"How many pickles did you get on that thing?" Aaron asked, peering down at my sandwich in disgust. 

I followed his gaze to my sandwich, lying on my wooden kitchen island. "Just the normal amount..." 

"Disgusting." 

"Do you want a half?" 

Aaron was silent for a moment. Sighing, I pushed half of my foot long toward him. "You can give me the pickles if you don't want them." 

He tried to push the sandwich back. "I don't want your pity." 

"It's not pity. It's food." 

"I don't want it." 

"You keep staring at it!" 

"Because it looks disgusting!" 

"You look disgusting!" 

He scoffed. "Clever response. Can I leave now?" 

"No!" 

A sigh left his lips and he flipped his shaggy pecan colored hair out of his face. "And why not? I don't want to be here just as much as you don't." 

A frown flitted onto my mouth and I set down my sandwich. Sure, I didn't want him to be here, but where else could we talk? It was raining. My kitchen seemed like a safe enough place... Sheepishness seeped through me when my gaze landed on the knife block in the corner of the room on the black counters, by my fridge. 

Okay, maybe it was a little dangerous. But Aaron wouldn't stab me... 

"I'm leaving," he stated, pushing himself up from the table. 

"No! Sit back down!" 

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Don't tell me what to do, stupid girl." 

I gaped at him. Stupid? He headed for the exit of the kitchen, ignoring my orders. After a moment I scurried after him, stopping him in the hallway by grabbing his arm. He quickly wrenched it out of my grasp. "Don't touch me!" 

"Aaron, I want to talk to you." 

"I don't want to talk to you!" 

"You owe me!" 

His eyes narrowed. "I don't owe you shit." 

My hand reached out to grasp his forearm again. "No. You owe me a lot, not get into my living room and sit. Now." 

"Five minutes," he growled softly, pushing me out of the way and heading toward my living room. "No longer." 

I sighed in relief inwardly, following him into the room. Maybe I sounded more threatening than I thought I did. If I kept it up, maybe I could browbeat him into telling me what Shawn put him up to. However I wasn't too confident in my threatening skills... People usually only threatened me. 

Aaron sat down on the red love seat by the door and I took a seat on the far right side of the couch, sitting as close to him as possible. His stance was tense, his shoulders squared. I swallowed nervously. How was I supposed to start? I didn't want to jump right into it in case I upset him. Maybe I should have told someone I was bringing him here. 

"Four minutes, Holly." 

"Why did you show the pictures to the school?" I blurted quickly without thinking. 

"To get you in trouble." 

"Why?" 

"I hate you." 

I made a face. How could he say that so easily? "Did Shawn really tell you Jeremy and I were dating?" 

Aaron clenched his jaw. "Yes." 

"You believed him?" 

"Obviously," he snapped, a scowl appearing on his face. "You're thinking I'm stupid, huh? For believing him? He didn't give me any reason not to. And you and you're stupid friends went along with it, making a fool out of me! You're a real bitch, you know that?" 

I blinked at him. He got angry easily. "Hey, it's not my-" 

"Do you know how stupid I looked when Ms. Clemm called me down to accuse me of showing all those pictures? She suspended me for a week for bullying! I'm already behind in all my classes, Holly!" 

"That's hardly my fault," I protested. 

He narrowed his eyes. "Hardly? This is all your fault." 

"What? How?" 

"Those are stupid questions. If you hadn't thrown Shawn into jail in the first place none of this would've happened?" 

I gawked at him. He was going all the way back then? That was three months ago! "Aaron, I don't think you understand. Shawn is very dangerous, he needs to be in jail-" 

Aaron shook his head. "He's not! You're crazy!" 

"I'm crazy? He tried to kidnap me, Aaron!" 

"You deserve it." 

Now it was my turn to shake my head. "Is that so? Please tell me what I did to deserve it." 

He crossed his arms. "Shawn didn't tell me what you did, but you definitely deserve it." 

"Are you just making up excuses for him? He belongs in jail, Aaron." 

