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"Hey, come here Em," Colt told her sweetly as he pulled her closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Ember giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck while she looked up at him. "My, Mr. Douglas; getting demanding, are we?"

"Only when I see something I've gotta have," Colt told her as he placed a soft kiss against her cheek.

"Oh? And what do you just have to have?" Ember asked, playing along.

"You, baby. I want you." Colt whispered in her ear and kissed her hair after he finished that statement.

Ember looked up at Colt with a serious look on her face. He cupped her face in his hands and leaned in slowly. Their lips were centimeters apart...

Colt awoke with a start, immediately confused about the dream he had been having. When he finally snapped to reality and heard the annoying sound of the alarm, he threw his pillow at Rocky to wake him up. "Turn that shit off, Rocky!"

Rocky groaned and threw the pillow back at him. "I'm up!"

Colt laid there and looked at the ceiling while he contemplated the dream he had. He had a dream that he was going to kiss Ember? And he actually enjoyed it?? Even now when he's awake, he doesn't feel repulsed? What the hell was going on with him? He thought of how soft her hair would feel beneath his fingertips, how sweet her skin smelled, or how sweet her mouth would have tasted.

'Wait! What?! What in the hell is going on with me?!' Colt thought to himself.

In the room down the hall, Ember awoke to the sound of her own alarm blaring noisily in her ear. She looked over at her clock and read that it was only 6:10am. She groaned and threw her face into her pillow. She laid there for another 15 minutes, hitting the snooze button twice. She was exhausted, but she willed herself to get up anyway. She figured Rocky would be heading to the shower any minute and if she's lucky, she could sneak in there before Colt came to take his shower.

She slid out of bed and pulled her baby blue robe over her shoulders and tied the sash in the front to hold it together. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. As she predicted, Rocky was coming out of the bathroom, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Good morning, Rock," Ember greeted.

"Morning E," Rocky replied as he passed her. He opened the door to his bedroom and stepped in, closing the door behind him.

As Ember approached the bathroom, she made a mental note to herself that had to pack up her room today, as she would be rooming with the boys from tonight until her bathroom was finished.

'This should be fun,' Ember sarcastically thought to herself.

Ember stepped inside the bathroom and took a look at herself in the mirror. Other than her blonde hair being a tangled mess in her messy bun, she didn't look half bad for just waking up. She turned on the sink and began brushing her teeth. Once her teeth were brushed, she slipped the robe down her shoulders and turned to hang the robe on the back of the door. To her horror, that very same door opened and she came face to face with Colt.

Colt's eyes immediately widened at seeing Ember's naked form and began stuttering as he attempted to speak. He stood there, eyes wide, and continued to stutter incoherent words while Ember was struggling to get her robe back from behind the door to cover herself.

"Colt!!! Get out of here!!!" Ember screamed out.

Colt then realized he had been looking at her longer than he intended and covered his eyes. "Sorry!!! Lock the door next time! This is usually my time to shower, you know!"

"I'm very well aware. I should have locked the door, but you really need to learn to not open a closed door without knocking!!" Ember shoved him out of the bathroom and slammed the door.

Ember was absolutely mortified. No one had seen her naked before and it had to be him?!? She could only imagine how repulsed he had been by seeing her naked body. How was she going to face him now? She was completely embarrassed. She showered quickly and headed back to her room to finish getting ready.

Ember headed downstairs and immediately walked into the kitchen. Once she arrived, Jessica was there to greet her. "Ember, honey! Good morning! The contractors we hired quit on us today, but don't you worry, Sam and I took the day off from work today to get started on your bathroom. It's a shame that the contractors quit on us on such short notice, it's extremely unprofessional. But anyhow, we're going to take your bed apart and move it to the boys' room today. We'll also move some things around so you can have some closet space in there."

Ember smiled at her. "That sounds great. Thank you again, Jessica, I know I say this a lot, but I seriously don't know what I'd do without you."

