. . . . .

I WAS SHAKEN UP AT FIRST when Theo's foot stepped down on the accelerator, his car zooming forward and fleeting between cars like we had several lives to spare. My hands were secretly gripping the expensive leather seat, most likely denting nail imprints into the material.

It was ten minutes since we had left the parking lot, ten minutes too fast that my run-down Honda would've taken to wherever we were going. Wherever Theo was taking me, that seemed to remain a mystery.

Staying quiet, occasionally feeling Theo's gaze on me and staying there until a random car horn would make its obnoxious appearance and he would be absorbed back into the reality of us almost going into the back of the scar in front. I was able to hide the sudden jolt of warmth that cascaded down throughout my body, egging some sort of outbreak that would be word vomit and him dropping me off at the next gas station and expecting me to walk home on foot.

Among the surrounding sounds, I rested my head against the seat and followed along a streak of orange that streamed in through the open window, casting an outline around Theo's face. His left hand was placed on the wheel whilst the other was tapping continuously against his naked thigh; the action become satisfying that I could almost drop to sleep. Instead, I inhaled a breath and continued to watch him. Theo's thin, straight hair from before was now curly, perhaps it was because of all the seawater or maybe it was the wind hitting him with such a force from driving so fast. Either way, he made it look good.

Theo was the best-looking guy I had ever seen in my entire life, and believe me, I had seen quite a few no thanks to Callum and his friends crashing the house whenever they thought necessary. But somehow Theo was different, of course, he was. It wasn't just every guy that was tall, athletic, had muscly legs, and a toned upper half. I'd even go as far as to say he had a better ass than me.

I traced my fingers along the leather of his seat, inhaling the strong scent of smoke and fresh polish as if it was the most intoxicatingly ravishing scent I had ever smelt. I couldn't help but notice that everything in the car was super clean and neat, not a spec of dust or crumb in sight unlike my car no thanks to Callum and his grubby shoes.

I inhaled another deep breath and pushed my hair behind my ears, my hand shortly coming to press against the glass. It was so easy to imagine my Mom in the driver's seat instead. From what I could remember when I drove with Mom was that she was always so cautious of the speed cameras because she always drove fast. Just like this.

I could remember it like yesterday — that was when I felt the most free. It was fun when it was just me, Mom, and Callum. We didn't have to worry about being shouted at, or belittled. We were able to relax. Finally.

I never realized how bad my home life was until every night in bed the daunting realization would come over me like a big tidal wave. It was almost unsurvivable, and every day I was trying to swim to the top just to get a breath of air, grasping onto any hope I had left. But really, there was none and I had to get on with my life, accepting the fact that Mom and Dad were both at each other's necks over the stupidest things. Maybe that was why Callum was the way he was; distant and lashed out easily. He was barely around anymore and if he was, we didn't talk much - or at least not how we used to.

Being a naïve kid was the oddest experience. No matter what that day was like, whether or not Mom and Dad were smiling and laughing with each other and the next day for it to be hell spawned from satan, Callum would do his best to make sure I was okay. He took me to the same ice cream parlor by the beach, to the arcade, and won me a stuffed teddy, and he even bought me anything I looked at in the shops, using up the last of his pocket money. He always made sure I was okay, but I never did the same to him.

"Are you okay?" I heard from beside me and I looked up to see the car had stopped at a stop light; Theo's eyes transfixed on my face.

I nodded, suddenly feeling a tight knot form in my throat and my eyes prick up with hot tears. I blinked and turned away, "I'm fine."

Silence filled the air and I was worried I had let my emotions get the better of me, again. Not only twenty minutes ago was I bursting into tears and wanting to go far away from here — to now, where my eyes were sore and aching along with my stomach that felt bruised from throwing up.

The stoplight went green and Theo took an abrupt left, his eyes lingering. "I've got to quickly stop off somewhere but it won't take long." He said, his voice piercing the awkward silence. From the corner of my eye, I could see him tilting his head down slightly to try and see my face but then leaning back when he realized there was no point. I was good at handling things by myself. I found comfort in it.

