Drive Me Insane

[Jen]

Chapter 20 - What to Wear

This was it. The night it was all leading up to.

I stood in front of the mirror, frustrated. Freshly showered, my towel was wrapped tightly around my body. My wardrobe door was wide open and now half empty due to the many rejected outfits that lay on my bed. I gazed around at the mountain of clothes and wished I had taken up Cassie’s offer to go shopping for something special. Although this wasn’t meant to be a big deal, a casual party on the beach, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. It was all well and good to be nice towards Curtis within the confines of school, but there was a big bad world out there and it would be a whole new ballgame.

I sighed and looked around my room, hoping for some inspiration. There was a knock on my door, and I quickly hugged my arms tightly around my towelled body, before answering, “Yeah?”.

“Only me,” replied Cassie’s familiar voice from outside the door, “Are you ready?”

“Um,” I said looking around at my mess once more, “Almost.”

“Do you need a hand?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” I replied, before adding, “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll meet you there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, no worries. I’ll catch up.”

There was a pause as Cassie thought.

“Ok, see you there,” she replied, before I heard her footsteps patter away from the door.

I sighed once more and eyed each outfit still hanging in my wardrobe. My black vest was there, with a plain white t-shirt underneath, - not quite suitable for a beach party. My denim skirt was an option, but then I would have to find a top – too much hassle. I moved the hanger along the rail inspecting each item as I went. My skinny leg jeans – he had already seen me in those. The last hanger entered my grasp - a long, navy blue dress, with a floral pattern in yellow radiating from the bottom and matching yellow satin belt. I had bought in on an impulse shop with Cassie. I hadn’t worn it since I had tried it on in the shop. I’d never had an opportunity that warranted it. But now…

I slipped off my towel and pulled the dress from the wardrobe. Carefully zipping up the back, I inspected myself in the mirror. My hair hung loose, and I still hadn’t applied any makeup, but the dress fitted like a glove. It seemed to hug my hips and hide my stomach. I looked over at my clock on the dresser. 8:30 it read.

Oh no! I was so late. This is what happens when you decide to put effort into making a good impression. Well, he had better be impressed. I did not just go through my entire wardrobe to have him not notice at all.

I quickly applied some lip gloss and mascara, before slipping on my thongs and heading out the door, leaving the mountain of clothes for when I arrived home. Hopefully, it would be late.

-

The beach was lit by a dull glow, radiating from the large bonfire that was roaring from the centre of the shore. I kicked off my thongs and felt the warm sand between my toes. There were groups of people just sitting by the fire, drink in hand; others were dancing in the dunes to the loud beats that echoed from the speakers. I slowly walked down the path towards the fire, the centre of the action. I looked around trying to spy even one familiar face. The flames from the fire were casting long shadows over the party, making each face indistinguishable from the next. I wondered slowly along the shore, sand kicking up at my heels.

“You made it!” I heard a voice exclaim from behind. I turned around and saw Drew approaching me.

“As if I wouldn’t,” I replied, staying rooted to my spot on the sand and making him approach.

“You look great,” he said, eyeing me up and down in the baking orange light.

“Thanks,” I said, blushing slightly and hoping he wouldn’t notice. Thankfully he seemed more occupied by my attire. His eyes wondered slowly all over my body. I could feel them radiating through my dress to what was underneath.

“When you’re finished,” I said, placing my hand on my hips and trying to break his stare.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. He stood there, awkwardly on the spot, not wanting to approach any closer, for fear I would bite his head off. But he needn’t have worried; tonight was going to be about us.

“So …” I said, breaking the silence between us.

“Do you want a drink?” Drew asked, snapping out of his daze.

“Sure,” I replied, and he took me by the hand and led me to where a large esky had been set up. He opened the lid to retrieve two bottles of beer. Letting go of my hand, he popped off the caps with ease before handing one to me.

“Cheers,” he said, tapping the neck of his bottle against mine before raising it to his lips. I followed suit, taking a large sip of the alcoholic concoction. I felt the cool liquid dribble down my throat and I smiled at him. He looked back before taking my hand again and leading me back towards the fire.

He pulled me down beside him, the warmth of the fire was radiating onto our faces. We sat in the darkness, sipping our drinks, not saying a word. The beats from the speaker pounded, and I could feel the sand vibrating beneath me.

“Hey!” I heard a voice call.

I looked up and saw a showing figure standing in the firelight.

“Hey,” I replied and Cassie came towards us.

“Glad to see you finally figured out what to wear,” she said cheekily.

I glanced across at Drew who was again, eyeing me up and down. I smiled politely and went back to staring aimlessly into the fire. I realised after a few moments that Cassie was still standing awkwardly in front of Drew and I.

“I’ll be back,” I said, standing up and grabbing Cassie’s hand. I pulled her away from Drew and the crowds of people.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, when we were out of earshot of Drew. I needn’t have worried, for as soon as I had left Drew’s side he got up and made his way over to the esky to find himself another drink.

“Yeah. Why?” Cassie replied.

“You just seem a little … awkward, around me and Drew,” I said.

Cassie looked away from me and back over to where the main party group had gathered.

“Cass, you can tell me,” I replied.

“You just seem to be getting awfully close to someone who you supposedly can’t stand,” she said, a touch of bitterness in her voice.

“I really can’t stand him!” I replied.

“You could have fooled me,” Cassie said sadly.

“Look, I don’t know what else to say, my opinion of Drew hasn’t changed. But we made a deal,” I stopped, Cassie was staring at me blankly, I could tell she was hurt, but why. Suddenly it dawned on me,

“Is this about Lucas?” I asked cautiously.

“What? No!” she exclaimed, as the song echoing out of the bass seemed to be turned up.

“You’re worried that if I continue to be nice to Drew, then everyone will find out about your thing for Lucas.”

“I’m not,” she spluttered, “And I don’t have a “thing” for Lucas.”

Cassie turned on her heel and began to walk back up the sand towards the congregation. But she turned suddenly and whipped around to face me. Over the loud music filling the beach she yelled,

“And since when do you call him Drew!”

* * * * *

A/N: Woo! 5 replies. Thank you Bec, Red Ranger 1, Laura, Marc and Lise. And if there is anyone reading this and not commenting ... See that 'Add Reply' button? Click it! Now!

[Jen]

Chapter 21 - The Kiss Never Lies

I was left standing there as Cass stormed back up to the party. I watched as she walked briskly away and disappeared into the crowd of the fire.

What just happened? Everything was fine. I was nice to Drew – I mean, Curtis – and hadn’t done anything wrong! How could Cass turn around and somehow accuse me of deceiving her! I hadn’t done anything!

I felt my fury build inside me. I felt very warm as I stalked back up to the gathering, although my mood to party had suddenly disappeared. I glanced around the crowd trying to find Drew.

Drew was back at the esky, taking jovially with a group of guys who also had beers in hand. He stumbled slightly as he made his way back over the dune. How many beers had he actually had?

“Hey! There you are!” he said loudly as he came up beside me. His arm draped over my shoulder.

“Sorry about that,” I said.

“No worries. I just hope everything is alright,” he replied, as he led me away from the group and down the stretch of beach.

I nodded in reply, although Drew didn’t seem to notice my reluctance. The distance was increasing between us and the rest of the party. The bass was decreasing and the breeze turned cool as it whipped along the shore. I suppose the fire really was keeping me warm. Now Drew stopped walking and I shivered.

“Are you cold?” Drew asked. I nodded again and Drew slipped his arms around my shoulders, leaning slightly on me as he tried to remain upright. I looked up at him in the moonlight. Without the warmth of the fire, he looked more pale, his eyes slightly bloodshot as they wandered lazily over my body. His hands began to do the same. To my astonishment, I just stood there.

I blame the need for heat. If it had been a warmer night, I would have thrown him off me as he began to rub his hands up and down my spine. How dare he start to touch me in that way! It’s the sort of behaviour you would expect from a couple, not two people who hated each other, went out of their way to annoy and provoke each other, and especially not from two people, when one of which had no intention of becoming a couple. This was all about the bet, nothing more. I certainly didn’t have feelings for Drew. But as I began to repeat his actions, slowly moving my hands from in front of me to around his waist, I felt exhilarated.

I looked up into his eyes again and before I had time to take in his soulful expression I felt his lips crash down on top of mine. My initial instinct was to pull away and splutter with disgust, but somehow the moment captured me by surprise and I felt myself being drawn in to the kiss. His lips touched me with such force that I held on to him even tighter, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him in closer. I felt Drew’s hands wander over my back, and feel his way up my spine. Tingles shot down my back as he fingered the hair at the nape of my neck. His breath smelled of beer and smoke as I inhaled deeply trying to prolong the moment for as long as possible. As his lips gently parted with mine there was a sudden rush as the breeze came between our mouths, but our bodies remained connected.

I gazed up at him and couldn’t help but smile. I felt my heart pounding inside my chest as I tried to regain my composure.

“You kiss good, Taylor,” he said in a hoarse voice.

