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"Happiness is found when you stop comparing yourself to other people." - Anon

Dedication: Scarlet_Shilouette for the amazing cover

Recap:

"Pleasure, as always." Xavier smirked, our fingers brushing as I took the tiger from him.

"Wish I could say the same."

"Oh and by the way," Xavier said as I began to walk from him, my new toy tucked underneath my arm. "You accepted my apology. No take backs."

I just rolled my eyes, hugging the tiger closer to me.

That boy is full of surprises.

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Whatever progress Xavier and I had made at the carnival, was suddenly lost. He was so stupid to have done this. After all the effort he put in, trying to get me to forgive him for reading the letter, and he does this? I feel sick and betrayed.

I stared, with heavy eyes, at the almost-empty Nutella jar that stood before me. All I wanted to do, was kick back and enjoy my afternoon where I had no assessments to complete and no work commitments. I could sit down, watch a good movie and eat until I made myself sick.

But no. Of course. I should have known Xavier would do something this low. I can't believe he had the audacity to do something like this.

Who goes into someone else's house and eats their favourite food?

I was disgusted. And I don't care if this is technically his house, too. It's still mine, in my mind.

"What's up, Buttercup?" Speak of the Devil. His smooth voice floated through the kitchen, just before I could hear the soft padding of his feet following through, a mere second later. I ground my teeth together. Slowly, I pivoted, staring into the clear eyes of Xavier.

"You ate my nutella."

"I what?" he asked distractedly, chucking something into the sink. The clatter of the metal on metal made me flinch. I stared daggers in the back of his head, until he decided to finally look at me again. He paused, realising how serious I was. "Oh." He stared down at the basically empty jar between us, actually looking a little guilty. "Oops?"

"Oops?" I echoed, planting my hands on my hips. "That's all you have to say for yourself? I have been waiting all day for this. Now everything is ruined."

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure there is something else that you can eat instead."

"Nothing is better." I snapped.

He glanced up at me, his smirk wavering. "Are you actually this upset over Nutella?"

"Yes!"

"Wow."

"What?" I asked, folding my arms defensively across my chest.

"You take things so seriously."

"You don't take things seriously enough."

"Fine, you sook. I'll buy you another jar. No need to get all worked up."

"You're going to buy me another?" I repeated, narrowing my eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah?" he asked. He leaned forward slowly, his elbows resting on the granite bench top. Without breaking eye contact, he slowly put a finger inside the jar. Excruciatingly slow, he grazed the jar, collecting one of the last ounces of nutella. He brought it to his lips, his tongue snaking out and running across his finger. I couldn't take my eyes off him. A shiver ran down my spine as I imaged that tongue, running across my skin. My throat suddenly felt dry. He knew he had me. I couldn't stop staring. My lips parted slightly. He stuck his finger further in his mouth and somehow still able to smirk. "I know what's for dinner, how about dessert?"

I could think of something...

***

After somehow finding myself in that rather uncomfortable situation, I decided to bail. I had begun to have a mini panic attack in my room, fearing the known. Xavier can feel the sexual tension between us, just as much as I could. I need to go back to focusing on how annoying he is. How much I don't want him in my house. But what he did at the carnival had been surprisingly sweet. Also, the fact that he drew an amazing portrait of me. What was the deal with that? I hadn't seen drawings of anyone else in there. More importantly, no other girls.

Deciding on putting a pause on my relaxing afternoon, I went to my wardrobe and withdrew my tights and Nike singlet. I think a nice walk, or jog, depending how motivated I was feeling, would be a nice distraction. A way to diffuse the accumulating tension I was feeling inside my body.

"Oh, working out?" Xavier asked excitedly. Why he was always up in my part of the house, was beyond me. I was half beginning to question if he just camped out near my room, waiting for me to come out so he can pester me.

"I'm going for a run." I suddenly stopped, Xavier running into me. I turned, the entire situation feeling slightly deja vu. I sped walked into my room and grabbed my key, locking the door behind me. I slipped the key in the little pocket, at the top of my singlet.

"Faithless," he sighed. "I thought we were passed this."

"That's what you want me to think." I replied back snippily, throwing my pony tail over my shoulder. That was unintentionally flirtatious. Yeah. Definitely unintentional.

"Can I come?"

"Don't you have anything better to do than harass me all day?" I asked in exasperation, descending down the stairs.

All I wanted was some time away from him. When he wasn't being infuriatingly annoying, it was hard to ignore his amazing body, amazing smile, amazing eyes... Oh God. I need to get out of the house. I need to get away from him.

"But I like harassing you."

He wasn't giving up. It was almost as though he could feel what I was feeling. Like he wanted me to give in to my hormones and if he keeps pushing, I eventually will. Actually, that's probably what he does want. I wasn't going to give in. Like hell I was going to stuff up this arrangement my dad organised. We were humans, not animals. We can control our raging hormones and just be roommates. Right? I'm not like all the other girls at school that hang off his every word and wait all day for his attention. I'm beyond that, surely.

