34 | ♥ ʏᴏᴜ ᴏᴡᴇ ᴍᴇ ♥

A/N: The first half is only Grayson giving a full explanation about who that man is and how they met. The second is more 'intimate' ;)

Sophia's POV

After I was finally done explaining everything about certain circumstances that took place at school, my parents were convinced that nobody got hurt. They always worry so much, I guess that's where I get it from.

I told them about the fire that broke out at school, excluding me almost getting my face burned off and a psychopath wanting to kill me, of course. The school was going to send a mail to all parents about it anyway, so to reduce their stress, they already know about it now and they won't be as shocked to hear about it.

I went over to the front door when I heard the bell ring. I knew who it was, since we made a rendezvous here.

Suddenly, a wave of shyness overcame me, so I simply nodded and stepped aside as a greeting when I saw Grayson standing on the doorstep. He gave a curt one back.

Before he could enter the house any further, I halted him. "Is it okay if my parents are here?" I asked sheepishly.

"Of course, why?" he asked confused.

"Well, they'll want to meet you, plus they're really talkative," I answered honestly. Not to mention how judgmental they can be. Anyone with a single tattoo is one step closer to being a 'rebel' or 'rule breaker' according to my parents.

"Yeah, sure," he softly smiled at me, and my heart instantly warmed up.

We walked into the kitchen. I'd better introduce him now, because it'll have to happen sooner or later. I don't want to have to sneak him in again.

"Uhm, Mom, Dad?" I said unsurely. "I want you to meet...my friend," I decided to go with. Friends don't kiss, I know, but we were definitely nothing more.

They both turned around with grins on their faces, though when they crossed eyes with Grayson, it faltered slowly. "Mrs. and Mr. Ross, it's a pleasure to meet you," he stepped forward and shook hands with my parents professionally. "I'm Grayson."

He really wants to make a good first impression, doesn't he?  I've never seen him act so...business-like. Well, at least my parents'll hopefully trust him more now.

As he did so, they both raised their brows and looked at each other, as if not expecting someone with so many tattoos to act so good-mannered.

"Well, it's such great new to hear that Sophia has made another friend," my dad started, emphasizing the word 'friend'. I internally rolled my eyes and felt slightly embarrassed.

"Yes, it's truly a pleasure," my mom spoke up as well.

"I hope it's not a bother if I stay here for a while?" Grayson questioned politely, and my mom shook her head.

"Of course not. Would you like to eat or drink something?" she asked us both. I shook my head and so did Grayson.

"No, thank you, I'm alright." She nodded her head and then went back to what she was doing. My dad, on the other hand, clearly didn't trust Grayson yet. But before he could ask anything else, I interrupted him.

"Well, we have some things to discuss. See you later!" I said, and without thinking grabbing Grayson's hand to pull him with me.

We got to my room and we sat down on my bed again, just like last time. But this time we won't end up kissing again, I won't let myself. Just because he saved me today, doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. I mean, he's still the reason I was in danger in the first place.

"So, why did you want to come here?" I asked him lowly. He sighed and looked up to me.

"I owe you a clarification...about me and Cassius." He appeared uncomfortable with the subject, and although I didn't like seeing him so on edge, I desired to know who that man was.

"Is he the one that locked m-me up?" I questioned him. He nodded his head silently, deep in thought.

So Cassius is the anonymous texter, the one who stalked me from outside my house, the one that held a gun to my head and the person who trapped me in a room with fire. At least I know his name now, I guess.

"How do you know him?" I broke the silence. "He told me that you were friends in the past." I really hope that it's a lie, but I have a feeling not.

"I'll start from the beginning," he said, mentally preparing himself to go through all those memories again. I wanted to stop him there, not liking that he seemed in pain, but he shook his head and opened his mouth.

"Quite a few years ago - I think I was about twelve years old - I met Cassius at a skateboard park. I didn't skate, but my friend, Draven did." As he told me everything, I kept my mouth shut and sat noiselessly on my bed beside him.

"As I watched Draven skateboard, I stood on the side. Cassius was also at the park that day, and decided to come over and talk to me, because I looked 'bored out of my mind' as he put it. We started talking and I noticed we had a quite a lot in common, so when he asked me to go over to his place, I didn't have a second thought. Keep in mind, I was twelve," Grayson shook his head, more to himself.

"We got closer to each other as we made a deal to meet at the skating park every Saturday. I was stupid and ignorant, so fucking stupid," Grayson muttered, his hand pulling on his dark brown hair. At this point, I didn't know if he was still talking to me.