-

I stared down at Taylor, her eyes lit up with energy from the kiss I had just planted on her. My mind was a blur. The buzz of the party and the numerous beers I had consumed seemed to have overtaken me. We were now standing, alone, on a deserted stretch of beach. Our arms still wrapped around each other, only our heads apart.

Wasn’t she going to say something? I had just kissed her! And I don’t just kiss anybody, not like that anyway. I blame the fact that I am slightly drunk. Otherwise that never would have happened. However, that kiss was unlike any I had had before. And I have had many. I didn’t need any more alcohol, I was drunk on love! Oh man, did I just think that! That’s definitely impossible. I certainly do not have any sort of romantic connection with Taylor. This is all to do with the bet, I needed to be convincing. I however, can’t speak for Taylor. If she hated me as much as she says she does, then she definitely wouldn’t have kissed back. But she did kiss back.

I saw Taylor gulp and avert her eyes away from me. The wind came up and swept her hair out of her face.

“You’re drunk,” she said simply.

“What? No,” I replied as I moved my arms from around her waist to her shoulders.

“Yes, you’re drunk” and she sounded disappointed.

“So?” I said, “It was a good kiss.”

Belle slipped out from under my arms and began to walk away. Go! Follow her. Why are my feet still rooted to the ground?

“Taylor!” I called out. But either she was very good at ignoring me or she couldn’t hear my voice over the music of the party still raging on, she kept walking.

Nice one, Drew. Way to stuff things up. Well, it’s not like I thought she would react in that way. Any girl would be stoked to have a guy like me kiss her like that. But Belle Taylor isn’t just any girl. I always forget that. She likes a challenge. She’s stubborn. If she did feel anything, and I’m pretty sure she did, she certainly wasn’t going to give it to me easily.

I slowly wandered back to the party, hoping to catch a glimpse of Belle. When I arrived however, the party had become a lot more sombre. Many people have obviously left, couples were now snuggling next to the fire, or the mix of alcohol and loud music had taken affect and caused many to pass out in the sand. I glanced around in the haze of people and slightly blurry vision but could not spy Taylor anywhere. I walked around, past the fire and up towards the dunes.

I wasn’t exactly watching where my feet were taking me, so it didn’t surprise me that I stumbled slightly as I reached the top. What did take me by surprise was that it wasn’t just a stray branch or bottle that I had fallen over, rather it was two intertwined bodies.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, but the bodies broke apart, and gazed up and me in the darkness.

“Drew!” exclaimed one; it was a voice I recognised.

“Lucas? What are you doing?”

The second, female body tried to hide her face behind my friend, but even I could still see the distinct long hair and sun kissed skin in the darkness.

Lucas blushed as Cassie tried to hide.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said slyly giving Lucas a raised eyebrow, “Does Taylor know what you’re doing?” I asked, directing my question at Cassie.

She came out from behind Lucas with a hurt look on her face and replied,

“Why would I care what Belle thinks?”

Girls confused me. Just when you thought you had figured them out, BAM! They knock you for six once more. First Belle, throwing my kiss back in my face, and now Cassie for some reason hooking up with my mate in a sand dune as revenge, what the?

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then,” I said, fighting my legs wanting to collapse beneath me and slowly walked home.

* * * * *

A/N: I heart your awesome comments Lise, Red Ranger 1 and Bec.

[Jen]

Chapter 22 - Like Poison Ivy

I decided that my best option would be to avoid Taylor at all costs. I didn’t want to push things after the incident at the party, and decided it would be best for both of us if I gave her time to cool off. Why, oh why, did I then do the exact opposite on Monday morning when I saw her all alone, head hidden inside her locker?

I walked into school, in my usually casual way. But today I didn’t even notice the two girls in extremely short dresses whispering in the corner. They stopped as I rounded the bend, and sigh slightly as I walked past. But I didn’t even wink at them. No smirk, smile or anything. They could have been invisible for all I noticed. I only had one thing on my mind.

I saw her standing outside her locker, books bundled in her hands and completely oblivious to me, rapidly approaching her. As her figure came closer with every step I did the one thing I had longed to do since the party. I grabbed her by the waist, causing her to drop her books before I grabbed her hand forcefully and dragged her away.

“Curtis, what the hell are you doing?”

“Let me go!”

We were quickly consumed by darkness as I pulled the door of the cupboard closed behind us. Before she could further object, splutter or swear at me I pushed my mouth to hers and kissed her.

I felt her go weak at the knees and lean back against the wall for support. I moved my hands from around her waist to cupping her flushing red cheeks in my hands. Belle grabbed a fistful of my shirt, pulling me closer. She held on tight as I parted her lips and let my tongue enter.

If her mouth was full of poison, like she would have me believe, then I surely would have been dead by now. Her arms were wrapped around my neck life a vine of ivy. I was tangled in her branches, more than I was caring to admit. The fact that we were making out in a broom cupboard at school seemed to speak for itself.

This time she was the one to withdraw first. Panting heavily we broke apart, her grip loosening on my shirt. The small confines of the broom cupboard suddenly became very real. There was very little room to move. Even if we stood on opposite walls, our feet would probably still be touching. But even testing this theory was impossible, given that most of the free space was occupied by brooms, buckets and other cleaning tools.

She stared up at me. Even in the dark I could tell that she was flustered, her cheeks the same rosy red as the night of the party. Her hair was no longer being kept tamed by her hair elastic; rather it was now sticking out in all directions from where my hand had previously been. Despite this, I couldn’t stop looking at her. She opened her mouth to speak, no doubt utter some seductive words so we could resume our display of affection.

“You’re a jerk,” she said in no more that a whisper.

“What?” I replied, shocked by her bitter tone.

“You’re an arrogant, rude, obnoxious, jerk,” she said sternly, slightly louder this time and emphasising each adjective.

“How can you say that after a kiss like that?” I spluttered, running my hand through my own hair.

“What gives you any right to do that? I never wanted to kiss you. At the party you were drunk, and I thought you made a mistake. But I will not be one of those girls who you think you can have your way with any time you want.”

She was glaring at me.

“Hey, it takes two people to tango,” I replied defensively.

“Well, I’m not dancing with you,” she said and pushed past me, deliberately elbowing me in the ribs as she opened the door and stormed out.

The door was now swinging on its hinges and the cool air of the hallway outside was filling the cupboard. I remained rooted to the spot, feeling goose bumps rise on my arms as the breeze swept past.

I slowly meandered through the crowded hallway trying to find my way.

Was Belle right? Is that how people saw me; as some guy who just used girls and then spat them out? In my efforts to get even closer to Taylor, I had inadvertently caused her to hate me even more – if that was possible. Man, I suck at this. It even looked like Lucas was having more luck in the relationship department than me. What had happened to the world?

Lucas was again, locking lips with Cassie Turner in the hallway. They quickly pulled apart as they saw me approach. Cassie blushed and quickly dismissed herself as I came up to Luc.

“See ya, Drew,” she said as she sped off into a nearby classroom.

“Bye, Turner.” I replied, before turning face on to Lucas and asking, “What is going on there?”

“Nothing,” Lucas said sheepishly, trying to turn away from me by fidgeting with his tie.

“Oh, yeah?” I said, “This is me you’re talking to man, you can tell me.”

Lucas looked at me suspiciously, as if weighing up my motives in his head.

“I saw her at the party. I think she had had an argument with Belle and seemed a bit upset. We ended up talking and having a few drinks.” He looked up at me at this point. I was listening intently. Maybe this would give me an insight into Taylor’s sudden mood changes.

“We just talked,” he said again, “And then, one thing led to another.”

“So I see,” I replied.

Lucas looked around awkwardly as we made our way down the halls to class. I walked solemnly beside him, deciding whether to ask whether Cassie had said anything about Taylor when they were “talking”. As if he could read my mind, Lucas said,

“She didn’t say what the fight was about.”

I shrugged.

“You haven’t got anything to do with this, have you?” Lucas asked suspiciously.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Trust me man, I’ve got no idea what is going on with those girls.”

“Maybe we should call the whole thing off,” Lucas said cautiously.

“Afraid, you’ll lose?”

“No, it’s just that messing with their friendship wasn’t part of the deal.” Aww, Lucas cared. It was rather … cute. And I never thought I would use that word. Ever.

“You got it bad,” I replied, grabbing him roughly around his shoulders and wrestling slightly.

He pulled out from under my lose headlock and staggered to regain his footing.

“Sorry, the bet still stands,” Lucas looked disappointed, “Unless you’ve got two hundred bucks you’re willing to hand over right now.”

“Not likely,” Lucas replied as we arrived at the door of the classroom.

“Come on, boys,” Mr Bartlett said angrily as we arrived.

“Sorry, Sir,” Lucas said as we both strolled in. Lucas quickly took his seat, while I spent a moment longer looking around the room. Taylor was nowhere in sight.

* * * * *

A/N: I apologise. I swore to myself after the last chapter that I wouldn’t write another make out session like it. But somehow, I did. So comments, suggestions are appreciated. Is it too full on? Let me know and thanks for keeping with me for so long.

