Chapter 26

My mouth dropped open. "I'm not getting in bed with you."

Xander's eyes sparkled as he grinned widely. "Then where the hell do you suppose you're going to sleep? Be grateful I'm even offering; this bed is barely even big enough for myself."

I cursed myself. "This is stupid."

Xander laughed deeply, the sound causing my heart to race. "No, you're stupid. Who doesn't check the bus schedule ahead of time?"

"Me," I shot. "I didn't check it because your idiotic self was on my mind the entire time."

Shit. My mouth had a habit of running on its own.

"Jasper," Xander said. "I don't know what's gonna happen to you if you keep saying stuff like that."

"What?" I asked.

"Just come here already."

I sighed, seeing no way out of the dreadful situation.

However, Xander's arm was laid out across the pillow where my head was supposed to go.

"Move your arm," I told him before I got in the bed.

"My god Jasper, get in here already," Xander replied, staring at me, evidently waiting for me to slide in next to him.

And so, I slowly lowered myself into the bed next to Xander. I immediately felt his body heat against my skin as I turned over on my side, my back to him. He never even moved his arm so my head inevitably rested against it.

"I see you chose me over Hayden."

I instantly shifted in the bed to face him, wildly thinking of an excuse in my head as I still rested on his arm.

"It's not like..." my voice trailed off as I stared into his unique, light green eyes and realized just how close he was to me. It made my heart thump loudly in my chest and I became hot from our body heat.

"Hm? It's not like what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as my eyes fell to his lips.

"It's not..." I tried again. "Fuck."

Xander laughed before replying. "You can say you like me better than lover boy, you know. I won't tell him."

"If you weren't in such poor condition right now, I would seriously hurt you," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "But I see you're fine enough to make jokes."

"Of course," Xander replied. "I'll always be able to play around with you, Jasper."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"But hey," Xander said. "Thanks for coming."

I brought my eyes back up to meet his. "Uh, yeah. No problem."

And suddenly, his hand reached out and traced across my forehead, moving my hair to the side. I sucked in a breath before my eyes landed on his arm as they trailed down to his wrist where his scars became visible.

I lifted my own hand and brought his arm down, tracing my fingers against his scars.

"Don't do this to yourself," I told him, not looking into his eyes.

"I know," he said.

"There aren't any new cuts though," I realized.

Xander moved his arm causing my hand to fall off of it, as he brought it down again, enclosing my hand in his.

"I know," he repeated.

"Are you doing better?" I asked, instinctively giving his hand a squeeze. "I mean, I know you'll probably never get over your painful past but I at least hope you're not hurting too much."

"I'm okay," he replied, shifting closer to me.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said as his eyes bore into mine. "There's someone who's been taking my mind off of things."

I raised my eyebrow. "There is? Who is it?"

His eyes rose to the ceiling as he went silent for a few seconds.

"He's an idiot, I'll tell you that much," he said and smiled. "He has a bad temper, fails to admit his true feelings, and has an annoying crush on his friend."

"He doesn't sound too appealing," I replied.

Xander laughed again. "But, I've realized he's always here when I need him."

And then, I suddenly felt irritated. It sounded as if Xander had found someone he really cared about.

"Good for you," I said, lowering my eyes, and untangled my hand from his.

However, his hand found its way back to mine, once again sliding his fingers through it. He pulled on my hand, causing my body to move closer to his.

"What are you doing?" I asked, wiggling my hand in his.

"Jasper," he said. "You're really dense, you know."

"What?" I asked.

"I guess I should've expected it from someone who scored a thirty on his exam," he replied.

"Thirty-one," I corrected him. "But what do you mean by that?"

"Who do you think has been taking my mind off of things, Jasper?" he asked. "Who held me when I broke down in front of him? Who rushed to the hospital when he found out I'd been in an accident without thinking about anything else?"

"You're asking me as if I know the guy," I spit. "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Because you are the guy."

I went silent.

"Jeez," he sighed, rubbing his forehead with his other hand. "I never thought I'd have to spell it out for you."

I was still processing everything he had just told me as my chest continued to pound.

"Xander," I finally said. "I'm about to do something crazy."

"You're not leaving, are you?" he asked, glancing at me. "The walk back would take you like two days."

"I'm not leaving," I said as I released his hand and pushed myself up in the bed into a sitting position.

"Your ribs hurt, right?" I asked, looking down at him.

"Yeah, like hell," he responded.

"Okay, then I won't make you move," I said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I didn't know what was happening to me. Suddenly, the only person that existed in the world was Xander and I couldn't help the emotions that overcame me.

I lowered my fingers under his chin, tilting it up as he watched me.

"I'm going insane," I said. "I know it."

"Wha-"

I didn't let him finish because I leaned over him and brought my lips down on his.

Xander took no time in bringing his hand up to my face as he began moving his mouth against mine.

I instantly pulled away, staring down at Xander.

"What am I doing?" I breathed.

"Jasper," he said as he looked up at me.

"Finish what you started."

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