𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 — 𝐀𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲

...🏀...

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓, 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐋

𝐅𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟓

As I sat in Brooke's car, I couldn't help but grip the dashboard as she took another sharp turn.

"Brooke, slow down," I urged, feeling the car lurch.

"Sorry, rough morning," she sighed.

I raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"This pool boy was swimming in our pool," Brooke explained. "I was trying to tell him to leave, but he only understands Spanish." Brooke drove into the school parking lot and continued, "The worst part is he was swimming naked."

I laughed despite myself, but my grip on the dashboard tightened as Brooke slammed on the brakes. I looked up to see another car whipping into Brooke's usual spot. Brooke ripped open her door and stormed over to the guy who exited the car.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked Lucas, who had nearly been hit.

"Yeah, unless we're both dead," Lucas replied.

"Hey, buddy, that's my spot," Brooke told the guy. I got out of the car with my bag and stood beside Lucas. "What are you doing here? You're the pool boy."

The guy smirked. "You-no-park here." His gaze shifted to me, lingering a bit too long before he walked toward the school.

"Do you know this guy?" Lucas asked.

"No, I've just seen him naked," Brooke groaned.

I shook my head at Lucas. "You don't want to know."

I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and watched Brooke drive to find another parking spot. I walked toward the school, heading for my locker. Someone walked beside me, and I glanced over to see the same guy who had taken Brooke's spot.

"Hey, baby," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not your baby."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that," he sighed. "Name's Felix."

I got to my locker and turned to face him. "Hi, Felix."

I opened my locker, hoping he'd take the hint and leave, but he didn't.

"Bye, Felix."

"Girl, let's skip this act," Felix told me. "I know you're into me, and I'm into you."

I blinked in disbelief. "Excuse me."

"Let's skip the small talk and head straight for where we both know this is going," Felix smirked, twirling a piece of my hair between his fingers. "Sex."

I shoved his hand away, making him let go of my hair. "First, you're not my type, and second," I looked him up and down, "I'm never going to have sex with you."

"I take it as a challenge. I like it when you play hard to get," Felix said, grabbing my hand and kissing it. "Makes the chase that much better."

I ripped my hand out of his grip. "Don't get your hopes up."

"Hey, pool boy," Brooke yelled from down the hall. "Stay the hell away from my best friend."

"Oh, don't be like that," Felix told her. "There's enough Felix to go around."

I sighed. "Let's go, Brooke." I glanced at him one more time. "He's not even worth it."

Brooke and I walked down the hall when a hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me around. I glanced down to see my hand on Felix's chest and tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.

Fear spiked through me. "Let go."

Felix went to open his mouth, but someone else spoke first, "She said let her go."

I turned to see Nathan walking toward us, his jaw clenched. Felix dropped his grip, and I placed a hand on Nathan's chest. "Nathan, don't."

"You better listen to her before things turn ugly," Felix said.

Nathan's fist clenched as he moved toward Felix, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall. "Brooke."

"I got it," Brooke sighed, grabbing Felix's hand. "You don't know how lucky you are."

I pulled Nathan into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind us with a soft click. The dim light filtered through the small windows, casting shadows on the walls.

Nathan furrowed his brows, his body still tense, clearly agitated.

I placed my bag on one of the chairs facing the desk and turned to watch him. He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling as he tried to steady himself. His fists clenched and unclenched, knuckles white with tension.

I stepped closer, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards me. With my other hand, I gently placed my palm on his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers. His jaw was tight, and his muscles twitched with suppressed anger.

"I'm going to kill him," Nathan growled, his voice low and dangerous.

I sighed, the sound soft and comforting in the quiet room. "No, you're not," I whispered. Nathan closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against mine. I could feel his warm and uneven breath mingling with mine.

"Hey," I said softly. He opened his eyes, and our gazes locked. The storm in his blue eyes began to calm, replaced by something gentler, more vulnerable. "I'm okay."

Nathan's hand moved to the back of my neck, his touch firm but tender. I could feel the tension slowly ebbing away from his body. I placed my hands on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my palms. His muscles, once rigid, began to relax under my touch.

He rubbed his nose against mine in a sweet, intimate gesture that made my heart flutter. At that moment, the world outside faded away, leaving just the two of us in our little bubble of peace.

...🏀...

I threw my bag onto my bed, feeling the weight of the school day pressing down on my shoulders. I rolled my neck, trying to ease the tension built up over the hours. Just as I started to relax, my dad's voice boomed through the house.

"I forbid you from seeing him!"

I sighed, turning towards my door, ready to respond, when my mom rushed in, closing the door firmly behind her.

"Enough, Matthew," she said, her tone brokering no argument.

