Chapter Three (Rick's POV)

I really couldn't stand being alone for too long. The feeling was fucking suffocating and I felt like one step from my room and everyone on the planet would be dead. Honestly, that didn't matter too much to me, so long as one person was still here. One person in particular.

Devin Carter.

In all honesty, my original intentions involved rope, whip cream, and just a one night stand. A really long, really nice one night stand. Suddenly, everything was changing, though, the more I teased and followed Devin around. His violent retaliations were amusing, though, a bit painful, but I wasn't a masochist for nothing. Or a sadist. I could watch him for hours and not get bored. Every little thing he did turned me on and that's when I knew what my intentions were turning into.

I was falling in love with this twerp. This violent, outspoken, evil twin. His cute, wildly styled caramel hair and those glowing blue eyes that seemed to become jewels whenever he was angry. His skin was so soft and smooth, lightly tanned from the summer sun and his lips... Jeez, don't get me started on those lips of his.

The only unfortunate part of my infatuation was the fact that for once in my long, miserable life...

The one I wanted, didn't want me.

It was one of those problems that just didn't happen. It was like drinking coffee without a buttload of sugar. Didn't happen. Ever. Well, until now. Until Devin Carter. Oh, but don't think I'd give up on him so easily. No, once I had my sights set, I sought out any way to get him. Even if it meant making some stupid bet. Little did he know that even if he didn't fall in love with me- which I highly doubt, because, come on, I'm Rick Patterson- I'd just take him anyway. I didn't play the rules and he'd learn that soon enough.

Now I just leaned on the hood of my Porsche, smoking a cigarette as I watched the basketball team scrub down cars for the second day in a row. I was itching to walk over there to get Devin to wash my car, but obviously that failed. I'd have to watch him from afar before going in for the kill.

Which was one hell of a plan because it was driving me nuts to be this far away from him. Currently, he was wearing a nice pair of short black shorts and his sweaty basketball jersey that stuck to his perfectly lean, smooth muscled body. His hair was wet with sweat and soapy water as he scrubbed the hood of an ugly white 1998 Lumina. His shorts were slipping on his hips and I could just imagine taking those hips into my hands and-

Whoa, who the hell is this?

I frowned, watching as Devin's friend from yesterday came over, dropping a sponge near Devin, who jumped and whirled around to glare hatefully at his friend. Oh, what was his name? Demon? Devil? Devin-stealer?

Damien. There we go.

Damien, mister nice and ripped with short dark hair and dark, heated eyes, seemed to be harrassing my Devin. Or so Devin made it out to be. He was hissing something at him that I couldn't hear and Damien seemed to just be amused by it. This was irritating me.

I plucked my cigarette from my lips and flicked it to the ground, stomping it out and heading over to the parking lot. I started toward them and Devin noticed me first, his eyes widening. Damien frowned and turned to see me and his eyes turned cold.

Aw, we didn't even get to meet. I smirked evilly at him and he stepped back in annoyance as I flashed Devin a smile.

"Hey, beautiful. Enjoying your day job?" I asked. Devin blushed, glaring at me before he whipped around and gave me his backside. I cocked a brow, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but his little buddy, Damien, smacked my hand away.

"Buzz off, Patterson." Damien commanded. I felt a surge of immediate hatred for this kid. Oh, he did not just get in my way. I smirked anyway and tipped my glasses down. Devin glanced over his shoulder at us with a frown.

"Run along, Johnny. Let the adults play." I drawled, then pushed my glasses back up. I watched Damien's eyes glint with hate. Good, now we were matched. Devin scowled us.

"Oi, John Cena, Randy Orton, go find a ring and leave me alone. Seriously not in the mood for your puppy love bullshit." He snapped. That was a red flag that something was on his mind and whatever was on his mind was about to go on my mind. His business was my business, automatically. No questions asked.

"Somethin' on your mind, Dev?" I asked casually. Devin glared at me, then his expression softened, but only by a slight degree as he gave me a droll stare as he set his sponge down, folding his arms over his chest.

"Is this one of your 'make me love you' techniques? If so, lay off the soap operas, Fido." He retorted, turning to go back to work. I smirked and caught his chin, jerking him to face me. His eyes widened as I stare at him, my lick flicking over my lip hungrily at his deer-in-the-headlight stare. I could just feel Damien seething beside us before he went to grab my wrist, but I whipped around and moved fast.

I caught him by the back of his neck and swung him around, slamming him onto the hood of the lumina. I twisted his wrist behind him, pushing it up so his bones cracked at the strain. He hissed past clenched teeth and Devin gasped.

