knocked on the door of her room.

He had come to see her.

“Coming!” Arlin unlocked the door.

“Hey.” She said.

Skandar stared at her with steady eyes. He got closer and touched her lips with his finger.

Arlin hyperventilated.

“Hi.” His face was inches from hers; she could feel his breathing under her nose.

Arlin stood perfectly still; Skandar stepped into her room. He’d never set foot in it before. He shut the door. Oh mannn.

Arlin was frozen. Skandar came back to her. Arlin stepped back, wary.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re leaving today, aren’t you?”

Skandar looked away. He went to touch her face, his thumb lightly stroking her cheek.

Arlin looked away from his gaze.

“Tomorrow.”

Arlin bit her lip. She squeezed her eyes shut and laid her head against his chest. Skandar laid his head against her head. Arlin began to cry. Skandar lifted his head from hers and took her chin in his hand.

“Oh, no you don’t!”

“Huh?”

“I came here to have the best day ever with you!”

“How can I not cry if I only have TODAY to be with you?”

“It’s possible. Just think, I mean, of course I’ll miss you so much that I’ll eventually go crazy, but if we fantasize about today, it’ll keep us happy to the point that we’ll pay attention to that, and not the days you haven’t seen me, or I you.”

“What are you talking about? That’s not even as good as me touching you or kissing you?!”

“Well, no. But I’m sure it will suffice.”

“Skandar…”

“Just try. I mean, we could have an amazing day today and I’ll try and keep in touch whenever I’m not doing anything.”

Skandar looked at Arlin and she just nodded, slowly, but it was still a nod.

Skandar smiled. “That’s my girl.” He kissed her once. (Wow, that was very macho of you.)

“So…What are we going to do?”

“You’re serious? You can’t think of anything to do?”

She shook her head.

“Arlin, I’m here and you’re here.(and there’s furniture;D justkiddingg!) To me, there’s always something we can do.”

“Huh?”

“We can be with each other, silly.” Skandar explained, touching the tip of her nose.

“And do what?” Arlin was obviously already hyperventilating.

Skandar raised his eyebrows slyly. He kissed her. Arlin wrapped her arms around his neck. Skandar picked her up and carried her to her bed. Skandar kissed Arlin with a passion that should be illegal in fifty states. Arlin tried not to pant as she breathed, but it was utterly impossible not to! Skandar’s hands ran through her hair; Arlin’s hands as well. Skandar kissed Arlin like he was never ever going to see her again. He lingered on her lips, his, then moving hastily towards her neck. Arlin got a chance to breathe. Skandar turned so that he was hovering over Arlin’s body. Skandar and Arlin stared at each other in astonishment, or rather, catching their breaths. Skandar kept looking at Arlin. She attempted to breath, but as soon as she inhaled one deep breath, Skandar’s mouth was on hers. Not complaining, but, needing a breath otherwise, she responded to his keenness. Their bodies laid on top of one another’s, touching ever so slightly, yet they could both feel the heated warmth, even through their clothes. Now, they weren’t going to be stupid and screw everything up, but a little “making out” wasn’t going to hurt anybody-or could it?

Skandar stayed with Arlin for as long as he possibly could. They both knew that  they would have to leave each other eventually, but they tried to fit in as much time as they possibly could.

They laid next to each other, staring at each other, trying to memorize every possible facial expression that each of them made. Skandar was willing to leave, of course for his career, but not without memorizing his beloved girlfriend’s face. Only on opposite day would a movie be more important to him than Arlin.

Ch.14 (Skandar’s Departure)

Today was the day. Skandar stared at Arlin as she slept and played idly with her hand. It was almost four in the morning; Monday. Arlin started school today and Skandar started working on his acting and memorizing lines for shooting, etc. He’d spent all night thinking of ways to keep in contact with Arlin. He came up with I.M. and video chats. It was perfect!…except for the time-zone problem.

Arlin moved around , still feeling to see if Skandar had left.

“I’m here, Arlin.” He reached for her hand, sliding his fingers through her hand.

“Oh my gosh!” She wrenched her eyes open and threw her arms around his neck and cried. Skandar rubbed her back, resting his head into her neck, kissing it.

Arlin calmed down after a few seconds and came to the realization that they could always call each other, or e-mail, or even I.M.

“Skandar?” Arlin started to ask.

“Yes?”

“Will you-would you still love me, even if you had to stay longer than necessary?”

Skandar didn’t hesitate in answering back. “Of course I will! Arlin, there are phones and computers in England! And I’m even going to change my cell phone plan and switch to your phone’s company, so that we can talk for as long as we please and not get charged for it! Who knows? I might like it better than my crappy cell phone company!”

“Let’s hope so!” Arlin’s face lit up, “That would mean that I’d get to talk to you all the time!”

“Yes, and it wouldn’t be that bad, staying up late so that you can get a good night’s sleep! I mean, you’re starting school, now, and I’m a little used to staying up really late, so I really don’t mind!” Skandar told her.

“Well, yeah, I mean, if that’s okay with you, but I really don’t think that those teachers of mine would appreciate me drooping my head and eyelids in their classrooms!” Arlin laughed.

“Yeah, me either. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because you’ve been staying up all night talking to me!” Skandar laughed as well.

“Oh, and we could text each other! I always have my phone with me!” Skandar offered.

“Okay!” Arlin seemed eager to be on her phone 24/7, texting Skandar non-stop. Skandar was happy that she was happy; enthralled, more like it.

It was five forty-five in the morning and Arlin and Skandar were going on and on about the ‘brick in the middle of their road’ and how they were apparently going around it.

“Okay, I now this might sound a bit absurd, but, would you mind if we did video chats? I mean, I wouldn’t want to miss a thing about your life while I’m stuck in in England, away from the best, most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me! Would that be okay, I mean once in a while?” Skandar’s eyes were pleading.

Arlin tried to hide the smile that seemed to be forming around the edges of her lips. “Sure, Skandar. I’d love that!” She smiled, looking at him.

Skandar exhaled a long-held breath. “Oh! Thank goodness! I thought that it was going to be weird or something!”

Arlin laughed at his reaction. Skandar actually tried to hide the slight embarrassment that he felt. Arlin kissed him on the lips, after having seen that it was time for her to get up either way.

“Arlin?” Marlen called from the bathroom.

Arlin and Skandar panicked and Skandar then, thought quickly.

“It’s your turn!” Marlen burst  through the door to tell Arlin to get ready for school.

“Thanks, Marlen!”

Marlen went, closing the door behind her. Skandar came out from behind the door and went to Arlin’s bed again.

“I’ve got to go! I’m not sure that I’ve packed everything! I’ll text you as soon as I can! Bye Arlin!”

Arlin ran over to Skandar and practically jumped on him. He caught her, staring at her lips, that we already, so remaining space between their faces.

“Okay, okay! Go…pack your bags! I’ve got to go to school, Skandar!”

“You’re so mean!”

“What?”

“Just kidding?”

“No.” Arlin laughed

“I guess not.” Skandar agreed, giving her one last peck on the lips.

“Arlin! Are you done yet?!” I called after her.

“Yeah!” She said.

“Skandar, how are you going to get out of here?” Arlin asked him.

“Don’t worry about me! I don’t want you to get in trouble this early!” He said.

“If Darlenys catches you here, you will get me in trouble!”

“Er, right.” Skandar waited a little, then started to sneak out quietly.

“If someone finds you, I had nothing to do with it!” Arlin whispered, trying to almost shout quietly.

“Okay!” Skandar said sarcastically.

Arlin’s first day of school dragged on and on. New teachers, new school, new faces. There never seemed to be anything old, recognizable. It was around math class that she’d wished that there were some way to be able to sleep with her eyes wide open, but not obvious like she was in some trance.

“Hey,” If it weren’t for Skandar and the way that they altered each other irrevocably, and irrationally also…

Arlin turned to hear the voice that would get her through math class…Hayden Christensen. Of course any creature with a name like that would have the face and body to go along with it.

“Uh, yeah?” Arlin responded, then tried to get a grip on her ridiculous reactions,-sweating, breathing almost too unevenly, staring- or at least trying not to.

“Skandar wouldn’t do the same,” She thought immediately.

Her phone sent a vibe through her whole body.

“Can I borrow an eraser?” Hayden, the god from above, asked Arlin.

Smoothly, she frantically reached for her pencil, almost throwing it at him, from how eager she was for him to erase all of his mistakes.

Arlin focused on her phone’s sudden thorough massage throughout her body. It was Skandar. Suddenly, the Hayden reaction seemed almost absurd.

Skandar wrote: “What are you doing right now? I miss you like crazy!!! I’ve boarded a train and a plane so far. Help me!”

Arlin laughed slightly. She texted him back, writing: Pssht! You help me!! I’m in math!”

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw Hayden, the god from above, Christensen looking at her with the biggest smile that the heavens could have ever put on his face. Arlin tried not to get clammy fingers as she texted Skandar, but it was inevitable. He was just so….Oh, look, Skandar!

Skandar texted Arlin back: “Hahaha. Well, I guess you’re right. Good luck!”

Arlin sighed when she heard the bell ring. Finally!

Arlin texted him back: “Gee, thanks.” She picked up her stuff, getting ready to leave, only to find out that she still had history to deal with. Ugh!

In History,…

Arlin sat down next to her friend Jessica from Spanish. Jess was known as the gossiper and nothing more. (This included her talent for talking for a brief period of time non-stop.) Then, as soon as it was unfortunately possible, Christensen sat down next to her friend Jessica.

“Hey there, beautiful.” He sat down smoothly.

Jessica rolled her eyes, yet still managed to giggle. Arlin noticed the way that they were obviously flirting and was instantly comforted. “No more Christensen!”  She thought.

It’s not that he annoyed her. He had barely said more than a sentence-a question, actually. So why did his existence bother her so much? He gave her emotions. Not just any emotions, but the kind that made her feel like she was betraying Skandar’s love and affection towards her. It was as if she were untrustworthy towards herself for doing this to Skandar. Like she were ever capable of doing such a thing.

“Are you going to mind if I sit somewhere else?” Arlin said to Jessica.

“You don’t have to leave!” Christensen’s eyes were agonized.

“Yeah, I do, actually…I sit over there.” Arlin pointed near the door. She got up form the right side of the room (close to the windows) and sat in her seat.

She texted Skandar, “School’s okay, but, I still miss you,” and closed her phone, waiting on the final minute or two.(The bells didn’t always work.)

The bell was taking a little too long and Arlin was getting restless, moving in her seat, opening and closing her phone, twirling her hair….etc. Hayden, the god from above, Christensen, was watching her from across the room. He was sitting near Arlin’s friend Jessica, until Arlin looked in that direction and the seat’s empty. He was coming towards her to sit in front of her. The teacher was pretty strict on seats, but there were like five minutes left and he had left the room to copy some papers for the overhead on tomorrow’s lesson. Great! Arlin thought to herself.

“Hi, new girl.” He said, slyly.

“Hi, new guy? What, I don’t have name?”

“Well, apparently, neither do I!” He smiled the most dazzling of all smiles. Apparently, he thought he was Edward Cullen. He was wrong. He was Jacob Black; the way he tried to drive Arlin off of her road to Skandar, who couldn’t really do much since he was in England. She didn’t want to sound like a little school girl, wining to the teacher about this annoying kid who was pissing her off at the moment. She was just going to have to learn how to deal.

“Why don’t you tell me what I should call you?”

“I like Arlin for me, and hey, annoying kid for you!”

“Oh, Arlin. Hmm, that’s nice.” He smiled, “But, if it’s okay, I’d like to change my name…”

“Sorry, you’re going to have to take that up with whoever’s in charge of the name-changing business. I, for one, can’t help you, annoying kid.”

He smirked at her, then smiled. “Okay, so how’s about a nickname?”

“I’ll bite.”

He laughed. “I’ll go by Hayden,” the god from above, “Christensen.”

The bell rang and everyone was getting up from their seats.

“So…can I, you know, help you with anything, you know, since you’re new and all.”

“When I come to you for something, then we’ll see what you can help me with.”

Hayden tilted his head.

“See you around, Christensen.”

“My nickname’s Hayden.”

Arlin walked out the door.

Ch.15 (You just don’t get it?!)

The teacher dismissed the class, finally and Arlin sighed a big sigh of relief when she had been dismissed. That meant that she could finally leave!

Arlin was so disoriented and tired! She just wanted to go get any other papers other than the first five she’d already been given (school info and general papers that are just “reading” and signing to approve of certain concerns.) she planned to head straight out the door and just lie down. As unbelievable as it was, today had been the longest day of her life!

As she walked home she was feeling a bit self-conscious of the cars. Apparently, there was one following her! She froze and turned around to sigh a sigh of aggravation when she took a look at the designated driver. It was Hayden Christensen. He rolled his window down and smiled at her.

“Hey new-I mean, Arlin.”

“Why hello, Christensen!” She smiled sarcastically.

“Need a lift? You seem tired. I could get you home quicker.”

“Thanks, but, really, I don’t live far from here.” She tried to be as sympathetic as possible. She wasn’t having the best day of her life to be able to feel many different emotions.

“Oh. Are you sure? How far away is it?”

“Um, I don’t know. Two or three minutes away from where we are now.”

“I can make it in one.”

She rolled her eyes. “Really, now?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Arlin started to have flashbacks of all the possible different ways to say that phrase. She immediately started to walk home as fast as she possibly could.

“BYE?!” Hayden yelled, suggestively.

She waved her hand back at his direction violently.

“What had I missed?” Hayden wondered to himself.

Arlin unlocked the door and dropped her bag next to the entrance and went straight to her room as soon as she entered the building where my apartment was.

She turned on her radio and put The Beatles on repeat on her ipod. She kicked her shoes off and got her laptop and turned it on. Arlin took a big sigh and went into her closet to pick out some shorts or sweats or anything that was loose enough or breathable in. She headed straight for her personal bathroom and took a hot shower. When she was drying herself off, she heard a beeping sound coming from her room; her laptop. She put her clothes on and looked to see what was wrong. There was some sort of video chat. She pressed “Accept” and screamed, forgetting that her microphone was on.

“Nice to finally hear you, Arlin.” Skandar smiled widely.

It was really him! Skandar Keynes. Her boyfriend. And he couldn’t wait to talk to her!!

“Arlin?” He said. “What’s wrong?”

Arlin was staring back at the screen, mesmerized. She hurried to fix her hair so that she wouldn’t look stupid once he saw her on her camera.

“Hi Skandar! I’ve missed you!” She said as soon as she was on her camera.

“Hi, Arlin! I’ve missed you more!” He said.

“I doubt that.” She replied sourly.

“Why?”

“You’ve probably got a lot of things on your mind, what with the movie and all. I don’t think there’s room in there for me.”

“Stop that! Of course I’m not going to say that I don’t already have a lot on my mind, but none of that’s pushing out what’s already been there.”

“Well in that case, then you win.”

“So, how was school?”

“Uh! Annoying!”

“Really?…You don’t mind if we don’t talk about it, then, do you?”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

“Well, I was just wondering if some day that you’re not doing anything…”

“Like today for example…” Arlin interrupted. Skandar smiled at her eagerness and continued.

“Well, if we could just talk, or stare at each other…?” He thought over what he said, but it still sounded really awkward and a bit psychotic.

“I’d love that, but…” She hesitated, trying not to be eager. Skandar started to speak but Arlin got in her last word.

“Could we actually do that today?”

“Um, sure.”

Arlin and Skandar talked on and on and on. Eventually, I came home and Arlin’s book bag was near the door. I figured that either she just left it there or that she was still excited about high school. That nerd. Whatever it was, because with Arlin you could expect either of those, it was nearly six thirty (p.m. of course!)

“Marlen? Arlin?” I shouted as I entered the apartment, laying my stuff down near the door.

Marlen ran over to greet me.

“Hey, Neni!” She wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Hi, Marlen! Did you have dinner yet?”

“A while ago, actually. I don’t know about Arlin, though. She’s been in her room since we got home from school.” Marlen told me.

“Okay. Thanks. You all set?” I asked her about her homework and chores.

“Yup.”

“That’s a first.” I muttered.

Marlen went back to her doll-playing. I walked over to Arlin’s door and knocked.

“Arlin?”

“Oh my gosh!” Arlin whispered, shifting her weight carefully and adjusting the volume.

“Yeah?” She shouted at the door’s direction.

“Can I come IN?” I shouted back.

“Its open!”

I opened the door and looked around for a while. She looked around as well and wondered what I was looking for.

“Hi?!” I said to her. “You’re alive?!”

“Healthy as a horse. Why?”

“I haven’t heard from you. Bad first day?”

“Um, something like that. No, really, it was just longer than I was prepared for.”

“Have you heard from Skandar?”

“We’ve been texting back and forth since this morning.”

Arlin smiled at the memories this morning had given her to ponder about.

“Oh. Sounds…FUN?!”

Arlin rolled her eyes.

“Oh. Kay. I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be bathing and Marlen’s playing with her dolls if you need anything.”

“I’m fine. Just tired.” Arlin said.

“Kay. I’ll probably go to Perry’s later. Want to go with?”

“No! But tell him I said, ‘hi.’ ” She smiled.

“Okay, then! Don’t jump out of your seat, now! Geez!”

“GO SHOWER!”

“Fine! Geez!”

I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower. When I was wrapping my towel tight under my arms, I heard Arlin, talking. She was talking to someone, but I didn’t remember hearing the doorbell ring. Funny.

“Oh my gosh! Really? That’s so cool!” Arlin said from her room.

“Yeah. It was pretty cool, but I’ve really missed you. Everyday, I feel kind of empty, like something crucial in my life hasn’t happened. I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“Skandar, it’s been 21 hours. It hasn’t even been a whole day yet!”

Skandar? He’s in England! How could that be?  

I changed quickly into my robe, brushed my hair and ran out of the bathroom.

When I was about to go straight towards Arlin’s room, the doorbell rang. I went to the door, opening it in shock, and secretly, adulation.

“Hi. How may I help you?” If this kid was selling something, I was definitely buying. I examined what was the cutest guy since…and then I instantly thought of Perry. He had blond hair, short, but grown out a couple of inches from his scalp. His eyes were green, he had big, perfectly shaped lips. He was tall, almost as tall as…Perry. A bit younger, I assumed. A bit cute, also…Too young, too young.

“Um, Does Arlin Salazar live here?”

He was Arlin’s friend. But what about Skandar…?

“Um, yeah. She’s here….Do you want me to send her a message?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you said she was here.”

“Yes, she is. She’s talking to her boyfriend right now. He’s in England.”

“England? Hm. I didn’t know she was into that long-distant relationship crap.”

“Well, no. He had to go there for work.”

“What does he do?”

“I’m a little busy, right now, and apparently, so is she. Could you come back later, maybe?”

He glanced at me. I was in my robe. He raised an eyebrow. I knew how busy he thought I was.

“Whoah, whoah! I just took a shower! It’s nothing like that!”

“Wha-…”

“She noticed.” I whispered, shutting the door. I sprinted to Arlin’s room, aggravated by her little friend.

“ARLIN! One of your friend’s who was at the door, and was very good-looking, I must say, was very rude to me! And he kept on asking about you!”

“Oh CRAP!”

“What happened?” Skandar spoke.

“OH MY GOD! SKANDAR! ARLIN, SKOOT OVER!”

“Oh my gosh!” Arlin muttered under her breath. “Darlenys, seriously…com’on. Get out of here!”

“Well excuse me, you’re not the only who made friends when you met him!”

Skandar stared at us while we argued about him. “What? Okay.”

“I’m sorry, Skandar. You’re girlfriend was being a little rude! So, how’s your movie going?”

“It’s okay. She tends to do that!”

“EX-CUSSSE ME?!”

“Oh! I’ll talk to you later, Skandar.” I left the room so that they could hack it out on their own and changed into clothes.

“Arlin, I’m so, so, sooo sorry! I didn’t mean that!…I” He rambled on and on.

“FINALLY! Alone again!”

“So, you’re not mad at me?”

“Of course not! As long as you really didn’t mean that, then we’re good!”

“Of course not!” There was a pause, then Skandar spoke. “So, who was at the door?”

“Crap!” Arlin said, under her breath. “It was some kid from my school. His name is Hayden,” the god from above,  Arlin thought, “Christensen. He has a slight interest in me.” Arlin made air quotes.

“Oh, really??” Skandar said.

“Don’t think too much about it.”

Skandar made a sad face. He had thought about it.

“What is it?” Arlin asked him.

“…If you had to consider him, would you?”

“Who, Hayden?” Probably thinking that she would, Arlin thought of a lie, for Skandar’s sake. In truth, she had known better than to think of Hayden that way, but she just couldn’t help it! He was quite dazzling. It was like he came into her life as a distraction form what she really wanted, Skandar.

