Selling My Soul to His Royal Nerdiness.

Selling My Soul to His Royal Nerdiness. (15)

Annabel Taylor


Three weeks later,  I found myself running in the rain with Silas.

Well, he was running. I was walking slowly, savoring the damp wet of autumn rain. It had been unnaturally hot today, despite the season change, and I was savoring it for as long as I could.

Normal Alabamians would be ecstatic about the season change. (Hooray! It's not blisteringly hot anymore!) But, weirdly enough, I'd always hated the cold. I loved seeing the fields at their greenest, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin.

Silas scowled at my slow approach. I suppressed a grin. I loved seeing him all riled up. It made his already sharp and soft features even more defined. I also discovered that he had this odd tick in his jaw when he was close to exploding a little.

And of course, I always made him explode a little.

It was hilarious.

This was our third date. Technically, it wasn't really a date so much as an I-really-like-your-car-so-you're-going-to-come-school-supplies-shopping-with-me thing. (Did I mention that his car was awesome?)

The rest of the household were off doing their own shopping. School started on Monday, so we'd mostly stocked up, but Silas and I were just enjoying each other's company and getting the extra bits. He was going to a mystery school.

He held the passenger door open, looking for all the world a grumpy, fallen angel. Rain pelted the leather seats, so I sped up a little.

"Are you trying to irritate me?" He asked once I was in hearing distance. His voice was nearly lost in the roar of a car as it passed by, spraying us with water.

"HEY!" Silas threw his hands into the air, slamming the door in his anger at the driver. He shot a very distinct finger and the driver honked in response.

I tried not to laugh. I honestly did. But Silas's expression was, well...

I clutched my stomach, laughing hard. Tears mixed with the rain as I slapped my knee, guffawing. I looked up at his face and laughed even harder. He just silently glared, arms folded across his chest.

That was me. The crazy girl laughing her head off in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

I screamed as my feet suddenly were swept out from under me.

Silas grinned devilishly as another car came. He held me close, just as it hit an especially huge puddle and--

SPLOOSH!

I barely had time to close my eyes before I was drenched. Silas's chest vibrated against my side as he set me down, chuckling.

"Not as funny when it's you, now is it?" He questioned, smirking.

I scowled at him darkly for a few moments before grinning. "This means war, you know."

"You'll have to catch me first." And he dashed off. I stood there in shock for a few moments, then grinned.

Oh, it was on.

As I chased after him, gaining some extremely odd looks, I couldn't help but look back to our disaster of a first date.


Two weeks, six days earlier...

Everyone stared in shock at the growing, purple stain on my pure white tee. Kolbie was frozen, brown doe eyes wide with shock, while I stared at the mess in horror.

I had been in the living room, trying to calm my anxiety with some good-ol'-fashioned TV, while Kolbie had flounced in announcing that she'd made Kool Aid.

In a very Kolbie-like move, she'd tripped over her own feet and the glass of juice...

Had landed on me.

My...lucky...awesome...tee shirt...for my date...with...Silas...who...was...coming...at....any--

The doorbell rang.

My brain died.

Luckily, Kolbie's didn't. Her apologetic gasp was enough to get everyone moving.

As she threw her hands to her mouth, turning a little pink, she stared at me. "Ohmygod Anna. I'm so sorry--"

"I'll get the door," West slid away, apparently anticipating another one of Kolbie's famous freak outs.

He anticipated right.

"Ohmygod. Ohmygod! What have I done?! I've ruined you! OHMYGOD. You're just now getting back on the wagon and now I've spilled my drink all over your shirt and Silas is going to leave because he'll think that you're messy and Noah will marry some snooty princess so he won't be your prince charming and you'll grow up and become a cat lady and I hate the smell of cats so I won't want to go anywhere near you and you'll never see your nieces, Ophelia and Hilary, which will be such a shame because they'll be perfectly awesome and fashionable and--"

"I think that's enough, Kolbs," Chance said. His hand on her mouth practically took up all of the space on her face.

"Here." A shirt was shoved into my face.

I looked from Noah, shirtless, helpful, nerdy, yet incredibly awesome Noah, and nearly burst into tears.

"Thanks."

So I changed into Noah's shirt while West kept Silas busy in the foyer. The Kool Aid shirt was unceremoniously stuffed under the couch cushions (Kolbie promised to wash it as soon as Silas and I were gone).

And there were a few amused eyebrow raisings and not-so-amused glances at Noah, who seemed oddly comfortable even though Silas was giving him the death stare.

And after a few awkward introductions (Chance was his normal cheery self, but West was a little more than standoffish. Talk about odd.) we left the building.

Thank God my mom was at work. My dad was still in LA, on business, but he was supposed to be back before the school year started. My parents had both been rather...odd since the premiere, but I brushed it off as one of their weird things.

I guess I really didn't want to know.

"I like your t-shirt," Silas complimented offhandedly as he opened the door to the car.

I surreptitiously glanced down at it while he was walking around and had to suppress a grin.

HIS ROYAL NERDINESS was in bold, white, type-writer style lettering. The t-shirt itself was black, complementing the gray jeans that I was wearing. It was a little baggy, but extremely comfortable.

Yep. He wasn't getting this t-shirt back.