"Rick! What the hell?!"

"Get off me, asshole!" Damien snarled, trying to jerk out of my grip, but I didn't budge an inch. I wasn't about to let my prey get away. No mercy.

"Rick, seriously! You're gonna break his arm!" Devin protested angrily, grabbing my arm and trying to wrench me back, but it was a total failure. Of course he couldn't budge me, no one could. That's what all those work out hours were for, all those days spent training and working. If there was one thing I learned, it was that you needed to be prepared.

And prepared to bargain was something I also picked up from doing time.

"All righty," I said, still not releasing Damien before I raised my eyes to look at Devin, who was still shocked, "I'll let him go, but you. Me. Tonight. My house. Uncle Vic cooks and we can have a sort of mini-date. Seeing as I'm low on cash. Tomorrow night I'll take you out somewhere real nice." Devin gaped at me.

"That's what you're after?" He cried in disbelief.

"Fuck that," Damien sneered, then looked at Devin, "Don't you dare, Devin! Let the prick bust my arm, but don't you dare say yes!" Devin grimaced and took a step back, about to shake his head, but I lifted Damien's arm just a tad further.

"Ugh!" Damien squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Devin gritted his teeth and one more push made Damien groan in pain at the strain.

"Fine, fine," Devin barked, moving forward at last to shove me back, which I let him do as Damien slumped off the hood, "But don't do that again! Seriously, you're fucking psychotic!"

"I gotta be," I responded dryly, then smirked at him, "See you tonight at eight, beautiful." With that, I turned on my heel and stalked back toward my car, resisting the urge to whirl back around and punch Damien in the face.

I shouldn't have let him go. I should've busted his arm, busted his face into the hood of that ugly ass car. However, the look on Devin's face had kept most of my strength at bay, much to my surprise. Maybe I was in deeper than I thought...

Ugh, no way. Not again.

I shook my head and got in the car, watching Damien snap at Devin, who fired right back with his own arsenal of insults and sarcasm. Just one of the many things I loved about him. I started the engine and squealed down the street, driving at least twenty miles over the speed limit as I headed home, blasting Avenged Sevenfold all the way there. I pulled into the driveway and got out, seeing Vic's truck parked off to the side. I frowned and headed inside.

I could smell sizzling steak from the main room and I was drawn to the kitchen to find not Vic, but Blake pushing the steak around in a pan while Danny stood nearby, reading a sports magazine and making snarky comments.

"Her boobs are so fake. I mean, you can just see the word silicone written on them. And you can tell this guy does steriods. It's not just the fact that his muscles are bigger than his head, but the fact that there's no package there. At all. If you ever do steroids, I'll kick your ass." Danny was ranting before he tossed the magazine onto the island counter, then saw me. He sucked his breath through his teeth and stepped back as if I was an alien. Blake frowned, looked up and saw me, then scowled.

"Done stalking Devin?" He asked. I sighed wistfully, heading to the fridge and pulling out the only best friend I could count on. A nice bottle of cold Budlight. I popped the top, took a swig, then leaned against the fridge.

"Unfortunately, someone neglected to tell me that there's another competitor," I drawled, watching Danny's eyes widen in surprise, "Some kid named Damien. Tall, dark, buff, and probably a douche bag. No, strike that. He is a douche bag. The prick was treating Devin like he was his bitch or something."

"No way," Danny protested in denial, "Devin doesn't even like Damien. Our ma just forced Devin to be nice to him since he's new in town." I rolled my eyes.

"That isn't stopping the guy from making his move. I don't like the guy. At all. So, I invited Devin over here tonight for din-din and afterwards, well, I'll keep that to myself." I winked. Danny's face flushed with anger as he slammed his fists on the counter.

"No! Screw with as many guys as you want, but you stay away from Devin! He's got enough shit to deal with, without you using him like a tool!" He snapped angrily. I scowled.

"What makes you think I'm using him?"

"You use everyone, idiot." Blake snorted. I frowned, then smirked angrily. I could feel my adrenaline pumping and a fit beginning to start, but I just pushed off the fridge and gave them a wink.

"Let me know when Dev gets here."

"Fuck you!" Danny barked at me, but I ignored him and headed upstairs where I turned down the hallway to the furthest room away from anything. I made sure everything was calm, even when I closed the door behind me, locking it. I whirled around and threw my bottle at the furthest wall where it shattered to pieces after striking a KoRn poster. I tore the sheets off my bed and threw them on the floor, kicked them to the other side, then threw myself back on the bed, covering my face with my hands and gritting my teeth.