“Yes, whatever his name is.” Skandar muttered that last part under his breath.

“Well, no. Not really. And besides, what good would it do? I’ve already got everything I could ever ask for.”

“Well,…good.” Skandar muttered.

“Skandar, I’m hinting a bit of jealousy, here.”

“Well, no. Not a bit.” He said, scratching his head.

“Honestly, I’m not going to let it get anywhere NEAR far.”

Worry-wart.

“Fine. If he as much as tries to even…”

“Jealous!” Arlin sang.

“I’m calm, I’m calm.”

“You okay, there?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

Arlin giggled at Skandar’s reaction. It was silly of him to feel this way. He didn’t even know what Hayden looked like! Then she thought about again and skipped the ideas that were practically jumping off the walls of her head.

It got a little quiet. Skandar sat in his chair, laid back and breathing easily. Arlin stared at him. Then, the most crucial of questions popped into her head.

“So, how much longer am I going to have to live without you?”

“A couple of months; three, I believe.”

“Are they trying to kill me??!!” Arlin was fuming.

“You’ll be fine. Just make some friends. I hear those help you through the rough times. Stay busy. I’ll be back in no time.”

“How do you cope so easily?”

“Easily?! I’ve got a lot to do here, and I know that the sooner it’s over, the sooner I’m back in California.”

“That sounds pretty hard to me!” Arlin muttered.

“Look Arlin. I miss you like crazy and I love you just as crazily, but if I think about that in that way, I’ll be stuck missing you for a while!”

“In a crazy, twisted way, that makes sense!”

“Of course it does! You‘ll see! In no time, you‘ll be in my arms and I‘ll be in yours! Just find something to do! Try out for some kind of sport! What about cheerleading? You told me you loved that!”

“Oh, that.” Arlin’s love for cheerleading had been substituted for her love for Skandar Keynes as soon as that first kiss happened on that group gathering ages ago!

“Yeah, that! Just keep busy, like me, although I have no choice! You’ll see how fast time flies.”

Ch.16 (Effort)

Meanwhile PerryLenys…

“I’m here!” I called from the buzzer so that Perry could let me in.

“Okay.” Perry pressed the button, unlocking the door.

When I got up to his door, he opened it and took me by the hand.

“Well, hello.” He said, smiling almost ear to ear.

“Hiya.” I said.

Perry came closer towards me, his lips lingering on my jaw, down to my neck. I gave the door a little push, closing it successfully. Perry started to suck on my neck. I pushed him away a little.

“What?” He actually sounded hurt. Aw!

“What are the girls going to say?” This was for Marlen’s sake. (wink, wink.)

“You have long hair, you know.”

“Shut up!” I nudged him. “Is this what I came here for?”

“Is this what you wanted to come here for?” He stroked my cheek, all the way down to my neck.

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously!…No, not that I mind…”

Perry’s lips crushed against mine. I couldn’t fight against him this time. Feeling weak, I wrapped my arms around him. He grabbed my hands gently and locked them around his neck. Never detaching his lips from mine, he picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him.

We were headed to his room. I managed to gulp. His lips left mine, only going behind and under my ear. I bit my lip and rolled my eyes to the back of my eye sockets. My head went back, and all of a sudden, when I thought that I would hit it with the wall, it was against something soft, and now Perry seemed shorter than everything else.

Perry sucked on my jaw, going to my neck again. I considered my long, black hair again and sighed. (Cover up wasn’t going to do anything, so I sighed about my alternative.)

My hands were like slick around his neck. I fumbled for a place to set them, just letting them slide down his neck, onto his chest. He stopped kissing me and looked at me, sighing.

“Do you want to go out? Because we can…”

I sat up, rolling my eyes, and kissed him on the neck.

“Guess that’s a ‘No’.” Perry stated obviously.

“Really, now? Is it?” I said sarcastically.

Month one is behind us, especially for Arlin and Skandar.

In a month: friends have been made, relationships have boomed, and everything’s pretty sane.

Arlin took to Skandar’s advice and has been making new friends here and there. She’s been in and out of the house with Jessica, from Spanish and Math. Perry and I are pretty satisfied with the outcomes of that advice. It really killed me to see Arlin that upset about Skandar leaving to England. Perry was upset that I was upset, but nevertheless, he knew how much I cared about my roomies. I used to have to leave the house because Arlin was so depressed, but it really shows that Skandar cares. He still, to this day, I.M.s with Arlin, giving her advice and encouraging her that they’ll be together soon enough. It’s absolutely adorable!

At school…

Homeroom, Arlin went to her locker, Jessica tagging along, and discussed about school-related activities.

“So, how’s Skandar?” Jessica asked, not really caring but wanting to make conversation.

Arlin rolled her eyes, knowing this. “He’s fine. I’ve got two more months until we are finally together! I miss him so much!”

“Wow! You are so lucky!”

“Really? How?” Arlin asked sarcastically.

“Well, you’ve got a great boyfriend and he’s just as in love with you as you are with him!”

“Jess, I’m just lucky, but, I mean, you have half the guys at school waiting on you to say, ‘yes’ to them! Now, if that’s not really, truly lucky, then I don’t what is!”

“Well, yeah! But I don’t’ have the guy waiting for me!”

“Okay, who is ‘the guy’?” Arlin made air quotes around Jessica’s exact phrase.

“Hayden, from Spanish, or math.”

Arlin closed her locker with a little more force than necessary. She sprinted back to homeroom, just minutes before the bell rang. Jessica like Hayden?? Of course! She just had to! It was perfect! Now, she would have no distractions, other than the obvious onsets.

“So, have you tried to ask him to hang out or something?” Arlin asked Jessica.

“Are you crazy??!!” Jessica threw her hands up.

“Apparently.” Arlin mumbled sarcastically. “What’s wrong with that, Jess?”

“Well, everything! It will ruin my vision.”

“Your…vision? Of what?”

“Well, being the hopeless romantic that I am…,” Arlin rolled her eyes at Jessica’s words, “I’d want him to ask me out.”

“So get his attention somehow,…talk to him, you could start off as friends and go from there, hopefully.”

“So get his attention somehow,…talk to him, you could start off as friends and go from there, hopefully.”

“Hmm…” Jessica said stopping her class, “I’ll text you so ideas. You have study hall today.”

“I do?”

“I checked for you.”

“Gee, thanks.” Arlin went to her class.

So Hayden liked to make people like Jessica sit around and worry about him? Typical teenage heart throb. Arlin would have to be blinded by some kind of voodu curse to ever feel that way about him while her and Skandar existed together.

A Couple Of Days Later…

There’s a school trip, a type of recreational trip to the beach. Everyone’s invited! Plus the additional invites, there are some chaperones needed. Other than that, it’s a fun, co-ed trip where almost anything can happen.

“Finally, math!” Arlin sighed, sitting down.

“I know, right?” Hayden Christensen said, sitting down in the seat in front of her.

“Oh, boy. Hi, Hayden.” Arlin grumbled.

“Hey, no Christensen today?” He noted.

“Sorry. I’m having an ‘off’ day today.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“It’s Friday! I’m just…tired.”

“More like exhausted! Do you sleep at night or are you too busy talking to your English boyfriend online?”

Arlin stopped breathing altogether for a second. “What did you say?”

“Oh, yeah. I went to your house one night, ages ago; I don’t think you’d remember.”

Arlin had flashbacks for a couple of minutes.

“Oh, yeah. I remember.”

“So,…Was that, what, an excuse not to talk to me?”

“No, not really. I mean, I wasn’t lying. I really was talking to my boyfriend…”

“Your boyfriend, from England?”

“AIM?”

“AIM? Really? Why are you taking so much effort into lying to a guy who really likes you?”

“Hayden…”

“Just, save it, or better yet, tell your ‘boyfriend’ about it.”

Arlin couldn’t wait for math class to be over, now.

She felt really sympathetic towards Hayden Christensen. He really was just trying. If only he could try with Jessica. She was crazy about Hayden! Arlin thought of the best idea she’s ever had in a long time! It was bound to work!

Arlin looked at Jessica, who was obviously trying NOT to stare at Hayden, the god from above, Christensen. She decided to text her, so as to not make it obvious that she was staring.

Arlin’s text read: “Come to my house after school. TRUST ME, THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!”

Jessica got the text in seconds and stared at Arlin with huge eyes. Jessica texted her, accepting her invitation.

Ch.17 (Planning)

Afterschool…

“So, what was all that about?” Jessica asked curiously.

“I’ll tell you when we get to my place.” Arlin replied.

“Okay…You’re really scaring me, here, Arlin!”

Arlin simply smiled.

When they got to Arlin’s apartment, they went straight to her room and closed the door behind them.

“SPILL!” Jessica said, dropping her stuff on the floor and sitting on Arlin’s bed, next to her.

“Hayden knows about Skandar!”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It really shocked me, because he made me feel all bad and stuff and then he was like, ‘Are you lying to me because…’ “ Arlin didn’t continue.

“Because?…”

“Jess, don’t get mad, but…he likes me.”

“But you love Skandar, right?!”

“Er, right. Still, I felt bad.”

“Yeah.”

“But that’s why I instantly thought of hooking him up with someone who likes him more than he thinks he likes me!”

“Who?”

“Jess, seriously now!”

“Oh, right.”

“Anyway, so I pretty much came up with the perfect plan.”

“And this plan is…?”

“I’m getting there! Anyway, so, you and I go to the school bonfire trip at the beach, and I try to get Hayden to relax and make him think that I’m letting him get closer to me, when I’m actually hooking him up with my friend.” Arlin shoved Jessica lightly and winked at her.

“Oh! I like!” Jessica laughed.

“Yeah! This has got to work!”

Arlin and Jessica spent the weekend plotting and scheming to be ready for the big day. With all of the careful planning, this was bound to work.

On Monday…

There are two weeks left until the trip to the beach and two weeks of Arlin trying to convince Hayden that she’s given him a chance. So much work had to be done without over-doing it or not doing enough. Jessica was telling Arlin everything about Hayden that she could so that Arlin could talk to him without upsetting him-AGAIN.

“Oh god, are you sure?” Arlin asked Jessica if she was okay with this. It was getting a little weird to stalk a person who you were trying to seduce and then give way to a friend.

“Arlin! Don’t worry! I’ll be fine! I mean, as long as you guys don’t, like, kiss or start holding hands-I’ve wanted to do that for way too long! It’s almost embarrassing!” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Er, of course not.” Arlin felt a little vision popping into her head the minute Jess had mentioned kissing or holding hands with Hayden, the god from above, Christensen. She also saw Skandar, pulling Hayden away from her and punching him in the mouth. Yikes!

That night…

Arlin invited Jessica to sleep over, more to plan than do mani-pedies, but still having fun. Time was running out and Arlin still wasn’t sure how to flirt with him-Not that she didn’t know how-without falling for him. She knew what her priorities were but lately, all the talk about Hayden was dangerous for her. She was cautious of Skandar too. She loved Skandar almost irrationally, and he loved her that way too. It would be pure torture if she would ever act so stupidly as to falling into temptation with Hayden; and she’s not much of a masochist.

Arlin was quiet throughout most of the evening, keeping mostly everything to herself. Jessica was looking at a couple of magazines, wondering what to do with her hair for approximately two weeks from now. Arlin stared at her computer screen, just scrolling up and down, listening to music. Suddenly, a window popped up. It was a video chat from ‘SkantheMan’. Arlin smiled and accepted.

“Hey!” Skandar greeted her.

“Long time no see! Hi!” Arlin smiled.

“Oh, definitely. I’ve been dying over here-literally! In the last scene, someone knocked me out in a battle!”

Arlin laughed. Jessica slide out of the room, hoping to find a better place to concentrate on cute hairstyles. She went to the bathroom.

“So, how’s school?” Skandar asked.

Arlin hushed. “School’s…kind of there!”

“ ‘Kind of there’? How?”

“Well, there’s this school recreational trip to the beach, so school’s not so completely horrid.”

“Horrid? Arlin, it can’t be that bad!”

“Well, it sort of is! I mean, I’ve missed you so much…”

“Haven’t you been distracting yourself like I told you?”

“Oh yeah, my friend Jessica is sleeping over tonight. We’re planning for the trip. I can’t wait! I love the beach!”

“When is it?”

“In two weeks!”

“Wow! That was close!”

“What?”

“Um, I have great news!”

“I’m coming back a week after your trip!!”

Arlin screamed. “REALLY?!”

“Yeah!”

“In that case, I REALLY CAN’T WAIT FOR THAT TRIP!”

“So, who’s going on this trip?”

“I don’t know…the whole school, I think. Why?”

“Just wondering who will be there.”

“Skandar, are you acting jealous again?”

“No, I’m not acting. I’m off the clock at the moment.”

Arlin laughed. “You are hilarious!”

“Am I?” He said in a prosaic voice.

“Yeah.”

“And why I am so hilarious?”

“Because you’re being really jealous over something so silly! Tell me exactly what are you worried about?”

“That kid that likes you.”

“Hayden? Oh, you definitely don’t have anything to worry about there!”

“Really?!” He said in the same, uninterested voice.

“Yeah, because my friend Jessica and I are planning a little hook-up with her and Hayden.”

“Well, in that case, I am a little calmed down.”

“Good.”

“Skandar?” Arlin asked.

“Yes?”

“Do you know if you could get done two Fridays from now?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Why?”

“Well, I couldn’t possibly think of anyone that I could hang out with at the beach than with you.”

“I’ll try to figure out when I’m not needed anymore.” Skandar smiled.

Ch.18 (Filling Up The Stash)

Suddenly, Jessica popped in the room.

“Arlin? Darlenys is going out to the supermarket. Do you wanna go?”

She looked back at Skandar, who was yawning. She smiled at him and typed, “Go to sleep. I’m going out. Love you.”

He smiled at her. He typed, “Is it obvious? lol. Bye. I love you more!”

Arlin smiled and exited out and put her computer on standby.

“Sure. Let’s go!” Arlin stood up.

“Talking to Skandar again??” Jessica sang her question.

Arlin blushed. She nodded.

At the Supermarket…

“I’m just going to get what I need and leave!” I yelled after them as they went straight to the magazine section of the store.

“It’s cool. We don’t need too much time to skim through some magazines.” Arlin said, following Jessica.

“I’ll call you, then.” I said, waving my hand.

“GET ME SOME PICKLES!!!” Arlin yelled.

I stopped in my tracks pausing to laugh.

Meanwhile, Jessica and Arlin were looking at magazines, skimming through pages, when suddenly…

“OHMYGOSH!” Arlin practically shouted, making some customers stop and star.

“What?! What is it? Why are you yelling?!” Jessica asked her, trying to calm her down, but only hyping up her mood.

“Skandar’s movie is going to have a premiere party…WITH A SPECIAL SCREENING IN ENGLAND??!!!”

“Really?” Jessica would never be as enthusiastic as Arlin was about England, or Skandar Keynes.

“YEAH! I have to buy this!!”

As Arlin and Jessica were looking through the magazines, Hayden Christensen was doing a little shopping of his own.

“Oh! Body spray!” (I don’t know; What gets guys excited about shopping…?) Hayden grabbed the body spray in his hand. (Axe, obviously. He’d been watching way too many commercials!)

Hayden was passing the magazine aisle, going back an aisle before it when he noticed his two classmates, Arlin and Jessica.

Arlin was looking at a magazine and Jessica was peering out from hers to look at Arlin’s from time to time.

“Skandar Keynes-of course.” Hayden muttered to himself. Maybe she was just an obsessed fan-sadly, gone too far-and she was “keeping the dream alive.” Hayden shook his head from side to side. He went back into his aisle and waited for them to leave.

Hayden grabbed the magazine that Arlin had picked up and flipped violently through it, ripping out the pages that would give him the dirt that he had been looking for.

At the apartment…

“Oh my gosh, finally!” I said as I ripped open a box of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds. “I needed this.”

Meanwhile, as I’m going insane with all of these different projects and plans, Perry is just about to get off work. Till then, I’ve got some work ahead of me.

15 Minutes Later…

“Hello?” I said, not even looking at the caller I.d.

“Hey, I’ll be there in like, two seconds.”

“Why t-…” The doorbell discontinued my question. I smiled and got up to answer the door.

Outside the threshold stood Perry; deep blue eyes that were on my face as soon as I opened the door. Lips, the lower one thicker than the upper one, parting at the smirk he was now giving me. He walked through the door, standing in front of me.

“Hi.” I said, standing in front of him. My hair was pretty much everywhere! The makeup that I had  worn was running away from the rims of my eye sockets. I had a t-shirt as long as my knees on, and underneath that were some jersey shorts to create the long t-shirt-effect.

Perry raised an eyebrow at my look, smirking at me still.

“Hi,” He wrapped his arms around my waist, making my over-sized shirt come into my sides in the middle. “Are you working hard tonight?”

“Oh, am I! I had to go buy some thinking food tonight! I ran out! It was pretty scary!” I joked.

“Hm…did it work? “A little.”

“Have you tried this.” He grabbed my chin and pressed his lips to mine for a couple of seconds. He looked at me then.

“No, I hadn’t thought of that one.” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck, and grabbed a fistful of his midnight-dark hair and rose from the ground on my tip-toes to better reach him. My breathing sped and, a few seconds into the passion, I wasn’t the only one who was having trouble breathing!

Perry pulled me to his chest and then, without noticing, I wasn’t on the ground anymore. He was walking towards my room.

“Wait, wait. We can’t go in there!” I said against his lips.

“Why not?” He looked at me.

“Arlin and her friend are in there.”

“Oh, right.” He looked around the room, pausing to look behind me. “Hmmm…”

“What?” I asked.

“Would you look at that! No one’s sitting on the couch!” He said, sarcastically.

I laughed at his sarcasm. He smiled at me, looking up at me, since I was wrapped around his body; my legs were wrapped around his torso like an octopus, as were my arms around his neck; fingers played with his locks of darkness. Perry charged for my couch, slipping and falling on his back, onto the carpet luckily, with me now sitting on the perfect plains of his stomach.

“Uhf!” He said.

I covered my mouth. “Are you okay?!”

He looked at me and said, “That’s gonna hurt in the morning.”

Ch. 19 (I don‘t wanna be,…Without U.)

Meanwhile, Arlin and Jessica…

These girls have been planning and there are officially only thirteen days until said trip. Arlin’s been eating, breathing Hayden information and she honestly thinks that she’s got it pretty much covered. There’s not much left to learn, thanks to Jessica.

“Okay, so, I think I’m ready.” Arlin said.

“I hope so, because you’ve got a week to get Hayden to start talking to you again!” Jessica told her.

There was a knock on my bedroom door, where Arlin and Jessica were at.

“Come in!” They laughed at their little screen-playing game where Jessica was pretending to be Hayden.

“Hey, guys! Did ya miss me?” Hayden came in and dropped his stuff! (Speak of the hearthrob!)

“Holy snot!” Arlin screamed.

“Hayden!” Jessica screamed.

“What are YOU doing here?!” The girls got up and fidgeted with their hair.

“Visiting. Well, you know, I was around the neighborhood.”

“Uh-huh…” Arlin said, dubiously.

Hayden gave Arlin a face, “Anyway,…I thought I’d, um, come by…”

“Sure. Hayden, what are you REALLY here for?” Arlin asked him.

“Okay! You caught me!”

Arlin and Jessica looked at each other. Jessica nudged Arlin and gave her one of the looks that they’d been talking about.

“Listen, Hayden,” She fidgeted with her fingers, “I’m sorry about Friday in math.” Arlin said.

“What?” Hayden looked dumbfounded.

“When I was talking to you, and I was all irritated and stuff, it was just a long day.”

“Oh, that stuff! Yeah, um. Don’t worry about that! I’m a little too excited on Fridays! It’s kind of weird.” Hayden took advantage of Arlin’s mood by trying to add in talk about the bonfire trip.

“So,…you girls going to the bonfire trip?” He tested his question in his mind to see if it was safe, first.

“Actually,” Arlin pointed at him, inching closer while giving Jess a few glances, “I was thinking that we should all go together! I mean, we’re all good friends here and we’re pretty capable of having a good time. Well, the school’s taking us, of course, by ‘together’ I mean we should, you know, hang out there.”

Arlin tried to sound tongue-tied only to make him think that he made her nervous in a way that she couldn’t make coherent sentences around him.

It worked. Hayden’s ego was starting to look enormous already when he said, “I knew my irresistible charm wasn’t just a rumor.”

Arlin rolled her eyes. “Don’t push it, Christensen.”

“No, ma’am.” He replied. He got up and stretched. “Can I have some juice?”

(Random-much?)

