“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He coolly spoke, but I smiled. That was the first full sentence he had actually spoken to me- no condescending tone. I rolled my eyes, but the smile stayed on my face. I turned to look at the petite girl and his gaze followed suit.
“She’s beautiful.” He muttered, his face blank. I pursed my lips, sitting closer to him. I felt the need to ‘Awww’ him, but that would inevitably lead to him recoiling back into himself and I’d never develop a friendship with him.
“If you want, I can let you know her name?” I suggested, weakly, before getting up. I wasn’t even sure if he knew her name. Before I could rectify my words, a cold hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me back to where I was seated.
“What’s her name?” He said, his grey full eyes bored into mine. I gasped, nervous at his sudden engaged attitude.
“Savannah. S-Savannah Styles.” I stuttered out. Within seconds, Justin’s hand was off my wrist and he returned to his former rigid position. His face was blank as he said the name, testing it out on his tongue. I smiled at this. It seemed as if he really liked her.
“I know more about her. I mean, if you want to know.” I asked, biting my lip. I knew I was getting too personal and, no doubt, he would realise it and he would shut me out for good. However, instead of rejection, Justin nodded.
“Okay.” He said, his eyes still fixated on her. So, I told him all I knew. About how she had a little 5 year old sister and how she had never been on a date because she was waiting for the right guy. I explained to him how religious she was, attending church almost everyday and she wore a purity ring on her finger which she would only take off after marriage. I even told him about what subjects she enjoyed and the ones she disliked. Whilst I explained all this, Justin sat silently, absorbing it all. He even smiled slightly once or twice when I made a joke.
“Latin? She takes Latin?” He questioned. I nodded laughing.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t peg her as a Latin girl, right?” I joked, relaxing back into my seat. Justin smiled, nodding in agreement.
“She’s crazy good at art, you know?” I asked, remembering the time she had shown me a couple of her drawings. They were amazing. Justin smiled slightly, his gaze following Savannah as she got up and followed her friends to the kitchen.
“I didn’t know that.” He said mindlessly. I smiled, nudging him softly.
“You should go talk to her.” I suggested. As soon I said this, the smile disappeared from Justin’s face and he sat back in the armchair.
“And you should go.” He replied disinterestedly, a scowl on his face. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. It felt like I was back at step one. I sighed, getting up. I tugged harshly on Justin’s arm, making him stand up.
“What are you doing?” He said with a sigh. I knew he was at crossroads. He wanted to talk to her, but he was too nervous. I rubbed his arm in an act of comfort and ignored his scrutinising gaze.
“Please. Just do it for me.” I pleaded. Justin stared long and hard at me before sighing deeply, relenting to my harsh tugs at his arm. I dragged him towards the kitchen which was now completely empty with the exception of Savannah. I smiled widely.
Perfect.
Justin shook his head, turning to go back, but before he could, I gave him a big hard push. He landed right next to Savannah and she looked up from her phone. Justin sent me a burning glare, but I was too focused on playing Cupid to care. Savannah put her phone in her pocket, sending him a smile. Justin smiled in response.
“Can I help you?” She asked sweetly, taking a sip of her water. Justin’s smile faltered at this. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Savannah tilted her head, looking at him in confusion. I slapped my forehead. This was not going good.
Finally Justin opened his mouth and spoke.
"Tu es pulchra.”
Did he really just speak Latin?
Savannah smiled widely, speaking back in that strange language. Justin laughed, his rigid stance relaxing. He looked down as he laughed, a hand resting on his stomach. Savannah smiled affectionately at him, a faint blush on her face.
Something tells me she already liked him too.
I grinned, proud of my matchmaking abilities and walked out of the kitchen. My stomach growled loudly, making people stare at me weirdly. I smiled sheepishly and walked to the food table, digging my hand into a plate of Doritos. Just as I was about to lift a 7th chip into my mouth, I noticed it was a bit discoloured. It had a blot of red on it. I stared at in confusion.
Then there were two blots of red. Then three. Then four.
I looked in a mirror on the wall to see blood streaming out my nose in waterfalls. I gasped, clutching my nose. I grabbed some napkins, sticking them to my nose. My nose was beginning to burn now. Tears sprang to my eyes. Luckily, everyone was too engrossed in the party to notice me. I turned to make my way to the bathroom. Just as I reached the door, a hand landed on my shoulder.
“Lexi. Where are you going?” Aaron’s voice rang out from behind me.
Oh shit.
8- The Measures Of Care
“Lexi. Where are you going?” Aaron’s voice rang out from behind me.
Oh shit.
****************
“Lexi?” He called again, his voice curious.
I closed my eyes tightly, wishing the ground could swallow me whole. This was the 18th time this year I had a nose bleed due to the illness yet it always happened in the comfort of my home or at the library- the places I visited most frequently. Needless to say, no one came to check on me in either place and I was safe to cry to myself.
Yet, here I was- standing with The Golden Boy of the school who was calling my name as I bled heavily into a soggy tissue.
“Yes?” I called, not turning around. I winced when I noticed my voice was an octave higher than normal.
“Are you okay?” Aaron’s voice came from behind me.
