Better Than Revenge [Unedited - 2012 Version]

Chapter 24 [Christian's POV]

I was going to post the contest entries on a seperate chapter so you guys could read them, but only one person emailed me a copy of their entry, so you'll have to find the entries under my profile in my reading lists if you want to read them.

First Place: invader_batman

Second Place: Immature_writing

Third Place: Forever_unperfect

Honorable Mentions: leeann32101 and 4ever_here.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest, and congratulations to the winners! They were already emailed and prizes were already distributed. :)

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A/N: Leeann32101's prize was a chapter of her choice written by me in Christian Ryder's point of view. Honestly, guys... you might want to grab some chocolate or something to get you through this. I mean, I thought living this through Sophia's eyes was rough, but after writing this and living it through Christian's eyes (and this is after I've gotten to know his character better than I know myself)... I have to say, this is even rougher.

I hope you guys enjoy this! It was a nice change writing in his POV for once, although leeann32101 really picked a tough one. Anyways, yeah, enjoy!

**** This is not fan written. I wrote this. I thought the author's note had made that clear, but I guess not, so I'm clearing this up now to avoid having to answer the same question multiple times. :) *****

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Chapter 24

Christian's POV

She didn't say anything. Sophia stood there and stared at me like I'd finally lost it, like I was about to pull a Britney and attack her car with an umbrella after shaving my head. By the horrified look in her eyes, I figured she thought I was going to shave hers, too, and maybe Blake's while I was at it.

God, why had I said it? I should have kept my damn mouth shut. And seriously. "Because somehow, my annoyance with you turned into something else." Could I have been any lamer? What kind of a confession was that? I was losing my touch.

Why isn't she saying anything?

I couldn't help the pained look that crossed my face. I just needed to hear her say something, even if it was something about my face breaking a mirror or reminding her of an exhibit at the zoo.

"Say something," I finally exclaimed. I tried not to look so pathetically nervous, but I was pretty sure I failed.

Sophia closed her eyes and shook her head. Why did she shake her head? What was that supposed to mean? "Oh, God, my weird costar has a crush on me?" Or maybe "How am I going to tell him I'm not interested?" Or maybe, if I was lucky, "Maybe I'm on the same boat and want to take his pants off?"

Alright, I was over-analyzing things; I was turning into my mother. Christ. What was this girl doing to me? I mean, I'd never been on this side of the spectrum—the side where you have to throw yourself out there and hope you don't sink—but so far, it fucking sucked.

She still wasn't speaking, so I continued. "Please."

Finally, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. That was a good sign, right? At least she wasn't running away screaming. Anything but that seemed like a good sign to me.

I took a step closer to her and said, "Soph."

There was another bout of silence before she finally spoke. "Do you think this joke is funny? Because I sure as hell don't. This is just plain weird... I don't find it funny at all."