"He doesn't-" 

"That's not what we're here to talk about," I interjected, sitting a little straighter. "What did Shawn want out of this? Jeremy fired? Or what?" 

Aaron snorted. "Do you really expect me to tell you?" 

"I do," I said, trying to make my face as menacing as possible. "Thanks to you, a whole bunch of people at our school think I'm some sort of slag." 

"Slag?" 

"Slut," I corrected myself, rolling my eyes. "Sorry, Lance is rubbing off on me a little bit." 

Aaron didn't look surprised. "Isn't that what you are?" 

"No! How many times do I have to tell you? Jeremy and I don't have a relationship! I thought you figured that out already since you just made an idiot of yourself!" 

"You don't need a relationship to shag someone. Mr. Heywood seems pretty keen on you. He seems like the type to be a pedophile. I also heard that you have one of the best grades in class-" 

My hands balled up into fists. Making fun of me was one thing, making fun of Chris was another. "Is this all you can do, Aaron? Insult other people? Mr. Heywood would never do that! I have a good grade because I actually try!" 

"Wasn't it worse during the beginning of the year?" 

"I... How did you know that?" I demanded, my eyebrows furrowing together. Aaron was right, my grade had been bad at some points during the year, but that was due to my lack of finishing homework. No thanks to Chris. 

Aaron smirked. "Oh? So it is true?" 

"No!" 

He pushed himself off his chair, coming to hover over me. "How is it that whenever I ask you to help make Mr. Heywood raise my grade you always refuse? Do you want something in return?" 

I scowled at him. "He wouldn't do that anyway." 

"I'll pay the price you pay him," he offered, lowering himself a little so we were eye level. "You're not that bad looking..." 

Before I could stop myself, I'd slammed my foot into Aaron's gut. "I don't do that, Aaron! I'm still a virgin!" 

He groaned, now kneeling on the ground. "Holly, you..." 

"Why do you keep repeating the same things, Aaron? You're getting old! Don't you know anything else to say to me? You can't threaten me anymore, not that that ever got you far. And I won't apologize for that kick because you deserve it!" 

"I deserve it?" he repeated, his eyes meeting mine again. "You think I deserve this? Do you also think I deserve having Shawn laugh at me because I actually believed his lie? Do you know how embarrassing it was? Do you, Holly?" 

I shrunk back into the couch as Aaron slowly rose to his feet. "I..." 

"It really sucked," he said softly, his tone of voice throwing me off guard. "It sucked a lot." Suddenly he slammed his fist into the couch back beside my head, making me flinch. "I hated it. I hate you, Holly." 

"Why?" I asked, my voice barely coming out. 

His eyes were livid. "I don't understand. Why is everything so perfect for you, when you ruined my life?" 

With each of his words, I was becoming more and more confused. "Ruined your life? How?" 

"I had plans for the future," Aaron informed me, the hand that had formed the fist beside my head now dropping to my shoulder. "Great plans. Plans that would get me away from this horrible place. But in order for those plans to fall through, I needed Shawn." 

"Shawn?" 

"Yeah. I'm not old enough or capable enough to hold a house on my own. Once I'm eighteen, I'm screwed because then Lexi and I have to pay for everything ourselves since we'll be adults. Shawn offered me a place at his house. We were going to move down south, away from the idiots around here." 

That didn't sound like Shawn. He didn't seem like the social type at all, but this sounded like he thought of Aaron as a little brother, or something. "I still don't see how everything is my fault-" 

Aaron's hand bunched the front of my shirt. "You must be blind and stupid. Shawn is in jail. Does it sound like he can move south with me?" 

"But Aaron-" 

"It makes it worse that you're all he can think about," Aaron continued, his voice back to a growl. "Every day. Holly this, Holly that. How is Holly? Is Holly's life hell yet? He never shuts up about you." 

My gut sank. Shawn still thought about me? And to make things worse, he was using Aaron to keep an eye on me? But why was Aaron so offended by this? Sure, I could see how he was angry about the moving thing, but this was taking it to a whole new level. 

