Song for this story: I Like Me Better by Lauv

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It was past ten in the evening. The music was blaring so loud I could hardly understand the words my friends were saying.

Three hours of free-flowing drinks, and everyone just seemed so dazed they couldn't keep a steady eye contact anymore.

Everyone except for that guy in the corner. Sporting a black shirt, fitted jeans and nerdy looking eyeglasses, he completed the all-mysterious-looking-whatever look, or as I commonly call it, the AMLWL. Okay, maybe the best word for it was, "The Cliché."

The first moment he walked through the glass door, I already found him boring enough that I did not pay any mind to him. That was until everyone was just doing shit I could not bear to watch.

Now, he was just staring at everyone. Then to his drink, twirling the straw as if he could be anywhere but there. I wouldn't blame him though, I, too, would want to leave that place or rather, I wouldn't even want to be there in the first place. Alcohol and teenagers with raging hormones just don't match for me, really.

Everything that I've been saying so far might have bored some of you, but I just wanted to help you picture the scene that I was currently in before we jump to the reason as to why I woke up in the morning wearing nothing but my undies and his shirt. And no, we did not have sex.

It all began with me, your ever-so-gracious goddess, leaping on the sudden surge of courage and went to the table he was sitting on. I sat beside him, and he looked up from his half-empty glass of beer. I would know since everyone was drinking the same thing.

"How much do you wanna bet that he'll fall asleep while dancing in about..." I paused, looking for the time, and he suddenly thrust his hand on me. I looked down and analyzed the time on his wristwatch, then looked back up to the guy I was referring to. "Okay. Ten minutes," I finished and beamed at him.

He smiled shyly. I knew he was shy because he turned his head to the other side as he did. Rolling my eyes, I bumped shoulders with him. "Come on. We're the only sober people here and these drunkards are boring me," I urged.

Still, with that, I admit, it was cute, smile, he replied, "Okay." His voice was deep and husky. I don't know if it was only because he hadn't spoken much that evening or that was really how he always sounded.

"So?"

"A place to crash," he said.

I tilted my head to the side, not understanding his words. Probably noticing the confusion on my face, he chuckled. That kind of laugh that was holding back and was almost inaudible -- just cute.

Turning his whole body towards me but leaning back a bit, he explained, "If he didn't drop unconscious within the ten minutes time limit, you'll have to get me a place to crash."

Nodding, I said, "But if I won?"

"Name what you want," he replied, a smile seemed to be plastered on his face permanently.

Thinking, and stopping within a few moments, I shrugged. "I'll think about the prize when I won."

"Alright." Then holding out his hand, "I'm Kole."

Shaking it back, "I'm V."

"Just V?"

"Yup."

"I don't believe you." And with that, he started listing off names that could possibly answer as to why I was nicknamed V. The names he suggested was getting more ridiculous after another until he pushed the final buttons.

"I bet you're named Veyonce," he said proudly with a shit-eating grin playfully dangling on his lips.

With an exasperated sigh, I was saved by the sudden loud thud coming from the dance floor. We both turned to look at the direction of the crash and saw the guy we were betting on, sprawled out cold on the ground. Snores could be heard despite the loud blaring of the EDMs currently playing. We immediately checked his watch and I grinned so widely my mouth hurt. The defeated glint on his eyes made me dropped my smile since he looked like a puppy that had been kicked in the tummy.

"Congratulations. You won," he said, smiling. However, I took notice of the worried look on his brown orbs.

I have a tendency to stay away as far away as I can from people that looked just like him. A hurt puppy. So I did my usual escape route, I yawned. "Well, this was an interesting night but I have to get going," I said and stood up.

"Wait." He grabbed my arm and I peered at him under my annoying short bangs. "What about your prize? You won."

Blinking, I tried to think of something else. Then, the flashing McDonald's sign glared at me from outside. "Ice cream."

"Huh?"

"I said I want an ice cream," I replied monotonously. He sat there, staring at me for who knows how long until the friend of mine who I went with stumbled onto me. I wasn't expecting the sudden force so I went falling forward, towards Kole.

