It's been three days since I ran off like a madwoman from Mason's house and I made it out alive and unscathed from my mother's rage. Albeit the terror and fear from the expected scold were so great they could've annihilated me, my mom never knew a thing about missing Sean's class or about the fact that I fell asleep with the guy I was supposed to be working with.

Everything went out smoothly for me for once. I was pretty surprised by that.

Yesterday I could hardly sleep thinking about what went down. Falling asleep and waking up with Mason's arm around me, his leg tangled between mine, his breathing in my neck, his warmth, the smell of his cologne impregnating my clothes... It was all too much for my inexperienced heart to bear.

I have never taken an interest... No, an interest no. I can't be interested.

I have never been... um...

Fuck, I have not a single word in mind that won't have me state the words I don't want to tell.

I have never been so piqued by someone else like this before. I have never been so affected. 

And I know what you're thinking. Poor inexperienced, disgraced soul.

Yes, I have never been kissed, still virgin lips here. 

But it's not that I have never wanted to be kissed it's just that I had accepted a long time ago that due to my shape, my body and the way everyone treated me -especially Cole's gang of twats- I would never find anybody that could ever like me.

I have it drilled in my mind like words graved in stone. It's simply human nature I guess, I get it and it's fine. I know I'm the problem. Attraction always starts out being physical until it develops into something more. How can it ever begin for me when I'm already behind that first step?

And I'm not desperate or anything, I'm still hopelessly waiting for the right guy to come around, sweep me off my feet and love me for me. That's the guy I want to kiss -if I ever get to kiss someone-, not some random dude. But the problem is that not even a random dude would want to touch me, even with a stick, so I've resigned myself and put my heart very deep inside and secured.

So now you may understand why I freaked out when I woke up with Mason behind me and how I've given it thought after thought after thought in a never-ending cycle that has me thinking the impossible and lifting me through the clouds.

Then having him say that I have a beautiful name... It killed me. My brain fried trying to reason with my heart to no avail. My rational part abandoned me after begging my heart to tone down the feels a little; that it was not a big deal; he was just being nice after tutoring him and being his partner on this project.

How come could Mason Reid like me?

But those thoughts and the facts that I've always known were replaced with an incessant replay of the moments my heart yearned to have repeated, igniting my soul and keeping me awake better than the cup of coffee I drank this morning.

Last night I felt the urge to scream from the rooftop of my house to liberate the powerful feeling in my chest that deprived me of sleep and keeps me feeling alive... more than I have ever been before. Each time I go back to those memories, the spark is there in my chest, so bright I'm scared anyone will notice. Including him. Especially him.

I'm not going to say the words, not even in my mind just yet. I can't let myself admit it because like I said, once you do it -even if it is just to yourself and in your mind- you're doomed. That's one reason, and another is that it would be just... pointless you know? I will only be making life harder for myself.

I mean, Mason will never, ever look at me that way. Not even if I was the only person left in the world. Anyone with two able eyes would be smart to tell just by taking a look at us that we do not belong to the same social circle. And I'm not talking social as in money -that's an ancient mindset. I'm talking about the people he hangs out with, the attention he gets, the 'part' he plays here at school.

His friends are the meanest, most superficial and moronic idiots at school. They are his friends for a reason, they have something in common and I've been there to notice what common ground they share. I've witnessed Mason's bad side and he has pulled it out on me twice before. He's being nice to me so far for convenience and I must not forget that.

Today I'm walking to my math class, feeling refreshed and in a really good mood. When I come into Mrs. Greene's classroom I see Liam already sitting at his place and he waves at me with a smile I gladly return after saying good morning to my teacher.

Liam sighs. "I'm so tired today,"

I chuckle. "I am too. I spent the entire day reading after doing my homework and going to dance class," Peter Kavinsky managed to make me squeal and die of feels while distracting me enough from a certain someone. Whom I should highlight, asked for yet another assignment last night.

This is getting out of hand, I got to tell him. He keeps texting me to ask me the most stupid questions and for the easiest assignments.

"I didn't know you danced," Liam gasps and I grin.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, boy,"

"Yeah, I see that... I mean I knew you could sing but not dance,"

I start to feel awkward with his nice comments. Quite frankly it is difficult for me taking compliments and receiving recognition. "Thanks, Liam..."

When I sang last year for the first time everyone was shocked, to say the least. Even my mom and dad. Mer, Dans, Cami, and Tori pushed me to participate in the annual concert that takes place here at Liberty knowing that I loved singing and did it quite well. I didn't know it would cause such commotion.

I never really paid enough attention to the... artistic part of me, aside from dancing but even that isn't for cultural reasons. It's just to exercise. I told Mrs. Freiwald that and she smiled at me and said: "You don't know the way life can turn around, Ms. Saunders. Develop yourself completely, not just in the ways everyone thinks you're made for. Take advantage of your gifts,"

The bell lets a shrill noise and everybody, as usual, starts to cram into the classroom on the last minute. Reid takes his spot behind me and he taps my shoulder, making me turn around. He looks handsome as always. He has a mischievous smile with his white teeth showing, his beautiful brown eyes are twinkling and open wide, wanting to absorb his surroundings hungrily. His clean-cut, black hair is styled with the minimum of gel and of course, he smells divine.

