hi guys. finished my finals today. let's not talk about them alright. ANYWAY, here's an update. :) 350 votes and yall get the next chapter. If not, see you in a week or so.

"Are you going out tonight?" West asks me as we all sit in Dominic and Jack's room on Friday night.

"No," I answer with a shrug.

"What about your boy Eli?" Jack pipes.

"He's not my boy, but what about him?" I laugh, which earns a 'oooh' from West.

"You don't claim him?" Jack presses.

"What's there to claim?" I ask. West 'oooh's even louder and I groan. Dominic smirks at me as I struggle to communicate myself clearly. "Not what I meant, guys."

"For someone who doesn't claim him, you spend a lot of time with him. You're always with him now," Jack blurts and I give him a confused look.

"What? I hang out with him a couple times a week," I retort and Dominic snorts.

"You hung out with him three times since Monday," Dominic explains, which gets a shrug out of me.

"Okay that was this week," I respond. "Last week-."

"Same amount, 3 times," Dominic finishes, which earns a glare from me.

"Is he your boyfriend yet?" Jack presses.

"No," I respond. "And he's not going to be."

"She doesn't claim him, remember?" West insists.

"Ah, friends with benefits," Jack proposes, which earns a glare from me.

"What are the benefits? I think we'd notice. She's always mean and she never has hickies," Jack retorts.

"Maybe I don't want them where everyone can see them," I mumble quietly and Dominic's head snaps in my direction.

"So does Eli know?" West prompts after they get over their silent shock.

"Know what?" I ask.

"About how attractive you find Dommy?" West finishes with a smirk. The guys fill the room with laughs and Dominic grins smugly.

"Beer goggles, guys," I explain in exasperation. Dominic tilts his head at me in slight surprise and offense.

"That'd be a valid excuse if you had sex with him. You were just looking at him and you were completely blown away," Jack comments. I roll my eyes as my face burns. I don't even risk looking at Dominic because knowing him, he'd wink or lick his lips, which would only make this worse.

"Is he your Valentine?" Dominic blurts. He's been rather silent for the majority of the conversation, leaving the questioning and interrogating up to West and Jack. He's just been sitting there stretched out in his chair, making points and comments when he deemed necessary. His long legs are extended and facing my direction. I would occasionally nudge his foot with my own and he'd offer me a small smile.

"Eli?" I ask, which gets a few sarcastic remarks from West and Jack. Dominic simply nods in response. "No, he didn't ask me."

Dominic slowly nods and I narrow my eyes at him. So is he going to ask me? I continue to stare at him and he just gazes back in pure amusement as if he can tell what's going on in my head. "Yes?" he prompts when I don't break my gaze. I give a short head shake as I turn my attention to West and Jack, who're watching us intensely.

"I'm looking for a Valentine," West blurts, taking the topic in a different direction.

I sit with my arms crossed as I tune out the conversation. Dominic was my Valentine last year. He asked me a week prior and surprised me with chocolates and a teddy bear. I figured with how much closer we've gotten, he'd have done something similar seeing as neither of us are dating anyone. But I guess not. I come out of my trance and find myself glaring at him. He watches with the same entertained look as before. He chuckles quietly as I relocate my gaze on his feet.

"Are you going to ask hickey girl to be your Valentine?" Jack teases Dominic, who chuckles quietly.

"Nope," he says and I catch the message tangled in his words.

"Why not?" Jack continues and Dominic shakes his head with a smirk on his lips.

"I don't think she wants me to. Besides, I don't want to mess things up between us by asking," Dominic further explains. I hold my phone in my hand and glare at the screen.

"How do you know she doesn't want you to?" Jack presses.

"Mess things up? It's a Valentines Day request, not a marriage proposal," West retorts.

"I just have a feeling," Dominic responds after chuckling at West's comment. "Either way, I'm not going to risk it. If she wants to be my Valentine, she can ask me. If not, I'm fine spending the day alone."

I try not to look too annoyed as I stare at my phone. "Nova can always be your Valentine if Eli doesn't ask," West blurts. "Who am I kidding? She probably doesn't even want to be his Valentine."

