Unedited chapter, I decide to post the chapters and I will edit them after I finish the story. 

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 Arix!

My Wattpad Love

 Chapter 29

To say I was speechless was the biggest understatement of my life. I was dumbfounded, shocked, wordless and many other adjectives that represent bewilderment and surprise. I wasn't even sure I was still breathing. Evan's face remained so close to mine, our breaths were mixing together. I just needed to move one inch closer and I would be kissing him.

‘Because you're mine...’

God, those words had sent shivers through my entire body. My breath had become unsteady; my heart was racing unhealthily inside my chest. Evan pressed his forehead against mine while his warm thumbs were caressing my cheeks gently. I wanted to kiss him so bad, it was killing me. Our noses touched, our lips were merely an inch apart. My lips parted yearning to feel his. My eyes looked for his, they looked darker than usual. I stared into them wondering, ‘Why aren’t you kissing me?’

The answer was obvious and it hit me like a bucket of cold water.

He wasn't going to kiss me. He wanted me to do it so he could be free of blame for misleading me again. He wanted me to cross that line of friendship he had drawn between us. The line he had definitely pierced with his entire 'You're mine' statement because last time I checked, friends don't own each other.

So where was he going with this? Understanding Evan could be extremely hard and exhausting. He couldn't just pretend to be my friend and then get me to kiss him. Somehow, he knew I wouldn't be able to resist him. He knew I was crazy about him and that put me in disadvantage. No matter how bad I wanted to kiss him -because I was honestly dying to- I knew I couldn't. I'd kissed him twice in my life and he ended up running after leaving me heartbroken. So yeah, I was crazy about the guy but I wasn't stupid or a masochist. 

It's like Albert Einstein said: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

I couldn't keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. Things needed to change for good. However, having him so close to me was incredibly tempting. The warmth coming from his body was dragging me to him. My love intoxicated heart was yelling at me to kiss him, to hug him but my mind thought otherwise. Listening to my heart hadn't actually earned me good results thereby it was time to listen to my brain.

Ignoring my body's protests, I placed my hands on Evan's chest and using all my self-control, I pushed him backwards. I instantly felt cold without his touch. I lifted my gaze to look at him. He seemed surprise but he quickly covered it up with a cold expression.

"I'm not yours," I forced the words out of my mouth. The whole sentence was a blatant lie because deep down, I was already his even when he hadn't even asked me out. Evan watched me in silence for a few seconds. I swallowed, trying to keep my strong pose. His shoulders relaxed as he shove his hands inside his pockets.

"You're right," he stated nonchalantly. "I'm sorry."

So he wasn't going to fight for me anymore, was he? I folded my arms across my chest.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Shane." His expression hardened.

"No."

I crossed my arms."Yes."

"That's not gonna happen, Jules." There goes a shiver...

Why was it that I always got that goose bumps whenever he said my name?

‘Because you're possibly falling in love with him!’ My bold inner voice snapped at me. I mentally rolled my eyes before getting back to the situation at hand.

"You need to apologize, it wasn't right to beat the crap out of Shane like that." I said calmly.

"I can't apologize." he said with finality.

"Then, I guess we are done here." I said with all the coldness I could muster. "Thanks for the necklace." I gave him a closed mouth smile and turned on my feet. As I started walking away, I could feel my heartbeat in my ears and throat.

One

Two

Three... steps.

Wasn't he going to stop me?

Four...

Five...

My plan sucks.

Six

Seven

I should stop counting my steps.

Eight

Nine

Albert Einstein had definitely not met Evan when he said that stuff about doing things differently cause it wasn't really working for me.

Ten

I should've kissed him.

Eleven

At least I would be walking away with the memory of his lips against mine instead of feeling genuinely stupid.

Twelve

Seriously, I need to stop counting. He's not gonna stop me.

Thirteen.

I blame it on all those romantic movies where the guy always stops the girl.

Fourteen.

Fif-

"Jules, wait!" Did I hear him right? "Hey, wait!" He grabbed my arm turning me to him. I faced him trying to hide the relief within me.

Play it cool, Jules.

"What?" I asked, lifting my chin proudly.

"I will do it." he said defeated.

"You will do...?" I played the fool. Evan narrowed his eyes at me.

"I will apologize to him."

"That means you know what you did was wrong, right?" Evan gave me a flat look.

"I'm trying here, okay?" he stated annoyed.

"Fine." I gave him a toothy grin, savoring my partial victory.

Thank you, Albert Einstein. 

