29

*i would highly recommend reading the chapter before this. it's been a while*

— — —

WELL.

Parties still scare me.

My head bobs up and down to the beat of Metro Station's "Shake It".

Chase fills up a cup of lemonade for me, chatting with Blake as he does so.

He suddenly turns to me, our hands brushing as he hands me my lemonade.

I offer him a small smile and turn back to people watching. Everyone is either drunk at most, or buzzed at least, and they all sway to the beat of the music.

The song suddenly ends and a wave of disappointment fills me.

I wasn't technically even dancing, but sometimes music has the effect of letting you just have fun while existing.

Blake suddenly approaches me and gives me a small smile, "Having fun?"

I shrug, "I guess. Parties have never really been my thing."

He sighs. "Me too."

I eye him curiously, "But you're always here anyway."

He snorts. "Lucas forces me to come, and besides, free snacks."

I nod, that's not too bad of a reason. Not at all.

Blake turns to leave and I'm left standing awkwardly alone, while Chase uses the bathroom.

A little later, a guy comes up to me, clearly drunk off his ass, and places his hand on my arm.

"Lisa, right?" he slurs.

My nose wrinkles, "It's Lila," I say, peeling his hand off me.

He grins, "You're feisty."

Actually I was annoyed, though with guys like him they could hardly ever tell the difference.

I begin to open my mouth but another voice cuts in, "She's also taken. Move along, Peters."

I look over my shoulder at Chase, he places a protective arm over my shoulder and I fight a laugh the very serious expression on his face, one I should definitely not find as hot as I do.

The guy—Peters—grumbles under his breath and disappears onto the dance floor.

"I fucking hate that guy," he mutters.

"He's drunk," I inform him.

"He's an ass," he responds then looks at me. "What?"

I smirk, "Are you...jealous?"

He rolls his eyes, "Peters isn't even close to competition, Matthews."

We move closer to the dance floor and another song plays out, one I don't recognize.

"Who would be competition then?" I question.

His brows draw in but he shakes his head, "Anyone that's worth your while, Matthews."

My lips tug up and my stupid little heart beats a little faster.

Just as I'm about to answer him, another song starts up. This one I recognize being Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close".

A full on grin takes over my face, and my mind instantly travels to the iconic scene from The Vampire Diaries.

I don't even think. I set my cup of lemonade down and I grab Chase's hand, effectively ending our conversation.

"What are you doing?" He whispers to me.

I spin toward him, placing my hands around his neck.

"We're dancing."

His lips tilt up.

And there's no stopping us right now...

"I've never seen this side of you, Matthews," he tells me. "I think I like it."

I feel so close to you right now

I stand on my tippy-toes, placing my mouth near his ear. "Good."

And then we're really dancing. Like two drunken fools, except for the fact that we're completely sober.

Chase's hands grip my waist as my own tug on the ends of his hair.

"Are we dirty dancing, Matthews," he mumbles into my ear.

I don't say anything, because all I can think is, holymotherofshitIthinkweare.

I press against him in a way that I can feel every part of his body against mine, and I sway to the rhythm of the song, feeling really fucking great.

Chase suddenly spins me around, so that my back is pressed against his chest, and I tilt my head back and laugh.

Months ago, I would have shuddered at the thought of going out to a party. Of dancing like it's my last day on earth, and drinking a shot or two.

I've always wanted to grow up. But I've always wanted to do it too fast.

No matter if me and Chase's friendship was based on a ploy, it's the realest thing in my life right now. And I have him to thank for so many things.

The song comes to an end and I twist on my heel to face Chase once again.

"Thank you," I tell him.

He grows confused, "For what?"

I shrug, "I don't know. Everything? Anything? All of it I guess. There's no other person I would rather fake a relationship with."

He grins, showing off his dimples. "I'll write that down somewhere in case you ever forget."

I give him a half-hearted eye roll.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask something," he says, and I look over at him.

"What is it?"

"Wanna go to the winter formal with me, or what?" he smirks.

I tap my chin, "That was very un-romantic for your hopeless romantic heart."

