"Where's Hanna?" Juliette asked, stopping by my locker and making an emphasis by raising her brows a bit too high. "And Alexander?"

I never understood why she loved calling Alex by his full name. It seemed very formal for some reason.

"They skipped school to go on a morning date," I said--more like grumbled--as I pulled out my Calculus textbook.

Her nose scrunched up ever so slightly before a snicker escaped her lips. Juliette had been one of the students from the foreign exchange program a few months ago. What surprised me, though, was that she had chosen to be my friend, instead of just fitting in with the popular group (she definitely had those looks).

"And why do you sound so angry about that?" She asked, twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger.

"Because he refused to take me along." I gave her a look. "Come on, Jules, what kind of friend does that?" I didn't like being the third wheel, but come on! It was a morning date; a perfect way to ditch school.

This was exactly why I never wanted Alex to date someone.

She snickered some more at that.

"I would've done that too if I were going out with my boyfriend." She clearly forgot to mention that she didn't have one. "Talking about boys, are you coming to Brian's party tonight?"

Brian was one of those guys who invited the entire school to his parties. His reasons were still unknown to all of us. Perhaps he was just kind, that's all.

"Do I have to?"

"Noah's gonna be there."

"Why am I supposed to go there only to see you making out with a guy?"

She rolled her eyes despite the smile on her face. "You can take Caden along." She wiggled her brows suggestively. I just responded with a blank look. "Like come on, girl, you two are like the fire couple of the century. We all need some hot action—"

"Don't. You embarrass me with your words."

"Seriously? All I've heard since I came to this school was how you changed that guy! Do you know what the cheerleaders say? That he never dated a girl before. And now he's dating you!" She gushed. "Not just that, when he looks at you. Oh my God, I cannot breathe when he looks at you."

The only person more dramatic than me was Juliette. Maybe that's why we became such good friends.

"Your relationship is goals." She whispered before straightening up as the bell rang. "I'll catch up with you later."

And then she was off to her class. I had my Calculus class right now. And I, as always, just wanted to doze off. I could clearly make out the people filing out of the hallway as I leaned my forehead against the metal surface of my locker.

I also knew that Vice-principal Harrington loved taking rounds in the hallways, especially during the first few classes. He'd certainly be pissed off if he saw me not moving ahead to my class--something that had happened a bit too many times before.

I closed my eyes shut. These days, the temptation to fall asleep during classes was just too hard to ignore. The finals were coming up and I was depressed.

All of a sudden, I felt an arm snaking around my waist. And surprisingly enough, I didn't pull away. I knew clearly well who it was.

"You better not make a remark about my sleep." I muttered, my eyes still closed. He pulled me against his chest with a small chuckle. I knew we could get detention for this if we got caught. Such intimate touching was strictly prohibited in hallways, especially when you were supposed to be in your class.

"I cannot help it." Caden murmured in my ear. "Whenever I see you, you're always more into your sleep."

I wrapped my arms around him before blowing out a very long sigh.

"I'm stressed out, Caden. Can you believe that? Me stressing out on studies?" I never stressed out on my grades--except Physics, of course.

His hand trailed up to my hair, which I hadn't even bothered to braid today or tie up in a ponytail.

"That's new." He replied.

"I know."

"Are your parents home tonight?" He asked. I buried my face in his chest, clearly loving the feeling of his hand in my hair. I was legit about to doze off.

"Yeah," I murmured. "But you can still come by. They'd be happy to see you." Which clearly wasn't a lie. I, on the other hand, would be more than happy to have some time alone with him. It felt like ages since I had last kissed him.

"I know. But I just wanted you." He sounded like he was frowning. "Alone." A small smile played on my lips. I've never in my life known what love felt like. But I knew now. It was the happiest feeling.

"We can go to the party at Brian's house?" I suggested.

I heard him click his tongue in refusal. "I really don't think I want you drunk. Last time that happened, I just stole a kiss. This time, I don't think I'd be fine with just a kiss."

I narrowed my eyes and pulled away from him, but not too much.

"Last time I got drunk?" I racked my brain to remember that day. His green eyes widened a little as if he hadn't meant to slip that out. But nonetheless, they still shone mischievously, as if he couldn't care less.

"The last time I got drunk was my very first time too." I murmured in thought. "That after-match party of Alex's." And then I looked at him, wide-eyed. "Are you shitting with me right now?"

I clearly remembered how we weren't on our best terms those days. I clearly remembered how he'd asked me to stay away from his business.

He just pulled me back against him. "You gave me permission to kiss you."

"You told me the very next day that nothing had happened!" I complained. He leaned closer before placing a small kiss on my cheek. Then lower towards my jawline.

"Well, I clearly didn't know about my feelings back then." He smiled, kissing the corner of my lips.

"And you do now?"

"Very much."

•••••

Caden said he'll meet me sometime later at the party, which I was happy that he had agreed to come to. I really needed some time off from all those textbooks in my room. This may be my last party before the finals started and I was planning on enjoying it as much as possible.