"That's why I need you to do me a favor." 

"Huh?" 

Aaron slowly pulled me to my feet, forcing me up by the bit of shirt he was holding onto. "You heard me. It's really simple, actually." 

I gave him a nervous look. This wasn't how this chat was supposed to be going. I was supposed to be the threatening one! "W-what do you want?" 

"You to tell the police you made everything up about Shawn." 

"Not happening," I responded at once. 

Aaron didn't seem happy about my choice. He pushed me back down on the couch roughly and then kneeled on me in such a way that he knees dug into my thighs. I refused to show him it hurt. "You might want to rethink that, Holly." 

I shook my head. "You don't have anything on me anymore, Aaron. I don't need to listen to a word you say." 

"Maybe I can convince you otherwise," he said suggestively, moving one of his hands to my cheek. 

"No! Get off me!" I ordered, shoving on his chest. "I don't understand! Why are you so upset about this? Why can't you let it go? Shawn's in jail! He's staying there! He deserves to be in there! What don't you get about that?" 

"Do you have someone you love?" Aaron asked suddenly, his tone serious and curious. 

Baffled by his abrupt change in demeanor, it took me a moment to answer. "Um, yeah," I admitted, immediately thinking of Chris. His structured face, long eyelashes, shaggy umber hair, and piercing grey eyes... 

"If he was in jail, you'd want to take revenge too, wouldn't you?" 

Revenge. The word made me bristle. "Revenge never leads to good things, Aaron. It will come back around and-" 

He covered my mouth with the hand that had been on my cheek seconds earlier. "I didn't ask for your opinion. You're a ditsy girl, Holly. I don't except you to understand me. Just know I'm not giving up. You're the object of my revenge and until I get what I want, I'm not letting you go scot-free." 

"Mmph," I started, my voice muffled by his hand. 

"Shawn will tell me what to do next," Aaron stated, his eyes hardening. "There's a reason he had to fool me. He didn't do it on purpose. He must have some ulterior plan." 

My eyes widened slightly. There's the answer to my question. Slightly. Why didn't Aaron know of Shawn's ultimate plan? That didn't make sense. But it also didn't make sense that he would fool Aaron either. 

"I don't get it," Aaron said through gritted teeth. "Do you, Holly? Why would Shawn trick me? Did you tell him to?" 

"No!" I cried, yanking his hand away from my face "How could I? Why would I?" Aaron was crazy! 

He brought up his hand like he was going to smack me, but before he let it connect with my face he dropped it. "No..." 

My heart was beating a mile a minute. Finally I was recognizing the look on Aaron's face. It wasn't anger. He was hurt. Was he hurt because of what Shawn did? Why would he be so upset? Unless... I almost gasped. If Chris had tricked me like that, I would've been hurt too, but I loved him in a different way than family love. What if Aaron loved Shawn that same way? That would explain things. People did crazy things when they were in love. If Aaron already had anger management problems, this wouldn't be an abnormal thing.  

"Aaron," I started, unsure of how I should phrase the question. 

"What?" he demanded. 

I bit my lip. "Do you... Uh... Do you, love Shawn?" 

His multi-colored eyes widened for a split second before narrowing. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean do you have feelings for him? It's normal to be hurt, but you should be angry with him, not me! I didn't do anything to him and trust me when I say I'm not interested. He's all yours!" I blabbered. 

"What are you going on about?" he asked, sounding angry and defensive. "I'm not gay, if that's what you're thinking." 

"It's okay!" I told him. "No one will judge you." 

Aaron shook his head, closing his eyes. "Shut up, Holly." 

"No! Stop harassing me! Find someone new to be attracted to! Shawn is no good! You can see what kind of man he is by what he's done for you? You feel like an idiot, a total fool! He's the one that did this to you-" 

Without warning, Aaron grabbed my head, holding it in place. I only had a three second warning before his lips came crashing down on mine. At first I was too dazed to move, but when I realized what he was doing, I struggled to get away from him. My protests came out as muffled cries. I tried beating my fists on his shoulders, but they didn't disrupt him. 

