by Lannah Smith
"We just saw each other early this morning," was her instant reply. "And you didn't have to send me a million of texts."
Hell. He really shouldn't have done that.
Clearly, his girlfriend was in a bad mood.
This, John knew, did not bode well.
"Terry..." he started. "Baby—"
"Not an infant, Steele."
"—do you know how hard it is to see you?" he went on, pinching her cheek.
She swatted his hand away and crossed her arms. "I'm busy."
He scowled. "You're always busy."
"I've got responsibilities."
"And fuck if I don't know that," he grumbled. "You're the class president, the year representative, student council electable, not to mention the other clubs you are managing... How the hell can you even fit me in that tight schedule of yours?"
Terry studied him for a long moment and John wished he knew what she was thinking.
Then she tore her gaze from his face, murmuring, "You're right. I'm sorry."
John lost the scowl and winced.
Shit.
He didn't mean to make her feel guilty.
Pulling her in for a close hug, he whispered into her ear, "I didn't intend to make you feel sorry, Terry. I know you need time to sort us out. It's me who should be sorry because I'm being such an impatient jackass. My only excuse is that I just love you so much and I want to be with you all the time."
Terry didn't say anything for a long time.
Finally, he felt her body give out a sigh and felt her hands slide around his waist.
"Friday," she mumbled. "Friday after school. Let's meet up."
His jaw dropped and he pulled away.
Was Terry asking him out on a date?
His gaze settled on her face and he snapped his mouth close.
And was she... blushing?
Slowly, he drew closer to her. His hands came up in a light caress of fingertips against her pink cheeks and she instinctively leaned her face closer to his touch.
"You mean that right?" he asked, trying to tamp down his excitement.
She nodded, looking confused. "Yeah."
"No take-backs?"
"Well, if you don't want to then—"
"I already said no take-backs, wench," he growled.
"Yes," she said in exasperation. "No take-backs. I swear."
"Wow, don't you look excited," he responded drily. "Come on. I want to see my girlfriend smile. Come on. Give me a smile."
She instantly glared at him.
"I asked for a smile not a death glare, Terry."
She sighed. "You're being ridiculous."
John tweaked her nose and gave the tip a kiss. "And you look adorable."
Her lips twitched. He put his hands on her shoulders and stepped back to take the expression on her face completely.
"You just smiled, didn't you?"
She gave him another glare. "No."
"Yes, you did."
"You are such a dork, John."
"Now that's an improvement. Better a dork than a jerk, right?"
Her lips twitched again and he grinned at her.
His hand coming down to rest against the side of her neck, he inclined his face as he murmured, "I love it when you smile, Terry."
Her voice was faint when she said, "I'll smile for you then."
"That's my girl."
Then his mouth descended to hers and he kissed her.
Wet, hot and coaxing.
She tasted so sweet.
Her lip gloss maybe?
Whatever it was, he liked it.
As she always did, always, always and always, she melted into him. Her arms meandered up his chest and around his neck, her breasts pressing against his chest.
Fuck.
He groaned and turned them around until he was pinning her in front of him against the wall. She gasped and he slid his tongue inside her mouth. As soon as their tongues touch, she whimpered.
And he felt it in his blood.
His.
This girl, this breathtakingly beautiful girl in his arms was his.
He knew it then and he knew it now.
His hand slid down her waist to her ass, feeling it and liking it. His body absorbed her tremble as his other hand moved up her midriff, connecting with the underwire of her bra, his knuckles brushing the underside of her breast and then his phone rang.
His hand stilled and he muttered a pissed off, "Fuck," against her lips.
Lifting his head, John quickly reached his inside jacket pocket for his cell phone. His face grew tight when he saw he had a missed call from Leon. It was odd. Leon seldom called him.
His gaze went to Terry. Slightly dazed, her breathing still heavy from their kiss, she stared at the phone he held between them.
A message flashed on the screen and it was from Leon again.
'Rooftop. Now. It's an emergency.'
"I got to go, Terry," he instantly told her, putting his phone back inside his pocket.
Her eyes closed at his words and they did this in a way that seemed like she was in pain. It barely registered on him, his mind was already on Leon, worrying about him. But when it hit him, she had opened her eyes and managed to compose her expression to her customary aloofness that he became unsure of what he saw.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, cupping the back of her head. "But I have to go."
