"You're my shade of blue. My fever dream. My future mood. No one holds my eyes like you. "

*************

Lilly's POV

Twenty minutes.

I've been awake for almost twenty minutes, yet, I still didn't move a muscle. I didn't dare to make a single sound. If I can silence the sound of my breathing, I really would.

Because if you see what I am looking at this moment, you wouldn't want it to end either.

A very low sigh parted my lips before a smile etched my face as I kept staring at him, peacefully sleeping, memorizing every detail there is on his beautiful face. Every freckle, every little scar. Every flaw and every perfection. His ash brown hair tousled over the pillow, thick and lustrous and so damn soft. His face now so relaxed, like a little baby, a very hot little baby. Yet still, his features so strong and defined. A stubble coating his perfect jawline, and then there is those lips, a perfect ripe for kissing.

Would it be considered as a sexual assault if I kissed him while he's sleeping?

Probably is. Control, Lilly. Damn it girl, control. He is a guy and still not as hormonal as you.

His strong arm is under me and wrapped around my back. His body all pressed up against mine, chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat. I rested my head into the crook of his neck, my face hidden into his warmth. On reflex, my eyelids dropped down, i felt safe and so very relaxed. Deeply, I inhaled, pulling his perfect warm scent into my lungs.

I snuggled closer, if possible. We were practically tangled up in each other's arms. It's nice.

A low groan came from his side at my movement, he slowly rolled to his back, blinking away the sleep. With his other hand, he rubbed at his eyes and I lifted my gaze up, watching him. He blinked slowly, once, twice before his mesmerizing deep ocean eyes drifted to me. I smiled, finding relief in finally admiring my favorite part. They weren't ordinary, no, not the boring blue color of the sky. They were like the sea, crystal, deep, so damn deep - shimmering and clashing and beating.

He just stared back at me, for a couple of seconds, he didn't mutter a single word. My eyebrows pulled together, "What?" I asked, "Do I look that ugly in the morning?" I playfully added, knowing for sure that I look just as good now as any other time. Good genes, I tell you.

A tender smile pulled at his lips, "You're always ugly." He mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, that's why your ding-dong down there told me good morning before you did," I said, pointing down at his pants. Yup, I could feel the hard length pressing against my stomach and it took everything in me not to maybe...touch it. Still scared of being accused with sexual harassment. So, I am keeping my hands where I can see them.

"Relax," He said in a sleep-gravelly voice and placed his arm over his forehead, "And if you keep referring to it as ding-dong, you ain't ever getting it."

I chuckled. Oh mister, I am getting it. I am way too spoiled, and one thing I know is that I always get what I want.

I licked my lips, "So, it's just a..." I raised my eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

He nodded, "A morning wood," I laughed and he was widely not amused, "It's biology, Lilly," He grumbled, moving his body away from mine, making me almost whine, "I can assure you, I am in no way turned on, right now."

"I'll accept your biology excuse for now," I answered, a challenge in my tone. You'll see.

I sit down, my fingers wrapping over the fabric of his shirt that's over my body, "So, did you change my clothes last night ?" My memory is so vague. I remember, but not everything. It's a bit hazy but I remember. My heart beats a bit faster, I remember my confession and his words.

"You were too drunk, I had to." He answers, defending himself, as if I am bothered by the idea. I am just glad its him and not Zack I went back with.

I pull the neck of the shirt forward and look inside at my bra-less situation, "You didn't happen to take off my bra as well, did you?"

His throat bobs as his eyes goes to the ground, where my black lacy bra - very good bra choice by the way, Lilly - is laying, and he shakes his head, "No, that was all you."

"Cool," I mumble, extending my hands over my head and yawning. My back is now to him as my fingers curl over the hem of the shirt, ready to pull it off, "Can you hand it to me?"

His fingers curl over my hand, stopping my movement; I turn to him and his jaw tightens, "The fuck, Lilly."

"What?" I ask, ever so innocently.