"Are we cool?" he wondered, watching me carefully.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Good." His lips formed a lop-sided smirk. One of his dimples formed on his right cheek almost breaking my determination.

"Good." I unfolded my arms, letting them fall at my sides. Evan's smile turned into a full smirk.

"You look cute when you're angry." he smiled, pinching my nose. I chuckled.

"You're a bipolar jerk, you know that, don't you?" I stated frankly.

He shrugged "Maybe."

"Maybe?" I cocked an eyebrow. He nodded.

"Yeah." He ran his fingers through his midnight black hair, rolling his lower lip into his mouth "Would you give this bipolar jerk a hug?" he pouted.

"A hug?" I was taken aback by his request.

"Uhum." He gave me a puppy look "That way, I can know if I am truly forgiven."  He extended his arms towards me. I wavered. God, he looked so adorable but I didn't know if I could resist to having him so close to me again.

"Apologize to Shane and I will give you all the hugs you want." I traded, avoiding the hug because right now, I couldn't have him close to me again. I had to wait for my self-control to reload. Evan shook his head disappointed.

"You're mean."

"I'm being fair so let's go, impulsive boxer, apologizing time." I gestured him to the way back to the bridge. "And to pay for all the trouble you caused, you're giving me a piggyback." Ok, maybe I was taking advantage of the situation but hey, it wasn't everyday Evan was this submissive. He grinned at me.

"Deal." he said giving his back to me, bending forwards slightly "Get on, mistress."

I glared at the back of his head. Slowly, I approached him and crawled on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Evan held me up as if I weighted nothing. Jeez, I forgot how tall he was. When he lifted me, the ground looked far away. If I fell, it would be very painful.

 "I won't let you fall." he assured, probably sensing my fear. My almost naked torso was pressed against his back and even though he was fully dressed, I could feel the heated skin beneath his t-shirt. He smelled so good. I struggled not to sniff on his hair and neck. 

"Go!" I encouraged him to move. Evan laughed softly before starting to walk towards the decorated bridge. In this position, I could take a better look at his tattoo. I studied the perfect curvy dark lines on his skin. It looked so professional. I felt like it had some tribal meaning. 

"Why so quiet?" Evan asked glancing at me over his shoulder "Are you having a panic attack?" 

"No, I just..." I knew the tattoo was a sensitive subject for him so I pushed away the questions about it. "I'm admiring the sights." I lied burying my face in his hair, sniffing a little. I couldn't help it. It was so soft. 

"Are you sniffing on my hair?" 

"What? Psssh! Of course not!" I replied exaggeratedly. 

"Right." he mumbled as we crossed the bridge. The sun was nowhere to be found. Clouds were masking the once bright blue sky. Was it going to rain? Seriously? The day had started so good for the festival.

Anyway, I scanned the crowd looking for my friends. I spotted Laura sitting on the rock inside the river. Jordan was swimming around her. 

Where was Shane? As if on cue, Shane emerged from the water taking a deep breath in. Every girl in a 10 meter radius was gawking at him as he ran both of his hands through his hair, water droplets were rolling down his muscled chest, six-pack, and finally got lost down the defined V in his lower abdomen. As for his face, it didn't look so bad now that he had no trace of blood on it. However, his nose looked red and swollen, a bruise was starting to form around his left eye. This was the second time I'd seen Shane beaten up. The first time was in that party at Jordan's place. That seemed so long ago. 

"There they are!" I pointed my friends out to Evan. He simply strode towards the direction I pointed. He dropped me gently when we reached the river bank "Hey! Guys!" I called them out waving my hand at them to get their attention. Lau was the first one to spot me. 

"Hey!" she waved her hand back at me and then her eyes landed on Evan. She grinned knowingly. "Hey, Evan!" 

"Hi," Evan whispered shyly. Shane noticed the commotion and looked at us. He glared openly at Evan. I felt Evan stiffened next to me. 

Ugh, this is awkward. 

"Shane!" I shouted his name, getting his attention. "Can you come here for a sec, please?" I watched him hesitate for a second before swimming his way over to us. Dripping wet, he got out of the river and stood in front of us. As soon as I got both of them to face each other, I knew this was a bad a idea. Shane was shooting daggers at Evan, he was obviously still pissed at him. 

Alright, I need to solve this maturely. 

"Shane, Evan has something to say." I stated awkwardly. Shane cocked his head waiting. Evan remained in silence "Evan?" I reminded him. 

"I'm sorry, dude." Evan said expressionless. I gestured for him to continue. "I'm sorry for beating you up." Shane scoffed.