This kiss wasn't like any of the kisses I shared with Chris. This type of kiss made me sick. It was rough and it hurt my lips. No matter how hard I tried to pull away, I couldn't release myself from Aaron's vice-like grip. I couldn't breathe. Guilt was washing over me. How could I kiss someone other than Chris? This was just like the time at the party! Except no one was here to stop him. 

When he finally pulled away I gasped for breath. He gave me a hard look. "Does that prove I'm not gay?" 

"That doesn't prove anything!" I panted. 

"I'll do it again," Aaron said simply, bringing his lips back to mine. Again he held my head in place so I couldn't move away. 

Irritated, I opened my mouth slightly to bite his lip in order to get him to let go, but he took it as a sign of me deepening the kiss. Revulsion rose in me as he morphed the kiss into a French one. 

I quickly chomped down. 

"Ow!" he hissed, pulling away from me. 

I glared at him. "Don't. Kiss. Me. Again." 

"You liked it," he commented with a satisfied smirk. "I hope you rethink telling the police about Shawn. I'm sure you don't want to see what else he has in store for you. If you just clear his name, he and I would be out of your hair." 

"If I cleared his name, he'd come back to finish his job," I told him in a hard voice. 

Aaron cocked an eyebrow. "You mean killing Chris?" 

My heart skipped a beat. How come Shawn told Aaron about that but didn't tell him Chris and I were the real couple? Nothing he did made any sense! 

"Personally I have not interest in him, aside from keeping an eye on his little crush for you, but Shawn's gotta do what Shawn's gotta do," Aaron explained, pushing himself off me. "Thanks for the chat, Holly. And the kiss. But I'm leaving now." 

"Why can't you leave me alone?" I whispered, much like the way I spoke the same words to Shawn months earlier. "Wasn't the whole thing with Shawn enough? Now you have to come along? Didn't you get your kicks with the whole Jeremy thing?" 

"I told you-" 

"I know what it's like to be hurt by the one you love, Aaron!" I cried, cutting him off. "Yeah, it sucks. A lot. But you shouldn't take out your anger on someone innocent! Go yell at Shawn!" 

Aaron crossed his arms. "I'm not yelling at him." 

"You won't ever ruin my life, Aaron. You can do anything you want, but I'm not going to let you get to me. You don't know what I've been through. Compared to that, you're solely scum on the bottom of my shoe." 

A smile cracked onto his face. "It's too bad you're Shawn's enemy, Holly. You'd make a good friend." 

"Then forget Shawn!" I proposed, leaning toward him. "I'll forget everything you've done, Aaron. You only did it for the person you love. I understand that- I'd do the same if it didn't involve ruining another person's life." 

"No," Aaron responded stubbornly. "You don't understand, Holly. You don't even have a boyfriend." 

I ground my teeth together. This kid was so frustrating! "Forget it, Aaron. I'm only trying to help. You'll only get hurt in the end. Nothing good comes out of favoring Shawn." 

He waved me off. "I'll be the one to decide that. I'm leaving." 

"Fine. Bye." 

He didn't respond. A few seconds later I heard my front door opening and then slamming shut. Relief flooded my body and I fell back into the couch, heaving a heavy sigh. 

As much as I hated it, I knew where Aaron was coming from. No, it wasn't right to act the way he was acting, but if he loved Shawn that much... He had to be insane in someway. Those anger problems were a serious dilemma. What was going to make him stop going after me? 

I blinked. 

Why was I talking to the vessel? I should've been talking to the source of the problem. What would happen if I talked to Shawn directly? He couldn't harm me like Aaron could; he was behind bars. I'd talk to him through that little telephone. Maybe I could get this little fiasco to come to a ceasefire... 