"We're happy to have to here. You may not be our blood, but you're a Douglas through and through. So after school today, I need you to pack up your essentials from your room and move them into the boys' room." Jessica told her as she handed her a plate full of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

Ember nodded and accepted the plate. "I will get it done as soon as I get home."

Ember looked over at Colt and caught him looking at her. She immediately averted her eyes to her plate and he mimicked her by doing the same. Ember sighed softly to herself. Just when she thought it couldn't get any more awkward, he had to walk in and see her naked. She avoided Colt's eyes through the remainder of breakfast and didn't say much on the way to school. Rocky and Tum-Tum could feel the tension.

"So, still not resolved, huh?" Rocky sighed.

Colt shrugged, but didn't say anything and Ember pretended she didn't hear him, looking out the window at all the scenery they passed through. When they arrived at school, Ember burst out of the car door like she had been waiting to bolt the entire time. Rocky looked over at his brother that was climbing out of the passenger seat and then got out of the car himself.

"Okay, wait a minute. What the hell is going on? I'm not leaving you alone until you answer me," Rocky told his brother as he stepped in front of him to block his path.

Tum-Tum had also stopped walking with his brothers, eager to hear what was about to be said as he chewed on the twizzler that was hanging from his mouth.

Colt huffed, "Rocky, ."

"No. What is going on with you and Ember?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Now please. I'm asking you to get out of my way." Colt attempted to push past his brother, but Rocky didn't relent.

", Colt, we're going to talk about this now. Can you imagine what it's like dealing with you two? It's so stressful and dramatic!" Rocky exclaimed.

"Can you imagine what it's like walking into the bathroom to take your morning shower to find Ember naked? I walked in the bathroom without knocking and saw her. It's not exactly an image you can just block out of your mind and forget," Colt explained as he tilted his head up looking at the sky, doing everything he can to avoid his brother's eyes.

Rocky and Tum-Tum's eyes got as wide as saucers. "What?!?" They yelled out in unison.

Colt rolled his eyes and moved around Rocky to continue walking into the school. This time, Rocky didn't stop him.

Colt was thankful for the ringing of the bell, as it gave him a break from his nosy, curious brothers. Why couldn't they ever just leave him be? He still had a lot to process from this morning. He sat down at his desk and absentmindedly turned his textbook to the correct page.

'I know it's wrong to think about what happened this morning.'

'But wait? Is it really wrong? I am male, after all.'

"Jeffrey?" Mrs. Sonnier called out to take attendance.

'True, but this is Ember. I haven't ever looked at her or had thoughts of her in that way. That is... until I saw her this morning.'

"Jeffrey Douglas?" Mrs. Sonnier called out again.

'No.. that's not true. I've been having thoughts about her for the past week. This morning has nothing to do with it.'

He was pinched by Lauren and that snapped him out of his thoughts immediately. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Lauren pointed to Mrs. Sonnier and Colt turned his head to see Mrs. Sonnier staring at him.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Douglas," Mrs. Sonnier commented sarcastically.

"Anytime, Mrs. Sonnier," Colt answered back.

Mrs. Sonnier eyed him for a second, but continued to take roll. Colt was known for being cheeky and a bit of a smart-ass, but he was also a good student. So like any other teacher, she learned to pick her battles.

Lauren leaned over, "So, Colt, you seem to be deep in thought this morning. Thinking of me, I hope?"

Colt looked at Lauren like she had grown two heads, but looked over her shoulder and caught Ember's eye. After their eyes met, Ember turned to Corey and laughed at something he said. That changed his tune immediately. "Of course, I was." He shot her a smile when Lauren giggled at his response. Personally, he couldn't stand the sound, but if it made Ember jealous, why not?

Ember rolled her eyes and looked back down at her textbook to continue reading and Colt smirked.

Lauren attempted to flirt with Colt a few more times during class, but he pretended to be deep in his schoolwork and told her that they would talk later. He looked over at Ember quite a bit during the hour, but she either had her nose buried in her textbook or was whispering and giggling with Corey.