"Go hang out with a friend." I suggested, securing my hair one last time. I glanced down at my watch, just as I reached the door.

"How long are you going to be?"

"What are you, my father?" I snapped, beginning to get irritated with him. "Why don't you go shopping and actually do something beneficial for once. We're running low on groceries."

With that, I slammed the door in his face.

The air was cooler than I expected. By the time I was up and running, the wind nipping at my exposed skin caused my skin to erupt into goose bumps. I wish I had thought to get a jacket. If Xavier hadn't distracted me, I probably would have.

I jogged around the block, before spontaneously deciding to run down a path I used to always go with dad. I kept running, until my sides ached, my lungs were burning and I could see the rusty, old gate appearing in sight. I sighed with relief.

My body sagged onto the metal gate. I could see my breath in front of me. It was beginning to get cold, fast. I shivered. This was all his fault. Ugh. I groaned, suddenly punching the gate in front of me. My hand stung, but the pain hardly registered in my mind. With a deep sigh, I began walking back towards my house.

I'm so weak.

***

F: You've got to be kidding me.

B: What?

F: Xavier.

B: What has he done now?

A frown was indented in my lips as I quickly texted Brooklyn back.

F: He made me tacos.

B: What's wrong with that?

F: He knows I love tacos. And this afternoon he wanted to, like, hang out?

B: Maybe he likes you?

F: Or maybe he's planning something.

B: You're being paranoid.

F: Do you realise who we're dealing with?

B: You're right. He's definitely up to something. Keep your eyes open.

F: Yeah. I'll try.

B: Want me to come over for support?

F: We do have extras tacos.

B: Be there in five minutes.

I grinned. Brooklyn and I were the exact same when it comes down to food. We both could not resist tacos. We were obsessed. One time, Brooklyn's parents went away for a week, holidaying in Hawaii, and she stayed with us. Seven days straight of tacos for dinner and nachos for lunch. My dad has never been able to stomach them quite the same. I still forced him to endure through Taco Tuesday every week though. Any more then that, I think he would go insane. We well and truly tested him out that week, I can assure you.

"What are you smiling about?" Xavier questioned, withdrawing the taco shells from the oven.

He can cook too? Of course. Why did I expect any less?

"Brooklyn's coming over."

"Any reason?" he asked.

I didn't like the tone in his voice. He always spoke as if he knew something I didn't. I hated it. I'm getting more paranoid by the second.

"Because she's my best friend? She doesn't need a reason." My words came out a little too defensively. I inwardly groaned. What the hell was happening to me?

"Can I invite a friend then as well? I wasn't sure the rules on that."

"Not like you've cared any other time." I snapped, referring to the few times he's invited the football guys over to annoy me. It wasn't the fact that it was the hot football guys from school that I hated. It was the fact that they were all friends with Jacob. Last thing I wanted was for Jacob to know my business.

"Fair call." He pulled his iPhone from his pocket.

It had been twenty minutes and Brooklyn still hadn't arrived. We'd even put the taco shells back in the oven and the fry pan was on low. We waited in silence for our guests. My foot was tapping restlessly against the bottom of the bench.

"You seem nervous?"

His lips were against my ear. I hadn't even realised he'd moved. I swallowed uneasily, glaring up at him. "Do I?"

"You do." He smirked. "Is this about what happened at the carnival?"

"Of course not."

"You sure?" he insisted.

He inched forward. The tips of our noses brushed. My heart was slamming inside my chest. This tension was ridiculous. I've never been so highly attracted to someone in my life. Why, was I forced to live with him? Couldn't I have just goggled at him across the school yard, like all the other girls? I don't want to live with him and know all his dirty secrets. I'd rather just be here by myself. I don't want another romance. The last one of mine had ended badly enough.

A loud knock on the door had us both jostling forward, our foreheads bumping painfully into one another's.

"Ow," I groaned, getting to my feet.

Xavier's laugh echoed through the kitchen as I dragged my feet to the door. Brooklyn better have a good excuse for being this late.

I swung the door open and a girl from my school stood there. I openly stared her up and down. She was small, but not as small as me. My chest puffed out slightly, like it always does when I come across someone taller than me. Which is basically everyone.

"Um, hi." Her voice was small. So quiet, if I wasn't staring at her face, I probably wouldn't have realised she said anything at all.

What was she doing at my house?

"Hey?" I said but the word more came out like a question. Brooklyn's car (finally) pulled into my driveway and I glowered at her. She almost caused a kiss between Xavier and I because her lateness. She was meant to be helping me, not making things worse.

"Um, excuse me."

I hadn't even realised brown-haired Barbie had been trying to talk to me, let alone trying to get inside my house. My hand slammed into the side of the door, her chest colliding with it. She turned out round, brown eyes to mine, looking startled.

"What are you doing here?" I didn't try to be nice.

"Xavier invited me over."

I raised my eyebrows at her. This, was Xavier's guest? I narrowed my eyes and stared up at Brooklyn, who had come onto the porch, just to hear the tail-end of our conversation.