Shaking my head, I pushed myself to my feet. That was something I had to talk over with Chris first. For now, I needed to brush my teeth and rid myself of all the Aaron germs... New guilt settled inside me. I needed to tell Chris he kissed me again, too. But I wasn't going to see him for two days. Hanging my head, I headed for the stairs. I was a pretty bad girlfriend. 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

A knock on my door sent me jolting up from my half-asleep, half-awake state on my couch. The T.V was blaring some CSI show, which I muted as I pushed myself onto my feet. Checking my phone, I realized it was already eight o'clock. Who was coming over this late? I peered through the little peephole at the top of the door. To my surprise, I saw Jeremy standing there. 

"Good evening my fair lady!" Jeremy greeted me as I opened the door. 

"Jeremy? What are you doing here?" 

"Coming to visit you!" he chirped excitedly, shoving by me and entering the threshold. "I heard you were planning to be alone tonight, so I came to rescue you!" 

I gave him a crazy look. What was he blabbering about? "What?" 

"It's a Friday night! You, as a teenage girl, should be having fun! You can't do that if you're by yourself. That's so lonely... It must be so sad. Like that one girl in the movies who never has any friends so she spends the nights reading the same books over and over again!" 

"I-It's okay," I told him honestly. It wasn't like I did much on Friday nights anyway. They belonged to Chris.  

"No it's not! Come on, Holly, live life a little!" 

Now I was getting worried. Had someone hit him in the head? He was being awfully over friendly. More than usual. "Jeremy, are you okay?" 

He ignored me. "I know! I've always wanted to go to a strip club! Holly, you should come and then strip for me- agh!" 

Jeremy suddenly jolted forward, into me. I jumped and threw my arms out to steady him, looking behind him to see Chris standing there in a rumpled white dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans. My heart did a little flip-flop. Hadn't we agreed that we wouldn't see each other? What was he doing here? 

"Jeremy, cut the crap," Chris demanded, his grey eyes flashing in annoyance. 

"Is he okay?" I inquired, staring down at Jeremy, slightly bewildered. "He seems sort of..." 

"He's drunk," Chris admitted flatly. "He just randomly showed up at my house singing that stupid song from Pirates of the Caribbean." 

"Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum!" Jeremy sang in a slur. I almost laughed. 

"I don't know where he got the alcohol from though," Chris continued, running a hand through his hair. 

"I got it from my Mama!" Jeremy sang off key. 

I nodded understandingly, trying to suppress a smile. Last time Jeremy had gotten drunk, I was too drunk myself to see how he acted. While I did wonder why he'd gotten drunk in the first place, I was also curious as to how he was like drunk. 

"And Holly, you should really say no when Jeremy says that kind of stuff, even when he's drunk. He'll probably choose that one thing to remember tomorrow and try to drag you off to a strip club." 

"He's so hard to say no to," I mumbled, glancing at the drunken Jeremy. 

Chris rolled his eyes. "You seem to be able to say no to him normally. What makes him so different now?" 

"He's cute when he's drunk," I confessed, feeling a smile cross my face. 

"That thing is cute?" Chris repeated, hooking a thumb at Jeremy. 

"Hey," Jeremy said, staring at him. "If you're jealous, just say so! I'll take you to a strip club too, Chris! Come on, give Jeremy some loving!" he cried, throwing his arms around Chris. 

Chris immediately shoved him away. "Don't touch me, you brat." 

Jeremy winced. "You're too serious, Chris." 

"How long have you been dealing with him for?" I inquired, smiling in amusement now. It must have been at least an hour if Chris was already this annoyed. 

"Like two hours," he told me, crossing his arms. "He seriously doesn't shut up." 

"So you brought him here?" 

A mysterious smile flitted across his lips. "I thought you might want to help me babysit him." 

"I think you mean you want me to suffer with you," I corrected, letting out a small laugh. I didn't care. Chris was here. That's all that mattered. 

He chuckled too, stepping forward to give me a quick kiss. "I decided I didn't want to be away from you today. Friday is our night." 

