~A Tease & A Knockout~

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

The weekend was like a mini vacation, but it was over and we were back to our everyday lives. By the end of Tuesday, I was ready to ask Yvette (a.k.a Miss Sci-Fi) if she knew where I could get a time machine to go back three days. No, four days so I could relive my kiss with Theo because it was just that good.

I knew I made a mistake when she followed my question with one of her own.

"That depends on your preference," she said. "DeLorean with a Flux Capacitor, Tardis, or the classic H.G Wells ride? There's also--"

I tuned her out as she continued to list them off, but I still thanked her for the valuable information when she was done.

She smirked at me, proud of her knowledge and the ability to use it as a means of torture.

Unfortunately, none of her many, many solutions existed in real life. So I was left with getting through the week on my own, hoping the next weekend would be just as good or even better with more Theo and less Craig.

I didn't get to see much of Theo during school because I spent lunch break helping two classmates with an assignment due by the end of the day. I wasn't even that good with the subject, but they didn't care because I was supposedly the only one willing to help them.

I had no idea what kept them so busy that they would put it off until the last minute, but that changed after watching as he started to play footsie with her and she responded with a giggle. I made it clear that it wouldn't be my fault if they failed, but I doubted they were listening to me.

I was sulking after that and hungry too. Theo met me at my locker afterwards with a banana from the cafeteria. It was accompanied by a scolding look for missing lunch to help someone who didn't really need it. I had to admit that it was kind of hot the way he glared at me. I smiled at him, accepting the yellow fruit.

"It wasn't a big deal," I told him while I retrieved my books.

"Missing a meal and a lost opportunity to spend time with your friends is a big deal," he responded, crossing his arms and leaning against the locker beside mine.

The way he tilted his head to rest on the cold metal was positively adorable despite his withering stare.

"Not to mention, the time you could have spent with me."

I bit my lip, giving way to a grin as I glanced at him. Apparently, I wasn't the only one sulking. I couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth when I said, "Trust me, I would have rather been playing footsie with you than watching those two do it."

With a frustrated groan, he muttered, "Damn that smile of yours."

I shook my head and closed my locker. The bell was going to ring soon and I didn't want to be late, no matter how tempting it was to continue flirting with him.

"Question," Theo said suddenly when he realized I was about to leave.

"Yes?"

He leaned in a little closer. "Would it fit this reputation of mine to shove you against these lockers and kiss you senseless in front of everyone?"

The air left my lungs and I almost forgot to breathe in again. He was serious. "Y-yes, but..."

Shut up, Abby. Let him do it.

Instead of listening to myself, I said, "You don't want to promote that image too much. I mean, we both know that's not really who you are, right?"

"If it means I get to kiss you again, I don't mind being your bad boy."

I was turning so red that my ears were getting hot, so I half-heartedly ordered, "Oh, my goodness. Stop!"

He smiled at my flustered condition. "Okay."

I blinked. It wasn't only shocking, but disappointing too that he wasn't going to act on his impulse.

"Revenge for missing lunch," he explained his sudden compliance as he took a step back.

"What?"

"Aww, Abby," Theo tsked at my confusion. "You have to be a good girl to get the bad boy's attention. Isn't that how it works?"

¤°*°*°*°¤

I hated Theo for the rest of the day.

His attempts to get me talking while we worked our shifts at Stressed were failures, partially because of his not-so-well-hidden smiles when I wouldn't respond to him. He was still amused by what he had done and I wanted him to suffer. I started with speaking brightly to everyone else and ignoring his presence.

When that wasn't enough for me, I went to the tables and left him to manage the counter on his own. I chatted with the customers and refilled cups, spending most of my time away from him. I laughed at a joke told to me by a couple of freshmen boys who thought they were being flirtatious. It was then that I spared a glance at Theo.

He was finally beginning to look about as ruffled as his cupcake apron.

When I went behind the counter for a new pot of coffee, he asked under his breath, "Did you want me to kiss you that badly?"

I hid my smirk better than Theo before I turned to face him. He was standing right in front of me, so I took it upon myself to close the short distance between us. His hands instinctively went to my hips and rested there.

I looked up at him with big innocent eyes and admitted, "Yes." Then for the final blow, I tilted my head, "Didn't you want to kiss me that badly?"

I was going to do exactly what he did to me, so it was hard not to laugh in his face when his eyes darkened. Just as he leaned in to give us both what we wanted, I quickly stepped back.

He must have anticipated my plan because he tightened his hold on my hips and jerked me forward, making me stumble into him.