Her eyes, as well as her expression, were carefully blank. "To Leon," she stated, her voice dead.
"Yeah. Sorry but he said it's an emergency."
She smiled at him, finally smiled at him but something about her smile made him feel conflicted about leaving her.
But Leon needed him and he was sure after everything he confessed she'd understand.
"I'm really sorry, Terry," John said, leaning into her until his forehead was resting on hers. "I'll make it up to you."
She regarded him for a moment.
Then, shaking her head, she pulled his hand from her neck. "Just go, John," she muttered.
"Terry..."
"You said it was an emergency," she reminded him quietly. "Go. He's waiting."
He stared at her.
He still couldn't read her expression but he felt that this one was bad.
He reached out to touch her but his phone rang again. He dropped his hand and with a frustrated sigh, he quickly left the room.
John couldn't get Terry's expression out of his head.
Drumming his fingertips against the arm of the chair, he thought about her as he watched Rohan and Skull play video games, both perched on the edge of their seats on the couch, both cussing each other out. There were pizza and drinks on the table in front of them, courtesy of Skull's grandparents. Skull had pretended he was taking a long crap when they came to look for him in his house and had only come out when they returned to the main house.
Instinctively, John recognized that something had changed.
It had been almost a week since they started this secret relationship, days of sneaking around just to see her, and hours of calling and sending numerous text messages to each other, though the numerous part was only his doing. And Terry seemed fine. She was slowly opening up to him, slowly getting used to them and her sweet mouth made him want to make the effort of getting her to sleep with him.
But that afternoon, Terry seemed... frustrated? Annoyed? Disappointed? He couldn't tell. But he knew that it was because of him and shit, he had to do something to fix this.
Friday. He'd take her out and make her feel loved.
And maybe he'd get to bully her into saying 'I love you' to him.
She'd never said it to him and he attributed it to her not trusting him yet.
So it was fine.
For now.
John also made the swift decision to wait until a month had passed before trying to sleep with her again. He'd wait to have her. In the meantime, he'll coax her to break her own rules and finally come out in the open about their relationship.
&nbs
p; He nodded to himself, feeling pleased, then dodged the incoming slice of pizza Rohan threw that supposedly was meant for Skull but missed.
"Watch it," he spoke, giving them both a frown.
"He kept bumping my elbow - you keep bumping my elbow, you stupid fuck!" Rohan snarled at his seatmate.
"Then move your ass to another chair," Skull returned. "I can't play well because you're sitting so damn close."
"I was here first, fuck face."
"Hey, watch the language."
"Or else what, dumb fuck?"
Jesus, it was times like this that he was reminded how young Rohan was even though most of the time he acted mature for his age.
Rolling his eyes, John shifted on his seat and jerked when the pen in his back pocket stabbed his butt.
Shit.
He reached behind him, ripped it out of his pocket and tossed it across the room.
He still couldn't believe he forgot the special class's exams were today. No wonder Terry asked if he was studying.
Needless to say, the exams were brutal and Leon had really kept his promise not to let him copy off him. He was sure he bombed them and vowed to make an effort next time or else he'll be kicked out of the class. And Terry probably didn't want that to happen since she wanted him to fix his reputation so it would be unwise for him not to study.
And uncharacteristically, his best friend tried to get him to talk about the girl he went out on a date.
John was certain Leon didn't know it was Terry but he had an inkling that Leon could tell this girl, whoever she was, meant something to him. Maybe it was because he was so secretive about her identity when usually, he'd brag about bagging girls and how he'd let them seduce him. Leon wasn't dumb. Though he seemed heartless and cold, he couldn't let other people's misfortunes slide and seeing him look so trouble made him want to talk to him about it.
And did his best friend really have to ruin his moment with Terry just so he could ask what Sophia would like as a gift?
It was quite amusing though.
Still, he wished Leon didn't have to be such an ass. He could have kissed Terry all afternoon, to hell with the exams.
"Disgusting."
"What?" John asked Rohan, who was looking at him with a scowl.
"You're being disgusting."
His brows shot up. "What did I do?"
"You're... humming," Rohan said in an accusing tone.
He blinked. "I am?"
"And you have lip gloss on your mouth."
"I do?" He wiped his hand over his mouth and checked his fingers. "Do I still have some on?"
"Yup," Skull cut-in, eyeing him weirdly. "It's a nice color but it just isn't your color, John."
