I could handle most of the scary movies Jarod liked to watch, but there was an occasional one here and there that freaked me out. I often ended up with a blanket over my face and watching the very top of the screen. It was effective and spared me of any jump scares.

Yvee was just as bad as me, unless it was a Korean movie. She loved those more than Jarod did, and I couldn't stand them because they were some of the scariest we had seen together.

And he just had to choose one of those for tonight.

It wasn't long into the movie that I had my knees up to my chest and my head buried in them. I was not going to be the kind of girl that clings onto a boy out of fear, so I just clung to myself instead.

When the scene was over, I let out a breath and relaxed the tense muscles in my neck and shoulders. Reluctantly, I raised my head to keep watching.

I felt Theo scoot closer and drape his arm over the back of the couch behind me. I nearly laughed at the gesture because of how cliche it seemed, but then another frightening scene started and I forgot he was even there. Just as I was about to pull up the blanket, a pair of hands gently covered my eyes.

I may not have seen what was happening but I was still rigid from the sounds. Theo must've noticed because his lips brushed my ear as he started to whisper to me. It took me a minute to realize that he was narrating what was going on in the movie, but he added his own commentary to make it funny.

He did that throughout the entire movie whenever there was a bad scene. Instead of being afraid and holding my breath, I either smiled or silently laughed at his narration. My heart continued to beat erratically, but it was more due to him than the movie. I looked forward to each moment when I would feel his warm hands over my eyes and the tickle of his whispers.

The goosebumps I would get during every scary part had nothing to do with the movie either.

The others were too absorbed in the plot and subtitles to notice what Theo was doing behind them. I was able to survive the movie because of him, unlike most of the characters. Just before the credits began rolling, he went back to his original position beside me. He looked at me and winked, moving a finger up to his mouth.

"What did you do?" Jarod asked Theo when he turned his head and saw me. "Abby's not hiding under a blanket."

"Haha, you're so funny," I remarked sarcastically, throwing a decorative pillow at him.

"Maybe I just have a calming presence," Theo answered.

I snorted and quickly masked it with a cough. He had about the same calming presence as the eye of a storm.

"I don't know what you guys were talking about, anyway," Theo told them and glanced at me with twinkling eyes. "To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't needed for comfort."

Yvette was too busy putting her movie in and tossing Jarod's aside to comment. Jarod was trying to find where it landed in the dark. So Eli took it upon himself to poke the pink dino.

"Dinosaurs aren't good to cuddle up to, T."

"Frogs aren't either."

"I'm a royal frog," Eli scowled. "Get it right. And at least she wouldn't have to worry about me chomping her head off."

"Fly breath."

Yvette came over then and kicked Theo off the couch. He returned to his place on the floor in front of me. I smiled at the back of his head as Yvee pressed play.

Eli was wrong.

Dinosaurs were very good for cuddling.

¤°*°*°*°¤

I woke up to the DVD menu on the screen, where it had to have been for a while. Everyone else was sleeping soundly in the dark room.

Poor Yvee was the first one to doze off about half an hour into her movie, and I followed after Eli. Jarod typically outlasted us, so I assumed Theo fell asleep before him.

I stretched and climbed over the arm of the couch so as to not disturb the boys laying on the floor. Once I turned the television off, I tiptoed to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

When I was done, I snuck into the kitchen for a glass of water. Hopping onto the countertop, I took a sip from the glass. My eyes closed when I stifled a yawn as I swung my legs lightly to stay awake.

When I opened them to take another sip of water, I jumped and nearly dropped the glass.

The way Theo came out of the darkness was terrifying. I regretted not leaving the TV on in the living room since it was the only source of light in there. The dim light above the stove made it all the more eerie.

"Don't do that!" I whispered harshly with my hand against my racing heart. I was wide awake after that little scare.

"Sorry," he whispered back but didn't sound like he meant it.

As he dragged his feet towards me and moved further into the light, I noticed his black t-shirt. The top half of his onesie was tied securely around his hips. He must have done that after I fell asleep, like the rule didn't apply anymore. I would have called him out on it, but the rule was fake and that shirt was snug.

"I hope I didn't wake you," I ventured to raise my tone slightly when he was close enough.

"You didn't. I'm just a light sleeper," he gave me a lazy smile.

He picked up my glass with a questioning look as if to ask if he could have some. I nodded.

After taking a few gulps, he stated in a volume matching mine, "So I thought of another question."

"Kind of late for that, isn't it?" I asked, watching him yawn.

"Nah, it's never too late for our little question game."

We were awake enough and I could think of a few questions too, so I shrugged, "Ask away."

