"Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones. And I will try to fix you." —Coldplay.

••

The musical concert is just in a few weeks, and due to all the drama that has been happening lately, I forgot to practice a song.

Justine had told me to choose one from the list and to make my choice known to her by tomorrow so that the team can begin to practice their instruments and vocals.

I sit on my dorm bed and coil my feet beneath me while I skim through the music sheet. But then the door instantly knocks and breaks my concentration.

Putting the paper aside, I get up and make my way to answer it, and to my sweet satisfaction, I am met with the handsome face and captivating scent of Blaze Xander.

I smile. "Hey."

He steps inside the space with intent, closing the door behind him and pulling me tightly into his fold.

Before a word can leave my mouth, his lips are latching onto mine in a hot kiss. I am supposed to be practicing a song right now, so I attempt to protest against his onslaught, but the words just emerge in muffled moans and groans.

He's stepping forward while he kisses me hungrily, and I have no choice but to step back, being careful not to trip over my own feet. His fire and passion is a sweet attack of lustful aggression, almost as if he hasn't kissed my lips in ages.

I lay back on my bed, and he lowers his body on top of mine, fumbling with the bottoms of my jeans while his lips leave mines so he can stare me in the eyes.

I intake a deep breath. I hadn't been breathing since his lips met mine. "Blaze...I am supposed to be practicing a song. I have to tell Justine what my choice is by tomorrow."

"Yeah, I won't take long, baby."

I frown. "Don't call me 'baby'..."

He chuckles as he hooks his fingers in the waistline of my jeans and begins to pull them down. "What should I call you then?"

"Harmony...' baby' makes me feel like one of those girls..."

He smiles, a soft emotion sparking within his eyes. "But you're not one of those girls. You're special to me, Harmony..." He pecks my lips. "I am so serious..."

I flush at his declaration as he curves his fingers under the hem of my T-shirt and pulls it over my head.

Then he flips us over so that I am straddling his groin. He trails his hands up my back and unhooks my bra, allowing the aroused circles on my chest to become free.

Lust dilates his pupils as he takes in the sight of them, and he covers one with his palm, pinching the pink nob between his middle and forefinger.

I let out a soft moan and feel him become even harder underneath me.

"I want you this way..." he says, pulling his T-shirt up to drag down the zipper of his jeans.

He grabs a packet from his pocket and rips it quickly, slipping the rubber from it. Splaying the opening of his pants, he releases his length from his boxers, and I almost chicken out at the sight of it. He slides the protection on.

I watch him as I breathe heavily, then he puts one of his hands at the side of my neck, guiding my head down to connect our lips.

I feel his massive erection brushing against my naked thigh, and I gasp into the kiss as he shifts my panties away from my soaked entrance. His hand leaves my nape to join the other on my thigh, and he hoists my body up.

Our mouths break apart as he stares up into my face. Deep, intense eyes piercing into mine. Into my soul. And then he slowly lowers me onto himself.

I gasp at the sensation and size of him. It feels as though he has grown much larger from this angle, and I grope the naked part of his chest for dear life.

He hisses, throwing his head back. "Damn..."

He tries to push me further down onto his length, and I whimper at the expansion it earns.

"Are you okay?" He breathes. His face is red, and his parted lips are even redder.

It doesn't hurt like the first time. It does sting a bit, but the pleasure outweighs it. I nod my head dizzily. "Y-yes..."

"Ride me." He rasps out, using my hips to guide my body against him. I hold onto his shoulders as I move back and forth. Like that time at the party, only this time there aren't any barriers restricting us.

It's just flesh on flesh.

And it feels good.

Blaze lies onto his back, and the position makes his length more upright. I moan at the prominence of it. I circle my hips upon instinct, pressing my body against him. He closes his eyes and bites his lip.

"Just like that, Harmony."

I don't even know what I am doing. But I am trying, and he seems to like it. He reaches his hands around to my butt and drags me down against him. A harsh slap against one of my cheeks causes me to jolt, and he chuckles, sweat glistening on his forehead.

He pushes me down on him as he kisses me fervently, our tongues twisting and wrapping around each other. And then he flips us over, so he's now on top, but we are still connected.

I stare up at him, and he quickly pinches the neck of his shirt and pulls it over his head, dragging his arms through the sleeves and throwing it somewhere. He leaves his pants on and bends over to kiss me again, his necklace tickling the curves of my breasts.

And then he enters me again. Roughly. I gasp as he withdraws then enters again, causing me to cry out as I bury my face in the pillow.

He kisses the top of my head and keeps on stroking me without mercy, introducing me to a different kind of intercourse than what he showed to me that first night.

I can feel my pinnacle approaching overwhelmingly, and he gently holds my cheek, steering my head to look him in the eyes.

"Keep looking at me." He breathes, and he cups my jaw, his thumb stroking the side of my face.

"Oh, God. Blaze..."

"I know, babe. I know." He captures my lips again as he thrusts into me over and over.