They were bullshitting him, he thought. There was no way Leon would have let him walk with him if he was still wearing a girl's lipstick.
"He's been wearing a lot of lip gloss these days," Rohan continued to observe. "Who are you fucking? Anyone we know?"
John smirked. "Mind your own business, kid." To Skull, he asked, "How's the exams?"
"Fuck off," Skull grumbled as he put a box of pizza on his lap.
Taking in his unhappy expression, John grinned at him.
Guess it wasn't only him who bombed the exams.
"Where's Leon anyway?" Rohan asked. He tried to take a slice from the box Skull had but Skull pushed his hand way, muttering the word mine. "I haven't seen him all day," he went on, giving Skull a glower.
John's grin widened.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Chapter 23
Five years ago, John and Terry at age eleven
John was on his guard.
Terry had this weird, sly expression on her face and John was sure she was planning something.
The two were in the library of John's home, playing chess. John kept trying to ignite her temper as they played but so far, he had no luck seeing her flustered or angry. Whenever he teased her or mocked her moves, she just gave him a saccharine smile in return, like she knew something he didn't.
The door opened and in came Terry's companion, Mirai. She was holding a tall white box. John frowned at the interruption and when Terry greeted her and bade her to come, his frown grew deeper. He didn't like having his time with Terry cut short or disturbed.
"Arigatou, Mirai-san," Terry said when the Japanese woman put the box gently on the table.
After bowing deep, the woman silently left the room. John shifted uncomfortably. He had always found Mirai creepy because she never talked. He looked at the box, curious about its contents. Then he moved his gaze to Terry and caught her staring at him with a blank expression.
"What's in them?" he asked.
Terry glanced at the box. "A surprise."
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "For whom?"
Terry's laughing eyes met his."For you."
"Me?" he asked, taken-aback.
"You've done so much for me and given me so much, John," Terry said solemnly. "So I thought to return your kindness."
A shiver went up his spine.
"Why are you being so polite?" he chuckled nervously.
She didn't answer. She merely pushed the box to his direction. Then, with her hands on her lap, she waited for him to open it. His suspicion not abating, he turned his attention to it. What could possibly be inside the box? And why was she giving him a gift when it wasn't even his birthday?
Under her watchful stare, John picked up parcel and cautiously opened it. He pulled out something wrapped in paper from it and put it on the table. He lifted his gaze and gauged Terry. Was she... smirking? He couldn't tell. As they grew older it was getting harder to read her.
"Go on," she told him and he glowered at her. "Don't look at me like that. I thought of you when I chose them, you know."
"Them?"
She finally grinned but she didn't say anything anymore.
John took a deep breath before cautiously unwrapping the paper. Then he almost dropped what it contained. Two pieces of long, round wood with faces painted on them stared back at him.
"W-what are these?" John stammered as he quickly put them on the table.
"Kokeshi dolls."
"Koke-what?"
"They're Japanese dolls," Terry explained patiently. "They're handmade from seasoned wood using traditional methods and materials. Kokeshi dolls are guardians of children, watching over them as they grew up and keep them from harm. And if you twist the heads, they can create a squeaking sound like a child crying."
The doll with the face of a girl was staring creepily at him, like it was cursing him. The boy was smiling at him in an eerie manner and John felt the hair on his arms rise.
He wasn't even done being horrified yet when she made another atrocious suggestion.
"I know a perfect place for you to put them," she said, clearly struggling to keep a straight face. Tugging his arm, she pulled him into his bedroom and pointed at his display of toy collection. "You can put them there."
She was joking him, right?
"T-there?" John stammered.
"Yes. So you could see them all the time."
There was no way John was going to wake up every morning and go to sleep every evening with the sight of these ugly dolls as the first and last things he'll see.
This was the first time John had felt shaken and he didn't like this feeling.
And he knew someone was to blame for this.
"Who told you?" John sullenly muttered.
Poorly feigning an innocent look, Terry asked, "Told me what?"
"You know what, Yukiko."
Terry stared at him for a long while.
Then the music of her laughter filled the room.
For the life of him, John couldn't move or blink. His trepidation was forgotten as she continued to laugh. His chest swelled, his heart pounded and he couldn't seem to stop staring at her face.
This feeling he did liked.
And at that moment, even though it irritated him how she got the upper hand on
him for the first time, all he could think about was that he wanted to be with this girl forever.