Flashback
- 6 years ago, Gramwood High-

Isobel P.O.V.

"Kade!" I huffed. "Where are you taking me?!"

He remained silent, continuing to guide me with one palm on my back, and the other holding onto my hand. My eyes were blindfolded by a bandana as my feet stumbled hopelessly across what sounded like a gravel road and then onto something that could be like squishy grass.

"Okay, open," he said excitedly, finally stopping at our destination.

After pestering me for literally every hour of every day I finally agreed to let him take me out to "chill" on Saturday night this weekend. It's not like I didn't want to go because we weren't going to have fun- trust me, we had a lot of that as of recently. It was just because I didn't trust him not to do something totally ridiculous and also because maybe this whole new evolution of our relationship was completely nuts.

I finally opened my eyes to see that he had a large picnic blanket laid out on the beach with a picnic basket, cushions and fluffy throw blankets. On the edges of the little area, were white twinkling fairy lights and lanterns laid out like a halo surrounding us. It was quite magical. And even more magical than that, was that you could see endless bright stars illuminating the vast sky above us, enveloping us in a fantasy world.

"Wow," I whispered in shock and awe. He did all this?! Looks like he has a heart after-all. "Kade, it's beautiful."

"I know I am." He smirked playfully before holding out a hand to me. "Shall we?"

"I said it's not is y'know," I retorted, taking his hand as I stepped out onto the sand. It reminded me of the time he took me out to the beach a few months ago, to cheer me up from thoughts of my dad's passing. It was nice.

"You say tomay-to, I say tomah-to." He shrugged off. Unbelievable, it's not the same whatsoever.

"Well, when I say potay-to I really mean potay-to."

"Now you're just confusing." He scrunched up his brow curiously.

What?! He started the whole tomato thing! Ugh, whatever. I feel like this is a battle I'm going to lose.

I took off my shoes to let my feet sink into the cool sand as I sat down gazing up at the gorgeous star lit sky.

"Ravioli?" he asked, uncapping a container full of steaming hot pasta from it's foiled thermal control bag.

"Huh..." I blinked at him in surprise. "Yes please." I nodded, taking it and a fork from his outstretched hand. He also uncapped a thermostat full of eggnog and poured some into a cup for me.

I took a sip of the creamy warm drink. "So christmassy." I joked.

"Well it is like next week," he stated matter-of-factly.

I redirected my attention to the food in my hand, feeling like I wasn't going to dignify him with a response to his very accurate and true response. Hmph. I brought one of the little pockets of pasta drenched in bolognese sauce to my mouth. A burst of savoury spinach and ricotta filling flooded my tastebuds as I took a bite. I perked up instantly. "Mmm! This is so yum!"

He chuckled at my current heavenly facial expression as I downed the pasta. "Well I'm glad you like it. Try mine."

I grabbed his dish eagerly to see he had some mushroom and chicken gnocchi in a cream sauce.

"Mmm, this is so good too," I said through mouthfuls of the potato pasta nuggets.

"Thanks, I made it."

I stopped mid-chew. "What! No way?"

He grinned with a little too much mischievousness in his eyes. Liar. He totally didn't make this. I narrowed my eyes back, shaking my head from side to side slowly.

"Okay fine. I didn't. I had help." He finally admitted. "But I'm totally offended you think I can't cook, cause I can!"

I laughed, "Okay, okay, no need to get all defensive."

I pushed back both containers, feeling pleasantly full after having some of both. He picked up the ravioli and popped it in his mouth whole.

"Oh so you didn't try to poison me." I noted as he swallowed it down easily. I wondered why he had given me the ravioli first and not gnocchi.

"Are you serious Bels?" He rolled his eyes. "I would not disrespect pasta like that."

Okay so never mind me, it's the pasta he was more worried about. I chuckled as he finished off both the dishes heartily.

I sat on the picnic blanket, gazing out at the horizon as the cool fall wind nipped at my skin. From this point of view, the ocean looked so grand and ominously beautiful with its deep, dark mysterious waters.

"Ready for dessert?" He asked cheekily, propping open the picnic basket.

"What have you got?" I turned to him, tilting my head curiously.

"I present to you macarons!" He said with a lavish wave as he unveiled the little white gift box full of circular French treats. My eyes lit up like Christmas. Haha get it. Christmas. I love these! They're freakin pricey for just one, but sometimes you just wanna treat yo' self!

I squealed excitedly as I reached out my hand to grab the petite sweet.

"Uh ah!" He dodged me quickly, manoeuvring the box to the side, out of my reach.

I frowned at him. "Kade! You can't just tease me and then not let me have them!"

He chuckled. "I'll give them to you, if you admit something first..."

"What?" I crossed my arms over, waiting for him to respond.

"Do you like me Bels?" He murmured.

I sucked in a breath. Okay so, I guess I did like him and his company... I definitely liked his kisses, and we got along like a house on fire more often now- but that didn't stop us from having our little moments of bickering. That'll probably never end. It was just who we were. I can admit, it does make things pretty interesting though. No one else had ever captivated me in such a way.

