It wasn’t everyday I walked into Chris’s classroom to find him watching a Youtube video with cute animals in it. He didn’t notice as I quietly shut the door behind me. Doing my best to stay as quiet as possible, I slowly tiptoed towards his desk. Luckily for me he was too intently focused on the video to note me. Holding in my laughter, I grasped his shoulders as tightly as I could.

The next thing I knew my nose was throbbing painfully.

“Shit,” Chris swore, yanking off the headphones. “Sorry, Holly. I thought you were Jeremy…”

I stared at him in horror, holding my nose. “You just randomly punch Jeremy?”

He gave me a blank look. “Yes?”

“That’s mean!”

A chuckle left his lips and he pulled me towards him, making me sit on his lap. “Is your nose okay?”

“A kiss would make it better,” I mumbled sarcastically, pulling my hand away from it. It still panged painfully. “You really pack a punch.”

He took my hand in his, giving me a quick kiss on the nose. “Well, I am known for my one hit KOs.”

I winced at the memory. “Oh, I know.”

“So is there a reason for you coming to visit me?” he questioned, resting his chin on my shoulder.

“Not really. I just had the urge to see you,” I admitted honestly, growing embarrassed. “Ah, that sounds weird.”

He squeezed my abdomen tighter. “No it isn’t. I wanted to see you too.”

“Really?”

“I want to see you all the time,” he told me, his breath tickling my ear.

I squirmed from the feeling, pulling my head away. “Don’t do that,” I scolded, feeling my heart beat increase.

“Don’t do what?” he inquired innocently, breathing on my ear again. “This?”

“Yes that!”

“Why?”

I shuddered, wriggling on his lap. “It’s giving me the tingles.”

“The tingles?” he repeated, laughing quietly. “That’s good. Does this give you the tingles?” Without warning, he pressed his lips to the hollow spot under my ear.

I jumped in surprise, turning my head to him. “C-Chris!”

He smirked at me. “You’re so innocent.”

“Sorry,” I snapped.

“It’s cute,” he apprised me, ruffling my hair. “I like knowing I’m the only one who has witnessed the reactions you have when someone does something new to you.”

I blushed now, turning my head away. A frown flitted across my face. I’d been doing so well with holding my blush back… How could he make my cheeks heat up so easily? It was almost inhuman.

“Oh!”

“Yes?”

“How’d you get on Youtube?” I questioned, glancing back to his computer, where the video was still playing.

He gave me a smug look. “It’s a teacher privilege.”

“Why are you looking at videos of animals?”

“I think I might get a pet,” he responded thoughtfully. “I’m so used to you coming over my apartment it’s really lonely when you’re not there. I thought a pet would make it more bearable… Unless you want to move in.”

 It took a second for his words to process in my mind. Move in? Was he serious? I stared at him with wide eyes.

He laughed again, flicking my nose. “Don’t look so worried. I was kidding.”

To my surprise, I felt disappointed. “Oh…”

“Of course, you can move in if you like,” he informed me. “It’d just be smart to wait until you graduate… And when your mom’s ready to let you go. I don’t want her hating me for taking you away.”

“I can move in with you? After I graduate, I mean.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you look so skeptical?”

“I don’t know… It just seems weird.”

“Well seeing as I babysit you from time to time, I can see why. If you moved in, I could technically be a fulltime babysitter.”

I scowled, lightly slapping him on the shoulder. “You’re not my babysitter! That’s just my mom’s excuse to force me to stay at your place.”

“Force you?”

“I mean, um, no, not like that. It’s not that I don’t want to stay, it’s just that if ever for some reason I don’t want to, um, she’d force me too,” I babbled, my eyes dropping to the ground.

He gave me another tight squeeze. “I was kidding, Holly.”

“Should have guessed,” I muttered. “But anyway, you want a pet? What kind?”

“Anything but a cat,” he responded, wrinkling his nose. “I feel like they’d be really annoying.”

I opened my mouth in surprise, trying to form a coherent response. “Cats are amazing!” I finally burst, feeling insulted. “They are the best pets!”

