Hello peoples! Another upload :D Urgh... it was my first day of work experience today and it was so bad. At least I now know I NEVER want to be an accountant. Okay enough driveling... here's the next chapter.

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"Ethan?" Olivia asked, propping her body up on her elbows and leaning her back against the whitewashed walls of Ethan’s bedroom.

Her heart leapt as the words rolled around in her mouth. Immediately she felt her cheeks flush as Ethan’s gaze fixated on her. Why had she even got his attention? It was such a stupid question – she felt embarrassed already, even before the words had left her lips.

"Yeah?" he responded, his eyes lingering questioningly on Olivia’s face.

The pair of them had been sitting in Ethan’s room for around thirty minutes, chatting and joking as if nothing had happened the previous day. It was somewhat confusing for Olivia, and she was unsure of how to approach the whole thing – or whether she should just ignore the elephant in the room.

Every thought that had passed her mind since yesterday had been consumed by the kiss – it was impossible to think of anything but the feeling of pure ecstasy that she had felt as Ethan’s lips moved expertly against hers. That feeling... the one she was dying to experience again.

It seemed Ethan was a professional when it came to confusing her – he had not mentioned it the whole time Olivia had been at his house, inside his cramped but cosy bedroom. This made it impossible to establish exactly how he felt about her, and how things currently stood between them. Of course, Olivia had over-analysed the situation, trying to deduce every single possible meaning from the information that she had. But that just left her even more confused, and made it even more difficult to focus on anything else.

"About what happened yesterday..." Olivia said, biting her lip and tucking a strand of loose brown hair behind her ear. She studied Ethan’s face carefully as the words escaped her lips, but his expression was still unreadable. "Why did you kiss me?"

She silently cursed herself as soon as the words were spoken. Why did she have to be so blunt? There must’ve been a better, more tactical way to go about it, ways that would be significantly less embarrassing than how she had just done it.

Her eyes flickered to his face as Ethan started to laugh quietly, his signature warm smile spreading across his face until it had widened into an amused grin. "Oh, that," he said. "Why, didn’t you like it?" His smile faltered slightly as he glanced anxiously at her, waiting for a response.

"No! No, it was... really good," Olivia answered, slightly embarrassed at her lack of a better adjective. "Just... unexpected, I guess."

"Really?" Ethan said, a hint of surprise displayed on his face. "So... I wasn’t a bad kisser or anything then?" He smirked slightly.

"No, you were a great kisser," Olivia reassured him, smiling as the moment began to replay again in her mind. That perfect moment. "Just... why?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Because I really like you, Olivia." Ethan looked up, almost nervously as he watched for a reaction, relaxing slightly when he saw Olivia’s expression. "You’re such an amazing girl and... I just... I really like you." His hand reached out to rest gently on her arm.

Now she really couldn’t stop the pink blush from creeping onto her cheeks. Ethan really liked her? The thought made her head spin and her heart flutter in her chest.

"Well, I really like you too," Olivia managed to breathe, as her lips spread into a smile.

And within seconds, it was happening again. The tingling feeling that spread through her whole body as she felt Ethan’s lips against hers. This time she was ready for it – her arms stretched around his back until they were enveloped behind his neck, her hands snaking upwards until her fingers were submerged in his silky soft hair. Their lips moved together in perfect unison, slowly, beautifully, almost fitting together like a mould.

And when their lips parted, the grin was back on her face as she gazed deeply into his eyes, the power of his dazzling gaze felt through her entire body.

Her arms were still looped around him, hands curved around the shape of his neck in a gentle grip, as if she never wanted to let go of him. It was too perfect, and as soon as she released her arms the moment would pass. She wished it was possible for her to preserve that moment, with the ability to play it back whenever she wanted, as vivid as when it really happened.

Ethan looked as if he understood, though. His hands were resting on Olivia’s lower back, angling her so she was facing him head on. His eyes never left hers, never flickered away, just kept on looking as if he was able to speak through them.

"I want to ask you something," he said quietly, his hand reaching up slowly to brush a strand of hair away from Olivia’s pale face.

"Yeah?" she said, blinking up at him as she continued staring deeply into his eyes, trying to analyse what was running through his head. Her heart pounded in anticipation.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Olivia?"

At that moment, the sheer amount of emotions that were rushing through her body was making her head spin. Excitement, joy, happiness and just about every other positive emotion were swelling up inside her, pulsing through her veins. It was a good feeling, but it was overpowering.