Until I am unable to withhold its intensity and splinter to nothing underneath him. I chant his name repeatedly as he drowns out my ecstasy with a deep kiss. He rapidly moves toward his euphoria, eyes set on me, muscles contracting, but this time he doesn't utter the words 'I Love You.'

I try to pay no attention to it until our mutual, mind-blowing orgasm washes away, and he shifts off me and onto his back, breathing heavily.

I wanted to hear him say it again. I really wanted to.

We lie on our backs, panting for a while as we return to earth. Blaze intakes a deep breath and sits up. He disposes of the used condom before rolling over and wrapping his arms around me, kissing me on the cheek.

"You okay, babe?"

His breathing is still labored, and I smile with a nod, snuggling my head against his chest and ignoring the monster in my head.

It doesn't matter if he didn't say it, he said it once, and words are not relevant when his actions already mean everything.

He trails his fingers through my damp hair and kisses my forehead. I bring my eyes up to look at him, and he smiles down at me. "What?"

I shake my head. "Nothing...it's just that...I love you, Blaze."

Will he say it back? I hope he does.

He smiles a little and pulls me tighter into his arms. "Will April be back tonight?"

And he didn't. Ouch.

I shrug. "No...she is not at Homewood; why?"

"I want to stay here with you," he says, kissing my head. "Your presence makes me happy. We could lie here and talk, and maybe...do that again. Five more times." He chuckles, and I blush against his chest.

"I want you to stay too..."

I can feel him smiling against my hair, then a thought comes to my mind, and I pull my eyes up to look at him again. "Blaze."

"Mm?"

I swallow. "Did you really do something to Maddie? Mal said you caused her phase to relapse."

He sighs. "I just told her what she already knew...that's all."

I shift so my entire body is facing him. "What happened between you guys in the past?"

The muscles in his face tighten a bit, and I can tell he doesn't want to talk about this. I contemplate telling him nevermind, but he speaks first.

"It's like what you heard, I guess. I slept with her, and I wasn't serious. She couldn't take rejection, so she got crazy and clingy."

"What exactly did she do?"

"A lot of things. Weird, crazy things. If she saw me with a girl, she'd page her later and threaten her to stay away from me. One day, I spoke to this girl from one of my classes, well, I was actually flirting with her, and Maddie saw us. Later that day, I heard the very same girl got hospitalized at the town's hospital for getting hit in the head with a metal pipe."

My eyes widen. "Wh-what?"

"Everyone didn't suspect Maddie, but I knew the type of crazy person she was, still is, so I was certain she was the one who did it. I know what she is capable of, Harmony. She will hurt you."

I gulp, my body running chills from listening to all of that. "Mal said you told her to commit suicide. Is that true?"

"No, it's not, I mean, technically. She said it first, so I just told her to go on..."

"Blaze, wait!" Maddie stormed into my dorm room and grabbed onto my bicep, urging me to look at her.

I yanked my arm away and spun to her angrily. "You hit someone in the head with a metal pipe; are you fucking insane? That is exactly why I will never want you. I mean I don't care for anyone, but that's just psychotic, Maddie."

"Blaze." She sniffed dementedly. "I did that because I love you so so much, and I don't want to be without you. We can start over, we can—"

"Woah, wait, start over? We didn't have anything in the first place. Yeah, we had sex, but that is just it. You should just get over it and move on with your life."

"I cannot do that! You're who I want; you're the one I need, Blaze!"

"If you don't stop, I really will report you for stalking."

"Then do it!" She cried. "Do it! I don't mind because when I leave jail, I will find you. I will find you, Blaze, and I will make you mine. I will still love you; I will always love you!"

I raked my hand through my hair. "What the fuck did I get myself into? This girl is crazy..."

She pulled my arm. "Blaze, please? Let's work this out... we can work this out."

I pulled away. "You're creeping the shit out of me; see yourself out."

I turned away, but she dragged me back to look at her. Tears raced down her face, and I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

"How do you unfuck someone..."

"Don't do this to me...please."

"Why in God's name are you fucking harassing me? Huh? Tell me. I told you from the start that I don't do love. I told you it's all sex or nothing, but you just had to go and get attached. You just had to dive right in when I told you not to. I am an asshole. The entire Homewood knows that. All the other girls are sticking to the rules with me. After they get their share of pleasure, they leave, but you? You're the only one who keeps coming back and annoying the living shit out of me. I don't know what you want from me."

"Love." She pushed her hair back. "That's all I want."

"And I sure as hell can't give you that, so don't waste your time." I turned away, deciding I was over the irritating conversation.

"I will kill myself!"

And that's when she said it. I froze in my position at the sick words she just uttered, then slowly turned around to look at her. "What did you just say?"

"I will kill myself!" She screamed. "I will do it, and maybe then you will wish you wanted me! I will do it, Blaze! I don't want to live if I can't have you!"