"Yo, Faith," Xavier called out, coming towards the door. "What's the hold up?"

I glanced at Brooklyn, who looked just as confused as I felt. Why would Xavier invite another girl over to my house? Was he trying to make me jealous? That was not going to work. It's not like I like him or anything.

"Oh, hey Claire," he grinned. "Come in, the food's ready."

She glanced down to me and slowly, I removed my hand, allowing her entry. She brushed past me and flinched, as I stared at her. She hurried over to Xavier's side and he rested a hand on her lower back.

I hadn't even realised my teeth had been grinding together, until Brooklyn elbowed me in the side. I mentally shook out of whatever dumb trance I had been in all afternoon and slammed the door shut.

I was not jealous.

***

"You're so jealous," Brooklyn hissed at me the second my bedroom door shut behind us.

"No I'm not."

"You really are."

"Shut up!" I snapped, infuriated. I couldn't stand Xavier. Sure, I was attracted to him, but the entire ordeal was purely physical. Emotionally, I will be strong and not let my body's desires overpower my rational thinking.

"You think I'm bad? Wait until Alex-"

"He is never going to find out," I warned, my eyes narrowing into slits. I glared at her as hard as I possibly could. "Don't you dare."

"So you do like him?"

"No."

"Faith," Brooklyn sighed. "I know you. Don't even try and lie to me."

"I don't!" I cried out. "I find him attractive, yes. I want to do very bad things with him, yes. But I don't like him. I don't want to date him."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her eyes staring intently into mine. She was staring into my soul.

"Positive."

"Alright then, cool." She spread out unattractively on my bed. She began scrolling on her phone. I stared at her, waiting. Nothing.

"That's it?"

"What?"

"You don't have anything to say?"

"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p'. "You're one of the smartest people I know. I don't doubt for a second that you're not in control."

If only she knew.

***

An evil grin slowly spread across my face as I heard the heavy footsteps of Xavier. A loud yawn escaped him as he emerged into the kitchen. I spared a glance up to him. His hair was spiky, sticking up in odd angles. He had slight bags under his eyes and his track pants dishevelled and wrinkled. Did I mention that he was shirtless? Because he was. And he damn well looked good. My eyes paused, momentarily, on the jagged scars that ran along his chest. I made a mental note to pry more about that at a later date.

"What smells so good?" he groaned, collapsing onto the stool.

This was the first morning Xavier and I had both been in the kitchen before school. It was kind of weird, actually. Well, no, not when you know that I actually wait in my room for him to leave before coming out. I'm seriously that anti-social of a morning. I don't function too well. Unless, I have an ulterior motive, of course.

"Bacon and eggs."

He peered at me, through the gaps of his long, slender fingers. His hands fell onto the bench top as he stared at me with an open mouth.

"Oh. I just realised the second plate would be for Brooklyn, not me." he said, looking disappointed.

"Brooklyn didn't stay last night," I said, flicking my hair over my shoulder. I glanced back at him, forcing a kind smile on my face. "I just wanted to repay the favour of you cooking dinner last night."

His eyebrows disappeared into his hair line.

"What?"

"What?" I repeated, placing two pieces of toast onto his plate, before evenly spreading the scrambled egg across them. "Sauce?"

"Wait, stop." he said, staring intently at the food. "Why are you being nice?"

"I'm a nice person?"

"Not to me."

I shrugged. "Don't eat it then. More for me."

Slowly, he reached for the sauce bottle and squeezed it, the red liquid running over his food. Looking at me suspiciously, he reached for the salt. While he was distracted, I grabbed the vinegar and placed it in the cupboard, biting my lip. I had made it this far, I couldn't blow it now.

He sat heavily and began eating the awesome breakfast I had prepared for him. I had already eaten mine. It was delicious, if I do say so myself.

I wandered to the edge of the kitchen, so I was standing slightly behind him. He was three-quarters of his way through, before he reached for the cup of juice I had poured him. Let's just say, I didn't mention that it was loaded with salt, pepper and vinegar. I'm sure he would figure that out himself, pretty quick.

I wish I had filmed it. I had run to the side to get a glimpse of his face as he choked. It was absolutely priceless. His cheeks turned red as he spat juice all over the bench. I shook with laughter. I begun laughing so hard I was rocking back and forth with no sound coming out. He leapt to his feet.

Time for part two.

I sprinted towards the stairs and elegantly leapt onto them, taking two at a time. As expected, he came roaring after me. I spun on my heel, just in time to catch his foot slipping on the first step. Honey. It was a brilliant idea, really. He fell backwards, the juice (which I didn't even plan that part so that was even better) poured all over him. The thud was loud as he landed.

Take that, for bringing that girl over last night.

He groaned, the sound echoing through the house. My laughter was uncontrollable. He slowly sat up, looking extremely unimpressed.

"You're going to regret doing that."

"Yeah? Bite me."

With that, I strode up the stairs, a proud smirk planted on my lips.

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Hope you enjoyed this! Hope you're having a wonderful day! :)