Arlin sighed and said, “Sure. Just go help yourself.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t’ spill anything.”

“I’ll try not to.” Hayden winked. Jessica’s heart fluttered, even though he was obviously winking at Arlin.

Meanwhile, Perry and I…

“You okay?” I asked Perry, as I got off of him so that he could get up.

“I’m fine.” He smiled. I giggled, gasping at the same time that my eyes spotted Hayden, Arlin’s annoyingly-good-looking friend, walk out of my room!

“What?!” Perry tried to look in my direction.

“What are YOU doing here?!” I asked Hayden.

“It’s nice to see you, too, honey!” He went to the refrigerator and got some juice and grabbed a cup to pour it in.

“Who’s that?” Perry asked, pointing while looking really ticked off.

“Oh, that’s Hayden. He’s Arlin’s friend.”

“And so if he’s Arlin’s friend, why did he just come out of YOUR room??”

“Why should I know?”

“Because he obviously came out of your room.”

“What are you trying to say, here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that, ‘if he’s a guest, he knows his way a little too well around your apartment.’ ”

“So? It’s not that hard to find your way around this place!”

I stood up a little more and put my hands on my hips, bringing the sides of my shirt into my body.

“So, Hayden…?” Perry called over to him. Hayden stopped drinking his juice. “How often do you come here?”

“Here? Umm, I’ve only been here twice, but this time, I got to come inside and everything! I mean, I even got to go inside the room!” He smiled stupidly.

I covered my face in frustration, annoyance, and anger.

“Thanks for the info!” Perry said to him.

“Sure, thing!” Hayden took a sip of his juice and went back to the room, right when Jessica came out and asked if he was doing okay.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just talking to…uh…?”

“Perry.” Perry said between his teeth.

“Oh, well, just…just making sure, you know.” Jessica walked past Hayden close enough that she somehow spilled the juice on his shirt.

“Oh my gosh!!” Jessica moved her hands frantically, trying to find a place to set them on Hayden’s shirt. “I’m sooooo sorry!”

“It’s okay! Good thing I have another shirt around here somewhere.”

Perry looked at me dubiously, eyeing the size of my shirt. (oh crap!) I knew EXACTLY what he was thinking!

He started to get up and look around for anything he had brought with him. I grabbed onto his arm and stalked after him. He got to the door and stopped.

“I’m leaving.”

“Why? I didn’t even do anything?”

“You don’t have to keep playing along with your little game! I get it! You don’t want me anymore!”

“Whoah! What?! What are you…? Oh my gosh! Perry, that’s absurd! Hayden, right? That kid who just came out of my room, was in there because of the girls!”

“ ‘I’ve got another shirt around here somewhere?’ ” He quoted Hayden while pulling a piece between his thumb and index finger.

“Oh my god! Ew! Perry…he’s like seventeen! And second of all, this is MY shirt!”

“Why would you buy an oversized shirt?”

“I wanted one???”

“You’re lying.”

“What?”

“You’re lying.”

“Really? Are you kidding me?!” I yelled.

Jessica and Hayden looked at Perry and me. I opened my door and we went out to the hall to talk.

“So,” I shut the door, “Do I have to like keep all of my receipts now? And since when are you concerned with the sizes of my clothes?!”

“That’s not even the point! The point is that…” He stopped, took a breath, then looked away from me.

“What?” I grabbed his chin with my thumb and index finger. “What’s the point here?”

“…I’ll never be your first anymore.” He sounded a little ashamed to use such words. It shocked me a little. I’d never heard anyone other than girls say that kind of stuff. He looked at me.

“What??” I felt really annoyed and at the same time, I wanted to start laughing and I had no idea why, but I knew that now wasn’t a good time.

“So,…what are you trying to say exactly?” I asked him, fighting the small, pools of saltwater tears to flow from my eyes.

“I don’t know if I’m trying to say anything.”

“I wish you were trying to say that you believe me.” I murmured, tears already falling down. I caught my breath.

“I love-…” I started to say.

“Don’t say that anymore.”

“Wha-…”

“Look,…I’m,…going to go home,” I shook my head, because I couldn’t find my voice. The words he was going to say hadn’t come out yet, but, honestly, that’s why I was shaking my head. Because I didn’t want it to be true. If he said that he was going to break up with me, then I’d be back into reality and all of the times I’ve had with Perry would all just be dreams; lost, but never forgotten. It’s like I’d just been asleep this whole time and now, slowly, it would all come falling down on me and wake me up. I never wanted to open my eyes up to this. Ever.

Perry left. He didn’t say anything, which gave me hope (but only a smidge.). I walked away slowly, opening my door.

Hayden and Jessica stared at me, then said, “Arlin, we’re leaving.” to Arlin, in my room. I smiled a little at them.

Hayden came up to me and whispered, “It’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” I smiled, whispering back.

“Hey!” He complained.

“Com’on!” Jessica pulled him. “I’m sorry.”

I nodded once. She closed the door. Arlin came out of my room. She looked at me.

“You’re a mess.” She said.

I made a face and closed the door to my room once I was inside. I laid down on my bed and pulled  the covers over my head.

Ch.20 (The Not-So-Third Wheel.)

Skipping around to Wednesday morning…

There are officially eleven days until the famous Bonfire Trip at Arlin and Jessica’s school. The ingenious plan seems to be working since Jessica and Hayden have been talking more than Jessica could have dreamed! Arlin’s been feeling like a third wheel from this, but honestly, she could have cared less! Jessica was finally going to be as happy as she was with Skandar, and not to mention, Skandar would finally stop being jealous of Hayden! Hayden, the god from above, was only trying to be a good friend now, as he realized that him and Jess were getting along.

It was lunchtime, finally! Although it would be a quiet lunch period today, what with Jessica having an appointment, today of all the days! Arlin took her seat near the window, longing for the day to be over and stood up , money clenched in her right hand. She took her place in line and stood there patiently, going with the flow of student-body traffic.

There were two girls talking in front of her. Arlin wasn’t trying to listen, but they were talking a little too loud to be standing one in front of the other.

“So, you’ve seen them too?!”

“Yeah! They look so cute together!!”

“Really? Ugh! I think Hayden would look adorable with me!”

“Oh God! Get over it! It seems Christensen’s finally settling down!”

“Yeah, okay! Like you weren’t going to say the same thing!”  The other girl bit her lips.

“I knew it!” The girl kept talking. “You just can’t stare at…at a wonderful creation of GOD like him and NOT fantasize!”

Arlin seemed like she would burst into laughter. She motioned to the two other girls to move forward.

“What’s so funny?” The girl who kept talking said. Her beach blond hair moved with the motion of her walking.

“Yeah?” the girl who bit her lips said. She had green braces and green eyes to match. Her curly-red hair also seemed to fit with the bridge of red-brown freckles across the bridge of her nose. Both very modelesque. Both wearing Hollister, naturally.

“I don’t think you should refer to him as a ‘GOD’. He’s just a kid.”

The two girls made faces at Arlin.

Arlin raised her hand, palms up. “Okay, okay. An exceptionally good-looking guy. But personally, I don’t fantasize about him.”

“Are you blind?” Blondie said, putting her hands on her hips. The curly-haired girl laughed.

“No.” Arlin replied.

“Have you seen him?” She took a breath. “In PERSON?”

“Yeah. All the time. He’s my best friend’s friend. And, I guess he’s my friend, too.”

Arlin got her food, paid for it, and left.

The two girls followed after her. They gasped at the same time that Arlin stopped. Christensen was sitting at a table, staring at Arlin’s things on the table. He looked up, a smile on his glorious face, and greeted Arlin.

The girls gasped even more when they saw Christensen motioning to her to sit down.

“This isn’t your lunch period.” Arlin accused him.

“Oh well. No one’s going to miss me in study hall.” He replied.

“Where’s Jess?” He asked. Arlin’s smile went a little smug, but no for the actual reason at hand: Jessica’s absence.

“She’s at an appointment.”

“Hey, look, I’m sorry if you’ve been feeling…eh, left out. Jess and I have been…”

“Bonding??” Arlin smiled widely. (Teehee.)

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s GOOD!”

“It is.”

“But?” Arlin prompted.

“But?” Hayden looked puzzled.

“I don’t know. I felt a ‘but’ coming along.”

Hayden laughed. “Well, I don’t know about ‘buts’, but…”

“See?!”

He laughed again. “I guess I’m trying to say that it’s unfair that I’ve been hanging out with one of my best friends more than the other.”

“Best friend?” Arlin murmured between her teeth. Wow!

“Yeah! Of course! I mean, were you expecting something more?” Hayden questioned her with a pleading voice.

Arlin sighed, took a bite out of her apple and said, ‘no.’ Hayden sighed too, looked around and asked, “What’s for lunch?”

Arlin made a face at his nonchalance, intentionally, and said, “Pizza, chicken fingers and turkey and gravy sandwich; at least those are the main dishes. I wouldn’t suggest anything else, so it doesn’t matter.” She smiled a little. Hayden smiled at her and went up to get his food.

When he came back, he was more than excited to eat with Arlin, since he noticed for a fact that Jessica wasn’t here and Arlin was somewhat vulnerable, or so he thought.

“Look, Arlin! They had juice!” Hayden showed her the small carton of apple juice that he had picked up in his hand.

“Oh! Three drops of squished fruit in a carton! Fun!” Her sarcasm made him laugh, which was just what she had been hoping for. It was a bit weird for her to admit, but sh e liked it when she could make him laugh. It pleased her and, honestly, she was starting to think that those girls were right; Arlin suddenly saw herself in a very unfamiliar, barren place, holding hands with Christensen and getting to hear the sound of his laughter very close to her. This plan was working. Arlin was going to get closer to him than she ever really wanted. This was going to be extremely dangerous.

Arlin and Hayden both walked into their math class, the last class of the day. The class cheered as soon as they saw a substitute walk in. It was going to be an easy class period, and it was only Wednesday.

“Listen up, guys and girls, your teacher, Mr. Quin is on an intensive teaching trip and won’t be back until Monday, so I’ll be fitting in. Now, this is the part where you all cheer, right? Okay…”

The class cheered on cue.

“So, all I ask is that you keep it down. You have extra credit work that he left you guys. If you need any help, I’m an English major, so we’ll see what we can do. My name’s Mr. Lucas, so just try NOT to need me, if you know what I mean…”

The class laughed. The few girls that were already huddled into a group in the corner were examining Mr. Lucas. He had on pale-black pants, a decent shirt, converses, and he wore square, small glasses. His hair was long and layered on top of itself, not going past his ears in length. He had a bit of a faint shadow, but nothing unprofessional.

The girls in the back, apart from Arlin, were laughing and giggling about Mr. Lucas’s appearance.

Arlin was barely paying attention.

She definitely noticed Mr. Lucas’s appearance, but it wasn’t the main center of her attention; Hayden was.

“Hey!” Hayden greeted her.

“Hi.” Arlin looked up from her book.

“so, I…I was thinking…”

Arlin looked up from her book again, putting her bookmark inside.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“What?” He interrogated.

“You were going to say something?” Arlin asked him.

“Oh,…um, I forgot.” He stalled nervously.

“O…kay?” Arlin went back to her book.

Class was almost over.

Five minutes left…

“Hey, Arlin?” Hayden asked.

“Hmm?” She barely looked up from her book. Hayden closed her book, and she quickly slipped the bookmark before it closed.

“Are you doing anything weekend?”

“Don’t people usually ask that kind of stuff on Friday?”

“Answer my question.” Hayden said.

“I don’t know. Probably nothing. I only really do stuff with Jessica.”

“Would you be okay with watching a movie with me? I mean, I’ve tried asking my other friends but they’ve all got plans.”

“Ummm…,” Arlin thought of the possibilities and shook her head.

“Geez, you just had to say, ‘no’!”

“What? No! Not, ‘no, I don’t want to go!’, Uhhh…I meant, ‘yes, I’ll go.’!”

“You shake your head when you’re saying yes?”

“No.”

“Okay, so, is that a ‘yes’,” He nodded, “or a ‘No’,” He shook his head.

Arlin gave him ‘the look’. “Yes.”

“Cool.”

Ch.21 (Movies with Christensen)

Arlin and Hayden have been spending time together; to anyone, they should just get a room; (to Hayden too.) Obviously, Arlin and Skandar, (who really shouldn’t know about this, for the intention of KEEPING Hayden alive), are still irrevocably in love and they are going to be with each other soon enough. Jessica is M.I.A. (Missing In Action), so Hayden can’t really focus on Jessica the way that he was supposed to. It was obvious that his crush for Arlin was only going to get stronger. And as for Arlin, her slight attraction for Hayden was going to grow, whether she likes it or not.

***-Hayden P.O.V.

At home…

“Hayden, you lucky guy! You’re finally going to get to go on a date with Arlin!” I talked to myself. “Yeah, I know, ‘What a weirdo’ Oh crap! She’s just thinking that I’m ‘just a friend’ when I want to be so much more!, “I had just remembered, right when I had mentioned her name.

I walked over to the mirror in my bathroom and gave myself a little confidence boost/ “pep talk.”

“Okay, Hayden! You can do this! You the man! YOU THE MAN! She’s just a girl-a gorgeous, fine, extremely hot girl…Yep, this isn’t working.” I gave up with the self-mirrored talk and just settled for some food to calm myself down.

Why couldn’t girls be like food? They’re so hard to figure out! Food is as obvious as anything else! But, GIRLS!! Sure, they’re beautiful, but they are sometimes a pain in the neck! Food is just, well, pretty obvious, especially if you’ve made it yourself! A homemade sandwich has you ingredients that you decided to put in yourself. IT doesn’t make itself and start packing itself with all of these different concoctions! Unless you make someone else make it for you! It really annoys me when there’s something in my sandwich that I clearly didn’t remember ordering!

That’s pretty much like girls! You don’t always get what you’ve ordered. I guess I could relax by saying that the night is young and I think I could get her to like me in time for the beach trip!

Wow! I never thought that I’d live to “think” the day that I liked school!

***-End of Hayden’s P.O.V*

Honestly, Arlin and Hayden were getting closer by the second, and watching a scary movie had nothing to do with “getting closer.” Arlin had already adjusted to Hayden. After the movies, Hayden walked her home.

They were walking pretty far apart from each other. Arlin was staring at her intertwined fingers. Hayden stared at her in complete silence. Arlin looked nervously at her fingers still, then getting annoyed by the ideas running through her head. She walked a little faster, with her newly-clenched fists at her sides. Hayden tried to catch up.

“Hey! Why are you walking so fast?!” He yelled.

“I always walk like this!” She yelled back, answering his question.

“Uh-huh. Don’t tell me you’re scared of the dark!”

“What? Why do you say that?”

“Because I saw you in the movies! I was sitting right next to you!”

“Oh, REALLY?! So, you think that I’m scared of the dark-BECAUSE OF A MOVIE?! Please! It wasn’t even that scary! I’ve seen worse!”

“Oh,Re…?!” Hayden started, but Arlin cut him off.

“AND, it’s not even dark outside!”

They got to the apartment building and Hayden stopped in front of Arlin and thanked her for coming with him. Hayden hugged Arlin and she melted in his arms, hating the effect that he had on her.

“Bye!” Hayden said, now looking at her; his eyes were obviously twinkling.

“See ya, Christensen!”

He looked at her. She smiled and said, “Bye, Hayden!”

He smiled back.

When Arlin got inside and up to her room, she felt a text that was vibrating through her pants. She looked at it. It was from Hayden.

“You were too scared.”

She smiled, rolled her eyes and got ready for bed.

Ch.22 (You’re Irresistible)

School was getting  weirder and weirder each day! Jessica hasn’t shown up in a while, only because she’s going through way too much for a silly little trip to the beach. Hayden was the one who was getting weird! He was being extremely nice, and sometimes bashful; and he was smiling a lot-practically every time that he saw her.

On Friday, Hayden wasn’t being his usual, cocky self. He was being pretty funny, and as much as Arlin didn’t want to admit, irresistible.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty much the same as usual, only Hayden was I.m.ing Arlin instead of Skandar. Skandar was wrapping up the few scenes and any other Narnia-related activity that he was involved in; after that, he’d go to his house (in England) and collapse on his bed. These days, he barely made it to the couch! Arlin had been informed by his late-night texts; and she was occupied with her newest bff, Hayden, who in truth, wanted to be known as her ‘bf’. Arlin couldn’t say that she hadn’t considered it before, because lately, she’s been thinking about a little more than math in her class with Hayden.

That’s when Sunday night allowed her to be able to see him more often than she was unfortunately hoping she would. Hayden had I.m.ed her.

“Oh my god!” Arlin rolled her eyes, smiling a small but slightly happy smile.

She typed, “Hayden?”

“At your service;D” he typed.

“Yeah, okay.” She replied.

Hayden typed a pretty long message. It read, “So, how do you think you’ll do on that math quiz on Thurs.? I think I’m going to ace it! It’s soooo easy!”

Arlin found a reason to panic. “Math quiz. Ohgod! Yeah, you’ll be acing what I’m definitely going to be failing!”

“I could teach you how to do what we’re doing right now.” He replied.

“Now? How?”

“Not on here! At school, Dr. Seuss!”

“hahaha.”

“I’m sorry, but seriously, I could tutor you. It’s not that hard! You’ll see!”

“Oh, yes we will see!”

“Okay, so, would this be better at school or at home? See, because we have to pay attenton at school, and maybe he’ll be teaching the others how to do those problems, and then, maybe you won’t need me.”

Arlin gawked at her screen. What was she going to say to that?!

“Arlin, I would really recommend that you let me teach it to you. Besides, you can trust me more than our own math teacher.” He said.

“Well, I guess.” She replied.

“Good.” He hesitated, then started typing again, “So, starting Monday then?”

Arlin’s mouth had opened involuntarily.

“Um, sure, I guess. Where should I meet you?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Where are you most comfortable?”

“In my room.”

“Then, we’ll meet there! Got to go! Take your math book home on Monday! I could go right after school if that’s okay.”

“Uh, uh…sure?”

“Hayden responded by laughing virtually.

“G2G! Bye!”

“Bye.”

Monday and Tuesday weren’t anything ordinary. Hayden was actually keeping his promise and tutoring Arlin It seemed like he had no more affection towards her as much as he used to. But, unfortunately for Arlin, she’d fallen for him a little too late.

As for me, Perry and I were a bit of a mess right now. If I could really blame anyone, it’d definitely be Hayden, but he didn’t really DO anything; Perry just hasn’t realized that the whole thing is just a misunderstanding.

On Tuesday morning, before work, I was about to head out the door, when I realized that I hadn’t had some breakfast. I hated to admit it, but I really needed to go to Perry’s café. I was in the mood for a croissant and a French vanilla cappuccino in a mug or something; wouldn’t be too bad. To-go. Not because I was mad at him; because I was completely tormented and lost without him. It was honestly because I was going to be late; and I just wanted to see his face in person. Just one more time. It’s been killing me to refer to photographs. The only reason that I hadn’t done this before was because I was afraid that he wouldn’t even look at me. I don’t think he would do that. Would he? I walked over there to see.

There he was, beautiful as ever. He had to at least take my order.

I walked up to the register, since I was going to leave with my food. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, looking through my bag, as if I needed to distract myself already. Staring at Perry was always very distracting. I was at the register, looking to see if I still wanted a croissant.

Just as I’d hoped, he was at the register. I tried not to look at him from the corner of my eye. He didn’t look like he was mad at me.

“Can I come over tonight?” I asked him, pleading deep in my voice. I gave him my money. He handed me my food. He was smiling, but I didn’t know if it was out of habit.

“Sure.”

I stopped and looked up at him in astonishment.

“Look, I’m sorry that I overreacted on you like that on Friday. I’ve honestly missed you like crazy,” Perry looked me in the eyes and whipped his hair out of the way, letting me rediscover those deep-blue small pools of perfection. His eyes twinkled in the light.

“That’s funny. I thought that you would hate me for the whole misunderstanding! I was actually really scared to come over here because I wouldn’t think that you’d talk to me.”

“What?” He started to give me back my change my change. His fingers lingered on my skin as he gave me the folded receipt.

“I was kind of hoping that you’d come.” He smiled.

I opened the receipt. Aside from the $7.39 that I owed him for the food and my change being a total of $0.61, it read: “See you at 7:00p.m.?”

Perry was attending a customer, but he was looking at me with a sly grin across his face. I loved the fact that he wasn’t mad at me anymore. (Not that I wanted him to be mad at me in the first place, but why the sudden mood swing?)

I looked at him and nodded my head.

Tuesday night…

Ch. 23(“I can fix that.”)