[Jen]

Chapter 23 - No Backing Out

I was sitting by myself on the sand, just watching the waves roll off the rocks. There was not a breath of wind, as I soaked in the full rays of the sun. I don’t know how long I had actually been down here. I just had to get away from him. I was fuming, so before I could lash out at some innocent bystander I ran off. No one would notice I was gone anyway. I replayed the events from the last hour through my head for about the millionth time. The memory of us, caught in the moment, in that very small space, was still fresh. It was as if he had only just pulled away. For a moment I felt exhilarated, but then the reality came crashing down around me. I was just another notch in his every extending belt, a little pawn in this game of strategy, so my feelings evidently didn’t matter.

How could he do that? How could he just kiss me – again? I know I said I was going to be nice to him, but this is going way too far. Drew had to know about the bet. He knew that I was deliberately making an effort to be civilised, and he’s gone and done this so I’ll lose! Well, two can play at that game. Wait, until Cassie hears about this. Oh wait, she’s not really talking to me at the moment. And I’m not entirely sure why. This whole situation has become completely out of hand. But, it’s too late to back out now.

I saw a figure walking slowly along the shore. The water lapped at their ankles as they approached. I pretended to be enthralled by the pattern my fingers made in the sand as I tried to avoid eye contact. All I needed now was for someone I know to see me down here, then I’d have to explain what was going on and before you know it, I’d probably spill my guts. I was that angry was Drew and Cassie that I couldn’t trust myself to say anything rational. I quickly looked up again and saw the body coming closer. They too seemed to be lost in their own world. As the sun moved behind a cloud the features of the person appeared, and I realised that they were in fact familiar. Her hair was swept back into a pony tail and she was holding her school shoes in one hand as she walked along. Her tanned face looked up and saw me on the beach. She didn’t smile.

Go talk to her! She’s obviously not doing any better than you are. Move. Now.

I got up from my spot on the sand and dusted the sand from the back of my dress and walked down the shore. Cassie was still walking along at a steady pace so when I reached the shoreline we unavoidably met.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hi,” she replied.

Cassie attempted to keep walking, but I grabbed onto her wrist and said,

“Cassie, wait.” and then it all came tumbling out. “I am so sorry if you felt that I was neglecting you because I was spending more time with Drew. I didn’t mean to. I just got so caught up in the idea of wiping that stupid smirk off his face that I didn’t think how this was affecting you. No guy is worth messing up our friendship. I only now realise that how much of a jerk Drew is, and he is never going to change. I have wanted to talk to you since the party, but I was afraid you wouldn’t want to hear from me. I’m really sorry.”

I finally drew breath and to my relief saw I small smile creep over Cassie’s face.

“It’s okay, Belle,” she said, “It’s not your fault. I was the one who totally over-reacted. This whole thing was my idea in the first place. I shouldn’t have blamed you. So I’m sorry too.”

I smiled, for the first time in two days, and it felt good. The rock sitting in the pit of my stomach that had been there since the party had lifted, and relief swept over me. At that moment, Drew Curtis himself could have waltz down to the beach and kissed me again, and I wouldn’t have cared.

I pulled Cassie into a hug. The sun was barrelling on us, and a warm breeze had picked up, causing us both to squeal and pull our hands away to stop our dressing flying up. We both laughed at our similar reactions.

“So,” I said happily, linking arms with Cassie and continuing to walk along the beach, “What did you end up doing after …” I trailed off. We had only just reconciled, I didn’t mean to bring it up again so soon.

“After our little argument,” Cassie supplied. I nodded.

“Not much. I didn’t really feel like partying in the end. So I just went home.”

Cassie wasn’t looking at me; instead she was using her free hand to twirl the end of her hair. She only did this when she was lying.

“Come on, Cass. This is me you’re talking to.” But Cassie refused to elaborate, so I decided that it was my duty as best friend to try and get it out of her.

-

It was like extracting teeth. Cassie refused to talk, but she had a broad grin across her face for every suggestion I made. Each one was more extravagant than the next. So by the time we reached the Surf Club I exclaimed very loudly,

“You went to the Surf Club,” as we walked through the door, “And met Orlando Bloom! And he’s invited you to come and star in his next movie.”

Cassie looked at me with an expression saying ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ and we both burst into another fit of giggles. She took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself as we approached the juice counter.

Alf Stewart had just finished serving another customer and swivelled around when he heard our loud laughter.

“Settle down you two. You’ll scare all my customers away,” but he also had a smile on his face.

“Sorry, Mr Stewart,” Cassie replied,

“What can I get for you?”

“Two orange and mango juices, please,” Cassie replied, selecting our favourites.

“Coming right up. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring them over.”

“Thanks,” I replied happily and a dragged Cassie over to the lounge in the corner. We sat down side by side and Cassie began to flip through a magazine that had been left on the little table in front of us.

“Oh no, Cassie Turner. Don’t think you can get away that easily,” I said, pulling the magazine out of her reach and placing it on the floor. Cassie pouted and crossed her arms over her chest and sat back on the lounge defiantly.

I locked eyes with her and continued to stare. She continued to give me evils but neither of us broke eye contact. My eyes began to water, but Cass seemed to be holding up remarkably well. It was time for devious tactics. I poked my tongue out, and twisted it into a barrel. She stared at my tongue for a moment, but then blinked as she looked back up at my eyes.

“Ah ha!” I exclaimed.

“That is really wrong,” she said, unfolding her arms, as Alf placed our drinks on the table in front of us.

I took a sip of the juice; letting it sit in my mouth before swallowing. The drink was a cool change compared with the warm weather outside. I took another sip before asking,

“Are you going to tell me the big national secret or what?”

“You’re never going to give up on this are you?” Cassie reluctantly replied.

I shook my head and Cass placed her drink down on the table, sighing as she did so.

“Ok,” I beamed, “But if I tell you, you have to promise not to laugh.” I mimed myself locking my lips and throwing away the key.

“I said, don’t laugh, not don’t say anything at all,” Cassie replied cheekily.

“Ok, fine. I promise I won’t laugh.” I erased the smile from my face and waited for Cassie to begin.

“Well, after I walked off I went back to the party. I didn’t see anyone else I knew, so I began to head home. Except on the way I ran into Lucas,” Cassie blushed but continued quickly, avoiding my eyes, “He saw that I was a bit upset, so we sat and talked for a while.”

She stopped, her eyes glazing over, as if she was reminiscing of a better time. A small smile appeared on her face.

“And then it just sort of happened.”

Wait, what? Cassie and Lucas!

She looked up at me. I could feel my eyes bulging out of my head as I stared at her. I fought the grin wanting to spread across my face. I suppressed it with a cough, before saying in my most girly voice,

“Aww, that is so sweet.” I couldn’t help but smile.

Cassie turned a deep shade of red and looked away.

“I knew you’d laugh,” she muttered.

“Do you see me laughing?” I said, still smiling at her.

Cassie smiled shyly as she looked back at me.

“I like him,” she said simply.

“Then, I’m happy for you,” I said, giving her a quick hug.

It was so good to have Cassie back. And now she was with Lucas. Suddenly, the rock appeared in my stomach once more. Cassie had a boyfriend, and me? I was leading some jerk along without any real feelings. Or at least, without any romantic feelings. I had certain emotions towards Drew – frustration, pity, anger – but none of these meant that I wanted to make out with him. But good on Cassie, she deserves to have someone who will look out for her, and I think Lucas is a pretty decent guy. I’ll forgive him for his poor choice of friends. Why he wants to hang out with Drew on a regular basis is anyone’s guess.

“So, is he a good kisser?” I asked suddenly, causing Cassie to whack me rather hard across the arm.

* * * * *

A/N: Woop! That last chapter got 7 reviews. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. Maybe I should write some more make-out sessions if you like them that much . Anyway, enjoy the update and as always please comment and review.

[Jen]

Chapter 24 - Girls are Weird. Period.

Something had obviously gone down between Belle and Cassie. I walked into the Surf Club during my free period to see the two girls sitting on the cane lounge in the corner, laughing and chatting like nothing had happened. This morning neither of them were talking, and acting as though the Grand Canyon stood between them, now it seemed they had both crossed the bridge and were joined in the middle.

Quickly spying an empty seat behind the bar, in the far corner of the club, I took a few swift steps out of view of the Belle and Cassie. I sat down on one side of the table, and peering through the many glass bottles that lined the back shelf of the bar, I could still see the girls chatting in the opposite corner. My eyes remained locked on Taylor. She took a large sip of her drink, her lips pursed around the straw. Those lips, which I had only been touching moments before, although it seemed like an eternity.

Belle had not returned to class following my attempt to hold her hostage in the broom cupboard. I had no idea where she had gone, so spent every moment I wasn’t in class waiting outside her locker, hoping she would return. The second bell had already signalled the start of class, but I remained leaning on Taylor’s locker staring down the corridor. In an instant Mr Bartlett had appeared at my side, and had great pleasure in lecturing me about my tardy behaviour. His long spiel about my attitude towards school had sucked some serious seconds out of my search for Taylor, and I was sent packing into class as a result.