"Cassius told me he preferred hanging out with me alone, without Draven being there. Back then I was naive and actually believed him. He said he liked me more. And because Cassius is one year older, I wanted to impress him, so we changed the deal to meeting at the park on Sundays, because that was the only day Draven couldn't come."

All the while he explained his and Cassius' past, I was so invested, my lips parted and I leaned closer unknowingly.

"Draven and I weren't as close anymore, and we kept drifting apart. But at that time, I didn't notice that it was Cassius' plan all along. He wanted himself to be my only friend, he manipulated me and gave me fake comfort when I was sad about losing friends, even though it was his fault."

Poor Grayson, all this started when he was twelve! And I can see that he's blaming himself for it, so all those years...did he think it was his fault?

"Draven and I soon stopped hanging out, I only had Cassius with me, so we became even more close after that. He made me trust him with all my heart, so when he started asking me to do strange or dangerous things, I didn't question it."

I couldn't help but ask, "What kind of things did he make you do?" He stared me in the eyes, disappointment in himself visible.

"Sometimes we went hunting in the forest, on bunnies and other animals. He taught me how to shoot a gun, to throw a knife, to box. At one point, I was so terrified of him, I did everything he asked me to. He was older, taller and smarter than me, he's a psychopath. He found pleasure in animals and people getting hurt. And he wanted me to be the same as him. He forced me to watch scary movies with him, or else I was a useless wimp or a pussy."

My eyes had become wide as I couldn't believe what he was telling me. What kind of friend would do that? If that was his plan all along, he never was one in the first place.

"After months of being his little puppet, I got the courage to tell him I didn't want to see him anymore." Grayson chuckled darkly. "He didn't take that very well." He wanted to add something else to that statement, but decided not to and only said, "When I knew I couldn't escape him, I gave up on trying."

Oh my God, it only gets worse and worse.

"On my sixteenth birthday, he said he had a surprise for me. I got a little excited, hoping he'd finally let me go, but was I wrong... He took me to an underground fight club. He congratulated me on seeing my first, in real life fight."

He suddenly turned to me. "Do you know what he used me for?" I shook my head, not sure if I wanted to know. "He trained me to go fight in that club for money. The two of us went there once a week, and when we won, we received a prize. Cassius lived off of that money. He used me, not only for the money, but also because he needed a partner in his little psycho club."

I have no idea what that means, but I guess I'm about to find out.

"He loved going to parties, drinking till he was drunk and starting fights with strangers. I had to help him, or else I'd face the consequences later when we were alone."

He saw how afraid I looked, though I wasn't scared of him anymore, I was scared for him. I felt pity towards him.

"Don't worry," he gave a ghost of a smile. "He's in prison. I sent him there last year."

"Don't you mean was?" I asked softly, and immediately looked away, avoiding eye contact. I heard Grayson sigh before he answered.

"Yeah, I guess. Someone must have bailed him out. We still have to figure out who though." I met his gaze and frowned. We?

As if reading my thoughts, he replied with, "Me, Jake, Kyle and Anderson." I nodded my head, still processing everything he told me. It's a lot to take in.

Why did he lie though? He knew Cassius wasn't in prison anymore. "I didn't want to scare you, so I lied about him still being in jail, if that's what you're wondering." Oh... That's sweet of him.

I directed a small smile to him and then ogled my feet instead. Neither of us spoke. He went through everything again in his mind, through all those years of betrayal, pain and manipulation.

"How did you..." I asked, accidentally out loud. He raised his brows, telling me to continue. "How did you get him in jail?"

I have never seen Grayson this nervous before. As soon as the question left my lips, he fiddled with his hands and looked away. It was as if he knew he had to tell me eventually, so he just went for it.

"Please don't get afraid of me," he whispered, facing me again. Why would I...? I simply nodded, wanting him to spill it out. "One night, he got into a fight, as usual, and I had to help him. We ended up winning, as it was 2 against 1. When the guy we were fighting got knocked unconscious, Cassius didn't stop punching and kicking him," he said carefully.

"What-What happened with the guy?" I had to ask him. He looked down at the ground.

"When he didn't seem to move anymore, I pushed Cassius off of him and checked his pulse," he stopped there and didn't go further. By the way he shook his head, I knew the guy didn't make it.

