29

A/N While I was editing, I realised some chapters said the school's (acronym) name is RHPS and some said RPHS. I'd like to apologise for that. I corrected most to RPHS but if there are some that aren't corrected, well now you know it's RPHS, which stands for Ridgeview Private High School.

*~*~*

After I finish cleaning the kitchen, I go looking for Kira. She was supposed to be in the living room but it's empty. Her bedroom too. I step onto the patio outside and seeing her standing in front of the pool, watching the bubbles in the water. At night, the heaters go on in case someone wants to go for an evening swim.

I quietly close the glass door and walk closer to stand next to her. The pool is large and stretches from the end of the steps to the side of the fence, and there are little yellow lights that go along the length with it. The moon looks bright on a clear sky and it's a little chilly.

I don't know how long we stood here in silence, just staring at the water as we let our thoughts consume us. She softly clears her throat, pulling me out of my trance. I turn to meet her eyes and I could have sworn a warm, fuzzy feeling swept through my chest as out eyes locked. She's one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women I've seen. I wish I knew how to make her feel like that.

***

His stare is intense and I feel my face heat up under his gaze. After a few seconds, I'm first to look away as a chill runs down my spine. I run a hand over the goosebumps on my arms and he seems to have noticed because he stands back and wraps his jacket around my shoulders to keep me warm. The cologne immediately surrounds me and I hold it tighter, pulling the zip up to my neck and playing with it. I see him laugh at me silently.

"You used to play?" I ask as I run a hand over the number 1 written on the left side of the jacket, along with his last name.

"I still do," he smiles proudly, making me smile as well.

"I didn't know that. Are you playing this year as well?" I ask, to confirm if the rumours I heard about an upcoming game are true or not. It would be nice to watch him play. I used to watch the boys at my old school play. Our school's team, d'Bears rivalled WildCats. We would always win most of matches and we often went on to play in the nationals.

"We're playing later this year. For nationals only."

My eyes widen. "You guys must be really good."

"Eh, we try," he gives me a sly smile as he nudges my shoulder. He glances at me and smiles before speaking, though he looks hesitant.

"You know when you have a little crush on someone? And then after a few days you catch yourself thinking about them a lot?"

"And that lil crush is not so little anymore?" I chuckle as I nod my head in agreement. Story of my life. Currently.

"It controls your life," he says melodramatically. .

"Like, what the heck? I didn't sign up for this," I laugh, feeling my cheeks starting to hurt.

"Do you ever wonder what goes on in their mind whenever they hear your name?"

"Yeah, although, what really bothers me is that I don't know how they feel towards me."

"And you can't help but wonder if you mean something more to them, or if you're just like any other person to them," he adds, an edge of emotion in his voice. Does he mean...

I catch myself looking at him while he looks straight ahead. "I have a hopeless crush on someone I have no chance with," I whisper and he glances at me. I don't know why I said that; I just waned him to know that I understand how he feels. A grin spreads across his face and I find myself staring at his lips. They look kissable.

"You'd think we'd know better than to fall for them."

I turn to face him and he looks down at me, his eyes locked in on mine. There's something about the way he's been looking at me that makes me feel wanted. It's weird coming from him seeing as I haven't known him for a long time, but I can't deny the pull I have towards him, too.

"Kira," my name slips from his lips as his hold on my waist tightens. I step closer to him, my hand resting on his chest as I look into his eyes. This is it. This is the moment he's going to kiss me. Is this supposed to be happening?

He repeats my name again, his other hand caressing my cheek. I feel his face come closer and I shut my eyes, ready to feel his lips on mine.

"Kira, you're hyperventilating?" he says, but it comes out as a question. I open my eyes, my face probably red from the embarrassment. There's a teasing grin on his lips. Before I can say anything, he leans down and quickly places a kiss on my cheek.

Before I can reel in the feeling, the sliding door is pulled aside and two voices come onto the patio.

"We're home!" Ryan says out loud, followed by Cara. Great. Ryan gives me a hug as he does a bro handshake with Kian.

"Oh, you can cut the tension with a knife," Cara says behind me. I turn around and see that she's wearing a white long sleeved t-shirt that's tucked into a black pencil skirt that's reaching mid-thigh. Her bronze hair is as straight as a pin and pulled back, falling straight against her back. She looks like a model and her legs look longer with the black boot wedges.

"We brought drinks!" Ryan says, a naughty smile on his face as he drapes his arm around my shoulder.

