14. Playing Delinquent

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SONG: Going Crazy - EXO

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My heart was pounding against my ribcage and my feet felt like they had been run over repeatedly with a bicycle.

All I wanted to do was sink to the ground and try to catch my breath, but the firm grip that Jace had on my wrist and against my mouth prevented me from doing so. Not to mention the fact that I was pressed firmly against the wall with Jace's body flush against mine.

If I wasn't so exhausted or brimming with questions and confusion, I would flush red at the precarious situation we were currently in. I hadn't expected to be this close to Jace ever again, not that I had ever been this close before.

Jace towered over me easily, almost a head taller as he cast a wary glance to the boardwalk that was brimming with energy.

A little bit annoyed and embarrassed at having been caught trying to ditch him, I use my free hand to try to shove him away and at least put a good amount of distance between us.

It does nothing except earn me a reprimanding look from Jace as if I was a kid that had been caught with their hand in the jar of nutella in the middle of the night.

Instead of going along with him, I pushed his hand away, the one that was covering my mouth and manage out a, "What do y-" before he covers it up again.

Jace gave me a hard look, nodding towards where whoever it was that was following me was. Then he leaned in, his lips against my ear before he said, "Let's not do this right now, Phil. Just wait for a couple more minutes." The he pulled away and gave me a look that I could only describe as pleading.

I shook my head at him furtively as I pointed to where his hand covered my mouth.

Once again he leaned in and spoke. "I'll remove my hand. But promise me that you won't say anything or draw any attention to us. If you want us to get out of here safely, that is."

I wasn't one to listen to Jace, at least I didn't intend to do that after four years, but the look that he gave me once he pulled back and his words seemed to drive in the gravity of the situation. I nodded my head before I could even think twice.

Jace watched me as he pulled his hand away cautiously and when he saw that I wasn't going back on my word, his lips pulled up into a grateful smile before his attention was off me and back onto the boardwalk.

I followed his gaze, questions after questions on my mind as I tried to make sense of the events of the last hour.

First, there was the message from Jordan, someone I never had expected to hear from again. Then there was the person that had been following me. And then, there was Jace. I had actually thought that I had pulled a fast one on him and that I had managed to ditch him, only to have him appear out of nowhere.

Why did Jordan decide to contact me after we had ended things? Who had been following me? Was it the person that had been threatening my father? Was it a stalker? Or was it just some rando that thought I looked familiar? How had Jace even known I was here?

I rubbed my wrist gently, the one that Jace had gripped and pulled me into the alley with. I was pretty sure it was unintentional on his part but it hurt.

After a couple of minutes of tense silence, with Jace's eyes constantly on the boardwalk, his entire attention away from me and me just standing there waiting for him to give me an all clear, Jace turned to me and nodded.

"Follow me," he said, his voice curt and to the point, leaving no room for any argument. He pinned with a determined look. "Keep within a step of me and don't get lost. This isn't the time for you to play around."

I sighed as I gave him a hard look back. "I know when to and not to play delinquent, Frost."

An unreadable look crossed his face, a cross between a smirk and a laugh, before he gave a firm nod and motioned for me to follow him.

I knew that whatever was going on, it was serious. Jace was on edge and it looked like he was a little bit alarmed by the situation. I decided to follow along with whatever he had planned, at least until he got me out of whatever it was that was happening.

If I had to go by the fact that my father and Bruce trusted Jace enough to leave me alone with only him as my chaperone at school, then I could trust his judgement, at least in this regard.

I followed him, making sure to keep within one step of him as he lead us out of the alley.

Jace cast a suspicious look at our surrounding as we entered the boardwalk and the crowd of people moving around.

To every person that came close to me, he gave them a glare that made them give both of us a wide berth.

Someone pressed into my side and I yelped out in surprise which quickly turned to embarrassment when I saw that it was a small boy that looked like he was only nine.

The next second I felt someone's hands wrap around mine and pull me along. I looked at it warily and furrowed my brows together when I saw it was Jace's.

However, he didn't look at me, acting as if it was the most mundane thing ever, that his hands encircled mine.

Jace pulled me along without me even knowing where we were or where we were going. Given that I had only come to Venice Beach twice before, I didn't really know the place that well.

Suddenly Jace stopped, making me almost barrel against him.

By the time I made sense of what was happening, Jace had picked out two baseball caps and two shades and had paid for it.

"Disguise," he offered as an explanation upon seeing my confused look.

I arched a brow at him as if to ask if it was necessary.

Jace nodded. "Let your hair down, and put on the cap," he said as he put his baseball cap on.

Without thinking twice, I untied my hair and ran my fingers through it as a comb before putting on the cap. "There? Good?"

Jace's brows furrowed together. "Hold on a sec," and before I could ask what was wrong he moved closer and pulled the hair that I had tucked behind my ears out, moving it around to cover half of my face.