I smiled even though he couldn’t see me. My eyes teared up as the burning sensation from my nose increased.
“More than okay. I’m super!” I said, scolding myself internally for sounding too ecstatic.
I heard Aaron move a step closer and sensed it as he spoke, his words tickling my neck.
“Well, you sound happy.” Aaron spoke, a wariness in his tone.
I squeezed my nose harshly with the tissue, pleading for the incessant bleeding to stop. I laughed loudly.
“I guess, it’s because I’m having such a good time!” I lied, trying to sneak a peek at him from the corner of my eyes. I cursed when I couldn’t see him, realising how short my peripheral vision was and tried to use my other senses to detect how close Aaron was to me. There was a long silence and I contemplated turning around, but Aaron broke the silence with a click of his tongue.
“Turn around, Lexi.” He spoke bluntly; his tone empty.
I cursed to myself again and thought about my options.
A) Freeze on the spot and do nothing.
Well, that obviously won’t work. He could just turn you around himself.
B) Run for the hills.
That’s a big no. He’ll definitely manage to catch you.
I shook my head, discarding the battle between me and logic. I guess, there was only one reasonable thing I could do and, with that, I turned around slowly.
Aaron, who had been standing with a stern look on his face, stood lifelessly as he looked at my blood-ridden nose. He made a move towards me, but I stepped back, holding one hand up as the other one was still holding the tissue to my nose.
“Please, Aaron.” I pleaded, not even knowing what I was pleading for.
Aaron ran a hand through his hair roughly, an angry look on his face.
“Please what?! Can you tell me what’s fucking going on!” He cursed, gesturing towards my nose. I recoiled from how loud he was as he could be heard a little over the music and, from how loud the music was, that was pretty impressive. Aaron seemed to notice me recoil and his face softened. He looked
around before grabbing me by my unoccupied hand and led me into a door at the side, locking it after we entered.
As I walked in, I was quick to realise that the room was empty. Aaron switched a light on at the far wall and began rummaging through a drawer on the side.
I stood still, watching the strange scene.
“What are you doing?!” I questioned, incredulously.
Aaron continued with his actions as he spoke.
“Shut up.” He muttered dismissively. He then pulled a small box out of the drawer- it was white with a red plus printed on the top.
I stood agape as I eyed the first aid box.
“How did you know that was there?” I asked, sitting down on the armchair beside me.
Aaron rolled his eyes as he got up and came towards me.
“Danny’s been my friend for more than 10 years. I think I’d know a fair deal about the whereabouts of emergency items in his house.” He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
So, this was Danny’s house?
I looked around at the walls and it was then I began to notice all the pictures of Danny. I rolled my eyes.
Hey, it’s no wonder this guy is full of himself. I mean, if I lived in a house that was full of my pictures, I’d know I’m loved.
Aaron knelt down besides the armchair that I was sat on. He placed the first aid box on the table in front of him, opening it up. He grabbed an antiseptic wipe packet out, ripping open the package and leant towards my face.
“Do you want to tell me how this happened?” He asked, his gaze focused on my bloody nose. He stroked gently with the wipe and I shivered once or twice when his fingers touched me instead of the wipe.
“No.” I murmured honestly. I had thought about telling Aaron the truth more often than not, but went against it every time. We were just fake dating and, even though I had begun to like him, there was no possibility that he reciprocated my feelings. I mean, what would I expect him to do if I told him. There was no way he could save me so, thus, there was no point in telling him.
Aaron sighed deeply and continued with his ministrations. However- not a moment later- his eyes widened a little and he got up abruptly, his questioning glare burning into my face.
“This wasn’t done my someone, right?” He questioned hardly, his jaw twitching. His eyes had become dangerously dark and he turned to look towards the door.
“Who was it?” He stated coldly, his fists clenched.
I got up and touched his hand gently. Aaron took his attention of the door and turned abruptly to look at my hand. He then turned his gaze to my face and his eyes bore into mine.
“It was no one.” I reassured him with a calm voice. I stroked the palm of his hand lightly with my index finger.
Aaron sighed in frustration and took hold of my index finger, stopping it in its movements. He squeezed tightly.
“Even if it was someone, would you tell me?” He questioned, a scowl on his face.
I laughed slightly, taking hold of his hand.
“Honestly? No.” I said, truthfully and then we were laughing.
I smiled up at Aaron and he responded in the same manner, his beautiful eyes twinkling in the light. The atmosphere and silence were both soothing and serene and, before I knew it, Aaron and I had leaned in and his lips were on mine.
It was a short kiss, but I felt more sparks now than when I had locked lips with him previously. His lips were soft yet firm against mine and I felt him smile through the kiss. The kiss was over just as it had started but me and Aaron remained close to one another; his hand still entwined in mine.
I grimaced when I looked at Aaron’s face and he raised an eyebrow questioningly. I pointed to his face.
“You have some blood on your face.” I said.
Aaron stroked a finger across his lip and smiled slightly when he saw the blood.
“Oops?” He offered weakly. I laughed again, grabbing another antiseptic wipe.
“Here. Let me.” I said, lifting myself on to table and began cleaning the blood stain on his upper lip.