"Eli's my friend," I remind West, deciding to send a couple messages of my own to Dominic. "If he asks, I won't say no. But I doubt he will."

"Why don't you ask him?" Jack suggests, which earns a short laugh from me.

"If he wants to be my Valentine, he'll ask me," I insist and Dominic lets out a quiet chuckle. I risk a glance at him and I can tell he understands what I'm hinting at.

"I see why you guys are such good friends. You guys are both petty and you make everything unnecessarily difficult," West complains. "Nova, ask Eli; Dom, ask hickey girl."

Dominic and I look at each other and laugh. "No," we say in unison, which earns an exasperated groan from West.

+++

Dominic asks everyday whether or not Eli is my Valentine. By Wednesday, I'm tired of it and am just waiting for him to ask again so I can rant. "Did he ask yet?" Dominic asks as we sit across from each other in Montgomery lounge.

"Why does it matter?" I retort quickly, which earns a shrug from him.

"Every day that passes is another day he's wasting," Dominic responds casually.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I inquire.

"The least he can do is ask you to be his Valentine," Dominic clarifies.

"The least he can do?" I repeat.

"All the time you guys spend together," Dominic responds.

"You and I spend time together," I respond without thinking it through. He glances up at me through his lashes and chuckles.

"Yeah but you and him spend time together," he insists. I squint at him in a state of slight confusion.

"Again, what's that supposed to mean?" I retort.

"You guys are friends with benefits, right?" he responds. "You're probably spending Valentine's Day together regardless, doing...beneficial things. The least he can do is ask to be your Valentine."

"We're not friends with benefits, Dominic," I sigh and he stares at me for a few seconds so I continue. "I told you the other day that I haven't slept with him."

"First of all, sex isn't the only benefit in friends with benefits; just because you haven't done that with him doesn't mean you don't kiss him or do other stuff. You never clarified so I was in the dark. Second, you can't blame me for assuming. You started talking to your old friends with benefits again; I was unsure if you guys fell back into old habits or not. You'd dodge the question whenever I ask," he complains. I stare at him with slightly narrowed eyes and as bad as this may seem, I have the urge to jump on top of him. I know- definitely not a good time, but I can't help it.

He's not wrong about what he's saying. I never said anything to him for the sole purpose of getting him jealous. I get a sick and twisted kick out of seeing him analyze and over analyze every vague answer I give to his inquiries. When I don't respond immediately, he keeps talking: "I know we don't tell each other everything but can you at least tell me-?"

"Two questions," I cut him off. "I'll answer two of your questions."

"Three," he bargains and I tilt my head.

"Are you really in a position to compromise right now?" I retort. He narrows his eyes at me and I match his gaze. He eventually caves and sighs.

"Okay fine, when was the last time you kissed Eli?" Dominic asks. I can tell he spent a lot of time formulating this question previously. He probably assumes there's no way I can avoid answering it.

"The last time I kissed Eli was...the last time I kissed Eli," I answer and Dominic looks as though he's about to scream in frustration. His expression grows blank as he blinks a few times.

"Seriously, Nova?" he replies. I fight back a grin as I stare at him.

"Is that question number two?" I respond.

"Wow," he mumbles in a tone of disappointment. His eyes fall to the table and I suddenly feel guilty. It was a cruel joke.

"Dominic," I start quietly and he shakes his head. "Dommy."

He ignores me and returns to his textbook. I can tell he's not reading. Instead, he's sitting over there fuming about my reluctance to answer. This was probably a bad time to do this. I have to leave soon for my dinner date with Kat. I slowly begin packing my bag, trying to think of a way to save our friendship. He watches me load up my backpack with my items spread out across the table.

Once I have my stuff gathered, I stand up and hover in the doorway. He stares at me, waiting for me to say the words on the tip of my tongue. "Can I ask you a question now?" I ask.

He leans back in his chair and nods. "Go for it," he insists.

