Part 34

"Bri, come on, don't cry," Tracey said while rubbing my back.

"I hate him! He ruined my life!" I cried harder, burying my face in the pillow.

"God, I am going to kill him," she vowed.

I couldn't stop crying since last night after Damien walked away from me. Even during the exam, it took everything in me not to start bawling like a baby in front of the whole class which included Dash and Damien. And now I was back in my room, which meant I could cry as much as I wanted to.

It made me furious every time I thought about what Dash did. I couldn't believe he told Damien about something he did and blamed me for it. I would never forgive him for this. I would not go back to him now that Damien was out of the picture.

"Don't worry, Bri, I won't let Dash come near you. If he does, then I will kill him. He won't bother you anymore, I'll make sure of it," she stated. I really hoped she followed through with her promise because I could not stand being around Dash anymore.

"I—If h—he c—co—comes ne—near m—me, y—you ki—kick him in the—in the ba—balls." I told her.

Tracey chuckled. "You got it, girl. I will definitely knee him in the balls; I hope I'm able to crush them. Now stop crying. The dance is in four days and I still have to find a dress."

Pulling myself up to a sitting position, I threw my arms around Tracey. "You are my best friend. I love you." I sniffled.

"Okay. Thank you for stating the obvious. Now go wash your face so we can go shopping," she said.

I shook my head. "Forget shopping, it's stupid. I don't want to go anywhere."

"If you stay at the academy then Dash will find ways to see you." She pointed.

"Don't take his name in front of me," I chided.

"Hey, you can't ignore his presence. Which is why I want you to come to the mall with me. Gemma is coming, too," she replied.

Now that surprised me. Gemma was coming? Why was she coming? Did she know what happened between Dash and I? If so, then was she upset with me? She had been utterly sweet last night when I told her about what Dash did, I didn't think she was kind—or stupid—enough to give me another chance.

"Why is Gemma coming? She hates me!" I exclaimed, already fearing her wrath. I was sure she was going to tell the whole academy how I kissed her boyfriend.

"She needs to do some last minute shopping for the dance, and she does not hate you." Tracey rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me. I kissed her boyfriend and she is bound to hate me for it," I explained.

"That is not true. He kissed you first," she said before getting up from my bed. "Now get dressed, we're leaving in twenty minutes." She flipped her hair with her hand before striding over to the closet.

"Is it necessary for her to come?" I grumbled before forcing myself out of bed.

"Yes. And since she forgave you for kissing Dash, you should be glad she is coming with us," Tracey replied while rummaging in the closet.

"What if she keeps giving me the evil eye? I don't like evil eyes," I argued.

My head snapped up to the door when I heard a harsh knock. Who could be here at this time? I hoped it wasn't Dash, because I was not in the mood to deal with him.

"Do you know who it is?" I ask Tracey who looked at me before shaking her head. "Who is it?!" I asked.

When there was no response to my question, I frowned before walking over to the door. If someone chose to prank me at this time, then they were dead. I was not in the mood for practical jokes today. However, when I opened the door I shrieked when a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into a corner. Before I could scream another hand covered my mouth.

"Don't scream." I froze when I heard Ben behind me. He was the one kidnapping me this time? What was up with people and kidnapping me? "I won't hurt you. I just want you to come with me."

"Where are you taking me?" I asked after he slowly removed his hand.

"There is something I want you to see," he said before he started leading me out of the dormitory. I really needed to talk to the Headmaster regarding dorm security. Where was the matron? And boys kept coming and going as they pleased.

"Why do you need to kidnap me for it?" I questioned, wondering if Dash was behind this.

"Because Tracey was in the room with you and I don't want her to know," he answered as we stepped inside the boys' dormitories.

"You have something for Tracey?" I couldn't help but be excited for my friend. Maybe Ben was planning to ask her out to the dance. Perhaps he bought a present for her and wanted my approval.

"Kind of, I hope she likes it," he said before opening the door to his dorm room. "Come in."

I stepped into his room which was bathed in darkness. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"Sorry. I'll just turn on the lights." As soon as the lights came on I gasped when I saw Dash sitting on a chair in the corner. Betrayal sliced through me and I whirled around to face Ben. "You tricked me."

He shrugged. "Sorry Bri. Dash wanted to talk to you, so I had to bring you here. But don't worry, I do have a present for Tracey."

"No, I will not stay here." Just as I made an attempt to escape, Ben slammed the door shut and locked it. He actually locked me inside with my arch nemesis.

"Just talk to him, Bri." Ben told me, flopping down on his bed.

"No. I will not talk to him. He ruined everything!" I yelled.

"Chocolate chip, look at me," Dash commanded softly.

"No." I crossed my arms in front of my chest and kept my back to him. "Unlock this door, Ben, I have to go out for shopping with Tracey."

"You can go after you talk to Dash. If you won't then you will stay here until you do. Choice is yours," he replied.

"You are supposed to be my friend here!" Dash had tricked everyone into believing him. "Can't you see what he'd done?! He ruined everything!"

"He did it for a good cause. He did it to take you back. And besides I never liked Damien, I'm glad he is not your boyfriend anymore," Ben said, grabbing a Rubik's cube sitting on the nightstand.

"Shortcake, talk to me. I missed you. Come here," Dash beckoned.

"Go to hell," I spat, keeping my back to him. "And don't you dare tell me you missed me."