Aaron smirked.
“You have to stand on a table to reach my face?” He teased, a cheeky glint in his eyes. I rolled my eyes and rubbed his lip harder than necessary, gaining an ‘ow’ from him.
I smiled at this yet I was in turmoil from the inside. All I could think about was the kiss between us just a few seconds back. It had happened so casually and been forgotten so easily that, if I didn’t experience it first-hand, I could say it was just imagined. The feelings that it had elicited within me were far from normal and I began to think if they were purely one-sided.
I looked up to see Aaron looking casually at his phone as I stroked his lip with the wipe- no sign of any euphoric passion on his face. I sighed deeply.
Of course he wouldn’t like me.
I, begrudgingly, wiped away the rest of the blood before throwing the wipe onto the table. Anger rose within me and, before I could stop it, words began spurting out my mouth.
“Why would you care if someone hurt me anyway?” I said bitterly, nudging the first aid box with my shoe as I stood on the table.
Aaron looked up from his phone, raising his eyebrows.
“Why wouldn’t I care?” He questioned, looking at me as if I had grown two heads.
I scoffed loudly, regretting that my heart had more of a connection to my mouth than my brain ever did.
“I know you don’t. You can stop with the pretence now.” I spoke bitterly once again, folding my arms across my chest.
Aaron looked at me curiously with his head tilted slightly. Embarrassed with how evident my desperation was, I made a move to get off the table but was stopped by a hand that held my upper arm. I looked up to see Aaron staring at me with a firm look on his face.
“You know I care about you, Lexi. I’ve never given you a reason to believe otherwise.” He said, his voice levelled.
I manoeuvred my arm out of his grasp, laughing forcefully.
“Yeah, right.” I spoke, looking him right in the face.
Aaron tutted.
“What’s with you?” He said calmly yet I could sense the agitation in his voice.
But that didn’t stop me.
I folded my arms roughly.
“What’s with me?! What’s with you?!” I shouted.
Aaron ran a hand through his hair again and I could sense the anger rising within him too.
“Me?! I’m not the one that’s randomly bitching!” He shot back, referring to the conversation that had just passed.
My mouth opened in shock. Bitching?!
“I’m not bitching! I’m just upset!” I screamed at him. I think, at this point, we had both lost control of our mouths.
Aaron laughed mockingly.
“Upset at what?!” He shouted, his question echoing across the walls.
And I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“About the kiss, you idiot!” I screamed, stomping my foot on the table.
Aaron’s confusion nor his anger subsided at this. Instead, they seemed to increase.
“What about the kiss?!” He shouted, moving closer to the table that I was stood on.
I wanted to tell him about the feelings it elicited within me, but I decided against it and let my anger take the lead.
“It was stupid, that’s what!” I said immaturely. I didn’t care if I sounded like a child.
Aaron scowled at this, throwing his hands up.
“Yeah?!” He asked.
“Yeah!” I answered, nodding my head roughly.
He smiled sourly.
“Anything else about the kiss you want me to know?!” He yelled.
I nodded roughly yet again even though I didn’t have anything to say to him.
“Yeah! It was sloppy!” I lied, screaming at the top of my lungs.
Aaron didn’t flinch though and, instead, he smiled angrily.
“Yeah! What else?!”
I tucked a hair behind my ear harshly.
/> “And extremely amateur!” I lied yet again, but my voice didn’t waver at all.
Aaron’s face remained as angry as ever.
“Yeah! And what else?!” He repeated, his voice boomed through the room.
I licked my dry lips, glaring at him with all I could muster.
“Yeah! And guess what?! It was too short!” I screamed, putting a hand to my hip.
Aaron looked angry as he raised an eyebrow.
“Oh was it now?!” He shouted yet again.
I nodded for the umpteenth time since this argument.
“Yeah! You bet it was!” I shouted.
Aaron laughed spitefully before grabbing my face and smashing his lips to mine. I gasped into the kiss but my heart took over and I gave in, kissing him with all I could. It was easier to do since I was on the table and I locked my arms effortlessly around his neck. He picked me up before putting me on the floor. I squeaked in surprise at this and rolled my eyes when I felt Aaron smirk against my lips.
I broke from the kiss as Aaron’s lip found my jaw. My hands found his hair and I pulled tightly on his luscious locks. Aaron moved up again so we were face to face. His eyes were heavy with want and I was using everything in me to not kiss him again. Aaron lifted one of his hands, using it to stroke my cheek. Before I could process the feel of it, Aaron began to move his hand down to my jaw and then to my collar bone. His eyes remained fixed on mine and his hand burnt everywhere it caressed.
He ducked his head near my ear, his voice raw and husky as he spoke.
“Let me show you that I care.”
9- The Memories Of Last Night
He ducked his head near my ear, his voice raw and husky as he spoke.
“Let me show you that I care.”
****************
“What?” I breathed; my mouth agape. Aaron moved closer; his lips a fraction away from mine. I ignored the urge to close the gap, choosing rather to concentrate on the words coming out of his mouth.
Faker Boy (Alexis Secret Book 2) Page 6