I clench my jaw slightly and he waits patiently for me to gather my words. I decide to just go for it; he won't say no. It's just going to damage my pride to be the first one to cave. Someone has to be the bigger person, though. "Will you be my Valentine?" I request as I tug on the straps of my backpack. His head tilts as the words leave my mouth.

"What if your boyfriend decides to ask you?" he inquires.

"I don't have one of those," I retort.

"Eli," he clarifies. I squint in confusion as if I had no idea who he meant.

"Ah...then I'll tell him no," I answer. "So do you want to be my Valentine or not?"

"Of course I do," he assures me with a grin.

"Were you ever going to ask me?" I inquire.

"Nope," he retorts, which causes my mouth to open into a gape. "I was just going to surprise you on Valentines Day and pray Eli didn't have the same idea."

"Then I wouldn't have known to get you anything," I answer.

A slow smirk forms on his face. "I can think of a couple things you could give me," he notes. I stare at him for a second before deciding to get myself out of the room. I need to not slip up anymore.

"And I'm going," I comment as I leave, listening to his laughter as I go.

+++

Later on that night, Dominic invites himself over. I don't complain and rush downstairs to let him in. We sit on the floor of my room and play a couple hands of a card game before I quit out of frustration. "You're cheating," I tell him.

"How am I cheating?" he asks with a smirk as I throw the cards across the floor.

"You're looking at my hand," I insist.

"I'm not!" he assures me.

"Then you rigged the deck," I further accuse.

"Nova, you shuffled it," he reminds me.

"You suck," I hiss.

"You're the one that lost...four times," he mumbles as he begins to collect the cards splayed across the rug.

"Just for that, I'm going to bed," I reply as I purposefully ruffle his neat hair. He grumbles quietly as I hoist myself onto my bed with the help of my step ladder. I watch as he gets the cards into a pile and shifts them so they're facing the same way. Once he manages to pack them back into the box, I grin from the edge of the bed. "Be a dear and turn off the lights, will you?"

He shoots me a glare as he does what I ask. I wait for him to join me in bed and when he does, I quickly cuddle up against him. It's gotten to the point where I don't even ask anymore; I probably should but he's just so warm and his touch makes me feel better. "Sore loser," he whispers into the darkness and I push myself up on my elbows.

"What was that?" I ask.

"I said 'sore loser,'" he repeats as he gets in my face. I poke his side and he twists uncomfortably. I do it again and he laughs against his will.

"Want to say that again?" I warn. He surprises me by getting even closer.

"Sore loser," he says. I get a kick out of having him that close to my face, which makes me sound like some type of freak.

"You asked for it," I hiss. I scrawl my fingers along his sides, tickling him wildly. He squirms around loudly, laughing and squeaking as he tries to evade my touch. "Say you're the loser and I'll stop."

I have him pinned against the wall as I mercilessly tickle him. "Nova," giggle, "stop," chuckle, "it," squeal, "hurts."

"Say you're the loser," I insist. He tries to fight for a few seconds longer before he caves.

"Okay, okay, I'm the loser," he manages to say in one go. I stop tickling him and he lays there and regains his breath. "Oh man, I hate you so much."

"I can start again," I threaten as I extend my hands. He's quicker than me so he snatches my wrists and flips so that he's sitting on top of me. I feel my stomach tense and I gaze up at him.

He pins my hands above my head. "Are you going to tickle me again?" he asks as I wiggle my wrists in an attempt to escape his grip.

"No," I promise him. He slowly releases them and I rest them at my sides. He stares down at me, which causes my heart to beat a mile a minute. I put one hand back up and onto his chest. I drag my fingers along the collar of his shirt, getting to the center. I lightly tug him in a downwards motion. He catches on to what I'm doing and follows my cues. I lick my lips as I wait for him to take the next step. When he doesn't, I release the collar of his shirt and put my finger beneath his chin. "Are you going to kiss me or what?" I whisper.

He hesitates for a second before quickly flipping off of me and onto his side. "No," he says bluntly. I'm completely thrown off as I stare into the air where his face just was.

