[Snapdragon]: Sweet deception

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Would Darius notice if I melted like the ice in my glass of coffee? Because that's what happens every time Connor's sleepy voice invades my mind, which is probably more than nine hundred times a day. And even now, as my project-mate sits across from me in the backyard of our library building after our Monday classes, I'm back in his house, pressed against his side, his voice in my ear.

"Want to be the only one, Sky."

The memory of last Thursday night has been playing in my mind like a broken record for three days already: the way he touched me, bit me, kissed my neck, the way he whispered things in my ear I'm sure he'd never say if he were sober or fully awake.

There's no way he could have faked it to play with my feelings again, he was too weak and delirious to do it. So whatever he said at the time was true.

He wants me and he hates it as much as he hates me.

I came to this conclusion after I got home that night and started my operation on Connor Black's dark little secret. I cleared my board and got to work in the middle of the night, feeling like those profilers from detective movies.

Connor's been playing a game of push and pull with me since the day we met in college because even though he claims to despise me and not want to be seen with me ever again, his body wants me.

That's why he keeps driving me away with his cruel words all the time but then reaching out for me himself as if looking for a way to be near me again.

The mature Connor finds me attractive, and he can't do anything about it.

This realization both is delightful and annoying, because why the hell couldn't he see me like that when we were still kids? Why the hell did he have to think of me only as a friend and then give me the perfect reason to destroy us?

The sound of my phone makes me jump in my seat and only then do I come back to reality and realize the poor guy is still talking while I was fantasizing, my hand touching the plaster on my jaw. The only way I could cover his bite. It was worse on Friday since it was just starting to turn blue, but after three days it now has a yellow shade and is almost unnoticeable.

Still, I didn't want to risk it today either, since it obviously looks like a hickey with a little more teeth than necessary, and Jack and especially Syd would notice it. They did ask about the plaster too, and I had to lie to them, saying I got burnt while straightening my hair.

"...means. So we could identify an old garage in the city and turn it into a bookstore or something like that." Darius is saying.

Right, we were discussing what we were going to do for our joint project, which Connor is a part of as well, mind you. However, he's decided not to show up to the discussion, although he's clearly seen the message Darius has sent in the group chat.

Him not reacting to any of our messages there made me feel slightly better, because he hasn't replied to the two texts I sent him on Friday either, where I was asking him if he was doing okay. I was scared he'd start bleeding again and not go to the hospital just like the stubborn jerk that he was, and that's why I talked my pride into doing it. Twice!

Although he didn't reply, I soon figured out that everything must have been okay, since he'd left me on seen, and the twins he was living with attended our shared classes both on Friday and today.

Darius and I have decided to choose a project related to the adaptive reuse of old buildings. He came up with the brilliant idea himself and I couldn't love it more. The fact that he wants to major in Industrial Architecture will surely come in handy. However, the garage part still doesn't sound like something remarkable. It sounds basic, boring even.

"Hmmm... Could be, but I'm not completely sure it will stand out." I give it a thought as I check my phone, my heartbeat picking up immediately. Could it be Connor?

All hope is gone when I quickly scan over the text Syd has sent me about going to our Halloween shopping tomorrow and make a mental note to reply to her later.

My eyes wander around the backyard, as I sip my latte, chewing on a small ice cube. A group of students in Victorian clothes runs out of the Music and Dance Department building, laughing and joking among themselves, and just like that it hits me!

I ditch the coffee on the table, jump out of my seat, and start to bounce and twirl in my very cute light violet kitten heels with darker butterflies embroidered all over them! Got these beauties on the summer flea market last year, even though I had three others of the same color. They called to me like sirens, so how was I supposed to ignore them? There was no way I could do that. And now I'm grateful I gave in because they are too comfortable even when I'm jumping on them in a very tight jean mermaid skirt.

But my goodness! Of course! The project idea I've just come up with is 'jump-worthy', just genius!

Wait, does it make me sound bad if I say this in my head?

Oh well, I'm never modest when it comes to giving honest credit when necessary, so...

"Are you okay? Was there booze in your coffee? Should have taken that one." Darius says and makes me stop and turn my gaze at him.

He's leaning back in his seat, nursing his cold peach tea. He looks handsome with his curly dark hair, glasses, and halfway-formed anchor goatee beard. He does look like an even more handsome version of Mena Massoud.

"How hard do you think it will be to find a very abandoned or half-built... or... or half-ruined castle-like building in New York?" I ask with a huge smile, knowing he'll appreciate the idea once I share it with him.