“Don’t they just sleep all day?”

“No!”

He gave me an apprehensive look. “They just don’t sound exciting. I’d much rather have a dog.”

I frowned at him. “If I ever move into your apartment, we’re getting a cat.”

“I don’t think so, Holly.”

“I don’t like dogs!”

“I don’t like cats.”

“Have you ever owned one?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Don’t judge them before owning one!”

“They’re ugly.”

“No you’re just lying,” I accused. “We’re getting one.”

“It’s my house.”

My next response died in my mouth. He got me there. A self-satisfied smile spread across his face as he leaned back in his chair, making me jolt up from the sudden angle. He raised an eyebrow in amusement, waiting for my retort.

“That’s not fair,” I finally stated.

He tugged on a piece of my hair. “I still haven’t decided on getting a pet yet or not. If worse comes to worse we could get neither and get like, a turtle or something.”

I smiled. “A snapping turtle would suit you more.”

Leaning forward in his seat again, he brushed his lips past mine once before planting them firmly on them. Immediately he licked my bottom lip and I opened my mouth slightly, allowing him access into it. He held my face in his hands when I tried to pull away, stopping my escape. My heart raced in my chest from the kiss, and also from the anxiety that we could be caught. Finally I managed to pull myself free from him when he stopped to take a breath.

“I’m not sure whether I should be happy you have some self-control or disappointed,” he remarked, grey eyes piercing into mine. “It wouldn’t be good if were caught, but at the same time…”

I kissed him again lightly, tingles going through my body. “I know what you mean.”

He gave me a curious look. “Holly, what made you more comfortable with kissing me?”

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Before you’d never start a kiss,” he pointed out, “and you’d be really shy during the whole thing.”

I frowned at him. “I don’t know… I guess I’m getting used to it.”

“Getting used to it,” he repeated slowly. “That’s not a bad idea…”

“What isn’t?”

He grinned mischievously. “You’ll see, my little Milkshake dancer.”

My face flamed in embarrassment. “Don’t bring that up!”

“Sure,” he responded, nodding his head, then proceeding to hum the tune to Milkshake.

“I hate you.”

“You love me,” he corrected, kissing me again. “I’ll finish up here so we can do something today.”

“Do something?”

He smiled. “I could use some groceries. We could go back to the one Jeremy works at.”

My heart skipped a beat in excitement. I could go grocery shopping with him again?

Suddenly the door to the classroom burst open. Chris immediately shoved me off his lap and I fell to the floor, landing uncomfortably on my butt. He sent me a worried look, but I shook my head in dismissal, turning to the door instead. Jeremy was standing there, watching us with an amused expression.

“What were you two doing?”

“Nothing,” we responded in unison, relief evident in both our voices.

Chris sent me a disapproving look. “You forgot to lock the door?”

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. “I guess I was too distracted by the fact I could actually scare you…”

“Good thing it was only me who walked in,” Jeremy commented, coming over to the desk and holding out a hand to me.

I grasped it and he pulled me to my feet, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Chris gave him a bored look. “What do you want?”

“I’m borrowing Holly,” he responded simply.

I stared at him. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“We have plans,” Chris told him, shaking his head. “Borrow her some other time.”

Jeremy shrugged. “You can reschedule. Let’s go, Holly.” He started dragging me to the door, one arm still around my shoulders, his other arm grasping my hand so I couldn’t pull away.

“Wait,” I demanded, sending a helpless look towards Chris. “I really can’t—”

“Bye Chris!”

“Jeremy!”

“Say bye, Holly!”

Chris pushed himself up from his desk, looking extremely irked. Jeremy laughed loudly, yanking me out the door before he got to us. We nearly sprinted down the empty hallways, towards the school exit. By the time we got outside I was panting, and holding a stitch in my side. Jeremy steered me to his car, placing me in the passenger’s seat.

“Where are we going?” I demanded as soon as he slipped into the driver’s seat.

“To the mall.”

