aroma; CHRIS SCHISTAD

TWENTY THREE

CLEO

The next morning, I woke up to the most captivating sound and sight I had ever witnessed before, well, more like before I had met the one and only Christoffer Schistad.

"Wake up, baby," Chris whispered sweetly into my left ear, his voice raspy and deep.

My eyelids fluttered open slowly, and I blinked a couple of times to clear my blurry vision.

My eyes immediately connect with Chris's ravishing hazel ones and notice they're full of amusement. I subliminally glance downwards, catching sight of his bottom lip pulled between his perfect teeth.

I can't help but let my eyes linger on the sight, finding it much more appealing than I probably should.

The corner of his naturally rosy lips twitch upwards as if he's trying not to smile. I roll over onto my side and face him, looking him in the eyes once more.

"What?," I question, my voice coming out low and throaty because I had just woken up.

His eyes light up, for what reason? I don't know. Unexpectedly, he reaches his strong arms behind my back and lifts me up, placing me on top of him to where I'm straddling his torso, thighs on either side or his waist.

For a second I'm shocked, the next moment, I'm laughing for no apparent reason. Just his presence alone is enough to make me the giddiest girl in the world, but his warmth and comfort is enough to make a girl go insane.

He stares at me with a look of confusion before he begins laughing along, shaking his head at me. His chest falls up and down beneath my palms with each laugh, which are both propped against his bare skin.

"Why are we laughing?," I snort, causing him to laugh harder than he already had been.

"You just make me happy. You make me wanna laugh all the time, it's weird, but I love it," he tells me after our laughter had died down.

I smile brightly at him, knowing exactly what he means. Chris makes me feel the same way, like I could laugh until the day my heart stops beating, like I've just been given every last drop of happiness that lives on this planet.

The smile on my lips refused to disappear, it was like Chris radiated positivity. He didn't even have to speak, or be around me at all. Just the simple thought of him made me joyful.

"We have school today," I broke the comfortable silence, as much as I didn't want to.

He nodded his head but made no move to get up, instead he just continued to stare at me like I meant the world to him. I hoped I meant the world to him, because he sure as hell meant more than the world to me.

You're turning into a complete cliche.

I tried not to roll my eyes at myself. It was true, but I honestly didn't give a shit anymore. If this is what cliche feels like, then I have not one problem with being cliche for the rest of my life.

Without thinking, I leaned back, which ended with me sliding downwards slightly and directly onto his groin area.

His eyes widened and he coughed a couple of times, covering his mouth with his fist. I felt my body tense up when I felt something hard against my thigh.

I quickly jumped off of him, almost falling off of the bed if it weren't for Chris's arm slipping around my waist before I tumbled onto the wooden floor.

He pulled me flat against his hard chest and wrapped the other arm around my waist, capturing me in a comfortable embrace.

I tilted my head upwards and he glanced down at me, amused eyes searching back and forth between my embarrassed ones.

And then he burst out laughing, again. Damnit.

***

After goofing around for about an hour at Chris's house this morning, he drove me to school. Of course, we showed up about two hours late, but we still made it and that's what counts.

It's currently eighth period, and I can't seem to get my mind off of Chris. Not that I have a problem with that, it's just making it harder for me to focus on the lesson.

I remember how terrified I was of letting Chris into my life before, of loving him and opening my heart up to him.

I saw him as just another fuck boy who's intentions were to get inside my pants and then pretend I was invisible. I thought the only thing he was capable of was causing me pain, but god was I wrong.

He's defiantly taught me not to judge a book by its cover, that's for sure.

My lips tugged into a small smile the longer I thought about that idiot. That idiot that I've grown to love with everything in me.

However, love doesn't come alone, it comes with fear. For me, at least.

I still find myself fearing that Chris will come to the realization that he could do so much better than me. That he could find more pleasure in another girl than I could ever offer him. That something horrible will happen to us.

I bit my tongue at those unwanted thoughts. I had to trust him, I can't be thinking like that. Chris isn't a bad person, he's the best.

And sometimes that scares me.

The obnoxious bell brought me out of my thoughts and I watched as students rushed to the door, ready to go home for the day.

I sighed and tossed the thick calculus book into my bag before slinging it over my shoulder and heading into the crowded hallway.

My eyes scanned over the large groups of high school students, searching for Chris or the girls, whom I haven't seen in a couple of days.

My eyes scanned over the groups of girls and boys gathered by lockers and classroom doors chatting together.

Irritation coursed through my veins when Ingrid and Iben came into my view. They're walking straight towards me. Our last encounter replayed inside of my head, you know, the time that I got shitfaced and beat Ingrid's ass.

I grunted and leaned up against the lockers, crossing my arms over my chest and throwing the pair an annoyed glare.

They quickly approached me, stopping only inches away from me. Scowls were planted on both of their faces.

"I never got payback for what you did, you know?," Ingrid commented, tone sassy.

I bit the corner of my lip, trying to contain my smirk. "No, no you didn't, Ingrid," I responded blankly, causing her to narrow her eyes at me.

Iben remained silent, but the unreadable emotion swimming in her brown eyes made me feel weary. It's like she knew something I didn't.

Ingrid grinned, slowly pulling her phone out of her back pocket. Her thumb scrolled across the screen a couple of times before she shoved the device in my face.

I froze at what I saw.

Fuck.

__________________________
Cliffhanger, oops.

Honestly, I'm not really sure how to feel about this chapter. I tried to make it to where it would make since with how things ended in the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Feel free to point out any errors and leave feedback!