I've decided to put this story in the Watty Awards 2013! ! *throws confetti* Please support this chapter if you enjoyed!!! <33333333

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There's another thing that I can brag about myself: I was, and still am, a world class champion at staring contests.

Now, that's not something everyone can say. It's not exactly licking your elbow or wiggling your eyebrows or bending your legs around yourself and walking like your straight out of The Exorcist. But it's a pretty serious skill, if you ask me, with a lot of risks involved. Of course, there's the whole 'your eye gets really dry' thing. Word on the street is that there's actually a professional league for staring contests, where the contestant has people squirt eye drops into their eye while their eyes are open. I could be wrong, but that's a little excessive, and you didn't hear it from me.

And then there's the whole: 'Your eye is now exposed to the open and someone can stab it' thing, but lets not over think it, ok? I was just good at staring contests. Let's leave it at that.

How long could someone hold their eyes open anyways, you ask?

Well, I had already counted to 372 in my head and the scary, ruway model of a man in front of me hadn't even blinked once.

"If you're just going to stand there and stare at me like a loonatic, what was the point of locking me in this bathroom with you."

"I have a disease," he said.

"I see."

"It's very...rare, you could say."

"Right."

"A long-term disease," Sin added.

"Do you want me to start crying for you or something? I used to be able to cry on command. Ask Timmy Wilbert in fifth grade when he thought he could steal my Dunkaroo's every lunch. I don't think so, Timmy Wilbert. I don't think so."

"This disease makes me act a certain way," Sin continued, deep in thought.

"And..." I trailed, egging him on with my hands. "I have to get to class, BFF. I don't have time for General Hospital and 90210 drama dragging."

"It's slowly taking over my life. My parents don't want anything to do with it anymore. My dad is always on business trips these days and my mom is always working. Dad used to help me with it a lot. But now he's never around and I'm...it's getting a lot worse."

"As your best friend, I suggest you see a shrink and stop locking girls in the boys bathroom in order to express yourself."

Sin gave me a long look. "I'm not your friend."

I shook my finger at him. "No, no, no. We're definitely friends. I read it in a magazine. Once you go grope, you never go back. Just because you have Barking Disease, or whatever you wish to call it, doesn't mean we aren't friends."

"I'm not your friend just because you accidently grabbed my dick," he snapped, eyes growing dark.

My jaw slammed shut with his rapid mood change. Suddenly, I was imagining Alaska and Polar Bears, trying to get my mind off the fact that Gorgeous had a very...creative vocabulary.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch, I'm running on an empty tank here. I slept terribly last night. Please, tell me more about this "disease" of yours," I said, swinging my backpack off of my shoulder and setting it on the ground. "That must be why you locked me in the boys bathroom with you, right? To tell me something? Or do you expect more groping, Lassie?"

He didn't even flinch with laughter. I thought what I had said was pretty humorous, too.

"I'm not what you think I am," Sin said.

"Gay?"

"No--I mean, yes. But no." He scrubbed a hand down his face. "It's really hard for me to talk about this in front of you."

I cocked an eyebrow. "And this disease...does it make you more temperamental than usual and really hairy and hungry once a month--?"

"I'm not a werewolf."

"I was going to ask if you were on your period, but ok. Werewolf works." I eyed him for a long moment, before bursting out laughing.

"This isn't funny, Pepper," he said, gritting his jaw. "And that's not a word that you just throw around in this town. You can't tell any of your friends back at home or your family about my...differences. You can't spread rumors that I'm a werewolf or any of that shit because it's not true, and I'll get in trouble if it gets spread to the wrong people."

After a while, I stopped laughing. Probably because of the fact that I had no friends back home to begin with. It's not my fault that most people were annoying, clingy, and rude. Then again, maybe I shutup because Sin had basically implied there were lots of werewolves in town, but he just wasn't one of them.

"Alright, I believe you," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "For now. And you know why? Because you see, your nose is completely healed, buddy-boy. Not even a bruise. There's no way your nose completely healed in two weeks."

Sin glared at me.

"You think I wouldn't notice? Well, I did. And by the way, it was broken when I kicked you in the face because I have a photographic memory and I remember precisely where the bridge of your nose lay, and it's in a different position now. Why is that? Was your nose broken after all and I just didn't notice at first? I think that observation deserves a pat on my back. Feel free to do it now as I look at myself in the mirror and internally talk to myself." Turning my back to him, I gazed at myself in the mirror. Normal me stared back, the under portions of her eyes shadowy from lack of sleep.