It appeared however, that my search was in vein. Taylor appeared to be alive and well, and not even remotely interested in me, or my lips. I watched as Taylor glanced down at her watch, before exchanging a few more words with Turner. She gave her a brief hug before standing and walking carelessly from the room. My eyes glazed over as I remained staring at the now empty lounge.

“Could you be any more obvious?”

A voice interrupted my staring and I rapidly blinked twice, before being able to focus on the person who had just sat down opposite me.

Cassie Turner was happily sitting across from me, a satisfied smile on her face.

I shook my head, attempting to remove the blank expression on my face. Cassie let out a reluctant sigh and shook her head to herself before muttering,

“Boys are hopeless.”

“Girls are weird,” I replied, hoping to rattle her slightly, but she only shrugged. “They say one thing, do another, and then ignore you for the rest of the time.”

“Well, your signals were coming across pretty loud and clear from where I was sitting,” she said, nodding towards the lounge where two sweaty gym junkies now sat.

“How long have you liked, Belle?” she asked suddenly.

“What’s it like pashing my best mate?” I asked in retaliation.

“Don’t change the subject,” Cassie snapped.

“What do you want me to say?” I sighed.

“Do you, or do you not, have a thing for my best friend?” Cassie asked simply, her tone was serious.

She was staring at me, waiting for my answer. This is Belle Taylor’s best friend. You can guarantee that anything you say now will be taken down and used in evidence against you. It even felt like I was in court, sitting before the prosecutor, who was asking accusatory questions at me. In this case I was not being forced to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, however my stomach had tightened so much when Cassie had asked me the million dollar question, that I was having trouble formulating any sort of reply at this stage. I dropped my gaze, and chose to fiddle with the coaster that was on the table.

Cassie smiled and nodded to herself. Clearly, my lack of an answer supplied her with all the information she needed to find a guilty verdict.

“You can’t tell anyone,” I hissed at her.

“Don’t worry,” she replied, “You’re secret is safe with me. The question is, what are you going to do about it.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

Cassie shrugged.

“Well, you’re no help,” I moped, sitting back in my seat and folding my arms grumpily.

“Why is it that the girls have to do all the thinking?” Cassie asked.

“Well, it’s not like we guys hang around you for any other reason,” I replied casually.

Cassie’s lips formed a thin line and her eyes glared at me momentarily. If I wasn’t careful I would have to deal with the wrath of not just Taylor, but also her best friend.

I sighed to myself, the realisation of my feelings for Taylor looming over me like a big, black storm cloud.

“Do you really think she will want to have anything to do with me?” I asked Cassie seriously.

“If you do things right,” she began slowly, “then I think you have a good chance.”

I nodded solemnly in reply. Cassie gave me a hopeful smile before sliding out from the behind the table. As she left she placed her hand on my shoulder and said barely audibly,

“Good luck.”

-

I had been a jerk. That I was not disputing. But I had no idea how I could make things up to Taylor. It’s not like I could take her out to a fancy restaurant and beg for her forgiveness given that we weren’t actually communicating. Besides, that is the sort of thing you would do for a girl who was actually your girlfriend, not your mortal enemy. For Belle Taylor bungy jumping off the Sydney Harbour Bridge wouldn’t be enough, let alone simply asking her to give me another chance. She would make me earn every ounce of it.

My feet had led themselves along the beach. I was walking absent-mindedly along the foreshore, my mind going through every moment of my conversation with Cassie and her advice – ‘If you do things right, then I think you have a good chance.’

I pushed my hands into the pockets of my jeans and stalked along the sand. I heard the twitter of giggles as I passed a group of bikini-clad girls lying on the sand. I looked over to see the three girls adjust their positions on their towels, ensuring that only the bare minimum of skin was covered. One tilted her sunglasses forward and gave me a wink. I stopped and stared for a moment as the other two began to giggle awkwardly. My mouth gawked open as I remained puzzled by their actions. Did I really used to go for chicks like that?

“So, Drew,” the brunette spoke. She propped herself up onto her elbow, legs extended out in front of her. “Have you got a date for the school formal yet?” she asked, smoothly.

“Um ... I,” I stuttered.

The girl rose to her feet gracefully and took two large strides towards me. I stumbled back slightly at her forwardness.

“Because if you don’t,” she continued, “then I’m available.”

I suddenly imagined her in a long silky gown; hugging her perfect hips and revealing the shape of her breast. I looked up into her eyes, her brown hair cascading around her face, but I felt nothing. No spark, no urge to grab hold and never let go.

“Sorry,” I said, my voice finally returning, “I already have a date.”

The brunette’s smile faded immediately and she turned, pouting, and went back to her friends. I heaved a sigh of relief before tearing off along the beach.

My heart thumped loudly inside my chest as I jogged up the sandy pathway towards the diner. I could hear my own breath ringing in my ears and the slight moan of the wind blustering through the trees, but I did not stop.

All of sudden everything seemed so simple. The reasons why this all began, and my long term goal seemed within reach and all I needed to do was stretch out my hand and take it.

* * * * *

A/N: Thanks so much for the comments Lise, Marc, Red Ranger 1, Zoe, Bec and Adelle_fan1000!

[Jen]

Chapter 25 – Back Where We Started

I slammed my locker shut with as much strength as I could muster. The loud crunch of the latch falling into place was soothing to the torment that was raging inside me. I was back exactly where I started.

I was prepared, and quite relieved actually to be back deliberately ignoring the existence of Mop-Top Curtis after he kissed me, not once, but twice without my consent. I had made a resolute promise with myself not to speak to him, look at him, if he tried to communicate with me, I would walk away. It was all perfectly simple.

My arms were loaded with my books for my morning classes, my back pack slung over one shoulder. The noise of the corridor suddenly quietened, as though a wall had just been erected directly behind me. I suddenly felt all the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. There was a delicate breathing in my ear, his warm breathe cascading down my nape. I shivered involuntarily and slowly turned around.

Once again, it was his eyes that caused me to lose all control of my bodily function and remain rooted to the spot. My hands became numb under the weight of my load, but I couldn’t look away. Those dark irises pulling me deeply in to him, making me loosen my grip ever so slightly. It was enough. The books I was holding dropped to the floor with a loud crash and scattering between the feet of passing students.

Drew blinked, breaking the eye contact we had previously maintained. He looked around before crouching down slowly and beginning to retrieve my possessions.

I knew I should have been helping him but I couldn’t move. I watched as he gathered up my books, the last one resting open at my feet. Still crouching on the floor he looked up, once again captivating me in his glance. He stood up very slowly, never taking his eyes away from mine. We were back where we started, except this time, he was holding the books and I was left with nothing to do with my hands, except ball them tightly into fists to restrain myself from lunging at him, and throwing my arms around his neck.

He leant forward, his mouth parted very slightly. The bustle of the hallways dissolved before me as his black curls blocked my vision. I forced myself to breathe, this time preparing myself for what was about to come – his lips pressing themselves against mine. I closed my eyes, straining to hear just the steady inhaling and exhaling of his breath in my face. But the moment never came. Instead, he leant into my ear and whispered words that were only meant for me,

“Meet me on the beach. 7 o’clock tonight. Come alone.”

I let out a disappointed sigh, and as he levered my books back into my arms I whispered in return,

“Who are you and what have you done with Drew Curtis?”

I heard him let out a small chuckle before the fresh breeze caused by rushing students returned. I opened my eyes, blinking twice as my eyes readjusted to the sudden influx of colour. Drew was nowhere to be seen.

Cassie bound up to me happily, but stopped short when she saw my vacant expression.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked.

All I could do was nod dumbly as she gave me a wary look before dragging me off to class.

-

The day passed as a blur.

I went through the motions of attending classes, talking to Cassie who was currently deliriously happy in her new romance with Lucas, but even that couldn’t account for the fact that she kept squirming in her seat every time she mentioned Drew in conversation. This happened to be a lot.

Before I knew it the bell had rung to signal the end of the day and I was left at home to waste away the three hours before my rendezvous. I had had second, third and fourth thoughts about meeting him that evening. What if it was a trick? A scheme to manipulate me in some way. But although I racked my head for all the possible reasons why Drew would want to cause my life nothing but misery and meaningless kisses, no real reasons reared its ugly head.

I saw him before he saw me. He was standing, jeans rolled up to his knees, with his feet in the water. He was still in his school uniform, though his shirt had been untucked and tie removed, his top button undone. He seemed as though he was a million miles away, just staring aimlessly out to sea.

I took a deep breath and forced my feet to walk one in front of the other towards him. Every crunch of the sand beneath my toes seemed to echo loudly and I was surprised he didn’t turn around until I was right at his side.

“Hey,” my voice croaked.

He looked down; his expression became startled before resting in a content smile.

“Hi,” he replied, “I wasn’t sure you would come.”

“Well, it was either this, or sit at home doing my trigonometry homework. I guess you won out in the end.”