God, I was gonna go insane.

I wanted to go back into town, even though people would glare at me, even though they'd judge me. I just didn't want to be alone in here. I rolled over on my stomach, frowning as I scanned my room. It was still the same it was when everything had gone wrong, back when I had started high school.

All my rock and screamo band posters, laundry thrown everywhere, beer bottles scattered, food wrappers sticking to things. The clutter of it all was only a slight comfort. I buried my face against the mattress, lacing my fingers together on the back of my head.

Please let eight'o'clock get here soon. I hated this, sitting here and waiting and doing nothing. Just being alone was driving me nuts.

I didn't want to think. I didn't want to ponder. I just wanted to do. Do something, anything. Most of all, I wanted Devin. I groaned and rolled back over on my bed, glaring up at the ceiling.

Man, I hated being in love. This was probably what it was. The familiar ache, the tug and endless thoughts about one person. That's the way it was before. I smirked bitterly. Only this time, I wasn't going to let the same thing happen in the end.

No.

Devin was going to be mine. Whether he liked it or not, honestly.

I wanted what Danny and Blake had. I hated admitting that, but it's not like anyone else could hear me. I was alone. I was always alone. At least the good part was that no one knew my weaknesses...

That's right. Alone, no one would hurt you. No one could use you or betray you or hate you. I sighed comfortably, closing my eyes as I imagined Devin perfectly in my head. The way he felt under me when I had set him down on the bench. The way his sweaty skin touched mine and his breath blew on my throat. I ached to do more than kiss him. I wanted to hold him, feel his heart beating and his breath whispering across my skin.

The feel of his fingers entertwining with mine and his breathes turning into heated moans and his nails raking across the sheets. His head lolling around in the deep haze of lust, his lips swollen from the hungry kisses that I'd give him, long after his lips started to bleed.

Oh, jeez. Clock, hurry faster... Hurry before I go insane...

To pass the time, and avoid thinking about things, I took my time showering and listening to music, before I shut it off and pulled out my guitar that had been sitting in the back of my wardrobe all this time. I tuned it up and played a few chords before I got the general feel of it again. I closed my eyes and indulged in a little random rock, my pick hitting every chord perfectly. A smile swept across my face as I thought of Devin again.

Two weeks... It'd only take two days for him to fall in love with me, even if I did have to resort to soap opera types. Just wait and see, Devin. You'll be in my arms and begging for me to touch you before two weeks is up.

And thank god that it was almost eight. I tossed the guitar on a pile of dirty laundry and headed downstairs, the smell of dinner luring me into the kitchen to find Vic there now in a pair of oily overalls as he moved quickly.

"What's your hurry, Amelia Bedelia?" I asked, cocking a brow as Vic took a second to scowl at me before he set the plates out.

"Got a call to come in. A big job tonight and it needs to be done by tomorrow. Do me a favor and don't ruin your one chance to not be a dick?" He asked, glancing at me over his shoulder. I frowned, leaning against the frame of the hallway.

"Like you care."

"Actually, I do. Just because the last guy was a dick, doesn't mean Devin will be. Devin is Devin and not-"

"Don't." I interrupted sharply, glaring at him. Vic sighed, shook his head, glanced at the clock and hissed before he grabbed a bag and coat up off one of the stools.

"Careful, no drinking or smoking, you hear me? He has to be home by midnight or Blake is taking him home. Behave, Rick!" Vic called and walked out the door, slamming the door shut behind him. I tensed in irritation. Leave it to Vic to bring up painful memories from something as stupid as a little date.

The doorbell rang not too long after and I immediately smirked. I heard Blake and Danny moving around upstairs to meet Devin, but I was there first and opened the door to see Devin standing there in a pair of khaki shorts and a "ZOMBIES: EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF" t-shirt with stick figures on it. He glared at me, his cheeks flushing.

"I'm only doing this so A) You don't go Hulk on Damien again and B) So I can see Danny."

"Nice to see you too." I retorted, stepping aside to let him in just as Blake and Danny reached the bottom of the stairs. As soon as Devin saw Danny, I watched with a faint twinge of jealousy and envy as Devin's face softened and he smiled in relief.

"How's it goin'?" He asked. Danny beamed.

"Great! Man, I already miss ma's lemonade. That shit was the best part about summer."

"You can say that again. I wish you didn't have to leave so early yesterday," Devin's face visibly grew sad, "Shooting zombies isn't as fun without you." Danny mirrored his expression before he forced a smile.

"Come on, Vic and Blake made dinner! It's really good."