***

It was 6:45 pm. I was showered, just in a cami and some underwear, looking for something decent to  wear. (Honestly, all I had to do was change into something more than what I was already wearing, but I just couldn’t decided whether his mood would stay like this or if when I got there, he would find a reason to be mad at me.) I settled with some jeans and a graphic t-shirt. I straightened my hair, though.

I took a deep breath, announced my departure and left out the door.

I rang the buzzer and told him that I was here, just like old times. I heard the buzzing of the unlocked door and went upstairs to his apartment. I’ve only been here several times, but each time made it even easier. It was exactly 7:00 pm. Perry received a ring at the door.

I was so nervous that I might have almost turned for the corner, but I didn’t know what to expect, really. I mean, it wasn’t like he was going to show up at the door, shirtless or something!

Perry opened the door. He was wearing a deep V-neck t-shirt and cargo pants.

I came into the apartment and Perry closed the door behind me. We sat in silence for about three seconds, away from each other, and yet still on the same couch.

I closed my eyes tightly, took a deep breath and spoke.

“Perry,…I’m extremely sorry for giving you the wrong impression. I really wasn’t trying to do that! I…” I couldn’t continue because Perry had interrupted me.

“Look, I’m the one that’s sorry. I overreacted! I’ve been dying to see you! I hated myself after I realized that you really were telling the truth!”

“And when exactly did you realized?!” I turned to look at him, annoyed. “So, when?”

“Sunday,” he sighed. He looked at me, then looked away and continued with his anecdote. “Well, that Hayden guy came over to my café and he came to talk to me about how there was never and never will there BE a ‘you and him’.”

“Wait! Hayden said that?!”

“Mm-hm.” Perry nodded.

“Huh…I’m going to have to thank him for that.” I muttered to myself.

“Me too.” Perry agreed, now looking at me. “I’m extremely sorry and, to tell you the truth, I feel really stupid!”

“Oh, REALLY?!” I asked, hinting the sarcasm. He grimaced.

“Yeah. I completely forgot about everything that you told me you liked and how differently you do the things that you do…” Perry looked at me; I was looking down, as if in a pensive state when I was just bashful.

Perry tilted his head to try to see what I was looking at. I was aware of how quiet it had gotten, but I didn’t look up at him. He sensed a bit of aggravation within himself. Perry searched for my chin with his fingertips. I shivered at the touch. He made me look at him. We were both at eye level. I stared back at his eyes, but tried to keep a serious expression on my face. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do; Hid the expression that clearly showed on my face as soon as his blue-eyed gaze was on me.

“What’s wrong? Why are you acting like this?” He asked; I still sensed the aggravation in his tone.

“I’m just acting like this because you are.”

“What?” He was instantly confused.

“You,…” I bit my lips, trying to form a correct sentence structure.

Perry slowly let go of my chin and turned to me. He sat cross-legged and waited patiently.

“You don’t know how much I’ve wanted you; from the beginning,…” I paused, because of nervousness instead of sentence. He was about to speak. I put my index finger  up, motioning to hold on a second.

“I know that I’ve made it look like I’ve screwed up in the past, with someone else, but right now…”I went closer in Perry’s direction, touching up his arm. His eyes went wide, the blue almost crashing like iced water. “I’ve never wanted to make it seem that way before.”

Perry stared at me slightly horrified. I took that as nervousness before I could have been offended by it. He didn’t say anything. I retrieved my hand. He was looking down at his feet, (or so I thought).

“You don’t have to prove anything to me. I believe you, already. He said, still looking down.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything.” Something clicked in the back of my head and helped me realize that he probably was just forgiving me from the misunderstanding, but meant that we really weren’t making that much progress to do this. I closed my eyes and sealed my lips together. “Um,…I’m going to just…you know, go.” I started to get up and leave. I got as far as three feet from the door before he tugged on my arm.

“Darlenys…” Perry whispered. That much made me stop; because I had missed the sound of his voice so much that I turned around just to hear it better. I turned to face him, lips still mashed together. Perry bit his lips; something he would do out of indecision-or seductiveness.

He slowly came closer to me. His hold on my arm loosened, only sliding down to my hand. He held onto it. With his other hand, he reached for the door, barely turning the knob so that it was technically “open,” but looked more “closed” than anything . I was about to reach for the door, when suddenly, Perry turned me around. I was standing right behind the door, staring at a guy who wasn’t making any sense at the moment.

“I love you,” He said as he intertwined his fingers with mine. I stared up at him in marvel.

“And…” He continued. I held my breath; my lips were still mashed together. I didn’t think that I was prepared for what came next; (only because I had no idea that it was going to happen in the first place.)

Perry’s face came closer to my ear. “I want you too,” he whispered. I could have sworn that I almost cried. He bent down to kiss my no longer mashed lips. I tried to help him by getting on my tip-toes, almost losing my balance to begin with. Perry grabbed the belt buckles of my jeans and hoisted me onto his body. We closed the door from being against it. It shut a little loudly. Perry kissed me and for the first time in that whole day had I never felt more complete (or so I had thought). Perry walked with me on his body. We followed the path that the wall was leading to: the kitchen.

Perry looked around and stopped. “Whoops!” I laughed.

“Wait! I’ve got an idea!” Perry said, looking past me, to the refrigerated goods, almost, instead of the refrigerator itself. He sat me down on the counter and looked through the fridge, getting two things: whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

“What’s that for?” I felt human enough to ask.

“In case we get hungry.” He left and came back within five seconds.

I rolled my eyes, purposely waiting until he came back.

“I saw that.” He pressed his lips to mine, smiling widely. I used my legs to reel him in closer. He grabbed my waist to finish hoisting me to his. This time, he kept his eyes open enough as to see where he was going. My arms were wrapped around his neck.

We got to his room, where I froze and looked around. It was amazing how neat his apartment was. Perry looked around with me. He carefully set me down on his bed, kissed my forehead and went to the bathroom. I got off the bed and went to the window. It was my favorite part of his room, especially at night. The moon shone through the window and into Perry’s room. It was so peaceful (and calming.)

Perry returned to his room, where I stood at his window, looking outside. He quietly came behind me and kissed me on the cheek. His touch made me shiver from the shock. He was smiling at me. I returned the gesture. This moment couldn’t have been more perfect! Perry pulled me into his arms, carefully and softly, barely touching me.

“Are you okay?” He whispered.

“I was,” I whimpered.

“Nervous?”

“Mm-hm.” I nodded.

“Don’t be. You’re here with ME.” He said, looking straight into my eyes.

I looked at him, cocking my head to the side.

“You’re all I’ll ever need.” Perry whispered.

I figured that I might have given in. I’m the one who set the field in the first place!

“Perry?”

He looked at me with undivided attention.

“I love you, too.” I kissed him, toying with his dark-midnight hair in the process. I walked backwards, trying to remember where his bed was, then hitting it and bending my knees to fall on it.

“Uhf!” I said.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Boy, doesn’t that sound familiar, I thought.

Perry kissed my neck, stopping and looking at me. Had he noticed how hard I was breathing?

“What’s wrong?” I asked. We still had our clothes on, so it wasn’t a matter of disappointment.

“Am I allowed to..?” He attempted a noise that was close to sucking air in.

“Uh…knock yourself out?!” I really had no idea what he meant. Perry laughed. He sucked on my neck. I started giggling. He stared at me and smiled.

I looked at him, serious now and sat up. He had a mischievous look on his face, although he had no idea what I was going to do. I turned him onto his bed and touched his nose, down to his shirt. He stared at me with a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes with a replying smirk of my own and instructed him to help me take his shirt off. He went for his shirt, where I gawked at his marvelous body. I pressed my two hands lightly on his chest. My hair came down on his chest, tickling him enough to make him laugh.

Perry sat up and looked up at me. I was sitting on him; one leg on each side. I slipped out of my tee-shirt, left in my bra and jeans. He smiled at me, I smiled back. Eventually we were completely in sync with one another. “It was, in fact, the most erotic moment of my life!” Perry  turned to me.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” I smiled in his arms.

“You hungry?”

“Mm. A bit.”

Perry grabbed the whipped cream carefully, as to not unsettle me from my most comfortable spot. He grabbed the chocolate syrup quickly as well. “Which one?” He raised them both.

“Whipped cream, please.”

Perry shook the can and sprayed some in his mouth, missing COMPLETELY.

“You have terrible aim!” I laughed.

“I know…On the plus side, my mouth tastes better than yours.”

“Because I would want THAT!” I let my sarcasm go.

“Yeah!” He said, matter-of-factly.

He came closer to my face and moved his face from side to side, against mine, trying to get as much whipped cream on my face as possible.

“Hey! Perryyyy! Stop!!!” I laughed.

“I’m sorry.” He laughed quietly. Perry grabbed a hand full of my hair in his right hand as he pulled my face closer, licking off the whipped cream off of my face. I giggled. I laughed when some of the whipped cream was sliding down my neck. Perry stopped it from going any further by kissing it to a halt, then licking there as well.

I looked at him and shook my head, laughing a little. His face was a mess. He had whipped cream all over! On his cheeks, on his nose, on his lips and his chin. I took my finger and swiped it off the tip of his nose, where most of the whipped cream had accumulated. Then, I fed it to him. He sucked on my finger, making sure he had gotten all of it. I bit my lips with a small little smirk. I made him lick himself clean. I didn’t want to lick him, really. His lips were another story.

I sat up on my elbows and stared out his window. What a view! The beach looked great! Of course, I wasn’t choosing it over anything else at the moment. Perry looked at me. He kissed my bare shoulder. That caught my attention, and so I looked back at him.

“What time is it?” I tired to look around, but I couldn’t get past his eyes.

His face kind of slumped. “I have no idea.”

“Oh man,” I sighed. “I might have to go to work today,” Not that it mattered, since I worked from home, but everything was at my home, not his.

I paused, not realizing what day it was. “Perry? What day is it?!?!”

He chuckled, “Wednesday.”

“Oh.” I thought this and my times and schedule all in my head. “Actually…I’m free.”

“Ha. That’s great!”

“Do you have to go to work?”

“I’m closing the café.”

“What?!”

“I’m kidding. I’m going, I’m going.”

I rolled my eyes.

Perry and I finally got out of his bed and headed for the bathroom. He got there first, but he let me in (after seeing me pout about it.)

“Um, I need to shower.” I said. I wore one of Perry’s white dress shirts. It was extremely wrinkly, but it had his scent. An unfamiliar musk. Not “man-scented” but perfume-like.

“I know.”

I stared at him. “So, can I…you know, have some privacy, maybe?” I suggested.

“Darlenys, does it really matter anymore?”

“True. Well, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know-brush my teeth or something.”

I shrugged and slipped into the warm shower, stripping myself of his shirt once I was safely inside.

I eventually got dressed and Perry got ready to go to work. I decided to go get some breakfast with him.

Ch.24 (Sometime Around Midnight.)

Arlin was stressing out over the biggest math quiz to have ever existed. It was tomorrow, on Thursday. Then again, there was the trip to look forward to, and today, Hayden would be coming over. Although she couldn’t admit it to herself aloud, she had started to like Hayden, like a guy. Like…

Arlin got up from her bed as soon as she had thought up that little thought and went to the door. He would be coming sooner or later. Arlin was getting extremely anxious, and not because she knew that she’d be failing without his help.

Ah, the doorbell…

Arlin went to answer the door. It was Hayden, alright. Drinking juice. He sipped and sucked on the straw, getting every last drop.

“You done there?” Arlin asked.

“Just about…,” he kept sucking on it. There wasn’t much in there, just sayin’!

Arlin gave Hayden “the look.”

“Can I throw this away inside?” Hayden asked stepping inside after he had finished his fruit punch juice pouch.

“Uh, yeah.” Arlin made Hayden follow her into the kitchen. He threw it away and got to the living room, where he’d dropped his things lightly to the floor.

“Let’s get started!” Hayden said, with a little too much enthusiasm. Hayden caught Arlin in a few of his greenish-blue gazes and Arlin, for some odd reason, always had a writing utensil in her hand which would do amazing somersaults in the air, whacking Hayden on the head! Arlin covered her mouth, trying to hider her laughter, but forming a smile instead.

“Oh my gosh!! Are you okay??!…Again?”

“Yeah. I’m just as fine as the last couple of times.”

Yes. You. Arrrre. Arlin thought, sounding so much like myself.

After about two hours and thirty minutes of “studying time,” Hayden’s phone rang.

“Sorry,” he looked for his phone, “Hello?…Yeah…I’m at Arlin’s house…No. No…”

Arlin stared away from him to give him some privacy.

“No Mom, she’s not my ‘friend’…” He whispered into the speaker of the phone, air-quoting “friend” for his mother to hear the emphasis on her far-off assumptions.

Arlin almost laughed aloud. Yeah right. Hayden, her, “friends.” They could barley be classmates.

“Mom, I’ll call you when I get home.” He shut the phone. “Where were we?”

“Um…”

“Sorry, I mean, if you heard something that you would have thought completely revolting…” Hayden started to apologize.

“Not completely revolting…” Arlin replied in a quiet voice, cutting Hayden off, mid-sentence.

Hayden smiled. “I better get going. I have to be home before dinner.”

“Yeah, sure. Okay. Thanks! I’m so surprised at how easy you make math seem. It’s almost illogical.”

Hayden shrugged. He bit is lip and rove Arlin into an imaginary hospital for about five seconds or so. He grabbed his things and Arlin walked him to the door.

At night, Arlin was on her computer checking mail and listening to music and anything else that could be used to help her stop thinking about… “SKANDAR!!!” Arlin almost jumped off of her bed when she saw the window of Skandar via webcam. She put her hair up, always going for the unimpressive ponytail when she wasn’t looking in a mirror. “Arlin?” Skandar spoke. He squinted through his poor lighting in his room. “Skandar!!” Arlin was instantly partially full of joy. The other parts were full of embarrassment and shame, and not because she had fallen off of her bed.

“Hey! How have you been?! I’ve missed you so much!” Skandar told her earnestly. “Oh my gosh! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you!” Arlin had a crazy thought to show something to Skandar. “Skandar, I’ll be right back!” Arlin shuffled through her things around her room, looking for the specific item that she wanted to show him. “What is it?” Skandar squinted to try to read the letters on the magazine about Narnia and Skandar and his date. “It’s a magazine.” “About?!” “Narnia and the big release date for it to hit theaters. It’s also talking about you and the big premiere party! And…” Arlin gasped at the unexpected little news at the right bottom corner. “You date?” “Date?!” Skandar was confused and taken aback as well. “That’s what it says, Skandar.” Arlin almost sounded mad. “Well, Arlin. I really don’t know what to say about that.” “Skandar…are you dating someone behind my back?” “…No.” He hesitated. “Are you?” He asked her the same question. “Um, no. Why would I?” Arlin interjected just so that she wouldn’t be forced to mention Hayden’s name, for being the closest friend, that just so happens to be a guy. “Exactly! That’s what I’m saying! I’m saying, ‘Why would I have to? It’s pointless if I’m doing this,’ ” He extended his arms and touched the keys on his keyboard. Arlin didn’t catch the drift. “Talking to you through the internet, on a webcam, instead of sleeping.” Arlin knew that Skandar was telling the truth; she was just a little insecure about the rumors that it was getting to her. “Wait! What’s on the cover of that again?!” Skandar pointed, virtually, towards the magazine. “Oh, Narnia, you, Anna, Georgie, William, some Narnians, something about a man living in a car,..” Arlin looked at everything on the cover and named off things that caught her eye. “I have that same magazine! I can’t believe they would write that stuff!” “What stuff?” “The ‘date’ stuff! I specifically told them to keep it a secret…” Arlin gave a disbelieving look. Like paparazzi listen! “Okay, okay. I told them to put in all the things that I had been mentioning about you, and me, and…” Suddenly, Arlin heard a knock at the door where she would have least expected visitors. “Hold on, Skandar. I’ll be right back. Sorry.”“It’s okay, take your time.” Skandar layed his head down on his bed. he didn’t mean to fall asleep. He was doing fine, until he closed his eyes in a very slow blink.“Hayden?!” Arlin yelled in a whisper.

“Open, please?” Hayden signaled by pointing to the handle of the door that led to the balcony and down to the shore. Arlin opened the door, letting him inside.

“What are you doing here?!” Arlin whisper-yelled.

“I came to see you.” Hayden said, with his big, deep blueish-green eyes on Arlin’s face.

“Hayden, you just saw me like six hours ago!” Arlin whispered.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Darlenys is sleeping, and she’ll kill me if I woke her!”

Hayden looked around the dark room and said, “Who’s room is this?”

“Mine.” Arlin told him.He came inside and looked around. “Hmm…nice.”

“Gee, thanks.” Hayden felt a little uneasy about something. he was scratching the back of his neck and head, looking away. “Um, Hayden…?”

“Hmm, what?” He looked at her as soon as she had spoken his name.“Did you come here for a specific reason…? Or can I just go to sleep?”

“Are you too tired? I actually just wanted to, uh…talk to you…about, ehm, something…"Hayden was a nervous wreck.

“Oh, okay. What is it?”

“Can we actually just…you know, take a walk?”

Arlin looked back at her computer. Then she looked at Hayden.

“Sure.” Hayden opened the glass door of Arlin’s balcony and offered for her to go first. She went back to her room and put on her uggs really quickly and put a white delicate dress over her tank and shorts. The dress was basically simple. It had delicately sewn white flowers on it and was a bit short, but she had a pair of shorts on underneath.

“How does she do that,” Hayden was thinking to himself in his mind.Arlin’s heart sped by as she approached the balcony’s glass doors, thus getting closer to Hayden. “Let’s go,” She whispered breathlessly.

“Er, right.” Hayden opened the door a little more and let Arlin go outside first.“So…, what did you want to talk to me about?” She spoke in a normal tone.“What? What about our walk?”“Well,” Arlin’s arms lifted effortlessly and smacked down on her sides, “We walked a little.” Hayden rolled his eyes and grabbed Arlin’s hand, just swiftly putting his hand into hers, without any of the fingers-interlocking-mumbo-jumbo, and pulled her along towards the Fire Emergency walk-way towards the beach streets. Arlin and Hayden’s hands seemed to have stayed together, and Arlin practically forgot. Well, they walking absent-mindedly, so she didn’t FORGET forget. Up until Hayden loosened up a little and started talking about Jessica, Arlin took her hand back, sort of smiling at him. “Um,…” Hayden started nervously.“So, you seem to be holding quite the conversation there, Hayden.” He laughed. He never laughed at anything sarcastic that Arlin had mentioned. Hayden cleared his throat and looked away from Arlin. “So, what ever happened to Jessica?” He finally spoke.“Jessica?” Arlin sounded a little dumbfounded.“You know, that girl from math class who…”“No, no! I KNOW who Jessica IS, I just…didn’t know that you were going to talk about her.” “Well, what did you think I was going to talk about?” Hayden asked. And, as if on cue, a young couple passed by, holding hands, unwilling to let go, causing Arlin and Hayden to make some room on the enormous side walk for the two insignificant people.Hayden was really quiet during the rest of their wlak. “So, how’s Skandar?” He started again.Arlin kind of squinted her eyes at Hayden and then just looked away. “He’s…good. He’s doing good.” Hayden looked away from her, looking straight ahead, at a palm tree that was near a bench, almost right on the beach. All that was missing was the sand, which was a couple of paces away. “You tired?”“Uh, not really…” Arlin responded.“Good. Let’s sit down.” Arlin looked after him confused, and then, in a way she couldn’t even explain to herself as soon as Hayden held her hand. Arlin suddenly found herself sitting down next to Hayden on a bench, under a peculiar little palm tree, a few paces from the beach. “Hayden, what is going on? Why are you acting so strange?”“I have a feeling that we can’t be friends, Arlin.”“What?! And why not?!”“Because I’m attracted to you.” Arlin’s mouth formed a small impish smile, blushing altogether. “And you’re attracted to me…” Hayden continued.

“WHAT?!” Arlin’s face was still a pinkish-red glow on bronzish skin.

“Well, aren’t you?” He said this quietly, getting very, very close to Arlin’s face, making it hard for her to talk. Hayden’s nose was about an inch away from hers.

“Do you mind?!” She said.

“No, not really, thank you.” Hayden smiled.

“So, are you saying that you don’t find me 'attractive’?” Hayden added emphasis on the last word.

“Well..I’m saying that you are not that I think you are.”

“But…thinking that I am is just the same..”

“No, I didn’t say 'thinking,’ I said, 'saying’ that you are are attractive is the same as me thinking it…Wait!…”

“Oh! So you DO think that I’m attractive!” He yelled. Arlin tried to look away. “So, you’ve got to be attracted to me if you find me attractive.”“No.” Arlin blurted out, making sure it sounded matter-of-factly. Hayden raised an eyebrow. “I’m just saying that’s not necessarily true.” Hayden’s nose touched with Arlin’s.“Not necessarily.”

