"WHAT ABOUT SPORT?" I ask walking side Ian, I'm done fixing his lip and my mood is a whole lot better, all thanks to him.

"Nah, I suck."

"Shut up," I say smacking his arm. "I've seen you play."

"That's basketball and you only think I'm good because the rest of you are horrible." He points out.

I point at myself, "I'm not horrible, I'm NBA qualified you douche." I say and Ian laughs. "Plus as much as it pains me to say, you're very good too."

"Okay maybe you're not that bad." I glare, "and maybe I'm pro at it." I playfully shove him, rolling my eyes. "I just don't want to be part of such big commitment because sport is one big commitment."

"Yeah." I trail off. "But don't tell me commitment scares you?"

"It does, I must admit." He says sounding serious. "I don't need anything holding me back to... anywhere."

Not even a girl?

I'm transfixed looking at Ian's face that I run into stone, almost falling over face first to the floor. Almost because Ian catches me just before I kiss the floor, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me up. I blush as he spins me around to face him, his arms still around me.

"As much as I appreciate the love for my face, I'll rather you don't lose a tooth because of me." He says slowly and seriously. I turn bright red and when I don't say anything because I'm literally dumbfounded, Ian smirks the most gorgeous smile known to humans.

Ian doesn't let me go, or looks away from my face, looking at me and its as if he's staring right into my soul. I'm left to recover on my own and I begin by smacking his bicep, loving the feel and leaving my hand on him. "Since when are you an egoistic and narcissistic bad boy?"

Ian smiles, still not releasing me and I don't mind, I even move closer to him. "Egoist and narcissistic, since I arrived this school and noticed that girls couldn't keep their eyes off me. Bad boy? I don't get."

I laugh, trailing my hands up his arms, aiming to warp them around his neck. "Other girls didn't drink you up?"

Ian smiles, and I feel his hand pull me closer as my hands successfully wrap around his neck. "Not like you do."

I chuckle, I want to kiss him so badly. "That's should be embarrassing."

"Should be."

I blush, "but you think I'm hot, don't you?"

"Very."

We lock eyes and I think we're finally going to kiss but then a voice rings out, shaking me to the bones.

"Anna!"

I pull away from Ian at the same time he let's go of me. And when I turn around and see my mum resting on her car with her arms crossed disapprovingly in front of her. If the ground could open up and swallow me, I'll really appreciate it right now. She gestures for me to come and I'm bright red in embarrassment and fear.

"If I wasn't dead before, I'm surely dead now." I whisper to Ian, drawing my backpack closer.

Ian holds my hand, "should I come along with you?"

I stare at him like he has grown two heads.  "What? Of course not. Escape while you can without turning around."

He looks uncertainly between my mum and I, then nods. "Sure, see ya."

"Bye." I tell him already walking towards my mum. I could feel her glare burning pass every thing I hold dear.

"Who's that?" She asks as soon as I'm close enough, without preamble or letting me greet.

"Um," I turn around and catch the last glimpse of Ian as he rounds the corner. "A friend."

"A friend?" She asks with raised brows and I gulp, then nod. "Get in your car and drive, I'll be right behind you."

I nod and I see Ellie sending me smiles from the back seat of my mum's car. I feel like giving her the finger but my common sense thrives and I just quickly walk to my car and drive out, watching my mum follow behind me. I don't know what awaits me at home. Apart from the fight in school that I wasn't even a part of, I have done nothing wrong. I'm seventeen and I'm allowed to date. My mum knew about Aiden and she didn't object, she was even kind of supportive.

But Aiden and Ian are different in more ways than one. My family have known the Macers since forever but Ian's new. Ian also have a bunch of tattoos and is super mysterious. Ian's more good looking and intelligent. I don't even know what to think and we aren't even dating so, I just hope I come out of this unscathed.

Once we reach home, mum doesn't say anything and I just know that its like the situation at school; the silence before the storm.

"Anna?" Ellie says barging into the room as I pulled my skirt down.

"Ellie! Don't you knock? I'm changing!" I yell standing up straight so my shirt can cover my butt.

"So what? We are girls." She says jumping up my bed and crossing her legs.

"Right but privacy is still a thing and I'll love mine to be respected." I tell her, giving up on covering my body as I start unbuttoning my shirt.

Ellie rolls her eyes, "Fine, next time I'll send postcards."

I throw my shirt at her face and she yelps, "Where did you learn sarcasm from?"

"Its a subject in school now." She replies and I stare at her eye wide.

"Really?"

"Of course not, I watch movies duh and I have dad to learn from." She replies then use my pillow as shield from me as she giggles.

"I hate you. Scram off."

"I will, after you tell me everything about the guy you were smooching."

This time, my eyeballs almost pop out. "Smooching? I wasn't smooching. Do you and mum think I was smooching? I swear I wasn't."

"He had you this close," she brings her palms together to emphasis the point. "And your faces were almost this close, " she emphasizes with two fingers, clearly exaggerating. "Looked like smooching to me." My evil junior sister concludes, smiling at me.

