The minute – nay, the second I got home that Monday, the first thing I did was plop down on my bed in exhaustion.

What a day.

First, I had to face the sight of Alex still running his plays on random chicks, the damn jerk. Then, I had been forced to hide in a closet with said jerk and nearly gotten caught as an accomplice to his, Miles' and Jagger's stupid prank. Then of course, I had to sit through the actual prank happening and pretend I wasn't planning on murdering Alex once school was over. Poor Mr Travis had been smothered in maple syrup and duck feathers, making him look like a giant Kentucky fried chicken with glaze. He had been forced to use the locker room showers, while Alex had gotten the task of cleaning up all the mess, since it was obvious who did it. Miles and Jagger had been voted guilty too, but they got the job of cleaning out the drains in the shower from feathers once Mr Travis was done bathing.

School today had just been a complete nightmare, and to top it all off, I had now gotten my period. Yes, that really was the red cherry on top of a horrible Monday.

So as I laid in my bed and groaned in silent pain, I begun thinking thoroughly about everything me and Alex were doing.

We had been friends for ages, since the time we met eight years ago when he moved to the neighborhood. Already back then, he had been a real ragamuffin who could spell trouble before spelling his own name. I, the little ten year old I had been, had been reading Romeo and Juliet on the playground in the park and Alexander had with his photographic memory just begun acting out the book, line for line with perfect enunciation of the difficult Shakespearian language. It had been to tease me, but that was pretty much the moment we became friends, especially later when he learned I had a knack for scouting out pretty girls. Once he realized his moves didn't work on me, he became obsessed with bringing me to parties and casual dates with his friends to be his wing-woman for picking up girls. And that was the whole story of our friendship, leaving out the phase where Alex had a mental breakdown a few years ago. But I couldn't even stand to think about that.

So that brought us to now; Eight years later and now he was telling me he had been crazy for me all this time. Could I trust that to be true or was he just getting so bored of wanton chicks that he decided to go for a challenge, aka me?

My phone suddenly buzzed with a text and brought me out of my thoughts. Tiredly, I reached for it and checked it.

Dumbass:
'Is my sexy Sophie-girl home this lovely Monday?'

Three guesses who it was from. I rolled my eyes and texted a quick reply.

Me:
'She's home alright, but she's having a visit from her Auntie Floe this week, so she's not up for anything. Sry'

I waited a couple of minutes for a reply, but I never got one. I figured he got grossed out and maybe decided to hang with Miles and Jagger today. Probably for the best, too. We needed some distance.

Almost one hour later, when I was just on the brink of falling asleep, I heard rustling outside my window. Blinking myself awake, I saw my window being opened, and in climbed the dumbass himself.

"What the fuck, Alex?" I exclaimed when he smirked at me and brushed a couple of leaves out of his hair. "Did you just climb up the tree outside and in through my window? What was wrong with the front door?"

"I was bored and wanted to try the whole 'climbing-in-through-the-window' trend they do in all the chick-lit movies," He replied while taking off his school bag and then dumping it on my floor. "And besides, Auntie Floe doesn't stop me from making out with you."

"Alex—"

"And I also brought you cookies."

I paused when he zipped his bag open and pulled out a pack of chocolate chip cookies. With bits of caramel in, too.

"You play dirty, Stone," I said, scooting over on my bed so he could fit. He smirked and laid down next to me, giving me the pack of cookies.

"It's the only way I play, Reynolds."

For the next couple of hours, we laid in my bed and watched TV while eating cookies. Alex wasn't really much of TV person though (can you believe it?), so at one point he fished out a book from his bag and started reading.

"The Incredible Science Of The Human Body?" I read on the cover of the book. "Really?"

Alex chuckled and flipped a page. "You'd be surprised what secrets the human body is hiding."

"Oh yeah? Tell me some."

He cocked a brow at me, but then smirked. "Alright. Did you know that cuddling with loved ones releases oxytocin - a hormone which reduces stress and prevents nausea and headaches?"