"That was the last straw Cassius pulled, I couldn't take it anymore. The guilt...it ate me whole. Every day, even up 'til now, I think about what happened that night. Whenever I go to a party, I think of it. When I see a guy that resembles him, I think of it. When I see a fight on the streets happen, I think of it."

I so deeply wished to end his guilt and make him feel happy. I wasn't even bothered by the fact that he was friends with Cassius. He needed to understand that he witnessed a murder, he didn't do murder.

I held his two hands in mine when I saw them clenched in fists. "I'm not, and won't ever be scared of you, Grayson," I said, making my tone soothing and gentle. Even though that was a lie - I previously was afraid of him - I won't be now.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, I can't imag-" he hushed me by resting his fingers against my now sealed lips.

"It's okay, don't apologise," he mumbled, our eyes not breaking eye contact.

I shook my head. "No. You deserved-deserve better," I insisted. I was angry at how one person could do so much damage. "Your childhood is...ruined and gone. That's not how it was supposed to go. You should've been skating and-" He once again hushed me.

"Life doesn't always go how you want it to," he said, smiling at my worry.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it okay. It could've gone way better, no doubt." He nodded, agreeing with me.

I jumped a bit when he unexpectantly tucked a strand of hair that fell out my ponytail behind my ear. He touched my face with his long fingers. He brushed them against my jaw and ended up cupping my cheek. "Are you sure you didn't get hurt at school?" He seemed concerned, I blushed.

"Yes. And thank you for helping me out," I said sheepishly, noticing I didn't properly thank him before. We both subconsciously leaned forward. Our faces were so near each other, the tip of our foreheads almost connected.

A random thought popped into my min and it got me thinking. "H-How did you know where I was?" I stuttered due to out close proximity. He seemed confused for a second. "How did you know I was trapped?" I clarified.

"Oh," he mumbled, his eyes lingering on my lips. "Before the fire broke out, I was skipping class. I was sitting in the computer room, looking up some files about Cassius that my cousin sent me." I recalled that his cousin was a hacker. "While I was busy, Cassius showed up and lit the curtains on fire before I noticed him."

I inhaled the air we shared, it still disturbed me beyond that a psychopath was standing so close to us. Never mind Grayson being 'friends' with one for almost five years!

"I was sitting in the last row of seats, so I couldn't stop the fire in time. As I was trying to put it out, Cassius locked me up in the room. It started getting too hot in there and I had to escape. The only way out was by breaking the door, which luckily made out of glass." He paused for a second, reminiscing the events that occurred a few hours ago.

"But before he left, he said you were in trouble." Grayson shook his head, his facial expressions telling me how stressed he was. "I had no idea where you were, I had to search almost the entire school before I smelled something burning. The doors were locked and I knew you were in there."

"Thank you," I once again said. If he weren't there, would the firefighters have gotten there in time?

"Please don't say that," he muttered. What?

By my confused expression he continued. "I was the reason you got stuck there on the first place." Even though it's kind of true, I wasn't allowing him to blame himself for everything, so this time I placed my finger on his mouth.

He looked into my eyes with his grey, now green again eyes. They could be so intense and hard, but so soft and mesmerizing.

He moved forward and my forehead was laying against his. I wish I could stay here with him forever.

He inched closer until only the tip - it was so gentle it might've been my imagination - touched mine. I automatically closed my eyes, and he took that as a sign.

It was passionate and tender. My one hand went to his hair - his hair that always looked so fluffy yet messy. While my other hand draped around his neck.

I let out a subtle moan against his mouth, which only encouraged him more. I felt his arm pull me tighter to him from my waist, and the his other hand was still on my face. The thought of his rough, big hands on my body made me feel something I've only ever felt before when I was with him.

Butterflies. Butterflies erupted in my stomach and I felt something tingling below. What is this? What am I feeling? It's my first time being so intimate with someone, it must be that, right?

He pulled away, and I had to catch my breath again. I was fearful about making eye contact, but once we did, I felt myself become hypnotised again. How can one person be so beautiful?

"Remember when I told you I'd make it up to you?" he asked me. I recalled the last time he was in my room, he told me that because he couldn't stay. I nodded. "I didn't forget," he spoke smugly, yet still in a delicate tone.

I pressed me thighs together at the thought of him making it up to me, I had a few ideas. He observed the act and almost smirked. Oh my God, Sophia, why are your thoughts so dirty?! I haven't had such cravings for a man's touch before, this is all new to me.

"Tell me when to stop," he said, and I nodded, even though I had the feeling I wasn't going to want him to stop any sooner.