I cleared my throat and looked at him, smiling.

"Okay. That's fine." His eyes were perplexed with slight desperation, his fingers tapping quicker against the wheel, meanwhile I dug my fingers into my palm, biting my lip at the intense stinging sensation.

"Do you have a place in mind that you wanted to go to? I could give a few recommendations since I'd like to think I know this place pretty well." I told him, my voice just above a whisper. It was hard talking when the lump in my throat was getting bigger.

Theo remained quiet for a second and I almost thought he didn't hear me somehow or that he just didn't want to respond, but then he reversed the car into a spot along the sidewalk and switched off the car. "I've got a place in mind but next time you should take me somewhere." Then he passed me his car keys; I stared down at them in confusion, not knowing exactly what he was asking of me with the pointed expression in his eyes. "Keep them safe. I'll be five minutes tops."

Then he was out of the car like he was on fire, disappearing into a door to a tattoo shop. A tattoo shop?

Surely he wasn't getting another tattoo whilst he was here, right?

I cleared my throat and leaned forward on the seat, grasping the keys tightly in my hands; the cold metal from the various keychains was burning my heated skin.

The tattoo shop in front of me was all made out of grey brick, standing out from the rest of the stores on the street. It had black frames and a light tint to the windows, a massive lit-up sign saying 'TATTOO' as it hung up on the wall, and an arrow pointing down towards the door. From what I could see in the store window, there were some skulls, some old-fashioned suits and dresses, and pictures of dragon tattoos as they were displayed on the show.

It made me even more intrigued.

"What's he doing in there?" I found myself asking. I knew he had tattoos of his own, but what was he going in there for? I was too curious for my good.

As the clock ticked, five minutes eventually passed and I was left waiting like a puppy at the front door. I was about to laugh and tell myself he wasn't going to take five minutes, and that he meant it figuratively, when the door to the store swung open, revealing a shaggy-looking Theo, who had his wallet and a jumper.

I sat in silence with his heavy keys in my hands and watched as he slipped back into his seat and chucked his stuff from his hands into the back seat. "Here you go," I said quietly and passed him his keys that weighed a ton in my hands. But for him, he just plucked them from my hands with two fingers as if they weighed nothing. He had got a lot of metal keychains on there, trust me, it was heavy and I wasn't being dramatic.

As he was about to insert his keys into the ignition, he paused. "Food?" He asked and I looked at him, confused. "Do you want to get some food?" He asked again and I nodded. I wasn't particularly hungry and craving food but I certainly wouldn't refuse it.

"Sure." I gave him a tight-lip smile and followed him out of the car and onto the pavement. "Is there any place you have in mind?"

He shrugged, opening the car door to the back seat to grab out his wallet and jumper. "I'll eat anything, you can choose."

You can choose. I can choose...

I was bad at choosing.

I hated choosing.

My eyes scanned around the street and came across the first place I could see. "You like pizza?" He nodded. Everyone loved pizza, come on now!

When we arrived, walking for so long and making my legs ache as if I had never walked before, Theo pushed open the door, letting me in first. Muttering a quick thanks and getting a short and casual hum in response, I looked up at the menu board, suddenly feeling my appetite grow.

"What do you want?" He asked, his gaze dropping from the menu board and down to me. My mouth opened and closed, words not forming. He then got his card out from his phone case, the movement being slick and neat like he was a pro. "Chill, I'm paying and you can get whatever you want."

"You won't judge?" I asked and his head tilted, his brows slanted. "I want to have a pineapple pizza." Then his brows relaxed, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"You seriously don't want me to judge?" He joked and I rolled my eyes, feeling myself relax slightly in his company.

"Keep your unpopular opinion to yourself. Pineapple pizza is superior and you can't say otherwise." I crossed my arms over my chest, "And while you're at it, I'll take a Coke and a double chocolate cookie."