Silas was a awesome driver. And by awesome, I mean incredibly fast. We sped over Alabama hills at a break-neck speed, silent. I snuck glances at him from time to time.

He was so gorgeous. He hadn't put any gel in his hair today, so it was shaggy, falling into his eyes a little. I still didn't understand how it could be such a confusing color. It was almost...dark grey. And his eyes were a lighter, prettier gray.

He smirked. "Done staring at me yet?"

I cleared my throat. "Where are we going?" I congratulated myself on not immediately turning a brilliant red.

It was gorgeous out. As the seasons slowly changed from summer to fall, the wind picked up and the trees became a slightly golden color at the tips.

"You didn't answer the question," he chuckled.

"Bite me."

"Can't. I'm driving." he glanced at me, a happy smile on his face.

I blushed and looked at him, turning toward the road and screaming.

"SILAS!"

"Oh shi--!"

He slammed on breaks. The seat belt that I had thankfully put on held me back, but he wasn't so lucky. His head slammed against the wheel and he stopped moving.

"Oh my god." I gasped. "Oh my God. Silas. Silas." I shook his shoulder lightly.

He did not react.

I looked toward the road, where the huge deer had just been, and began to shake. Tears pricked at my eyelids as I thought about the possibilities...

Stop freaking yourself out, Anna. You can do this.

I peeked. Okay, not much blood. Just a lot. A whole lot. He was going to die of a heart attack when he woke up, because of the mess. Poor Silas.

I dry heaved for a few moments before fighting back the dizziness. With shaking fingers, I unbuckled the seat belt. It took a few tries, but I managed it. I touched Silas on the shoulder again, lightly.

Okay. He was not moving.

What if he was--

No. No.

I fumbled for my phone and very calmly called 911, reaching around to check Silas's pulse. It was strong, throbbing. I felt weak with relief.

They said that they'd be here in a few minutes.

The operator on the phone was very nice. She didn't even sound that pitying when I broke down crying.

So the nice ambulance let me follow them to the hospital while I dialed my mom and told her what happened. The conversation took a good while.

She was worried about me. I could tell. After all, I had been through a lot these past few days.

But I assured her that I was fine, barely keeping the hiccup out of my voice for her sake. I was going to let this wash right past me like everything else did.

Parents' relationship failing?

Let it go.

Little sister more fashionable then you?

Let it go.

Because the one time I didn't let something go, I ended up doing something incredibly stupid.

When we got to the hospital, Silas was wheeled out and I was allowed to sprint with them. He'd suffered head trauma, they said. He needed an x-ray.

So I sat, after getting my check up, and waited. I checked my voice mail and texts from friends (hardly any). I played games. I imagined knocking out this kid that slapped his mother. (It was a total OhNoHeDidn't moment.) I watched this angry pair of toddlers fight over a set of keys.

And eventually, I fell asleep.

"Miss."

Something poked me. I opened my eyes blearily, blinking and wincing at the pain in my back. A small, elderly looking woman smiled kindly at me. I sat up up a little straighter and checked for spit, grimacing when my hand came in contact with my cheek. Of course.

"Silas is awake, and he would like to see you," she smiled, glowing with happiness for some reason.

"How is he?" I attempted to rub the sleep out of my eyes and yawned. She didn't seem to mind. Instead, she looked kind of amused.

"Stable. Polite. A charmer," she winked. She got this faraway look in her eyes. "If only I were twenty years younger..."

I cleared my throat and she adjusted her jacket, blushing. "He, um, had to get stitches, of course." she nodded. "Luckily, we got away with shaving none of that gorgeous hair..."

"Where is he?" I slowly rose to my feet.

"Follow me," she smiled. "He has a surprise for you."  

A surprise indeed. I pushed open the door open, not believing what I was seeing for a moment.

A string quartet played something that sounded suspiciously like Gives You Hell. Two giant, steaming plates of  minestrone and meatballs, brownies topped with ice cream and--my favorite--two huge blueberry slushies sat on a cart beside the bed. The room was dimmed.

I didn't even know that you could dim a hospital room.

 Silas was on the bed, holding a bunch of roses and grinning at my shocked expression.

"Dinner and a movie, indeed," he smirked.

*End of flashback*

"Got ya!" I pounced. Silas turned and unexpectedly caught me, grinning.

"Yeah." He smiled, gray eyes sparkling. "You've got me."

Time slowed, as well as the rain. I forgot that we were in a Wal-Mart parking lot, where people were probably watching. I forgot that I was soaked to the bone and a little cold. All I could comprehend was his body pressed against mine, taut and firm, and his eyes that were resting on my lips.

They slowly dragged up from my eyes. I could hear my heart thundering as I decided to take our shaky relationship to a new level and, for the first time, pressed my lips to his.

Fireworks exploded behind my eyes. I pressed closer at the feeling, kissing him a little harder.

He immediately responded, groaning low in his throat. His hand found my waist and turned my back against the car.

And that was when I realized that I never, ever wanted this to end.

*

Alright, so, finally uploaded! I'm tired so I'll make this short. You got me, Colbie Calliat song --> Comment vote you know the deal NOT EDITED! Goodnight! Oh, and  if you get the chance, please read Caroline's story A Letter to God. It nearly made m cry :) It's bound to cheer you up if you're having a bad day.