Drew chuckled and looked away from me again. I followed his gaze onto the horizon. There was nothing out there, no boats, no big waves. The ocean was perfectly calm as the golden sun began to set.

“Listen,” Drew said seriously, still watching the horizon, “I wanted to apologise.” I looked up at him, astonished at his solemnity. “For everything,” he added sheepishly, “It was stupid of me to kiss you like that.”

I remembered that afternoon in the diner when he began to open up about his mother. I had never seen him so unguarded and genuine. The same Drew was here with me now. My heart pounded loudly inside my chest and I forced myself to continue to breathe in the salty air.

“Is that it?” My words seemed harsh against his seriousness and apologetic tone. I immediately regretted them.

“Um, no,” Drew replied, finally pulling his eyes away from the ocean and back to me. He looked down at me with those eyes that I had become so familiar with and sighed.

“I was actually wondering if you wanted to go to the formal with me,” his voiced quivered slightly. Could it be possible that he was nervous?

“You want to go to the formal with me?” I asked incredulously.

“Surprisingly enough, yes,” Drew said with an off-laugh, “Call me crazy, but I find you rather ...” he searched for the appropriate word, “endearing.”

My eyes widened and my eyebrows shot up into and arch.

“That is when I’m not yelling or ignoring or abusing you, right?” I said.

Drew nodded, but his lips were turned up in a smile.

I finally let out a giggle and sighed happily.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

I nodded and Drew grinned.

“Good,” he said contently. “I really wanted to do this right.”

“How wrong could you get it?” I asked, suddenly feeling, well, endearing at his compliment.

“Let’s just say, I wanted to make sure you were nowhere near heavy objects, liquids that might stain or in a forum for you to publicly humiliate me.”

I laughed,

“At least if things had gone horribly wrong out here my only option would have been to drown myself,” he said off-handily.

I gasped at his thoughts, but it was Drew’s turn to laugh.

“I’m kidding,” he said.

“I knew that,” I replied sheepishly, “But just so we’re clear. I’m going with you as friends. Nothing more.”

“Friends,” Drew mused, “I think I can handle that.”

We stood silently together, side by side, just staring out to sea, looking at nothing in particular. For me at least it was a chance for my thoughts finally to catch up with my actions. I had no idea what was going through Curtis’ mind, and frankly I don’t think I wanted to know.

I can’t believe I’m going to the formal with Drew Curtis. Why did I agree to this again? And we’re going as friends. This means we actually must be friends, which means that we actually like each other. Not like, like each other, but enough to hang out solitarily for one night in front of a quarter of the school. I guess it could be worse. Who knows, it might actually be fun.

I can already hear Cassie squealing in my ear when I tell her. And she’ll think this is all her doing too, especially when it was technically her idea to make me even consider being nice to Curtis in the first place. But he does not need to know that.

* * * * *

A/N: Thank you, thank you to my awesome commenters/reviewers!

[Jen]

Chapter 26 – A Night To Remember

I examined myself in the mirror one last time.

I had been locked in there for the last hour putting the final touches on my outfit. I wasn’t going to show myself until it was perfect. The night needed to be perfect. I tugged at the one frilly strap of my white dress. It cascaded easily around my feet as I slipped on my shoes. They were unnaturally high, and another fear rose in the pit of my stomach. What if I fell? The black silk ribbon tied around my waist suddenly felt tight and I pulled out the bow to re-tie it once more. My fingers fumbled and sweat threatened to burst from my palms as I struggled with the knot.

I looked back into the mirror for one last time, my hair held firmly out of my face with a red ribbon acting as a headband, making my brown eyes stand out more than usual. It was slightly unnerving to see so much of my face all at once. I was always used to having my fringe to hide behind and reflect my mood. Now I felt completely exposed. But there was nothing I could do about it now. I sighed and pulled open my bedroom door.

I stepped out of my room and into the lounge room, carefully ensuring that I didn’t fall or trip in my shoes. All I needed now was a rip in my dress. I cautiously looked up to see Irene beaming. She clasped her hands together at her chest.

“You look lovely, darl,” she said fondly.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, adjusting my strap once more.

There was suddenly a great flash of bright, white light. I blinked, momentarily stunned like a deer in the headlights. As the glittering lights dissolved from my sight I saw that Irene had plucked a camera from nowhere and had begun to take photos.

“Come on, smile,” she chimed.

I forced a smile through gritted teeth, as Irene took multiple shots. While my face may have been stone, my stomach was doing back flips. I swallowed hard as Irene placed the camera on the table and came over to me.

“Now, girly,” she said sternly, “I know this is a big night for you, but don’t you go getting yourself into any trouble. You hear?”

I nodded solemnly, but despite Irene’s attempt at being serious, I could still see she was gushing with pride. She glanced over my shoulder at the clock on the wall.

“You’d better get going,” she said hurriedly, “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?”

“No it’s fine, Irene. I think I need the fresh air,” I replied, looking over my shoulder and out the window. There was no sign of Drew.

“It’s rude to be late,” she muttered.

“Drew said he’d be here, and I’m sure he will,” I replied, although I could hear the slight tremor in my voice.

“Belle love, I’m not quite sure what you see in this boy –“ Irene began.

“We’re just friends,” I reminded her.

“Right, well. Just as long as he knows that,” she stated.

I gave her a small smile, just as there was a single knock from behind. I turned slowly to see Drew Curtis standing in the doorway, a single red rose held out in front of him. I grinned as he stepped forward, his black shoes squeaking slightly on the vinyl tiles of the kitchen floor.

“Wow, you look beautiful,” Drew said, his eyes wondering up from my frilling hem all the way along my body and coming to rest at eye level.

“Thanks,” I replied shyly, “You look pretty good yourself.” Drew was dressed in a traditional black suit. He sported a thin black tie over a crisp white shirt, buttoned all the way to the top. He squirmed slightly within it, no doubt feeling very restricted by the black tie dress code.

“Good evening, Irene,” Drew said.

“Hello, Drew,” Irene replied, her tone strained to remain neutral.

I gave her a thankful smile, before turning back to Drew.

“I guess we had better get going.”

“Yeah, sure,” he stammered, “This is for you by the way.” He held out the rose. I carefully stepped forward and took it from him, my fingertips grazing the side of his hand. I felt a short spark. My eyes shot up to his, he was staring.

Irene cleared her throat from behind and I quickly pulled away the flower and rested it on the table. I gave her a small wave and headed for the door, although I forgot that my feet were further from the ground than normal, and catching my heel in the corner of my dress lurched forward awkwardly. Drew instinctively threw out his arms as I tripped, grabbing hold of my elbow, giving me time to steady myself. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I could feel Irene boring holes into the back of my head as she watched me stumble around in Drew’s arms.

Once my feet were firmly on the ground once more I yanked my elbow out of his grip and walked past him and out the door as fast as I could.

“A simple thank you would have been fine,” I heard him say. I hitched up my dress and continued to walk determinedly into the darkness.

His footsteps quickened and with my slow walking pace he soon fell into stride alongside me.

“Just because we are going together doesn’t mean you can get any funny ideas,” I said grumpily, refusing to look over at him.

I heard him chuckle,

“Don’t worry. I’ll just dance with my hands tied behind my back. Is that better?” he taunted.

“Yes, thank you.”

He sighed,

“You are one strange girl, Taylor.” His tone wasn’t accusatory or angry, just merely stating the obvious.

-

We walked into the school hall together. The remainder of the walk had been in silence, except for my occasional stumble in my new shoes which caused Drew to let out a low laugh at my expense. The hall was almost unrecognisable. The lights were dim, multiple colours swirling along the walls and onto the dance floor that was situated at one end in front of the stage. Many couples were already swaying to the music; the guys moving awkwardly from one foot to the other while they gaped at their partners twirling carelessly in long, flowing dresses. Balloons and streamers hung from the corners in a theme of black, white and silver. Those that weren’t dancing were sitting in groups at the round tables set at the opposite end of the room. Each table had a simple white table cloth with a single helium balloon floating up from the middle.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the cheesiness of it all. There was a slight nudge beside me as Drew moved his weight from one foot to the other, clearly overwhelmed by the extravagance of the location. His eyes were scanning the room, looking over all the other couples, before looking down at me.

He stuck out his elbow at an awkward angle.

“Shall we?” he asked.

My eyebrows shot up in an arch, surprised at his gentleman behaviour.

“My mum told me it was the right thing to do,” he said sheepishly.

“Aww, well if mummy says it’s right, then maybe I should,” I replied sarcastically.

“Forget it,” he mumbled, pulling back his arm and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

“I’m joking,” I said, “Just relax.” Why couldn’t I take my own advice?

There was a sudden squeal and I saw a flurry of yellow and orange as Cassie descended on me, followed slowly by Lucas who had acquired a stance eerily similar to Drew’s.

“You look amazing!” she exclaimed.

“I love that colour!”

“Your hair!”

“Your shoes!”

Cassie pulled me close to her, the music increasing in volume as the crowd filed onto the dance floor.

“Don’t the boys look handsome,” she giggled, gazing across at Lucas and Drew standing side by side staring at the drinks table with longing.