I pursed my lips. "You made that one up."

"Nope, it's true. Did you also know that people who conceal bigger secrets are more likely to suffer headaches, back pain and nausea?"

"Well that would actually explain all of your constant headaches," I grunted, turning the TV down. "You keep more secrets than the US government."

"I only keep them from my mother and the rest of the world," He replied, tugging a little smile onto his lips. "That's all."

"That's all?" I repeated sarcastically. "Alex, you have a photographic memory. The ability to remember anything you want and you choose to hide it from your mother, the person who gave birth to you and raised you."

"Yeah, I do, Soph," He replied, his voice suddenly lowering. He shot me a dark look. "Because I remember the life me and my mother had before we moved here. I remember every single time my father hit my mother and I remember every bruise and cut he gave her. I could sit here right now and recite the worst of their arguments word for word, and it's all because of this," He said and pointed to his brain. "My mother thinks I've forgotten about it or at least moved past it, but if she knew how much it haunts me every goddamn day and what it's done to me..." He paused up and I then saw him press his lips together. "She'd break down, Soph, and I don't want to be the one to do that to her. Sarah and Kaylee need her. So yeah, I hide it."

I blinked in shock, realizing this was the most Alex had opened up in years. Even to me, he never really liked to talk about what went on in his head.

"What about you?" I whispered, looking into his eyes. "Can you keep doing this? Pretending you're fine?"

"You know I don't have a choice," He said, still meeting my eyes firmly. "You went to counseling with me once, you saw how I couldn't sit through a single session without one-upping the shrink. I am what I am, Soph. I've learned to accept it."

He now looked away from me and looked back into his book. Even though he didn't show it, he was hurting inside – breaking down, actually. Being strong all the time, superficial like nothing was wrong, it was tearing him down. Remembering every part of his past, not being able to forget it, was traumatic. I could only imagine how that felt; Reliving the most horrible moments of his life every day and knowing it would never stop because of a faulty in his brain that didn't allowed him to forget. Anybody would become depressed by that, possibly suicidal.

And he kept it all to himself.

Without hesitation, I grabbed his face and turned it my way and then pressed my lips firmly to his. Despite the initial shock, Alex instantly kissed me back, cupping my face and letting his tongue swipe across the seams of my lips.

Not a second later, he rolled me over and climbed on top of me and kissed me even deeper. I let him. His lips were so soft, yet so powerful – hungry for me. His left hand slowly roamed down my body and found my breast, cupping it softly through my bra, before giving it a firm squeeze. I couldn't help but moan.

"Alex," I breathed when he begun kissing me down my neck. "What are we doing?"

"Why do you ask that every time? I think it's fairly obvious that we're making out – you even started it this time." He replied, his lips tracing over my clavicle bone.

Okay, he had a little bit of a point, but I didn't expect it to end up here. Or did I?

I moaned softly and arched my back when he slid his hand under my top and traced the outlines of my bra. Heat begun to burn in my stomach and core when his hand sought inside my right bra cup and cupped my breast, the same time his mouth and tongue danced across my cleavage, leaving a hot trail of wet skin behind him.

"Alexander," I moaned and arched my head back into my pillow, closing my eyes. My hands found his blond locks and buried themselves within them, gripping on tightly to his roots. "Mmm, that feels so good."

He squeezed my breast again and made my core throb even more. Especially when he pinched my nipple between two fingers, before biting into my other breast with his teeth. I mewled in pleasure.

"Sophie, sweetheart, are you home?" A voice suddenly called from downstairs. Me and Alex both froze up, our eyes meeting.

It was my mom.

We heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and within seconds, we were pulling apart and fixing ourselves up. Alex ran a hand through his hair and wiped his lips down while I fixed my bra and tugged my shirt back into place. The next minute my mom came through the door, looking past our knocking policy.

"Sophie, I—oh," She said and looked at me and Alex innocently sitting on my bed. "I didn't know you had company. Hello, Alexander!"

