Okay.... So yeah, SURPRISE!!
I have a feeling you might burst with excitement if you read the two words after the Chapter title...

Just saying :) Consider it my gift for all the love you guys give me❤️ I'll be always grateful for it. I always love reading your comments. They really make me smile😊

(PS- I was dared by one of my friends to put up my profile picture incase you wanted to see what I look like🙈🙈 Though I'll be removing it very soon)

Chapter |24|

DANIEL'S POV

"-so there was this shop I went to and can you believe what the salesman said? He said that size 2 wasn't going to fit me and I obviously had t-" Lacey ranted into my phone but my attention was diverted.

My eyes were fixed on the sleeping form on the couch. Since her disguise was off, her caramel brown hair were scattered on the couch. Her face displayed calmness unlike her usual feisty look.

"-and then finally I showed him. Don't you think I'm awesome?" Lacey's voice snapped me out of my reverie and I quickly looked elsewhere.

"Of course, baby," my answer came automatically like always.

"Babe, I'm so bored. Should I come over?" She asked and I was almost about to agree.

"Su- Wait no," I quickly blurted.

"And why shouldn't I?" Suspicion oozed from her words and I mentally smacked myself for slipping up.

"I-uh meant that you shouldn't come because... Then your surprise won't be a surprise anymore," I blurted the first thing that came into my mind.

To be honest, I didn't want to wake Skylar up. If Lacey came over, I would have to wake her up and ask her to go upstairs or change into her disguise and somehow I didn't want to do that.

In the beginning, I admit I did dislike her. And that was because I had foolishly believed the rumours. Lacey had said all sorts of things about her, making me dislike her.

But there was always something that stopped me from completely hating her.

I was totally shocked when she told me what that bastard had done to Ceecee (Chloe). But what surprised me even more was the fact that she had defended my family and protected them even when she didn't need to.

I had felt ashamed of  what I'd said to her that night. That wasn't how I grew up.

But then, why did Lacey say all those things about her? Maybe she didn't know about the actual Skylar, the good one, herself.

"Ooooh. What surprise?" Lacey hummed, making me sigh in relief.

"Uh-if I tell you that, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, would it?" I answered, wracking my brain for a potential surprise that I could plan for her.

"Okay, fine. I'll look forward to it. Why don't you come over, then? We'll have lots of fun," she whispered in a suggestive manner and I agreed.

I quickly got up and was about to go up to my room to change from my pyjamas to something presentable when Skylar caught my eye.

She was trying to shift her position in the limited space and she looked really funny. I literally couldn't believe when she told me all that about Alicia and her step mother.

I witnessed a strong girl breaking down and that is why I hugged her. Though I did feel quite angry at Alicia. How could a person be so cruel?

I'm glad I shared my observatory with her. It was my world away from reality and I think she could use some time off too.

I have no idea why I took her there in the first place but I guess it was for the good.

I examined her face. She was beautiful, no doubt. Her skin was slightly tanned and she was quite fit too. Her brown locks suited her way more than her black ones. Her eyes always lured me in.

She moved once again, making her fringes come on to her face, obscuring it from view. I had this sudden itch to removed them from there.

I decided to do just that and bent down to her face level. I lifted my hand slowly, careful not to wake her up.

I cautiously slid her fringe away from her face, my hand gently caressing her cheek. I felt strange as I felt something weird in my stomach. It was a completely new ticklish feeling that I surprisingly enjoyed.

The last time I'd felt this ticklish was in the closet when... I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I loved Lacey.

I was about to remove my hand when she suddenly moved again and grabbed my hand.

My eyes widened as my head snapped to her face once again. She was fast asleep. I blew a breath I was holding and gently slipped my hand out of her grasp.

It was more difficult than I had anticipated since her grip was strong. When I finally pried my hand away, I got up, still staring at her sleeping form.

"Why are you staring at my si- Skylar?"

I quickly turned to see Andrew standing there with his arms crossed and a tiny smirk on his face.

"Uh- There was a fly on her face. I was just waving it off," I lied pathetically.

"Sure sure," he replied, still supporting the smirk.

"Wha- hold on. Did you just say 'my Skylar'?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. Was something going on between them?

Andrew raised an eyebrow at him. "Got a problem?"

"She's not yours," I spoke, strangely irritated.

"She's not yours either so why are you getting so worked up?" He countered, making me loose my words.

Why was I getting so worked up? This wasn't so normal in friendship.

"Uh-"

"Forget it," he replied and started shaking Skylar awake.

"Hey, don't. Let her sleep. She's been through something," I immediately spoke before realising what I just said.

Andrew paused and turned to me.
"What did you do?" He asked straight away, annoying me.

"You're forgetting that we're friends now. And I wasn't the one to hurt her," I defended.

"What do you mean by that?"

I crossed my arms and looked away. I kind of didn't want to share it with him. I had a feeling that it was something between the both of us only.

"Something to do with Alicia," I muttered, vaguely.

He immediately stood up straight. "What did the bitch do?"

I looked at him surprised. He had his jaw clenched and his body was tense. The last time I'd seen him this concerned was with Carrie and that was almost a year back.

"What does that matter to you?" I asked instead.

"Daniel, just fucking tell me what she did," he nearly yelled.

