It's Like Monopoly, But Physical.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Just when I'm about to let Van make the next move, he breaks away from the kiss and looks down at me, stabbing me with those light green eyes. What is it now? I'm clearing not pushing him off of me.

"Stop, Abby, um, this is hard for me to say, but I don't think that I can sleep with you," Van tells me quietly. "I don't want you to remember your first time like this. I mean, I have too much, respect or whatever...for you," he explains.

"Thanks, it's good to know that I have your 'respect or whatever'," I say sarcastically. What does that even mean?

"I like you too much to sleep with you right now," he whispers, kissing my cheek lightly.

I push him off of me and look him straight in the face. Is he really saying 'no'? 'No', is CLEARLY the girl's word. Is a guy even supposed to be capable turning a girl down?

"You like me too much to sleep with me?" I repeat and he responds with a simple nod. That doesn't even make sense. If you like somebody then doesn't that mean that it's okay to sleep with them? WAIT! I think that I'm missing the bigger picture. Van just said that he likes me. The again it could just be that he just likes me and doesn't want me.

I sigh, getting out of the bed. "Thanks, Van, way to go and make things awkward." I pick up his shirt from the floor and slip it back on.

"Abby, it would be even more awkward if we would have-"

I cut him off. "How do you know?" I ask.

Van moves closer and sits on the edge of the bed. "Because..." he starts, reaching me out and putting his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to him. "You're...vulnerable right now. We both are and I...don't want you to get hurt. Lets face it, you don't want this and it's either stop you now and have you hate me or keep going and have you hate me later," he explains. "I'd rather get it over with now," he adds, smiling.

I nod slowly, trying to understand what he's saying. "This doesn't have anything to do with you still liking Kendall, does it?" I ask quietly.

He takes a deep breath, his eye wonder around the room. "Abby, lets not talk about that, okay?"

"Oh my god! You do still like her!" I say loudly. "After she cheated on you! TWICE! Have you lost your dignity, Van?"

"Of course I still...like her, I mean there's always going to be a part of me that likes her," he replies quietly.

"Yeah, and I think I have a pretty good idea of which part that is," I say seriously.

"I told you earlier that I didn't want you to be a rebound to me an that's exactly what you'd be if we-"

"When you say that you like me, how do you mean it? Do you like me like a pet goldfish? What? Enlighten me, Van, because I'm not sure that I understand at all," I fold my arms over my chest.

Van thinks about how to answer my question, while I wait impatiently and hope that he comes up with something that's going put my mind at ease. For now, at least.

"I like you like I like strawberry milk," he answers.

Perfect answer. Why did he have to say that? That just makes me even more pissed that he's playing with me like this. He says he likes me so much, but obviously not enough to forget about Kendall. "That's sweet, Van, but couldn't you have just lied to me and told me you think of me as a pet goldfish?" I ask.

"No lies, remember?" he grins.

I roll my eyes. I wanted you to lie to me, but I just need to drop it because I don't want to fight with Van anymore. We can't fight. Fighting with Van means I lose everything else that I care about. I've never heard of a guy actually having a broken heart, but it's refreshing and I can accept it; even if it means mine is breaking piece by piece.

Van chuckles. "Look, just because our parents are sleeping together doesn't mean we have to," he points.

"EW! Dude, that's so gross to even think about," I shutter. Even if Van was completely over Kendall, our relationship would still be screwed up "Our parents really suck, don't they?"

Van nods. "Yeah, my dad's a giant bag of douche."

I agree. "And my mom's a giant bag of slut. What is it with sluts and douche's just being meant for each other, you know? Kind of like Michael and Kendall, she's the slut to his douche," I joke, but Van doesn't laugh. I guess we're not at the 'lets make fun of my ex-girlfriend, who just so happens to be a slut' stage yet. "Not there yet, huh?" He shakes his head in response. "What's wrong with you? You were fine the other day when it happened," I remind him, nudging my elbow at him.

"No, the other day I was pissed off and now I'm...I don't even know," he corrects.

"It's sinking?" I ask. That's kind of how I was when I was mad at Van, once it really sunk in, I was more upset that he didn't tell me.

"Like the Titanic," He says.

I smiles. "But, hey, the ship sinking was the best part of that movie," I point out. "Well, besides Leonardo Dicaprio," I add.

Van rolls his eyes. "Oh yeah, he was so hot," he jokes, pretending to sound like a girl.

I crack up laughing. Van imitating a girl is probably the funniest thing in the world. I guess this isn't as awkward as I thought it would be. It's normally extremely awkward between me and a guy that I've just...fooled around with. But not Van. Is it supposed to be awkward? Then again, Van is avoiding the subject, like he always does. Some how he always manages to change the subject.

"We have to stop doing this, you know," I say.

"What?" Van asks, nonchalantly.

"Whatever we almost did, for the second time," I explain. "From here on out, we're just friends, okay? Amigos, Amies, Freundes, and every other language that I missed," I smile. "I'm the Bat to your Man and you're the Super to my Man Get it?" I ask, standing up. "It's strictly friendship," I clarify.

Wow, maybe I'm getting al little carried away. Van is nowhere near as amazing as Superman, there's just no way. That be like trying to say Robert Pattinson is better than Ashton Kutcher, which just gives you the chills because of how wrong that is. Ashton Kutcher...mmm...man is he super. OK, Abby, get back to the point.

Van smiles, standing up. "Deal," he replies, holding out his hand.

I stare at his hand for a minute. Is he for real? "Really, Bat-Boy? I don't think hugging is a crime," I tease, pulling him into a hug. The hug is perfect, until his hand slips lower and hits my butt. Yeah, I can feel his 'respect or whatever' just fine. "Molesting me however, is a crime," I joke, as the hug ends. He's such a perv.

"It was for good luck," Van says, grinning. Yeah, I'm sure it was. "Hey, if we do this whole superhero thing, we should dress up, I'll be your Superman, but instead of you getting in a Batman suit, I say you go Halle Berry and bring out the cat claws and whip," he jokes.

I roll my eyes and laugh while ruffling a hand through his already messy hair and then walk out of the room. Oh Van...

"Hey, man, I'm serious, this could work..." Van carries on, following me out of the room.

Van may not be mine, but we're starting fresh, a clean slate. As friends. Nothing more and nothing less. Just Van and Abby; The beginning because this is definitely not the end of us.

*****

Hope you liked it:) I'm not so sure on the last sentence, seems too cliche. but I didn't want to be like 'the end'.

Thanks for reading.

I don't know when the sequel is coming, but look out for it:)

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Until next time try...

Stapling Jello to a tree.

Tying a knot in a french fry.

Making a crown out of cheese.

<3justkaylay.>