Chapter Eight.

"We are free! Yay!" I declared happily, walking out of our last class.

Lau chuckled next to me, "That wasn't so bad to be our second day of school,"

"Yeah," I agreed, "I'm glad it's finally over though," Lau passed an arm over my shoulder as we walked down the hallway.

"You want a ride home?" she offered, shuffling my hair.

"Nope," I couldn't help giggling, "Already have one,"

Lau stopped walking, raising an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"Yes, my boyfriend is coming for me," God, I loved saying that.

My boyfriend,

My Evan,

Mine.

I mentally giggled.

"Stop giggling!" Lau reprehended me playfully. Apparently, my giggles were not only inside my head.

"I can't help it," I shrugged my shoulders, "Come on, let's move, he's probably waiting for me already,"

"Keep him waiting for a little," Lau said as we started walking again, "It makes them eager and nervous,"

"Since when are you an expert on this?" I questioned.

"I've learned a lot lately. I never thought I'd say this but," she paused for a second, "Spending time with Shane can be educational, he's like a mine of men information,"

"And I never thought I would hear the word educational and Shane in the same sentence," I said honestly.

"He's full of surprises," she commented whilst we were walking out of school.

"How is he doing by the way?" I asked curiously, scanning the parking lot.

"He's alright, been partying and drinking a lot lately though. Jo is worried," I smiled at the fact that Lau called her boyfriend Jo, how sweet! However, my smile faded when I took in her words.

"Drinking and partying, huh?" I replied worriedly.

"Yes, it's like he wants to forget the world around him," Lau looked at me and we shared that best friends' gaze that tells everything without us saying a word.

"I should talk to him, shouldn't I?" I wondered aloud.

Lau sighed, "You probably should. He's a good guy behind that whore façade,"

"I know," I agreed, running my fingers through my hair, "It's just... complicated now,"

"I know, Jules but he hasn't been listening to Jo or me, not even his parents. Maybe he will listen to you,"

"Because I'm the cause of his downfall, aren't I?"

"No," Lau shook her head, "I didn't say that. You're not responsible for this. You can't tell your heart who to love, it's impossible."

I sighed and looked around the parking lot once more. I spotted Evan's black car and my heart started beating fast in excitement.

"Isn't that your boyfriend?" Lau asked, aiming her finger at a group of people a few cars away. I squinted my eyes, looking closely. Evan was surrounded by three girls. He obviously stood out of the group due to his height. For a moment, I ignored the girls and drooled over him.

He was looking hotter than usual that afternoon.

He was wearing white capris shorts, a long-sleeved black shirt and black and white vans. His thin, straight hair was combed in a wavy, disheveled way, giving him a carefree appearance. It framed his handsome face messily. He had his hands inside his pockets, talking to the girls. God, his lips looked absolutely inviting under this light.

Is he really mine?

I must be the luckiest girl in the world.

"Jules? Hello?" Lau waved her hand in front of my face.

"Huh?"

"I get you're startled but you should do something about those girls. Isn't that Claudia from our class?"

I scanned the girls and confirmed Lau's suspicions. That was Claudia James. She was a red-haired girl who had probably dated every single hottie in our school, including Shane. Why? Well, she was a hottie herself having big green eyes, endless eyelashes, untamed wavy red hair and of course, a body to die for. The other two girls were her best friends, Liana and Haley. They were pretty girls but Claudia was the hottest among them.

Lau pushed me off the school's sidewalk, "What are you doing? Go!"

I stumbled and almost fell on my face, "Very graceful, Lau," I gave her a killer look.

"Ooops! Just go!" she waved me off.

I took a deep breath and began walking towards them. I combed my hair with my fingers at the sides of my face. I was grateful I was wearing a pretty dark summer dress.

Summer may be gone but I still had outfits for it.

I was getting closer to them and my heart was at the edge of failure. But then it happened: Evan saw me. Those endless dark eyes met mine and I forgot to breath. He smiled, his cute dimples forming in his cheeks. The girls followed his gaze and glared at me fully.

"Hey," I waved my hand at him shyly.

"Hey," he said back with that sexy voice of his. He made his way through the girls, ignoring their protests until he was mere inches away from me. I titled my head back to stare at him, "Is that how you greet your boyfriend?" he held my face with one hand.

