Hey guys! How was you weekend? Mine was fabulous and currently I'm writing my ass off, trying to make it possible to update more than once a week :) thanks to everyone who has been reading!! Please don't be afraid to express you opinions in the comments, I love reading them!!!

_______________________

   "Why do you like him anyways?" Ben asked while leaning back into the recliner in my living room. The television was on, Criminal minds was playing.

        "Because he's insanely hot. Derek Morgan is my dream husband" I explained as a picture of him popped up on the screen. I sat at the stove waiting impatiently for the water to boil.

        "I'm not talking about Derek" Ben clarified while glancing back at my amused smile.  I knew he was talking about Colton but honestly, I didn't want to think of Colton right now. I just wanted us to have fun - goofing off while watching one of our favorite shows.

     But I knew Ben wouldn't stop until I answered.

      "I don't know. I just do" I said although my answer was a pretty bad one. Ben didn't seem bugged by my lack of reply, surprisingly.  A long silence passed, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

         "You deserve someone that's amazing and will stay up late with you. Someone that eats your leftover food when you're too full" Ben said. My heart instantly melted because I knew Ben more than anybody else - and believe it or not - Ben was a sucker for romance. Sometimes we would go to the movie theater to watch Romance comedies and he would always get so into it that we would talk for hours about the movie once it was over.

That's one of those things that I only seemed to know about him. None of his jocks like Brayden, Easton and Sean. It was weird how Ben played two completely different people in the same world.

But, It's not like Ben went out of his way to find true love, but I could tell he wanted to experience it more than anything else. Heck, so did I. Every one did, right?

        True love is almost like a mystery. Everyone says it out there but you only believe it when you see it yourself.

I haven't seen it yet. 

       "Oh, so somebody like you?" I asked because I knew he was describing himself.

     "Exactly like me. Unfortunately I don't think you'll be able to find somebody as good as I am" Ben said smoothly and calmly. I chuckled a little and scooped some Mac and Cheese into two bowls; one for me and one for Ben. 

I walked over to him as he held out his hand, his eyes still focused on the TV. He was taking up the whole entire couch, leaving no available room for anybody. I heard footsteps rapidly running down the stairs , for a moment I though there was an elephant in the house. Unfortunately, it was just Mason; my younger brother.

"Hey sis, can I have some of this?" He yelled with his headphones still attached to his ears and his eyes glued to his phone. I turned on my heels to look at him while he grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and a fork from the drawer.

"Yeah, I don't care" I said while turning to watch the television. I heard him scrambling around, a cringe spread across my face. The only time Mason came downstairs was to go to school and to eat food. He was a freshman, so of course he still hadn't figured out everything yet.

Every other week he had a new girlfriend and I've decided that's Ben's fault. When Mason was younger Ben and Him would hang out often, mostly because Mason always wanted an older brother and Ben was the closet person to that. But over the years, Mason drastically changed.

I hated the way he changed. We used to make cookies, go sled riding and go swimming. It was a blast, but then he forgot about all the important things in life. One day he would snap out of it, we all do.  See, I remember one time we were heading to my Grandmas house for Her 80th birthday. That's kind of a big deal for an old lady, and you know what Mason did? He ditched as soon as we got there and went upstairs to the X-box my grandma never uses. Let me just say that my Grandma was heartbroken when she thought Mason didn't come - heck, she was still heartbroken when we found him sleeping in the guest bedroom. So you can see what type of conflicts he creates and how attached he is to electronics and popularity.

          "What's up with him?" Ben asked while chewing down on his mac and cheese. His eyes were glued to the tv while we talked.

   "Heck, I don't know. And would you mind giving me a spot to sit?" I asked while viewing Ben's spread out body across the couch. He ran his fingers through his soft hair and moved his legs just slightly so I had a small portion to sit in. Great. He let a deep sigh and drew out a sharp breath, his shirt tightened around his chest.

         "That's it?" I asked while snuggling into my large sweatshirt I was wearing. My hair was more than likely a mess, but it was the evening and like I said - I didn't care about my appearance at home.

       "You can always sit on the chair over there" Ben said while pointing at the most uncomfortable and scratchy chair in the whole room. I scoffed and snuggled my way onto the couch. Eventually I found a comfortable position with my legs across Ben's body and my arms behind my head. 

      "Jeez you don't have to suffocate me to death" Ben grunted while trying to make himself more comfortable. I set my bowl of Mac and Cheese on the coffee table - unable to eat the rest. Ben eyed up the bowl that was still half full.
"You gonna eat that?" He questioned happily. I laughed and shook my head no, he gladly grabbed the bowl.

