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[ Read with caution. Mature content]

My mind wasn't in the right place to comprehend the lies that had fallen off of his tongue and into my ears. The hangover I'd woken up was still making everything ten times intense, sounds and light had me cringe and I genuinely didn't have time to process what Pierson had just told me.

He reminded me that I still had to help me with the cleanup job after school, I nodded and told him I'd meet up with him after the last bell. That was when he said he would try and clarify what happened the other night. I had to take a breather as I walked back to my table, rethinking my friendship with Beth and if I should kill her or not. What kind of sick person would pretend to be someone else, lure their crush in simply so they could sleep with them? Was her obsession that deep? I knew she said she wasn't in the right place either, but I was questioning that part of her story entirely. She had gone to the party with hair styled similar to how I did my hair and wore a skirt nearly identical to mine. Something about that made me think she had this all thought out beforehand.

I collected all of my things after Spanish class. Beth hadn't showed up during class, which was strange because she was at school earlier. Carmen was missing, too. Pierson followed me to my locker, trailing behind me. Ronnie's locker was next to mine and when I saw her, I gave her a brief hello.

"I'm glad Beth didn't show up," Pierson spoke up for the first time since we left Spanish class. "I've never done anything wrong to her, why would she try and do that to me?"

Ronnie slammed her locker shut. "Are you seriously this stupid or are you playing cute for the cameras? Open your eyes. She loves you, bonehead. She's Macbeth crazy for you."

"Don't." I hissed, shooting her a warning look. I'd never throw the truth right into Pierson's face. I had slightly told Ronnie about what he revealed to me during the end of lunch, but I was only half-listening when he told me so what I told her was only small. I could blame the raging headache for that.

"Don't be silly, I would know if she had feelings there for me. I'm good at spotting those kinds of things." He assured Ronnie. "I've known Beth for years, if that was the case, then why couldn't she just tell me?"

I refrained from glaring at him, but with no luck. My scowl was forming faster than I could stop it. "In what parallel universe are you in where telling your crush about how you feel is an everyday thing? That's not how things work here."

"You're best friends with her older brother." Ronnie brought up. "If I was her, I could see why she wouldn't try and step in and tell you. It would only bring risks to your friendship with her brother."

"You guys are both wrong," Pierson huffed.

There was no way I could get Pierson to see the light. I gave up quicker than I thought I would. "What happened the other night?"

He gave a cautious look to Ronnie. "I already know half of it, kiddo," Ronnie said. "Apparently Beth came into your room and pretend to be Silvia."

Pierson sighed. "That's not exactly what happened, per se. I'm a little shaky on the details because I was fucking wrecked. I went upstairs, there was only a little light coming into the room so I could only really see the outline of a body. I'm not sure who it was, but I thought it was you."

"Do you do that a lot when you drink? Hallucinate that it's Silvia? If so, I think you're the one with the problem, not Beth." Ronnie teased. I nudged her roughly. "Sorry. I'll leave." She said and walked off in the nearly empty hallways.

"Like I was saying," Pierson went on. "I couldn't really tell who it was, but I figured it was you. God, I was so drunk. I didn't really try that hard to figure out who it was. I said your name once, and you-or who I thought was you-responded to it. That's how it was every time I said your name or asked you something. You never corrected me." He pushed his back on to the lockers, lifting his hand to his face. "I can't believe she would do that. She took advantage of me. That's like a crime."

A hand wrapped around my waist, coming from behind. "Just like how you tried to take advantage of Silvia, huh?"

I turned my head an inch and my forehead hit Dakota's chin. All day he had avoided me, but only now did he decide to put his hands around me. I fought against the rage of butterflies kicked into my stomach, begging to be noticed. I was awfully sure that I hated the feelings he caused in me more than I hated his confusing nature.

It was already 3:30. What was he still doing on school grounds? I thought he didn't have school after fifth period. He usually went to his extra classes over at the community college or he went home.

Pierson's entire stance shifted when he saw Dakota, standing there behind me. He rose off the lockers and balled his hands into fists. "Your brave for showing your face here after last night. I know you were a part of it."

A part of what?

"I've no clue what you're talking about," Dakota said coolly, but Pierson wasn't believing any of it. "I left with Silvia long before we saw any of that."