"Boyfriend?!" the girls screamed behind him and then endless protests kept coming from them.

I smiled at him timidly.

He shook his head, "I'll show how you should greet your boyfriend then," he leant forwards and I stopped breathing right there. His plump lips touched mine gently, he kissed me shortly but so softly it made my toes curl. He leant back, kissed my forehead and pulled into a hug, "That's better," he whispered, kissing my hair, "I missed you so much, peachy girl,"

My heart melted in my chest. Was illegal to be this happy? 

"I miss you, too," I buried my face in his chest. He smelled as good as usual: lavender softener. I would never forget that smell. We pulled away and I couldn't help letting out a sigh of happiness. Evan held my hand as we turned to face the girls.

"This is my girlfriend Jules. Thanks for keeping me company while I wait for her,"

Claudia stared at me in shock, "Cave girl is your girlfriend?" she pointed me in disbelief.

"Cave girl?" I asked confusedly.

"Yeah," Haley replied for her, "Your hair is always like a cavewoman's hair,"

Evan tightened his grip in my hand, "Excuse me? How did you just call her?" he asked angrily.

Claudia seemed taken aback for a second, "Oh, it's a joke. We don't mean it," she said quickly.

"You better not," he said seriously.

Claudia gave Haley a look making her speak, "Yeah, it's a joke. Jules' hair is... unusually pretty,"

Evan nodded, "She's unusually perfect, that's why I love her," he said pulling me towards his car, "You should learn from her. It's disappointing when a girl lacks originality, no matter how pretty she is."

And with that we walked off.

And I never felt so good in my life. Evan defended me and not only that, he put those girls in their places.

Cave girl?

That was just mean. 

We jumped in his car, laughing a little. He drove out of the parking lot expertly.

"Thank you for that," I stated frankly.

"Anything for you, peachy girl." he spoke, shooting me a quick smile before focusing on the road.

I stared at him silently. He had one hand on the steering wheel and he was resting the other in the window. The wind was blowing his messy hair softly. He was just so handsome. How could a guy like him be with me? Sometimes, it just felt surreal.

"Your story is really girly, don't you think? It is not good if you ask me, I do not understand how it is so famous, and its plot is not original at all."

 I chuckled, remembering his mean comment about my story. And to think that comment started everything.

Evan glanced at me, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I was just remembering your comment on my story. You were pretty mean to me at the beginning," I said, looking at him.

He smiled sadly, "Yeah, I was a jerk, wasn't I?"

"Sort of, a hot jerk though so it's alright," I joked.

 He shot me a sad glance, "I'm sorry about that,"

"It's alright."

"You were just... so different from me. The way you saw things was so optimistic and colorful. I was jealous of you because I couldn't see things like that. Everything was sadness and remorse for me," he explained seriously.

"I know that, E. You don't have to say it," I moved in my seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For apologizing," I replied pleased, "Better late than never," he chuckled as we drove into the sunset.

**

"That b*tch!" I yelled at the TV angrily, "How can she do that?!" Evan was sitting in the couch behind me. Somehow I had ended sitting on the floor between his legs.

"She has to," Evan argued, chewing some Doritos, "she has to protect her king,"

"Her kind is a bastard! You saw what he did to Leonidas and his men in the first movie,"

Evan shrugged, "He wants to rule the world and they were obstacles,"

"Why are you defending them? They are the bad people!" I exclaimed, pouting.

Evan sighed tiredly, "I knew this movie was a bad choice. Why did I let you choose the movie?"

"Because I'm your girlfriend and you love me," I spoke arrogantly.  

"Fair enough," he agreed, passing over the bags of Doritos. I stared at it, "Come on, Doritos are good, too," I focused back on the movie, "Fine." He handed me a bag of Ruffles extra cheese.

My favorite!

I took the bag eagerly and kept watching the movie. I never expected 300's sequel to be good. But then it happened.

A sex scene.

Seriously? 

Is it impossible for Greeks to hold a battle without banging someone halfway?

And it wasn't any sex scene; it was a wild, violent one with the girl being taken against the wall and on the table. God, didn't people eat on that table?

Blood drained off my face whilst my Ruffles remained not chewed in my opened mouth.

There were moans, struggling, growling, more moans.

Evan stilled behind me. He wasn't expecting it either.

"Well, that's..." I didn't know what to say.