"Did you really dress up as the school mascot for a day?"

My brows furrowed. "What made you think of that of all things?"

Theo motioned to my onesie.

"Yes," I answered after a smile. "For a pep rally. There's also a small detail that isn't widely known..."

"Do tell, Sugar," he encouraged, his eyes sparking with interest.

"Rival school kidnapped me. Turns out that was the reason why I was asked to do it by the regular mascot. Someone warned him about the plan, but he neglected to tell me." Then I muttered, "He was such a chicken shit."

Theo chuckled lowly. "How did you handle that?"

"Well, obviously they weren't expecting a sweet, pretty blonde girl beneath the costume. I convinced them over some lovely pastries from Stressed--which they so graciously paid for since I 'forgot my wallet'--to let me go."

He smirked, "When in reality you wanted to...?"

"Make them wish they were wearing their jockstraps for protection," I said, kicking my leg out for effect. "I don't tolerate manhandling."

"If only we had known each other then," he said, clicking his tongue.

"Why?"

"They wouldn't have gotten within six feet of you."

I looked down at my fiddling hands, biting back a smile. "So is it my turn?"

"Go for it."

I cleared my throat, unable to make eye contact as I asked a question that was on my mind for a while, "Is it true that you have a few tattoos?"

"Just one."

I looked up at him then, my mouth falling open in shock. "You do?"

He nodded slowly. "Wanna see it?"

Yes!

"Sure."

I didn't know what to expect, but I definitely didn't think he would take his shirt completely off.

My gaze was drawn right to the ink over his heart. A cutout star, drawn to look like his skin was stone cracking around the edges. The star was hollowed out and shaded, creating the effect of seeing inside where his heart would be visible. Though instead of a drawn heart, the center was a black background with pink starbursts.

It looked oddly familiar.

If our friends weren't sleeping in the other room, I would have died laughing when I recognized the pattern.

It was the background on a packet of Pop Rocks.

Any desire to laugh at his chosen body art faded the longer I stared at it. I couldn't stop my gaze from dropping to his abs, then up to the defined muscles of his arms, before going straight back to the tattoo.

"You didn't have to take your shirt off, you know," I forced myself to say in the silence that gathered to a breaking point.

"That doesn't sound like a complaint," he murmured.

I looked up at him through my lashes and admitted, "It wasn't."

Theo shifted closer to me until he was standing between my legs with his hands resting on either side of the counter.

"My turn now?" His tone was deeper and cracked at the edges like his tattoo.

With my heart racing, I whispered, "Yeah."

"Can I kiss you, Abigail?"

I stiffened at the question, a reminder of when he had me pressed against the lockers. Those were the same words he used to taunt me.

"Is this another test to see if I can say no?"

His heated gaze lingered on my lips. "Answer the question and let's find out."

I hesitated, feeling an ounce of doubt pour into my mind at the possibility of being played. "I don't know."

Theo's eyes met mine and disappointment tainted the desire in his voice. "Really?"

"I want to prove to you that I can say it."

Theo exhaled in what could only be taken as a relief that I didn't deny wanting to kiss him. "Just this time then. Please say yes."

"And if I say no?" I already knew my answer, but I was curious about what he would do.

"Either way, I am going to kiss you, Abby. I'm just trying to be polite."

"Bad boys aren't supposed to be polite," I teased, the doubt being replaced with eager anticipation.

"Abigail," he growled in warning.

"Yes," I ended his suffering. "You can kiss me."

I had been kissed before, but never once like the kiss Theo gave me when his lips crashed into mine. I chiseled away at the last of his patience and he made sure I was thoroughly aware of it.

One of his arms wrapped around my back so he could pull me closer to the edge of the counter, closer to him. His restless free hand wound into my hair then dropped down to rub the outside of my thigh.

My palms drifted from where they rested on Theo's chest to his shoulders until I couldn't resist the temptation to run my fingers through his hair.

His stupid blue-black hair made silky by mustard.

I was still jealous, but I couldn't care less as his hands glided up my sides and back down to stop at my hips. Then he moved his head back the slightest bit, breaking the kiss so we could catch our breath.

"Damn," I rasped.

The way his mouth curved up in a smirk only made me want to kiss him again. "That should be my line, Sugar."

I narrowed my gaze. "You should stop talking now, Cupcake."

His smile grew as he leaned in and breathed against my ear, "Do us both a favor and make me, my little Truffle."

I kept just enough distance to say one word against his lips. "No."

Then it took every fiber of my being to push him away. With a stunned expression, he didn't start chuckling until he saw the grin on my face.

