Love Me, Love Me

Eight. Ben Knows All.

The words still stung Marcus' ears with her voice in between heavy breaths. Every time the words crossed his thoughts, his heart began to race...again, and again. He didn't understand how she could like him. He was... Marcus.

"So, how is it going with you and Nicole?" Ben's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"It's...She likes me..." My heart raced again. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks.

Ben just sat there smirking. I faced back to the front of the class, still stealing glances at him every second or two from the corner of my eye. Even after 3 minutes, he was still looking at me; smirking.

"Dude, why the hell are you looking at me like that?" I said, while attempting to hold back a small chuckle. Then it hit me, "Is this why you wanted us to talk so badly?!"

"Yup." He finally dropped the smirk and extended the Y sound with the most emphasize.

I smiled slightly and turned back to the front, gazing at the back of Nicole's head, looking at her long, sleek blonde hair that fell perfectly over her back. "Thanks, man..." I whispered under my breath.

*****

After class, I waited for Nicole. She came up to me and smiled. I smiled back and grabbed her wrist lightly and pulled her away from the classrooms and to the end of the hallway.

"Where are we going? Shouldn't we be getting to 2nd period?" She giggled.

I didn't reply, I just smiled and lead her to the back, where we could be alone.

We stopped in the back corner and I turned to her, looking into her Crystal Blue eyes. She blinked, once...twice. I bit my lip.

"Why do you like me..." I spoke soft, breaking the short silence.

"I..." She paused, looking dumbfounded. I smiled and awaited her response. "I just... You're the sweetest guy I've ever met..." At that moment, Nicole was blushing and looking down at her feet. "You made me feel pretty, not easy. All of the guys here only want me for one thing and you... You, Marcus, you're different. You made me feel pretty on the inside, as well as out."

Biting my tongue and not knowing how to respond, I pulled her in. I gripped her hips gently, and wrapped my arms around her waist. I held her tightly, swaying to the sound of the bell. She tensed up knowing we were late, but I had this under control.

I wanted her. Not in any sexual way, either. I just wanted Nicole, and that's all there was to it. I don't even care that we just started talking, I don't even care what anyone else has to say. I wanted Nicole, and I wanted her to be mine.

I continued to hold her. We sat on the ground, her legs were tired of standing. I held her on the ground, pulling away but not letting go. I lifted her chin so her eyes would meet with mine. The right corner of my mouth lifted in a half smile. Her face flushed with red and pink, and I couldn't help myself.

"You look like a strawberry."

She giggled. "I do, don't I? Well, hon, so do you." She kissed the tip of my nose.

She kissed my nose. We've already kissed what, 4 times? I still get butterflies with the slightest touch. Why does she have this affect on me? Isn't it the GIRL that is supposed to be THIS FUCKING GUSHY?!

I didn't even want to be away from her. I didn't want to go to class, I wanted to stay here with her in my arms. I didn't know if I could say love just yet, but what I felt for her was strong. I never wanted this feeling to end.

"Marcus," her voice was low.

Before she could say anything more, our lips were connected. I lifted my right hand and placed it gently on the back of her head. She was everything I could have ever wanted. She was amazing, she was beautiful, she was funny and cute, and I wouldn't want her any other way.

Our lips danced to the sound of the school's air conditioning system. This moment, right here, was where I wanted to be for the absolute rest of my life. She pulled back.

"Marcus," she hesitated. "B-Be..."

"I'll say it," I interrupted. "Nicole, please, be mine."

She nodded with a large smile connecting from ear to ear. I couldn't be happier.

"I knew it. I knew it, I knew it would happen." A voice came from behind the doors. I couldn't tell if he was there the whole time or not, but I recognized the voice anywhere.

Ben came from behind the doors and smiled in our direction. "I told you, Nicole."

She smiled and I was lost. I looked from her, back to Ben at least 15 times before they actually considered explaining what was going on to me.

"I knew this was going to happen, Mark." Ben looked at me and walked closer to us. He sat down next to me and continued. "She thought you were cute, she wanted to talk to you but you never looked at her, nor did you smile back when she smiled in your direction. Nicole liked you this whole time, and she wanted help getting you to be her friend. I told her that if she just took the initiative to talk to you, you would eventually get to know her and whatnot."

"Wait, so if you were just trying to get us to be friends, how did you know that we'd end uo together?" I asked.

"Because, she liked you and honestly, Marcus. I'm your best friend. You think I couldn't tell from the first couple conversations that you were head over heels? Because she's not just all looks, she's a real person and it was obvious you liked her." He smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back.

Nicole just sat, leaning against my chest as I held her close.

"I should get going though, they probably think I'm blowing up the bathroom at this point." He laughed, stood up and walked away.

**************

AUTHORS NOTE:

Hey everyone! I know this chapter is a little bit shorter, but I thought you guys would enjoy an update. I hope yoou guys are liking this story so far, I know I am. I hope this chapter did justice as well. Anyways, I hope you all had a great day, and week. If you guys ever need anything, by the way, whether it be help with life or story ideas, if you ever need any feedback on a story, or just need someone to talk to, I'm here. Just PM me. :) I love you guys. You're all great people and I appreciate more than anything all of the great feedback and results coming from you people and this story. Thank you all so much! I'll probably update again tomorrow of Monday. I hope you guys like it. Remember to leave feedback, let me know how this story is doing. Also, vote if you like the story and tell you friends and families!