I glanced at Skylar who was still asleep and looked back at a fuming Andrew.

"What does she mean to you?" I asked, referring to Skylar.

"She means to me something much more than anything that I have felt for someone in a while now," was his only answer before he stormed out, muttering things about Alicia while I stared at his retreating back in surprise and annoyance.
****

"Baby, why aren't you listening properly? I just told you that the old hag in the store was checking me out and you didn't give your usual response at all," Lacey nudged me.

I looked at Lacey, who was pouting at me while I had my arm around her tiny frame. She was a little fragile while a certain brunette was the total opposite.

I shook my head. This want good. Ever since I'd began seeing the real Skylar Jones, I've felt like shedding all my walls and letting her in.

The only people I'd ever let in were Lacey and Andrew. I didn't know what I was feeling but it sure as hell wasn't good for my health.

I loved Lacey. Yes. She's the only one I've ever loved. She was my first love.

"Uh- Nothing. Just distracted by your surprise," I muttered, pushing all thoughts of a certain someone out of my head.

"Aw. Let me give a return gift for your surprise," she whispered and leaned her face towards me.

"Uh- why don't you give me that later?" I said and dodged her face to which she looked at me in surprise.

I'd never stopped her from kissing me before.

"What's gotten into you? Lately you've been spending less time with me and you've been reluctant in kissing me. Don't you think I notice that?" She snapped, making me flinch a little.

"It's not like that. I-"

"Then what the hell is th-"

I cut her off by claiming her lips. She was right. I had to stop whatever this was and fast. Otherwise I was going to lose her.

****

The next day, I woke up late. I'd been till late with at Andrew's house since Lacey was his partner. We didn't do much except for kissing and watching a horror movie where she basically clung to me the whole night.

I was really tired when I came back so I went straight to bed. It was 12 noon and I felt too lazy but I decided to go for a jog around the neighbourhood to clear my head.

After two hours, I came home, greeting the sight of Andrew lounging on the couch, watching TV with Chloe and mom sitting by them.

Mom looked up, smiling. "You're late so you'll have to eat lunch on your own. Don't eat the whole thing since Skye also hasn't had her lunch," she said, returning her gaze back to the TV.

"Why hasn't she eaten?" I asked and went to the kitchen. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge before chugging half of it in one go.

"Don't tell Emma but she's upstairs cleaning her cuts, which reminds me Lacey has come down with flu and she wants you to nurse her," Andrew said walking into the kitchen.

But I heard only the first part of the whole thing.

"Why does she have cuts and why aren't you with her?" I asked.

"She ran into Alicia this morning and her cronies pushed her into a wooden fence and Skylar won't let me in," he said, a bit angry at the Alicia part.

That's all I needed to hear before I ran up to her room. She didn't know how to clean her cuts. "Skylar?" I called, knocking at the door.

"Yeah?" Her faint voice came through.

"Let me in," I said as if she was going to listen to me obediently.

"Is there anyone else with you?"

Her question surprised me. I was expecting a no or anything negative but this was far from what I had expected.

"N-No," I answered, not knowing why I stuttered.

A moment later, her head peeked through the small opening of the door. Once she saw that I was the only one, she opened the door wide enough for me to enter.

Just as I entered, she spoke, glaring at me. "I'm letting you in because you're the only one who knows tat I don't know how to clean my cuts," she said fiercely but I could spot a light blush of embarrassment as she made her way to the bed.

I let a small smile grace my face as I followed her lead. But that smile disappeared once I saw the cut on her forearm.

I clenched my jaw but quickly got to work. She had made a mess of things on the floor in front of her.

I chuckled a bit as I saw her struggling with the medicines. I gently held her forearm before getting to work.

After fastening the gauze securely around her wound, I cleaned up the mess.

"Thank you," she muttered in a quiet voice and I chuckled.

"What was that?" I bent a little, trying to get her to repeat.

"I'm so not repeating that," she said before pulling up a hoodie and exiting the room.

I chuckled but followed her.

She quickly ducked her way into the kitchen and started putting herself a plate. I was about to follow her lead but stopped when I spotted Andrew passing me a sly smile.

"What?" I snapped, not liking the way he was smiling at me.

"You know, it's strange that you rushed to Skye rather than going to your girlfriend," he said, confusing me.

"Why would I go to Lacey?"

"I mentioned that she had come down with flu when I told you about Skye," he said smirking.

"No you didn't," I countered. He didn't. Did he?

"I think I remember clearly. Anyways, let's forget that and just answer me," he said, increasing my curiosity.

"Are you sure you love Lacey?"

His question startled me. "Of co-"

"No. Don't give me that robotic response. Think about it and then tell me because the way I see it, I don't think you even like her that much," he said before going back to the living room.

I loved Lacey. Of course I did. There was nothing to think about it. Yup. I definitely loved her.

I did, right?

*****

Hey guys!

How was Daniel's point of view?

I hope you enjoyed the surprise update! I don't know what made me write but I just did. Oh, and my profile picture is up only for a few hours (for those people who want to see me).

Especially after reading your comments.
Aren't I awesome? (Kidding)

Keep commenting and voting! I love all of you.

Have a lovely day!!!!❤️❤️