Instantly, the vivid image of my mother, the woman who abused and tortured me, sitting on the bed with a gun to her head, flashed across my mind. I felt a deep resentment as I faced Maddie. My eyes darkened on her weeping face, and I grasped her arm tightly in my grip.

She swallowed hard, a glint of fear and a pang of hope in her eyes.

I pulled her forward, and she almost landed against my chest; my sharp eyes pierced through hers as I glare down at her beneath me. I could feel her pulse racing as my hand enclosed around her wrist.

An iniquitous smirk rose at the corner of my lips, and it caught her off guard. She appeared confused as she stared back at me.

"You want to kill yourself?"

She swallowed.

"Go ahead then." I raised a brow. "I don't care. That's so very fucking pathetic...you disgust me."

Her eyes slightly widened at the response. Tears raced down her face as she stared at me in awe. "Blaze..."

"After you tormented me and made my life a living hell, you want to go and kill yourself? You want to commit suicide after you fucked my head up and turned me into a monster? Then go ahead. Kill yourself! I don't give a damn!"

I released her fiercely, and she stumbled back. Her tears began again, and I walked away to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

Not long after, I heard a scream from her before footsteps raced out of the room.

I believe Blaze said those things to Maddie because her wanting to commit suicide reminded him too much of his mother. Those words were the ones he wanted to say to her. She hurt him, then killed herself, leaving him alone to deal with the monster she had created inside of him. I can't help but feel sorry for the boy lying beside me.

He sighs. "I am a dick, aren't I?"

I shake my head. "I don't think you are. It's not your fault Blaze...none of that is."

"Don't lie. I am an asshole; I know I am. Harmony...I don't care what anyone thinks of me...but I care what you think of me. I don't want to be a bad person in your eyes."

I smile a little. Those words are like a cool drink of lemonade on a hot day. They are refreshing.

"You aren't. You just need love, Blaze, and I am willing to give you that."

He smiles, and I reach up and press my lips against his. His body raises in a sigh of contentment as he grips the side of my cheek and slips his warm tongue between my lips. He pulls me into him with a new desire, but my cell rings from beside me and jerks us apart.

I smile. "Give me a minute..."

Blaze nods, sweeping his tongue along his lower lip as I grab my phone off the bedside table. My smile unintentionally fades when I discover it's a call from my mom.

The fact that I am lying in bed with Blaze makes me feel anxious despite her inability to see me. I clear my throat and press it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Harmony, I am at Homewood right now, dear; which one of these dorms is yours?"

My eyes enlarge, and I jolt up quickly, startling Blaze, who looks at me in curiosity. "You okay?"

I hastily press my finger against my lips to shush him, and he raises a brow in confusion as I reach down to grab my jeans, caring not that my whole lower body is on display for him to see. "You're here? At Homewood?"

I feel his finger playfully hooking into the waistline of my underwear, and I slap his hand away as my mom banters on the line.

"I need to talk to you about something; I feel you should know first."

"Um, okay, mom." I get off the bed, and I can see Blaze frowning at the corner of my eyes. "Just stay at the front of the school...um, I'll meet you there."

"Why do I need to wait there? We can talk at your dorm, Harmony."

"No, mom, we cannot talk at my dorm."

"Care to tell me why, young lady?"

"It's messy; I haven't cleaned yet."

Blaze chuckles softly, mouthing a "you liar" to me, but I just grin and fan him away.

"Okay, coming now." I hang up and turn around. Blaze has now propped up on his elbows, his eyes fixed on my legs with a glint of lust in his eyes.

"It's my mom; she's here. I have to go see what she wants."

He opens his mouth to say something, but I am already hurrying to the bathroom to get myself cleaned up. When I step out again, he lets out a sigh.

"Don't take long, though...I want to cuddle with you."

I smile a little. "I won't be long...well, I hope."

I quickly leave the room, pulling my fingers through my hair to get it tidy. My mom shoots me a text, saying she is next to the school's chapel.

I make my way there while my hands are clammy from anxiety.

She's sitting on one of the chairs in the yard with her head held down. Seeing her here on a school evening is rather strange considering she's a very busy woman. What was so important?

As I approach her, I can tell she's crying. She's wiping her eyes while sniffing, and I feel my heart leap. Did something bad happen? She looked exactly like this the day she told me my dad died.

I settle down next to her with a worried expression. "Mom, are you okay?"

She nods her head, but the tears in her eyes are a huge contradiction.

I sigh. "No, you're not; what happened? Did...did you get fired?"

"No, sweetheart. I just feel guilty to your father." She wipes her eyes.

"What do you mean, mom?"

She pushes her hair back and sniffs, rubbing her slender finger under her nose. "It's just that...I have fallen for someone else."

I blink. "W-what?"

"I know, I feel like I have betrayed him, but I can't help it. He's just so nice and sweet...and he's healing me from all the distress with the passing of your dad, and I am just so grateful to him."

I swallow. "Him? Him who?"

She purses her lips and lowers her eyes, then her gaze meets mine again, and she sighs. "Mr. Blake. I think I have fallen for him."

~

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