After feeling Aurora's tongue wrapped around my finger the other day, I've been actively avoiding her in order to respect Chase's wishes of his friends staying away from her. I know that I initiated whatever happened, but it was in the heat of the moment. I'm unsure if I regret doing it or not, but I know that it can't happen again.

Ever since Aurora arrived, I've been so wound up and can't get off without thinking of her. She has too much power over me and I need to find a way to rectify this situation.

During English Lit, I sit as far away from Aurora as possible, not following through on the promise I made to her; I made a promise to Chase too. After my classes are finished, I walk to the library. Usually, I study at home but knowing that I share a wall with Aurora is the biggest temptation that I cannot ignore if I try. Sleeping is a nightmare.

I sit for a while with a book in front of me, unable to retain any of the words on the pages. A few girls giggle and watch me from a few tables away but I ignore them, not wanting to make the same choice as I did the night of the party.

According to my watch, there are only twenty minutes until I have to leave for soccer practice and as I look back up, I see a flash of the red cheerleading uniform disappear behind a shelf and can't help but follow. "Hey babe, want some help with that?" I hear a male's voice speak. Looking between the shelves, I'm able to see the cheerleader trapped between him and the shelf.

"No thank you." I hear her whisper, obviously intimidated by him. Unable to sit and watch, I storm around to the correct aisle.

"What do you say, let's have some fun. Right. Here. Nobody can see." His voice is gravelly and creepy and I pick up my pace.

"Please stop." She says and I see red as soon as I recognize her accent. The creep is pressing Aurora against the shelf now, his hands on her hips and I shove him off. Rearing back as he stumbles, I throw a punch hard enough to send him to the floor. He shouts as he hits the ground, holding his jaw with both hands and I ignore him, focusing on Aurora.

"Princess, you okay?" I ask her gently, holding her face in between my hands and she nods with wide eyes, setting her small hands on the front of my shoulders. I do something completely out of character and pull her into my chest, hugging her to me and she instantly slides them up and wraps her arms around my neck. Her feet come off the ground as I straighten my back but she doesn't complain or let go, nuzzling her face into my neck. "Alright. Hey, it's okay, you wanna skip practice today?" I ask, setting her back down on the ground and she reluctantly lets go of me.

"I can't, Crysta―"

"Forget about Crystal, I'll take care of her. Do you want to skip practice?" I cut her off and she nods, her lower lip trembling. Sliding my fingers between hers, I lead her out of the library and leave the guy on the ground to whine and groan. She follows wordlessly beside me as I lead her to where I parked. She gawks at the sight and I smirk, proud of the beauty of a car. I didn't use anything but my Escalade around here, but after dropping Penny off with my father, I was angry enough to take his Audi R8. He probably wouldn't even notice.

I open the passenger door for Aurora and wait for her to climb in, chuckling at her expression as she runs her hands over the interior with an open mouth and wide eyes. When I'm in my own seat, I press a button to start the car and immediately, the roar of the engine and exhaust is heard. She gasps and I watch her reaction. She likes cars. Fuck yes.

I keep the car in park and press my foot on the accelerator, revving the engine for her benefit and I can tell that she loves it. Looking at me with wide eyes and a big grin, her straight white teeth are on display as her hand hits my arm excitedly.

Pulling out of the parking lot, I speed down the empty road, listening to her cute squeals until I slow down and merge onto the main road. We start driving in the opposite direction of the house and I can see the confusion on her face. "Where are we going?" She asks as I switch gears, turning onto the highway.

"Surprise." She nods and looks out the window so I turn on the radio and switch it from the pop station that Penny had us listen to on the way to the city, to a station that plays classic rock. "What It Takes" by Aerosmith starts playing through the radio and I laugh at the irony, knowing the lyrics. Aurora turns to look at me but doesn't say anything, turning back to face out the window and waiting patiently for us to arrive at our destination. I hear her singing the words perfectly, albeit quietly, and I shake my head, unable to keep the smile off of my face.

"You like Aerosmith?" I ask, glancing over at her. She stops singing and blushes adorably.