My dad opened his mouth to protest, but my mom held her hand, silencing him.

"Sit. Now. Both of you," she commanded.

I glanced at my dad, who looked like he was about to argue, but he relented, coming into the room and sitting beside me on the bed. I followed suit, sitting down and feeling the bed dip under his weight.

"We're going to have this discussion once and only once," my mom said, looking directly at my dad.

She pointed her finger at him, her eyes sharp.

"You can't control her, Matthew," she continued. "I know how you feel. For God's sake, the whole goddamn town knows how you and Dan feel about each other."

I looked at my dad, watching as he clenched his jaw, a muscle ticking in his cheek. He wanted to interrupt, I could tell, but he knew better than to cross her right now. If he did, he'd be sleeping on the couch for two weeks, at least.

"Don't you care that Mylah is happy?" Mom's voice softened slightly. "She found someone who makes her happy. Who doesn't care that she has a baby."

"I do care," my dad said, his gaze shifting to me.

"Then let her be happy," Mom insisted. "Don't ruin something that hasn't even had a chance to start yet."

My dad let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I don't like him."

Mom smiled gently. "That's the same way my dad felt about you, remember?"

My dad nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember."

I held my breath as my dad turned to me, his expression softening. He reached out and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Just give him a chance, Dad," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

He sighed, looking at me for a long moment before finally nodding. "Okay."

A wide smile spread across my face, and I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

"I love you, honey," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

"I love you too," I replied, my words muffled against his neck. The relief and happiness I felt at that moment were overwhelming, knowing that maybe things would be okay.

...🏀...

I was at my locker, opening it as Nathan approached me. He kissed my cheek, and I couldn't help but smile at him. He looked up behind me, opening his mouth to speak.

"What's up, man?" Nathan said.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw Lucas across the hall, holding up an envelope. My brows furrowed as I saw the same silver envelope in my locker.

"Brooke?" Haley's voice came from beside Lucas, holding an identical envelope.

I raised an eyebrow as Felix walked through the hall, smirking at us. He winked at me, and I immediately touched Nathan's chest as he started towards Felix.

"Don't, Nathan," I said, trying to keep him from doing something rash.

Later that night, I sat around a table at Karen's Cafe with Nathan and our friends, along with the envelopes from our lockers.

"It's called dare night," Felix announced once school ended. "One night, two teams, multiple dares."

I raised my brows, settling into Nathan's lap.

"Each envelope contains a two-part dare," Felix explained. "Part one is on the front. Part two is on the back. Each dare is worth a certain number of points."

I flipped my envelope in my hand as Felix pulled a phone from the pocket of his jeans.

"This cellphone has pictures and videos," Felix began.

"Oh, sweet," Tim gushed, reaching for the phone.

Felix pulled his hand back, keeping it out of Tim's reach. "You do the dare. You send proof of it to the other team."

"At midnight, time's up. We meet back here and declare a winner," Felix revealed.

"And what do we win?" Mouth wondered.

Felix pointed at him. "You, Mouth, win an excuse to be out till midnight. The rest of you get a night to remember."

I rolled my eyes as Felix stared at me. "I doubt that."

"And you get to humiliate us," Lucas said. "Why would we do that?"

"Look, guys, nothing in these envelopes is harmful to you or anyone else," Felix reasoned. "It's all about having fun and testing your limits. Every once in a while, you gotta wake yourself up."

"You wanna do it, Nate?" Tim asked. "All anybody does in this town is brood and pout, get married."

I turned my gaze to Atlas and Haley, raising an eyebrow at my cousin, who couldn't keep his eyes off Haley.

"I'll play," Haley laughed, throwing her envelope onto the table.

I raised an eyebrow at Atlas as he threw his envelope on the table after hers.

"Yeah, what the hell," Peyton sighed. "I'm up for something daring."

Felix looked at Nathan, and I watched as Nathan fidgeted with his envelope before throwing it on the table.

"Who else is in?" Felix asked, glancing around the table.

Mouth, Fergie, and Skills threw their envelopes onto the table on top of the others. I held mine in my hands and glanced at Brooke, who had her arms crossed with her envelope, too. My gaze landed on the table as a beige envelope with Tim's name written on it was thrown on it.

Felix picked up the envelope and raised his brows at Tim. Laughter sounded around the table while I shook my head at Tim.

"Come on. I wanna play," Tim whined. "I didn't get invited."

"I tell you what," Felix said, throwing the envelope and the others on the table. "You can play if Brooke, Lucas, and Mylah play."

I waited, watching as Brooke clenched her jaw and threw her envelope on the table, with Lucas following after her. Everyone's eyes were on me as I glanced at the envelope before meeting Felix's gaze.