"Come here. I want to hold you, chocolate chip," he repeated.

"No!" I snapped.

"Look I know I hurt you, but I only did it because I wanted you back. You have no idea how strongly I feel for you and I don't like living without you, shortcake. Please, give me another chance," Dash said.

Say yes! Give him another chance, you crazy person!

My heart was telling me to forget everything that Dash had done to me and start fresh, but I couldn't do that. What he'd done was something I couldn't just forget about and move on. He ruined my relationship.

You weren't happy with Damien; you should be grateful to Dash for getting rid of him for you.

Regardless of the fact that I was not happy with Damien, he was still my boyfriend and he now believed that I cheated on him. This was not fair. Damien did not deserve this.

"I already gave you another chance and you blew it. I won't give you a third." I told him.

"You did give me a second chance but I never cashed in on it." His argument made me pause. What was he talking about?

"I don't know what you are talking about." I tried my best not to sound stupid.

"I'm saying I never took the chance you gave me. So I'm taking it now," he clarified.

"That's not true. You did take the chance. If I hadn't given you the second chance I wouldn't have come to meet you in the woods," I argued.

"Yes, but we didn't do anything. I never showed you how much you mean to me," he countered.

I will not melt. I will not melt.

"That was your chance. It's not my fault you didn't take it," I stated, feeling myself losing this battle.

"I'm taking it now. I want to prove my heart to you, chocolate chip," Dash said.

"I don't need anything from you anymore. We are over!" I yelled. My heart climbed up to my throat when Dash wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. "No! Let me go! I hate you!"

"Calm down and let me hold you," he said, tightening his grip on my body.

"I don't want you to hold me, don't you understand that?!" Did he not understand English or did he just pretended to be stupid?

"But I want to hold you. I know you are angry and I am going to make it up to you," he stated, kissing my neck.

"You can make it up to me by leaving me alone," I bit out.

"No. That's not the right thing to do. I must show you through my actions." He nuzzled my hair.

"Actions involve leaving me alone." The more he touched me, the weaker my resolve got. I didn't know much longer I was going to last against him. Was I stupid to fight him, knowing how determined and stubborn he could be?

"No. If I leave you alone then there is no way I can prove my feelings to you," he argued.

"Dash, I don't care about your feelings. I stopped caring the day we broke up," I lied. I never stopped caring about him and I doubted I ever would.

"Did anyone ever tell you what a terrible liar you are, Bri?" Dash sighed in my hair. "God, it feels so good to hold you."

I sighed. There was no end to this, I knew that. The only thing I could do now was listen to Dash and get the heck out of here. It was the only way he'd let me go.

"I thought you wanted to talk to me about something. What is it?" I asked.

"Ten semesters. Do you remember those?" He queried, his breath fanning my neck.

I scoffed. "Of course, how could anyone forget the infamous ten semesters."

"I knew you still have feelings for me." I swore under my breath; this guy was cleverer than I gave him credit for.

"Cut to the chase; I don't have time. Tracey is waiting for me," I snapped, immediately feeling guilty afterwards. He was being so sweet to me, and I was acting like a crab.

Don't feel guilty, he broke your heart first.

"I want to finish the ten semesters. And if by the end you don't end up loving me then..." he took a deep breath. "Then I'll let you go."

I laughed out loud. "Oh this is hilarious. You must be delusional." I laughed some more. "Tell me, Dash, how do you expect to win me back by torturing me?"

"Torturing you? Who said anything about torturing you?" He sounded confused which in turn made me question my thinking.

"Ten semesters entail torture, right? At least the first four did. Oh, and since you've already made me suffer through four of them, you don't have ten but six chances remaining," I stated, unwilling to budge from my decision.

"Alright, six chances. That's fair enough. And you don't need to worry about how I'm going to win you back; that's my problem, not yours," he replied, kissing my neck once again.

"Done. Now if you have nothing else to say, I have to go shopping with my friend." I tried to break out of his hold only to fail as usual. Dash Melwin ate lead for breakfast, I was sure of it.

"Let me kiss you one last time before you go," Dash said.

"No, you've already kissed me too much as it is," I protested.

"No. It's not a kiss until I kiss you on the lips." I was just about to tell him the meaning of kissing when he pulled my head back and kissed my lips. The kiss was just as intense as the last two, which meant I couldn't control my body's immediate response. I leaned into the kiss and opened up to him when his tongue sought entry. What I really wanted to do, however, was to smack him hard across his face, only my heart and mind were averse to the idea.

Dash pulled back after some time, leaving my lips bruised and tingling. I almost hated the fact that he was no longer kissing me and judging by the soft smile curving his sensual lips, it was obvious he knew how I felt.

"I hope this kiss is enough to make you remember me until the Winter Formal," he said.

I frowned, trying my best to eradicate the fog of desire clouding my mind. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" Why couldn't he just tell me what I wanted to know in clear words? Why did he have to speak in riddles? I was good at science and history not riddles.

"You do know that the dance is in four days, right?" Dash said.

"I know that. Nobody here lets me forget it," I complained.

"Good. I don't want you to forget it either. And wear a nice dress to the dance," he ordered.

"Why? What's it to you?" I demanded.

Dash shook his head. "Don't you remember? You are going to the Winter Formal with me."

Say what now?!

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Author's Note.

Hi guys,

Here is another chapter, I hope you all like it.

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Thank you for reading.

Until next time.

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Ciao.