I just shrug his hand away and casually pull the shirt over my head, leaving my upper body bare.

"Goddammit," He curses a few things under his breath before he gets off the bed, he walks away, picks my bra and without turning, throws it behind his back, making it land beside me, "She really wants to drive me crazy." He mumbles angrily to himself, as he leaves the room and shuts the door behind him.

I don't help my chuckle as I slip the shirt back on. Bra-less all the way. I was just loving annoying and teasing him. It never gets old.

I go to the bathroom and freshen up before I head downstairs to find Chase going through the kitchen's cabinet. I sigh and lean against the door frame, behind him, my eyes running over his body in wonderment. They trace his back, watching his muscles flex every time he moved, and then there is that ass. Gosh, Imagine waking up to this everyday. I definitely wouldn't mind.

The last thought had me straightening up in my position, a bit taken aback by my own impressions. I walk inside and he finally notices me. I press my palms over the counter and pull myself up, comfortably sitting there and enjoying the view.

His eyes slip from my face and down to his shirt, then to my bare legs, dangling off the counter. The shirt barely reached mid-thigh, and every time I move, it slips up and I do no effort in fixing it. Well, technical issues.

The muscles of his jaw ticks and he diverts his attention away, "You couldn't change back into your clothes, could you," He mumbles and I shake my head. He tries not to look at me as he gets closer and leans to grab his phone from my side. My body moves, blocking his way, my chest press against his and I could swear he groans. My hand moves to his shoulder, "Why so uptight?" I ask, my eyebrow raise as my fingers move to the skin of his neck, "Loosen up a little."

His fingers wrap over my wrist, stopping me, and redness rushes up the skin of his neck, from anger or something else, I don't know, "How about you go change and let me take you home?"

I shake my head, "Nope, I like it here," I say as my hand travels to the back of his neck, and my legs wrap around his hips, pulling him even closer, trapping him.

Not-turned-on my ass. I could still feel it.

My arms wrap around his neck, and this time, he doesn't fight away from my touch. He is practically confined in my embrace. I like it.

"Chase," I say, my voice low before I involuntarily tug at my lower lip trying to stop myself. His eyes instinctively drop to my lip, "Hmm?" He couldn't master the power to come up with a single word, my actions slowly eluding him of his control.

I want to smile, a bit more and I'll break him.

"I am hungry," I add. For you, you SOB. Then, I slowly release my lips from the grip of my teeth.

He eyes their movement, "Me too," He says over a groan before he catches me way off guard, pressing his lips against mine quickly and roughly. I couldn't help the gasp at the sudden pulsing waves of heat unfurling inside me, starting at my mouth, then rippling through my body. He tastes like the peppermint toothpaste I just used, so fresh and sweet.

Chase's palm presses against the counter by my thigh, his other one wraps around my hair and gently pulls at it, angling my face up and my lips part on instinct. He takes full advantage and slides his tongue inside. It tangles up with mine and he makes a low, growling noise in the back of his throat, and my mind stops thinking, reveling in this heavenly moment as I tighten my legs around him, needing him to be even closer.

Much to my disappointment, he breaks the fury kiss and backs away, untangling himself from my embrace, his chest heaves up as he asks, "Will you go change now, before I lose my mind?"

A smile threatens to crawl up my face and I shake my head, "No, I like this shirt," It's making you lose control, which is a big advantage on my side. He shakes his head with a smile and I continue, "I always liked it." I comment, looking down at the jersey with our school's soccer logo, with Chase's last name and number on the back.

His eyes drifts there and his smile drops down almost immediately. He pulls himself further away and his hand rubs at the back of his neck, "Well, it's a good thing then that Zack has the exact same one."

It's true, I used to like it, because of that guy. I used to ogle at him while playing, wishing one day, I'll wander around, wearing it.

But now...Everything is different.

