Owned

Chapter 18: Something called perfect

After a few seconds of silence and staring, Liv snapped. "Uh, okay. We- um, we'll go back in-" Liv mumbled, slightly pulling Jace by his sleeve. I guess she thought that no one was supposed to know, but Tyler and I were both tired of lying and hiding. Well, at least me, so it would feel like a huge relief if they find out now.

"No, Liv, it's fine." I said, making her stop while Jace had the same shocked and surprised expression on his face.

"Okay guys, what is going on?" Jace asked again, searching for and answer with his eyes. He glanced at me, but I bit my lip and looked down, not knowing where to start. Suddenly, I felt a slight grip of my hand. Tyler. He slowly grabbed my hand, as it fit perfectly in his. I looked up at him in shock, but he looked straight ahead, not taking his eyes off Jace and Liv. I felt a slight pull from him and we were now really close as he didn't let go of my hand. "No way," Jace said before any of us could start talking. "You two? Did I miss something?" I saw Liv smiling next to him. I could hear her 'Aww' in my head. She always did that.

"Long story." Tyler said as he slowly started walking towards the entrance along with me. "Let's go back in. We'll explain everything."

The night passed by in what felt like only a minute. At first, everyone was shocked when Tyler said the "big" news, but after they all admitted that they saw it coming. I don't know how though. I mean yeah Tyler and I spent a lot of time together, but we never showed any sign in front of them. Did we?

But that's not the important subject right now. Yes, we had fun almost all night long, playing charades and eating pizza- since Jessie's meal burn down. But there was still a part of me that was worried that something will happen any minute. Derek was still out there and it felt like he was hunting me even though I didn't see him in so long. There was also a huge part of me that felt bad for lying to my dad. I said that I'll stay at Liv's for the next week cause "we're working on a project". But not a single word that came out of my mouth, through the phone, was true.

I never imagined my life like this. I always knew that I'll have Liv and my friends on my side, but that one night, that one weird night, my whole life changed. Whenever I thought about it, I still could hear the gun shot echoing, and along with that echo came all the memories. But if nothing happened, I would have never become close with Tyler. I would never know that that attraction I felt for him the night that I met him, would grow into so much more. Whenever he walked in the room, I felt butterflies in my stomach and my heart skipped a beat. I loved that feeling. It was actually the only good feeling I had to hold on to. Unexpected, but true.

~

One month later.

Want to see you. Meet me at the rock.

I read the text that came from Tyler. A wide smile appeared on my face. 'The rock' was a secret meeting place near my house in the small forest. I've known every single inch of that forest since I was a little girl. The fact it was only a few blocks down made it a perfect meeting place. I decided that I wouldn't tell my dad about Tyler and I, and I was honestly glad that Tyler felt the same. Even though my dad was highly overprotective, I still had the chance to sneak out at night. I knew that I was lying for Tyler, for us, so I didn't feel guilty.

The feelings that I had for him just kept growing bigger. He's been the perfect boyfriend this month. I still can't believe he said that he's not good with that part. His attention was constantly on me, bringing me flowers or chocolates. But lately, I've been wanting to talk to him. About a week ago, he went to NY to help his father with some business stuff and was gone for a few days. Ever since he got back, he's been acting strange. There was a moment where he said that he flew into his ex, because I insisted for him to tell me. But the weird act was still going on, and it seriously started worrying me.

I looked at the clock on my phone and it was 10:27 pm. Opening the window, I climbed on the desk and pushed myself off the ledge, landing onto the branch. It wasn't the first time I climbed down the window. In my stupid high school days this was an everyday ritual. What surprised me was when I looked down, I saw Tyler smiling from the ground, which seemed like it was getting further and further away. "Tyler? What are you doing here?" I said in a hash whisper and his smiled just grew bigger.

"Oh, come on. Jump already." He chuckled, lifting his hands up like he's going to catch me.

"No, move." I said quietly. If I jumped, I would lend directly at him.

"I'll catch you." Tyler said again and fleshed another dazzling smile. In a second, I felt my heart flutter, but there was no time for that right now. I could barely keep my balance. I rolled my eyes, pretending that didn't have an effect on me. "Come on. If you wait another minute, your father might see us." He pointed out.