"What are you two blabbering about?" I stepped closer toward Pierson and became a division between them. There was a clear tension, more than there usually was, between them. Nothing in what they had already said revealed what it was about.

"A bunch of Boulder Valley students crashed the party last night. We were able to kick them out, but they didn't leave quietly. It almost ruined the entire night. I think it's strange how you conveniently left before they came."

I did remember Dakota saying that we had to leave before things got worse last night, but I wasn't in the right mind to question him or understand what he meant by that. If Pierson was right, then I wouldn't be surprised if Dakota was behind some party crashers arriving at Pierson's house. He obviously sided with the Boulder Valley kids.

"I didn't know they were going to be there," Dakota said. "The only reason I dragged Silvia out of the place is because you kept trying to making sexual advances at her like some pervert in an after school special to warn kids about the dangers of high school parties and underage drinking."

"I wasn't myself the other night. My memory is blanked out in spots. I didn't know Silvia wasn't there the whole time until she told me during Lunch. You should know better than me Dakota that alcohol can make people do uncharacteristic things." Pierson said, causing Dakota to harden against me, frowning even more. Whatever he had said had hit a chord. "Any way, are you ready to leave, Silvia?"

"Where are you going?" Dakota asked, looking down at me.

"I'm going over to his house to help clean from the party last night." I said. "I promised that I would help him out."

"You're rich enough to pay someone to do that for you, Pierson," Dakota hissed. "You don't need her to work for you like she's some little personal maid. You just want some lame ass excuse to get another chance in her pants. Good try, but it doesn't matter if she's drunk or sober-she doesn't like you."

I dug my nails into the back of hand. He flinched, but didn't move his hand from my hip. "It's not like I'm lying," he whispered softly into my ear.

Pierson brought his brows together, lowering them. His eyes shot down at the hand Dakota hand on my hip. His frown seemed to deepen when he saw that I wasn't quick to tell him to move it. He looked at me-only me-when he spoke. "I was wrong about you, Silvia. I would've never pin you as the kind of girl who gravitates toward lowlifes like him. If it wasn't clear enough before that he isn't a good guy, then it'll be even more obvious now. I guess you want to get hurt by him. He's a waste of time and he'll play you like a game."

"Aw, you really shouldn't say that about yourself, Pierson." Dakota pouted. "I'm sure Betty doesn't think you're a waste of time."

Pierson didn't reply to Dakota's juvenile comeback. He merely brushed passed him, purposely hitting his shoulder. It knocked Dakota back a few steps.

"It's not worth it." I got a good hold of Dakota's arm before he could go after Pierson. I felt him starting to lunge for him, but I held him back. "Can you try to not beat someone up at the drop of a hat? You'll get yourself arrested again with that kind of instincts."

He shook my arm off him. "At least this time I don't mind getting arrested. I want to kick his ass."

"It doesn't matter, Kota. Let's get out of here. I've got my dad to go home to who is probably itching to scream at me and ground me till next year."

"I'd love to get front row tickets to see that." His frown melted, only slightly. "I'll drive you home, c'mon."

A little part of me wondered if that he had stayed behind longer than he typically did just so he could take me home. I smiled at that thought, even if it turned out to be false.

We walked through the empty hallways with his hand still on my waist. He had made it his job to not show any attention to me during school. It was only when Pierson was nearby that he put his hands around me. At the party, he had held me like this after we stepped out of the car. Why was it such an issue now that we were in school? Was he embarrassed of me? If he kept this up any longer I knew he would cause me more heartaches than headaches.

What if Pierson was right? What if he did hurt me?

As intriguing and confusing Dakota was, I didn't like the thought of him hurting me in any shape, way or form. He had never given me any reason to think he was like the dangerous kinds of guys my mom associated herself with when I was growing up. He wasn't a bad guy, but his actions and harsh attitude always contradicted that and made people think he was awful.

I didn't know if there was a word for what we were or what we were doing. It was only the first day of this so-called relationship and I didn't feel closer to Dakota than I did yesterday.

Sliding into his car, I shut the door and put on the seatbelt. He didn't turn on the radio. We drove quietly for a few minutes. We let the noise of the tires, driving against pavement, fill the air around us. The silence was eating at me, begging for some form of conversation.