"I um..."

"Tell me Bels," he continued, putting the box down as he leaned forward.

"I... well I guess I like spending time with you." I finally said in a rush. If he teases me about any of this, I'm going to ignore him for an eternity. "That's all you're getting."

He smiled, somewhat satisfied that he got something out of me at least. "I like you too." He smirked with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

"Yeah whatever Whitley."

He shook his head playfully at my typical remark before picking up the box once again. "Okay so, do you want pistachio, chocolate, salted caramel, strawberry, passionfruit or lavender?" He said, listing off the flavours of each of the differently coloured macaroons.

"Strawberry please," I grinned like a little kid.

"Should've known," he chuckled, handing it over to me.

The rest of the night went on very much the same as he teased me and we engaged in quick word battles, hoping to come out on top of one another. At least this time however, there was no sand-throwing.

"Hey Isobel?" He asked me as we idled by his car, after packing up everything. "Can I take you to one more place?"

"I don't know can you?" I raised my brows in question.

His lips pressed into a flat line. "May I then?"

"You may," I chirped, giving him my sweetest smile.

He grumbled under his breath as he opened the car door for me to slide in. I chuckled, I love when I get him good and he reacts. Truth be told, I was going to let him take me somewhere else anyway. I didn't want the night to end just yet.

A short drive later we arrived at a hotel. Kade led me into the lobby as we checked in under a reservation he made. I glanced upwards at the fancy chandelier and the beautiful garlands and wreaths decorating the place. A grand Christmas tree filled with sparkling ornaments and colourful lights sat in the corner. It was very nice and festive. He retrieved some keys before leading us to the elevators and clicked a button to go upwards.

"So is this the part where you kill me now?" I joked as the elevator began rising upwards, the numbers increasing as we got higher up.

"Nah, it'd be too messy to clean your body up," he shrugged. Wow okay. I don't know whether to be offended or not cause I wasn't worth the effort to be axed off or happy cause he wasn't going to do it...?

The ding of the elevator sounded as the metal doors slid open and we were met with a modernly decorated corridor. Rooms with gold-plaque numbers lined the side one after the other.

Seriously what is this? What are we doing in the hotel? Are we staying here or? "Whitley, I'm not joking when I say that I will personally haunt you." I reminded him.

He chuckled before reaching our door and swiped the card against the lock. The door clicked open as he pushed it aside and went in.

"Shut up Bels, just for a sec and look."

I stepped into the room as he shut the door, popping his things down. No lie, I had one of those jaw-dropping, heart-stopping moments as I peered into the room. Hundreds of red rose petals littered the place with a ton more scattered on top of the bed. The same kind of white twinkly lights from the beach earlier were also strewn across the room, giving it a dazzling shine. It was incredibly romantic. I had never experienced something like this before- I was quite shocked that the person who was doing it for me now, was Kade.

I turned towards him as he leaned against the wall with his legs crossed over, watching me with a smile. "Y'know, as much as I love making out with you in my bedroom, I thought you deserved something nicer, if not for one night."

I chuckled at his typical Kade-like statement. Always flirtatious and teasing, somewhat degrading but with a subtle note of kind-hearted sweetness.

I turned towards him and grinned. "Didn't know you had it in you Kade Whitley."

"I have all sorts of things up my sleeve Isobel Hernandez," he smirked, wrapping an arm around my waist as he tugged me forward. Heat flushed to my cheeks at that little innuendo.

"Mmm really?" I played coy, peering up at him from beneath my lashes as I licked the plump flesh of my lips.

His eyes immediately darkened as his whole persona changed. His grip tightened, and his muscles went rigid as he flipped me roughly so my back was pressed to his front. His head dipped low so that it was pressed against the shell of my ear. The tiny hairs along my neck stood up on ends as the ghost of his lips touched my skin ever so slightly.

"Mm baby I can show you," his low, ravenous voice spoke, sending hot chills down my spine. His hands slid from my thigh and over my hip, before slipping underneath my sweater. His fingertips softly rose up and up as it danced ever so fleetingly over the side of my breasts before slipping back down.

"Can you now?" I murmured breathlessly, as I turned my head towards him, wrapping one arm above my head and around his neck. I knew I shouldn't be adding fuel to the fire by jabbing at his abilities and testing him, but I just couldn't help myself.

"Don't you start with the may I or can I shit," he said, his voice thick and rough. He pressed a hot kiss just below my ear, and another on the sensitive spot by my neck before he began to suck on it with a bit more force. There was no doubt that I was completely, inevitably overrun with intense desire at this point- but I had to throw in one last line anyway.

"So can you?"

"You drive me fucking crazy you know that right?" he growled.

As you do, me.

I spun around with a smirk. He backed me up in two quick strides, pushing me against the wall as my back hit the hard surface with a thud. A breath was knocked out of my lungs as my entire body sparked with excitement.

Well. I fucking did it now.

He slammed his lips down on mine with no remorse. I moaned almost on instant at the relief his mouth's presence finally graced me with.