My fingers curl over his shirt, stopping him from walking away, "Forget about him," I say and his eyes shoot up to mine, a bit shocked as I carry on, "I don't want him," His lips part a bit as if to say something but I interrupt him with the truth, "I only want you."

There is no need to deny it anymore, or run from it. Something is blooming over here and I owe it to myself, to us, to give it a shot.

"And don't you dare say we can't risk it," I shake my head, "Don't tell me we are friends," I scoff, I would kill him if he says that word again, "Don't say you can't do this to Zack."

"Forget about him, about everyone, and for once in your life, be selfish enough for this to work."

My head tilts to the side and I hold his hand in mine, "No one needs to know; not them, not our parents," I explain, proving that I am not doing this for the show this time, "I just want us to work on it alone and see what this is."

My pulse accelerates as I add, "It may work, it may not. We won't know until we try."

I gulp down at the unexplained look in his eyes and ask on a low whisper, "So, do you...do you want this too?"

A soft smile pulls the corner of his lip and he gives me a knowing look, "You already know the answer to that."

I pull my lip into my lower lip, "I've never wanted anything more." I repeat his words from last night and my heart flutters again. Not gonna lie, they gave me the courage to finally go on with this. After them, I knew where he stood and where I am.

He nods his head and my heart flips, "I'll take that as a yes, then?" I ask.

He nods again, "On one condition," He interjects, "We'll take this slow, no need to rush into anything." He had a point. I always rush into things, and end up ruining them, "If we're gonna do this, we need to do it right."

Why does he have to be so mature?

My lips purse, "So, I am not getting the ding-dong anytime soon, am I?"

He throws his head back laughing and it does something to me.

I do agree with him on a certain level though, I am not doing this due to the obvious sexual attraction I am having toward him. I care about him, I always did, and now, I wanna see, where could this lead us to?

Is there a possibility for me to ever...love him? In that way?

I am not quite sure if I am ready for that yet but I guess we'll figure it out soon.

"I have a condition as well," I say and he ushers me to carry on, "Remember what you said when we were stuck in the library?" I ask but not wait for him to answer, "You said that if we risk it and it doesn't work, I would never lose you, now I need you to promise me that."

"Promise me, that no matter how this ends, good or bad," I shake my head, "I am never losing you."

He doesn't hesitate, "I promise." The sincerity in his voice gets me relieved.

I push my finger in his face, "Pinky promise?"

He smiles and tangles his finger with mine, "Pinky promise."

"You know, in pinky promise rules, if you break it, I have the right to cut your balls." I add seriously and he stifles a laugh, "Yeah sure," He comments sarcastically, "You definitely didn't make that up, now."

I shake my head and say, "So...boyfriend," I smile at the sound of that and place my hand over his shoulder, "I am still so very hungry, what we gonna do about that?"

His eyebrow raise, getting my intentions, "Slow, Lilly." He warns me, "We'll take it slow, don't forget that."

I nod, "Yeah sure, but there is another rule I didn't inform you about before," I roughly pull him from his shirt to me, "I have the right to kiss you whenever I want to."

*********

"Chase!" I scream from the shower.

I try to hide the devilish smirk sneaking up my lips as I whine, "There is no towel in here!"

Holding the shower curtains to my body, I wait for him. A few seconds later, the bathroom door opens and he enters. He ever so innocently inches closer to hand me the towel and falls right into my trap. Oh, I am so gonna taint this boy.

I extend my hand, but instead of taking the towel, I grab at his wrist, his eyes widen a bit as I pull him closer and into the shower. I literally attack him. It's no longer considered as a sexual assault because I have got his consent.

My lips meet his as I push his body against the wall, his back hits the faucet, accidentally turning the water on, but that doesn't stop me or him. Frantically, I grip his face, deepening the kiss and he meets me with a similar pace as he bites at my lower lip, his hand presses against the back of my neck, and the other one slips over my bare back, touching and feeling my wet skin.