"Of course I will!" she answered, leaning in slightly and grinning. "Now, come on, let me kiss my boyfriend for the first time."

And he obeyed, the small gap between their lips closed for the fourth time. And yet this time it was more powerful, more passionate. Olivia fell back onto the soft material of the sheets on his bed, feeling it sink slightly under the weight of both of them. The feeling of ecstasy was back again, washing over her like a tide, and she found herself wishing that they could stay like this forever... somehow.

Then he pulled away gently, his lips hovering centimetres above hers. His eyes wandered downwards, avoiding her gaze. "This whole thing... you know, us..."

"Yeah?" Olivia enquired, somewhat intrigued to hear what he was going to say.

"Well, do you mind if we... you know, keep it quiet? At school and stuff..." He looked at her again, his eyes widened slightly as he waited for a response.

"What?" Olivia frowned, feeling the happiness inside her beginning to fizzle out. She sat up quickly, sending Ethan falling backwards until he was sat up straight again, facing her on the bed.

"Well, it’s just that Carter and his lot have been getting suspicious lately, and if they find out I’m dating you... I don’t know. It just brings them a whole lot closer to finding out that I’m on scholarship."

"So you’re ashamed of me?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"No, no, it’s not that!" he responded quickly, his eyes beginning to glaze with panic. How could he have been so stupid? After all this time, he’d finally got what he wanted, after the whole Sammi situation had cleared up, and now he had ruined it. "I didn’t mean it like that."

"So what did you mean it like?"

He bit his lip, as if desperately trying to rack his brain for an answer that would not offend her. "I just don’t think we should tell people yet."

"What’s so bad about people finding out you’re on scholarship anyway? Are they going to murder you or something if they find out?"

"I don’t know, it’s just..." he sighed, his eyes flickering downwards. "I don’t want to get labelled by them as some sort of scholarship nerd."

"And have to hang out with people like me, you mean?" Olivia said, her eyes beginning to narrow. All those positive emotions that had been running through her just moments ago had evaporated, being replaced by anger and pain. How could this be happening? This was Ethan – lovely, sweet Ethan who had really cared about her. And now that was shattering before her eyes. With each moment, the Ethan she had known before was disappearing even more and was being replaced with the usual, mindless jock persona.

"No!" He looked somewhat taken aback at his sudden rise in tone, sighing before softening his voice again. "I’m sorry, Olivia. I didn’t mean to offend you, I just... I don’t want anyone to find out about my scholarship. Not yet, at least."

"So how long are you planning to keep this a secret? A few weeks, months? What about until we graduate?"

Olivia was now climbing off the bed, grabbing her bag from the floor, about to leave. She spun round until she was facing Ethan again, her eyes stinging with potential tears. "I thought you were different, Ethan. I thought you weren’t like those other stuck-up idiots at that school. But you know what? I was wrong."

She turned to leave, flinching as she felt a hand on her shoulder, trying to hold her back. But his touch no longer sent sparks rushing through her body. In fact, it did the complete opposite. It repulsed her, and she shook it off quickly.

"Please, Olivia. You know I didn’t mean it like that – you know I didn’t mean to hurt you."

"Oh, really? Well, guess what?" she turned, looking him in the eye, despite how painful it was. There was nothing more she wanted to do than rewind the past five minutes, just to be laying there with him again, to not remember any of this. "You did."

She turned on her heel, exiting the room as fast as possible. Down the long line of carpeted stairs, trying not to trip on the corner that had peeled away from the floorboards below, and through the front door.

She could hear Ethan calling after her, begging her to stop walking, to let him explain. But with every second her speed was increasing, and soon she was walking so fast she was almost running. Tears brimmed in her eyes, obscuring her vision, causing her to see the world as if she was looking at a broken mirror. Maybe she was.

As she set off for home, her feet pounding harder on the sidewalk with every step, she could not help but think of how much she was experiencing the sensation of déjà vu.

She had known this was coming, she had told herself hundreds of times that falling in love would only lead to heartbreak. Ethan had been so different, so reassuring, that she had even forgotten herself and her warning in the process. Maybe now she would finally learn her lesson and stay away from him.

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Don't hate me too much. I know, I know... they only just got together and they've had an argument :P Hehee, character torture. But it'll all work out in the end! Vote if you want it to get better... otherwise Olivia and Ethan will never kiss again ;) muahahaha...