I wrapped my arms around him before he could move away. "I'm glad you came. We won't have to worry about Aaron staking out at my house either." 

"Why?" 

"He was here earlier." 

"What?" 

"Let's talk about it later," I responded, waving him off. "For now, let's try to sober Jeremy a little bit." 

Just as I spoke his name, Jeremy popped out of nowhere by my side. "So Holly, how about those pancakes?" 

I blinked at him. "What?" 

"It's best to ignore him," Chris informed me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's get him some cold water to drink." 

"Sure," I responded slowly, watching Jeremy. "Come on, Jeremy. Let's go into the kitchen." 

He followed behind us like a puppy, nearly stumbling over his feet twice. I couldn't help but giggle at him. "How the heck would he get alcohol? He's not twenty-one," I commented thoughtfully. 

Chris shrugged, getting a clean glass out of the dishwasher. "Who knows? He might have stolen it from someone." 

"I wonder what possessed him to drink it..." 

"Knowing Jeremy, it could have been an accident. One time he tried to drink a cup of counter cleaner." 

I wrinkled my nose. "Ew." 

"Yeah. Here Jeremy," Chris said, handing the cup of cold water to the blonde. "Drink it. You remember how to drink, right?" 

Jeremy stared at the glass for a minute before turning to me. "Holly, would you give me the water from your mouth-" 

"Quit joking and drink it," Chris demanded. 

Jeremy grinned before downing the water. "Ahh," he said, "refreshing!" 

"Hey, Jeremy, how does watching T.V sound?" I suggested, afraid he might try to start juggling knives. 

"Depends what's on," he responded, heading for my living room. "Come on, Holly, Topher." 

Chris grumbled under his breath. Laughing, I took his hand and led him back into the living room. My eyes landed on the couch, where Aaron had kissed me. I hadn't realized I stopped moving until there was a slight tug on my hand. I looked up to see Chris staring at me, concern etched in his eyes. "What's wrong?" 

"I, um, we need to talk," I told him quietly, adverting my gaze. 

"How do I get the words to come out?" Jeremy complained loudly. "I can see the images- shit! Does that mean I'm deaf? Does it? Chris? Does it?" 

"No," Chris replied flatly. "It means it's on mute." 

"Now I'm a mute? No!" 

I burst out laughing, moving over to the remote and unmuting the television. "Okay, Jeremy. Just stay here for a little bit. I need to talk to Chris." 

He wagged his eyebrows. "Talk with Chris? Or make out?" 

"Just watch the T.V," I ordered, feeling my cheeks warm at his knowing look. "Back into the kitchen," I whispered as I passed Chris. 

He followed me back into the room in silence, his arms crossed over his chest again. I turned to face him, taking a breath and letting it out slowly. "I ran into Aaron today," I started, trying to ease into it. 

His face hardened. "And?" 

"I brought him back here." 

"Holly-" 

"Let me finish, then you can scold me! I brought him back here because I wanted to know what Shawn was planning but I found out he doesn't know anything. I think he's in love with Shawn too, you know. The way I love you. Yeah. That's why he's so hell-bent on making my life crap. I tried to talk him out of it, but it didn't work... Oh, and he kissed me," I added in a tiny voice. 

Chris sighed heavily. "Again?" 

"I couldn't push him away," I admitted quietly. "I tried! But he wouldn't budge and when I tried to bite him, he-" 

"Shh," Chris interjected, covering my mouth with his hand. "I don't want to hear about the kiss." 

I looked up at him, giving him my best apologetic look. Was he angry with me? I'd kissed another guy... 

"Don't look so upset," he said, removing his hand and tilting my chin up. "I know he forced you. You didn't kiss him back, right?" 

"No!" 

"Then that's all that matters," he replied simply. 

I frowned at him. "Why aren't you more angry?" 

"Do you want me to be?" 

"Well seeing as I was kissed against my will..." 

He laughed. "Holly, I am angry about that. Just not with you. I know it's not your fault. However, I'm a little disappointed that you weren't smart enough to think inviting him to your house was a bad idea." 