His lips formed an even bigger smirk and in seconds I was feeling myself warm inside, the heat becoming too powerful. He stood forwards, the intense musky smell filling my nostrils. I could feel the heat radiating off of his body as he stood much closer to me now, maybe by coincidence. His eyes scanned the menu before they dropped to a pretty blonde behind the counter, her top pulled low enough to flash my innocent self. I watched her own eyes widen as she took Theo in from head to toe, her hair now being pulled down from the low ponytail it was once in.

I hated when girls acted like that, degrading themselves to the lowest just to get some sort of validation. She was a really pretty girl but she had no means to do that. The worse part was that she looked younger than me, a freshman or junior, I'd say.

"Hey, what can I get for you, handsome?" She smirked, leaning forwards to show him exactly what was down her shirt. But he didn't look interested, hell, he didn't even look fazed by the act that she was trying so hard to keep up with.

Theo glanced around before meeting my eyes, his hand tugging on my wrist to get me to come and stand beside him. My eyes widened as I realized that they were both looking at me now, one intensely more than the other.

Then his hand went, leaving that still-heated skin warm.

"Yeah, hi. Can I get one pineapple pizza, a Coke, and a double chocolate cookie?" He said and the girl nodded, her eyes not leaving me for a second as she slammed her fingers onto the register. Then her eyes flicked up to Theo who was still ogling the menu board like it was the last meal he'd ever get.

"Anything else, handsome?" She tried again, tilting her head to the side where her hair fell to expose her neck. I couldn't help but glance up at Theo to see him still not phased by what act she was displaying. Or maybe he knew and was trying not to seem like a total dickhead right now. Would be weird if they got together considering she was much younger and still had a baby face?

"A pepperoni pizza with a Fanta." He stated, moving slightly where his fingertips skimmed my naked arm. I halted, touched by his intentions. He didn't mean to.

The girl's eyes narrowed as she looked at me, a silent message. What was her deal? He offered to take me somewhere so here I am.

Jealous, much?

The girl clicked her tongue, then a smirk made its way onto her face. "Is that a small or big pizza?" My eyes widened and I couldn't help but bite back a grin. I knew what she was doing but it was even funnier knowing Theo was completely oblivious.

"What do you want?" Theo asked me.

"Small. I'll just have a small pizza, thanks."

The girl behind the counter snickered and I held it in me to snap back at her for whatever reason she was laughing for — was it my rack of jewels?

"One small pizza and I'll have a large one." Then he tapped his card to the machine. I couldn't help but laugh, my hand covering my mouth not being enough to hide it. Come on, you've got to laugh! "What is it?" He asked and I shook my head, gulping down the laugh I was seconds away from letting out.

"One large pizza it is, then." The girl said and Theo finally looked up to meet her eyes, their stare connected for longer than a few seconds. Hello? Was I invisible here? Lordy Lord.

Then he broke it, cleared his throat, and stepped back, gesturing to a table to sit at whilst we wait. As I took a seat, noticing how he was staring blankly ahead, I coughed to hopefully get rid of the tense silence. "Thanks for paying. But I could've paid for myself, you know. I've got a job."

Theo's head snapped up and it was like I had forgotten how to breathe. His dark curls skimmed along his forehead and his green eyes met mine. My world stopped. "I know you can." Was all he said before quickly looking out the window to check on his car that was just down the street. "How's it going there anyway?"

I shrugged, swallowing as I struggle to find my voice. His muscular legs were spread out before him whilst his hands were now placed behind his head, his biceps flexing whilst also exposing his black tattoos that were swallowing up the whole of his right arm. "It's good. Pays for my phone bills, I suppose."

I gawked at him as he nodded, looking at the ground that his fresh white sneakers were standing on. I could tell this wasn't the ideal place to come but it wasn't like this was a date. What was this?

"I know you can pay for yourself." He specified. "But I wanted to pay since it wouldn't be very modest of me considering I was the one who took you here."

"Why?" I asked. "Why did you feel the need to do this?" I squeezed my hands together as I waited for his response; I could feel my stomach bubble with angst. From the corner of my eye, I could see Theo glancing at me, nibbling on his lip ring. He shrugged. I held my breath.