My breasts gets crushed against his rock-hard chest. Our lips part for a second and I kiss his neck, tasting more of him. He is so warm, so addictive. His skin is burning up, his heartbeat hammering wildly against my chest.

The water drips over us, over my hair, my body and his clothes. It runs down our faces to where our lips meet and we both taste the warm drops in this frantic kiss. Instead of detracting from the intensity of the moment, it brings us to a whole new level.

His fingers caress my skin, and i feel the affection radiating off his sweet touch. When I lift my head slightly and see his face, I am held captive by his expression, "You little minx," He mumbles over a hoarse whisper and I smirk, enjoying every thing about this.

My heart races and I lean my head back as he lowers his mouth to my neck. My breathing becomes rapid as he kisses a trail of hot wet kisses down the sensitive skin.

We're definitely moving too fast, very fast but I don't care. A voice in my head whispers that we're doomed anyway but I silence its voice.

My hands twist in his hair before they drop down to his shoulder. I grip him harder when he nibbles at my skin, a moan races up my throat and my back arches, giving him more room, which he takes full advantage of.

I get enough with the feel of the fabric over his body, "Too much clothes," I mumble annoyed as my hands slide under the shirt and I pull it up, he angles his head, allowing me to take it off.

I carelessly throw it away, my chest heaving with a new type of desire. I turn off the shower water and Chase's arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer, plastering my little body against his.

My gaze drifts up to him, with his other hand, he rests it under my chin, his thumb brushes the water droplets away. Warmth and heat swimming in the pools of his blue eyes as he stares back at me. Like I am not real, a dream, or a fragment of his own imagination.

My eyebrow raise, "Still not turned on?" I tease.

Instead of answering, he takes my hand in his and he places it over his - ahem- ding-dong, his eyebrow raise, "What do you think?"

I bite my lip, "I don't think I am able to take things slowly," I say as my hands fumbles with his pants, ready to take it off.

His nails dig into my skin, "You make me lose all of my control, Lilly," He says over a low groan.

I am all ready when suddenly a voice from outside the bathroom interrupts my blissful moment, "Chase, sweetie, are you here?" Auntie Katherine says and my body freezes.

Groaning, Chase throws his head back and he presses his palm over his forehead, "Seriously mom," He says over an annoyed whisper and I feel myself getting even closer to him, leaning into his embrace.

"I am taking a shower," He says, for her to hear from outside. I look up at him and try to hide my chuckle. He just shakes his head, way too annoyed at the interruption. Wasn't he the one saying we should take things slow?

I smile, liking the effect I have over him. It enriched my confidence and I reveled in it.

"Okay, when you finish come down," She added sweetly, her footsteps fading away, "Lilly, you too come down, I haven't seen you in a while," My eyes widen at her last words, and then remember how my clothes are over his bed and she most probably saw them and just caught us.

Oh, shit.

"We are so fucked," I mumble, resting my forehead against his chest, trying to digest the awkwardness of the situation.

He presses a kiss over my head, "Thank god it's not your father, we would've been more fucked."

My eyes widen more and my head snaps up as a surge of panic passes through me, "Oh my god, he would've definitely killed us both."

After drying myself up, I wore my clothes and went down to face the inevitable as Chase changed his clothes into dry ones.

I found Katherine in the living room, on hesitant steps, I walked forward. When her eyes fell on me, she smiled, every so affectionately, "How are you sweetie?" She asked, taking a bite from the apple in her hand.

I gulped, "I am fine." So, she is not angry; that's kind of good.

"You know it's been so long since your mother and I had a girl time together," She said, casually talking like she didn't just catch me in the bathroom with her son, "We should do it more often, join us next time, okay?"

My eyebrows pulled together, "Okay sorry but I am really confused right now," I couldn't help but say, "I mean dad went crazy, like crazy crazy, even mom couldn't tolerate Chase and me being in the same room alone but you...you just caught us in the bathroom," Why am I explaining it to her? My mouth needs a filter or something, "So, do you like...trust me or something?"