Hayden kissed Arlin. He didn’t know exactly how long he’d been wanting to do this, but he had an idea. Hayden’s lips pressed against Arlin’s ever so slightly. Arlin was sitting on a bench, under a small palm tree, with a boy who wasn’t British, at midnight. And she liked it? Well, let’s just say Hayden wasn’t the only one who was kissing back. Arlin didn’t know what was going on; (Well, she did, she just didn’t want to believe that it was real.) Hayden’s lips, smacked on hers. They were even making those kissy-smacking noises that always happened in the movies! His lips were soft; softer than she could have ever imagine them to be. It was almost surreal how perfect this moment was.

For the moment, she couldn’t remember where they were, why they were, or who they were. All she could feel were Hayden’s lips. Oh yes. She knew those very well. The tips of Hayden’s fingers touched Arlin’s face. It was strange. Arlin tried to pull away (in her mind), but physically she just sat there like Hayden was actually…Arlin almost pulled away then, but Hayden had stopped kissing her, so she didn’t look rude when she stopped; out of nowhere, because GOD FORBID THAT. Hayden bit his lips, looking away a little. Arlin stared at him, but it wasn’t in horror, which should have been her reaction. He cleared his throat.

Ch.25 (Thursday Morning)

Suddenly, Hayden’s phone ran. He picked it from out of his back pocket and looked at the caller i.d. It was Arlin. “Why are you calling me?” Hayden asked her.

“Oh crap! Pick it up!!” She yelled.

“Okay!!” Hayden picked up his phone. “Hello?”

On the other line…

Dark, hot nights were just the kinds of things that usually made me in the mood for some cold cereal,…and gave me the urge to use the bathroom. I could hardly ever sleep when it got hot wherever I was. I got really restless. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water. Then, I went to the kitchen and got some Honey Bunches of Oats; preferably with almonds at the time. I walked around with my bowl and decided to check on the girls. Marlen was fast asleep, in an awkward position, as always. Arlin’s room was a lot quieter than it should have been.

I opened her door carefully. Her computer was still on, which was honestly normal. I went to shut it off and noticed that she had been chatting with Skandar. Apparently, he fell asleep on his keyboard or something. I turned off the computer and looked for Arlin. I looked at the only possible place that she could have been in at 1:22 a.m.: her private bathroom. I knocked on the door.

“Arlin?”

No reply. “Arlin? Are you in there?”

Still nothing.

“Oh, so that’s how you want to play this game? Okay!”

…

“Arlin? Are you okay atleast?”

It just got quieter.

“Ohoho! So it’s the silent treatment?!” I opened the door to a dark, empty bathroom.

I looked around for a phone and called her cellphone. She never went anywhere without it! Or so I thought, as I heard her ringtone a lot closer than I would have expected. I went through her contacts and called her friend Jessica. She didn’t answer. I decided to call her other friend, Hayden.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hello?” He answered back.

“Hayden?”

‘Yeah…this is Hayden. Who is this?”

“Darlenys.”

“Oh, hey!”

Oh my god. “Have you seen Arlin?”

“Um, Arlin, Arlin…” Hayden walked away from her and walked back towards her casually. “Arlin?! Is that…Is that you?! Get , get, GET OVER HERE!!”

“So, you found her?”

“Yeah! Don’t worry Darlenys! I found her!”

“So you’ll bring her back home safely?”

“That’s part of the plan!”

“What PLAN?!”

“Uh!..” Hayden hung up on me and put the phone on silent. Arlin stared at Hayden.

“What was THAT all about?!”

“Darlenys was looking for you!”

“Oh my god! Out of ALL the nights for her to wake up in the middle of it all…” Arlin murmured.

“Com’on. Let’s take you home.” Hayden offered.

“I am SO dead.”

Hayden walked Arlin to the apartment and went through the fire-escape pathway, which was the same way that Hayden had come in through, and they had both left. Arlin peeked through the backdoor to see if I had went off to bed, (and lucky for her, I semi-trusted Hayden, and I had.) Hayden walked in briefly to make sure that Arlin was okay.

“Whoah.” Hayden whispered.

“What?” Arlin whispered back.

“Nothing…I’ve just never been in HERE before.”

“Well, enjoy, because I doubt that you’re going to be in here again.”

“Why is that?” Hayden asked. Arlin looked at him.

“What do you mean, ‘Why is that?!’ ” Arlin said, getting to the point.

“Well,…Hayden,…I don’t…like you-like THAT.” Arlin tried to sound less harsh, but it all just sounded…HARSH.

“Oh, REALLY?! Because I can tell you right now that I wasn’t the only one who was kissing BACK.” Hayden looked her straight in the eyes.

“I know…And I’m sorry.” Arlin tried to look away from his blue-ish gaze.

“WHAT?!” Hayden yelled in a whisper.

She pulled on his hand and they went out to the fire-escape pathway.

“Hayden, I know that I…wasn’t just standing there, but I don’t like you.”

“I can’t believe his.”

“Well, believe it.”

Hayden looked at Arlin and came closer. Arlin just looked at him. Hayden came even closer. Arlin stayed still, looking at Hayden. Hayden looked at Arlin.

“Do it, if you have to, but I’m not lying to you. I love Skandar.” Arlin told him seriously. And it was honestly true. She knew what she was doing. Arlin was completely certain that she loved Skandar. She couldn’t wait ‘til he got back.

Hayden nodded. He took a step back. “Okay. Okay. I understand.”

“Hayden, you’re a really good friend, and I do care about you.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Look, I’m sorry that I wasn’t the one, but I know exactly who is.”

“Who?”

“Just come by my house later in the morning, for school.”

Thursday Morning. Not the day of the bonfire trip. BUTTTT, Skandar’s back!(:

Skandar’s finally packing his bags to come see Arlin again. The day that she doesn’t entirely know about has come!

Arlin was going to go to school with Hayden this morning. She was going to “fill him in” on the little plan that she had been building up with Jessica. “Where has she been, anyway?” Hayden said as he followed Arlin out the door.

“Um, I don’t know. All I know is that she texted me and told me that she’ll be in school today, and that she’s definitely going to the trip!”

“Hmm.”

“Just promised me you’ll make this special for her tomorrow.”

“Of course! You know, this would have been a heck of a lot easier if she would have told me or tried to.”

“Yeah. Right.” Arlin’s sarcasm seeped through.

“Well, let’s go.”

Ch.26 (The Bonfire.)

School was pretty easy that day. Aside from that math quiz, nothing was too stressful. Hayden understood Arlin completely as to the whole reason for her “denial” towards him. Everything was going pretty easy.

Skandar was about two to three hours away from seeing Arlin. It was almost insane! He just had to go through the whole customs and get his luggage and get some real food. (For some reason, no matter what class you ride on a plane, the best kind of food that airlines can offer are peanuts.) Skandar went through about seven bags of peanuts in half of the (8) eight hours or so of flight it took to get from London, England to California itself. Unfortunately, he was too tired to actually go visit Arlin, not that she knew that he was currently in the U.S., not to mention, California, but he wanted to surprise her by video-chatting with her.

12:33 A.M. -SkantheMan would like to chat via videocamera.                                

                        ACCEPT OR DENY

After he had spent the entire time sleeping, he could actually stay awake at this time, unlike when he was in England and he had to practically tape his eyelids from closing just to talk to Arlin.

Arlin was just seconds away from signing out, when she saw that “SkantheMan” wanted to conversate. Arlin had just remembered that he would be here tomorrow and clicked “Accept” with a hint of over-excitableness. “Hi, Skandar! You’re coming back tomorrow, right?!” She said. “Hello, Arlin! Yes; yes, I am coming tomorrow! I’m so excited!!”

“I’m so glad you’re going to be home.”

“Me too!” Skandar smiled. “Skandar, I’m sorry, but I have to go to bed; tomorrow’s the day of the trip that I’ve been waiting for!”“Oh, well, I’ll say 'goodnight’ then.” He smiled.

Arlin and Hayden walked to the school bus and stopped to look for Jessica.

“Remember the plan?”

“Yup.” Hayden said.

“Cool.” Arlin said in a very gangster voice. Hayden shook his head.

“She’s coming!!” Arlin and Hayden did their handshake. “Hey, Jessica! We’ve missed you!” Hayden hugged her. Jessica sighed as if she had died and gone to “Jayden” heaven.

“I’ve missed you too!” Jessica mumbled. Hayden broke apart the hug, and Jessica sighed sadly, and then Hayden put his hand through hers, swiftly, in the “friend” way, but Jessica didn’t care! She could feel the blood racing through her veins, and suddenly, everything was gone and it was only her and Hayden. “Arlin!” Hayden called, “Look who’s here?!?!”

Jessica waved. Arlin waved as she walked towards them.

“Hey, Jess, where’ve you been?”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad I’m back,” she said, giving Arlin signals. Arlin looked at Hayden more than Jessica, smiling at him and sending a “good job” signal.

“Hey, let’s go set our stuff down.”

“Uh, sure!” Jessica agreed. She smiled wider as Hayden pulled her along. It meant that they were still attached to each other. Arlin was happy that everything was going exactly as planned. At Skandar’s…Skandar called Arlin’s phone, but it just kept ringing. She didn’t answer. That was weird. He called home. “Hello?” I said, picking up some clothes and putting them in the hamper for later.

“Hey, Darlenys? It’s Skandar!”

“OHMYGOSH! SKANDAR! How’s your movie coming along?!”

“Ha, actually, I’m at my beach house in California.”

“OH!! You’re here?!?! I’m so excited to see you, Skandar!! Arlin’s out right now…” the doorbell rang. I buzzed in my visitor.

“He-…” Perry started to say, but I put a finger on his lips, which he kissed.

Skandar continued, “Yeah. I just finished filming and I’m just so excited to see her!”

“Well, you can come over and wait 'til she gets back if you want…She’s at her school’s Bonfire trip. Didn’t she tell you?” Perry started kissing my hand, up my arm, onto my neck.

“Well, if that’s alright…”

“Of course it is!”“Okay then, bye!” Skandar hung up.

“Well, bye to YOU, too, best friend.” I ended the call.

“Who was that?” Suddenly, Perry was at my ear and had me giggling.

“Skandar!” I giggled.

“Arlin’s boyfriend?” Perry asked, getting away from my ear.

“Yes. He’s back, finally!”

“And he’s coming HERE?” Perry sounded upset. I looked at him and tugged on his hand. He followed me into my room and I went for the closet as he sat on my bed. “Well, until Arlin comes back. They’ll leave…Well. HE will, anyway. Why?”

“I don’t know?”

“What are you looking for?” He asked.

“Something nice to wear.”

“Oh, baby.” I looked at him and laughed. “What?” He asked.

“Nothing.” I snickered.

“You know, I passed by that beach, the one with all of Arlin’s friends, and it seems very ROMANTIC…” Perry got up.

“Perry, you’re a GENIUS!”

“Yeah, I know, ” he came behind me and nuzzled his face into my neck, kissing it.

I turned around and said, “Skandar can go surprise Arlin!”

“Uh, yeahhh…That too!”

I laughed. “I know what you meant. Thanks, babe.” I kissed him. He squeezed my cheeks lightly and I backed up into the closet. He pulled back.

“Oh, I’ll wear this!” I said.

“I love how you look in anything!”

“Yeah, especially 'nothing’.” I said in a low voice. Perry chuckled. I put on my halter-top dress with the delicately sewn flower patterns and my small light brown uggs. Perry held my hand. “Hmm…I think Skandar’s here!”

“He better not be making 'googley’ eyes at you!” “Perry, he HAS a girlfriend, remember?!?!”

“I know, but STILL.”

“You’re hilarious when you’re jealous!” I bit his ear lightly.

“Ow!”

“Oh, puh-lease!” I went for the buzzer and stood by the door. “Hey!” I hugged Skandar. Perry cleared his throat.

“Oh, geez!”

“Com'on, Skandar!”

“Where are we going?” He asked.

“To find Arlin so that she can finally see you!”

At the bonfire again…

The music was playing, and Jessica and Hayden had REALLY started to click. Arlin was really glad for them. She was sitting down, roasting a marshmallow on a stick. She poked at it with her finger. “Hey! Wanna dance?” She looked up to Hayden extending his hand out.

“Where’s Jess?” Arlin asked, staring at him.

“Dancing with David Casper.”

“Hmmm….”

“Oh, Com'on!” “Okay, okay.” She giggled.

Out of all the songs, it HAD to be a Taylor Swift song, and it just HAD to remind her of Skandar. It was their song, “Breathe.” It had barely started when someone came behind them and tapped on Hayden’s shoulder, and whispered, “May I cut in?” in a beautiful British accent. Arlin’s body froze and she started to cry.

“Um, sure…?”

“Skandar.” Skandar said.

“SKANDAR?!?!”

“Oh, so you’re Skandar?” Hayden asked, letting go of Arlin slowly.

“Yes, that’s me. Who are you?” He asked Hayden.

“Oh, I’m Hayden Christensen.”

“…Ohhh!” Skandar just said.

“Well, get to dancing guys!” He patted Skandar on the back.

“Skandar?! You’re BACK?!” Arlin walked towards him.

“Yes, love.” He held out his hand and stroked her cheek with the other, “And I’ve missed you dreadfully.”

“Probably not as much as I have.” Arlin whispered as she was finally swaying in Skandar’s arms.

“Hmmm. I’ll take you up on that.” They finished dancing to their song.

Perry and I danced far from them, seeing a lot of our friends had crashed this little high school trip as well. Keyra and Joe were there, and Noriette and Nick, and even Yasmin and Kevin. Aishah, Marlen and Dylan and Cole were eating melted marshmallows and laughing about who knows what. Suddenly, “Crazier” came on, and Perry and I walked closer to everyone else so that we could hear the music better. Keyra and Joe walked over towards us slowly; as did the rest of the party crashers. Arlin looked at Skandar, and Skandar looked at her too. They put their noses together, also their foreheads. Perry and I were already ahead of them.

“Arlin?” Skandar whispered. She looked up at him, not that she already wasn’t, “You make me crazier.” He kissed her.

Sequel? ;)

[sparring-spirals]

ep 98 belated lb, for the sake of not flooding dashes betw this and hopefully catching up on posts after i finish. Don’t be fooled, I will probably still make individual posts for the parts of the ep I still want to yell about. this goes up until the battle, for the sake of length.

- making note of the cad/nott convo about justice and vengeance. fascinating. fascinating.

- THE HAT. all the hat convos. absolutely hilarious. “Someone just up and snatched it in the middle of the party.”

- Marion: “I can get you a new one”. Fjord, with the most pained expression known to man: “s...ure “

- Jester: “Let what you want be known to the world.” Fjord, confused and emotionally turbulent after the back and forth: “Fuckin pick one. which one is it.”

- everyone other than jester is fucking awful at messages, apparently. And lbr jester is her own brand of chaotic with messages. We give them shit for never giving heads up but tbh sometimes its a miracle the M9 communicates info at all. :D

- Case and point, Jester: “he was just going, caleb kissed me caleb kissed me”. The M9, completely unphased by jester-interpretation of messages and/or shadowgast shippers: “...yeah that checks out.”

- fjord caleb interaction re: the argument at the start. damn. what a fascinating callback.

- these dumbasses. encounter a magical storage artifact and their first question is “can WE go in it???” i love them.

- yasha having a self care day!!! :’) good. she deserves it. <3

- “i have no idea whats in it but i’ll sell it to you for 200 gold” is this??? a gacha machine?

- oh man yeza is trying so hard to support her and veth is trying so hard to look at everything pragmatically while doing her duty to her husband. This is simultaneously already resolved and also painfully not. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

-”You are like the greatest husband ever, can I just say.” :’) <3 <3 <3 

- also pshhh what do you mean luc should learn things other than how to use a crossbow. nonsense.

- “Please don’t get in too much danger.”

“I can’t promise that but I can promise my friends will do their best to protect me.” AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH.

“I want my wife. I don’t want a poem.” CHRIST MATT NO PULLING PUNCHES HUH.

- ... beau giving off mild camp counselor vibes. this is the best sign of growth: she no longer effortlessly exudes the delinquent vibes she used to. 

- ngl im surprised that immediately after exploding a bird with wind beau didn’t just gloat at professor thaddeus, wherever he is.

- idk if the gift is related to the whole “got beau high by accident” thing but its a very sweet gift nonetheless.

- Fashion Show Beau :D please tell me there’s art of this. i love the m9 for shit like this. they all got on board (haha) so fast. Shouting suggestions, compliments. Caleb casts dancing lights. these 

- a 26 on a natural 1. what. what.

- Arts and craft on a boat. :D

- I am reminded that i missed so much of the last pirate arc. is “fighting a random storm guy” when the stormlord sent down angels to kick yashas ass?

- Ongoing course, “Getting Ass Kicked By Lightning Beasts”, 3 credit hours, participation required. 

- BEAUYASHSTER CRAFT NIGHT. and Jester opening up about her feelings! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. *makes more notes* 

- (tbh this conversation makes me feel a lot better about the Traveller. :D)

- I’m so glad that they’re all having this conversation, oh my god. Its very good and very open and it makes me very happy. ot3. sorry who said that. 

- i looked away for thirty seconds and it turns from craft night into clay-tasting, wh-

- yasha someone just chucked you into the water until you learned huh.

- also: major green team (i have to rename them maybe) vibes with: “no i won’t do what you ask. but. i will help.”

- oh fuck im gonna have to rewatch this fjord caleb conversation. its so good.

- “I don’t know if I’m more comfortable or if I just care less.” AAAAAAAAAAAAH FJORD. 

- “This is more life than I ever thought I would see.” brjeaus out here bein like “damn weird how life is going okay” aaaaaaaah.

- I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD LET THIS CONVERSATION HAPPEN AND THEN *redacted redacted redacted* >:((((

- caleb having all these emotions giving me all these emotions talking about how he killed a family and now has this one.

- CALEB AND FJORD SHARING FAMILY FEELINGS? IM? WOW YALL WHAT. “You’re a good person.” “no U” (this whole convo in a nutshell)

- fuck tbh this deserves its own post. 

“If your eyes are on them, our eyes are on you.” GODDAMN. 

- “STORMS A BREWIN-” “why does your voice change-” I adore these two ribbing each other and beau as an overenthusiastic pirate. captain and his first mate <3

--- I took a day long break to handle some shit. Alright. Fine. Lets do this. Lets do the battle. ---

- oh just kidding its not the battle its yasha Goin Thru Some Dream Shit. 

-there is Something Incredibly Poignant about yasha, falling through the air, reaching a hand out at her god, asking for help-ohfuckshegothitbylightning.

- i dont like stormlord taking after ukatoa with the ominous 1 word statements. that is NOT a good role model, stormlord. you dont want to stab yasha in the chest do you. .... DO YOU.

- SCREAMS TRIUMPHANTLY FOREVER ABOUT YASHA OPENING HER WINGS AND FLYING OUT OF THE CHASM GOD HOW MUCH SHIT HAPPENED THIS EPISODE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

- wow no one is getting rest 2nite.

- i am confused if this is happening happening or a dream and also wow he got stabbed real early in

- okay but also i love the cast for how they always collectively scream whenever a battle map comes out. also WOW WHAT A BADASS SHIP/MAP.

- CAN YOU IMAGINE JUST WAKING UP TO BEING FUCKING STABBED AND THEN CHOMPED. GOD. POOR FJORD. MY BOY.

- the psychic damage just sprinkled in there because he is having a Bad Time.

- do you think that initially the crew was like “huh guess our captain accidentally sleep-teleported off the ship, damn- OH FUCK ENEMIES”

- okay yeah i’m gonna make a separate post for the battle just because this is getting unreasonably long

- c h r i s t this battle.

[novantinuum]

Crack the Paragon, Chapter 9

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 7.2K~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which a diamond is a girl’s best friend.

You can find the first/previous chapter and AO3 links in the reblogs! (I have to omit them from the original post these days to ensure this will show up in the tags.) If you enjoyed this, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos on AO3 as well.

Chapter warning: There is a fairly in-depth depiction of a dissociative flashback. Nothing I'd consider particularly extreme or deserving of a ratings bump, but I figured it'd be courteous to make a specific warning for it anyways.

_

Chapter 9: Symmetry 

On literally any other day, folding laundry would be relaxing.

There’s something comforting about falling back into predictable rhythms, hands running on automatic through assorted piles of clothes as her thoughts take a wandering vacation. Chores are boring, sure, but compared to the non-stop drive of the rest of her life Connie can at least appreciate how mindless they are. In a world filled with things like honors algebra and violin recitals and sword training, falling into the arms of subconscious repetition every once in a while feels nice, like a much needed mental break from the rest of reality.