And the most embarrassing thing happened, I ended up with my boobs pressed up on his face. Even under the dim light and his tanned skin, I could clearly see his face turning pink. And I was pretty sure that mine was in the same state. I could feel my whole being hit up and we just stared at each other. It wasn't the, 'We both stared at each other as if we're the only ones in the room' shit. No. It was more like, 'I'm fucking frozen in place so I couldn't take my eyes off you because I might go ka-boom.'

The stare-off stopped when we heard my friend giggling beside me. I backed up, with my hands still on his shoulder, and apologized a million times at most.

"I-I, I m-mean, w-we're going." I cursed myself with the stutters, and taking a deep breath, I spoke slowly this time. "We're going. She's already drunk and it's a bit of a long ride back to her house." Pausing once again, I smiled a bit. "Good night."

Walking away, I dragged my friend towards the door. She was mumbling incoherently, and with us almost weighing the same, it took a toll on my unexercised body to get her outside the bar. Feeling my chest constricted, I repeatedly took rapid breaths, willing myself to ingest as much oxygen that I could. I opened my phone to book a ride to be able to go home. My mind was preoccupied with my breathing, my phone, and the girl that was sitting carelessly on the dirty floor that I failed to notice Kole walking behind me. A hand touched my shoulder and within seconds, I had my card knife opened and up against his throat. His eyes were wide while I was squinting. He held both of his arms up and when I smelled his familiar perfume, I released the breath I was holding, and so was my grip on him.

"For a moment, I was worried about you and your friend going home alone. But I guess I should be more scared of you." He chuckled nervously as he stepped back.

"I'm sorry. Shit just happened that required my instincts to go wiry," I replied as I pocketed the knife.

"It's alright, no harm done."

"You were lucky I recognized your perfume," I blurted out. I didn't realize I said it out loud until he guffawed so hard he was now sitting with my drunk friend. Sighing, I noticed I've been doing this far too much tonight, I ran my hand on my short hair. "It's true. I distinguish people by their scent. I have to rely on my sense of smell or else I'll end up killing people. A lot of them."

Hinting at the seriousness of my voice, he stopped. With a shrug, he stood up. "Let's get that ice cream now."

"Why are you really here?"

I was met with silence.

"You really need that place to crash, don't you?" I muttered as I processed the severity of the situation.

Nodding, he put his hands on his pockets. A clear sign of someone being nervous. "My parents would get mad if I go back at our house smelling like alcohol."

"You're lucky I live alone." He smiled at that and he picked up my friend effortlessly off the ground. "Let's go then." And he started walking away.

"Where are we going?" I jogged up to him. He stopped and turned towards me.

"Car."

And he continued walking. We stopped outside a black BMW. He opened the backdoor and laid my friend, who was now snoring her head off, and proceeded to the driver's seat. Before he went in, he was looking at me expectantly. "Do I have to carry you, too?"

Shaking my head, I went on the other side to the passenger seat. We were silent after that.

He backed away the parking, and before heading back to the road, he went straight to the McDonald's drive-thru. I looked at him questioningly and he shrugged. I think shrugging is his default response to everything.

"You said you wanted ice cream."

And silence.

The lady on the counter took our order, and besides the ice cream, he added three Big Mac's and those BFF fries. I was gonna reach for my purse when he waved me off, saying something like it was his duty, he lost, blah blah blah.

He handed me my ice cream and one of the burgers. It was a silent ride, only talking when he was asking for directions to my friend's house. It wasn't uncomfortable though, it was actually peaceful if I compare it to every car ride that I've been in.

It took us half an hour to arrive at the two-story house of my drunk friend, her roommate was already waiting for her outside. A small exchange of greetings passed and Kole carried her to her room, laid her on the bed, and I tucked her in. Her roommate said that she would handle everything else so we wasted no time and left the quiet house.

As soon as he started the engine, he said, "Let's play a game."

"Alright," I replied too quickly that made him smirk. I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. "As much as I like the silence, it's boring."

"You're quite fond of that word," he said and glanced at me.