"Do you know what we we're doing?" My voice didn't rise at the end of it like it should've.

"We're driving to your house." He said, a little muddled on what I meant. "Do you want me to drive you somewhere else?"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about."

"What is it you're talking about then?"

I shook my head, gazing out the window. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"Can you not be so cryptic and tell me what you mean?"

"I meant, do you have any idea what we're doing with this thing between us? Tell me what you're planning on doing, what your intentions are or aren't. Because if this is some kind of sick, sadistic joke to mess with me, then tell me now so you can spare me the heartache. I've gone through enough problems in my life and I don't need you to be just another addition to the already long list."

He swerved the car off the road and into a wooded region. The car came to halt, mixed in with the trees and their swaying branches. "This is about what Pierson said, isn't it?" He didn't wait for my response. "Look, Silvia. Last time I checked I didn't need to give tell you what my intentions are when it comes to you. Because truth be told, I've no fucking clue what I'm doing."

"You can't possibly think I'll believe that you woke up yesterday morning, suddenly not hating me anymore. People don't change that easily. Just last week you were calling me Sandra and cursing me out. Now you think since we've kissed twice that I'm supposed to think that's all changed?" I scuffled. "Nice try, but I'm not buying it. I'm not that gullible!"

"I'm not asking you to buy any of this, Silvia. So stop fucking yelling at me like I betrayed you before I've even done anything to piss you off."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You could already have something planned out."

"Have I given you any reasons to not trust me?"

"No, but you haven't given me any reasons to trust you either."

"You're out of your mind," he shouted, laughing in between breaths.

"Maybe I'm thinking ahead."

"You're so paranoid!" His arrogant, forced laughter was gone. "Is it the fact that I don't know where this is going what freaks you out or the fact that there will be people like Pierson, constantly provoking you and telling you that I'm up to no good what's really bothering you?"

I bit my bottom lip, not answering to his question that was still hanging in the air. It was all he needed to confirm his second assumption was dead right.

He unbuckled his seat belt and twisted in his seat. "I like that I don't know what I'm doing with you. Isn't that how this is supposed to work? It's supposed to be scary and spontaneous with no designated direction or pre-written map laid out for us to follow."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've never done this before."

I wasn't entirely telling the truth when I said those words, but Dakota didn't need to know that. I had 'done this,' or at least something close to it.

"Well, first lesson is you don't yell at people for when they haven't messed up." His full lips pulled into a soft smile as he brought his hand up to my cheek. "At least let me fuck up a little before you get that scold going on your face. Trust me, I'm going to mess up, but I haven't done anything this early on in this...whatever this is."

"I'll try to remember that." I returned his smile.

Dakota Ridgewood was a lot of things compiled into one hard drive, too complex for most to want to bother with. He was a puzzle on his own. I wasn't the first to be drawn in by him, but I wanted to be the first one to disarm any of his barriers and unlock the person he was keeping behind all of those defensive walls. I saw a glimpse of that person he kept locked away, but only for brief moments.

Tucking his finger under my chin, he lifted it up an inch, meeting our lips together. Every doubt I had in my mind vanished with that one simple kiss. The argument we had was completely forgotten when I tilted my head and opened my mouth, giving him more access to slid his tongue along mine.

His left hand ran up my knee, collecting the fabric of my dress around his wrist as he hiked it up higher, and then pulling back. He teasingly smoothed his fingers up and down, smiling against my lips each time he got closer than before. While his left hand was torturing me, his right wasn't doing anything better.

He wrapped his fingers around my neck, brushing his rough thumb along my jawline. A gasp left my lips as his hand cupped my breast, kneading it into his palm. He tried to stop, but I brought his hand back up to my chest.

"Don't stop doing that." I breathed.

"You like that, don't you?" He mused, smiling more over my lips.

He moved his opposite hand from on my knee to my neck, unwrapping the scarf. After it hit the floor, he moved his lips down to my collarbone, leaving a trail of kisses. He paused before the neckline of the dress.

I didn't stop him when he hooked his finger under the strap of my dress. Neither did I stop him when he began to tug it down, causing my breast to fall out from the top of my dress. He eased back, looked at my partial nakedness with almost an awe-struck glimmer in his eyes, something I'd never seen on his face before.