The only problem is exactly that: it’s mindless. It doesn’t force her to use an ounce of brainpower. It doesn’t block her thoughts from waltzing down dark alleyways, or taking sharp swerves into territory unknown. It doesn’t distract her from obsessively checking her phone every other minute to see if she’s gotten any new calls or texts.

It doesn’t stop her from worrying about Steven.

Normally steady fingers twitch as she folds a sock inside its proper pair. Her pocket nearly feels like it’s burning. Groaning, she tosses the pair into her suitcase and pulls her phone out. The lock screen illuminates, showcasing a photo of a pretty sunset she took from the hill above the temple. Her mouth tightens. Once again, nothing. Giving in to the distraction, she unlocks her phone and taps to reach his latest message. Tired eyes gloss over his photo and those words for the thousandth time.

Accidentally got separated from gem—

I’ll call later, some kinda scary stuff happened—

Please don’t worry too much.

Well, too late for that. She’s not fooled by his blasé, chipper attitude in this text, or the forced grin of the concerningly pale-faced Steven (one of two! How can he claim he’s fine when he’s literally lost a part of himself??) at the forefront of the photo he sent. No, no. She won’t be convinced until she audibly hears it or can throw her arms around him in person, which is harder said than done when he hasn’t returned her calls and Mom won’t let her take the bus over to his place for the morning because she’s supposed to be “packing.” Ugh. As far as she’s concerned, visiting extended family in India can wait its turn. Something terribly wrong must have happened in Beach City last night, and the suspense of not knowing is nearly suffocating her.

But logically, she knows worrying about it nonstop won’t be of help to her or Steven. He’ll call when he calls. She just hopes it’s before she leaves the country. Her dad's a bit of a tightwad when it comes to the idea of upgrading to international call and text, to her chagrin. If she’s honest, it’s the one part of this trip she dreads— having zero contact with her best friend for a week.

Connie hastily breathes in and out, attempting to forcefully will the stress to dissipate. Let it go. Stop thinking about it. She gently tosses her phone on her bed where she can’t reach it, and pushes herself back into the dependable rhythm of laundry folding.

Licking her chapped lips as she works through the pile of newly clean clothes, she folds the turquoise colored silk choli bodice her mom arranged for a relative to hand weave for her on her last birthday and carefully places it with its matching saree. The decorative border running the length of the saree is embroidered with little flowers and swirls in gold thread. Connie smiles faintly, reverently running her hand across the smooth fabric. She’ll be wearing her typical shorts, overalls, and blouses for most of this trip, but she’s super excited to have the perfect excuse to bring this outfit out of her closet for once. It always makes her feel beautiful, with her hair pinned back and the saree draped around her, but she still can’t help but fear she’s ridiculously overdressed whenever she wears it anywhere outside of family events. A shame. Maybe she’ll build the courage to wear it one day when she goes to Steven’s house for sword practice. She’ll change into her usual training clothes during the practice itself, of course— she can’t risk tearing silk or restricting her movement— but it’d be cool to share a piece of her own family’s culture with him like that. Her cheeks heat up as she imagines his reaction. He’ll probably think it’s pretty. Pearl, too. Her teacher definitely has a flair for artistry, after all.

...but of course, that’s assuming Steven and the Gems are okay.

Her previously giddy thoughts wane like a withering petal. Sitting with her legs criss crossed on her bedroom floor, she hunches over with a heavy sigh, propping her chin into her hands. How long is this morning going to last?

Muffled amidst the cocoon of thick blankets adorning her bed, her phone’s ringer picks that very moment to blare into existence. Her nerves electrify in an instant, though whether that’s more a symptom of surprise or anticipation is anyone’s guess. Chest pounding, she shoots to her feet and scrambles across the room to pick it up. She sighs a breath of relief as her eyes skim over the caller ID. It’s him. And he wants to video chat! Without thinking twice she jabs her thumb against the screen to answer.

A handful of seconds pass as her phone attempts to connect over her family’s spotty wi-fi, heart twisting painfully in her throat as she steels herself for whatever potentially bad update about her friend’s life she’s about to receive, but then—

The video pushes through, and her friend appears on the screen. His hair is notably mussed, (more so than usual, that is), with wild curly locks sticking up from his head at weird angles.

“Mornin’, Connie,” he says, exhaustion evident on his face but besides that, appearing physically well. There’s actually color in his cheeks for one thing, unlike in the photo he sent before dawn.

“Steven!” she exclaims, subconsciously gripping the sides of her phone tighter in the absence of an actual hug. “You’re okay!”

“More or less,” he says in confirmation, the corner of his mouth turning up for a glimmer of a second. His expression quickly becomes tinted in shades of remorse, however, his voice on the brink of cracking. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t call back earlier! My phone died on me, and then I forgot to plug it in, and then I got distracted by a bunch of crazy family stuff, and that’s probably not a good excuse, but—“

She tries to feed him a reassuring smile, pushing down the blatant depth of her worry for his sake.

“Hey, don’t fuss about it. It happens. And anyways, you’re here now, right? So all that doesn’t even matter anymore.”

Her friend deals her a noncommittal shrug in response, and slouches against the rough hewn stone she’s only now noticing in the background. If she has to guess, he’s sitting on the beach, leaning against the sheer cliff walls where they first met almost two years earlier. Interesting, she muses, her brow furrowing. Usually when they do video calls Steven makes a point to stay in his house because he gets better reception there. On top of that, there’s an undeniable melancholy brewing within his eyes that would be amiss to ignore. He’s not even trying to mask it for once, which speaks volumes in and of itself about how heavy a burden it’s become, whatever it is that’s bothering him. Geeze, what on Earth happened over there last night?

“So, your gem,” she starts, edging towards the topic carefully. “Are you still—?”

He shakes his head, seemingly already catching on to what she’s gonna ask. “Nah, we’re together again! Turns out I can still fuse even without without him.”

“Hmm, I—“ Connie pauses, mind fixating for a second on the specific way he referred to his gem half, ascribing an undeniable sense of individuality to him— “well, I’m super glad you figured that out. But I still don’t understand, how can you get separated from your gem in the first place?”

“It’s, uh- a pretty complicated story, fair warning.”

“Pshhh, that’s no problem, I’ve got all morning,” she says, and props her phone against her bedpost so she can continue packing while listening. Freed once more, her hands seek out more unpaired socks to join.

“Only if you’re good with it, then.” The boy sighs deeply as he begins to prepare his words. The infamous drama zone kicking in, he lets his head lull backwards at gravity’s command against the cliffside’s face. She can’t help but cringe at the audible smack of his skull against smooth rock. “Ow!” he whines, immediately jerking forwards again. He rubs the back of his head in clear disbelief, softly laughing at his own folly. “Well, that was a pretty dumb idea.”

“Not gonna disagree,” she says with a giggle, glancing between her clothes and the screen in intervals as she folds. “Now, tell me everything. From the beginning. I still gotta pack, but I’m listening, I promise.”

A soft smile brightens his face, sunlight glinting off his dark brown irises. It’s enough to capture her stare, to make everything else in the world freeze to a stop. Just for one magic moment. Her heart almost flip flops at the gentle way he gazes at her, his eyes filled with a shy reverence that honestly, speaks volumes to his nature as a person. Because while he’s grown undeniably strong as a half-Gem, he’s far more than that. He's kind. He’s sensitive, and caring. So, so caring. More than anything else he tries his hardest to be extra empathetic about the needs of others around him, and she adores this about him, she truly does. Her only wish is that he could be this receptive about his own needs all the time, too. With her firsthand knowledge of the stressful stuff he and the other Gems deal with on a weekly basis, she can’t help but worry sometimes.

He breathes in, chest rising and falling as he prepares to tell his story. “Okay. So it all started yesterday morning when I was playing video games with the Gems…”

______

“—and then that’s when I figured out I could still fuse, right after I texted you. So we did, and- and well, that’s pretty much it,” Steven finishes with a bit of a waver in his voice, absentmindedly twirling his finger around a short curl at the nape of his neck as he adjusts his grip on the phone with his other hand.

With his story more or less complete, barring a few recent occurrences he’s hesitant to speak of right now, he pays careful attention to the minute fluctuations of Connie’s expression as everything he’s told her sinks in.

(He intentionally left out some of the more intimate bits, of course— like softly crying himself to sleep before Dad warped back, or having a near breakdown on the beach, or his conversation with half of himself. Some moments simply aren’t for others to know.)

Her voice wavers as she finally makes to respond. “Wow, that’s… a lot.”

“Yeah. And like, I wanna believe it’s over now, but everyone’s still acting so weird.”

“Mmm, and then there’s everything about your mom, and Pink Diamond…” She balls her hand against her mouth as she mulls over this information, her sobered glance shifting from him to some unspecified point in her bedroom.

And at seeing the subtle aversion of her gaze, he frets for a second. He squirms in the seat of the cold metal chair he’s made his temporary home in, toes curling inwards much like the creeping dread that’s trying to inch its way ever further into his heart, stifling any last hope of peace or calm. Replacing it with fear. Like, what if his real talk is too real? Too honest? What if he’s freaked her out, or overloaded her with the sheer weight of everything that’s happened to him, what if she’ll wanna keep her distance from him because of all this, what if—

“I’m so sorry you have to deal with all this,” she says softly, slashing the cord that’s restraining him within his frantic thoughts.

His shoulders relax, tension fading.

“I- is there anything I can do?” his friend continues. “To help, I mean?”

“Nah, don’t think so. Not right now, at least. Honestly, just having someone to talk to about all this means a lot.” He begins to slowly swing his legs back and forth, and leans against the coffee stained table top. “Normally I’d talk to one of the Gems, but. Well, y’know.”

His friend bobs her head in the affirmative. “Mmm.”

“It’s just…” he begins, pausing with a long sigh as he tries to organize all his jumbled emotions into something remotely explainable. His eyes drift away from his phone, focusing instead on the soft, tantalizing glow of the ice cream freezer across the shop. “I think I almost died, Connie. For real. I was shivering, a-and scared, and cracked, and- and yet they couldn’t stop fighting about whatever happened in the past. I don’t know anything about Pink Diamond, or what terrible things Rose apparently did, but now it’s like… even if they don’t mean to, that’s all they can think about when they look at me?”

Steven groans in exhaustion, slumping forward so the side of his face is pressed against the table. It’s comfy, never mind how dirty the surface probably is. He shifts his phone in his hands so Connie’s image is still parallel to him. “I dunno. I should’ve never popped that bubble in the first place. If I didn’t let Bismuth out, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Steven!” a loud voice calls from across the shop. “Are you gonna buy a donut or what?”

“Whu- huh??”

Startled, he shoots upright in the chair— knowing all too well from the faint thrum dancing under his skin that he’s on the brink of summoning his bubble on sheer impulse— before realizing that no, it’s only Lars, everything’s fine, I’m fine.

The surly teen is slumped against the counter next to Sadie, (who’s counting the money in the cash register on sheer compulsion, as if rifling through it one more time might cause the cash to magically multiply), both employees marinating in the boredom of yet another low traffic mid-September day at the Big Donut. He pauses to catch his breath, in retrospect feeling super silly for his near freak-out. His two favorite donut people have been here this whole time, of course. How he managed to become so sucked in by his call that he forgot is beyond him.

“Are you okay?” he hears Connie ask softly, obvious concern in her voice.

Lars on the other hand, apparently wasn’t finished calling him out.

“You can’t just- loiter here all morning and not buy anything!” he says. Brow threading together in perplexion, he whirls towards his coworker. “Right? Isn’t there a law for that? Sadie, help me out here-!”

She rolls her eyes so far they almost disappear back into her skull. “Oh, leave him alone, he’s fine...” “Yeah, I’m not loitering, I’m having a nice conversation with my friend!” he chimes, holding up his phone screen to them as proof.

“Hi Sadie, Lars,” Connie says.

The young lady behind the register smiles warmly despite the bags under her eyes, and pauses her task to wave to the camera.

Unimpressed, Lars leans his chin against his balled up fist, elbow propped on the counter. His tired eyes narrow into thin slits, exaggerated by the squish of his cheek against his bottom eyelid. “A ‘nice conversation?’ You’ve been sitting there for half an hour rambling about the misfortunes of near death,” he says, deadpan.

“I—“ His eyes grow wide as he combs back through the— now that he thinks about it— admittedly dour mood of everything he’s recently said. “Is that really what it sounded like...?”

Is he just being a killjoy to everyone? He thought it’d be okay to be real about it with his friend for once, since he usually keeps his deeper issues to himself, but perhaps...

“No, just ignore him,” Sadie says as she diligently sorts the coins, cutting in right before his mind can continue its downward spiral.

On the screen, Connie nods in wholehearted support. “It’s just venting, I don’t mind.”

And despite everything else he manages a smile at that, small and thin but filling him with a needed burst of energy all on its own.

“Huh,” Lars mutters, scrutinizing him closely. “Well, whatever it was, dark and brooding is a surprisingly good vibe for you. We’ll make a teenager of you yet.”

Steven blinks in confusion.

“But I already am a teenager,” he says, perhaps a bit more defensively than he ought have.

“Yeah!” chimes his friend over the phone.

“Wait, really? Aren’t you like, nine or somethin’?”

He squirms in his seat upon reference to his inability to physically age, feeling the flush touch his ears. “Uh, actually…”

“Dude, he’s been a teenager,” Sadie says. She stuffs the last of the quarters in their slot and securely shuts the cash register drawer. “He turned fourteen a few weeks ago, don’t you remember?”

“N- no… I just—“ Lars lets out a scoff, shooting her a moody sneer. “Whatever, okay? I don’t have the time or the patience to remember everyone’s birthdays in this dead-end town.”

“Only twenty-nine people even live here year round.”

“So? Your point is?”

“My point is that it’s kinda common courtesy to look up and pay attention to your surroundings every once in a while?”

He turns up his nose. “Ugh, well you know what—“

Steven purses his lips as he watches the two of them devolve into yet another round of petty squabbling. (Why all of these fights lately…? What’s wrong with everyone, what’s in the air?) Suddenly feeling very much like high tailing it out of here, he shifts in his seat. He and Connie share a knowing glance, one that quickly lets him knows they’re on the same page. Originally, he came here to use the store wi-fi since he didn’t want to be at home right now, but he can probably still use it just fine sitting at the table outside. Without any overt announcement of the fact, he stands and makes his way to the door. Lars and Sadie are too caught up in their spat to notice him leave.

Only when the cool breeze greets him outside can he relax. He kicks back in one of the chairs set out front of the store, adjusting his phone in his hand. Gulls call loudly from the boardwalk in their endless search for trashed food. A handful of people he doesn’t recognize— tourists!— splash in the water or play in the sand, a pair of young men holding hands as they cross the public beach. Sunlight is finally breaking through the cloud cover, brilliant blue overtaking dreary grey. He smiles faintly. Despite everything, it truly is a beautiful morning.

“Sorry about all that!” he says to his friend on the line, glancing back at the doors of the Big Donut. “They really are cool people when you got to know ‘em, but they kinda disagree about stuff a lot.”

Connie stifles a laugh, her expression unreadable for a moment. “I know you keep saying they’re probably dating, but I honestly don’t believe you.”

His skin grows clammy all of a sudden.

Don’t… believe...

He's frozen. It’s almost like he’s with Sapphire, trapped again in that old motel room shivering amidst her frost powers. And yet simultaneously he’s not, ‘cause… because he’s burning up, hand clutching at thin air. He’s terrified. He’s completely alone, he’s—

He’s back in the forge.

Bismuth’s there, looming like a reaper above him, arm shapeshifted into some sort of curved saw blade and held aloft. Thick, viscous lava boils angrily in the pool surrounding the platform he’s on, and more than anything it’s a warning, a constant warning, and he’s stupid, he’s so unobservant and stupid, he should have paid heed to it when he came down here in the first place, why didn’t he—

Heat blasts almost violently at him as he shuffles away on hands and feet, scooting backwards on the blistering stone. He heaves for breath amidst his panic. Meanwhile, the channels of hard light running parallel with his veins buzz alongside the rush of adrenaline keeping him alive. Sweat beads on his forehead, sticky and unnaturally cool.

No matter how hard he tries, he’s too weak against her. His shield isn’t strong enough.

He knows this for a fact now, knows that Bismuth can dissipate both it and his bubble with enough force, and that’s a super scary thought but it doesn’t stop the primal instinct pulsing insistently at the back of his mind, pushing him to stand back up, to summon his weapon anyways and try to defend himself. It’s nothing but a lost cause, though.

Now, his only true shield is his words.

“Wait, I’m not my mom!” he cries in desperation, shielding himself with his arms. “I don’t know what she did, but I’m sure she didn’t want to hurt you!”

The stark shadow obscuring the rainbow haired Gem’s eyes grows darker.

“It’s too late,” she spits, preparing to swing her arm down. “I don’t believe you anymore!”

And then with a shallow gasp he’s here again, here at this dingy plastic table sitting under the bright and blue hope of morning, his phone clutched in a vice-like grip. Breath passes through his lips shakily. What the heck was that?? Was his gem feeding him old memories like what happened in his sleep, or something? Whatever it was, he’s genuinely not sure how much time has passed during the vision, a realization which unnerves him. Seemingly not too long, as Connie hasn’t moved to speak yet. Yet still her too-familiar words echo in his mind, pulsing with the thrum of inflamed blood vessels at an open wound, and without the blessing of inhibition he blurts out the first thought that reveals itself.

“That’s fair,” he says, voice cracking. “I probably wouldn’t believe me about a lot of things right now.”

Her brow creases with obvious concern. “Hey... Hey, I didn’t mean that personally. I was just messing around with ya’. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he sighs. “I’m sorry. I guess I just feel... really on edge.” Jittery fingers card through thick curls as his chest softly rumbles in the absurdity of it all. “Geeze, I’m being a real sad sack today, huh?”

“Well, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah, but to be fair ‘near death scenarios’ are pretty much just an occupational hazard at this point. And I’ve handled that fine before, so…”

“Still doesn’t erase the fact that it’s impacted you hard this time,” she says softly, leveling her gaze squarely on him, her intuitive brown eyes disassembling his insecurities and then putting them back together like a puzzle.

He flushes, shrinking where he sits. He pulls his legs up onto the seat, clutching them to his chest. Intuitively he knows she’s right, he knows that all this has messed with him more than the danger of Gem stuff normally does, but he still can’t help but feel… ashamed? That he’s feeling this way in the first place? It’s bizarre. It’s completely dumb, and the more he fixates on it the more dumb it becomes. Eventually he decides he’s not in the right mental state to try and weave a halfway rational response to her and elects to swerve the topic.

“So there’s also another not-great thing that happened,” he begins, hugging his knees. “Should probably mention.”

“Yeah…?”

“Garnet unfused over all this. Maybe for good this time.”

She gasps, and in an instant her face shoots closer on his screen.

“Wait what? She- you mean that Ruby and Sapphire aren’t—“

“Yup.”

Connie covers her mouth in shock, eyes glistening. “Oh, no! Steven, I’m so sorry! And you don’t think they’ll be able to work it out?”

“No, they made it seem pretty permanent.”

“That’s… really rough,” she sighs in solidarity. “‘Cause I mean, at least since it’s fusion she’s still there in spirit, but- you grew up knowing Garnet.”

“Exactly,” he nods. “I love Ruby and Sapphire a whole bunch, but it’s still different, y’know? Like, it’s like I lost someone important to me. Maybe forever. And... it feels so awful,” he says, pushing past the lump in his throat that he wishes more than anything would go away. “All of it. It’s like everyone in my family’s falling apart. The moment she unfused, Sapphire immediately shut herself in her room, and then Ruby was so upset she ran away, and Amethyst and Pearl started yelling at each other about everything, so… I left. And called you,” he explains, gesturing at her. “And now I’m here, chillin’ at the Big Donut. And that’s pretty much it.”

“Gosh...”

“Yeah.”

“Again, I’m sorry you had to deal with all this. I mean, outright getting cleaved from half of yourself? I can’t even imagine…” She bites at her knuckles for a moment, deep in thought. “Makes me wish I had more than sympathy to offer.”

“Nah, just you listening to everything means a whole bunch. I really appreciate that,” he says. “I—“ his voice wavers a bit as he feels the heat of the blush blossoming across his cheeks— “I really appreciate you. A lot. You- you know that, don't you?”

She giggles, the sound a beautiful reassurance to his ears. “Of course I do! And anyways, you always take time to listen to me when I’m down. That’s what jam buds are for, right?”

“Right,” he says, the word reverberating in harmony in the deepest reaches of his heart.

