The Perfect Boy in the Shadows

Chapter 18, Checkmate!

-Lily-

"I do not!" I screeched, punching Jack in the arm.

"Uh... yes you do," he teased, moving his next chess piece. 

"Oh my god, I do not still sleep with stuffed animals!" I argued, crossing my arms.

"Then how do you explain this?" he asked, pulling out a picture of me sleeping with my little-stuffed elephant. My hair was all ruffled in a mess and from the looks of the picture, I was probably drooling. We were currently sitting at his desk that Jack had pulled to the middle of his room so that we could play chess. This picture was so embarrassing...

"Jack, where did you get that?" I asked, slightly horrified. But I became even more terrified when I sly grin came across his face. "Oh my god, you did not..."

"Yep." he smiled, looking pleased with himself.

"But how did you get up-"

"Ladder," he said, cutting me off. 

"And you took pictures of me while I was sleeping because...?"

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't up to any trouble. I wanted to make sure I could trust you, which I obviously can't considering you lied to me about sleeping with stuffed animals," he fake-pouted.

"What?" I gasped, "That is so unfair! Besides, that was just a little thing, you can trust me!" I whined.

"Can I though?" his smirk came back onto his face with one eyebrow raised.

"Do you really expect me to play along with you in this?"

He chuckled, "Alright fine, let's just continue our game." he said. I agreed and looked back down onto the chess board, seeing that all my pieces were stolen by him and he was one move away from winning. How did that happen? Last time I checked I was winning and...

"Checkmate!" Jack yelled triumphantly, pushing his king into place.

"What? How did that..." I began, but I was cut off by my own thoughts. How had I been so stupid? While he was talking to me about the picture he moved all of his pieces so that he'd win. 

"Jack, you cheater!" I yelled, jumping up from my chair. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" I said as I grabbed a pillow off of his bed and started whacking him in the face. He chuckled and grabbed a pillow of his own.

"Pillow fight!" he yelled, overpowering me with his strength. 

"Ahh!" I yelled, falling onto his bed. He fell on top of me, his weight pushing down on me. And just like that, we had gone from hitting each other with pillows to falling on the bed together. 

"C'mere buttercup..." he muttered, pulling me against him. Once you caught a glimpse of his smile and those cute little freckles on his face, you couldn't be mad at him any longer. How could you not obey his every command? His body was perfect, the hard build carved out by the work of football player, the intelligent, kind face of an innocent nerd and the charming smile and voice of a prince. I shuttered in a breath, we were so close in this moment. I could feel his breath on my face, tempting me to kiss him.

"You look amazing today, y'know that?" he mumbled, giving my jawline a quick brush with his lips.

"I don't look as amazing as you make me feel," I whispered, kissing the outer part of his earlobe, moving to his cheek and then lips. He caressed my body, holding me close to him. I leaned my head against his chest, both hearing and feeling the steady beat of his heart. Was this what love was? I looked up into his dazzling eyes, full of love and compassion. If this was love, I knew I couldn't live without it.

"I love you..." he whispered into my hair, kissing my forehead softly. Those three words were my most favorite whenever he said it. I hope there'll always be someone there to tell me that for the rest of my life. 

"I love you too..." I whispered back, silencing him for a while with a slow, deep kiss on the lips. I felt his mood brighten even more, feeling his shoulders rise and his heartbeat quicken. He put his hands around my waist as I gripped the fabric of his shirt. I traced his bicep with my finger, tangling my hands in his hair. He leaned in to kiss me again but was interrupted by a small gasp coming from the doorway.

Alarmed, we both looked in that direction, seeing his little brother peaking through a crack in the doorway with his eyes wide open. 

"Oh, crap..." Jack muttered under his breath, looking at his brother with a terrified expression.

"MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYY! JACKY HAS A GIRL IN HIS BED!" his brother Liam yelled, having a sly grin on his face. Well... I guess his leg had healed quickly. 

"WHAT!? JACK YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" his mother yelled up the stairs, obviously furious.

"Coming mom!" Jack grunted, giving me a desperate look. I sighed and straightened myself out, grabbing his hand and going down the stairs to meet our doom.