"Very," he says matter of factly and he's not wrong. "We're talking NY, Mia. Abandoned buildings? Sure, quite possible, but 'castle-like' ones?" He crosses his arms. "Gonna say practically impossible."

"I guess we'll need to look harder because I think I have just come up with a spectacular idea!"

And then I sit down, take a calm breath to surpass my excitement and start to tell him about it. As I describe my vision, I can practically see it in my head. An old castle, slash church, slash temple, or anything relatively close in style, turned into a gothic theatre, but of course with plants too.

I wonder what Connor would say if he were here and heard my idea. Would he love it? Would he say it was impossible to make, or would he offer to just make a faceless and cold building with no characteristic or history?

I guess I'll find it out sooner than I thought.

As Darius beams at the idea and starts to add to my suggestions, a huge grin creeps to my face because my eyes have caught Connor pushing the door of the building open and then making his way to us.

Instantly, a shiver runs down my whole body and I'm pretty sure my feet would give in if I were standing, as I watch him walk confidently, with his wide shoulders, large strides, and hands in his pockets, as if he doesn't have a wound on his side. I'd not remember about it either if I didn't just notice him slow his pace slightly.

From here I can't see his face clearly but I have an idea there is a scowl on that perfectly carved face. He's sporting a white t-shirt under a black hoody, dark jeans, and his favorite pair of Nike shoes - I've noticed him wear those more than anything in his closet.

He has a huge backpack over his shoulder, which looks heavy from here, making me think it's full of his project. Projects I'd sell a pair of my shoes (from the ones I love the least) to have my hands on.

Seriously, I should pay more attention to Darius.

And yet, I'm still watching Connor with a stupid grin, happy he feels better enough to come to the meeting, anticipating to find out how much he recalls from Thursday night, and to just play his nerves like a violin because I now know his darkest secret.

"Want to be the only one, Sky."

"Alright, you need to stop being so obvious," Darius' voice rings in my ears, making me finally land on Earth. I turn my face to him and when our eyes meet he gives me a knowing smirk.

Damn it!

"What?" I try to fake confusion, making him chuckle.

"Come on, you're mentally fucking the guy in the open field."

I choke on the air, eyes wide. I didn't know he was so straightforward, because I've never seen him with his friends or anything. Before this we've only talked to each other once, complimenting each other's looks and saying hi occasionally. After we were teamed up, we only talked in our group chat, and he'd never come off as a talker. I'm not complaining though.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say leaning over the table slightly to wrap my lips around the straw and then taking a large sip of cold coffee to cool my insides.

I can't believe I slipped and let him catch me. Not when I'm still openly dating Jack.

He chuckles again and is about to say something when out of the corner of my eyes I see Connor come to a stop next to Darius.

Raising my gaze, I look at him, the straw still in my mouth, and barely manage to hold my dreamy sigh back when I find his dark green eyes on me.

"Hi," Darius says but it sounds so far from where I mentally am. I'm back to thinking about Connor's room, his scent and touch and mouth on my skin even though it was there for only a couple of seconds. Back to thinking about his breathless confession.

"Want to be the only one, Sky."

As if hearing my thoughts, Connor holds my stare, his hooded eyes traveling to my mouth on the straw and staying there long enough to make my heart run wild.

When he looks at me like that... 

"I didn't think you were coming," Darius says and I swear, Connor doesn't hear him at first because now he's staring at the plaster with a smirk. But then he clears his throat as his eyes move to my eyes again.

"Plans changed." He gives a short answer holding my stare, before throwing his backpack down and taking a seat on the bench Darius is occupying. He stretches his long legs, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms against his chest.

I look away too, shifting in my seat, trying to get the oxygen back into my lungs. I'm usually not uncomfortable with being in the center of attention, I guess it's because I've been on stage since I was a kid. But having those eyes on me does weird things to my whole body. Things I've never felt before, and all because it's him. Sure, I was in love with him as a kid, but that's the thing, I was just a kid. Back then I didn't know what he could do to my body.

"Anyway, we were just talking about the project and Mia has come up with the perfect idea." Darius goes on, as Connor just stares at his shoes and listens.

"That's because you gave me the perfect topic," I say and hold my hand up for a high five and Darius takes it with a huge grin.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Connor roll his eyes and stare at our hands with a scowl as if he's disgusted at our cheesiness.

"Enlighten me then, let's see how brilliant you two are."

Darius and I don't need another invitation, so we start explaining it all to him with all the enthusiasm in the world.

Every time I'm working on a project, my blood rushes to my ears and my heart starts to hammer against my chest violently, ready to burst out. I guess that's what being in love with your profession means. I feel it now too.