She laughed, she actually laughed, "Oh my god, no offense sweetie but you're Alex's daughter, no way in hell I trust you," Oh wow, thanks, "But I know what I raised, my son is mature enough to make good decisions."

Oh, she doesn't know how I am so easily capable of messing with her son's mind.

She is right, I am my father's daughter after all.

**********

Chase's POV

"You're weirdly giddy today," Conner said, suspiciously eyeing me as I went down the car. I immediately pulled the nonchalant act on as I locked the car and walked into the building, "What? no, I am just like any other day," I said, ever so casually.

Lie. Big lie.

Today was...something else. It wasn't a dream, right? It was real. I have to keep reminding myself that it's real.

For years, I'd hoped she will finally see it, understand it, notice it; that connection between us, it was too strong, too magnetic for us to ever ignore. I waited for her. I saw her struggle and I let her discover it all by herself. I didn't want to push it or force it.

Her words kept repeating in my head. I only want you. Fuck, it did something to me. This girl, she is wild, crazy and dangerous yet she made me realize how I need some of her chaos in my calm life. She knows exactly how to set my mind and soul on fire. I like it.

The problem is, I am falling into this too fast. I need to keep myself under control. We are just trying to figure things, our feelings, out. It may work, it may not. I know how unstable Lilly is, one second she might just decide she doesn't want any of this and the thought alone makes my chest tighten.

"No, there is something different about you," Conner interjected, "Did you have sex or something?"

My eyebrow raised, "Dude, come on." I changed the subject, "Let's just get the damn report and leave." This guy forgot to submit our project's report, whose deadline was yesterday. We talked to the teacher though, he excused us because of the game, he knew we were too occupied with it and accepted a late submission.

"Sorry about that again," Conner said, rubbing at his eyes, "I've been having late shifts at the diner, and there was the game and all, I haven't come to home for the past two days, it totally skipped my mind."

My eyebrows pulled together as I eyed his tired state, "You're working really hard, take it down a notch, for your health at least." I said, noticing the exhaustion radiating off his being.

"Well, money doesn't come easy my friend," He said as we stopped by the apartment's door. He fumbled in his pockets for the keys, "Not all of us are born with a golden spoon in our mouth like you," He added jokingly and I shot him a glare.

"Walker! Yoo!" An old gruff voice said from behind, I turned around to see a man, he looked in his late-forties, a cigarette dangling from between his lips, "You are a week late for paying the rent, if you gonna keep doing this every month, I might just have to kick you and your sweet family out." He pulls the cigarette from between his lips and blows out smoke.

I resisted the urge to scoff. The place didn't deserve rent in the first place. I've been here a couple of times before. The building is way too old and in a desperate need of reconstruction. The walls are practically caving in on each other, if a strong storm hits us, this building might just collapse on itself.

"I told you, just give me a couple more days and I will solve this," Conner says as he places the key into the knob and twists, opening the door for us to enter.

"Two days, that's all you have," The old man says, rubbing a hand over his beer-belly as he eyes me with disgust before he walks away.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him and I get inside, "Is there anyone home?" I ask Conner over a whisper, "I don't know," He shrugs as he places the keys on the table and walks forward, "Mom?" He shouts but no response comes.

When he reaches the couch, his jaw tightens at the sight that beheld us. Many alcohol bottles scattered around the floor and on the couch. Two jack Daniels bottles, many cans of beer, bottles of vodka and many more with an ashtray full of cigarettes and lots of empty take-out boxes.

I knew his father had his drinking issue, but didn't figure out this much.

"Just give me a second," Conner mumbles, his voice losing the playful tone it had just before we got into the house. He sighs in frustration as he gathers the bottles and the boxes around. I don't hesitate before I help him, taking them out to the trash.

"Go search for the report and I'll finish these up," I add, noticing how this sight only agitated him like nothing else.

He nods before he moves into the other room, "Mom, are you here?" He asks again as he opens the door and enters.