Who wouldn't?

Any normal teenager would never give up a chance like this, to take a break from those stressful studies. Thankfully, Mom and Dad had agreed to let me go--which, by the way, had been a bit too difficult. I had to practically beg my mom, shedding a few fake tears within the process.

And here I was now.

"Where's yo man?" Juliette asked Hanna.

I barked out a laugh when I saw Hanna going all red in the face. It was hard enough to drag Hanna to this party. And now that Jules was drunk enough, she wasn't helping her nervousness.

"Jesus, Jules," I whispered under my breath. That girl was crazy.

"He's somewhere," Hanna said.

I almost laughed again at the fact that she didn't bother refusing what Jules had just said. Alex was her man.

"And yours?" She asked me, raising her brows expectantly.

"Why can't we talk about your man?" I asked her. "Where's Noah?"

On instinct, she looked around the crowded room. I followed her gaze towards a blond boy.

"Ugh, isn't he just so darn cute?" She swooned, almost seeming like she'd melt into a puddle.

Hanna and I exchanged funny looks.

"Hey, guys." Alex stepped in between Hanna and me. He looked at Jules who was still staring at that blond guy. "You're so whipped for him, Juliette."

Not surprisingly, Alex loved calling her by her full name too. I had no freaking idea why.

"I thought you said Caden was gonna come too?" Alex asked before slinging an arm around my shoulders. I had no choice but to shrug.

"I guess he had some dire change of plans." I thought he'd been as eager as me to spend some time together. But maybe he just got busy.

They all looked at me sympathetically. Even Jules spared her ogling to give me a sympathetic look.

"Hey, it's fine. You guys don't have to look at me like that." I laughed nervously. When people looked at you at the very same time, it never felt good.

Jules took my arm and started dragging me somewhere. "All right, this girl needs some fun. You guys go ahead and leave her alone with me. Since we both are boyfriend-less, we'll have fun together."

I liked that idea. So did Alex and Hanna. Once they were out of sight, Juliette dragged me towards the bar.

"Now let's see. Champagne or tequila? Oh, we've got some punch too." She looked at me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get drunk.

"Is there a choice where I don't get drunk?" I asked her, and she just shook her head solemnly.

So I stuck with the punch. I considered it to have the lowest levels of alcohol. I may get drunk, or I may not.

"Woah, this is some great alcohol." She cheered putting the glass down. I sipped slowly on the punch, eyeing her.

"What?" She asked.

"Why are you trying to get highly wasted?"

A small laugh escaped her lips. "I thought that was the sole purpose of parties?" I just rolled my eyes at that before gulping down the entire drink.

Maybe I was a bit wrong about the alcohol content in this punch.

"All right." Juliette looked at me. "What next?"

I looked at her blankly. "I thought you knew what we were going to do?"

"Well." She turned around, her eyes raking across the entire room. The music was starting to blast through my skull. Most of the people were outside near the large swimming pool. Others were either in here or up at the roof playing truth or dare--which not surprisingly always ended up in gross make-out sessions.

"We can most definitely go there." She pointed towards a crowd of boys. "And make out with them."

I almost gagged in response. She looked at my face before laughing out loud.

"Gross much?" I muttered.

"We've only got the dance floor left then." She took my hand and started dragging me along. I gladly followed. For some reason, I felt drunk even if I shouldn't have. The punch hadn't even been that strong.

We squeezed in between the large crowd and Jules started cheering loudly along with the already loud music. She started dancing without giving absolutely any fucks to her surroundings, and I couldn't help but join in with her laughter. That girl was nuts, but a great company nonetheless.

In the end, I didn't regret dancing all night long.

•••••

"You weren't there at the party." I couldn't help but frown as Caden slipped inside my room from the opened window.

Mom and Dad were asleep by now. Even Chicken was asleep. I had just changed back from my party clothes into my pyjamas when I heard the knocking on my window.

"I got busy." That was all he gave me for an answer. Still keeping the frown on my face, I went over towards my bed and picked up the pile of books, before placing them on my desk.

"I get busy too, Caden. I get busy with these stupid books. I get busy with other stuff. But I never ditch plans with you." I pointed out before looking at him.

His eyes were trained on me, an intense look of amusement in them. A look I'm sure I was used to by now.

"Would you be less pissed off at me if I apologized?" He asked with a slight, innocent tilt of his head.

I rolled my eyes at that. "I'd be less pissed off at you if you'd just let me sleep. It's midnight, for God's sake."

He looked at the wall clock as if he didn't believe me. Without waiting for another second, he gripped my wrist, giving it a small tug, and started dragging me towards the door.

"Wha--" He turned around and placed a hand over my mouth.

"You're going to wake your parents up." He whispered before opening the door. This time I didn't bother saying anything. We walked along the hallway silently before he stopped in front of the rooftop ladder above us.