“Yeah, they seemed thrilled,” I muttered.

“Let’s dance!” Cassie said happily, grabbing my wrist and yanking me away from the doorway. On the way she pulled along Lucas who shot Drew a glare indicating that he had to join us, or die. As much as he liked Cassie, I don’t think he wanted to be left alone with her on a crowded dance floor just yet. Drew reluctantly followed our trio into the muddle of bodies and was soon trapped beside me, the sleeve of his jacket rubbing on my bare skin. The tingling sensation returned and refused to subside as I allowed Cassie to twirl and spin around me as Lucas looked on, his eyes growing wider with each move.

“I’m getting a drink,” Drew said suddenly, and pushing his way past a short guy in glasses, he disappeared.

* * * * *

A/N: FYI, Belle’s dress is modelled off the one Jessica Tovey wore to the 2007 Logies. I thought she looked gorgeous, and of course she arrived on Bobby Morley’s arm .

I had this chapter written well before some of the earlier ones, so I hope you like. It's kind of what I modelled the whole fic around. Thank you so much for the comments Jack+Martha4Eva!, Red Ranger 1, Steph, Lise, Zoe and Laura

[Jen]

Chapter 27 – Confessions

I sat down at the table we had claimed earlier in the night and set my drink down on the crisp white table cloth. I stared at the little beads of water trickling down the edge, gaining momentum before they dissolved into the cotton. It seemed like that was the way things were inevitably going to head.

Even when I tried to be the perfect gentleman Taylor still didn’t take me seriously. So why should I put in all the effort? If she wants this to work, then she is going to have to pull her own weight too. Whatever ‘this’ is. My whole life was heading in the same direction as a single water droplet – gaining enough momentum for it to hurt when it all when splat.

Screw making an effort, screw this whole formal, I don’t need any of it. If you don’t commit to things then there is no reason to be disappointed when things don’t work out. At least I learnt something useful from my mother.

There was a scraping of metal against wood and I pulled myself out of my own self pity to see Lucas sitting down next to me, a goofy smile on his face.

“This is kinda fun, isn’t it?” he said breathlessly.

“Sure,” I replied sarcastically, “If you like bopping around to cheesy music and getting all sweaty.”

Lucas looked across the table at me.

“What’s eating you, man?’ he asked, his grin disappearing. Clearly my foul mood was contagious.

“Nothing,” I muttered.

“This hasn’t got anything to do with Taylor giving you the cold shoulder on the dance floor, does it?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. I had left the dance floor well before things got heated, let alone Taylor dancing with anyone else. Sure, she was dancing with Cassie, but that hardly counted.

I looked up from Lucas into the sea of bodies all swarming around the stage. Heads bobbed up and down in time to the music. And there was Taylor right up the front, Cassie to her right dance melodically, and to her left a guy I hardly recognised. He was short, about a full head shorter than Taylor and had dark hair sticking out in all directions and was wearing glasses, which he had to keep pushing up his nose every time he bounced. She was smiling broadly showing both rows of teeth, before letting out a laugh as Harry Potter junior held out his hand for Taylor to dance under.

How long had I actually been sitting down?

I placed both my hands on the table and pushed myself out of my seat. I could feel my breathing getting heavier, my heart pounding along to the bass of the music as I stepped on to the dance floor once more. I strode purposefully between the gliding bodies and fluttering satin material, never taking my eyes off her.

I was standing right beside her before she noticed I was there. Her smile faded immediately as she looked up and saw my eyes glaring back at her.

“Drew,” she said, panting. Her dorky dance partner stopped doing the worm with his upper body and stared back at me. Taylor glanced from me to Harry and back again.

“Drew, you know Derek, right? He’s in our Science class, except he actually pays attention,” Taylor said, gesturing to the sweaty boy beside her. Derek pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose before holding out one sweaty hand for me to shake.

“Hey, Drew. How’s it going?” he said.

I just stared at Taylor, not even acknowledging that Derek had spoken. He reluctantly put his hand away into his pocket.

“Listen, Belle, I’ll catch up with you later,” Derek said, leaning in to give Taylor a quick kiss on the cheek before evacuating the dance floor.

My head began to throb as the next song began to echo from the speakers. It was a fast number, each bass note reverberating around my mind as I continued to stare.

“God, Drew. What is your problem?” Taylor shouted over the music, “He was just trying to be friendly.”

“A little too friendly,” I muttered, folding my arms across my chest.

“Oh how ironic! You wouldn’t know friendly if it came and bit you on the arse,” she spat back.

“What are you talking about? I brought you here tonight, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah and you seem to be having a ball,” she rolled her eyes.

“Well I’m sorry I’m not the guy you thought I was!”

“That’s right. You’re a bigger tool that I ever could have anticipated!”

“Gosh, that hurts,” I replied, my tone oozing sarcasm, “I’m completely gutted to be insulted by a chick who I was almost paid to go out with.”

Taylor stopped, her lip trembling momentarily. I already knew that I had said too much.

“What?” she said, her voice shaking, but she was no longer yelling.

“You heard me,” I replied, “You’re worth two hundred bucks apparently.”

There was a slight scuffle beside me as the dance floor appeared to part slightly. I looked across to see Cassie and Lucas standing beside me. Their faces fell when they saw Taylor and I glaring at each other.

“What do you mean two hundred bucks?” Taylor asked, taking a step forward.

I could feel Lucas’ eyes darting between myself and Taylor. Cassie on the other hand stood very still, as if she had intruded on a private meeting and was hoping not to be noticed.

“Dude, just stop,” Lucas said calmly.

“No Luc, she has a right to know exactly what the plan was all along,” I said sharply.

“Yeah, Lucas I am suddenly very intrigued to hear what this grand plan was,” Taylor replied. Despite the fact that she was in a ball dress and still wearing those heels, she sank back into her knees and crossed her arms firmly across her chest.

“Lucas and I made a bet,” I said suddenly.

“Drew stop,” Lucas intervened.

“No Lucas, let him finish,” Taylor said, holding out her hand.

Lucas fell silent.

“Come on, Belle. Let’s go,” Cassie said, stepping off the arm of Lucas and towards Taylor.

“Cass, leave it!” Taylor said angrily, throwing off Cassie’s hand as she attempted to escort her away. “Go on, Curtis. Tell me everything.”

Her eyes were taunting me. There are some things people never want to hear, and that you were the centre of a bet is one of them. Once you tell a person that you can never go back. And even though I knew that I shouldn’t, she was standing there daring me to continue. Everything was already screwed up, so why stop now?

“Lucas and I made a bet. Two hundred bucks said that I could get you to go to the formal with me as my girlfriend,” I said.

The words hung in the air like the notes of the music. The song had slowed considerably and everywhere I looked people had paired up and were dancing together. Their bodies were moving methodically to the rhythm, with very little space between them. Then why did it feel like there was an elephant standing right between Belle Taylor and myself.

“Let’s get one thing very clear, Curtis,” Taylor said, stepping forward once more so that her nose was almost touching my chest. Except, she wasn’t looking at my chest, she was staring me straight in the eye. She said each word with calculated determination. “I am not your girlfriend. You lost.”

There were no tears. No remorse for what had been said, just built up anger and frustration that had been a long time coming. I couldn’t stand to look at her any more. Her beautiful features marred by disappointment and resentment. Her brow furrowed into a straight line and her lips, those lips that I had kissed, were now thin and definitely not smiling.

I turned and left.

-

No one seemed to notice. The happy couples around me continued to dance, oblivious to the argument that had just gone down between me and Curtis that resulted in him storming away. Typical; when things get tough, Drew Curtis bails. No wonder he has had so many girlfriends, it’s impossible for him to commit to a single thing for any extended period of time.

The space where Drew was standing was quickly filled by a girl hugging her man tightly, their feet gliding across the floor to the slow love song.

I looked from Cassie to Lucas. They both looked shocked, their faces frozen in time. I couldn’t handle their staring. I spotted a gap between a pink and green dress and made a dash, this time not allowing my heels to slow me down.

However once I left the school hall they seemed to slow down at every turn. My shoes managed to fall into every pothole, step on every loose rock and trip over every bump in the bitumen as I stormed across the school car park.

My breathing was heavy, my eyes beginning to prickle with tears as the cold night air whipped around my face. I rubbed my eyes ferociously, black smudges appearing on the back of my hand from my make-up .I didn’t care; there was no point anymore.

If I never see Drew Curtis again it will be too soon. He can go jump off a cliff, crawl over broken glass and be attacked by a pack of wild dogs and I still wouldn’t care. But if I didn’t care then why did I feel like my heart had been taken out of my chest and shredded into a million different pieces.

But what kind of a person makes a bet based on people’s emotions? A complete egotistical, masochistic jerk who doesn’t care about anyone else but themselves, that’s who. I would never do such a thing.