“Steven!” a voice calls from the distance.

Connie’s brow furrows. “Is that…?”

He whips his head around, squinting in the sunlight to catch a clearer glimpse of the figure running towards the edge of the Big Donut’s patio, his long hair rippling behind him. At the sight of family, his eyes light up. He waves his free arm in greeting.

“Dad!”

“Hey, kiddo!” his dad says, crossing the last few steps to the patio chair he’s curled up in. Gasping for breath, he plops himself in the chair adjacent. “I thought I’d find you here. You doin’ better now?”

He makes a half grimace, and shakes his flattened hand in a so-so gesture.

Dad’s hopeful smile fades, quickly replaced with a compassionate sense of understanding that could only come from years of hard earned age and experience. “Yeah. Yeah, I getcha. Seeing people you love fight like that’s never fun. Do you wanna talk about it?”

He presses his mouth into a line as he contemplates. To be honest, after venting about everything to Connie, fixating on negative emotions more is the last thing he wants to do, but he doesn’t wanna be rude to his dad. Thank goodness he has a valid excuse to avoid it altogether!

“Uh, I’m kinda on the phone, here,” he says, showing him his phone screen as proof.

“Oh, by golly, so you are! Hey, Connie. How are you hangin’ in there?”

She flashes a smile. “Hi, Mr. Universe! I’m okay, thanks.”

“Heh, Mr. Universe, huh?” he chuckles softly, scratching at his beard. “Such formalities! You’ve known me for what, how long? Please, you can call me Greg.”

“Thanks, but my mom says I’m not allowed to call grown ups by their first names.”

“Dr. Maheswaran has all sorts of weird mom rules,” Steven chimes in, nodding.

“Hoo boy, do I know about those,” his dad commiserates in a flat tone. He makes a big show out of mulling this over, humming as he taps at his chin. “Well then, don’t think of me as a grown up, but more of a big kid with, erm… slightly bigger responsibilities.”

“Uh, okay!” Connie says, hesitantly glancing between him and Steven. “If it’s alright with you, then, Mr. Greg!”

Dad‘s mouth turns up in a fond smirk, and then he glances back at him. “Anyways, I wanted to let you know that the Gems have cooled down. I had… a bit of a talk with them, let’s say,” he mutters, clear exhaustion betraying his otherwise content demeanor. “Should be fine to go back when you’re ready.”

“Did Ruby return??”

“Nah, she’s still MIA. But Pearl and Amethyst are on the case.”

He sighs, disappointment flooding his heart. He’s not sure why he ever dreamed otherwise. She’ll come back eventually, of course. She’s gotta. According to Garnet, Rubies are very social Gems, which means they prefer sharing in the company of others over being alone. And even when she’s not fused with Sapphire, she’s still a part of his family. He dearly hopes she knows that.

“I hope her and Sapphire will be okay,” he mutters.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine in the end,” he says with a shrug. “They’ve come apart before, after all.”

Connie hums in agreement. “Yeah, sometimes even my parents need some quiet time away from each other. That’s totally normal!”

Dropping his legs to dangle from the chair again, Steven watches an orange spotted butterfly flutter between the beach umbrellas set up on the patio tables, meeting with its other half before both journeying away in the wind. His cheeks lift at their attempts at reassurance, and boy, does it feel so much more natural than frowning pensively.

“D’ya really think so?”

Smiling softly, his dad affectionately musses his hair. “All we can do is wait and see, bud. Wait and see.” He stands to his feet then, grunting as he uses the table’s surface to help push him up. Gaze growing somewhat weary, he peers with purpose towards the far side of the hill. “Anyways, your old man will be over at the car wash, scrubbing soap scum off the floors. Eughh, right? But hey, if you need anything… a hug, an ear, some classic fatherly advice… come and find me, okay? Take it easy this morning.” Grinning, he turns back to wave goodbye to the girl mirrored on the screen. “Nice seeing ‘ya, Connie. Take care.”

“You too!” she waves in return.

And with that farewell his dad begins his casual jaunt down the sidewalk, leaving the two of them alone once more. Except, he supposes that’s not true at all, is it? Even without Connie, even without Dad, or the Gems. Because if he can take away one good thing from this whole messed up experience, just one hopeful message, it’s that he’s never been alone a day of his life. That’s simply the nature of fusion, you see. Even in the darkest, scariest moments...

I’ve never actually been alone, he marvels. I’ve just been me.

______

Once Steven’s dad leaves to scrub down the floors at his car wash, their conversation evolves considerably from its bleak beginnings. Enough about all this Gem stuff, Steven says, what’s new with you? Besides, uh- folding underwear, of course!

Connie laughs, rolling her eyes at the visible blush on his face as she pushes the aforementioned undergarments out of frame. She eagerly shares some of the finer details of her India trip, telling him all about when she’s leaving for the airport, (late this evening, on a red-eye flight across the Atlantic), what area of the country she’s visiting, (Punjab, where some of her extended family lives), and how long she’ll be gone (just a week!). From there, the topic shifts between a variety of themes, ranging anywhere from her anxiety and excitement at starting school again when she gets back, the pride of finally figuring out a challenging song she’s wanted to perfect for a while on her violin, to this super compelling Unfamiliar Familiar fanfic she found where Lisa discovers she’s secretly heir to the throne of the corrupt society she’s always been vying to escape from underneath the authoritative thumb of.

“Wow, this is the story I never knew I always needed so badly in my entire life,” Steven says, brown irises turning starry-eyed in the sunlight. He’s sitting atop the hill now, resting content on his belly in the grass in front of the lighthouse.

“I know, right?? I’ll send you the link,” she promises, dangling her feet in the air behind her as she lays on the carpet.

He pumps his fist in the air triumphantly. “Woo, free infinite books!”

“Well, keep in mind, it’s not finished yet. Apparently it’s supposed to update bi-weekly, but I think the author got a bit boggled down by life stuff recently.”

“Aw, that’s too bad. I hope they’re doin’ okay.”

“Same… But hey,” she says with a soft laugh, “at least it’s a long fic, right?”

“Y’know,” he interjects the current topic suddenly, rising to his knees. “I wonder if I can see your house from here! D’ya think that’s possible, ‘cause I wanna see if that’s possible!”

He switches his camera’s view from front to back, the image of his face replaced by the scenic vista of the cozy beach town below, ridged by the peaceful waters of the Atlantic and Rehoboth Bay. She can see everything, from the gigantic pastry shaped facade atop the Big Donut, to the water tower clear on the other side of the peninsula. Beyond, lush green grasslands— dotted with clusters of small residences, humanity’s touch on the Earth— stretch as far into the horizon as far as a young dreamer can imagine.

Connie picks up her phone from the bedpost she leaned it against and squints at the screen, trying to map out the precise scale of the countryside between them in her mind. “Hmm, probably not. I think my town’s pretty hidden by the surrounding hills.”

“No silly, not from right here, here! I meant, from up here!”

She yelps as the view of Beach City on her phone screen jolts in a burst of sudden, rapid movement, shrinking smaller and smaller as the seconds tick by.

“Steven!! What are you—“

But internally, she finds the answer to this question before she can even finish asking it. Clearly, he jumped into the sky, so… so he’s using his floating ability. Even though she’s never seen him utilize it to leap to this extreme, it’s the only possibility that makes any ounce of sense. Her mouth falls agape at the picturesque view below, the town beginning to looking more and more like a blurred watercolor painting. Distantly, she wonders what it would feel like to be up there with him, her hands clutched tight in his, the wind dancing through her long hair.

"Consarn it! Your house is too small to pick out. Hmm..."

Or even as Stevonnie, can they float too? she wonders. Maybe one day she can ask!

“Oh my gosh, this is just like I’m on the giant slingshot they used to have at Funland,” she says, averting her eyes as her best friend continues his ascent into the shimmering blue sky. She lets slip a slight grimace, finding the stark contrast between the movement on the screen and the still permanence of her bedroom dizzying the more she watches. “And I’m starting to think there’s a reason they shut that ride down…”

“Hey, my floating powers are way better than The Comet,” he chirps playfully, having finally reached the apex of his leap. “Hah, maybe that means I should start my own attraction at Funland!”

“Doing what?” she says, unable to keep from laughing at the absurdity of the very concept. “Bubbling people on the tracks of the rollercoaster like the day we first met? I’m pretty confident that’d be a major health and safety violation.”

“Aww, but those are the best kinds of attractions!”

She hears him grunt with minor exertion, and suddenly the aerial glimpse of the countryside she’s watching on her phone drops out of sight, replaced in an instant with a sweeping panorama of the boundless sky, the line of the horizon with the sea, the ground looming ominously hundreds of feet below. Rinse and repeat, over and over. Everything is spinning, she realizes in alarm, and there’s no end in sight.

“Whoa-oH, it’s the Stevencoaster!” he cries in childish glee as he somersaults.

His lighthearted joy is so contagious she can’t stop the grin stretching wide across her face.

“Careful, you doofus, you’re gonna make me motion sick and I’m not even there,” she giggles breathlessly.

“Nooo! And the Stevencoaster makes everyone toss their cookies! Words truly cannot describe the culinary carnage left in its wake.”

She rolls her eyes in fondness at his antics, and sits up on her carpet. “No, but seriously,” she reaffirms, “that’s making me pretty dizzy.”

“Oh, sorry!”

Soon enough she watches him level out from his spin, his camera focusing for a moment on the ground a hundred feet below his sandaled feet before flipping to show his face once more, framed by wild dark curls. His irises are shimmering an unnatural pink she’s never seen before. It's enough of an unexpected shock that her smile fades, ever so slightly.

“Better?” he says, beaming at her as he continues on his slow descent to Earth.

They’re still pink. And his pupils… She’s not just imagining it, right? She blinks heavily.

“Y- yes, much.”

“Connie? What’s wrong?” he asks, landing upon the grass. His brow furrows.

Even more notably, his eyes are just as normal and brown as they ever were. Connie balls her hand against her chin as she deliberates this. Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

She shakes her head, silently mulling over how best to explain this. “Nothing, it’s just… I could’ve sworn your eyes were… different, for a second.”

“Different?” Steven‘s grin stretches so wide he looks like he’s about to burst at any moment. “Eye don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Well, if you become my pupil I could explain it to you,” she giggles.

“I’m listening,” he chimes eagerly.

“Okay, so honestly it could’ve just been a trick of the light, but… it’s almost like they flashed pink for a second. And your pupils were all funny, kind of, uh- slitted! Like a cat’s.”

“Pink?”

“Yeah.”

His face goes shockingly pale. “Connie, when was this?”

“Just a second ago,” she shrugs. “You were still floating.”

“Floating,” he repeats under his breath, seeming haunted by the very thought.

“Steven?” she calls, a sudden twist in her chest at the sight of his clear distress. “Steven, what’s wrong?”

“I, I—“ he stammers, unable to even meet her glance. “I’m really sorry, but I gotta go. I’ll text you later?”

“Uh- okay. Thanks for calling—“

He hangs up.

“...back,” she finishes softly, shoulders sinking.

She sighs heavily, dropping her phone into her lap and sitting back against her bed frame. What did she say? What could be so scary about the idea of glowing pink eyes to make him react like that? Sure, it’s a bit strange, but it’s no more unusual than any of his other unique abilities. She only hopes she didn’t ruin his good mood all over again by bringing his attention to it.

Her mother knocks on the doorframe outside, signaling her presence.

“Come in,” she mutters glumly.

The door creaks open. Mom steps through, and leans against the wall with her arms crossed, glancing knowingly between her and the phone still clutched like a lifeline in her hands.

“Are you still worried about that boy?” she asks.

Connie can almost hear the capitalization inherent in her tone. 'That Boy.’ Even though she and Steven are just friends, she knows full well who her mother thinks he is to her. (Not that she’d complain if that were the case, but that’s simply not a thing with them, and really that’s fine, she’s fine, their status quo is comfortable how it is—)

“Yeah… I just got off the phone with him," she says, letting her head sink into the folds of the covers trailing off the side of her bed. "It sounds like he’s been through a lot lately.”

“Well, when a child spends all day fighting monsters instead of going to school like he’s supposed to, I can’t say I’m surprised,” her mom says under her breath.

“Mom, come on, this is serious!”

“Yes, sorry, you’re right,” she says wearily, pressing her hand to her temple. “Just because I don’t understand it doesn’t mean that it’s fair of me to say.”

She turns away, and hugs her knees to her chest. Like a storm on a late summer day, her mind brims with so many things she wishes she could admit, so many things that need to be released if she wants to find any peace about this. But how to start? How can she make her mother understand?

“I’ve really been looking forward to this trip, y’know?" Connie says, feeling oh-so vulnerable sitting on the floor just like she always would as a young child, eyes glistening as she calls upon her mother for support. "Really. And I know we gotta leave tonight, but just knowing he’s hurting and I won’t be able to text him at all makes part of me wish… that I could stay here."

Unable to dam it up anymore, a few tears spill over to roll unbridled down her cheek. Her chest quivers uncontrollably as her face screws up and she begins to cry.

"Oh, honey," she breathes, moving to kneel on the floor next to her. She rests her hand on her upper back, gently kneading the stress out of her tense muscles.

"He's always been there for me when I needed someone to talk to, o-or somethin' to feel better," she sniffles, wiping the damp from her eyes and nose. "A- and then- the moment he needs me, I can't be there for him at all, an' it's not fair!"

Upon seeing the trail of snot beginning to drip towards her upper lip, her mother grimaces. She reaches across her for the small square box perched atop her nightstand. "Tissue," she says firmly, passing her the box.  

She accepts the gift, pulling one out, and blows her nose hard.

As she's dabbing away, cleaning up the evidence of her tears, Mom's fingers shift to comb through the length of her hair. She twirls through long dark strands and pulls them out of her face. "Even if I don't get all this magic stuff you're both dealing with," she begins, voice brimming with compassion, "believe me, I understand more than most what it feels like to be cut off from the people you love. So... I’ll change your phone plan to international, how’s that? That way, at the very least you’ll still be able to contact him.”

Her eyes light up. “Wow, really?? But that’s super expensive!”

“Says your father,” she scoffs with soft laughter. “We can afford it. And anyways, I’d hate to see you miserable the whole trip.”

“That’ll be perfect!” she says, throwing her arms tight around her mother. And although she can’t see her face, Connie knows from the reassuring solidness of their embrace that every bit of the love she has for her is returned in full. “Thanks, Mom,” she whispers, her anxious heart finally finding a glimmer of peace.

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

Who Waits For Love? (Chapter 1)

Summary: T.J. Kippen lost his chance to tell Cyrus Goodman how he felt when they were in the 8th grade. Now, they are in their junior year of high school and Cyrus is on his 3rd relationship. Is it time to give up… or continue to wait for love?

A/N: I know, I know, I haven't finished "The Perfect Moment" yet. But, I am hoping that I would this week (there are only 2 chapters left). And I was super excited to write this next story that I absolutely could not wait. However, I am only posting the first chapter for now, just to get it out of the way and to get everyone excited. I will be working on "The Perfect Moment" very diligently this week so Chapter 2 for this story won't be posted until next week. 

So, please enjoy this new story of mine and let me know what you think! And if you want to be on the tag list, please let me know!

The blaring of his morning alarm rudely roused T.J. Kippen from his slumber. Groaning, he grabbed a second pillow and pressed it to his face but his phone wasn’t one to back down and continued to ring, hurting his ears. Blindly, he reached out with a hand to try and turn it off. After much fumbling, he finally took hold of it and, after much random tapping on the screen, managed to turn it off.

Sitting up, he stretched and stared at nothing for a while, not moving. He had the weirdest dream but couldn’t remember what it was. He stayed like that until his mother knocked loudly on his door, screaming that he was going to be late if he didn’t get up soon.

So, he got up and got ready for the day.

After an invigorating shower that finally woke him up, T.J. bounded out of his room and into the kitchen.

“Good morning, honey,” his mom greeted as she set a plate of toast on the table.

“Morning, mom.”

He grabbed two pieces of toast and shoved one into his mouth before pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He spied a plate of chocolate chip muffins next to the carton. He swallowed the toast and washed it down with juice.

“You made muffins?” he asked, turning to open a drawer to grab a Ziploc bag.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep last night,” she answered, watching as he grabbed three muffins and put them in the bag. “For Cyrus?”

T.J. grinned. “You know it.”

He zipped the plastic bag close, slung his backpack on his shoulder, and kissed his mom on the cheek before bounding to the door.

“You’re not eating?” she called out after him.

T.J. wordlessly raised the second toast in his hand to show her before heading out. He jogged to his car, a second-hand gray sedan, and got in. He placed the muffins on top of the storage compartment beside him before shoving the entire second piece of toast into his mouth. Chewing, he started the car, turned the stereo on, and began to drive.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up to a familiar two-story house, like he had been for the past couple of months when he finally got his Driver’s License. On the steps of the house, a familiar face was already waiting.

“Hey, Underdog!”

Beaming, his best friend, Cyrus Goodman, bounded down the steps and jogged towards the car.

“Morning, basketball guy,” he greeted, shutting the door and getting himself settled.

T.J. picked up the Ziploc bag and handed it over. “Mom made chocolate chip muffins. Not your favorite, but close enough.”

“Oohhh, I love your mom’s muffins!” Cyrus accepted the bag and excitedly opened it. He took a large whiff then sighed. “Heavenly.”

He took one out and took an enthusiastic bite, releasing a loud moan of happiness.

Chuckling, T.J. began to drive them both to school.

“Did you eat breakfast?” Cyrus asked.

“Yes, I had some toast. Don’t want someone to be on my back about it again,” T.J. replied, playfully.

“Because breakfast is the most important meal of the day! I will nag you until you make breakfast a habit!”

Ever since he got his license and his car and started picking up Cyrus every morning, T.J. tended to skip breakfast so he wouldn’t leave the other boy waiting. Unfortunately, Cyrus found out and went on a 10-minute lecture about how important breakfast was and why he needed to absolutely have something in his stomach before going to school. Needless to say, he now would try to at least have some toast before picking his friend up.

On the drive to school, Cyrus chattered on and on about his classes and upcoming assignments. T.J. didn’t mind just listening to him talk, it made the drive less boring. He chimed in when needed but otherwise, he concentrated on driving while still keeping his ears perked.

Finally, they arrived at Grant High School. T.J. parked in the student parking lot and together, the two entered the school. Cyrus continued to talk, telling him about how unfair his Physics teacher was on his last lab report.

“… so I marched right in there and demanded he gives me the grade I deserve!” he finished with a flourish.

T.J. chuckled. “Did he give it to you?”

“Of course, he did! And if he didn’t, I would have made my points known in a PowerPoint presentation.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“Maybe.”

T.J. laughed and nudged his shoulder. “You’re getting braver and braver every year. I’m proud of you, Underdog.”

Cyrus beamed up at him and T.J. couldn’t help but smile back. It always amazed T.J. how the simplest things could make Cyrus happy.

“Oh! There’s Lance!”

And, just like that, his mood darkened at the mere sound of the name.

“I’ll see you later, okay, Teej?”

T.J. forced his voice out. “Yeah, see you later.”

With one last cute wave, Cyrus bounded down the hall. T.J. watched in quiet jealousy as he jumped onto the back of another student, his lips parted in wide laughter. The guy turned around and wrapped his arms around Cyrus’ waist before leaning in and pecking his lips.

At this, T.J. turned his head away for a moment but was unable to resist. He looked back just in time to see them holding hands and walking away, eventually disappearing in the crowd of students.

“Wassup, Kippen?”

T.J. sighed and turned his head. “Hey, Marty,” he greeted with a small smile.

The two walked down the hall together, since their lockers were near each other.

“Judging from your murderous-looking face, I assume you witnessed our little CyGuy jumping into his boyfriend’s arms again, huh?” Marty said, casually.

T.J. felt a prick of irritation but he knew Marty didn’t mean anything malicious by it. Ever since they met through Cyrus and Buffy, the track star had surprisingly been a good friend and confidante to T.J. They were both athletic and considered the best in their respective sports. They were competitive. And they both liked a member of the Good Hair Crew so he supposed their bond made sense. Unlike T.J., though, Marty actually succeeded with dating Buffy. Meanwhile, T.J. remained as the best friend.

From the moment they met back in the 7th grade, T.J. knew that he was smitten by the cute Jewish boy with the pretty brown eyes and the smile that rivaled the sun. In the 8th grade, Cyrus came out as gay to him and he was over the moon with joy because it meant he had a chance. But, sadly, even though he also came out to the other boy with confidence, he didn’t have quite as much when it came to confessing his feelings.

“Marty, don’t even start with me,” he mumbled, finally reaching his locker and hurriedly putting the combination in.