A blush crossed my cheeks. "I-I was caught up in the moment." 

Chris chuckled again. "It's okay, Holly. I'm not too surprised." 

"Hey!" 

He pulled me into his arms. "Be careful though, okay? People with anger management problems like Aaron are dangerous. Especially because he's doing what he's doing because of Shawn. If you're crazy statement is right, love can make people do terrible things." 

"I'm pretty positive," I mumbled into his chest. "I don't get it." 

"Don't get what?" 

"Why won't Shawn leave us alone? Hasn't he done enough? I've gone through enough emotional stress for three life times. If only he knew what I felt when I saw you that one time you were hit by a shovel-" 

"You mean when I slipped in my shed and fell on a shovel?" 

I knew he was just trying to lighten the mood, but I didn't laugh. "Chris. I'm serious." 

He sighed, holding me tighter. "I can't give you an answer, Holly. Maybe you're repenting my sins." 

"I thought you weren't religious?" 

"I'm not. I just thought that was a pretty good excuse." 

"It's not fair," I complained. "Why can't our relationship be easy? 

He rubbed my back soothingly. "Well, where's the fun in that? You only have a few months left of school, Holly. Then you don't have to worry about Aaron anymore, or Shawn, and our relationship won't have to be a secret." 

"That's too long." 

"It's only about two months." 

Two months? I pulled away from him slightly, my eyes wide. "Only two months?" 

He grinned. "Did you forget seniors get to get out a month early?" 

"Yes!" 

"Well... surprise." 

Just two months until I was finished with high school? Two months more until I didn't have to deal with any of this drama anymore? Two months more and Chris and I could finally be a regular couple... 

My world suddenly seemed a lot brighter. 

"I love you, Chris," I said happily. 

"I love you too," he replied, kissing me on the nose. "Now we should really keep an eye on Jeremy." 

I nodded, letting him lead me back into the living room. "If you had let me know you were coming over I would have presented myself better." 

He squeezed my hand. "I think you're beautiful, Holly." 

"You have to say that. You're my boyfriend." 

"I don't have to say that. I truly think that." He paused, turning to look at me. "You're absolutely stunning," he commented, his grey eyes piercing into mine. 

Not under my control, a blush blossomed on my cheeks, causing him to smirk. "Y-you're pretty too, Chris." 

He wrinkled his nose. "I'm not pretty." 

"Don't be too hard on yourself." 

He rolled his eyes. "Can't you ever just give me a regular compliment?" 

"Like?" 

"Like, oh Chris! You're the most charming, handsome, hottest..." 

"Most dashing?" I guessed, remember his earlier words. 

He grinned. "You're getting the hang of it, Babe." 

My heart fluttered at his word choice. Babe? That was the first time he'd called me that. When Jeremy said it, it didn't cause my heart to spaz out. Chris made it sound so... attractive. A silly smile spread across my lips and I ducked my head so he wouldn't see it. 

Out of the blue, there was a booming crash from the living room. Chris and I exchanged startled glances before hurrying toward the source of the noise. When my eyes met Jeremy on the floor with my television on top of him, I was at a loss for words. His hands were flapping wildly and he was groaning, straining to get the T.V off of him. Chris shook his head in disbelief. "How?" he mouthed to me. 

I shrugged. Jeremy had a way of doing things like this. "You better not have broken my T.V Jeremy," I warned him, squatting down by his head. 

"Holly!" he gasped dramatically. "My life... is being... sucked out... of me! Save me! Only you have the power!" 

"What power?" 

"The power... of love!" 

I snickered, patting Jeremy on the head. "Chris'll help you out of this one. He's much stronger than me." 

Jeremy made a face. "It's too late. I'm a goner..." 

"Man up, Jer," Chris said, gripping the television in his hands. He lifted it with ease, placing it back on the wooden T.V stand where it belonged. I quickly walked over to it, turning it on to make sure it still worked. When it didn't turn on, I started panicking. My mom was going to kill me! Chris chuckled and I turned toward him, frowning. He was holding up the plug.  