"Oh," I blurt immediately. It takes me a minute to process what just happened. He just rejected me. "Uh...may I ask why not?"

"No offense Nova, but you're really confusing. One minute, you're on top of me and kissing me and the next you're telling me it can't happen again. I respect you and your body and your boundaries and you're obviously allowed to change your mind but so am I. Of course I want to kiss you right now; I always want to kiss you. But when you're telling me one thing and then wanting another, it just confuses me. So no, Nova, I'm not going to kiss you," he explains as he stares at the wall. I lay there and listen, absorbing everything he says.

"I'm sorry," I mumble when I realize how right he is. I was the one that said we can't be intimate anymore. Then I jump on top of him. Then I'll say we can't do it again only to jump on him five minutes later. I am really confusing and it's not fair to him.

"Not to mention Eli," he starts, now flipping onto his back. "It was either me or him and you chose him. I respect your decision but I'm not going to sit here and kiss you when he's busy. I'm not going to be the other guy. It isn't fair to me. I deserve more than that."

"It's been months," I blurt as I turn on my side to look at Dominic.

"What?" he asks.

"It's been months since I last touched Eli. The last time was when he ended things," I respond. "I haven't slept with him; you know that. I haven't kissed him. I haven't even hugged him. I have done nothing with that boy."

Dominic is silent before he sighs in relief. "That's all you had to say. Whenever I asked you those stupid questions about what you guys do together, that's all I wanted to know," he responds.

"I just didn't understand why it mattered," I shrug.

"Because I was jealous," he says as if it was clear as day.

"Really?" I respond, grinning in the dark.

"Yes," he retorts. "I was just upset that he could be your friend and also be able to kiss you but I couldn't."

"I don't want a friends with benefits," I remind him.

"Then what would you call what you just tried to do?" he asks and I go silent.

"Trying to get laid," I decide to joke and this gets a lighthearted scoff from him.

"Very funny," he retorts.

"I'm sorry. You're right. It's not fair to you. It's not fair to you at all. It won't happen again and I mean it this time."

"Okay," he responds. "I'm going to hold you to it."

I open and close my mouth. "I'm going to try my best," I backtrack a little. This earns a laugh from him.

"Okay, Nova," he replies. "Also, can we get rid of that bullshit rule?"

"Which one?" I ask, growing a little excited. Does he mean the no intimacy rule? Will this night take a turn for the better?

"The no relationship talk one," he says in exasperation. "You're my best friend. I want to know what's going on in your life. I want to make sure you're safe and not being mistreated."

"Okay," I cave. When he says it like that, it makes me feel almost guilty for holding that piece of my life away from him. But it's not me that I'm concerned about. "But I don't want to know what you do and who you do it with." My little heart won't be able to handle that.

"Why not?" he asks.

"I just don't," I answer.

"Jealousy?" he inquires but in a casual voice. It's not teasing, so I don't feel a need to lie.

"Yeah," I respond.

"Well, I don't plan on doing anything with anyone so I think we're good," he responds.

"Yeah, I don't either," I tell him.

"So are we good now?" he asks me.

"Yes," I respond. "I'm sorry again."

"It's okay. You can't help it. You've said it yourself, I'm good looking," he jokes, which gets a laugh from me. "You can't help but throw yourself at me."

"You egg me on," I excuse.

"How?" he gasps as if he's an innocent boy.

"All the comments you make; come on, Dominic," I retort.

"Yeah I guess you're right," he mumbles.

"Exactly! If I made comments like that, you'd throw yourself at me, too," I retort.

"I would not. I have willpower," he assures me.

"We'll see about that," I promise.

"No, Nova-," he attempts but I cut him off.

"No we're going to see how strong you are. I won't break this time. If anything happens, it won't be my fault; I'm saying that right now," I warn him.

"I'm going to go to bed now," he loudly cuts off the conversation.

"Can you tire me out?" I ask him and he groans loudly.

"Can you not do this?" he complains.

I cackle evilly. "I'm going to show you what it's like to be me," I insist.