I threw it on the table. "I'm gonna regret this."

"Pick the stupid teams," Brooke seethed.

"Alright," Felix clapped his hands before rubbing them together. "Boys against the girls. You seven guys against the four girls plus me." He pointed to himself. "I count as three anyway."

Tim laughed. "Yeah, four girls."

We all stared at Tim, along with everyone else.

"Sweet," Felix said. "Teams are set."

He put a key from his pocket on Lucas's envelope.

"What's this?" Lucas asked.

"That, my friend, is your first dare," Felix answered.

I glanced at Nathan, who stared at me before his gaze landed on Felix, who looked sinister.

I don't have a good feeling about this.

...🏀...

I crossed my arms and shook my head at Felix. "No."

"Come on," Felix groaned. "Don't tell me you give up."

I closed my eyes, trying to control my anger. "No, that's not it."

"Then what's the problem?" Felix asked.

My eyes snapped open as I glanced at the busy boardwalk overlooking the ocean. People were everywhere, enjoying their weekend. I turned my gaze towards my envelope, feeling the weight of the challenge.

𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄: 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐃 𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐃

I crossed my arms tighter. "I don't sing in public."

"I heard," Felix said, almost smugly.

"Then why is it my dare?" I demanded.

"Because either I'm a sadistic asshole, or I'm helping you overcome your fear," Felix suggested, a smirk playing on his lips.

I tapped my finger against my chin, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "The first one."

"Mylah, you have two choices." Felix grabbed my arm, his eyes locking onto mine. "Either complete the dare or don't and head to Karen's Cafe."

I wasn't a quitter. I always finished what I started and wasn't about to change now.

I sighed, extending my hand. "Fine."

"Oh no." Felix snatched the blindfold out of reach when I tried to grab it. "I'm going to do this part."

Great.

I closed my eyes as Felix tied the black blindfold over them. I felt his hands guiding me forward. After a few steps, he stopped, and I let out a breath, nerves buzzing through me like electricity.

"Ready whenever you are," Felix said.

I took a few steps, feeling the ground beneath my feet, and tried to quiet the noise around me. I took a deep breath, letting the music from River's studio a few days ago filter through my mind. My mouth opened like a switch had been flipped, and the words flowed with the only music I could hear.

"Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they're tumbling down..."

As the words poured out, everything around me vanished. With each breath, confidence surged through my veins.

"It's like I've been awakened. Every rule I had you breakin'. It's the risk that I'm takin'. I ain't never gonna shut you out..."

By the time I finished, the boardwalk was silent.

I reached up and pulled the blindfold off, turning around to see everyone staring at me. One person started clapping, then another, and soon, the whole boardwalk erupted in cheers. I smiled, walking over to Felix, who looked smug.

I glanced at Felix and saw Nathan with his hands in his pockets, watching me intently. A smile spread as I pushed past Felix, rushing toward Nathan and jumping into his arms.

"I saw you sing," Nathan said, his voice filled with admiration.

"And?" I asked, still smiling.

"It was amazing," he replied, though his expression hinted frustration.

I raised an eyebrow, wrapping my legs around his waist. "Why do you look pissed?"

"Because Felix was staring at you the whole time," Nathan explained, his jaw clenched slightly.

I rolled my eyes and kissed him, feeling the tension in his shoulders at ease. Before Nathan could deepen the kiss, I pulled back, my lips still tingling from the contact. "There's only one guy I care about staring at me."

"Hmm," Nathan murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly, but they had a playful glint. His grip tightened around my waist, holding me securely.

"Yeah, you, Scott," I confirmed, kissing his cheek quickly.

Nathan gently let me down to my feet, his hands lingering on my waist. "Want to ditch the rest of dare night?" he asked a hopeful note in his voice.

"Yes," I sighed, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders at the thought of spending time with him away from the chaos.

"Good," Nathan said, a smile breaking across his face. "Because I think your favorite ice cream place is open."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the boardwalk. "You should have led with that, Scott," I teased. I felt light and happy as we walked together, leaving the noise and drama behind.

...🏀...

𝐀/𝐍: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 121K READS.

So, Mylah's dad is going to give Nathan a chance, and we have to meet Felix. Also, Mylah sang in front of a crowd. There wasn't a lot going on in this chapter since it's mostly a filler.

I'm working on getting chapters out. I'm back at work now, so updates will be coming only on the weekends unless I have time to update during the week, but I will get the updates out as soon as I can.

THANK YOU TO 960 FOLLOWERS.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter.

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: What did you like about this chapter? How do you guys feel about Mylah's dad giving Nathan a chance? What season of OTH is your favorite?

-𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛𝑎𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