"It's smells really good." Devin practically drooled and followed Danny into the kitchen. A part of me burned angrily and I wanted to actually strangle Danny at the way he was stealing Devin away. I could've sworn I was the one that invited him over. Though, another part of me ached. Even in a room full of people, I was alone... Goddamn it, no.

I shoved past Blake easily, watching him roll his eyes as I followed the twins into the kitchen where dinner was already set out and ready to be eaten. We all sat down and dug right in, but no one really said anything.

"Well, jeez, aren't you all just a chatty bunch?" I retorted.

"It's your date." Danny mocked. I went to throw a piece of food, but Blake blocked it and glared at me. I rolled my eyes, then rested my chin on my knuckles as I looked at Devin, who glared at me in return.

"So, how close are you with that buddy of yours? Demon?" I asked.

"Damien," Devin corrected sharply, folding his arms over his chest, "And we're not freaking close at all, he's a possessive jerk and he's basically almost as bad as you. Only..." He didn't finish. I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't like the only part of that." Danny grumbled. I shot him a quick glare, then looked at Devin, who snorted.

"No. No only." An unwanted pang hit me in the chest, but I ignored it and took another small bite of food before I got up.

"I need beer." I grunted.

"Grab me one!" Danny exclaimed.

"Grab you one your ass," Blake responded, then glared at me, "Don't bother. Just one for you."

"You're not fun at all," Danny groaned, "It's not far. I haven't had hardly a single freaking alcoholic drink since last weekend and I think I might go insane."

"I think beer makes you insane." I told him as I grabbed a Budlight from the fridge. Devin smirked at me.

"Is that what happened to you?" He asked.

"Pretty much." I responded with a wicked grin, making Devin stare at me with an unreadable expression before I took a deep swig of beer. I sauntered back over and plopped down in my seat, setting the beer down and continuing my meal, although, it was difficult to swallow. There was an angry lump in my throat that wanted to come out as a scream. I had no idea why.

"Exactly what do you have planned for this so-called date?" Devin asked flatly. I glanced up at him, then shrugged casually.

"I was hoping we could dine just a bit longer with such fascinating conversation, then I take you up to my room, have my way with you and then maybe do it in the shower, then the living room, then-"

"Ugh," Devin snapped in disgust, "What are you? A sex starved convict? Why don't you go steal a little decency on your list of sex toys and drugs? How do you two live with this?"

"I wonder the same thing." Blake drawled, glancing at Danny, who nodded in agreement. I had all those insults coming, I really did. I just couldn't help it. Everything came piling out like some kind of haywire defense mechanism that really didn't need to be activated right now, but it just was.

"Fine, so what are you supposed to do on a date?" I asked flatly. Devin stared at me.

"You're kidding. Haven't you ever been on one?" He asked in disbelief. Blake opened his mouth to answer for me, but I quickly cut him off.

"Nothing official. All one night stands in a cozy little bar outside of Jensen. All guys, mind you. Girls are too squealy for me." I answered. Devin scowled, shaking his head, then frowned.

"Not even once?" He asked. I wanted to tell him the truth. Actually, yes, I had been on a date before and it was with the only other guy that I liked, but that obviously didn't go so well, so what the hell?

"Nope." I lied smoothly, twirling my fork in a pile of noodles. Devin frowned.

"Fan-freaking-tastic. Fine, a movie. You guys have a flat screen, right? You got any freaky movies?"

"Paranormal Activity Two!" Danny yelled immediately after Devin finished. I stared at him, cocking a brow. Danny had this really unhealthy obsessed with ghost movies, particularly the Paranormal Activity trilogy- which could turn into a quad any day now or just turn into flat out Harry Potter madness.

"Sounds good." Devin declared, setting his fork down. I frowned and we eventually got up, heading to the living room where Blake and Danny oh so generously occupied the loveseat nearest the television while Devin and I slid into the loveseat beside them, but Devin made sure to keep a considerable few inches between us as he practically sat on the arm of the seat. Irritation bled through my every pore, but I contained any signs of it and flipped the TV on, heading to the On-Demand section and purchased the movie.

Danny leapt up and dimmed the lights until it was almost pitch black, save for the glow of the screen as the movie started.

I couldn't concentrate, though. Not in the least. Devin was right beside me and I could practically hear him breathing, his legs curled up underneath him. I wanted to just sneak a touch, a grope, a kiss, something in the dark, but he'd shriek like a canary and Blake would take him home. Every part of me ached as I sat there and forced myself to watch that crappy ghost movie for the billionth time in a row.

Yeah, so I officially hated dates...