"Can I live in your body for a week? That'd be amazing," he mumbles.

"See what I mean?" I snap.

"Is it really this bad all the time?" he asks in an enlightened tone.

"Yes, now go to bed," I insist.

"I love you Nova," he says as he pulls me up against his chest.

+++

The following Monday, Dominic and I sit in Montgomery Lounge doing homework. The week just started but professors have already loaded us up with assignments. We're barely back and there's already talk of midterms, so on top of all the homework, we have to study, too. It's like they want everyone's Valentine's week to be bad.

I shove my textbook across the table and exhale noisily. I don't know why this math is so difficult. I wasn't too bad at it in high school; I should've taken an easier one but no I figured: I'm half decent at it, why not challenge myself? Wrong, wrong, wrong. "What is it?" Dominic asks as he leans over the table and grabs my assignment. His eyes skim the page before he stands up and walks around the table to me.

"Alright, so..." he trails as he grabs my pencil from my hands. He falls into teacher mode and explains the concept to me. I try my best to focus on the words he's saying and not the way his lips move and how his eyebrows wrinkle when he checks to see if I get it. "Does that make sense?"

I stare at him in a slight daze and slowly nod. "You know, Mr. Pierce, I'm typically not one to condone student-teacher relations, but I'm all for it right now," I say as I gaze up at him from my spot in my chair. He stares back down at me with a piercing gaze before he realizes what game I'm playing. He releases a loud sigh before returning to his seat across from me.

"I get it Nova. The comments I say instigate you. I'm sorry," he complains. "Can you stop now?"

"No," I retort with a dismissive head shake. "I'm not going to stop until you feel my frustration."

"I'm feeling pretty frustrated already," he snaps. It's only been 3 days; he's weak. I did it for 2 years.

"That's not the kind of frustration I'm talking about," I inform him as I move in closer.

"I wasn't talking that kind either," he responds as he also shifts forward. We gaze at each other for a second and I'm sure our thoughts are going down the same path.

"Hey guys!" West interrupts as he practically kicks open the lounge door. Simultaneously, Dominic and I return to our natural sitting positions and avert our gaze. "Not going to lie, the air in here is a bit awkward but I'll ignore it and hope it goes away."

I glare at Dominic, knowing he's the one that invited West. Whenever the guys come around, I stop making Dominic-esqe comments in fear of being teased. He discreetly nods to my phone and I slide it off the table and open it.

Dominic: I had no other way to shut you up.

I glare at his message and quickly think of a response. Hey, this is getting easier with every passing day.

Nova: I can think of a few.

His screen lights up and he reads my text before pointedly flipping his phone over. I give a satisfied chuckle. "Jack should be down in a minute," West assures us as he unpacks his books.

Jack barges in a few seconds later with only his laptop. "Hey," he grumbles unhappily. His hair is a mess and his eyes are half lidded.

"I woke him up from a nap," West says with a large smile. "He has to get some studying done."

"I hate you," Jack practically growls as he sits down. "He didn't just wake me up. He jumped on me and wouldn't leave until I got out of bed."

"I had to make sure you wouldn't fall back asleep," West replies.

"Whatever," Jack retorts as he opens his laptop.

"Nova, did you ever ask Eli to be your Valentine?" West inquires, which catches me off guard.

"No," I respond.

"Did you ask hickey girl?" West pesters Dominic, who shakes his head in response.

"I asked Dominic," I tell West, who nods in understanding.

"Did he say yes?" West whispers as he leans in.

"Of course he did," Jack retorts in annoyance.

"Yes," I tell West, holding back a laugh at Jack's sass.

"So how are you guys celebrating?" West inquires as he places a hand under his chin. He looks at us curiously and I search my mind for an answer.

"I have some stuff planned," Dominic responds, which surprises me. I wasn't aware we were doing anything.

"Really?" I ask in slight shock. I thought we'd give each other chocolates and cuddle and watch movies (kind of like every other day).

"Yeah," he answers.