Except I already had. I made a bet with Cassie about almost the exact same thing. But it was completely different. Our bet was based on my ability to be nice to Curtis, not lead him along based on false feelings. Except my feelings were false, at least at the beginning. So I guess that could be seen as leading him on too. But Drew Curtis is smart enough to recognise pretend affection from the genuine kind. Right? I certainly was stupid enough to fall for Drew’s act, so what’s to say that it didn’t work in reverse?

I’m just as bad as he is.

The tears were streaming down my face as I staggered down the sandy pathway to the beach. The frills of my dress were catching in my heels every second step and sand rubbed angrily between the straps of my shoes and my feet.

I blinked away my tears and tried to compose myself. I must have looked like a tearaway bride by the state I was in.

I looked out onto the horizon. The skyline was a dark shade of navy blue, the waves crashing loudly on the sand. There was a single figure standing alone of the shore. His characteristic mop of black hair was being tossed around freely in the wind, but he stood perfectly still.

I grabbed on to the nearest post and balancing on one foot and then the other I slipped off my heels. My feet immediately sank into the cool sand. I pulled up my dress so my ankles were bare and carefully walked forward towards him.

He looked down, surprised by my arrival.

“Come to yell at me some more?” he said dully.

I shook my head lightly.

“You and me are more alike than you realise,” I said softly.

Drew arched his eyebrows, gazing back out over the ocean.

I took a deep breath and continued,

“We’re both stubborn. Incredibly vicious when provoked.”

“Dazzlingly good looking,” Drew added cheekily.

“Yeah, that too,” I said in agreement. “We also do stupid things under the influence of our friends.” My tone became serious, “Like make dumb bets and dares.”

My final statement seemed to take a moment to filter into Drew’s mind. His eyes caught the light as he blinked away from the sea and looked down at me.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

I sighed, but continued. If Drew was going to hate me I much rather it be because he knew the whole story, not just a part of it.

“Truth is, Cassie and I made a similar deal,” Drew’s eyes opened wide, “Except ours was that I had to be nice to you, or I had to kiss you.”

The wind roared and I thought I heard Drew chuckle slightly.

“Looks like you lost on both counts,” he said, “You couldn’t manage to be nice to me and you also kissed me.”

“Hey! That wasn’t me. If I recall, you were the one who instigated both of those kisses,” I defended. I might as well try and retain a little bit of my dignity.

“Oh yeah?” Drew scoffed, “That broom cupboard got pretty hot and steamy from both sides.”

I rolled my eyes,

“Keep dreaming.”

It was Drew’s turn to sigh,

“I guess you never expected your night to turn out like this.”

“Yeah, but I was never a traditional sort of girl anyway.”

“That’s right. You were like Leisel,” he said.

“You remembered?” I asked. I couldn’t hide the surprise in my tone.

“Always.”

I turned to face him, catching his hand in mine. He looked down, surprised by my affection, but he didn’t pull his hand away. He stared at me for a moment. The wind picked up, blowing about his curls so they covered his eyes.

I slowly reached up and pulled them away from his face. His dark eyes sparkling off the water and looking down at me. Carefully, I stood on my tip-toes, leaning in towards him. His free hand was placed gently on the small of my back, his other never letting go of mine. Our lips touched; very cautiously at first. It was as if neither wanted to make a sudden move for fear of ruining the moment.

I felt the temperature rise. The wind whipped around us, but despite its efforts to pull us apart, I held on even tighter. One hand gripping his hair, the other locked with his hand. I dug my feet into the sand, parting my mouth slightly as I willed him to enter.

And suddenly there were no more secrets.

* * * * *

A/N: Phew! That was a long one. I considered splitting it over two chapters but once I started I didn’t know where to stop. So, it’s all out in the open and they still want to be together. Reviews = love!

And thank you, thank you, thank you Red Ranger 1, Lise, Zoe, Laura and Bec.

[Jen]

Chapter 28 – The Ride

I fumbled with my keys as Drew pressed his lips firmly at the nape of my neck. A tingle shot up my spine and my hands continued to shake as I jiggled the key into the lock. I felt Drew's warm breath in my ear and he kissed me gently, moving from the base of my neck, along my collarbone, towards my shoulder.

The door thrust open and I stumbled into the kitchen, Drew weaving his hands around my waist. I tossed my keys carelessly on the counter, where they fell with a clank to the floor. I momentarily looked towards the stairs, hoping that Irene had not decided to wait up for me. All I needed now was for her to have her ear cocked to the door for any sign of my return. Any moment she would come down the stairs in her dressing gown and send Drew home. However, all seemed quiet, except for the faint sound of Drew's lips back on my neck. I giggled softly and turned to face him.

I looked into those dark eyes that I had become so familiar with; it was like he was an old friend, welcoming me home. His warms lips fell onto mine, while Drew's hands wove themselves even more tightly around my body. Under the weight of his kiss I stumbled back, leaning between the counter and pantry. With my new found stability my hands latched around his neck and worked their way through his hair.

I could have kept kissing all night, but Irene probably would have had a heart attack if she came down in the morning to find me and Drew Curtis lying on the kitchen counter; the same place I ate my cereal. My head was becoming heavy as our bodies throbbed against each other. It took all of my might to pull away. It felt as though it was all a dream; like as soon as our lips parted he would disappear and I would open my eyes to be staring at the ceiling. Gradually, I pulled away, but my hands remained firmly around his locks, in an effort to keep him from slipping away. I could hear Drew panting, another piece of evidence that this was all in fact not a dream, and was actually happening in Irene's kitchen.

My throat was dry, and my voice now hoarse as I spoke in merely a whisper,

"Maybe we should -" I began, but my voice cut out.

I swallowed hard and opened my eyes reluctantly. Drew nodded, his eyes only parting slightly. He loosened his grip from around me and took one of my hands in his. I slowly moved away from the counter, catching a momentary glance at my pale reflection in the window above the kitchen sink. I realised that I was still in my ball gown, except now most of my hair was falling around my face, and my lips and cheeks were flushed red. I held onto Drew's hand tightly and realised that he was sweating.

I can't believe this is happening. Me and Drew Curtis!

If you had told me this time last year that I would be willingly locking lips with that arrogant, obnoxious, pompous, and most gorgeous guy I've ever seen instead of going to the formal after party, then I would have laughed in your face and told you that you were completely delusional. Even up until last week I was convinced that the only emotion I felt towards Curtis was frustration. It's amazing how quickly things can change.

I thought I knew Drew; the kind of guy that he was. But if tonight proves anything, it's that I don't know anything. And I'm happy.

A smile crept over my lips as I closed the door to my bedroom. I turned, and instantaneously Drew took me in his arms and kissed me again, causing me to fall onto the bed. Without taking a breath Drew removed his jacket, tie and then kicked off his shoes, letting them all fall to the ground. I then allowed my fingers to wander along his belt until I reached the buckle. Drew obliged in it's removal before my fingers crept to the buttons of his shirt.

At the same time I felt Drew's large, yet soft hands manoeuvre over my shoulders. He tugged gently at my dress strap, trying to remove the excess of material that was still between us. In one swift motion, my dress had been unzipped and I threw it away from my body. Now there was nothing left between us.

Drew's lips were firmly pressed again mine, his tongue beginning to explore the inside of my mouth. I let out a low groan as I held onto Drew's body tightly and pressed my hips into his groin. I heard a low chuckle escape from Drew's mouth, but he didn't stop showering my now naked body in kisses.

He stopped. His eyes opened, staring directly into mine as he lay on top, his arms supporting his upper body.

"What are you doing to me?" Drew asked in a whisper.

I considered my answer for a moment; What was I doing here? There were no words. It was as though we were both temporarily suspended between what we thought we should do and what we actually wanted. We had been see-sawing up and down, gaining no ground for so long that neither of us were sure whether we wanted to take the plunge into the unchartered water. Despite the fact that my normal, rational part of my brain - which I had relied on for so long - was urging me to reconsider, I leant in and kissed him, feeling the deep waters rise around us both, but I wasn't afraid of drowning.

-

Bright light tickled my eyelids as I began to stir. My eyes fluttered open to find my whole room bathing in sunshine.

I rolled over onto my right side, attempting to return to sleep, however I stopped short when I noticed another body sleeping soundly beside me. Drew's chest was rising and falling at a constant pace; his face had an expression of immense satisfaction. It then dawned on me that my bedroom floor was covered in the remnants of last night - my formal dress, Drew's entire suit and a few smaller items scattered the carpet. My gaze fell back onto Drew's face. His content smile was irresistible. I propped myself onto my elbow and leant across the pillow. I carefully placed my lips on his in a gentle kiss, causing a small smile to spread over Drew's face. His eyes then opened, and locked with mine.

"Good morning," I said happily.

"Morning," Drew replied, while muffling a stray yawn.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked.

"No," Drew replied. My face instantly fell, but Drew smiled, "I kept waking up to watch you sleep."

I opened my mouth in mock insult,

"It's rude to watch people sleep."

"But you're just so cute when you sleep."

"Awww," I cooed, leaning in to kiss him again. Could he be any sweeter?

Drew pulled away and added,

"And you snore really loudly."