"Fine." I said quietly, before letting go of the small offshoot and let my legs move in the air. The ground wasn't that far away, so I would either crash on Tyler, or land on my feet and feel the unpleasant electricity trough my body. Suddenly, I felt a slight grip from my behind and strong arms pulling me closer. Tyler. Opening my eyes, a smile appeared on my face immediately as he smirked.

"Told you." He mumbled before leaning closer and leaving a butterfly kiss on my lips. Taking my hand, he turned around and we started running towards the street from the side of the house, careful so no one would see us.

The cold wind was meeting my cheeks as I followed him a step behind. There were moments where he would pull my hand closer and turn around just to smile at me, but the slow running didn't stop until we made it to the forest. It was a small forest, more like abandoned park. Liv and I used to come here as little girls with Brandon, cause he was the "responsible" one.

After getting a little deeper, there was a small lowland and a gray rock placed in the middle, big enough for both of us to sit on it. Slowly, the running stopped, turning into a fast walking until we were a few feet away from the rock. Tyler turned around, pulling me closer and crossed the small space between us, not giving me the time to catch my breath from all the running. My hands moved to the sides of his neck, as he pulled me closer by my waist. As always, his kisses were passionate, dancing along with my lips. He made me walk backwards until I hit the rock with the back of my knees. Pulling away slowly, I smiled at him as he rested his forehead on my, closing his eyes and we breathed deeply into each other, getting lost in the moment.

"Is it me, or was the run longer than usual." I said leaning on the rock behind me. Tyler leaned next to me as I felt his gaze from my right side.

"Maybe it felt like that cause you couldn't wait to see me." Tyler chuckled.

A small laugh escaped me. "Yeah, and what makes you think that?" I teased looking at him.

"Oh, please, Alex. I know you better than you know yourself. That was one hell of a kiss." Tyler laughed back and I immediately bumped him with my shoulder. After a few seconds, I looked around and felt shivers down my spine. It was dark, cold and really quiet. I could practically hear every breath Tyler took. Before I even knew it, I was serious. Times like this made me think the night when it all started. It was also dark and empty. "What's wrong?" Tyler asked, noticing my sudden serious expression.

"Nothing, just," I stopped not knowing how to explain. Taking a deep breath I went on. "Just the taught of Derek still being out there gives me the creeps." I tried making it sound like I wasn't that serious, so Tyler wouldn't worry. "Why did he give up so easily?" I asked, looking at him.

Tyler looked down, looking for an answer himself. "Honestly, I have no clue." He mumbled and then glanced back at me. "But I know one thing for sure." He put his hand on my cheek, making gentle moves with his thumb. "I won't let him near you even again. I promise." His voice was now barely above a whisper as I closed my eyes, feeling his touch. I wasn't sure what I was feeling for him yet, but it was something that I couldn't resist. I would give anything to spent all my time with him. But we still had to keep it a secret. It was the right thing.

I snapped out of it, remembering the real reason why I agreed on meeting him. Just the though of him and his ex was driving me crazy. I had to know if something happened or not. A few days ago, he told me that she worked in a company similar to his father's and that's how they met. He made it pretty clear that that was just in the past, but he didn't say a word about his trip to New York.

I put my hand on his and slowly moved it was from my cheek. I couldn't let him distract me like that. "Tyler, we need to talk." I said now more serious. And I was. I loved what I had with him, but I also wanted to know if it'll last. Now, he looked worried and turned his whole attention on me, waiting for me to start. "Look, about the trip," I stopped, thinking how to put this. ", I can see something happened, and you're not telling me. You've barely said a word about it." I pointed out, while I was playing with my fingers. It was nerve wracking to have this conversation, but I thought I was doing the right thing.

"Is this about my ex?" Tyler got it in a few seconds. I looked at his beautiful nut-brown eyes, confirming with my look. "Alex, I told you. I just bumped into her in the street," He said, but it seemed like there was more to the story.

"And?" I asked quietly, not wanting to push him.

"Well, we went on a drink, and that's all." Tyler said, waiting for my reaction. He didn't even tell me the name of the girl, and now he's telling me that he went out with his ex. I felt an unpleasant turn in my stomach, but I did my best to hide my worry.