I pouted. "It's because everything bores the hell out of me."

Nodding, he lowered the volume of the radio. "What about twenty questions?"

With a smirk of my own, I replied, "Aw. Do you wanna know things about me that bad?"

I was taken aback when he smiled genuinely. "Yeah. Is there something wrong with that?" It took me a full five minutes to process what he said. He swerved hard on the right and I felt the seat belt dug into my flesh. "Sorry. You were so distracted."

Puffing out a breath, "Fine." Twiddling my necklace, I added, "But you ask first."

"Deal."

"..."

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Lavender. Yours?"

"Pink." I snorted but I didn't care. Who likes pink, anyway, aside from girly girls and Barbie? He was glancing at the road and back at me until he spoke, "I can clearly see the judgment in your eyes."

"That's because I'm judging you," I replied and he just waved his hand. Scrunching my face, I thought of a question. "Do you have any sports?"

"I play tennis," he replied. Looking at his arms, I nodded in understanding and excitement.

"That's why. I play tennis, too. Although nowadays, I'm more focused on swimming since I'm asthmatic."

We fired questions to each other, answering everything, too. We laughed at the embarrassing moments we told, and I almost felt like we were playing some kind of Olympics. Then the laughter got louder when we started sharing all the ridiculous things we've done in the past. The questions served as a conversation starter, and indeed, an effective way of knowing something about someone. Honestly, it was going well.

Not until he asked one question that made everything awkward and uneasy.

"I saw you earlier. You didn't drink the beer they gave you. Why?"

Instead of answering his questions, I pointed at my one-story bungalow. "That's the one. You can park your car inside. I know, it's just that when I bought it, it already has a parking space."

"Okay," he replied and cut off the engine. I sprinted towards my front door and opened it hastily. Leaving the door wide open, I pulled at the curtains that barricaded my bed, or as I liked to call it, my fort.

He turned on the lights that I forgot and placed the food on the counter.

My abode was a quaint one-story house, with only two doors leading to the bedroom and the bathroom. However, I rarely used the bedroom, and instead, sleep on my fort. I felt more comfortable near the glass wall that overlooked the bright sky, and I wouldn't have to worry that much about burglars since the whole house was surrounded by electric fences, and if  that didn't work, I have my army of dogs, meaning my five German shepherds and two Siberian huskies, that could surely scare them away.

And speaking of my dogs.

I've already heard the padded footsteps before they even growled at the unfamiliar boy in my pad.

"Don't move," I warned him and he looked at me helplessly. His fear-stricken face was begging me to do something. I laughed out loud at his state, and I clicked my tongue, signalling the dogs towards me.

Glancing at the boy once more, the dogs ran and jumped on me, happily wagging their tails. All I could hear was their joyful yelps as they licked my face over and over again. I wasn't ticklish, but the way their fur brush against my face and neck made me giggle uncontrollably.

"H-help. S-stop them. They're... hahaha! T-tickling me!" I said as I reached out for Kole. The guy was smiling warmly while he stretched out his hand for me to reach. Which was a bad idea since one of the husky almost bit his hand off.

"Holy shit!" he said and jumped backwards, falling on his ass. The dogs turned their attention towards him, and I hurriedly slammed myself on his body. I used myself as a barricade between him, and death.

I glared at my dogs, and with a wave of my hand, I told them. "He's a friend. Quit scaring him." They looked confused at first, and after staring at us, they leapt at him. Since I was on top of Kole, their weight crashed down on me, but I knew it must have been hard for the boy below.

And for the second time that night, I found my chest pressed up on his face.

The thick tension in the room could be cut through with garden shears, and with a shrill, the dogs ran out of the house. Kole, getting over the shock, put both his hands against his ears as he visibly cringed. I, however, continued screaming my lungs out.

"V, stop! You're gonna wake up the whole city!" Kole said as I found my mouth being covered with his hand. And let me just say his hand smelled nice. Like strawberries. And maybe that was the reason why I suddenly licked his palm.

