The Nerd and The Bully

045. Walks By The Lake

~Gracia's POV~

It's been a week since the issue at the sleepover. I haven't spoken to Rena and I honestly don't plan to for a while. It's obvious that we need space from each other. I still don't get why she blew up at me, though.

It's whatever, I'm not thinking about it anymore. My parents have flown back to Germany to handle business. They said they will be back before school starts.

"So, you have no plans to speak to Rena at all?" Gwen asks. I was at her house and we were watching a tv show on Netflix.

"Nope." I say.

She sighs. "She wants to talk to you. I spoke with her yesterday." She says.

I take a bite out of my chocolate bar. "She knows my number. She can call." I say. "I'm still a little confused on why she blew up at me. I didn't do anything."

"Maybe she feels as though you put Ash before her and you guys were friends way longer than you started dating Ash." She says.

I sigh. "But I make time to hang with her. When she wants me to hang out, I say yes even though I have plans with Ash. She used to and sometimes put AJ before me and you." I say. "How many times if we asked if she could hang and she told us she was with AJ?" I ask.

"Many times." Gwen says.

"Exactly. She's being a hypocrite and I don't like hypocrisy." She says. "Then she claims that I was faking my asthma to leave out of the situation. That hurt me. She doesn't know what it's like." I say.

"Yeah." She sighs. "Let's just continue to watch this episode then after, we could go to the cafe you like."

"Ok." I nod my head. As she said, we finished the episode and watched two more because in all honesty, the show is really good.

We then got up to go to the cafe. On the way out, we saw her mom in the kitchen. "Mom, CiCi and I are going out." Gwen announces.

Her mom turns around. "Ok, dear. How are you doing, Gracia?" She asks.

"I'm good, Mrs. Mitchell, how are you?" I ask.

"I'm doing good as well." She replies with a smile. "Gwen, pasta and salad for dinner tonight." She tells Gwen.

"What type of pasta?" Gwen asks.

"Rigatoni." Her mom replies.

"Ok. See you later tonight." Gwen says and we walk out of her door, into her car. We went to the cafe and got seated.

I ordered a green tea with a sandwich and lemon cake. She ordered the same. We talked about summer and what we plan to do. She tells me we should all, meaning us and our friends, should go on a vacation together somewhere. Maybe we should.

We were out for another two hours and then it was time for her to go home. I called Ash to have him pick me up from the cafe. I hugged Gwen and she left. I waited inside for Ashton.

After fifteen minutes, I see his car in the parking lot and I walk out and got in the passenger seat. He looks a bit frustrated. "Hey." I say with a smile.

"Hi." He says. "My house?" He asks and I nod.

He drives us to his house and as always, we walked up his stairs to his room. Once we were in, he gently tackles me on his bed, making me laugh. He chuckles along with me and lays his head on my stomach.

I gently rub my fingers through his curly brown hair and he sighs and kisses my belly. "Are you doing alright?" He asks. "Have you been doing what you need to do about your asthma?"

"Yeah." I reply. "You love worrying about me, don't you?" I ask.

He leans up and hovers above me. "That's my job." He kisses my forehead. "I have to worry."

"You don't have to." I tell him. "Otherwise, you'll be stressing yourself out."

"You're worth my stress." He says and kisses my lips. The kiss started getting deeper but was still passionate. He pulls away and I sigh. "You know, you make me better." He tells me.

"Hm, do I?" I ask.

"Yes you do." He says. His lips travel down my jaw and to my neck, where he placed soft kisses. "I love you."

"I love you too." I tell him. "Can we go for a walk down the lake?" I ask. I really miss our walks.

He still kisses on my neck. "But I would rather be doing something else." He says.

I chuckle. "Babe, just a quick walk please?" I ask. He leans up and groans.

"Fine." He says. I giggle and he smiles.

We got up and went outside to walk. I placed my hand in his and we just walked. "I love nature." I tell him.

"Hm, you do?" He asks.

I nod. "Mhm." I say. "I love hearing the birds chirp and just the sound of the leaves when the wind blows. It's all just so beautiful to me." I say.

He chuckles. "I love you."

"I love you too." I lean my head on his arm. "See, this is way better than sex, right?" I asked.

"Spending time with you is everything to me." He says. "Sex isn't all I think about, CiCi. Yeah, it's good but spending time with you means more than sex."

I smile. "That's sweet." I say. "So, no sex for a month, then?" I asked.

He stops. "I can't do that." He says and I laugh. "I'm serious, CiCi, every time I see you I crave for you. You're not doing that to me." He says.

I laugh. "I was kidding babe. Relax." I tell him.

He sighs. "Ok, thank you." He says.

I chuckle. "I love you so much."

"I love you more, baby girl."

We made it to the lake. We stayed there for a bit then soon walked back to his house. It's nice spending time with him. Just us. When I'm with him, I forget about everything.

We had got back up to his room. He yawns. "I'm feeling tired." He says.

"Oh, I'll go since you're tired." I said. I went to leave but he grabs my arms to stop me.

"I want you to stay." He says. "Come on, lay down with me." He lays down and pulls me on top of his body. I kiss his chest and he strokes my hair. He kisses my head and sighs. "I'll always be here to protect you. I promise."

I smiled. I looked up at him. "I know you will, Ashton. I love you."

"I love you more." He says.

After a while, his breathing starts getting more slower and I look up and he's fast asleep. I carefully move up more so my face is in his neck. I trace circles on his chest and kiss his jaw softly.

Soon, I close my eyes and sleep soon takes over me as well.

~~
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Comment your thoughts and vote! Thanks for reading!