"I'll think I'll just crash on your couch tonight. I'm way too lazy to walk home" Ben said while downing the whole bowl of macaroni. He smiled a large smile that told me that he was satisfied with his meal - and that I now payed off my bet.

"You can always sleep in my room" I said while snuggling deeper into the pillows and blankets. Ben smiled at me.

"Yeah, I could" He said like he was stating a fact. I smiled before letting out a huge gigantic yawn. "After your game tomorrow do you want to come over and watch this movie. Peyton has been begging me to have you over so you can play with her" Ben said with a heartless laugh. I smiled and let out a small nod which was my way to say yes. Ben smiled and laid his head down on the pillow. Eventually I fell asleep to the sound of his soft, delicate breathing and the ticking of the clock.

•+•+••••••++++•

The next morning I woke up in my room, tucked in and a text from Ben on the screen of my phone.

Ben: I'm skipping today but I'll be at your game later tonight. Have a good day at Hell.

I sighed and got up to start getting ready. It was game day, which meant I had to make some sort of effort to look nice. I decided on a outfit that described me perfectly - an outfit I have grown to adore. I curled my hair in soft, quick waves that began to fall out anyways, but besides the fact of my slightly messy appearance- I thought I looked hot enough to go the the place Ben refers to as "Hell".

I grabbed a cup of coffee on my way there from the local diner and headed off to school alone. Of course it wasn't nearly as fun as it usually was, but I still have fun jamming to my favorite tunes. I don't have a particular favorite song or gene, I just listen to whatever attracts and draws me in like a magnet.

"Alright class, today we're getting new lab partners. Except I'm getting kind of tired of changing them every month, so I think I'm going to keep them the same for the rest of the year" Mr Richard said lazily. I groaned because getting assigned lab partners was very risky. And now that these partners are ours for the rest of the year?

That's risky, dangerous and down-right scary.

As I sat in my seat I couldn't contain the amount of nervousness I felt. In my head I was thinking of the worst possible scenarios - like having to be partners with Justin (ew) or Liam. Heck, I might as well do the whole thing myself if that's the case.

Half the time I was considered smart is this subject, but I usually wasn't when compared to the math geniuses and the valedictorians.   Honestly, I was only smart because I had to be. Strict parents you could say, and eventually I was trained to the point where I considered a B an bad grade. 

   That's just how it always worked for me, and I can see it happening the same way in college. Mr.Richard started to call out names and I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Just the anticipation alone made me all shaky.

"Jenna and Jackson" He said while continuing to call out the names. I knew Jenna would be pumped about that one considering Jackson is an All A student. She flashed a smile at me from the other side of the room.

"Colton and Miranda" He called out.

"Oops, I meant Colton and Libby" Mr Richard said, correcting himself. Honestly, as soon as I heard that I didn't know if I should be happy or disappointed. Yeah, so what if I liked him? I didn't know if he was a good partner to have, even if he gets good grades.

Mixed emotions really did suck right about now.

        "Well aren't you lucky" Colton said in a tone that filled my heart with joy. His slightly pierced jawline and his dark brown eyes made my heart shiver. He was wearing kakis and this beautiful top that made his medium sized muscles pop. Maybe I was staring for too long when I realized he sat down next to me with the Lab packet in his hands.

     "Why would I be lucky to be partners with you when you failed the last quiz" I said with a smile. Colton smiled too and even let out a laugh that suddenly boosted my self-confidence.

         "Well, you're lucky because you're partners with the hottest guy in this school" Colton said with a cocky attitude. He let off a smirk and I couldn't help but smile even when a insult was on the tip of my tongue.

        "I'd beg to differ" I said innocently while writing down an answer to one of the pre-lab questions.

      "Oh really? Who" Colton insisted. I shrugged which only seemed to make him more pissed. I glanced at his annoyed expression and laughed.

   "Nobody of your concern" I said. Colton smiled and started to copy my answer down on his own paper. I rolled my eyes and continued to write down my answers as quick as possible so I wouldn't have to worry about homework after my game tonight. Colton seemed annoyed with how fast I was writing but eventually he caught on to my speed.

          "Well you look gorgeous today if I might add" Colton said with a delicate smirk attached to his lips. I shuddered and looked at him -not too long that he would suspect anything.  If I had to be completely honest, my stomach was rolling around like a tumbleweed. I was almost positive that a small blush invaded my cheeks.

       "Thanks" I said innocently. He looked at me and smiled. I glanced down at my paper while a huge smile spread across my lips. I can't even explain the excitement and joy that spread across my body in that one complement. Gosh, I can't even imagine what this next year will hold.

    For us