When the bell rang, Colt gathered his things while keeping his eye on Ember as she walked out the classroom door with Corey to her locker.

"Ready for tomorrow?" Corey asked her.

"Absolutely! Have you figured out what you want to do?" Ember asked him as she put some books into her locker and exchanged them for the appropriate ones.

"What about a movie?" Corey suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!" Ember smiled and shut her locker. "I'll see you after class?"

"It's a date, beautiful." Corey responded.

Colt glared daggers at the boy. Ember walked away, heading to her next class and Corey watched her leave, his eye lingering a little too much on certain areas. This alone made Colt's blood boil. What happened next would make it worse.

He kept his eyes on Corey and watched him as he walked a little further down the hall to another girl's locker. She was a lot shorter than him with shoulder-length brown hair. He was standing a little too close for Colt's liking, and his hand was pressed on the locker behind the girl's head. They way he smiled at the girl didn't help either. Colt kept his eyes trained on them. The girl then smiled flirtatiously and as Corey reach up and twirled a piece of the girl's hair with his finger, Colt snapped. He shoved his books into his locker and stormed over to them.

"! What do you think you're doing?" Colt asked them, looking at the pair.

"None of your damn business, Pony," Corey responded and Colt's nostrils flared.

"When you ask Ember out and then flirt with another girl for the entire school to see, it becomes my business," Colt responded as he stepped closer to him. By this time, the girl had scurried away wanting to avoid the brewing confrontation.

"Oh, that's right. You're in love with her. I could tell. But guess what, Pony? She doesn't want you," Corey challenged as he pushed Colt backwards.

"I never said she did want me, you asshole. You can't ask her out, then flirt with someone else and expect there not to be consequences," Colt said as he shoved him back.

"You know what I find funny? She accepted a date from me with only knowing me for a day. Whereas, she's known you her entire life and you've gotten no where with her. And you can't stand it, can you Pony?" Corey asked him in a taunting manner.

Colt glared at him, but Corey didn't stop there. "I only asked her out to piss you off. You didn't have the balls to ask her out yourself. Sure, she's cute and all, but I wanted to get one over on you. And now that I'm taking her out tomorrow night, I'll have her in the backseat of my car by the end of it. She's practically begging for me to take that precious virginity of hers. Just think... I'm going to have my hands in places—," Corey stated, but was interrupted by a punch to his face, proudly delivered by Colt.

Corey fell back into the lockers from the impact, but quickly got back on level footing and charged at Colt, attempting to punch him, but missed when Colt ducked. Colt swung as soon as he stood up and his fist connected with Corey's nose this time. Blood began to pour out of Corey's nose. By this time, a crowd had formed around them chanting 'Fight! Fight! Fight!'

Colt looked at him smugly and circled back around, holding his stance, preparing for another attack from Corey.

"Colt, stop it!" Colt heard Ember say and he looked over at her. He wondered how much she had heard. He hoped she'd heard what Corey had said about her and would come to her senses about this guy.

With Colt distracted, Corey took the opportunity to strike. Corey punched him in the jaw, making Colt stumble slightly, but not enough to knock him completely off balance. It was only a matter of seconds before Colt charged at him again.

"Colt, no! Both of you! Stop!!" Ember yelled out as she came in between them.

"He came at me first, the damn asshole," Corey told Ember as he pressed his finger to his bloody lip, blood was still pouring from his nose.

Colt glared at him. "You know what you said, Corey. I sure as hell am not letting this go. You're lucky Ember is standing in-between us. Those punches were nothing compared to what I want to do to you."

"Douglas!! Lancaster!! Principal's office!! Now!!" The boys heard being yelled by a teacher who had witnessed the fight.

Ember watched the boys both walk in the same direction to the principal's office. She had no idea what had caused the fight, but whatever it was, it must have been bad if Colt threw the first punch.

"Alright, everyone. The show's over. Get to class," The teacher yelled out for everyone to hear.