"Are you going to kiss him, Nova?" West questions as he puckers out his lips and wiggles his eyebrows.

"West," I hiss as my cheeks begin to redden. I want to do a lot more than kiss him.

"It'll be Valentine's Day- a day of love. A kiss is just a kiss," West chides, which gets a laugh from Dominic.

"She doesn't have to kiss me, West," Dominic tells his friend.

"Would it be weird if you guys kissed? Because you guys are best friends and everything," West continues to question.

"No," I answer when I see Dominic hesitating. His eyes widen a little at my answer and West nods.

"Cool," he replies. "I need a best friend like that... Jack?"

"Don't even look at me, West," Jack grunts from his spot across the table.

Dominic and I laugh, which earns us both a glare from Jack. We quickly shut up.

+++

I manage to get Dominic alone for dinner on Wednesday. The past three days, he's been inviting West and Jack to avoid my perversion. Luckily for me, they're busy. Dominic and I sit down across from each other and he sighs. "How was your day?" he leads the conversation while munching on a fry.

"It was good," I start, trying to throw him off by being casual. "I got some homework done between classes. I did some studying. How was yours?"

"Also good. One of my classes was cancelled so I went to the gym earlier than usual," he explains and his eyes flicker up at me. The smirk on my face gives me away and he sighs, waiting for my comment.

"You should've FaceTimed me. I'd love to see you all hot and sweaty," I note and he puts his hand to his forehead.

"I've created a monster," he whimpers.

"A monster in the sheets," I comment, which causes my own cheeks to burn. His eyes travel along my face and he smiles.

"I feel like this challenge is hurting you as much as it is me," he notices.

"Your pain makes me feel better," I confess. "Now you see how I've lived for the past two years."

"Two years?" he asks with wide eyes.

"Yes," I answer when I realize my slip up. There's no coming back from that; all I can do is confess. I decide to make a joke of it. "I released all that pent up frustration on Eli. Poor guy."

"Lucky guy," he corrects, which earns a short glare from me. "Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it."

"You look good today," I change the topic.

"Thanks," he grins at me. He lightly tugs at the strings of his hoodie and I can tell that he's enjoying the compliment.

"That hoodie looks nice on you," I add, which makes his smile grow wider. "I look nicer on you, though."

"You do," he agrees as he gazes into my eyes. I feel my stomach tense and I want to groan. How is he beating me at this? As if he sees the ball in my stomach, he chuckles. "You can't beat me at my own game."

"I hate you," I complain when he winks at me. I decide to take a little break and let my hormones calm down. "So what do you have planned for Valentine's Day?"

"Don't worry about it. It's a surprise," he replies with a small smile as he takes a bite of his chicken tender. "Speaking of surprises, what time do we need to be at your house on Friday? I want to be able to plan around it."

My parents are planning a small surprise party for my sister, whose birthday is on Valentine's Day. "6," I reply. "There's no end time but whenever you feel like leaving, we can head out."

"Okay," he responds in thought.

"Does the party mess things up?" I ask and he quickly shakes his head.

"Do you want to spend the weekend home? Spend time with your sister for her birthday?" he asks. I offer him a shrug.

"Yeah, I'll surprise her," I tell him.

"Okay, that sounds good," he replies. "What should I get her?"

"Nothing, I'll just put your name on mine," I respond. I just got her a gift card. She's a picky shopper and I'd rather not waste time looking for something she'd just end up returning.

"Okay," he agrees with a shrug.

"Oh no, Kat's at my dorm building. I forget we were going shopping tonight," I hiss as I quickly stand up.

"What are you shopping for?" he asks, watching me rush to clean up my mess. "Don't worry about it. I'll clean it."

"I'm shopping for you," I answer before clarifying, "your Valentine's gift."

"You're getting me something?" he asks as his eyes widen a bit and an excited look takes over his face.

"Of course," I reply before pulling my bag over my shoulder. "Okay, thanks for cleaning up my mess. I'll talk to you later!"

I rush out of the cafeteria and hightail it to my dorm building all while struggling to think of things to buy Dominic.