Leave it to me to choose a movie with a violent sex scene.

Evan rubbed my shoulders, laughing shortly.

"What's so funny?" I asked curiously.            

"Your reaction, you're so innocent," he kissed the back of my hair. I elbowed his leg playfully.

After watching the movie, we were sitting on the couch, chatting about random things. I was telling him about the Sullivan twins when he leant forward.

"What ar—" he kissed me slowly, sending my heart into overdrive. I would never get used to the softness of his lips or the tangy way he tasted. I found myself getting lost in his kiss. Our lips moved in synch, grazing against in each other passionately.

I could kiss him forever.

I gripped the back of his hair, pulling him closer to me. The kiss was growing rougher and lust-driven. It became worse when his tongue dived inside my mouth, exploring me. Without thinking, I moved to straddle his waist. Evan placed his hands on my hips and squeezed them tightly, kissing me violently.

Apparently, the movie sex scene had inspired us.

I gasped when I felt something hard grazing my inner thighs. Alright, I was sure that was not his cellphone. We broke the kiss to stare into each other's eyes intently. Our breaths were erratic. Even though we were still fully clothed, it felt extremely exciting to be pressed up against him like this. Evan caressed my legs at his sides, riding the dress up. His touch sent waves of heat through me.

The dragons in my stomach were probably having a volcano party with all this heat.

Evan kissed me again, stealing my breath away. Subconsciously, I started rubbing myself against him; well, against a hard part of him, if you know what I mean. Evan gripped my hips firmly.

"No," he whispered in my mouth, "Don't do that,"

God, his voice had turned even sexier.

"Why?" I whined, brushing his lips with mine.

"You're torturing me," he bit my lower lip gently, "There's so much I can handle,"

"But I like it,"

Really, Jules? Since where are you a wanton woman?

"I like it, too, believe me," he pressed me harder against him, and I let out a soft moan, "But my self-control is limited," he said, kissing my neck, "And I'm one move away from ripping off your dress and taking you here, right now,"

His words warmed my insides.

His tongue drew circles around my sensitive skin.

"Oh god!" I exclaimed throwing my head back, grinding against him.

"Jules," he warned, squeezing my hips.

And then we heard a knock on the door. I'd never jumped away from someone as fast as I did in that moment.

"Jules!" Jason's voice resounded at the other side. Evan was frozen on the couch. I pulled my dress down and started fixing my hair. I was about to walk to the door when Evan grabbed my wrist.

"Wait!" he said worriedly.

"What?" I whispered quietly.

"Just give me a moment," he pleaded with an embarrassment expression on his face.  

"What for?" I frowned and he pointed down his stomach.

Alright, his raging hard-on was pretty much visible.

"Oh God!" I muttered shocked, "It looks huge!"

Evan cocked an eyebrow, "Thank you?"

"No, I mean, yeah, I didn't mean it like that," I stated nervously.

"So, is it small?" Evan teased jokingly.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you? You—"

"Jules! I can you hear you! I know you're there!" Jason shouted playfully.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back at him.

"Already?" Evan teased joyfully. I gave him a killer look.

Leave it to my boyfriend to make a joke out of this.

I grasped a cushion and threw it at him.

"Cover it!" I said exasperated as I walked to the door.

I opened the door to find Jason and Helen standing there.

"Hey," They both greeted me nicely.

"Sorry for showing up like this. Lau told me you were watching movies with Evan so we thought about a double date or something," Jason explained quickly. He leant closer to me to whisper, "Besides, Helen wants me to spend time with her brother,"

I smiled at them, "Of course, welcome,"

"Brought some pizza," Jason grinned, lifting the box of pizza in his hands.

"And Ruffles," Helen added smiling at me.

"You've earned your entrance ticket. Come in." I led them inside.

I just really hoped my boyfriend had solved his stiff pole situation otherwise this was going to be awkward.   

Surprisingly, we had a great time that night. Especially, watching Helen's and Jason's expressions when the sex scene in the movie appeared.

Fun night.

***

"Come on, Jules! You can do it!" Laura cheered me, clapping her hands enthusiastically.  I glanced at her, giving her an uncertain smile, "I know you can!" she assured, nodding.

I took a deep breath and held the bat tightly.

Just focus on the ball. You can do this.

I repeated inside my head over and over again.