He shrugs. "I thought you might appreciate not being put on the spot."

I warm, how does he know me so well?

"In that case...I'll go with you. On one condition," I tap his chest with my finger.

"What's that?" he tugs me closer to him by my waist.

I grin. "I get to pick out your tie."

He raises a brow, "That's it? I was expecting you to tell me I needed to get down on one knee and ask you all over again."

I tilt my head, "Now that you mention it, by all means..."

Chase tickles my sides and I laugh.

"Alright, alright. But seriously. I want to choose your tie," I tell him, giving him a stern look.

He raises a hand and mock salutes me, "Yes, ma'am."

I lightly shove him, and Lucas walks up to us with a red solo cup in his hand and an arm thrown around a girl with pink hair's shoulder.

"'Sup, lovebirds," he grins, at us and the girl next to him sighs.

"Leave them alone, Luc," she whacks him on the head.

He frowns at her and takes a sip of his drink, "Meanie."

She rolls her eyes and turns back to us, "Sorry about him, he doesn't know when or how to shut up."

He opens his mouth to say something but the girl—Mel, I think—silences him and spins him away from us.

"They're..." I trail off.

Chase tilts his head. "Interesting."

I nod in agreement.

Chase gently grabs my hand and pulls me from the dance floor, "There's something I wanna show you."

I look up at him, raising a brow. "It's nothing illegal is it?"

He laughs, "Nope. Not today. Come on."

I follow behind him, my eyes drifting around for a bit as we go up the stairs until Chase comes to a stop in front of a window.

"You want to show me a...window sill?" I ask, brows pulling in.

"Where's that top of the class intelligence when you need it," he pokes the side of my head teasingly.

He turns away from me and opens the window, suddenly climbing out onto the roof.

"Chase!" I hiss. "You said this wouldn't be dangerous!"

"I said this wouldn't be illegal," he hollers over his shoulder. "And it isn't. Come on, Matthews. Have a little faith."

I bite my lip, weighing my options, before huffing and pulling myself out the window.

If I slip and fall, I hope they play Britney Spears' "Criminal" at my funeral, seeing as Chase will be my downfall.

I follow Chase's lead, one foot in front of the other until he crouches and takes a seat near the edge of the roof.

Thankfully, the roof isn't too far high, so I'm able to situate myself down with calm knowing I won't die.

I place my hands behind my back, looking up at the sky. "What did you want to show me?"

He turns to me, placing his hands on my shoulders to pull me down in a flat position, my back touching the tiles.

"The moon," he whispers, and my eyes move to it.

It's a full moon tonight, and I smile. "Do you look at the moon a lot?"

I feel him shrug beside me, "Sometimes. When I was young I would talk to it."

I smile at his words, "About what? Your fear of penguins."

He pokes my side, "Amongst other things."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. A lot. Sometimes i felt like the moon was a friend, which is really pathetic. But there's something about ranting to something that can't respond that is very calming."

I lift a brow in agreement. "Do you still talk to the moon?"

He shakes his head. "No."

I scoff, "Why not?"

"Because now I have you to talk to," he murmurs and I freeze.

Silence stretches. "What are we doing, Chase?" I whisper.

I hear a sharp breath release from his mouth. "I don't know. But I wanna find out. For real this time, Matthews."

I swallow. "Why?"

"Because...sometimes it feels like I've known you my whole life, and then I realize there's still so much to learn. And I wanna learn everything about you, Lila. All of it. I don't want anything fake between anymore."

I bask in his words. "What if you get bored of me—"

He laughs, "We both know that can never happen."

I feel soft fingers underneath my chin, and Chase turns my head to look at him. "What do you say we give it a chance, for real this time?"

I turn on my side to face him, "What's in it for me?" I ask. And if it were anyone other than Chase they would have been offended by my joke.

But Chase Rhodes has grown to know me more than anyone else, and instead he smiles before placing his lips on mine.

"That would be one thing," he says.

I squint my eyes. "Hmm, I don't know. Let's try again and see."

He kisses me again and it's once again just us in our own little world.