His navy blue t-shirt tightens around his biceps when he puts his crossed arms on the edge of the backrest of my seat. "Hi, my friend, Bear,"

"Hi, Reid,"

"No, no. It's 'my friend Reid',"

I roll my eyes playfully at him and he chuckles, shaking his head before I turn around and face the front to pay attention to the lesson. Halfway through, I hear Liam huff in annoyance. We're doing an exercise on algebra and he seems to be having a hard time.

I lean to him discretely and whisper. "Everything okay here?"

Liam sighs and smiles awkwardly. "Not that much, I don't get any of this. I haven't understood a thing since two classes ago,"

"Oh... Well, I do understand it, if you want to, I can tutor you today," I kindly offer and the tranquil atmosphere is ruined by a hoarse throat-clearing from behind me.

I roll my eyes and turn around. "Yes, Mason?"

I feel Liam's gaze on me when he hears me call Reid by his first name and I try hard to command my cheeks not to give in to their nature and blush the deepest shade of red. Reid smiles knowingly and says: "Weren't we going to study?"

What? Did we...?

No, we didn't schedule for today...

"Um... no," I frown confusedly at him and his smile freezes, he blinks and huffs out a forced laugh.

"Well, we are," He states. 

There's no room for discussion. No other opinions asked about it, he just... decided that he was going to study with me on the last minute disregarding Liam impolitely. 

At that, I scoff. "No, we're not," I deny and his eyes shine with mockery and I don't know why.

"Yes, we are, Bear," His smile widens, my frown deepens and Liam just looks back and forth.

"Bear?" I hear Liam murmur to himself but I choose to ignore it.

"Listen, Reid," I go back to using his last name to back him up a bit and it seems to work with the way I see his smile fall a little. "I'm not losing my time discussing something that is obviously not going to happen just to give you the satisfaction of getting me angry. We're not studying today," I smile at the end to add a sarcastic effect and leave him hanging.

After that, our teacher stands up from her desk to explain and solve the various questions everyone has been asking around since we started the exercise. I watch Liam frown attentively and I pout. Poor guy, I'm so going to tutor him later.

For some reason, Mrs. Greene keeps looking at me and I'm starting to freak out. I'm not doing anything but she seems to have that devilish look in her eyes that says stop what you're doing or I'll cut your throat. I freeze when she halts the lesson and everyone turns to look at me... behind me.

They're looking behind me.

"Mr. Reid would you be so kind as to stop looking at Ms. Saunders and concentrate on the lesson? The last quiz wasn't your best,"

The entire classroom erupts in hoots and laughter and I drown in misery and feel my cheeks redden. I look behind me and Reid is laughing quietly and nodding at our teacher.

"Can't help it, Mrs. Greene, she's beautiful you know?" He looks me right in my eye and smirks at me with those infuriating lips that make me blush deeper if it's even possible at all at this point. Then he turns to Liam and tilts his head to the side in a secret a conversation.

What. The. Actual. FUCK?!

I feel like dying when I turn in my seat and sink deep into the chair while everyone around me laughs. To top it all off, I find Mrs. Greene is looking at me with a surprised look as if asking, 'Is this a thing?'.

Of course it's not Mrs. Greene!

As if to piss me off more, Mason poses his head on the edge of the backrest of my chair, leans onto my neck and his arm snakes around my upper back. If everyone was surprised and going wild before, it multiplied by ten.

Mrs. Greene blinks thrice trying to understand what she's witnessing. I tense up feeling the weight of Mason's arm around my shoulders and his breathing in my collar. This is enough.

"Mason, stop it," I grunt and shove his arm off of me. Cole is laughing so hard he's clutching his torso and I roll my eyes.

"Okay, okay. I get it, baby, not here," Mason says with cheeky mirth as he retires his head from my shoulder and looks back at Cole, who smirks at him in complicity. I frown and cross my arms.

He's only doing this to make fun of me and embarrass me with his friends.

"I'm not your anything Reid, keep your hands to yourself the next time,"

Because I don't know how long it will take for them to pull me under and I don't want to. Not when I know you're not worth the fall.

After what I say. I remain silent the whole lesson, I feel the deep frown on the space between my eyebrows as laughter and snickers continue to float around the room while Mrs. Greene tries to shut them down. My mood dampened completely and it is all his fault. I start thinking about how the hell it is that we went back to square one in less than an hour. He mocking me, and I mad at him for it.

This seems to be an inescapable pattern with him. You either put up with it, or you can't be near him.

Sooner rather than later, the bell is ringing and everyone stands to retrieve their backpacks and leave Mrs. Greene's class. Mason tries to talk to me after class but I didn't want to hear his shitty apology. I know he doesn't mean it. He had his fun and I've had enough being the clown.

*****

Hello guys!! DOUBLE UPDATE DAY WHAAAAT? 

GO READ THE NEXT CHAPTER, SHIT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!!

Thank you for waiting :)