"Can I ask you what the fuck you're doing?" I asked him with slightly wide eyes. Mom wouldn't really be happy if she saw both of us, at this time of the night, up on the rooftop.

He opened the ladder with the hand that wasn't holding onto mine and nudged me to climb up. With an irritated huff, I started climbing to the roof. As I reached up, my eyes scanned across the dark, night sky and then to a small box placed at the corner of the roof.

I went over towards it before sitting down, dangling my legs over the edge. Caden joined beside me soon after. I looked at the box, then at him.

"What's this?"

He just shrugged in response, looking ahead. With a frown at his lack of response, I picked up the box and opened it up. All of a sudden, the sweet smell of chocolate hit my nostrils.

A small, chocolate cake was inside it. I looked at it in surprise. Clearly more surprised at the fact that was written on the top.

Did he just--

"Happy birthday." He murmured in my ear.

I looked at him, stunned. While he looked at me with an adorable grin--one of those that made me want to throw my arms around him and kiss him countless times.

"Birthday?" I whispered, looking back at the mouthwatering cake. God, it smelled so fucking good.

"I'm guessing you forgot your own birthday." He rolled his eyes. Which wasn't true, I didn't forget it. I was just not...expecting this.

I blinked before my lips curved up into a small smile.

He remembered my birthday?

"I forgot—I have no idea what to say." I looked back at the cake in awe. The mere fact that he wrote Anderson instead of my real name was just too cute.

"You're welcome." He answered with the same smile.

I inhaled deeply before shaking my head. This was just too unbelievable and highly unexpected at this hour of the night. Why did he always have to pull this kind of shit?

"Come on now." He sounded slightly irritated by now. That just made a small laugh escape my lips. "You don't have to act so surprised."

It was just so touching since I never actually celebrated my birthdays. Not like this, anyway.

"Thank you, Caden," I whispered.

"Like I said, you're welcome." He answered before taking out something from his pocket. For a second there, I thought he was going to take out a matchbox so that I could light the candle.

The nonexistent candle.

But all he took out was another box. A smaller one this time. I eyed his movements as he turned towards me.

His eyes were literally sparkling under the moonlight as he stared back at me.

God, don't tell me--

Before he could've opened his mouth, or the box, I spoke up—which came out more like a surprised squeak, "Caden! What are you doing?"

He broke into a laugh at my reaction. This was so embarrassing.

"What do you mean?" He asked. He opened the small box and my breath got knocked out of my lungs as if somebody had just punched me in the gut.

Inside that box was a ring. A beautiful, silver ring. I looked up at him with the widest eyes possible and he was already looking back at me. But for some reason, he was trying his best not to laugh again, probably at my face.

"I was just wondering--" I cut him off.

"No. You can't." I placed the cake beside me before shaking my head. "I'm not ready for that, Caden."

Was he really going to propose to me? I didn't know what my reaction would be. What if my mouth blurted out a no? I'd rather jump down from this roof than say a no.

God, I wasn't ready for this.

Before he could've burst into another laugh, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me back towards him, my thighs softly grazing his knees. I looked at him, aware of the loud heartbeat I could hear in my ears.

"I'm not asking you to marry me, Sky." His eyes were laughing at me now. "Heck, we're too young for that."

I gulped at that.

"It's just a gift. A way to tell you that I really do love you." He added. "A way to make sure that you're still mine."

I didn't know if I could love this guy any more than this. Wasn't I just angry at him for ditching me at Brian's party?

"Will you be mine?" He asked before taking out the delicate ring from the box. "Not forever, of course. Since I'm not asking you to be my wife."

That last line was enough to let me know that he was trying his best not to get the previous reaction out of me.

"But I'm sure we can come to that later." He added as his smile stretched into a smirk.

I felt heat creeping up my body.

"You can't be serious," I whispered, still not out of the beautifully stupid daze he had me under. He took my hand in his, pulling it towards himself.

"Since I'm not really proposing, I don't need an answer from you." He said and slid the ring on my finger. I didn't know if I could've been any more surprised than that.

He looked up at me and his eyes looked greener than usual. A very beautiful green. He leaned closer before placing a soft kiss on my cheek. I merely closed my eyes at that.

"You're going to make me cry, Caden," I whispered. And I wasn't even lying. I could literally burst into tears at any given moment now.

This guy knew how to play with my feelings.

"I know, Sky. I can't believe either how I sacrificed my sleep for a lazy-ass person like you." He said.

I glared at him then, all the cheesiness gone, before pushing him away from me.

"Just so you know, I'm not sharing this cake with you." I retorted, picking up the delicious cake in my hands. I couldn't help but--once again, with a bit teary eyes--look at the silver band on my finger. "Sadly, this lazy-ass person loves chocolate more than you."

He rolled his eyes before looking up at the sky.

"One day your heart will only be mine, Anderson."

It already was.

_________________

THE END ♥