He came closer to me again and smoothly laid me down on my back on the bed. Fortunately for us, my bed was comfortable and feathery with the thick covers on top. As we both slowly went down, he put his face in the crook of my neck, peppering tender kisses every now and then.

I closed my eyes in pleasure and felt a wetness pool in my pants. What's happening to me? All these emotions coursing through me...

He kissed every spot on my neck and collarbone, I couldn't hold back the sigh of contentment I held it. As he went a little lower, closer to my chest, he looked up at me, asking for consent. I nodded eagerly and he smiled.

His hands roamed upper body and ended up under my shirt. He lifted it up slightly, just enough so you could see the brim of my lace, light pink bra. The way he lovingly caressed my belly with his lips didn't help the butterflies and tingles calm down, only more unknown sensations occurred.

My fingers were still tangled up in his hair, and he grunted in satisfaction when I pulled on it. "I don't want to pressure you, Love," he mumbled against my skin, tickling. Honestly, his deep voice...turned me on a lot.

"You're not," I opposed. He met my gaze as he laid his head on my tummy.

"I just don't want to rush into things." This made my heart sink. I knew he didn't like me like that. Does he even like me at all? No, of course not, Stupid, why would he? You're an unexperienced, little girl, probably too young for him.

My inner thoughts were beating up any confidence I had left, and I think he noticed. "No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." He kind of climbed back on top of me and leaned his head down so that our faces were only inches apart.

"You're beautiful and I'd love to do this with you, but this is probably your first time...right?" I nodded, not using words. "I want you to be sure that you want to do it with me."

I frowned. Was he doubting himself? Questioning if I'd want to do it with him? He's the hottest person ever and I have never actually been in love as much as I am now. "Oh," I finally said. "It's fine, I understand."

He smiled and pecked my lips, but didn't move away. We stared into each other's eyes. Could it be that he only is like this - so friendly and as if he wouldn't hurt a fly - when he's with me? Probably not, but I kind of hope so...

"I still owe you though," he smirked down at me.

"And what are you gonna do about that?" I challenged. It's weird, he makes me stutter and gets me so nervous all the time, but he also gives me confidence. I love it.

He raised his brows as he didn't expect that answer and then came up with, "Well, what do you want to do about that?"

"Stay with me?" My voice was laced with hope and I'm sure I unintentionally made the puppy-eye face.

"Of course, Love," he chuckled lowly, and my chest fluttered at the nickname. A smile broke out on my face and I blushed. He rolled off me and landed next to me on my bed. I really was grateful to a double bed at this moment.

Just then, my mom entered my room without knocking. I always let it slide, but it still annoys me. "Hey, Soph-" She stopped when she saw how we were lying. "Oh."

My already pink cheeks were now on fire. "Yes, Mom?" I said, feeling embarrassed and wanting her to get out as soon as possible.

"I just wanted to let you know that dinner's ready," she replied. Oh yeah...dinner. "Is Grayson staying?"

Without looking at him, I internally grinned and said, "Yeah, he is." She nodded and actually smiled, as if she's wanted this moment to happen... Which is totally not right, her and dad always want me to stay away from 'people like him'. I guess his greeting in the kitchen really did make a good first impression.

"Alright, I'll call you when it's ready." Grayson and I thanked her and she quietly left us alone again.

For the rest of the evening, we simply chatted and got to know each other a bit better. He was way more open than I expected him to be, which is a good thing. After dinner, he complimented me mother's cooking skills, which made her very happy. I think she was already starting to love him. Dad, on the other hand, still has to warm up to him, but that'll happen in time.

He had to go, though, after he helped clear the table. He pecked me on the cheek told me I'd see him tomorrow at school.

I was now lying on my bed, my face in my pillow, going over the conversations we had and over-thinking everything. I asked him what exactly 'we' were, and he almost made me giggle when he responded with, "Whatever you want us to be." It wasn't a clear answer, but I hope to be able to call him my boyfriend sooner or later. But, like he said, we won't rush into things.

I wonder how things'll go at school between us. Will it be awkward? Will he kiss me in front of all these people? What if he'd ignore me because he's ashamed of being seen with me!

I mean, you know how quick rumors and gossips spread around here.

Maybe even quicker than fire.

ღ

A/N: Phew! That was a long chapter (for me).

I want to thank @komoker321 for the name 'Cassius' and @Nayab0422 for 'Draven' :))

Please VOTE, I hope you enjoyed ツ