𝐼𝓃𝒻𝒶𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹

Chapter 16- The Rather Nervous-Next-Morning

Simone's P.O.V.

I had been nervous to get out of bed the morning after the night I met up with Chase. 
Nervous to face the day, especially with the slight, though dark bags I'd proudly acquired underneath my eyes. 
Nervous to go in front of Ash after my inadvertent curt behavior in front of him the other night, which left me guilty this morning.

But I had no choice.

I took a deep breath, and stared at the mirror after my regular morning workout and routine.
Applying concealer did a little more than help to hide my bags, but only if you looked closely, they would be visible. Nothing more could be done.
I slipped on a huge grey chenille sweater under my grey overcoat, a grey scarf and a pair of black jeans. Once I'd tied my hair into a side braid, I wore my usual black loafer vans. It was probably going to snow in a day or two, so I was stuffed slightly more than before.
Though I'm a girl who absolutely adores three weather types: stormy, rainy and cold, I still don't think Boston is too merciful.

I sighed, and went out of my room. The living room was empty, save for a furball named Shady, who'd comfortably snuggled up on the sofa with a crochet blanket wrapped around her according to her comfort. I went over to her and kissed the top of her head, annoying and dousing her in my affection. She'd eaten her breakfast, according to her bowls which had a few crumbs of cat food, and her filled tummy.
I went and made two bowls of fruit and nut-filled oatmeal, a favorite of mine. Ma had never treated me to any fancy food ever, so it was by habit that I couldn't stand take outs or such stuff most of the time.

"Good morning, Cris." Ash said from behind me, startling me.

I cleared my throat and looked at him. "'Morning. I, well, made a simple breakfast for you, as an apology, of, like, what happened last night, which was my curt behavior even though you were simply concerned for me... sorry." I managed quickly, smiling sheepishly all the while.

He looked down at the bowl, then back at me, and smiled, much to my relief. Ash is one of my closest friends and if there's a fight between us, I'd honestly find it hard to act or be unaffected, as I usually am. 
"Thanks!" He grinned, taking a seat. "As for last night, chill. You confused me, that's it. Did anything out of line happened with Chase?"

My lips parted in shock. "How do you...?" I trailed off, blushing the slightest bit.

He chuckled. "You have the worst memory, sweetie. You told me. Don't worry, I'm not telling Amber about your date." 

I smiled slightly and rolled my eyes. "Well, thank you for forgiving me, but for your question, nothing happened." I lied. "And for the matter, it wasn't a date... just a meeting. A talk. Apparently he's sort of after me for an unknown reason, most probably to sleep with me, as I've told you. Amber probably doesn't have anything to do with this, to be honest." I shrugged. Another sorta-lie.

"I see. And him after you... is that anything that the law or police should be concerned with?" He asked, eyeing me with concern.

I gasped. "Fuck, no! What the hell do you think's up, a criminal matter or the sort? He's not even that much of a pain in the neck, y'know." 

"Woah, chill, lover girl. I get it." He laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Lover girl? Seriously, Ash?" I laughed, shaking my head. 

He laughed along. "Fine, chill anyway."

I sighed. Thankfully we weren't in a conflict because of me. He was too nice. 

We went on to talk about Lucas, then a range of different topics, concerning school and more, as we headed off to school and reached the gates.
But before I could even spot my friends, Chase the Great appeared out of the blue and jogged to me, once he'd spotted me. Asher was already off to his friends, after telling me to meet up with him during the break.

"'Morning." I said, walking off to find my friends anyway.

"Cris? Do you have a minute to spare?" He asked, slightly frustrated due to my walking away.

I turned around to him. "Alright, fine, since you asked civilly."

"Thank you." He sighed, and suddenly enclosed his large hand around mine, and jogged towards the side wall of the school boundary, which was thankfully secluded. I jogged after him, not finding it too easy to keep up with his long, easy, basketballer strides. 

Panting, I leaned against the wall, once he'd let go of me. "I'd like to tell you, not everybody can-keep up with-a damn basketball captain." I glared at him, panting slightly now.

He chuckled, amused. "Shoot, sorry? I needed to ask you about yesterday night." He said.

I raised a brow. "Oh. Uh, fine." I said, looking at everywhere but him.

"Were you okay last night? Did I say or do anything out of line?" He asked carefully, looking into my eyes.

I rolled my lips into my mouth. "Oh, I was okay. As for the second question... no."

"No?"

"No, you didn't do anything serious, but that... kiss was pretty out of line." I rolled my eyes, biting my lip to hold back a smile.

"Oh, but you liked it, didn't you." He challenged cheekily.

I rolled my eyes. "And don't worry about my... sudden change in behavior. It wasn't because of you." I sighed, ignoring his question.

He huffed. "On that matter, you did confuse me. What really occurred, Cris?"

I thinned my lips into a line. "Nothing within your concern." I sighed, leaning against the wall.

He came in front of me. "Cris, I care about you." He said, looking into my eyes deeply. His sapphire gaze caught me in a trance, and I blinked and looked away, swallowing. 
My heart fluttered in my chest with his damned words. 

"You shouldn't." I muttered, simply.

He huffed, then clenched his jaw in frustration. "Okay, why is that?"

I'm not worth it, I thought. Or maybe I didn't need my heart broken again.
I looked into his eyes again to see his smoldering sapphire gaze, then beyond again.
"I'm not who you think I am." I said finally, my tone soft.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

I sighed, licking my lips. My throat felt dry, but I spoke anyway. "Y'know what? Tell me why you're after me first." I challenged, clenching my jaw.

He blinked twice, confused. He rolled his eyes, then sighed. And surprisingly, leaned closer to plant his palms on either side of my arms, flanking me.
"Fine." He said, his tone low, smooth and slightly annoyed. 

I swallowed inadvertently, his unwavering gaze making me slightly nervous. But I looked back into his eyes with hopefully the same ferocity, standing taller. I made sure my face gave away no emotion.

"I think," He said, his eyes trailing from my eyes to lips. "That, I like you, Cris." His gaze snapped back to my eyes.

My lips parted, my eyes widened, as I felt heat crawl up my neck. I stuttered for an answer. 
Had I accidentally eaten live butterflies for breakfast who were now dancing in my damned stomach? 
"Wha-what?"  

He smirked. "You heard me, honey. And don't call it quick, I only said I think." 
And walked away, leaving me half shocked and half annoyed, that he'd caught me off guard. 

No way... how could he? I shook my head, and ran after him. As soon as I found him, I grabbed his shoulder. "Wait." I said, panting slightly.

He turned around, a brow raised in question, while his expression showed slight amusement. 

"How?" I asked simply, gazing into his eyes.

He leaned in again, and whispered into my ear, making me shiver slightly. "If you'd stop resisting your true emotions and thoughts, and perhaps lower that self-dislike, you'd find out yourself." And he went off.