A sheepish smile crossed my face and I scratched the back of my head. "Ah ha. Oops." 

"Oops," he mocked in a teasing tone, plugging it into the outlet for me. "Now try it." 

I clicked the power button and it turned on. Jeremy clapped happily from the floor, where he was still lying. It took all the willpower I had not to step on him. "How long are you planning on staying?" I questioned, turning to look at Chris. 

He cocked an eyebrow. "You want to get rid of me already?" 

"No!" I said quickly. 

"You're so honest," he chuckled, ruffling my hair. "We'll probably stay for a little while longer. What time does your mom get home?" 

"Midnight," I told him, taking his hand off my head and holding it in both of mine. "You don't have to stay that late if you don't want to though." 

He smiled. "Of course I want to." 

I smiled back at him. 

Jeremy appeared out of nowhere, slinging an arm around both of us. "You know what guys?" 

"What?" Chris and I responded simultaneously. 

"How does a threesome sound-" 

Chris immediately punched Jeremy in the chest while I gaped at him. "Go away, Jeremy." 

He groaned, lowering himself onto the couch carefully. "I'm going to take that as a no..." 

"He's so annoying when he's drunk," Chris muttered, crossing his arms. 

Unable to stop myself, I burst out laughing. "Really? I think he's funny. I always knew he wanted you-" 

"Stop talking now, otherwise I'll leave you with him." 

I abruptly closed my mouth. If Chris left me here with Jeremy... I didn't even want to think about it. 

"Is this what raising a kid is like?" Chris wondered out loud as he led me to the couch. "If so, you're doing all the raising, Holly." 

"So you're going to knock me up and leave me?" 

He gently knocked his fist on my forehead. "No, stupid. You know what I meant. I'm not doing any chasing." 

I shook my head at him. "It'll be different when it's actually our child." 

The words felt weird coming from my mouth. Almost like soap. Our child... It seemed so unreal. Sure, a baby was way out along the way, but it was nice to know that at some point Chris wanted one. 

I snuggled into Chris's side, wrapping my arms around him. "Jeremy will be the uncle." 

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." 

"I-I'd be great uncle," Jeremy slurred, throwing himself over my legs. "I'd take them fishing, and hiking, and to the candy store, and on a skydiving trip! Oh! And on the Titanic!" 

Chris pursed his lips. "The Titanic sunk. You want to kill our children?" 

The look on Jeremy's face made me think Chris had slaughtered his entire family. "No!" 

"Then-" 

"Holly, let's play twenty questions," Jeremy suggested, giving me his best puppy dog look. 

Which I couldn't resist. "Aw, of course, Jeremy!" I cooed causing Chris to nudge me in the ribs with his elbow. 

"Okay. Question one." 

"Shoot." 

"What size is your bra?" 

I smiled wryly that him. "That's a type of sexual harassment, Jeremy." 

Chris sighed deeply. "Should have just said no, Holly." 

"Fine. Question Two." 

This time I was a little more wary. 

"How big is Chris's-" 

"Enough!" Chris interjected, slapping his hand to Jeremy's mouth. To my surprise, he looked embarrassed. "Shut up, Jeremy." 

Jeremy gave him an innocent look, pulling away his hand. "What? I was going to ask how big your shirts are. Large? Medium? Small?" 

"You're an idiot." 

I sunk back into the couch with a sigh. It was going to be a long night. 

___________________________________________________ 

Phew! A really long chapter! That being said, will you please all press the little vote button to your left? c: It'd make me veeeeery happy! 

I'm going to Chicago in eight days for a week and a half. I don't know if I'll be able to update, so I'm trying to write the chapters in advance, but it just ends up being one long chapter. > < 

If anyone lives in the windy city, you should come visit me~ I'll be around that famous garden place... I think it's a garden. Or park. Not sure. lol. 

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Thanks For Nothing - The Downtown Fiction