Christian's p.o.v.

"Christian Philips, I love you," Beau whispers with our lips inches part, before slowly he leans forward to close the distance.

When Beau's lips touch mine, a thrilling shiver races up my spine as I sink my hands into his hair to draw him closer. As we kiss, my body ignites at the pure bliss of his touch, and I never want the moment to end. But then it's as if my brain finally registered what Beau said, and my heart stutters.

He's confession of love is unexpected. I would have thought it'd be longer before we exchanged those deepest of affections. I'm in no way complaining. I'm just surprised because I know Beau's dating history and even though he's growing more comfortable around me, I never would have imagined he'd say he loves me so soon.

I'm happy to hear it though because from the moment we first went to my house together after Garrett had left him in that rain storm I knew. Beau was so beautiful, even wet and shivering as he had been, he was absolutely stunning to me and I wanted to do nothing but protect him. He's like a delicate and precious jem to me, that's both so incredibly strong yet vulnerable at the same time.

I love Beau. I love him so strongly, even despite the fact we met only two weeks ago he's quickly become my everything.

My hands raise from his sides as I sink them into his hair, and draw him closer as I kiss him back. I break apart our kiss, and with my mouth still brushing against Beau's lips, I softly whisper, "I love you too, Beau Bayes."

I love you so much.

My heart soars with Christian's words, and when our lips break apart so we can catch our breath, I sigh as I lean my cheek against Christian's chest and wind my arms around his waist. I'm so content with the moment, but naturally it can't last as someone else walks into the bathroom and breaks apart the mood of our confessions.

I unwind my arms from around Christian's waist and he kisses my forehead before he whispers, "Let's go back to the others . . ."

I nod and reach out to lace my fingers through Christian's, and together we leave the bathroom to rejoin our friends on the bowling lanes.

Kat is standing near the ball return with her hands on her hips, and when she sees us she frowns. "Hurry up, Beau, it's your turn and you've been holding up the game!" she cries.

I cringe and release Christian's hand as I hurry forward and say, "I'm sorry, I had to use the bathroom and—-"

"And got distracted by Christian's lips," Jordan mutters with a mocking laugh.

Immediately heat beings to rush into my cheeks and spread down to my neck, while Christian shoves Jordan and teasingly replies, "Oh shut up, Jordan. How many times have you and JoAnna snuck off to be alone, huh?"

Jordan laughs, and replies, "Too many times to count."

Christian rolls his eyes, while I drop my gaze and shuffle forward to retrieve my bowling ball. As I slowly approach the lane, I can feel Christian's gaze following my every move. I don't see the point in pretending to be bad anymore, so I take my stance and inhale a breath and release it as I let the ball glide down the slick lane. It never wavers from it's path and hits the pins right down the middle; the momentum of my swing sends them scattering across the lane as they knock into each other. And once everything has settled and the pins have stopped flying, I'm proud to see that not a single one remains standing.

"Holy shit, where did that come from!" Peter cries.

I spin around on my heel with a satisfied smile, as I happily reply, "It must be beginners luck." I say, as I cast Christian a side glance. He watches me with a knowing smile, and I grin as I approach him.

"See, I knew you were pretending," Christian mutters, as he lifts his hands to sink them into my hair. My eyes flutter shut at the gentle and soothing touch, and a faint smile curves my lips as I lean forward to rest my head on Christian's chest.

I wind my arms around his waist, and reply, "I guess I can't fool you, Christian Philips."

Christian chuckles and kisses the crown of my head, and then JoAnna is yelling out victoriously after she knocks down over half of the bowling pins. We finish our game and go through a tray of nachos, and talk and laugh together in-between. I've missed hanging out with my friends, sometimes it feels like we don't get the chance to do it very often. We're either busy with school, battling our demons, or battling ourselves. The two carefree hours we spent surrounded around the four walls of the bowling alley keeps everything bad at bay, and we're liberated from our shackles to be simply us without the worries of vulnerability.

But then reality is back to knocking at the door, and everything we've been able to keep at arm's length snakes back in to suffocate us. My mind is back to plotting, and as we leave the bowling alley I slow my steps to let Christian pass me. Once he has, I peek over my shoulder at Jordan, who is crouched in front of JoAnna. He has her shoe on his knee, and he keeps smiling and teasing her as he laces her shoes.

I smile weakly at the sweetness of the moment, and then after Jordan has helped JoAnna to her feet and she begins to walk towards the doors, I quickly approach Jordan.

"Jordan, can I ask a favor of you?" I say.

Jordan frowns curiously at me as he unwraps a pieces of gum, and plops it into his mouth, as he replies, "Shoot."

I nod and suck in a deep breath, before I blurt, "I need help getting even with Garrett."

Jordan's eyes widen and the furrow above his brow deeps, as he asks, "You want to get even with Garrett? What exactly do you have in mind....?"

"I . . . I want to humiliate him like he's humiliated me," I reply.

"Okay . . . How?" Jordan asks.

"Meet me before school tomorrow at my locker, and I'll tell you," I say. Then I spin around on my heel and hurrying outside to Christian, who smiles at me when I approach as he tosses me a helmet. I smile back at him as guilt wraps around me like a vise. He doesn't know what I plan on doing —- he can't know —- and it hurts me to pretend and smile away my deception.

Once we've said our goodbyes, Christian is revving the engine and we're tearing out of the parking lot, speeding down the streets to my house.

Word count: 1,161

~ 🌸 ~

A/N: *sighs* Oh no, how many of you think this will turn out well? Any ideas on what Beau might be planning? Also, do you think Christian will find out and try to talk him down?

Hmm? I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

Thank you for reading, and please, don't forget to vote, comment, and share with your friends. Thank you, have an amazing day/night!

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️