"You didn't beat me up. You punched like a girl."

"Shane." I warned him, getting between them. 

"Oh, really?" Evan inquired arrogantly. 

"Ok, ok, that's enough." I stated nervously. It was hard to breathe through the tension between those two. I looked for Lau around the river for help. We exchanged gazes and she understood I needed her. I think that is one of the greatest thing of having a best friend, you can speak to them with just a simple look. 

"Hey, guys!" Lau exclaimed getting out of the river "Why don't we go for a swim?" she wrapped her arm around Shane's arm "Come on, Shane." she pulled at him. Shane didn't budge for a second, glaring at Evan but then he gave up and let Lau drag him back into the river. I let out a sigh of relief. 

"He's a jerk." Evan muttered. I glanced at him. 

"Yeah, but he's not a bad guy," I said, watching Lau and Shane diving in the water. 

"How can you say that?" Evan wondered. I could feel his eyes on me.

"I don't know... he can be..." I trailed off, remembering all those times Shane'd been there for me. Remembering that time he failed math because of me. The memories brought a smile to my lips "He's just... Shane." I shrugged.

"Do you like him?" Evan asked, his voice  restrained. I snapped my head towards him taken aback by his question. I frowned.

"That's none of your business." I stated, averting my gaze. Shane was attractive but I'd never thought of him in a romantic way. We were too different for that.Shane was my friend, that was all. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to tell Evan that. I wanted him curious about the entire Shane subject. 

"I thought we were friends." Evan murmured. 

"We are."

"Then why can't you tell me if you like him?" he pressed. 

"Why do you care?" I looked at him defiantly. He shrugged.

"I'm curious, that's all." He shoved his hands inside his pockets. "I just hope you're smart enough not to fall for his looks." 

"I'm good; you don't need to worry about me." I said simply.

"I can see that." There was a glint of need in his dark eyes. A clap of thunder made me jump slightly. Then, it began to drizzle. Cold raindrops started touching my bare torso, making me shiver. Everyone with dry clothes on rushed to the parking lot to their cars. Lau emerged from the water. Her eyes widened when she noticed the rain.

"Jules!" She cried out. "Our phones! Please take them to the car before they get wet!" She pointed towards their clothes; they were lying on a rock. 

"Ok!" I picked up her shorts, Jordan's and Shane's t-shirts. I wrapped the clothes around the phones to protect them. I looked up  the rocky way to the parking lot. Ok, that was not going to be easy. 

"You need help?" Evan asked knowingly. I glanced at him, he was smiling at me. 

"No." I replied securely.

I can do this. If I manage to resist kissing Evan a few minutes ago, I could definitely do this. 

Believe it or not, I did it. I managed to run through the rocks without falling. The drizzle was turning slowly into heavy rain. Evan was following right behind me, as if he was waiting to catch me if I fell. We reached the parking lot's entrance when a familiar voice screamed my name loudly. I looked behind me to see...

"Jason?" I knew he would come to the festival but I hadn't seen him around. 

"I... need... to... talk... to you..." he said panting. 

"This is not the best time, I have-"

"I can take the phones to my car if you want." Evan offered, noticing the despair on my best friend's face. 

"Okay." I gave him the clothes and phones. 

"I'll wait for you in the car, it's right there." Evan pointed his black car out before walking off. It was already raining heavily when I looked at Jason.

"This better be good." I warned, getting damp as I said it. Jason was resting his hand on his knees, trying to recover his breath. He looked up at me.

"Helen..." He sounded breathless. "We're kind of back together."

"That's good. But, I don't know if you’ve noticed that it's pouring with rain! You could've waited to tell me that!" Jason straightened his body. He was shirtless. 

"I know. The thing is that she's been acting weird and I..." I couldn't hear the rest. The rain was so heavy, it was getting hard to see or hear through it. 

"What?" I shouted.

"I said..."

"I can't hear you!" I screamed, frustrated. Raindrops were getting in my mouth as I spoke. I spit them out, cleaning off my face. Jason stepped closer.

"I said I..."

"What?!"

"She... know... I... how..." All I got were fractions of words that made no sense. Jason must've seen the confusion on my face because he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to him and leaned into my ear. "I said that I think she likes me." His warm breath gave me goosebumps. It was freezing out here. 

"We already knew that." I said annoyed. Jason's body was pressed against mine keeping me warm. Anyone could have thought we were a couple, making out under the rain.