"So you can say it." He leaned back in, resting his palms back on the counter. "I gotta admit that you chose an awful time to prove me wrong."

"And why is that?"

With a longing glance to my lips, he confessed, "Because I really wanted another kiss."

Now that I couldn't refuse. So I kissed him.

Softly.

Sweetly.

And all because I wanted to do it.

It was like taking a bite of the richest cheesecake; sinful, satisfying, and so delicious. I savored every brush of his soft lips as they moved seductively with mine.

Then sounds of the front door closing and the hushed tones of my parents brought our kiss to an abrupt end.

I looked from the direction they would be coming into the room to Theo's state of dress. His shirt was inside out on the floor. There wasn't enough time to pick it up and put it on.

Thinking quickly, I untied his onesie. Theo caught on and shoved his arms into the sleeves. I zipped it up while he threw the hood over his head just before they stepped into the kitchen.

"Mom. Dad," I smiled steadily, thankful for my years of faking it. "You guys are back late. Did you have fun?"

I made the mistake of glancing at Theo. His tongue flicked out, grazing his bottom lip before he smiled at me. I swallowed, my eyes widening a fraction in fear that he would give us away. He turned around to face my parents. My dad narrowed in on him like a hawk as Theo waved.

"Hi, Mrs. Hensley," he flipped on his charm, grinning at her. Then he held his hand out to my dad, "Mr. Hensley, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Even if I knew who you were, I probably wouldn't say the same," he said, shaking Theo's hand anyway.

"This is the boy I was telling you about, dear," my mom chimed in to save him.

"All good things?"

"Too good," my dad grumbled, releasing Theo's hand from his death grip.

Theo didn't show any signs of pain. He even joked, "Then I guess you didn't hear about cooking skills."

To that, the corners of my dad's mouth curved up. "Oh, I heard plenty about that too."

"Well, this was nice," I announced. "Theo and our other friend crashed FooFliDay. I hope that's alright."

"That's fine," my mom said. "But if it's now a regular thing, no going upstairs."

"By that, she means the bedrooms." My dad sized Theo up. "And closets. And bathrooms. And anywhere else that could be even remotely considered private."

I grinned tightly at my parents and I hoped it wasn't obvious to them that Theo was trying very hard not to laugh.

My dad took a step closer to Theo and asked in what I imagined was supposed to be a threatening tone, "You don't own a motorcycle, do you?"

"No," Theo replied, "but my dad does--"

"Okay!" I said a little too loudly and heard a half-asleep grumble from the living room to shut up. "We're just going back to join the group. I'm so exhausted," I forced a yawn. "Aren't you tired, Theo?"

"No, I'm pretty awake after--"

I shoved him towards the living room. It was better than getting an interrogation from my dad at two o'clock in the morning. And I shuddered to think about how Theo was going to finish that sentence.

"Forgetting something?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.

What did we forget?

Theo and I looked back to see my dad holding up a black t-shirt and my mom hiding a broad smile.

"That's Jarod's shirt," I blurted out.

Theo turned his head to me and lifted a brow in amusement. He wanted to see how I could get out of that one.

"Jarod's?" My dad asked after a moment of glaring at Theo.

"Yes," I said with a firm nod. "You know how he is," I shrugged it off with a nervous laugh.

He was very skeptical and still eyed Theo like he was the owner of the shirt. A tense period of silence later and he sighed, shooing us away. He must have been too tired to press it or kill him.

My mom winked at us from behind my dad. She knew exactly who that shirt belonged to since he was wearing it earlier in the day.

Once we got away from my parents, Theo and I settled back into our respective spots on the couch and floor to go to sleep.

I had to ask him. "What were you going to say?"

"Good night, Sugar."

I looked down at Theo who was gazing up at me from the floor.

"Good night," I smiled at him.

Just before I dozed off, he whispered playfully, "I was going to say midnight snack."

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

First kiss? -->

and/or

Scariest movie you've ever seen? Unless you're like me and hate scary movies... -->

Jarod: I want a tattoo. *pout*

Eli: Do I have any tattoos? *checks undershirt*

Yvette: I bet Author gave you a tramp stamp.

Eli: No. God, no. *struggles in a panic to see his lower back*

Author: *grins* Oh, that would be funny...

*Tabby too busy making out to take part in the conversation*

Me, because Tabby kissed:

A/N: FINALLY! Right?! I wrote the dialogue for that scene when I first started posting S&HE and it's been waiting for years to be written. *so many happy tears* I hope you guys liked it!

I'll be back to posting on Sundays, if not a day or two early this week.

¤°*Have a Pop Rockin' day.*°¤