"Hi, Mrs Reynolds," Alexander hoarsely replied, quickly clearing his throat. "Good to see you again."

"You, too!" My mom joyously smiled. "I haven't seen you in ages, how have you been?"

"Just peachy. Busy, but peachy."

I sent a subtle scowl at him when I obviously understood the discrete double meaning of his words.

"That's wonderful! How are your studies go—"

"Mom," I cut through. "Not now. Me and Alex are actually busy."

"Oh, I'm sorry," She chuckled, flustering a little. "I won't bother you then, I'll let you get back to work." She smiled and was just about to walk out when she suddenly stopped up and turned back around again, "Oh, will you be staying for dinner, Alex? You look hungry!"

Alex turned his head and looked smugly at me, a dirty smirk at his lips. "You have no idea."

~~~

It was six days later aka, Sunday. Auntie Floe had left and that meant I could now safely begin ballet again, without having to struggle with the pain. At least not the menstrual kind.

Ballet was hard, especially when you danced as concentrated as I did. I had so much on my mind and dancing my troubles away always seemed to help. But for some reason it wasn't really working this time.

I was so confused about me and Alex and the feelings I had for him. I had looked at him as my friend for years and now all of a sudden, he was kissing me and giving me my first ōrgasms. I knew how his games worked and I knew how aggressively he could play them. He wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted; Stone was both his last name and the force of his determination. Not to mention the hardness of his cock whenever he was kissing me.

I shook my head and tried to focus on my fouettés. I kept my spot on the wall as I twirled around, my thoughts whirling around as well. I twirled and twirled to the music until it suddenly stopped. It blew me out of my rhythm and made me whip my head to the stereo by the door. And there stood Alexander, smirking at me with his hand on the Off button. "Hey, beautiful."

I panted heavily, clutching my ribs. "How did you know where I was?"

"It's Sunday," He smiled, walking inside the room while opening the first button of his formal shirt. He was wearing a tie and a nice jacket with dress pants. "You're almost always here on Sundays."

"Did you just come from church?" I asked when he loosened his tie. His mom always made him wear a suit for church. I could tell his hair had been combed as well, but he had been running his hands through it on his way here, so now it had the sexy disheveled bed-head look. The one I loved on him.

"Yeah," He smiled, walking up to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, why shouldn't I be?" I quickly replied. "What makes you think I'm not?"

He gave me a raised brow. "I never questioned how you were, Soph, I just asked you how you were feeling. But even without your little rant there, I know you only push yourself this hard when you're feeling emotional." He frowned and titled his head when I looked down. "Tell me what's wrong, Soph."

I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again. I couldn't really meet his, so I just looked at his tie instead. "I'm just confused. I don't know if you're for real or if you're just playing me."

"Soph—"

"No, can you blame me?" I said and looked up at him. "Honestly? I know you, I've seen how you play. Why should I trust you?"

He looked into my eyes, frowning a little. "Because you know me. And I know you."

"Do you?" I asked, pressing my lips together. "Do you really? You know my family and you know my friends, you know my grades and you know my history. But do you actually know me?" I said, watching as he frowned deeper. "You know nothing personal about me, Alex. Not really."

I turned away from him and walked up to my duffle bag, bending down to pull my water bottle out.

"I know that your favorite color is yellow, but you never wear it because it doesn't compliment your skin tone," He suddenly said. I froze. "I know that you prefer sleeping on your stomach with one hand under the pillow and one dangling over the side of the bed. I know you hate all boy bands and the idolization that fangirls make about them, but you secretly have a crush on Zayn Malik," I could hear his voice coming closer. "I know you spilled ketchup on your favorite shirt and refused to throw it out, even though the stain couldn't get off, so now you only wear it with a scarf." He stopped right behind me and softly placed his hands on my hips as I stood up. "And I know you have big fears about what will happen if you don't seize every opportunity, because you love life so much, you don't want to miss a thing. And I know you love me, Soph, just like I know you know I love you right back."