"So you two are on good terms?" I asked, escaping eye contact with him. Having a drink with your ex girlfriend seemed like a pretty good term to me.

"Yeah. Her father's a good friend to my family and she's working in his company, so when I was in New York a few months ago, we worked together. Even when we broke up, we were kinda forced to stay on good terms." He explained clearly. "Her father wanted it to work out, but she was just a fling." Tyler said, trying to cheer up the situation.

"What's her name?" I asked quietly out of nowhere. Not once did he mentioned her name, but I still appreciate his honesty.

Tyler sighed. "Lora," He stopped before going on. "Lora White." My mouth dropped open. No way. Lora White was his ex? Every one has heard of her. Her father was the famous businessman Charlie White. Even Matt knows her, and he knows very little. The perfect daughter of the richest man in the States. The blonde barbie doll that everyone seemed to adore. I never met her in person, but I've read about her in magazines, saw her on pictures, just like everyone else.

I couldn't believe my own ears. "Lora White is your ex?" I asked, in shock. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tyler looked a bit frustrated now. "Because I was trying to escape this exact reaction." He said. "Alex, what I had with her is just the past. That's why I didn't tell you. I didn't think it was a big deal." I looked down, still processing what he told me. "Hey," Tyler mumbled before listing my chin with his finger, making me look in his eyes. ", I promise you, I will never hurt you." He said as his hand moved to my waist and he pulled me closer into a hug. His face buried in my hair as my fingers traveled to his hair. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I trusted him. Closing my eyes, I felt myself calm down in his arms.

~

The next day.

Walking out of school, I searched the school yard with my eyes, trying to find Tyler. I walked down the few stairs in front of the building and looked around carefully. Suddenly, I felt someone slight pulling me by my waist from behind. Tyler. He quickly placed a kiss on my cheek from behind and I turned around, facing him.

"You're late." He said before leaning closer and kissing my cheek a few times as his lips traveled meeting mine. Another one of his perfect kisses making my heart skip a few beats. Pulling away, I offered him a weak smile.

"Sorry, I had history." I said, knowing that he'd get it. Everyone knew that my history teacher, Mr. Collins always held us for a few more minutes after the class is over. Tyler nodded his head, understanding what I was saying.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the many students staring. It was big news when everyone found out about us. Tyler had a bad boy reputation since forever. It was odd that he had a girlfriend. Some of them were jealous and were coming up with all kinds of rumors about us, while others acted like they felt bad for me. But non of them knew him the way I did. None of them could even imagine how he made me feel when I was with him. Heck, I couldn't imagine myself like this. Ninth cloud. His every glance at me, his eyes, made me feel like I was enchanted. Whenever he said my name, it serenaded and it sang to my heart. Just one kiss was enough to turn the skies to gray, to make me feel like there was no one else on this world, but us. I often ask myself if I love him. But I never experienced real love. How would I know how loving someone feels like?

His warm hand once again took mine, and we started walking down the street, ignoring the others whispering and talking around us. The risk of us being together in public was huge. My father could find out any minute, but it was something I was willing to take. "So where do you want me to take you tonight?" Tyler asked out of nowhere, making me confused. He noticed my confused expression and rolled his eyes. "What? I have the right to take my girlfriend on a date." Instantly I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

"Oh, I didn't know you were taking me on a date." I said casually and he chuckled.

"Well it's not that weird, now is it?" He smiled looking at me. "So, where would you want to go?"

"Pizza?" I smiled.

"Really Alex? Pizza? When I said I wanted to take you out, I meant like a real date. In a restaurant." Tyler said pulling me closer with his hand.

I looked at him from below. "Okay, but I won't choose that. Surprise me."

"Deal. I'll come pick you up at 8, milady." He teased. We were now walking past the park as we made our turn.The city park was somewhere we hang out after school. It was a lot more public than the forest, so it felt good not hiding for a bit. Suddenly, I heard a girly squeaky voice calling Tyler's name, making me lift my head. I was looking at a tall, incredibly fit blonde girl, dressed in a light pink dress above her knees, holding a coffee and a shiny handbag. No freaking way.