"Yes," he growled his answer. "And I still do."

Me too, I thought as my tongue darted out to lick my lips. The small, unconcious action drew his attention like a moth to a flame.

I certainly felt like I was on fire.

Then a throat cleared to the left of us. I turned my head, but Theo kept his unwavering focus on me. Yet he was gracious enough to allow me to push him away so I could deal with the customer.

We were fortunate that it was an older lady--one of our regulars--who had a cheeky smile as her eyes danced from him to me. I apologized and gave her a free to-go cup of tea with her scone. She gave us a tip and told Theo to take me out on a nice date, to which he promised he would do soon.

I grabbed the fresh pot of coffee in a huff and went back to the tables, far from Theo and his revenge-ruining ways. Not only that, but I had yet to get my kiss and he was driving me crazy with his teasing and making me wait. Sure, it made the day more interesting, but it was really starting to irritate me.

Speaking of things that pissed me off, I faltered in my step when I saw who sat at the table with his friends across from where I stood. Judging by the look of irritation, he saw my little exchange with Theo while the rest of the customers were oblivious. His expression changed and he smiled, giving me a little wave.

It was the third day in a row that Craig came for a visit. It was unsettling to me since he never used to show up so often. He was deceivingly pleasant each time and that only made the sinking feeling worse. I took a deep breath and painted on a smile. If he could be civil, so could I--not that I was anything but sweet to him.

"There's my girl," he said after I worked my way to his table.

I resisted the urge to cringe and held my smile. I was grateful that the coffee pot was empty as I set it on a nearby table or there may have been an incident on his lap. "Hello again."

"I see you and my cousin are getting along nicely," he commented, throwing a glance behind me towards Theo who was undoubtedly watching us.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, we are," I told him with my sugary tone.

His friends oohed and laughed like I just threw shade at Craig. Unlike them, he didn't seem to find humor in it.

"You don't have to go to my cousin to get to me, you know. He's nothing compared to what I can give you."

That's true. He doesn't give me headaches, completely disgust me, or make me homicidal. No one can do that quite like you, Craig. You're special that way.

"I'm sorry, Craig," I told him, feeling an almost undetectable amount of venom slip through my false apology. "I don't think we're compatible."

He chuckled as his friends silently watched to see what would happen next. "I think we are," he disagreed.

I released a tired sigh, feeling a slight slip in my smile. He was chipping away at my composure since the past weekend. "I have other customers. Can I get you anything?"

"You," he stated, standing up so he could get closer to me. "I want you, Abby."

I stiffened, forcing myself to hold my ground and not move away in repulsion. From the corner of my eye, I saw Theo coming over to us in determined strides. Craig's friends stood up in an attempt to intimidate him, but he wasn't affected as he stopped beside me with his shoulders squared and jaw set.

I heard my mom coming out of the kitchen and when she saw us, she asked what was going on. Worst of all, the customers occupying tables were quiet as they observed the unfolding scene.

"Get out of here," Theo ordered in a low, threatening tone, "before I kick you out."

"I don't think you're in a position to say that to me, cuz. Didn't Abby tell you that my dad, your dear old uncle, owns this place?"

"I don't give a shit," Theo seethed, taking a step closer with his fists clenched. "It's about time you learn that doesn't give you the right to do or say whatever you want."

"Whoa!" I said, moving in front of Theo and pushing him back. "Not in here. He's trying to provoke you."

"Yeah, I know. And it's working," he muttered, not taking his eyes off of Craig.

"Stop it," I demanded, forcing him to look me in the eye. "Let me handle this, Theo. It's not your fight."

I could tell that it physically pained him to back off, but he did it out of respect to me. Craig had a cocky smirk on his face like he just won, but it was gone when I addressed him.

"You and your friends need to leave, Craig. Causing a scene is bad for business, and I don't think even your dad would appreciate that very much."

His lips dropped into a disbelieving frown. "You're kicking me out?"

"I'm kindly asking you to leave before we both say something we'll regret."

I turned around, hoping he would do as I asked and just walk out.

He laughed, "That's right, Crabby-Abby. Use your words."

My gaze went from Theo to my mom standing behind the counter. They were both giving me a concerned look, so I smiled reassuringly at them. Theo's gaze shifted to Craig when he leaned into me. I could feel his breath on my neck as he spoke quietly for my ears only.

"If you would rather be physical, I'm happy to oblige. Imagine all those heated emotions between us and taking it to my bed--" 

Theo overheard him and lunged forward, but I was faster than him as I whirled around and raised my fist.