"Yeah. It's my favorite kind of music." She says with a small genuine smile, going back to singing quietly. Why couldn't she just enjoy scratchy, annoying pop songs instead? It's impossible not to like her.

I almost change the station but I don't want Aurora to stop singing. Her voice isn't anything special but the fact that she knows all the words, and feels comfortable enough to sing them aloud in my car, with me, makes my heart constrict.

Taking an exit off the highway, I glance over as Aurora watches out the windshield with interest. The familiar road starts to get rougher and I park the car before I'm not able to turn around anymore. She follows my lead and we get out of the car, following me as I start walking down the gravel road. We occasionally bump together, mostly because I tend to gravitate towards her. Chase was right. Soccer players and cheerleaders, how about that?

Aurora kicks rocks that are in her path and keeps her eyes focused on the ground. She doesn't notice that I've stopped walking until I grab her around her waist and lift her up. She gasps when she looks over the edge of the quarry, almost having walked off of it. I gently set her down for the second time today and try to bite back a remark about how she needs to be more careful. My heart is beating a mile a minute after almost having watched her plunge off the side of the rock face like that. "Thank you." She says breathlessly, staring out at the glittering water. Her back is still pressed against me, so I take a step back to separate us.

Sitting down, I let my legs hang over the edge and watch as Aurora does the same. "Why did you bring me here?" She asks curiously, I can see her head turned to me in my peripheral vision.

"I used to come here. I thought it might cheer you up," I take a while to say, and say it without looking at her, just focusing my gaze on the water and the rocks surrounding it.

"I can see why, it's lovely." She smiles and places her hand on my arm that's resting on my lap. I look down at it and look up to her face to see a genuine smile, but she has a questioning look in her eye.

"My mom showed it to me," I say and try to leave it at that, but of course it only makes Aurora more curious.

"Do you come here often?" She asks and I smirk at the line.

"You trying to pick me up, Princess?" She laughs when she realizes her mistake. "But no, not anymore, not since―" I look at her and she nods encouragingly. "Since she died," I admit hesitantly. I never talk about my mom. Aurora squeezes the arm that she's still holding and scoots over so that she's closer to me. Her presence is comforting and she leans her head on my arm, not able to reach my shoulder, and stays quiet. We sit and stare at the water in comfortable silence.

"Were you two close?" She asks softly after a little while.

"Yeah. She was great. So friendly." I say quietly. Aurora leans in closer to hear me and smiles. "She was constantly telling me not to listen to anybody's opinions but my own, and that I could be whoever I wanted to be as long as I didn't listen to the people who weren't who they really were. She didn't always make sense when I was a kid but I get what she was trying to say now," I mumble, briefly looking over at her to see her eyes already on my profile.

"I think that's the most that I've ever heard you say at once." She says, her voice so soft, her tone thoughtful as if she wants to hear me say more than I usually do.

"I've never told anyone about my mom before," I admit. My heart is going wild in my chest and I wonder if Aurora can feel it with our lack of space.

'You can tell me anything if you'd like to." I look down at Aurora, my eyes unable to stay away from her as long as she is near me.

"One day."

The sun sets and we sit there, watching the water in the quarry get darker as the sky does the same. Standing up, I offer Aurora my hand and she takes it without hesitation and ends up pressed against me. Staring down at her, I see her gaze flicker from my eyes to my lips. I almost lean in to kiss her, brushing her hair back behind her ear and leaning in ever so slightly until I'm interrupted by my phone vibrating in my pocket.

Chase. The caller I.D. reads. I practically leap back from her, separating us completely when I pick up the call. "Hey, where are you guys now?" He asks calmly.

"I just took her away from the school, she was rattled. I'll fill you in later unless she wants to." I reply, steadying my voice.

"Alright man, thanks again." I hang up. We walk to the car silently and drive back to the house, listening to the music but with Aurora no longer singing. When we get back, we part our separate ways at our rooms and don't exchange another word.

I almost kissed her. And god damn... I wish I had.