"It wasn't! I haven't kissed a guy in months!" I yell and just then Zoe trots in, jumping on my bed too.

"Zo, didn't you hear? Anna needs postcards first before entry into her room, even if we're all girls and practically have the same things." Ellie whispers into Zoe's's ear and she barks. "Zoe says you're stuck up."

"Shut up and let me think." I say pulling up bum shorts and falling on my bed, facing the ceiling. Zoe crawls up to me, resting her front paws and head on my stomach.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Ellie asks lying next to me.

"No," not yet.

"He should be your boyfriend, he's an eye candy." Ellie says looking at the ceiling with me.

I turn to her with a smile tugging at my lips. "You didn't even see him."

"I saw enough."

"What do you know even, you're seven."

"I know that I'll love to marry a guy who holds me like that. Must have been a pretty warm hug."

"Ellie!" I pounce on her with tickles and she burst out laughing causing Zoe to bark and bark jumping around.

**

When my father comes home, I'm called down for a talk. And I have to explain the fact that I wasn't fighting and was just caught in wrong place, wrong time kind of thing. Then Mum asked about Ian and I explained that he is just a friend and I wasn't kissing him at the front of the school.

She gives me this talk about hanging out with the wrong crowd and how I should focus more on my studies than any other thing. Almost some other crap about how I'm like a role model for other students and for Ellie and I should start behaving as such. After apologizing about the scene with Ian and claiming it was all an act and school play of some kind, I'm finally released to go up to my room.

I actually got out of that easy because of my dad. If not for him, I'll probably be grounded or something. When I arrive back into my room, the heavy rain I suspected from this morning is already starting to pour and Zoe and Ellie are already out probably tucked together in Ellie's room. Ellie's afraid of thunders. I get startled by them but I'm not scared. After changing into my PJs, I retire to bed, picking up my phone to scroll through and I see a missed call from Ian and my heart skips up to the roof.

I quickly call him and he answers on the second ring and I turn all shy, not knowing what to say. "Ian."

"You're still alive. That's a relief." His voice says sounding a little muffled by the rain.

I chuckle, "Were you worried I was dead?"

"Kind of. Your mum looked pretty scary, did you get in serious trouble?"

"No, I actually came out of that unscathed." I pause, "Are you outside right now?"

"Kinda."

I gasp, "You're still at the construction site?"

He laughs, "no, I'm back home, sitting outside at the porch."

"Oh," I sigh in relief. "Doing what?"

"Nothing, I couldn't sleep and I love the rain. I like seeing it fall, its relaxing. So, here I am."

I laugh, getting off my bed. "You're weird."

"Now you know."

I grabbed a robe from my dresser, pull it over me and walk out my room. "Is there a chance that your insomnia was because of me?"

"No." He answers immediately and I pout, going down the stairs as quiet as I can. "But since I don't want to burst your bubble, will you settle for a maybe?"

I'm smiling so hard, my face hurts. "You already burst my bubble. And yeah, I've got no choice but to settle for a maybe."

"It is what it is."

I open our front door and step into the porch, closing the door quietly behind me. The rain is really heavy and some of it are even making their way on the hardwood floor. "Guess what?"

"I suck at guessing."

"I don't believe you, guess."

"You're eating a giant pizza right now."

I burst out laughing, covering my mouth so I don't wake anybody up. "Its after ten, who eats pizza at ten pm?"

"Hungry people."

"Well, you're wrong. I'm at my porch right now, watching the rain." I say walking carefully to the seat by the side, held up by chains that make it swing.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just figured, me and you being on the porch together, out in the rain would be super cool." And romantic. If this was a movie, now the screens would be divided and anyone can see Ian and I talking on the phone outside. Its so romantic, I can't even.

"You're a crazy girl." He chuckles.

"It is what it is."

"I'm shirtless. So, you should probably go shirtless too."

"For real?" I can't believe he's shirtless in this cold and his tattoos are out. I wanna see!

"Yes and then text me your address when you do it."

I laugh, "pervert!"

Ian laugh rings out the speaker and my tummy is immediately filled with butterflies that fly all the way to my heart.

"We should do this sometime."

"Go shirtless in the freezing whether?"

"Maybe." I say, my voice low as I bite on my lip. Ian doesn't reply and I'm sure he's too busy blushing to even try. I chuckle, "but what I had in mind was sit out together in the rain and talk."

"That would be cool." He pauses. "But don't put your hopes on it."

I frown, "why not?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that before that 'sometime' comes around, this would be over."

"And why is that?" I gasp. "You aren't going somewhere, are you?"

"Probably not but I won't need to be gone. Roxanna, no matter what you say, we really belong in two different worlds and the longer you get to know me, the faster you'll run."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not as good and drinkable as you've painted me."

"Fine. Then let me into your world, I fit in pretty fast. I don't want you perfect, humans have flaws."

The line goes silent.

"Ian?"

"The rain has come with ice. I hate falling ice. Goodnight, Roxanna."

The line dies before I get to reply and I just sit there, watching the rain in calm relaxing silence.

"Goodnight, Ian."

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