I'm so excited to bring this idea to life, I doubt I'll even sleep tonight.

"So? What do you think?" I gasp for air as we finish, and all the while Connor hasn't changed his facial expression. Nothing! Not a single twitch for me to figure out how he feels about it. If I'm being honest, I wanted to punch his face once or twice for being so cold even when it came to his favorite architecture.

He just sat there motionless, occasionally biting the inside of his cheek, fixing his jaw, thinking hard about something, or staring at my plaster with a smirk that didn't fail to make me stutter each time I caught it.

"What if it's private property?" He asks thoughtfully, head thrown back slightly and staring at the clear sky. I have a disturbing desire to kiss his Adam's apple, and when I realize what I'm thinking I want to bury myself somewhere in the backyard.

His bite has surely awakened the sleeping Little Monster within me. 

"Then we'll convince the owner. I'm sure it will be easier than if it were a public one." I answer after clearing my throat, and Darius nods, backing me up.

"How about the condition assessment? It could have structural issues or potential hazards. Did you take a moment to think it all through, or were you two just jumping up and down for nothing? Besides, even if it's useable, it might be expensive as fuck to renovate it, and of course the timeline. You do realize you don't have the whole year for the project, right? Once the project is chosen, they will give it around two or three months."

"I think we can consider those points again once we find the place." Darius shrugs helplessly, and when Connor looks at him with a frown I know it was the wrong answer.

"What if you don't find it? Think it will be easy to come across something like that in New York?"

"Well, sorry Connor, at least we were doing something." I snap, and Darius shoots me a scared stare, his eyes wide and mouth open. It's almost comical.

My eyes find Connor and I expect him to murder me with a single glare for calling him by his first name in front of Darius and for snapping at him, but I'm surprised to see his eyes on the table as he holds back a tiny smirk.

"I mean... if you hate the idea that much, just say it. You don't have to ag_"

"I don't hate it." He cuts me off and looks up suddenly. When our eyes meet I want to kiss him. I really, really do. Because he knows how much architecture means to me and he is not being an asshole about it to just piss me off.

"You don't?" My voice comes out in a whisper, making me sound so vulnerable and desperate to hear him compliment it. 

"No. I like it." He mumbles eyes on the plaster again, making me doubt whether he's talking about the idea or the bruise he's given me. My breath gets caught in my throat as his voice travels all the way down to the pit of my stomach. 

"Thank you," I manage to not sound as turned on as I feel. To think I was looking forward to teasing him when I'm the one getting breathless and bothered because of his voice alone. "Anyway, I'll make sure to find the place, and then we can discuss the rest and come up with a plan."

"What if you don't?" Connor says again.

"I will," I say stubbornly, my eyes narrowed at him.

"I'm ready to bet on it." His eyes sparkle with mischief as he leans his arms over the table, closing the distance between us drastically.

"Tell me more." I stick my chin up in the air, challenging him, both of us  long forgotten about Darius.

"If you find something like that and get permission for us to use it I'll do most of the heavy job within a crazy timeframe."

"And if I don't?"

"But if you don't..." His green eyes hold mine captive, pinning me against the nearest tree like a predator. The tip of his tongue traces the corner of his lower lip slightly as he thinks about it, and my eyes drink the action in with hunger. "I'll have to think about it for now. But don't worry your pretty little head about it, it won't be anything scandalous...well, not too much."

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Author's Note

YES! I did it because you deserved it for being so patient! Here's the second chapter of the week! Don't worry, you won't have to wait for the next couple of chapters for months, because I already have them almost ready to go! Hope you'll love the chapter and as always, please don't forget to vote and comment a lot to hype me up. I'm an old lady that needs motivation lol XD

PS I've also added a couple of new songs to my Trouble playlist on Spotify, so you might want to check it out if you're a music fan like me. I usually move them up and down according to their relevance so might want to scan the whole list. Sorry :D (Spotify: melanie.sargsian)

I also constantly refresh the Pinterest board, to give you the vibe of the story, and I hope you like all the visuals in there. (Pinterest: melphorias)

If you have any music or interest recoms for Trouble let me know in the comments or text me on my socials, I'll be more than happy to check them out.

I also am active on TikTok (my.meluphoria), and am planning to create new stuff for Trouble too. Gosh, I have so much to do. I should force my sister into the role of my assistant.

Anyway, have an amazing week, and hope this chapter already made it better for you.

End of my rant, now it's time to go back to my Dramione fanfics lol :D and yes I don't care that it's past 1 AM in my country and I have to wake up at 7:30 AM tomorrow.

Much Love, always,

Mel