I finish tiding up by removing all the bottles, making sure nothing is left out. I rake my fingers through my hair as I look around the little space of the apartment. I move around and the floor creaks, my eyes drift and notice the paint peeling from over the walls and how at the far end, water-drops are falling from the ceiling and into a bucket full of dirty water.

My gaze flicks to the kitchen, that's sure has seen better days. The black and white tiled floor resembled a chequer board; but the white looked almost yellow by now, not to mention the chipped vinyl counters. My thoughts gets interrupted with the noisy hum of the old refrigerator.

Air pushes in and out of my lungs and my chest squeezes a bit tight. No wonder Conner tries his best not to come home.

I wish I could help him in any way. I've offered before, but he never accepted it. Fuck, I must find a way to get him the hell out of here.

I hesitantly walk to where he went to and pause by the door's frame. Conner's tensed back is to me, and in his hand there is a paper. His fingers tighten over it, almost suffocating it.

"Conner, everything okay?" I ask and he immediately turns around. He nods, his throat bobbing as he crumbles the paper and throws it away. He grabs the project file and shows it to me, "Got it." He tried to pull a cool act about it but he failed, his eyes spoke volume.

I step inside, "What's wrong?"

He heaves out a breath, his jaw tightens and his eyes fall onto the ground in front of him, where the crumbled paper is. He leans down, takes it again and hands it to me, "She left." Is all he says.

My eyebrows pull together and I smooth paper's edges and read the few sentences scribbled inside; 'I had to do this, I couldn't take it anymore. Conner, you are a big boy now, you can take care of yourself, to be honest, you always did, you never needed me. I just can't take your father anymore, I am leaving. I will try to stay in touch.' That's all there was written on the small piece of paper.

Conner sits on his bed's edge, his body failing him, "I always knew she was gonna leave, she always said she will, just didn't expect it to be this soon." He says, trying to hide the hurt and the disappointment away.

He rubs at his chest as if to blunt the ache inside and the muscles of his jaw clench.

I walk and sit by his side, at a loss of words, I didn't know what the hell was I supposed to say. I just took a small look into his life and realized how I've taken mine for granted. My mother would never do that, fuck, she'd never leave.

My jaw tightens, trapping the anger inside. How could she be selfish enough to just walk away from him? Or maybe there is more in the picture that I am not aware of. I mean the sight we walked on wasn't that pleasant. God knows what Conner has been going through, the thing is, he never mentions it. Not at all.

He props his elbows over his knees and places his head in his hands. My hand immediately goes to his shoulder and grab it, I squeeze gently, "Hey, Conner, look, I-" My words pause when something grabs my attention. When I grabbed his shoulder, it made the shirt move a bit, exposing a portion of his back.

My whole body tenses up at the sight of the big purple bruise just at the skin under the base of the neck, "What the-" Words hitch in my throat when I move the shirt a bit and notice the rest of the bruises.

My eyes widen in disbelief while Conner flinches and jerks away. He gets to his feat, away from me and fixes his shirt, his eyes fall on me and in them there is fear, a type I've never seen before. Fear at the realization that I've seen what he was probably trying to hide.

Anger rushes me, waves of rage pounding and fighting against my chest. The son of a bitch hits him. He fucking hits him.

And I thought my father had his temper.

I shake my head and strictly say, "There is no way in hell you're staying here!"

***********************

So, they kinda started a relationship. Whatcha ya think?

Wanna place your bets on how long it'll last? xD

BTW, look what Ranzalola did for the characters, she picked up the perfect muses for them, ah they're so cute omg! *squeals*

For Lilly :

For Max:

(Fucking shit, Nikolas's muse is so hot! RIP you hot specimen xD )

For Chase:

And finally, a whole family portrait:

Ayyy I loved them so much! THEY ARE SO CUTE, I CAN'T!
She said she'll do more for "Bound By Vengeance." AHH I CANT WAIT TO SEE THEM!

Love ya all♥️