“Eh? Why?”

He glanced at me as he turned on the engine. “Why do you think?”

“I don’t know…”

Rolling his eyes, he pulled out of the school parking lot, heading towards the mall. “Are you going to the dance on Friday?”

“Yeah, Chris is chaperoning so…”

He nodded. “That’s good. Do you have a date?”

“No,” I responded slowly. “Why would I?”

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t it seem more normal if you had a date? Especially since Aaron thinks we’re dating,” he added, chuckling. “Oh, I can just imagine Chris’s face…”

“Yeah, well Aaron also thinks you’re cheating on me,” I told him accusingly. “What are you thinking Jeremy?”

“That it’s not a real relationship so it doesn’t matter?”

Rolling my eyes, I turned to frown at him. “No. I meant going on a date with Lexi. She called you by your first name!”

“Are you jealous?”

“No! I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be careful.”

“That doesn’t matter—”

“Look, you and Chris worked out fine, didn’t it? There’s more of an age difference between you and him than Lexi and myself too, so don’t play the age game on me. Let’s drop it, okay?”

“But Jeremy—”

He glanced at me, narrowing his eyes. “Drop it.”

“Fine,” I huffed, crossing my arms. “For now.”

He laughed. “Fine. So what are you and Chris doing after the dance?”

“Um, going back to his place.”

A grin spread across Jeremy’s face. He shot me a sidelong glance. “Birthday sex?”

“What?” I cried in surprise, feeling my cheeks heat up. “B-birthday sex? What?”

He sniggered at my reaction. “It was a joke… Kind of. You guys should be getting to that stage, right? I’m surprised Chris hasn’t tried anything yet.”

“J-Jeremy!”

He glanced at me, a blank expression crossing his face. “Wait a second… Don’t tell me…”

I glared at him, my face still flaming. “Tell you what?”

“Are you a virgin?”

My mouth dropped open at his direct question. For a few seconds I gaped at him. He looked just as surprised as me.

“You are!”

“So what?” I snapped.

He burst out laughing. “Oh my god! I can’t believe it!”

“What’s so funny?”

He didn’t respond, but kept laughing like a maniac. I glanced at the road, making sure we weren’t going to crash into anything. My heart sunk when I randomly realized my car was still at the school… Jeremy would have to drive me back to get it later.

“I can’t believe you’re a virgin,” he commented, going into a cough. “Actually, I can.”

I scowled at him. “What of it?”

“Nothing, it’s cute,” he told me honestly, grinning ear-to-ear. “I can’t wait until Chris finds out. Although he probably already figured it out.”

“Shut up!”

“So I guess birthday sex is out of the picture,” Jeremy continued, looking unfazed by my death looks. “Unless…” He peered at me. “Are you…?”

I shifted my gaze. “C-Chris said we’re not… We won’t… You know, have a… physical relationship until I graduate.”

Jeremy nodded approvingly. “Good. It will keep you both out of trouble. Although that’s weird… Going through high school a virgin.”

“Jeremy.”

“Well if it’s not birthday sex, what are you going him for his birthday?”

I blinked. “His birthday?”

“Why did that sound like a question?”

“When’s his birthday? It’s coming up?” I inquired, furrowing my eyebrows. “He wouldn’t tell me when I asked him…”

Jeremy gave me a look of disbelief. “His birthday is Friday! I assumed you knew, that’s why I joked around with the birthday sex.”

“It’s Friday?” I repeated, my eyes growing wide. “I didn’t have any idea! Oh no! Jeremy what do I do? I have no idea what I’m going to get him!”

“That’s what I was bringing you to the mall for! I need help!”

“You need to help me!”

“You have to help me first!”

“I’m his girlfriend!”

“I’m his best friend!”

The car jolted as Jeremy slammed on the break for a red light. We shared a challenging look with each other for a few moments. I finally gave in first, letting out a sigh. “Okay, if we work together, we’ll figure out what to get him.”

“Deal… I can’t believe you didn’t know it was his birthday.”