"Well, I did. You just tagged along. Like the annoying brother you are," she says, sounding irritated that he was actually here.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you hoping on spending some quality time with Kian?" he retorts and Kian clears his throat uncomfortably. I just stare at Cara and she gives me a dirty look.

"Guys, we can't get wasted here. Mom's gonna be back in a few."

"That's okay, we can go back to our place, right, Cara-bear?" Ryan asks, swaying a little. I put my hand on his chest to hold him upright, watching him and Cara have a quiet fight with their eyes.

"Ugh, c'mon, let's go," she huffs, pulling Kian by his sleeve. And he follows behind her like the little b-

"Don't look so sour," he complains, poking me. "You're with -burp- arguably the most handsome -burp- man you'll ever -burp- see. Please smile," he grins crookedly. How long has he been drinking?

"Let's get you home," I say, holding his hand that's around my shoulder as I lead him up the patio. Once we make it through the kitchen, I feel his pockets for car keys. I find them and lead him to the car they came with. Kian's was gone, so I'm guessing they left with that one. I get Ryan in the car and climb into the driver seat, taking a moment to learn where all the important buttons are.

Then I look at his GPS for the most places he's been and his previous location seemed to make sense that that's their house. Soon enough, I'm on the highway en route to their house, and Ryan's almost passed out. If he happens to be asleep, I won't be able to carry his body to his room.

Once outside their property, the gates open automatically. They probably scan the plates or something. I slowly drive in, feeling like I'm trespassing. I park outside the main door and get out, going to his side and getting him to lean on me so that it's easier.

After asking him where his bedroom was, which, thank goodness is downstairs, we finally enter it. It's all the way at the end of the hallway and it's dark. I flip the lights on and they're dim, which doesn't help much. I could use my phone's torch and it'll be brighter than this.

"Alright buddy," I groan as I disentangle myself and get him to lay on the bed. He collapses on it and I start taking his shoes off. Next, I contemplate whether to take his pants off and decide to remove them. He'd be much more comfortable anyway.

After making sure he was comfortable, I close the door and pull my phone from my back pocket to look at the time. It was a few minutes past 11. It didn't look like Cara and Kian were here yet, so it wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes if I were to do a little looking around.

The kitchen is mostly black, excluding the chandelier and smaller lightbulbs going all over the ceiling which are turquoise. Thee living room and lounge area are no different from what one would see in Architectural Digest.

Bored with the rest of the rooms down here for lacking soul, I go upstairs and open the first bedroom, which is light pink, almost white, and has pictures plastered on one side of the wall. This must be Cara's. If the huge self-portrait didn't tell me so, then it's definitely the vision board with pictures of her and Kian. She's in love with him? Could she be the one he was talking about having a crush on?

I shake my head and continue looking around, trying to find a sense of who she is and why, on earth, Kian would like her. There's a large glass table with a laptop and a few papers neatly arranged on it. There are incomplete drawings on the table and more in the trash can beside the table.

Ah, cool. So she studies architecture. Interesting. After that, I close her room and go back to Ryan's. I wouldn't be caught dead in her room. Back in Ryan's room, I sit on the edge of the bed and mentally list a few things I've learned about Cara.

1. She studies Architecture.

2. She's in love with Kian.

3. She can't get enough of pastel pink.

4. She's neat and well-organized.

5. Mistakes, no matter how slight, are discarded.

"How close are Paige and Cara?" I ask Ryan. I'm about to think he's dozed off but he clears his throat and turns on the other side, snuggling deeper into blanket-cocoon I had made.

"They're best friends. Mess with one, gain a free enemy forever. Who doesn't love a buy-one-get-one free bargain?" he spits sourly, and I can imagine if he were sober, he'd be rolling his eyes so hard right now. I wonder what happened between them - the cause of this much contempt towards each other. But I'll ask later. For now, I'll wait for him to sleep and then head on home.

After what felt like an hour, he sighs quietly, like he's dozing off. I sit up straighter, waiting for the first sign that he's asleep so that I can bolt out of here and go to my bed. Sitting here on his definitely expensive couch hurts my back.

"I like you, Kira. you're nice."

I hum in response, glad that someone around here thinks I'm 'nice'. I watch him a few more seconds, and once I confirm that he's asleep, I get up and kiss his temple, whispering something that's heavy on my chest.

"Thank you for accepting me, Ryan."