"Strike!"

What?!

I blinked, realizing the catcher behind me had already received the ball. I didn't even see it.

"Are you blind, Ms. Jones?!" Coach Miller yelled at me from the coach positing next to first base.

Get in the softball team, they said, it'll be easy, they said.   

I swallowed, gripping the bat with all the strength I could conjure.

"Look at the ball!" Lau shouted from the dugout. Our team was obviously losing the practice game.

Look at the ball.

I can definitely do that.

It sounds easy, I can—

"Strike two!" the umpire shouted behind me.

"What?" I protested, "This is not fair!" I whined, dropping the bat and walking back from the batting box. Our team captain ran towards me and guess who she was? Nadia Sullivan. In the past weeks we had learnt how good in everything the Sullivan twins were.

Apparently, nerds can also be great at sports.

Nadia reached me, smiling kindly at me, "Hey, it's alright. Don't be so nervous," she said calmly, "Enjoy the game. Have fun. If you worry too much, you'll never see the ball. The purpose of the game is to have fun, alright?"

"But we are losing," I said worriedly.

"That's okay,"

"And it's the last inning,"

"Jules—"

"And we have a girl in third base,"

"I know but—"

"And there are two outs already,"

"Yes, I—"

"And if—"

"Enough!" she held my shoulders, staring at me seriously. Nadia's dark blue eyes were surprisingly calming. In fact, everything about her was relaxing. She emanated confidence and composure, "Have faith in yourself. I've watched for the past weeks. Your problem is not a lack of skills, your problem is confidence. You don't believe in yourself. You don't think you can do something good and that's why you don't do it," she paused, squeezing my shoulders, "Right now, I need you to have faith in yourself. You can hit that ball and you will, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded as she released me. I was walking back to the batting box when she called me out, "Yeah?"

"If you don't hit the ball, it's alright. I want you to have fun." she winked at me and I found myself smiling at her.

I can definitely do this.

Everything happened in slow motion. I looked at the pitcher, she looked at the catcher, nodding at whatever sign she made and she threw the ball. I swung the bat and was shocked to hear the ball hitting against it.

"Run!" the girls in my team screamed at me and I obeyed. I ran like my life depended on it. I reached the first base and the girl that was on third base reached home and we scored.

As soon as the game was over, all the girls were congratulating me and high-fiving me. It was the first time I felt good at something. And somehow, it was all thanks to Nadia.

We headed out of the showers and I ran up to catch up with her. I knew she hadn't made friends so far. Girls were jealous of her intelligence and looks and the boys only talked to her to ask her out.

"Hey," I greeted, walking by her side.

"Great job back there," she stated, grinning at me.

"Thanks but without you, I wouldn't have done it,"

"Nah," she shook her head, "You just needed a little push,"

"Thanks anyway,"

"Any day," she said smiling at me.

"So," I started as we reached the parking lot, "Any plans for tonight?"

"Not really," she answered quietly.

"Wanna come over and watch some movies with us?"

"Us?" she asked curiously.

"Me and my friends," I said, scanning the parking lot. Lau had gotten out of the showers first to look for her car, "They're a little crazy but they're nice people,"

"Sounds good, but I don't know where you live,"

"You could come with us right now," I offered.

"Can Nash come, too?" she asked hopefully.

How could I say no after the way she helped in the game?

"Sure, where is he?"

As if the heavens wanted to reply, I felt someone behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Nash walking towards us.

"Great game," he complimented, smiling at us. For some reason, I didn't feel intimidated or attracted by Nash. I felt at peace. The Sullivan twins emanated peacefulness. Was that weird? 

"Tell Dad we're not making it to dinner tonight," Nadia said enthusiastically.

Nash frowned, "Why?"

"We're going to Jules' place to watch some movies,"

"Really?" Nash couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes.

"Yep," I said a little happy myself. What? Their excitement was contagious.

"Jules!" Lau shouted from her car.

"Time to go." I said, starting to walk.

Friday movies night was going to be eventful, I could tell.  

x GU x

A/N: Did you enjoy the long chapter? I know you did, don't deny it! I can see right through your eyes! :D I'm fixing my writing schedule so I can update on Every saturday. I will try but it's not a promise. I have a job and house duties so... bare with me. 

Hugs and Jules' cushion ;) 

Arix