I held my breath reflexively as he moved closer. His lips were pressed together in a thin line as he frowned in concentration. Then before I could act, he moved away, putting a step between us again and smiled, "Now we're good."

I knew my face against my better judgement would be a minute shade of red and I hated that. Even though I knew Jace Frost was bad news, I couldn't control how my body still reacted around him. I cleared my throat to try to get my body to clear itself of Jace.

"Here you go," he said as he handed me a pair of shades before putting on his own.

I took it and without a word slipped it on.

Without my permission, his hands encircled mine again as he tugged me behind him and through the crowd.

A couple of minutes later, we reached his car. My eyes still wandered around me in suspicion. Whoever it was that had been following me had disappeared, or at least he hadn't shown himself as we made our escape.

"Get in," Jace said as he pulled the passenger seat door open, his shades were off and he was pinning me with a look that dared me to do otherwise.

Without saying anything, I get in and wait for him to get into his seat, taking my disguise off. I released a sigh in relief, relieved that we had escaped whatever danger we had been in a couple of minutes before.

As soon as he gets in, I broke the silence, feeling that that was the best time to finally speak.

"How did you find me?" I asked the question that had been plaguing my mind ever since he pulled me into that alley.

Jace's fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, tightening and I could sense immediately that he wasn't a happy camper.

After a couple of seconds of silence, "What the hell were you thinking?" he snapped, his voice raised as he turned and glared at me.

I folded my arms together against my chest as I returned the glare. "You haven't answered my question," I said.

"I don't owe you an explanation," he replied, his expression dark and daring me to say otherwise.

"Then neither do I," I countered, stopping myself from sticking my tongue out at him. I didn't want to give him the impression that I was childish.

"Did you forget that I'm here to protect you, Phillipa? I'm not here to be a fucking decoration that you choose whether to use of not."

"I didn't ask for you, now did I?" I snapped, trying to make my tone as cold and harsh as possible.

I wanted to hurt him with my words. I wanted to make him feel the pain that his words four years ago had left me with. I wanted Jace Frost to hurt and it didn't matter that the small part of me that still cared for him got hurt along with it.

An unreadable look crossed Jace's face for a second before his gaze hardened. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it was today?" Jace asked, throwing his hand around. "Do you have any idea what could've happened if I hadn't been there when I was? Or are you so self-obsessed that you don't care about how everyone around you is concerned about your safety?"

My hand connected with his face a second later, the slap resonated in the car as shock settled in on both of our parts.

I couldn't believe that I had slapped him. It was involuntary, an almost instinctive reflex that came with his words.

Even though I was shock, I didn't regret it.

From the look on his face, Jace was just as shocked. I knew it didn't hurt as much as I would've wanted it to, but the pain he would've felt would've been from the embarrassment of it all.

A slow few seconds passed as we both looked at each other, neither of us saying a word as we stared at one another.

Then as if life was moving at slow motion, Jace released a long sigh before he turned away from me and faced the road. The engine of his car was turned on a few seconds later before he pulled the car away from the parking space and onto the road.

I turned my attention to the passing scenery of the residential neighbourhood as I mulled over the thoughts in my head. My fingers played with the strap of the cap on my lap, running my fingers over them as the tension and awkwardness settled into the car.

I didn't regret what I did. Yes, I might regret having left and almost getting kidnapped by whoever it was that had been following me, but I didn't regret slapping or yelling at Jace.

I didn't care if he suddenly felt this urge to protect me or whatever he was tasked to do. Heck, I didn't care if he saved me from a thousand sharks or predators.

Jace was Jace.

I didn't like how he had just waltzed into my life and acted like he could judge or control me.

He didn't know how I had lived for the past four years. He didn't know how I had gone through my days, how I had questioned if I was good enough for anyone the months following that day or how I had finally managed to pull through it.

He knew the Phillipa from four years ago. Not the Phillipa that I was now.

He knew the Phillipa that had both a mom and a dad. Not the Phillipa that went crazy and pulled obscene stunts to try to get a reaction out of her only living parent.

The only chance he had to get to know me would happen if he at the very least stop acting like there was nothing wrong between the two of us.

I hadn't noticed how long I'd spaced out until I felt the car jerk to a stop a couple of minutes later.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and focused on our surroundings.

We were parked at the end of a long driveway with a Victorian mansion in front of us. Tall shrubs lined the driveway and a fountain stood tall and proud in the middle. There were already six other cars in the parking lot other than ours and workers looked over at us, wondering who were in the Nissan Frontier that had just parked.

When I fully digested my surroundings, the familiarity dawned on me and I turned to look at Jace whose eyes were glued to the house.

I felt my blood boil as I pierced him with a glare.

"What the hell have you done?" I yelled at him just as I heard footsteps walking towards us.

I took a deep breath, readying myself for what was about to happen.

"Phil?" I heard the familiar voice call out from outside my window.

I turned to look out and felt my heart drop as I took in the faces of everyone that I hadn't seen in four years and some new ones.

Well shit.

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