Without a second of hesitation, I punched Craig square in the face.

The force of the impact caused him to lose his balance, but one of his buddies caught him before he hit the floor. Gasps from our audience filled the room as I shook my sore hand out. It hurt like hell to punch him, but it also felt kind of incredible.

Craig's hand covered half of his face as he got steady onto his feet again. Theo maneuvered around me and crossed his arms, daring him to make any move other than leaving.

Craig's friends pulled him towards the door as he glared at me with one good eye. He got tired of their tugging, so he yanked his arms out of their grip and walked out himself, shoving the door so hard that the bell clanged harshly back and forth for a few long seconds.

Everything else was silent as I stood in the center of Stressed with throbbing knuckles.

I risked a look at my mom who didn't appear to be mad, just confused since she didn't hear most of it. I dreaded telling her about my issues with Craig, but I no longer had a choice in the matter after that fight. She wasn't aware of how the past few years were for me and I didn't want her to know, though the truth had to come out eventually.

She clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention from me. "Well, that was quite the show! If only I had made some caramel corn, huh?"

Some people chuckled at her joke.

"Who wants a fresh chocolate chip cookie on the house? They're still warm!"

She disappeared into the kitchen and came out a moment later with a tray full of cookies. The tension lifted from the air and the noise of happy customers resumed as my mom walked around with the tray. Her damage control astounded me.

As I watched her, I realized that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to tell her. I imagined her being more upset that I kept his bullying to myself for so long, and that thought comforted me.

I didn't get a chance to find out what Theo thought of me punching his cousin because he was suddenly dragging me towards the kitchen. I was quietly watching him as he took some ice from the freezer and wrapped them in a hand towel.

It reminded me of our time at his when he cleaned the car grease off of my face. Similarly to that time, I couldn't read his expression. Once he put the makeshift ice pack on my sore knuckles, I looked up to thank him just as his lips met mine.

His arms wrapped around me as I awkwardly held on to ice pack. It was crushed between my hands and his abdomen, but he didn't care about the cold and all I could do was respond to the kiss before it was over.

It was soft and unhurried, the opposite of what I expected when we finally kissed again, but I felt myself melting along with the ice. I was already feeling a high from standing up for myself, but Theo's lips moving so slowly against mine took me straight to heaven.

All too soon, he pulled away. "Are you ok?"

I nodded with my eyes still closed, just then noticing that he was holding me up.

"No regrets or worries after that knockout?"

I blinked a few times, coming out of my daze. He was genuinely afraid of what was going through my mind. The initial reaction had passed, so I took a second to evaluate how I felt about it. Then I smiled, "No regrets. No worries."

He mirrored my smile.

I admitted, "Well, maybe a little worry of what's to come, but no regrets. Is that why you kissed me? To make me feel better if I did feel that way?"

"Are you kidding?" He raised both brows. "That was the sexiest thing I have ever seen, Abigail Hensley. After seeing that, I couldn't not kiss you."

I tucked my head under his chin, resting my head on his chest as I laughed. It was a combination of punching Craig and kissing Theo that had me so giddy. Theo held me until all of the laughter was out of my system and I was breathing normal again.

I raised my head and told him, "I want to bake with you."

It was his turn to laugh. "Is that a euphemism?"

"No!" I pushed him away lightly with my arms and put the half-melted towel of ice down. "There's something I want to make for you. Do you want to stick around after we close up?"

He hummed in consideration. "Is this a date?"

"Maybe."

"Then I would love to...as long as I get to play with the stove."

"Euphemism?"

"Only if you want it to be," he grinned.

Eli was right when he said he learned it all from Theo.

Smooth as hot fudge.

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

*Craig falls from the dark recesses of the Author's imagination and lands on a stage*

*spotlight moves onto Craig, blinding him as he tries to see the large audience*

Craig: Where am I? Who are you people?

Author: *sits back with Tabby to watch the show*

Give him hell, Sweeties. -->

A/N: I think I have food poisoning... x.x I'm gonna go sip Ginger Ale and watch the Miranda Sings special on Netflix or binge a K-drama. Or both.

I hope you loved reading this chapter as much as I loved writing it. Though not as much as I enjoyed writing Theo's oh-so-hot way of making Abby try Pop Rocks in the next chapter. See you in a week~

Me:

Craig:

Our reapers be like:

¤*°Pop Rock(s) your day, Sweeties°*¤