Aren't you the dream girl, inner me said. Look at you, compared to Sin. He's a God on legs and you're screwing with him? A guy with a pretty face can turn your world upside down.

For a moment, Sin's sharp blue eyes looked absolutely enraged. But there was a great amount of restraint in Sin that was more than evident, that prevented him from showing it any further. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"So let me get this straight," I had said, leaning against the bathroom counter and staring at Sin in the mirror. He had already turned on all of the sinks as high as they could go, saying that he couldn't have anyone hear our conversation. "You have a rare "disease" that makes your nails ridiculously sharp, and your hormones and hair follicles flare up so bad that once a month you completely lose control over your temper and also get really hairy?"

"Yes."

"That is absolute BS."

"Excuse me?"

"Bullshit. Bull. Shit. Shit de bull." I narrowed my eyes at him, still debating whether or not he was lying. "Are you sure you're not just pregnant? Or...a chain smoker? You do have a little bit of a roughness to your voice. Do you share cigs in the parking lot between you and your boyfriend?"

"Pepper."

There was something about him being angry that had me practically rolling on the floor, I was laughing so hard. I finally understood the whole ROFL text shortcut.

When I wiped the tears from under my eyes and looked at Sin. His hands were clenched so hard that his knuckles were a stark white and shaking. Noticing my stare, Sin leaned looked away from me and leaned against one of the dividers between two bathroom stalls, crossing his thick arms over his chest and hiding his hands.

Raising a single eyebrow, his eyes heated from under his lashes, and for or a moment, I thought he was seriously going to ram into me with his head and break us through the bathroom wall into a adjacent classroom.

"You have no respect for me," he growled out.

"Of course I have no respect for you. You're extremely rich and I'm extremely judgmental."

"Mostly mental."

Why were guys like fifty-thousand times more attractive when they were angry? I mean, holy sugar cookies, did Sin's leather jacket and medium-washed jeans fit him perfectly in all of the right. Even that white t-shirt he had underneath his shirt was stretched along those deliciously sculpted muscles...

"I'm going to be the first to say it," Sin began in a cold, flat voice, beginning to step towards me. Right when I thought he was going to stop, he didn't--that is, until our toes literally touched and I had to lean back against bathroom counter, bracing myself on the towel dispenser so I didn't fall into the sink. "You really don't belong here, Pepper. You're a fish in a pool of sharks and killer whales. There's a lot about this school that you don't want to know, and a lot of things that nobody is going to tell you. People like you, that enroll into this high school and stick their nose and eyes into places where they don't belong, don't show up the next week of school. Sometimes they're just wiped off the face of the earth."

I eyed his full lips, which were inches away from mine, and instinctually wet my lips. "That's the second time you threatened me," I whispered. "You know what they say, boys are mean to girls that they like. One more time, and I'm going to assume you want some extra Pepper on your sirloin steak, if you know what "

He laughed lowly. Gooseflesh rose on my arms. "I thought I was gay?" he wondered. I was slowly getting lost in those Caribbean blue eyes.

"Bisexual?" I offered.

"If I liked you, I'd be more obvious. But I don't really like you. I'm very selective in the people that I don't like." He flashed a grin. It was a dangerous smile that had little to no emotion. As I focused more fully on his mouth, my lungs sunk straight to my feet. "You haven't taken my advice and gotten on my good side, I'd start now," he added.

How had I not noticed that before? Had I really been so distracted by his eyes that I hadn't...?

I was anchored to the floor, unable to move or speak. Stunned, I analyzed his mouth more with a tilt of my head. Oh my fu---

"Next time, I won't have to threaten you, Pepper," Sin said softly. His hand then found the back of my neck and he grabbed the back of my head in one strong palm, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. He flashed me another unfriendly grin, and my eyes went wide at how sharp his teeth had gotten in a matter of seconds. You aren't just seeing things. His teeth keep sharpening. "Do yourself and your family a favor and keep your mouth shut about anything that goes on in this school. Because if comes back to me, I won't be threatening you anymore. I'll be taking action."

You have to get the hell out of here.

"Look!" I motioned between us. His eyebrows scrunched together, as if something was actually wrong, and he loosened his grip on my head enough that I could wiggle out of his grasp and stand further away from him. "We match!"

Confused, he continued to stare at me. "You're changing the subject."

