Unexpected Love

You are no brother of mine!

Chapter 1: You are no brother of mine!

The next day, Cora woke up to find herself on top of Ian's chest on the couch. Huh, the must have fallen asleep, she thought. She looked up to find him still asleep. He looks so vulnerable when he's asleep.

"You're staring," Ian spoke up.

It made her jump. "I... I'm not," Cora retorted.

"Well, whatever you call it... Stop, okay? It's creepy," Ian said.

With a giggle, she hit him playfully on the chest. "Shut up, Sterling!" she exclaimed as she got up.

Ian sat up and smiled, "So we're on last name basis now? Two can play that game, Evans."

"Again, you're an idiot," Cora joked as Ian let out a chuckle.

"We must've fallen asleep. I don't think Jimmy's back yet so I think you should go."

"Why? I kind of like it here," Ian said.

"In case you haven't noticed, Sterling, we still have school," Cora pointed out.

"Screw that. We could skip," he said.

"As tempting as that is, I can't. It's only Wednesday! I've only been in the school for like three days now since Monday?"

"I don't really need bad influence right now, thank you very much," Cora added.

"Bad influence? Why Ms Evans, you wound me," Ian joked dramatically as he placed a hand over his heart.

"Stop being so dramatic and get your butt out of here!" Cora exclaimed with a smile as she playfully shoves him to the door.

Suddenly, he spun around, causing Cora to stumble a bit. They were face to face and the proximity was uncomfortably close but strangely, she didn't mind at all.

"What if... I give you a ride to school? Your brother is nowhere to be seen and you'll be late if you don't. Now, you wouldn't want to be tardy now would you?"

"Since when do you care about being late?" Cora asked with an eyebrow raised.

He shrugged. "I don't. But you do."

"Shit! I hate it when you're right!" Cora hissed.

"Then it's settled! I'll wait for you downstairs," he gave her a peck on the cheek before grabbing his and her helmets by the door and headed down.

Cora blushed at his sudden touch of affection. Unknowingly, her hand reached up to the cheek he kissed and instantly, a smile appeared on her face. Boy, was she in trouble, she thought to herself.

As Cora and Ian rode to school, all eyes were on them. It's not everyday you see someone riding with Ian Sterling. As they pulled to a stop, Ian got up first and took off his helmet. He set it down and helped Cora get down from the bike. He then helped her remove the helmet. He gave her a warm smile before putting the helmets away. He handed Cora her bag. Their hands touched briefly. Cora Evans could feel the electricity running through her fingertips as she touched him. She looked up and found him staring at her. Their eyes met and soon they got lost.

Cora jumped when she heard someone call out to her. It was Maya. With a sigh, she turned back and gave him an apologetic smile. She hung the bag strap on her shoulder and headed to her friend. Ian just watched her leave. He was so close, yet so far. He was snapped back into reality when someone gave him a hard punch in the face. It was none other than Zachariah Masterson.

"Ah, Zachariah! To what do I owe the pleasure, brother?" Ian said as he wiped the blood away from his lip.

"You are no brother of mine!" Zach hissed.

"Maybe not by blood. But you are, in a way, my brother," Ian pointed out.

Out of rage, Zach grabbed Ian by the collar and slammed him against the concrete wall.

"Listen up, Sterling! And you better make sure it gets through that thick skull of yours! Stay away from Cora! She's better of without you!" Zach exclaimed.

"She has the right to decide herself!" Ian said as he spat blood on Zach's face.

Zach growled and punched Ian's face again before walking into the building to wash the blood away. Ian got up and spat the blood out. He wiped someone of with the back of his sleeve and headed to the bathroom. Upon examining himself, Ian noticed that he got a cut on his right eyebrow and a cut on his bottom lip. Could have been worse if Zach was wearing his family ring. He was lucky this time.

Ian got out of the bathroom and went to class. He avoided Cora in every classes. When it was lunch, he got out first before Cora could catch him. Ever since the school avoided him, he sat alone in the dark area of the canteen. He had his earbuds in and was blasting rock music from his iPod. From where he sat, he could see everyone but people couldn't see him unless they wanted to.

Suddenly there was a bang on the table. Ian looked up to find Cora, sitting right in front of him.

"Cora... What are you doing?" Ian asked.

"You're avoiding me and I want to know why," Cora said.

"You shouldn't be here. It's not safe. If people find out..."

She cuts him off, "Screw them! There's something going on that you're not telling!"

He leaned back onto his chair. "There's nothing to tell, really."

"Take off those shades, Ian," she said.

"Cora..."

"I said take them off, Sterling!" Cora demanded.

With a sigh, he took the dark shades off to reveal the cut on his eyebrow just slightly above the eye. His right eye was also slightly swollen. There was also a bruise on his right cheek.

"Who did this to you, Ian?" Cora asked as she cupped his right cheek.

"It doesn't matter, Cora," he said as he wore back the shades and pulled away from her.

"It matters to me!" she exclaimed.

He looked at her and saw that she was tearing up. It was either from the anger or from the sadness. Either way, it meant that she cared. Ian took off his shades and stared at them in his hands.

"Cora... I'm no good for you. I... You have to stay away from me."

"Why?" she demanded.

"Because I'll end up paying for it. And I'm fine with that but they will come after you if they think I'm not enough."

"You have to go," he said.

"I'm not leaving," Cora protested.

"Then I'll go." He got up, wore his shades and looked at her and said, "It was a pleasure knowing you, Cora. It was fun while it lasted." With that, Ian Sterling left her.