This chapter is dedicated to @_mell20_ for voting! Thank you so much x

••••

Warm covers surround me, a pillow rests beneath my head and an arm rests against my waist.

Stretching my legs out, I relax back into the position I was just in. Opening my eyes, I let out a content sigh.

I focus on the fact that I'm not in my room. With one dark blue wall and the other three white, similar white furniture and dark grey bedding, Axel's room is easily one of the most stylish boys room I've ever been in.

Like I've been in many.

The smell of Axel's cologne surrounds me as I take a deep breath against the pillow.

Zoning my eyes on the tanned arm round my waist, I feel the butterflies in my stomach wake up with me.

I hear a shuffle behind me and a warm breath teases the back of my neck. I stay still and shut my eyes again, pretending to sleep.

Because what else would I do? Not say good morning like a normal person.

No.

I have to pretend to be asleep.

I don't even know what goes through my own head sometimes.

I feel Axel slowly raise his arm off of my waist, pausing every so often to ensure that I'm still asleep.

I feel his weight press off the mattress and his footsteps move around the room toward me. I keep my eyes closed and try to hide my smile by digging my head further into the pillow.

I feel his gaze penetrating through me, I always do. I assume he crouches down because I can feel his body very close to my own.

Man I wish I could open my eyes.

I feel his finger gently trace over my cheek and down my jawline, as if to ingrain my face into his memory. His soft lips press against my forehead suddenly and I can't keep my smile to myself anymore.

Peeking one eye open, Axel beams at me. "I knew you were awake." He teases, before standing up. "Coffee?" He offers.

"Please." I ask, before Axel walks out of the door and into the kitchen.

Jumping up out of bed, I go and brush my teeth.

No chance is he smelling my morning breath any more than he already has.

Grabbing my bag that I brought with me, I brush my teeth before getting back into the extremely comfy bed.

Sitting up against the headboard, I turn on my phone and scroll through my feed. I message Emma to reassure her that I wasn't alone last night and ask how how she's feeling, she texts back immediately .

That's good. I feel alright, just like I'm stuck in a bad dream that I can't wake up from :( Make sure to snog Axel while you have the chance!

I snort at her reply and send her a cheeky remark back, hoping to make her smile. The thought of her happiness, that always shines out of her being dimmer that usual is making me feel nauseous.

Axel comes back into the room at this point and sees my expression straight away.

"What's wrong?" He asks, handing me a cup of coffee and settling back into bed with his own.

I take a sip and feel the burning sensation go down my throat, the feeling oddly reassuring.

The emotions randomly burst through me, like a dam breaking open.

"I just can't believe jets happened." I whisper, my voice cracking.

The feelings that I've been storing for the past twenty four hours are suddenly washing over me and I don't know how to stop them.

The first tear of many to come runs down my cheeks and I hastily wipe it away.

Axel obviously spots it and a pained expression passes through his face. Putting an arm around my shoulders, he drags me into his body.

Not having the strength to fight back, I rest my head against Axel's chest and let out a sniffle.

Tears drip like icicles down my face, freezing my heart in pain.

"I just feel so helpless." I whisper, closing my eyes at the thought of Emma being pinned against her will.

Axel pulls me onto his lap and takes my face in his hands, wiping away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. "She's safe. She'll get through this and so will you." He says with such sincerity that the part of my heart doubting myself seems to doubt itself.

"I just can't get the images out of my head." I shake my head and let out a pathetic laugh. "I didn't even see or go through the damn thing. I'm sorry, I'm overreacting."

Axel pulls me tighter against his chest with his arms and I rest my head against his shoulder, letting out a sigh. The tears seem to slow down, relief runs through me.

"Don't you dare say sorry, nothing was your fault." Axel warns, his tone commanding. "In all honesty, it's a miracle that you found her."

"Yeah, I had just finished coffee with Dean and I just saw her standing there."

Axel seems to tense at the name Dean, but I ignore it. Letting out a breath, he begins speaking, "You can't blame yourself. I can see you doing it and I need you to stop, it's toxic to do that."

I begin to protest but Axel shushes me.

"Hating yourself is the worst kind of poison your mind can give." He whispers.

Nodding I lift my head off of his shoulder and smile. "You're right, thank you." I whisper back.

Gazing into his electric blue eyes, he stares back. I suddenly see what the other girls see, how they fall into his trap every single time.

Because without me knowing it, I've fallen into it too.

Axel leans up and places a kiss on my forehead before lifting me off of his lap and placing me back onto his bed.

Standing up and heading towards the TV, Axel looks back at me at me and smiles

"What?" I ask, suddenly feeling very self conscious.

"Nothing." He smiles, biting his lip.

Leaning down bellow the dresser that holds a TV on top, Axel stands up with a pile of DVD's in his hands. "Movie?" He asks.

"Is that even a question?" I laugh pulling the blanket on the bed closer to me.

Axel turns the TV on and settles down beside me, ready for our morning of films.

••••

Opening the door of our dorm, I'm immediately greeted with. "Cupcake! You're home! Did you have sex?"

"What? No! Damn you're nosy." I laughs as I sit down on my bed.

Rob is sitting on his own bed, facing me. His hair is all messed up and he's definitely not wearing his own clothes.

"You've had sex, however." I smirk as I laugh at him.

"Thank god you noticed! It was mind blowing, Cupcake." Rob falls back onto his bed and lest out a dreamy sigh.

"Wait, I thought you weren't obsessed with Drew?" I ask, my voice going high-pitched in mock surprise.

"Okay, I am. You're obsessed with Axel though." He points out.

I run a hand through my hair and bite my lip, smiling at the thought of his arms round me this morning. How he wiped my tears away and helped take my mind off of things.

"Not that obsessed." I smile weakly, knowing I'm not convincing at all.

"He's obsessed with you, with whatever you're doing. He can't stop talking about you." Rob confirms, looking at me with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Really?" I smile, picking some clothes and walking into the bathroom.

"It's getting annoying." Rob shouts.

I can't even make a response that doesn't sound as sappy as I feel.

••••

"Hey, Boo." Emma greets as she lies on her childhood bed.

We're FaceTiming and thankfully I'm alone. FaceTiming in front of people is horrible and I don't want Rob to see me potentially cry.

I can't think about Emma without wanting to cry.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Better. Mum and Dad are just cooking me food constantly and I'm just lying here in pyjamas. I feel like I've put on about three pounds in one night." She laughs.

"Damn, I'm so jealous." I say. "How are you sleeping?"

This is when Emma's entire demeanour changes. Her eyes become a little sadder and she begins biting her nails.

"Em?" I ask again, my heart pounding.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She waves her hand to play it off but the crack in her voice tells more than her words do. "It's just the memories seem to come back."

"I wish I could make this better." I frown.

"You already are. Talking to someone helps significantly, especially when it's not your parents. Who, by the way, cannot leave me alone." She laughs.

I let out a laugh and shake my head. "My usual reply would be to say that that's you're smoking hot, but that would be weird because it's your parents."

"Yeah. Never say that unless I've got a smoking hot boy by my side." Emma winks.

"I promise."

We FaceTime for around an hour before Emma gets called for more food.

I'm so jealous.

Later that night, I lie in bed on my phone when a message come through.

So, I'm thinking for the sake of your graduation, we should really have a sleepover?

••••

Ooo, a sleepover?

What do you think is going to happen?

The scene with Axel in the morning wasn't actually supposed to be that long, it just flowed so I kept going :)

What was our thoughts on this chapter?

Please remember to vote and comment, it makes a massive difference!

Much love,

Jade x