I exhaled a shaky breath and then slowly turned around. Our eyes met and I saw how sober his looked. He gently lifted his hand and cupped my face and I leaned into his touch. "A-Alex..."

"Sophie. You can trust me. I want to be your boyfriend and I'm going to be good at it," He said, pressing his lips tightly together while looking into my eyes. "Please give me a chance, give us a chance."

I took a nervous breath. "What if we don't work out? What happens then, Alex?"

"That's such a stereotypical question, Sophie-girl," He said, lifting a smile to the corner of his lips. "Don't be cliché, it doesn't suit you."

"I'm serious, Alex," I said and walked around him. "We're best friends and we both know that we won't still be friends if we break up."

"You're forcing me to say something cliché now," He sighed and rubbed his face, turning my way. "We don't know what the future will hold, Soph. Let's just live life and take the consequences as they come. But I'll tell you one thing though," He said, a smirk now growing on his lips. "After I've fucked that delicious little pussy of yours, you'll never want to leave me. I promise you."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him again. "And just for that, you won't be fucking my pussy any time soon."

"Come on, Soooph," He chuckled. "Aren't you tired of being a virgin yet? Don't you fantasize about the two of us fucking like rabbits? I know I do."

I gave him a flat stare when he smirked deviously. "You know I'm not any of those random girls you pick up at parties. I can control myself."

"I know, but in all seriousness Soph, why are you still a virgin?" He asked, walking up to me. "Is it because you don't feel ready yet?"

"Oh, I'm ready," I snorted, giving him another flat stare when he begun smirking dirtily. "It's just.... I don't know," I sighed and decided to sit down on the floor. Alex joined me. "You know I don't care about the whole rush teenagers have these days about losing their virginity," I said, stretching my legs into a split to stretch out my inner thighs. "People look sympathetically at the person who hasn't gotten laid before the end of high school, but I don't give a fuck about that. And it's not like I'm a prude, it's not because I want my first time to be profound and meaningful like in the movies." I leaned forward on my elbows, increasing the stretch on my legs even more. "I just want to get fucked when I want to. It happens when it happens, and I'm sorry, but I can't put a time—"

"Sophie, could you not spread your legs wide open in front of me while we're talking about sex."

I looked up from the floor and found Alex staring hard at my open legs, specifically at the spot between them. He moved uncomfortably, shifting when a growing bulge in his pants begun to stir.

I fought a stiff laughter and suddenly couldn't help but tease him even more. This was going to be his punishment for making the prank last Monday.

I sat up again and temptingly trailed my hands up my inner thighs, closing in on my core. I saw how his eyes darkened. "Sweating a little over there, Stone, are you? You look a little feverish."

He looked up and met my eyes with a prowling look, his jaw locking. "You're such a fucking cocktease, Sophie."

I squealed when he suddenly launched forward and pushed me backwards on the floor, then climbed in over me. He grabbed my thigh and cinched my legs around him. He then pushed his hips to my core and made me shiver as he locked my hands against the floor and leaned down to my lips. I struggled to breathe and tried to suck in air. "A-Ale—"

"I've said it before Soph, and now I'm going to say it again," He growled, his eyes drilling deep into mine. "The things I could do to you..."

His eyes flickered down to my cleavage, to my breasts, before they traveled up to my eyes again. They then dropped to my throat when I gulped heavily.  "I think you left church too soon..."

His lips twitched as he begun slowly rubbing his groin against my core, making me involuntarily moan. "I'm trying to be patient with you Soph, but if you keep spreading your legs like that in front of me, I'm going to climb in through your window again and fuck you while you're sleeping. I don't care if I'll go to prison, I just need to be inside you, Soph. And soon."

He pressed his lips to my neck at the same time he pressed his hips hard against my core. I arched my back and moaned, feeling his fingers intwine with mine. My body begun aching for him and my core begun burning.

In that moment I knew – just like he probably did to – that 'soon' would probably come much sooner than soon.

• • •

Well then.