"I do not snore!" I objected, pouting as I rolled onto my back away from him.

This time it was Drew's turn to lean across.

"I'm sorry, Taylor," he said, "I'm really, really, sorry." With the last word of his apology Drew's fingers began to vigorously tickle me. A high pitched squeal escaped as I began to wriggle and writhe between the sheets.

"Belle? Is that you?"

I stopped; silent, and so did Drew.

I sat bolt upright, before tugging my sheet up to my neck.

"Maybe she didn't hear," Drew whispered.

"Belle, love. Are you awake?" Irene called again.

Not so lucky.

"Um, yeah Irene. I'll be out in a minute."

There was no reply, Irene seemed satisfied that I was awake, and completely alone.

"You need to go," I said in a hushed voice.

"What? You're kicking me out already?" Drew whispered in reply.

"You have to go," I said more firmly, and giving him a small shove off the edge of the bed.

While Drew stumbled to his feet and slipped on his shirt over his previously bare chest, I tugged on my own pyjama top from under my pillow. I then gathered up the rest of Drew's formal attire and shoved the pile into his arms. Drew stood gaping as I moved past him to pull open my only bedroom window. I then turned back to Drew, who said in disbelief,

"You've got to be joking."

"Do I look like I'm mucking around? If Irene finds you in here - well, let’s just say I may never see the light of day ever again."

Drew made a move towards the open window, but not before he freed one arm and pulled me towards him. His lips crashed into mine, before I pushed him away with both my hands and watched him climb over my windowsill and disappear out the window.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Chapter 29 – The Climb

My phone jumped along the kitchen counter as it rang. I looked down and saw Cassie’s name and number flash across the screen. I smiled to myself, visualising Cassie eagerly holding on to her phone, probably waiting for a decent hour to call, having already been up for several.

“Morning, Cass,” I said as I picked up the phone and held it to my ear.

“Belle!” Cassie replied, practically yelling, “You’re still alive!”

I let out a small giggle.

“Yes, Cass. I’m still here. And it looks like I still have all my limbs attached too.”

“Tell me everything.”

“You don’t waste any time do you?”

“Nope.”

I looked across the room to where Irene was sitting in one of the large lounge chairs, morning paper open in front of her and coffee steaming in one hand.

“Meet me on the beach in ten minutes,” I said before hanging up.

“Hey Irene, I’m going to the beach to meet Cassie,” I called out as I made my way out the door.

“Fine, love,” she replied casually, waving me off with one hand as she remained engrossed in her reading.

I almost skipped all the way to the beach. As I rounded the corner of the Surf Club, the bright blue water coming into view I stopped, the memory of last night was flooding back to me. Although it was less than twelve hours ago it seemed like an eternity when Drew and I finally sorted things out. The way his eyes had looked when I told him about my own dare with Cassie, the sadness and then relief as we discovered how alike we were. It was meant to be, I was sure of it.

I saw Cassie pacing impatiently on the sand. As I slowly approached, taking the time to soak in the morning sunshine and feel the warmth of the sand between my toes, I saw her check her watch twice. Her hair was falling gently around her face, a small remnant of the curls she wore last night. She looked up and saw me approach.

“Belle!” she squealed, running towards me and engulfing my body in a crushing hug. “I am so sorry. Drew was being an idiot; don’t listen to anything he says. He likes you, I’m sure of it. Lucas was saying that the whole thing just got completely out of hand. I thought something must have happened to you. I didn’t see you for the rest of night, I guess you must have gone home.” The words tumbled out of Cassie’s mouth at a rapid pace.

“Cassie, just breathe,” I reminded her.

She examined my face cautiously, looking deep into my eyes to determine whether I was covering my true feelings of heart break or if I was in fact all right.

“So, you’re not upset?” she asked.

I shook my head slowly.

“Actually, Drew and I ...” I began slowly, a small smile creeping onto my lips.

I watched her expression change. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened wide as her jaw hit the floor. Then her face broke into a smile.

“That’s great!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Sorry I abandoned you last night,” I apologised.

“No worries,” she replied shrugging.

“So, now that Drew and I have sorted ourselves out what about you and Lucas?” I asked as we began to stroll casually down the beach.

Cassie just shrugged.

“Come on, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“It’s just, after things blew up last night,” she paused, “It was a bit of a mood killer.”

“Well, now’s your chance to fix things,” I said looking up at the bare-chested pair wandering towards us, surfboards in hand.

Cassie’s head shot up in alarm and she stared as Lucas and Drew slowly closed the gap between us.

“Morning girls,” Drew said happily when he reached us.

He dropped his surfboard on the sand and ran one hand through his wet hair, causing grains of sand to fall to the ground.

“Morning,” I replied sheepishly.

Drew edged slightly closer to me. The hairs on his arms were standing on edge, having just climbed out of the surf. When they made contact with my skin, I shivered. He looked down at me and grinned. I could tell he wanted to do more, but in the presence of Cassie and Lucas he was unsure.

“I’m assuming you told Lucas,” I said to him.

“I’m assuming you told Turner,” he replied, and he leant down and gave me a cool kiss on the cheek. I felt myself blush.

“Now that is all out of the way,” I said, turning back to the other two, “What’s the deal with you guys?”

“Hey, just because you two are all loved-up doesn’t mean you can start interfering in everyone else’s love life,” Cassie retorted.

“But I want to share my happiness,” I replied, smiling.

“Give it a rest,” Cassie said, although I could tell she wasn’t angry. Her cheeks were turning pink with every moment in Lucas’ presence.

“You two certainly took your time sorting things out,” Lucas added, coming to Cassie’s rescue. This just made her blush harder.

“What is it they say?” Drew replied, “Getting there is half the fun.” He grinned widely, clearly pleased with his comeback.

“Yeah, but for you two it was like climbing Mount Everest,” Cassie replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Lucas let out a laugh. Cassie’s eyes shot up and locked with his, a goofy smile still plastered across his face.

I looked across from Cassie to Lucas, as their eyes softened towards each other. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

“We’ll just leave you guys to it,” I said, giving Drew a shove away from them. He stumbled slightly, picking up his surfboard from the sand.

“What was that all about?” he hissed, looking over his shoulder at Lucas taking a couple of cautious steps towards Cass.

“You saw them,” I replied, “They are so meant to be.”

“Meant to be?” Drew scoffed, “When did you suddenly turn into such a girl?”

“Hello? I am a girl,” I replied, gesturing wildly at my hair pulled back in a loose pony tail and black shorts, white t-shirt and thongs.

Drew just looked across at me and shook his head.

“Yeah, but you never really acted like one before.”

I shrugged,

“Maybe you make me do strange things?”

Drew glanced across at me before going back to staring straight ahead.

“Speaking of strange things,” I continued when Drew wasn’t going to reply, “I had fun last night.”

“You mean after the giant screaming contest?” Drew asked.

“You know what I mean.”

He nodded,

“I had fun too.”

“And just so you know, I’m not going anywhere.”

Drew stopped walking, looking down at me curiously. I bit my lip awkwardly as he stared.

“Somehow I don’t think you could stay away even if you tried,” he said sighing, almost in disappointment.

I stared at him for a moment, his dark eyes unreadable. He leant down slightly, readjusting his surfboard before clamping my hand within his and continuing to walk. I had to jog to keep up as he took larger steps than my shorter legs would carry, but I didn’t care.

We walked liked this all the way back to my place. As I approached the back door, Drew propped his surfboard on the side gate and followed me to the door. I looked up to see Irene had changed her reading position from the arm chair facing the front door to the table which had a clear view through the back window above the sink. I gave her a quick glare, but she just looked down happily at her paper.

“So,” I said, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Drew leant in, his eyes gleaming,

“I was hoping for sooner than tomorrow,” he said in a whisper.

I nodded dumbly as he placed his lips carefully on mine. They lingered their momentarily, until I heard Irene clear her throat and I pulled away.

“Let’s not rush things,” I replied quietly. He nodded solemnly before turning and walking away. He sneaked a wink at me as he picked up his surfboard and left.

I swung around happily on my heels and entered the kitchen.

“So girly,” Irene said, looking up from the newspaper she was pretending to read, “Mind telling me what is going on there? I thought you said you two were just friends.”

I bit my bottom lip as she watched me intently.

“We are friends,” I replied, my voice increasing by an octave.

“I didn’t come down in the last shower, girly.”

“Okay, so maybe last night things got a bit more,” I searched for an appropriate word, “intense.”

“I can see that,” Irene replied.

She sighed, getting up from her chair and walking over to me as I leant on the kitchen counter. I rubbed my hand gently across its smooth surface, where Drew and I had -. Well, Irene didn’t need to know just how intense things had got.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing,” she said, placing her hand gently on my shoulder.

I looked up at her, smiling,

“I think I know what I’ve got myself in for.”

* * * * *

A/N: Aww, aren’t they cute? I think so at least. So there’s their little moment of happiness before the next hurdle. Let me know what you think.

Thankies for the awesome comments Zoe, Red Ranger 1, Laura and Lise!