Speechlessly, I watched him dance his roaming hands, hiding in between the valley of my breast and curling his long fingers around them. He squeezed them, softly at first. Two fingers enclosed around my nipple, hardening it instantly as he put more pressure. I took a shallow breath when I saw his head dip down, latching his lips to my nipple and sucking it into his mouth.

I knocked my head back on to the window, closing my eyes and enjoying the flow of heat swarming me, consuming me as he sucked even harder. A tingling sensation shot down between my legs, hoping he'd bring attention to that certain part of my body.

Arching my back, I found my hands in his hair. His venturing fingers snuck underneath my dress again. When he got to the side of my underwear and started to tug at it, he moved his lips away from me and pushed my underwear further down. I lifted my body up as he took my underwear off. After, I rushed myself to kiss his lips, unknowingly I had not seen the stick shift. My body hit against it, hard. I winced and pulled back.

"Wait." He said and pushed his seat, rising up from his driver's seat and to the back seats. He grabbed my hand and I stepped over the seats, and reached the back. There was more room this way and nothing between us besides our clothes. That could be changed very easily though.

"Get on your back, just get on your elbows and relax." He said after a brief kiss on my lips. Once I was in the position he asked me to get to, he eased himself in between my thighs. I was waiting for him to start undressing, at least take off his shirt or something.

Instead, he bent my legs and pushed them farther apart. Dakota's hands felt cold on my knees, sliding back the dress till it collected over my hip, revealing half of my body, bare to him. A flush of warmth spread over my face at how exposed I felt in front of him. Embarrassment mixed in with a hint of insecurity flourished in my chest as he stayed motionless in front of me.

I bit the inside of my cheek when his thumb rubbed over my sensitive skin, fast already. "Fuck. You're so fucking wet for me." He pressed more pressure against me. The tip of finger passed my opening, painfully slowly, until it finally slipped inside. I slammed my eyes shut after his head ducked down and combined his tongue with the pressure of his fingers.

I lost myself in the pleasure of his swift movements, flicking his tongue over my skin and pumping his fingers into me. His lips hummed against me, heightening the sensation. If he did this any longer, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back my moans.

My hands balled up into fists in his hair, rocking my body with the rhythmic motion of his tongue. His opposite hand that wasn't doing anything snaked up passed my ribs and to my chest, massaging my breast ruthlessly as I got closer and closer to the edge. My legs began to shake, bucking under him. I coiled a hand over my mouth and muffled my moan.

He got up from between my legs and dragged his thumb over his bottom lip. "I hope that stops you from ever underestimating what I can do to you and how good I can make you feel."

I gasped for a breath. "I'll remember to never doubt you on what you're capable of."

I sat up straight, still out of breath and overheated on what he'd done to me. It was then when I spotted the very noticeable tent in his pants. I smirked. "Stuff like that turns you, doesn't it?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course it does. It's not just you who's getting something out of it." He slipped his hand around my hip and brought our bodies closer. "Seeing you lose control and panting like crazy as I get you closer to that climax is such a turn on."

"Then I'll return the favor somehow." I met my lips to his jawline, kissing it softly. I'd only reached the front of his jeans when he stopped me.

He shook his head. "You don't need to return the favor. What I did was what I wanted to do. I'm not asking for anything in return."

I raised my brow. "So you're saying you don't want a blow-job?"

"That isn't what I said. I'm still a guy." He said, giving me that grin of his I knew too well. "What I meant was that I want you do something when you feel like it and feel like it's the right time. I don't want you to simply do something for me because you feel obligated or almost forced since I did something for you. That's not how I want ... 'this' thing to work between us."

I brushed my hand over his inky black bangs, kissing his temple. "You're possible the first guy in history to say that. You know, you can be sweet when you want to be, Kota."

He rolled his eyes. "See, this is why I don't say nice things to you."

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Song: Fade into You by Mazzy Star.

I picked this song because it's about loving someone, but them not loving you back.

Lyrics:

❝Colors your eyes with what's not there. Fade into you. Strange you never knew. Fade into you. I think it's strange you never knew.❞

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