He looked at me, totally horrified at what I did. I half-expected him to run away but what he did next surprised me.

He licked my cheek.

And not in that disgusting way. It felt more sexual than any of my endeavors. It immediately got me hot and bothered, although at the same time, I felt something in my tummy that I only felt when I'm reading my favorite fictional character. So I blinked. And blinked.

And we kissed.

I didn't know how that happened, actually. I just found a pair of chapped and rough lips against mine. His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer. My hands found its way on his biceps, holding them tight as he literally took my breath away.

My whole body shut down. The only thing that my mind could process was the heat from his touch as he drew circles under my shirt. I gasped as I felt his tongue against my bottom lip, and I swear to everything holy that at that moment, I thought my cherry would be popped.

Surprisingly we stopped. More like he pulled away after minutes.

His face was flushed, tints of pink were visible on both his cheeks even though he's tanned. I am sure that I had the same look as him at that time.

Silence enveloped the atmosphere, and we were just lost in each other's eyes. Cliche, I know. I've kissed guys before, but none of them made me feel like this. Again, another cliche. But who really cares?

"That was..." He breathed. After a little while, he shyly smiled, which also made me grin. "Perfect," he said.

He stood up and laid his hand for me. I grabbed it and I think he pulled me harder than he wanted to since I found myself falling forward. I ended up against his chest. I inhaled sharply as I felt his body under my fingertips.

"You usually fall for guys after one kiss?" he asked with that same voice that made me squirm.

"Why do you assume that I'm the one who falls?" I almost whispered. I saw him raised an eyebrow, and for the first time, I saw him smirk. He looked so bad yet so... delicious. Am I supposed to even describe him like food?

"So, you play their hearts like your usual barbie dolls?" I grinned. He whistled lowly and walked towards the counter in the kitchen. "That's definitely a surprise."

"And people like you aren't. Just because I look like a nice person doesn't mean that I am one," I replied and we both laughed. "I'm just gonna change," I told him as I was about to walk to my room. Not even taking a step, I felt his hand enclosed in mine. I looked at him, tilting my head as if to ask him why.

He let me go. And he removed his shirt.

As in without any hesitation. He just pulled his freaking shirt off.

My eyes widen as I saw his bare upper body. He isn't all muscles. No. He was lean, but not overly muscled. His six-pack was kind of faded (but this guy has a flatter stomach than I do, and that made me almost cry. Almost), yet he looked like an eyeful. Like the version of Zac Efron from High School Musical 3.

"What are you doing?"

He handed me his shirt. "Wear it."

"What?"

"I said, wear it."

"Why?"

"Use it as PJs," he said nonchalantly. His shoulder shrugging.

I glanced at him before staring at the shirt in my hand. "Like, now?"

"I was thinking you change in your room, but since you mentioned it..." he answered. A small smile was dangling on his lips innocently, but his eyes told a different story.

Not one to be ashamed of my body, I shrugged and pulled my top all the way off. His eyes never leaving my face and I smiled inwardly. I wore his black shirt and it was at least half bigger than me and it went just above my knees. I fiddled with the button and zipper of my jeans from under the shirt and lowered my pants, all the way to my ankle and picked it up.

When I looked back at him, his eyes were wide as saucers. No joke.

"What?" I blinked.

"I just... wasn't expecting it," he murmured, and I nodded. I fixed my clothes and put it in the hamper beside the bathroom and pulled him back down to the bar stool. Fed up with the silence, I initiated the conversation.

The night went on with us eating McDonald's takeout whilst reminiscing the weird shit we did when we were kids and the weird shits that happened to us during high school years. I learned a lot about him, and I found myself sharing a lot more than what I usually let on. It was past midnight when he asked the question that I tried to avoid earlier.

"So, you didn't answer me last time. Why don't you drink?" he pried. We were now laying in my fort, heads turned upwards towards the glow-in-the-dark solar system that I pasted on the ceiling the first day that I moved.

I closed my eyes, internally debating whether I should reveal the reason behind it or keep it a secret. But as I felt his hand enclosed mine, all doubts flew away like the wind that blew and swayed the trees and its leaves.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he whispered as he snuggled closer to me.

