Book 1: Beyond Me and You

Don't Forget About our Little Deal

Going home to Kayla and Dean hasn't been easy. Don't get me wrong, Kayla is sweet and she's very caring. I've been so use to spending so much time alone, it's weird having someone ask me how school was everyday after school.

Dean on the other hand is a different story. Everyday he's home before I am, but that's because I try to keep myself busy at school so that I don't spend so much time at home. He notices how everyday I get home later than the day before. But I can't help myself. Seeing him brings back all the happy memories, but it also brings back the memory of how broken he was when we broke up. The pain in his eyes is something I'll never forget, and maybe that's my punishment.

"Larkin!" someone decides to yell in my ear snapping me out of my thoughts. "Mr. Smith wants us to do another movie review assignment" Caleb says as he leans back in his chair.

Guess Mr. Smith watched all of the movies we reviewed.

"Okay. And?" I ask. Caleb tilts his head to the side as if he can't understand what I just said. "Stop looking at me" I say annoyed.

"Don't forget about our little deal" he says and although I'm not looking at him, I can imagine him smirking. "So your house again?" he asks as if I didn't just ignore him.

"No." I say bluntly.

"Well too bad because I'm not inviting you to my house unless you want to do more than watch a movie" he teases as his smirk grows even bigger.

"You're disgusting" I say as the bell rings. I quickly gather my stuff and make my way out of the classroom. Just as I step out of the door I can hear Caleb call out to me one last time.

"I'll meet you at your locker!"

To say the least I wasn't ready to take Caleb to my house. The last time he was there was before Dean and Kayla had moved in. Dean to this day still has no idea about the deal I made with Caleb, I have managed to keep it hidden but I have a feeling I won't be able to after tomorrow.

After the last bell rings I try to go find Dean before he leaves school, but I couldn't find him. I always barely miss him. I feel someone's arm around my shoulders.

Caleb.

"I said I'd meet you at your locker but it seems like I don't have to" he said with a smirk plastered on his face.

Like always, Caleb found a way to make my life more miserable than it already was. The walk to my house felt like an eternity with Caleb talking nonstop. But at the same time it went by in the blink of an eye since I had no idea what to tell Dean. I kept on wishing he decided to go out with friends, but that was very unlikely. Ever since he moved in, he has been determined to being home as much as possible.

We reach the front door and I hesitate to open it. I stop my hand as it reaches for the door knob and turn to look at Caleb.

"Maybe we can do the work at your house?" I ask, practically begging at this point.

"No." he says sternly. I've known Caleb for a while and, although I don't like him, he won't change his mind.

I slowly open the door and meet some hazel eyes...

It's just Kayla

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in. The anxiety of opening the door and meeting Dean's eyes had become overwhelming.

"Oh Larkin. I didn't know you were bringing a friend over" Kayla said as she took Caleb's coat.

"Kayla this is Caleb, my partner in one of my classes. Caleb this is Kayla, my dad's fiancé." I introduced them in an attempt to be polite.

Caleb looks a it confused as he looks between me and Kayla but his eyes light up like a Christmas tree when Dean walks towards us. Caleb's eyes turned dark and he had an insane look in his eyes.

Dean on the other hand was furious to see Caleb in the house. I could see him getting more angry as the both made eye contact. As Dean made his way towards us, without thinking, I grabbed Caleb's hand and began to drag him up the stairs towards my room.

"Um we're gonna go work on the homework. Bye Kayla!" I yell as I try to pull Caleb up the stairs.

Let's get one thing straight. He is over six feet and I'm only 5'6". Pulling him against his will up the stairs was not an easy task, but the adrenaline I got from thinking about what would happen if he stayed downstairs any longer gave me just the strength I needed.

Once we're in my room I turn around and lock the door. I turn to see Caleb sitting on my bed with a huge smirk on his face.

"Oh this is priceless" he said as he threw his head back in laughter. After a few seconds of watching him enjoy my complicated life, he finally manages to calm down and stop laughing. "Wait" his face changes to a serious one as he begins to process everything. "Why is he here?"

"Well. His mom and my dad-" I didn't even get finish before his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree once again.

"No way!" he yelled out. "Are you and him still?" he said as he winked at me.

"Caleb!" I yelled out a little too loud. I noticed how loud I was and quickly sat next to him. "I broke it off with him when they told us they were engaged"

What happened next was a complete surprise to me. I've known Caleb for a long time, but I never expected this from him. He quietly hugged me as I looked down as my hands on my lap. His touch was gentle, almost as if I was a wounded bird and he didn't want to be harsh.

"I'm sorry" he says quietly. "Although we were never close I do know how you felt about him. I was able to see it from the time I saw you two together. He really did care about you and I know you cared about him too..." he voice trailed off and he took a few seconds to compose himself again. "I guess the reason I threatened you was because I was jealous. I wanted what you two had. But I want you to know that you did the right thing"

Hearing someone else tell me it was okay was what I never knew I needed. Dean never told me this because he never wanted to break up to begin with. Vivian tried not to show it, but she has hinted a few times that I should've kept it going. I myself just couldn't see my father's face of disappointment when he found out that we couldn't both be happy at the same time.

After a few more minutes of talking about some random stuff, I hear the front door open and close. Caleb and I quickly chose to watch Finding Nemo and went downstairs for dinner.

As soon as we walk into the dinning room, there is a tension between Caleb and Dean that is sharp enough to cut anything.

"Caleb dear, you can sit next to Larkin" she says as she prepared his seat.

The rest of the dinner was awkward to say the least. Dean and Caleb were constantly glaring at each other when dad and Kayla weren't looking. There were a few times I caught Dean staring at me but I tried my best to ignore it.

I couldn't wait for dinner to be over and when it finally was, I kinda wished it wasn't because what came next was something I never expected...

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Hey!!! Sorry for the long wait. I'm gonna try to update as much as possible over winter break :)