"No, you don't understand." Jason spoke softly in my ear. "I mean, she really likes me."

"I don't get it." He sighed frustrated. The flow of air tickled my neck. I giggled.

"It's not funny, Jules." he groaned.

"I know. I wasn't---Never mind. What's the problem?" 

"I think she wants us to be official. You know, to have a relationship and all that crap." I grinned.

"And?"

"I don't know what to do."

"Cause I'll never be with you." I sang, quoting James Blunt's song 'You're Beautiful'. Jason pinched my waist.

"I'm being serious here."

"Fine, Mr. Seriousness. What did she say?" 

"She asked me if I wanted to take our thing to the next level." he shrugged.

"And what did you say?" I coaxed.

"That I needed to pee." I rolled my eyes, laughing loudly but Jason remained quiet.

"Wait... Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief.

"I freak out, okay? She's waiting for me as we speak! You better tell me what to do." he said.

"I can't do that. It's your choice to make." I ruffled his wet hair. "It's simple. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." he murmured.

"Then tell her you need time to think about it." I said, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"I can't leave her hanging like that. You should have seen her face; she was so scared of my reaction." he said, his eyes misting over as he remembered her expression.

"Poor her! I wish I could tell you what to do but It's your choice, Jason." I smiled sadly.

"I know." He sighed, making me giggle again. "I just don't want any complications."

"Do you like her?" I asked.

"Yeah." he said with no hesitation.

"Is it just physical or is there something more between you?"

"I don't know." he shrugged.

"I don't know." I mimicked his words, holding his face to look at him. "You, my friend, need to make up your mind." He smiled sadly at me. 

"My head is a mess." 

"You're gonna be fine." I assured, caressing his face.

"You really think so?" He looked so hopeless, so vulnerable. I pulled him into a tight hug. 

"Yeah, you're a good boy." I was nothing but frank. We both pulled away. "Just hold her close, look into her eyes and then you'll know exactly what to do." I gave him the wisest piece of advice I could think of. "Now, go back to her. She's probably thinking she scared you away."

"Thank you." He gave me a genuine smile which I quickly returned. 

"Go!" I shooed him, pushing his chest facetiously. He grinned, turned on his feet and left. I was glad he finally left, mostly because I was freezing my butt off out here. Rubbing my arms, I scanned the almost empty parking lot to find Evan's car. When I spotted it, I rushed towards it. Evan was inside looking warm and cozy while I was shaking uncontrollably outside the passenger’s door. He pushed the door opened for me.

"Get in!" he ordered loudly.

"But I'm dripping wet! I'll ruin your seat!" Evan rolled his eyes.

"Just get in before you freeze to death!" 

"No."

"Jules." he warned. "I'll drag you inside if it's necessary."

His tone was mandatory. I was sure my lips were turning purple. Reluctantly, I got inside the car. The warmth welcomed me, calming my trembling hands and quivering lips. I rubbed my hands together. It smelled really good in here, it smelled like... Evan. I knew he was staring at me.  I could feel it "Take this." he said, offering me a blanket. 

"Thanks." I grasped it, covering my frozen body. Silence reigned between us and it suddenly became hard to breath. I could feel the tension forming in the air. 

We're alone in his car... and it's raining. 

Blood rushed to my cheeks as I remembered that passionate kiss we shared under the rain last week.  

Don't think about it, Jules!

"Is Jason okay?" Evan's sexy voice broke the silence. 

"Yeah." I nodded, averting his gaze.

"Jules." His voice was soft. "Look at me."

Nervously, I turned my head to him. We locked gazes and my heart skipped a beat. God, he was so cute. Inevitably, my gaze dropped to his lips. Evan extended his hand towards me; he cupped my cheek. My skin heated at his warm palm. I swallowed; everything about him was dragging me closer. His smell, his looks, his voice, his thoughts, his poems... just everything. His eyes held so many emotions. 

"Evan... I..." He pressed his index on my lips silencing me.

"I'm sorry, Jules. I'm truly sorry for hurting you." he whispered sincerely. " I know I can be confusing. I don't want you thinking this is a game for me. I never meant to play with you. I swear." I was shocked by his words.

"I just--", he leaned closer, "--I know I’m not being fair to you.  I'm being a selfish bastard because I can't let you go even though that's the right thing to do." 

"Evan, I-"

"I'm not as strong as I thought I was." He cut me off gripping my face tightly. "You're gonna have to be strong and stay away from me since I can't find the strength to get away from you."

He closed his eyes, our foreheads colliding together. The rain had stopped outside the car. I could only hear our heavy breaths mixing since we were so close.