“Me either,” I mumbled, turning my attention out the window.

How could I not have known something so important?  I would have gone over to his house Friday night without knowing that. I wouldn’t have even said happy birthday! The thought made me feel awful.

“Hey, Kiddo.”

My attention turned back to Jeremy. “Yeah?”

“Don’t feel too bad,” he started. “There was no way for you to figure it out if no one told you.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed reluctantly. “There’s so much I don’t know about him though, but he knows so much about me.”

Jeremy shrugged. “You’re an easy person to figure out.”

“Thanks,” I said flatly.

He smiled. “Chris, not so much. It’s understandable. Although, compared to everyone else, you know Chris way better than anyone. Excluding me, of course.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

“Even Holly?”

“Even Holly,” he agreed. “Your relationship with Chris is much more deeper than hers had ever been.”

The thought brought a smile to my face. “Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s good then, I suppose,” I commented, shifting in my seat. “I still don’t know what to get him for his birthday though.”

Jeremy made a face. “Has he mentioned anything he wants lately?”

“Besides Aaron gone, not really.”

“This may sound random, but do Casey and Lance know what Aaron tried?”

I shook my head quickly. “No!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want them to know,” I replied truthfully. “It’ll just be awkward. Aaron’s nice to them, and I just don’t want to hassle them with that…”

Jeremy frowned. “I think you should tell them.”

“I don’t know…”

“Do you want them being friends with such a guy? What if he tries the same thing to Casey?”

My eyes widened at him. “You don’t think…”

“No. But if he did, I’d beat the living daylights out of him,” he muttered, scowling at the steering wheel.

The corners of my lip twitched into a smile. Even if Jeremy was interested in Lexi, at least he still seemed to care about Casey. Hopefully he’d realize just what type of person Lexi was and get with Casey…

“What do you think about getting Chris a blender?”

“A blender?”

“Yep.”

I thought about it for a second. “I think he has one…”

“Damn.”

After a little while longer we pulled into the mall parking lot. Jeremy acquired a parking spot near the entrance of the mall, so we only had to walk a little bit before making it inside. The smell of pretzels hit me full force, making my stomach growl. Jeremy grinned, guiding me towards the pretzel stand to buy me some nuggets.

“Alright. Now that the beast is sedated—”

“Hey!”

He smirked. “Where should we start?”

My eyes trailed the stores closest to where we were. Pac Sun, Deb, Hot Topic, Zumiez, J.C Penny, Hollister, A.C Moore, a chocolate store, Build-A-Bear, the pet store, Target… I did a double take.

“Jeremy… I have a great idea.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

I nodded, grinning like a maniac. “I know exactly what I’m going to get Chris for his birthday.”

“That’s great for you,” he responded in a pouting tone. “What about me?”

“You’ll buy the other things I’m going to need for it,” I responded, grabbing his hand, and tugging him towards the store.

“Seriously? It’s that easy?”

I nodded my head in excitement. “It’s going to be perfect!”

“Awesome! Okay, so now that you have his birthday present set, what about his Valentine’s Day one?”

I stopped short, turning to look at Jeremy blankly. Valentine’s Day? I hadn’t even thought about that! A groan escaped my lips. “I’m going to be so broke…”

He patted me on the back. “I’ll spot you some if you need it.”

I looked at him thankfully. “I love you.”

“I know,” he responded in a very Chris-like way.

__________________________________________________

This story is so easy to write when I actually want to write it lol. It only took me three hours to write all this this time! Not bad at all! :D And also, if you're reading IMS I'm trying something out, so if you could all PLEASE take five seconds to click the vote button. If it works the way I think it will, I'll let you guys in and you can use it to your advantage! But just click the vote button. To your left if your on a computer, down below if your on a phone/ipod i believe, you have to pull up a different screen.

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Today's song is The Boy Who Could Fly by Pierce the Veil because it's amazing and the lyrics are so awesome... Like "I hope you like the stars I stole for you, one hundred million twinkles in neon blue." and of course the famous line, "'cause without you there is no me."