I hope he didn't do this just because he felt bad.

"I'd be stupid to leave you there all by yourself, Anderson." He coaxed, my last name slipping off his tongue like soft melted butter. I remained with my breath on hold, my face heating up instantly. "The tied was coming in, anyway." He offered and I snorted.

He did his best to look away, hiding the embarrassingly cute tint of red on the top of his ears. "Is that so? Did you not want me to get swept out to sea?" Okay, now I was testing it — I was certainly dipping my toes into the deep depths of the ocean. But I liked it, it was way different, much more riskier than the things I had done before. Especially when it was with him seeing as I hadn't engaged with a guy when it wasn't to do with 'yes, I am Callum's sister' and, 'no, I will not show my breasts to you old man' (Tinder men were really getting out of hand, and yes I have gone onto the app before, but that was only once when Betty and I would get super bored after raiding the cupboard for movies and found not one that we hadn't watched). It's a girl's thing. It's what we did.

Theo looked back up, weirdly unable to meet my eyes. Maybe he was shy, or maybe he was paying attention to something else worth his time. Like, the chipped wallpaper next to us, the rusted picture frame hung above my head, or maybe even the odd dog statue sitting by the door. It strangely reminded me of my grandma's old dog, Luna which is nicknamed 'moon' in Spanish. My grandma had married my Grandfather who was Spanish and yes, I was saying was and that was because he passed away from old age two years ago. He stood by my grandma since the day they met — they met at a beautiful seabed of roses in a pretty flower garden. Roses were my favorite flower since they reminded me of them. Now that they were resting up in heaven together, I knew that seeing just a single rose, that it was a clear sign that they were watching me from above, smiling and waving, scattering the pastel blue sky with the sun, the moon, and the glowing stars. They were a star, sprinkling their amazingness down on me.

"I'd have to say, your brother has an exceptional throw with a football. I'd much rather prefer I was not on the other end of it. You get what I'm saying, yes?" He asked, his hands ringing together. I sucked on my lower lip and slowly nodded, taking in his words with the contemplation of the many times Callum had tackled me down to the floor, announcing his win when the football had been thrown (powerfully) to the other side of the living room and almost knocking down several plant pots in the meantime.

"He can be quite scary," I offered and at that, a small, almost inaudible laugh slipped into his mouth. I smiled — well, I couldn't help it; my body was reacting by itself. "From personal experience, of course."

"Yeah, of course." He agreed, already knowing how rough Caluum liked to play out on the field. "Even more of a reason to make sure you didn't drown in the ocean. Would seem rather odious of me when explaining what happened, to your brother. Don't you think?

"He'd probably mind it," I mumbled to myself. The way he was acting these days, you'd think I killed someone.

"What was that?" Theo asked, looking at me with an arched brow. I shuffled in my seat, waving dismissively. "Anyway," he continued, "Being with me now instead of being at school will probably mean I'll get an ear wigging from him tomorrow, though."

I scoffed. "You're portraying him to be a super possessive older brother." Theo stared at me with a look of mild despair — though I knew he couldn't give two shits and neither did I. "Callum's only older than me by a couple of months. That's nothing, all things considered. He hasn't matured a single, tiny minuscule bit. I have." I crossed my arms over my chest with a huff.

Theo remained silent, almost like I had shut him up without meaning to.

A moment passed and he was tapping the edge of the table, glancing at me a couple of times. "Can I speak now?" He asked warily, his voice slowly trailing off like he was disappearing into the distance.

"Of course, you can." I huffed again, the trail of anger leaving my body, laughter replacing it instead.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "Need to speak about it?" I shook my head, expecting him to drop the topic but instead, he took it upon himself to pick up his chair and scoot it right beside mine. Like, right beside mine. He sat down, his leg grazing mine for a few seconds.

"I call bullshit," he stated and I snorted.

"I don't," I told him, nose flaring as a waft of homemade pizza from the oven had made its way out towards us. My stomach was seconds away from rumbling. I