A few lockers down, Marty was doing the same. “It was just an observation,” he said. “And I still don’t trust that guy.”

Neither did T.J. but he wasn’t going to say that to Cyrus’ face. Not when his friend was so happy.

A locker slammed and in a few beats, Marty was beside him. “You know, you could try to steal him away. They’re probably not even that serious.”

T.J. chuckled, humorlessly. “They’ve been dating for a month and a half. That seems pretty serious to me.”

“Pshhh. You know that’s not true. How long did Cyrus’ longest relationship last?”

“A year,” T.J. answered, immediately.

Of course, he knew. He kept track.

“And his shortest?” Marty continued to prod.

“A month.”

“See? Lance hasn’t even come close.”

He was correct about that. But, that didn’t mean that this new relationship wouldn’t last, either.

T.J. regretted being a coward back then. By the time he managed to gather the nerve and strength to tell Cyrus how he felt about him, the other boy started dating someone else. And because of that, T.J. had no choice but to back off so Cyrus could enjoy his first real relationship. It lasted a month and the two only broke up because they were going to different high schools. Back then, T.J. thought it was best to give Cyrus time to heal from his breakup before attempting to confess his feelings again.

But he made another fatal mistake: he waited too long. They started high school and Cyrus met someone new at the GSA Club. They hit it off and started dating. This one lasted a year and they were on and off throughout. They broke up when they realized that they were better off as friends and Cyrus got tired of the breakup and make up routine.

And, now, they were Juniors and Cyrus - after taking a year off from dating to concentrate on his studies and heal his broken heart - was dating a new guy...who still wasn’t T.J.

Lance was also a jock, a lacrosse player. They met a few months ago through Cyrus’ second ex (whom he was still friendly with, interestingly). Lance had, according to Cyrus, “the softest dark hair and the sweetest brown eyes” and had never dated a boy before but found him cute and sweet enough so he went for it and asked him out.

Cyrus seemed to really like him.

Cyrus’ friends did not, but they wouldn’t dare tell him that and ruin his happiness (Buffy had quite a lot to say about Lance but only around T.J. and Marty and occasionally Andi and Jonah). Besides, the guy seemed to treat Cyrus pretty well. Maybe it was their own distrust and worry for their bubbly friend that made them so protective (and the rest of them may or may not be aware of T.J.’s feelings, but he wasn’t quite sure).

T.J. stuffed the things he needed into his backpack before slamming the locker door closed.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, walking down the hall to homeroom with Marty next to him. “Besides, I’m not the type to steal other people’s boyfriends, no matter how much I like them.”

Marty whistled. “You, my friend, are a martyr.”

T.J. snorted. “Why do you say that?”

Marty whistled again. “Four years of pining after the same guy? Anyone would go crazy.”

“Well, Cyrus is first and foremost my friend. So, it’s not a big deal if I never date him.”

Saying that out loud, though, really put a damper on his already dark mood.

“Like I said. Martyr.”

“At least I didn’t ignore him for six months just cause he wouldn’t date me,” he threw back.

Marty hissed. “Low blow, Kippen.”

T.J. chuckled. “You have to admit, it was a crappy thing to do.”

“I was 13! Do I need to remind you of the shit you used to do?”

“Your girlfriend never fails to remind me every day.”

Finally, T.J. reached his homeroom. “See ya later, Mr. Driscoll.”

“Dude, I told you, my last name is-.”

The bell rang, cutting him off. Cursing under his breath, Marty ran off to head to his own homeroom.

T.J. lightly chuckled as he settled himself on his usual seat. He propped his head on his arms on the desk and let out a soft sigh.

..........

During study hall, he made his way to the library. He had an English report to finish writing and there was a book he needed as a reference. He placed his things in a single desk by the window before going up to the librarian’s desk to ask where he could find the title he needed. She directed him to some bookshelves in the back.

He scanned the shelves, finger brushing the spines of the tomes as he carefully read the titles. Finally, he found the one he needed and pulled it out. He opened it up to a random page, scanning quickly before deciding that it was definitely the right one.

He was about to head back when hushed voices caught his attention.

“Do we have to meet here? What if someone sees us?”

“No one comes here.”

“How do you know?”

“Just, trust me, okay?”

Now, T.J. wasn’t one to pry in other people’s business. In fact, he preferred to stay out of them. But, the voice was familiar.

He took a few steps towards the end of the bookshelf and peeked around the corner.

A familiar face stood there with an unfamiliar one.

“Hey, Lance,” T.J. called out.

The two swiveled to look at him.

Cyrus’ boyfriend looked like a deer caught in headlights. “T.J. Hey. Um, we’re just working on a project.”

T.J. raised an eyebrow. He didn’t ask, but okay.

The girl with Lance flashed him a soft smile before turning around to scan the bookshelves.

“Okay, cool.” T.J. tilted his head at him before turning on his heels and walking off.

He settled back in his seat with his book. For the next 20 minutes, he forgot about Lance and the girl, too immersed in finishing his report. Finally, he ended it with a period and a satisfying crack of his fingers.

He had another 10 minutes to kill before his next class so he subtly fished his phone from his pocket. He went through his social media accounts, replied to a random text from Cyrus about his perfect score on his last History quiz, and scanned his e-mail.

There was one from the Red Rooster, so he tapped on it.

Hi T.J.,

Your order of “Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time" Demo 45 rpm” is ready for pick-up at The Red Rooster. Below is your order #.

T.J. cheered on the inside. He bought the record for his mom for her birthday and he was paranoid that it wouldn’t arrive on time.

Quickly, he took a screenshot before exiting his e-mail and opening up his messages. He tapped on Cyrus’ contact and quickly texted.

Do you mind if we stop by the Red Rooster after school? My order came in.

He put the phone away as soon as he was done, knowing that Cyrus was in class but would see it two periods from then. For now, he would just relax. He still had 5 minutes.

..........

“I can’t believe you won’t go to the Red Rooster alone,” Cyrus teased as they walked to T.J.’s car.

Well, T.J. could but he liked spending time with Cyrus.

“It’s not like I won’t,” he tried to explain himself. “I just prefer going there with you. Andi’s dad likes you.” He grinned. “He might give me a discount for being your friend."

Cyrus’ mouth fell open in mock offense. “Are you using me, T.J. Kippen?!”

“Of course not, Cyrus Goodman.” T.J. smirked as he unlocked his car. “I’m just using your connections.”

Cyrus made a face at him before breaking into a smile and getting in the car.

The drive was pleasant. They talked about their day, what happened, and what they expect for tomorrow. Normally, they sat together at lunch along with Andi, Buffy, Jonah, and Marty, but after Cyrus started dating Lance, he had been taking most of his lunch hours with the lacrosse player and his friends. Some days, he ate with them, but that day was not one of those days.

“So… how are you gonna surprise your mom?” Cyrus asked.

“Well, I was thinking about making her breakfast in bed and then giving her the record,” T.J. replied. “I probably have to wake up early, though, cause that’s a school day. You wanna come over and help me?”

“I’d have to sleep over the night before then 'cause I don’t have a car, remember?”

“Ahh, speaking of that, when are you taking your driver’s license test?”

“I'm taking my time to be mentally prepared! Driving is no easy feat, you know!”

T.J. laughed and winked at him. “Then, how come I can do it?”

“Because you’re T.J.! You can do anything.”

He had so much faith in him.

The jock hummed. “Not everything. I still suck at Math, remember?”

“But you’re getting B’s. Doesn’t sound like sucking to me.”

Ahhh, Cyrus always managed to find a way to make him remember that he was fine just the way he was. If only he would apply that notion to himself too, sometimes.

“You warm my heart,” T.J. replied, giving him a quick glance to smile at him before turning his gaze back on the road. “How about this? Whenever you’re ready, just give me the word and I’ll help you with driving, okay? That way, when you get your license, you can pick me up for once so I can sleep in now and then!”

He tried to sound annoyed but truth be told, he really didn’t mind picking Cyrus up. In fact, he volunteered.

“You volunteered!” Cyrus exclaimed.

Could you blame him? He liked having extra Cyrus-time in the morning before everyone else did.

“But… I’ll take you up on your offer… when I’m ready.”

T.J. nodded. “You got it.”

They were nearing the Red Rooster and luckily, there was an empty parking space a block away. T.J. put two quarters in the meter, figuring they wouldn’t need more than an hour. They walked side-by-side, hand lightly brushing each other’s, like they always did.

The little bell rang out when they entered. The story was practically empty. Andi’s dad, Bowie, was at the counter, talking to a couple with their daughter.

T.J. and Cyrus walked up and stood behind them to wait their turn.

Bowie looked up at them, anyway. “Hey, guys. What brings you here?”

T.J. held up his phone. “I got an e-mail about my order.”

“Oh, yeah, I think I saw the record out back earlier. Give me 5 minutes while I finish up with these lovely folks here. But, feel free to browse. I’ll bring it right out for you.”

“Thank you, Bowie!” Cyrus piped.

“Thanks!”

Cyrus looked around before gasping. He turned to T.J. “I spy some new flutes!” he exclaimed, practically skipping over to said instruments, excitedly.

“Don’t get lost!” T.J. called after him.

Shaking his head, he turned the opposite direction and headed for the back where he knew the sales items were. Maybe he could find some bargain records while he was at it.

He found a box filled to the brim with the item and mindlessly thumbed through them, his eyes sharp for anything he recognized or had an interesting title. His mind was so occupied that he almost didn’t hear the strange sounds and the scuffles, only a few feet away, until something sounded like it fell on the floor.

T.J. curiously looked up from the box. He didn’t know why but something was telling him to abandon the records and check out the noise.

He followed his instincts and took careful steps towards the back.

He frowned when he came upon a couple, in the throes of passion as their lips seemed to be glued to each other’s, in between the shelves of old CDs and vintage cassette tapes. A CD was on the floor by their feet.

Of all places to make out, it was at the back of the Red Rooster.

Red mostly from being caught off-guard by the scandalous sight, T.J. rolled his eyes and turned to leave but stopped. He just realized that the guy was wearing a Grant High School Lacrosse Team jacket.

He narrowed his eyes as he zeroed in on a familiar hairstyle… the height… the blue worn-out sneakers… and the threaded bracelet that he had watched Cyrus labor over for two weeks.

T.J. felt himself go cold. He stood there for god knows how long, just watching and trying to control the overwhelming urge to hit something.

Finally, the two must have felt his presence as they finally broke apart and the guy in the Lacrosse jacket turned around.

Lance’s brown eyes, the same ones that Cyrus gushed over, flickered from annoyance to fear.

And, T.J.’s vision turned red.

[jejublr]

Seatmate!Jihoon

A/N: Heyyyyy, guyssssss. I’m so sorry for not updating for so long T_T School has been hectic with exams and I have soooo many things to do this August but I hope I can still find the time to post something every once in a while (like right now!). I want to say thank you to my followers and my new mutual (yay!!!) for all the support. Also, what’s this?? Another Seatmate!AU?? That as the story goes becomes less and less of a Seatmate!AU?? How about the Super!AU lmao I'm so sorry guys. (Also, this is more fluff that the usual so prepare yourself.)

Can u imagine Jihoon as a class president?

Because I can

He's really diligent in his studies

Which was one of the reasons why he was elected as class president in the first place

Is a very disciplined and strict person

And has one of the best work ethics in class

The type of student who stayed late at school until he finished his work then play at home

Doesn’t let people cheat from his paper lol

Don’t cheat, kids

The teachers love him bc he does all the scoldings in class for them

Fine, it's more of an evil side-eye rather than a scolding but it's super scary ok

Doesn't let people get away with skipping the after school duty of cleaning the classroom

“Do you wanna die or do you wanna clean the classroom?”

^high low key threat by Jihoon himself^

Doesn’t take people’s s***

Will send you a look that cuts right through you if you mention anything about his height

He once had to be restrained when one of the freshmen did and Jihoon almost pushed the kid off the balcony on the 3rd floor

But really, he’s a good person and while people respect him, they generally are scared of him lol

That’s why he mostly kept to himself and his small group of close-knit friends

This kid likes to spend his break in the music room, composing and playing music

People don’t really know about his passion for music and that’s how he preferred it to be

One of the reasons was bc his parents never really approved of his dream to become a musician

If they ever found out, Jihoon’s afraid that he will never be able to play music anymore

So he decided to keep it a secret from everyone

Anyways

So you know how there has to be the good cop to the bad cop?

Well in class, you’re the good cop a.k.a the vice president

And quite the contrary to Jihoon, people think you’re really nice and really  friendly 

Unlike someone

They often wonder how you deal with Jihoon’s grumpiness tbh

Everyone also complain over the fact that Jihoon only seemed to be nice to you

But you’re like “Pshhh, what do you mean, guys, he’s not!”

But everybody knows they’re right

Jihoon does has a soft spot for you

You’re just too oblivious

There was this one time when he let you copy his homework bc you had forgotten that you even had one at the beginning

And you can literally see the look of betrayal everybody sent him bc Lee Jihoon does not let anybody touch his homework

Ever

Until now that is

Everybody went Oooooooh 

Because what’s this???

Does the President likes the Vice President?? Bc interesting.

Jihoon knows he’s screwed if you find out

So he’s always ready with a guitar to whip out at any moment if any of y’all dare to speak of this to you

So he acted as if he’s annoyed and all but it’s mostly an act

Tbh he thinks you’re really cute and nice and everything he’s not

But he’s pretty hesitant about confessing

Bc how can someone with a heart as big as moon and a smile brighter than the sun ever like someone like him?

So he settled with being the best person he can be to you, be it a good class president, seatmate, friend

Honestly he just try to be the best person he can be for you and kinda wish you would eventually notice him one day

Spoiler: you will

A N Y W H O

Sometimes you wonder why you never see him in the cafeteria 

One day you’re on your way to the cafeteria for lunch and you happen to pass the music room when you heard one of the most beautiful pieces you’ve ever heard??

And you wondered who it was so you went to check

And imagine your surprise when you found out that it was Jihoon

And imagine his surprise when he saw you

You’re both were kinda speechless as you looked at each other

You because you really did not expect Grumps Jihoon to be able to play a piano so elegantly like that

Him because oh my god, should he gO?

It was really awkward and embarrassing for you to be alone together like that in the music room despite you being seatmates in class

And it felt like you stumbled upon something you weren’t meant to see

But you’re really curious and really enchanted so you’re like

“Can I...hear you play??”

And Jihoon wanted to reject your request bc he’s so embarrassed and shy and you’re looking at him like that but he’s also like Y/N wants to hear me play!!! This is my chance!!!

So he tried to play it cool and he was like “Sure” and scooted a bit on the bench so you can sit next to him real smooth Jihoon

You’re kind of blushing bc you’re sitting so close to each other

Jihoon started to play the piano and it’s just entrancing and beautiful and you wonder how someone would hide something that’s so amazing

The song ended and you remembered something you saw on the school bulletin board and you’re like “Why don’t you go for the upcoming piano competiton!!”

Jihoon saw the look in your eyes when you said it and they were full of hope and he almost said no

Bc he saw it, but he knew he couldn’t because his parents wouldn’t support his passion

“Y/N.. I can't.. My parents..” he started

“Jihoon, your parents might be wrong. If you do something with enough passion, I know you can make it. I know you will. You always do.”

And you said it with so much conviction that you believing in him made him believe himself, too

Also you’re looking at him like that and he couldn’t say no

And just like that, Jihoon finally agreed to take his passion one step further

It was from then on that you started accompanying him when he’s practising in the music room during lunch 

You started bringing him food on some days after you noticed that you’ve never saw him eat

At first, he would reject the lunchbox that you made him bc he felt so bad for burdening you

But then he saw the disappointment in your eyes when he did and he’d be damned if he ever make you feel sad so he’s like fine

And nothing makes you happier than when you see him literally devoured the food you made especially for him

lmao tbh he was hungrier than he let on

It also makes you happy, too, when he started opening up to you as you both grew closer

Sometimes you both would play around and sing along to any song he plays on the piano

And you know that feeling when you can just feel how happy you both are in each other’s company? Yeah, you feel that with him

It feels different with him; just the two of you in each other’s company, away from the prying world

It’s like a little secret you both have

Your friends started to notice your disappearance and were asking where you’ve been gone to during lunch

But you know you’d promised Jihoon not to tell anyone 

So you’re like lmaoo where I’ve been?? hahah *sweats nervously*

But at that moment Jihoon was passing and your eyes met and you couldn’t help but smile a bit and send him a small wave and your friends went OH MY GODDDD LEE JIHOON?! OUT OF ALL PEOPLE???

“What?? I don’t have a crush on him!”

Yeah you do, you just don’t realize

“Really?? Bc it seems to us that he does.”

“Don’t you notice how he acts around you?” 

And suddenly it made sense

The way he acts around you, how he’s so sweet yet nervous around you

You finally get it

And what a realization it was bc you might have a crush on him too????

Just thinking about it gave you the butterflies lol

You find the fact that he might only be soft only for you is kinda hot??

oh wow what a tsundere

So you start to skim the surface and test the waters, y’know

You start making him even nicer lunch boxes with heart shapes made of seaweed aaaa

And leaving him chocolates and other snacks under his desk bc you’re aware of how he loves to snack while composing

Going on convenience store errands for him when he craves for food/drinks when he’s staying longer at school

Honestly you’ve become kind of a helper to him now but you don’t mind bc he doesn’t really have anyone but you

And he’s aware of your own business and life but the fact that you’re so willing to accompany him makes him fall for you appreciate what you do even more

Time seems to pass a lot faster now since you started hanging out with Jihoon and before you know it, it’s the day of the recital

You went a little earlier bc you wanted to surprise Jihoon with flowers bc why not

And he’s like lmao why are you giving me flowers?

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s given since it’s your first piano recital!”

He couldn’t help but blush bc wow what did he ever do to deserve such an amazing person

It’s obvious that the guy is nervous as heck so you squeezed his shoulder a bit as a reassurance

“You’re gonna do fine! I only worry about the others because they don’t know they’re gonna get wrecked.”

Have he ever told you how much your support meant to him? 

Bc once again, the sheer faith you have in him made him believe he could do anything

“My parents are here, Y/N..”

“Good! Because now they’ll realize what they’ve been missing out on!”

“Y/N..” he said in half-amusement, the corner of his lips turning up

“If not, I’m gonna give ‘em a piece of my mind!”

‘Ok that’s cute’ he absentmindedly thought

“But they’re my parents!” he exclaimed

“And you can do it.”

And on a spur of the moment decision, you’re like

“This is for good luck.”

And you leaned forward and landed a peck on Jihoon’s cheek before scurrying away

Screaming if I may add

To say Jihoon was shocked was an understatement

Bc did you just...kiss him?????

OH MY GOD?! Y/N JUST KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK??

What have he ever done in his past life to deserve such a treat? omg nat

Honestly it was a bad decision in your part bc now he’s even more nervous that he’s gonna flop bc all he can think now is you

But of course, it’s the Great Lee Jihoon we’re talking about

This guy will ace anything you throw at him

And he played the piano with so much emotion and passion

thinking about you ssSHHH

Although it’s his first recital, he totally wrecked it

And it just makes you proud seeing him getting the love and recognition that he deserves up on that stage and your heart just swelled with pride bc he deserved it so much

And when the recital was finally over, you went to find him

And you found him, talking to his parents

At first you were a little worried

But you watched as his parents gave Jihoon a smile, his father patted him on his shoulder and Jihoon smiling and bowing and looking perfectly happy and grateful and you thought everything’s gonna be fine

When you see him finally walking away from his parents, you set your way towards him

He did the same and while you did expect the hug from how he threw open his arms as you both met in the middle, you definitely did not see the kiss coming

And the only thing you could think of as his lips descended on yours was wow he’s getting bOLD

And boi is he passionate

And you're aware of the people watching you two and hoped his parents aren’t watching omg

But with Jihoon’s soft lips on yours, you couldn't care less

At that moment you want to let the world knows

You both were breathless when you finally broke it off and he’s like wOW

And you’re like, yeah wow is right

You still have your hands clasped on his neck, his arms on your waist as you stare into each other’s eyes

“You ok??” you ask, breathless

He grinned,”More than ok. Everything finally fell into place, all thanks to you.”

You blushed,”It’s all you, Jihoon. It’s all you.”

And he flashed you one of those radiant grins, his eyes crinkling around the edges, his dimples showing and you can feel you heart melts

And to him, everything’s perfect, bc you’re here, and whenever you’re beside him, he knows everything will be alright

“So what’s next?” you finally ask

“Next..I’m going to pursue another dream of mine.”

“And what’s that?”

And his dark eyes bored into yours and he smiled

“You.”

fffffff i’m dead asdskadhskajfhew