This was my time to shine, and then get the F away from Psycho-Sin.

"No really! We do! White shirts and medium-washed holey jeans! Oh no! Does this mean I look like a guy?" I asked, fluffing up my frizzy hair and grinning at him in the mirror. "I mean...not that I care. It's just that I kinda get my charm from my father and my looks from my great-grandma--who now that I think about it, kind of resembled James Dean because she had this disorder where she constantly kept her eyes squinted and her face in this really laid back expression. You've got to see this expression, my mom has an entire scrap book. She really did resemble James Dean. However, that woman seriously needed a flat iron and a massive floppy hat for that afro on her head though, if she wanted to actually get some celebrity look-alike recognition."

I whipped my head towards the mirror again, spreading my hands along my outfit. "This is so embarrassing! People are going to think we're....we're one of those really freaky couples that pick a day of the week to match! This is my style. I can't just change my style, you know?" I pressed my hand to my forehead, pretending to feel faint. "Oh no, I'm conforming to a clique, aren't I? A clique of really laid back, fashionable gay men who say they're a natural brunette but apply the effort and time to dye both their hair and eyebrows and then strip the dye to prove a point!"

There was a knock on the door. "What is going on in there? I have to pee!"

Rolling his eyes, Sin pushed off from the stall divider. "Pepper--"

I started to walk briskly the boys bathroom door. And when I say briskly, I mean I was totally imagining myself as one of those mothers that speed walk down the road with five pound weights.

"I mean, it's not that you don't look good in the outfit--because you do. But this is a fashion meltdown--"

"Don't run away from me--"

"--I have to find the student affairs office--"

I went to unlock the door and Sin pressed his hand firmly against the door, his hard, hot chest sandwiching me against the door. Chills shot down my back like painful scratches along my spine.

There was a knock at the door. "Uh, hello? I can hear you guys talking in there, you know!"

"Go away!" Sin and I said at the same time.

"I have bladder issues! I'm getting security, you--you hooligans!"

Sin made an aggravated noise and ran his fingers roughly through his hair.

"You don't have a disease, do you?" My voice painfully foreign and tight with fear. It was a little squeak in comparison to my actual voice. My mind went back to Sin's mouth being inches away from mine and then I was stunned again. It was an image a just couldn't shake.

Fangs. He has fangs!

I felt Sin's hot breath along my neck. "You know that blonde girl and the guy that prevented her from slapping you?"

"Yes." My breaths were short, being he had pinned me hard against the door. "This is probably not the time. But do you, like, sharpen those knives in your mouth with a toenail filer or something? They look pretty lethal--"

Sin pressed my head hard against the door, growling in my face.

"If I see you speaking to any of them or provoking any of them today, you and I are going to have a big, big problem. Understand? That includes anyone that he hangs around with."

"Why?"

"I don't have to answer that." Heat was radiating off of Sin and his breath was getting ragged. "Do. As. I. Say. Stay away from them. And we won't have a problem."

"Or what?" I bit out, earning a cackling laugh from the psycho behind me. "What are you going to do? Kidnap me? Kill my parents? Hang me from the flag pole by my underwear? I already wear thongs, you can't give me a wedgie. Well, maybe you could still give me one if I had a thong, but that might cause me some serious permanent damage and my womanly parts are kind of not ok with that."

"Mom and dad would appreciate you listening to me."

"If you touch my family with even one of your giant paw hands, I swear that I'll stab you with the next silver object that comes in my path and murder your furry ass. Even if it's a spoon or one of those really annoying tea cups that look like they're only for display and barely hold any liquid that dainty old women use."

Sin tightened his grip on me, his hot mouth tickling my ear. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was a big fan of Granny Smith apples and Polo by Ralph Lauren, because my nostrils were engulfed by the scent. "Don't fuck with me, Pepper. I don't give many warnings."

When I turned around, Sin was gone, and I was left with the terrible, knawing thought that he would be in one-to-many of my classes, and that whatever he was keeping from me--besides the fact that I had concluded he was part hairball, would drag me further into a world that I had vowed, crossed my heart, and stuck a needle in my unblinking, staring-contest winning eye.... that I would never enter.

The Land of Barbies, Werewolves, and Vampires.

Oh my.

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What's everyone's favorite movie?!? I just watched The Amazing Spiderman for like the fiftieth time, but I'm going to have to go with Tangled on this one. I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING.

Until next time. ;)