Vanilla And Cocoa

Chapter 8 "The First Feeling"

There was something peaceful about arriving at Justin's house a second time. Maybe it was the fact it wasn't total chaos or intoxicated teenagers may or may not fall off of the balcony at any second.

It sort of made me nauseous because it reminded me of Ashley's house-like mansion. The sun beaming down, birds chirping, green grass was sparkling. I grimaced as I got out of my car. Why did he call me over so early, anyway?

I walked across the yard and knocked on the door. A good thirty seconds had passed before I nearly knocked again but suddenly, the door swung open and I saw two very familiar faces. Orlan and Chris.

"Hey." I greeted.

Chris grinned and waved me inside eagerly while Orlan just watched from the sidelines. "Oh, Justin has been talking about you all morning. He got us all excited about meeting you."

"Really?" I said, surprised.

Orlan coughed. "He was the only one excited. I wasn't. Not really."

Chris rolled his eyes and leaned close to me. "He really just wants to act like he's cool but he's just a big softie. Look watch this."

He straightened up and stepped forward only to stumble, hissing at his fake pain. I watched as Orlan's eyes widened in panic and immediately made himself present by his side. "Are you okay? Does it hurt? I can carry you if you want."

Chris looked back at me and winked causing me to hide a tiny laugh. He testily put his foot down and gasped. "Oh, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"You sure?" His eyebrows furrowing in concern.

He kissed him sweetly and smiled. "Yeah," He faced to me and waved me over. "Come on."

Orlan looked like a love struck puppy and followed closely by Chris' side. I willingly trailed behind him with a relaxed smile. They were the cutest teenage couple I've had ever seen. I'd had seen them in the hallways at school and in some of my classes but seeing them interact without the numerous judging, prying eyes is something special.

And plus, they're actually in love with other. You could feel it in the air. I sighed and fitted my hands into my pockets. Maybe one day, I could find someone like that, too.

"Destiny," My head snapped up and my eyes met Justin's. We stared at each other for a moment before he backed away, smirking. "Are you just going to stand there?"

I rolled my eyes and looked around, noticing that I mindlessly followed Chris to a big room filled with a huge flat screen TV and a couch that connected. In the time that I spaced out, Orlan had joined Drew in a game of Call Of Duty and Chris went to go play with Merissa who was grinning brightly. "What is this...?"

"The Bat Cave." I jumped and turned to face Izzy who was with Zay.

"Oh?"

Justin grinned. "Yeah, cool, right?"

"Very." I answered, locking eyes with Zay. He smiled nervously and I playfully hit him on his arm.

"I forgive you. Stop walking on eggshells around me." He released a slow breath and his shoulders relaxed.

"I still feel bad, kiddo." He grinned at me and slapped me on the back.

I grunted and glared at him. "Doesn't feel like it anymore."

"I'm sincere, I promise." His grin growing wider and I huffed.

Justin ushered me into the room and I sat down on one of the couches. He sat beside me and gestured around. "So, what do you think?"

"It's nice. Way fancier than what I'm used to but..." I trailed off, not wanting to finish my statement for the reason that I might rub him the wrong way. I noticed it a few minutes into being here but there was an underlying silence that lurked wherever you went.

It was a silence that reared its ugly head whenever things were still for too long and could surely drive someone insane. I wondered how his family could stand it.

"But what?" Justin asked, tilting his head at me. The others tried to act like they weren't paying attention but you could tell by the way the noise went down a few notches.

"Uh, nevermind. I was just thinking about how the curtains don't match with the curtains in here but I'm just being picky as usual." I laughed awkwardly, quickly lying to cover up my suspicions.

Izzy laughed along and I let out a silent sigh of relief. "Yeah, those curtains are so gross. You should get new ones."

Justin hummed under his breath. "I guess I should. We should go shopping after school tomorrow. Want to come with us?"

I hesitated but eventually nodded. "Sure."

"Speaking of school," Drew started, pausing the game to turn to me. "What the hell are you going to do tomorrow?"

"What do you mean? What happened?" Chris asked and Orlan looked just as confused.

Justin answered for me. "She got with the devil for her Science project and the devil and her underlings fought Destiny at the party."

"Oh, Ashley Larough. I never liked her." Chris nodded in understanding​ and Orlan wrinkled his nose up like he smelled something bad. Merissa looked in between us in confusion, trying to comprehend what was going on. I found it utterly hilarious that they instantly knew who it was but I didn't bother sharing my humor out loud.

"That's a shitty situation, Destiny. What are you going to do?" Orlan asked and I shrugged.

"Well, maybe," Izzy prompted. "You can ask if you can switch partners with Justin. So, that way..."

Justin's face brightened up like the sun and smiled at me. "Neither of us will be in crappy situations."

"...we'll be partners." I whispered.

It wasn't a terrible idea. Neither of us wanted to be with the partners we have now but...

"If we go through with this, I'll have signed my death certificate." I sighed.

"Why?" Zay asked.

"Those girls will want my head on a stick. They will want blood and will not stop until it's mine." I explained.

"They won't touch you. Not while we're around," Justin stated firmly. "We've got your back."

I stared for a moment before I smiled fondly. "I'm counting on you."

I could swear for a moment, just a second, something stirred in my chest.