I looked at him and smiled. "It's okay." I breathed. For minutes, none of us dared to talk. I tried but I ended up gaping like a fish. I could feel his breath against my neck, and for some reason, I felt at complete peace with this stranger.

Once again closing my eyes and accepting the warmth from his embrace, I went down memory lane. "It started when he stalked me on Facebook. I got creeped out, to be honest. But then, he was a friend of a friend, and he was just messing with me the whole time." I laughed. "I should have known though, with a guy as cute as he is, I should have expected that he would have tons of girls following him..."

"Paige, who is she?" I asked as I noticed a blonde following us around the mall for almost two hours already.

"Who?" he replied. I discreetly pointed at the store behind us where the girl was hiding. He frowned when he noticed. "That's... Impossible."

Glancing back up at him, I tugged his shirt. "Why? Who is she?"

"She's a stalker. Xian Kay."

"I grew on her though. She was really nice if you get to know her. A bit possessive and obsessed with my friend but she was a good person."

"What's wrong with you?" Xian asked as she plopped down the seat beside me. I stared at the nearing sunset in front of me and sighed.

"I don't really know." I glanced at her. Her golden hair shined as the remaining sun rays hit it. I noticed that she was wearing a white shirt with a dream catcher. And I remembered my Night Dreamers. "I think I miss people."

She stared at me, her eyes revealing nothing but the golden hues of the sunset. Until she stood up and walked away. She glanced at me over her shoulders and said, "Wait for me. I'll bring you tea."

I can see questions swirling on Kole's chocolate orbs. He was dying to ask things, but I was thankful that he kept his mouth shut. I didn't need to be interrupted if I want to let everything out of my chest.

"I realized, people hide their true feelings to avoid being vulnerable. And I understand that. They liked, or if we're being honest here, you could say they were in love with each other. But those two had a habit of complicating their lives."

"Do you like her?" I asked Paige as we were chilling inside a coffee shop. He spurted the hot coffee he was drinking and I was fast enough to avoid the spill. "Dude. It goes down your throat!"

Coughing, he tried to speak. "I'm sorry. You're just being ridiculous."

"Yeah? Well, I'm taking that as a no. Wait," I paused and pretended to text somebody on my phone. "I'll tell James he won't have to worry about-"

"What do you mean? What about James? Don't tell me he's planning to date her!" It was a statement, not a question.

Ha. Got ya, kid.

"I think I understand them. She's his stalker, and maybe he thought it wasn't right for him to fall for her," Kole suddenly commented. He had his chin atop his palms whilst he stared outside. I subtly nodded, which he noticed. "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Why do you keep talking about them in the past tense?" he asked. If I'm being honest, I'm not really surprised that he inquired about that. Who wouldn't be curious if you were talking to someone and they kept using was, were, had?

So, I smiled at him. And continued my story. "I think it was almost a year since the first day I've known her. I got a call from one of my friends, and they told me that Paige wanted to see me. In the hospital. But it's not like what you think..."

I immediately rode a cab as soon as my friend told me which hospital. I could feel the nerves in my system going haywire that I kept tapping my fingers against my phone screen. The driver kept looking back at me with a worried face. I think he sensed the urgency of the situation that we got to the hospital in ten minutes top.

I went to the front desk immediately. I asked if someone with Paige's name was admitted but the nurse's answer was negative. I tried calling his phone, but after the fifth ring, I saw his familiar blond hair. I ran to him.

And when he turned towards me, I saw a boy who was going to lose someone important to him. That was when I realized that it was Xian.

"What happened?" I tried to ask. My voice was trembling so was my knees. I kept my stance though; trying to be the stronger person for the both of us.

He visibly gulped. I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. His lips were dry whilst his eyes were misty. He had been crying.

At that moment, I don't think any words would have comforted the broken boy. All I could do was cradle him in my arms and hold him tight. I tried my best to keep not just myself together, but for his pieces to not fall to the ground, too.

Within six hours, she was declared dead.