"But I-"

"You need to get out of the car now, Jules." he said softly.

"Why?"

"I won't be able to hold myself back for much longer." he breathed.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to kiss you so bad. I'm dying to taste those sweet lips of yours again. My hands are itching to touch you, to feel you." His words warmed my body. "So, get away from me while you can."

How could I tell him I wanted the same thing? I opened my mouth to speak.

"Jules!" Jordan's voice made us both jump away from each other. It was like we were in sort of trance and we snapped out of it. Jordan was knocking on my window. I opened it.

"What?" I spat angrily. 

"We have a problem, come out." he informed me,  looking worried. I stepped out of the car worried. Did something happen to Laura? 

"What's wrong? Where's Lau and Shane?"

"Shane left with some redhead and Lau is buying some souvenirs in the last booth." Jordan's words calmed me "Well, the rain was pretty heavy."

"I know." I gave him a ‘duh’ look. Evan joined us, interested in the conversation. He probably noticed Jordan's worried expression.

"Hey." Evan shook Jordan's hand.

"What's up, man?" Jordan smiled.

"What's wrong?" Evan asked straight-forwardly. 

"Apparently, the rain was pretty intense and there was a collapse on the road. There's mud and a huge tree blocking the way back home." I opened my mouth surprise.

"Oh God!" I held my forehead. "What are we going to do? They're going to clean the road, I suppose, right?"

"Yeah, but, since it's nearly evening, the road won't be ready until tomorrow." I blew a strand of wet hair out of my face.

"Great! Just great!" I exclaimed sarcastically. Lau strode towards us holding some bags. She didn't seem concerned about the entire road situation. 

"Hey again." She greeted Evan. He simply smiled at her "So did you find a solution, babe?" Jordan shook his head. "We can always stay in a hotel." she offered, shrugging.

"Already called; they're full because of this entire festival event." Jordan retorted defeated. I rubbed my face with both hands thinking, 'Mom is going to kill me'.

"Well, we could sleep in the car." Lau added trying to calm us down. 

"And freeze to death?" I chimed in, annoyed. "Look at us! We're all damp and as far as i know, we didn't bring any more clothes." 

"Hey, don't get mad at me." she raised her hands in a peaceful sign. "This is not my fault."

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "I'm cold and hungry. Sorry for snapping at you." Lau pinched my cheek.

"It's cool; our situation sucks." 

"Yeah, it does." I agreed defeated.

"You could all stay over my place." The three of us snapped our heads towards Evan.

"Really?" Lau's face brightened up. I couldn't bring myself to say something.

"You sure, man?" Jordan asked cautiously.

"Yeah, my house is awfully big." Evan shrugged. 

"Are you sure, man?" Jordan repeated his question "We don't want to intrude."

"It's cool, really. You can spend the night there and come back home when the road is ready tomorrow." Lau squealed excitedly and gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you." she grinned widely at him. "That's really nice of you."

"No problem." Evan glanced at me, probably expecting me to say something, but I was mute. "I'll start the engine. You can follow me with your car, man." he said to Jordan. "My house is not really that far from here."

"Okay." Jordan agreed walking to his car. Lau and I exchanged gazes. 

"Go with him." Lau gestured me to Evan.

"No."

"Come on, Jules!"

"He said we should follow him;I'm going with you guys." I stated stubbornly.

"Please. He's being really nice by letting us stay over his house. Keep him company."   

"Lau!" 

"Go!" she pushed me towards his car. Growling in frustration, I walked with long strides to Evan's car. He was already opening the driver's door. He spotted me and smiled at me.

"You're coming with me?" he was amused. 

"If you want to." I folded my arms across my chest. "If you don't, I can-"

"Don't be silly, get in." He jumped in the driver's seat. I remained still in front of the passenger's seat. Evan opened the door from the inside, pushing it opened for me.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked, leaning over my seat. I was nervous about being alone again with him in his car after what happened a few minutes ago. Evan smirked up at me "Get in, I don't bite." he teased. "At least, not hard." he winked at me. My stomach did a major black flip. Swallowing my nervousness, I got inside the car.

It was going to be a long night...

X M W L X

A/N: Heya! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for the support, guys! Next chapter will be fun muahaha Please, go to the feedback page, then select Special awards nomination from the drop-down menu and nominate this story for Best Overall cast. It'll mean the world to me. The link for the feedback page is on the right, on external link >>>

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Love and forbidden apples,

 Arix!