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The rumors flew all day. Ember had heard both Colt and Corey had gotten a two days' suspension. Mrs. Sonnier was nice enough to allow both her and Lauren additional time on their project given that the boys they were both paired with were suspended. Corey had sent her a short text letting her know his parents weren't letting him come over since she lived with the boy who caused his suspension.

The rest of the day dragged by slowly and when the final bell rang, Ember sighed in relief. She gathered her books and headed out the door. She met Rocky and Tum-Tum in the main hallway and they walked out of the school together.

"So, E, what happened earlier today?" Rocky asked her curiously.

"I honestly have no idea, I wasn't there to witness the entire thing. All I know is that Corey had a bloody nose, that Colt threw the first punch, and that Corey hit Colt when Colt got distracted by me yelling at them," Ember replied.

Rocky and Tum-Tum looked at each other in mutual agreement, but neither said a word to Ember about their thoughts of Colt's jealousy.

"I'm sure there's a logical reason, E. I know Colt is hot-headed, but he's actually grown up and doesn't start a lot of fights anymore." Rocky said, defending his brother.

"Whatever. I'm sure he was just trying to ruin things for me," Ember huffed from the backseat as she crossed her arms.

When they arrived home and ventured upstairs, they noticed Colt working with Jessica and Sam, clearly being forced to help remodel as punishment. Ember walked into her bedroom and started packing her essentials.

Once she was finished, Ember picked up the box she had packed her essentials in, not realizing the full weight and the box slipped out of her hands. Luckily, Colt's talent in speed caught the box before it hit the floor. He looked at her as he stood with the box.

"Thanks," Ember said quietly.

Colt nodded. "I'll take it to the room for you. It is pretty heavy."

Ember didn't argue and she led the way to their now shared bedroom. Colt set the box on her bed and turned to look at her.

"Colt, what happened today?" Ember asked, her tone indicating that she was truly angry.

"I didn't intend on fighting him, Ember. You have to believe me," Colt began.

"Well I don't. I know you hate me. I find it hard to believe that this is all just a misunderstanding. I think you wanted to ruin things for me."

"I don't hate you, Ember. I would never want to ruin anything for you." Colt responded, his hazel eyes focused on her blue ones.

Before Ember could respond and ask for more information, Sam's voice could be heard yelling from the other room. "Jeffrey! It doesn't take that long to deliver a box. You're not getting out of this punishment!"

Colt rolled his eyes and turned toward the doorway. When he reached the threshold, he turned to face Ember again. "Can we talk later?"

"I don't think that's necessary, Colt. We have nothing to discuss." Ember replied back coolly.

Colt opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Sam's angry voice filling the hallway.

"Jeffrey!!! Now!" Colt sighed in defeat and walked away, returning to Ember's room to continue assisting his parents in remodeling.

A few hours later, Jessica had ordered pizza for the family, seeing as she didn't have the energy to cook after the day they'd had at remodeling. They weren't even close to being finished and she could see that it was a bigger project than she anticipated. Everyone ate silently and then retired to their bedrooms.

Ember took this opportunity to have the bathroom without a time limit and took a long shower, mostly just standing beneath the hot water. It was relaxing the way it fell down her skin.

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Meanwhile in the boys' room, Rocky finally had the chance to talk to Colt about what happened. They were both seated on Rocky's bed, deep in conversation. Tum-Tum was at the computer desk with his headphones on, oblivious to what was going on around him. Colt had just finished giving Rocky the full scoop of what happened.

"I don't know, Rocky, he talked about putting his hands on her and I just lost it. I know I've gotten better at self-control, but not today." Colt told his brother.

"I can't believe he said all of those things. Have you told Ember?" Rocky asked.

Colt looked down and shook his head. "I've been so awful to her, she's never going to believe me. She still thinks I hate her."

Rocky nodded. "And for good reason too. I mean, you haven't been the most friendly."

Colt glared at his brother and it made Rocky wince from his own bluntness. "I'm sorry, Colt. I know you know that already. I know I'm not making it any better."