I need to walk away from Adrian. It's the only way to settle the chaos in my mind. The party continues to rage on as I squeeze my way through the sweaty crowd on the dance floor. My eyes search for a familiar black-haired, doe-eyed girl, but Olivia is nowhere around. I punch in her number with my trembling fingers, not pausing until I'm outside Liam's house. I wait for her to pick my call, but she doesn't. I try again.

Still no response.

My patience wears out, and I type in a quick text to her.

Me: I'm heading home. Be safe.

I know she will be safe since she's with Noah. Apart from Adrian, the only other decent guy on the soccer team is their keeper, Noah.

The cool night air hits my face, followed by cold drizzling rain splatters as I step on the street. The clouds grumble above me, breaking the last of my resolve. A shiver travels down the length of my body, and I hug my arms around myself. The icy raindrops find their way beneath the thin fabric of my dress, making it difficult not to feel the chills in my bones.

My stomach feels heavy once again with the realization of my sloppy behavior. Instead of dealing with my problems with an open and positive mind, I decided to get drunk and put myself in a questionable situation with a guy I hardly know. I think about the worst that could've happened to me tonight if Adrian wouldn't be there for me.

With a stealing breath, I gather my senses which aren't under the haze of alcohol and hop across the street. It's almost midnight, and this side of the road, with the brick house along the line, is relatively quiet. I don't know why I'm walking in the rain, drenched from head to toe and trembling, but somehow it helps me get rid of the bone-crushing anxiety.

After a few thoughtless strides, I hear the purring of the engine from behind. The thundering sound of the motorcycle is enough for me to guess who is riding it. I squeeze my eyes and keep walking as the sound of his approach gets louder. He motors towards me at a speed only he can manage to straddle the beast of a motorbike and halts on the curb beside me.

I spin around to spot Adrian. His eyes are on my face as he turns off the engine and steps out of the bike. The black T-shirt clings to his muscular torso, dripping sodden under the rain. I try to ignore the messy brown hair that falls in sexy soaked strands across his brow as he takes off his helmet, but I fail as he stands in front of me with a deep frown.

"What the hell are you doing, V?"

"Walking home." I spit through clattering teeth.

He releases a scowl, looking at me with commanding eyes. "Well, get on the bike. I will drop you."

I blink through the freezing drizzle. "I don't want to. Please leave me alone, Adri. I can't handle your obnoxious self right now."

He takes a step closer to me, pushing back some of his wet hair. "I'm only trying to protect you."

"Don't you get it? I don't want you to be my knight in shining armor."

"I'm sorry, V."

My head jerks back with the sudden softness in his voice. It feels like I've heard him speak to me in that tone ages ago. "I don't want your apology, Adri. Just let me be. You have no idea how I'm feeling right now."

"Then tell me. Talk to me, V." He whispers, brushing away a salty trail with his thumb. His eyes, which somehow resemble the apple Jolly Rancher, and the way he can see my tears against the rain, flutters my heart. But I pull away from his touch.

My lung seizes, and I swipe my tongue on my wobbly lips as anxiety creeps through me, sudden and uncontrolled. Adrian's fingers are gentle as he brushes them against my wet cheeks and holds my face in both of his palms.

"Can't you see, our friendship is falling apart, V?" He leans in, his green eyes begging me for attention. "It kills me to see you like this and not be able to give you comfort. When did we stop being friends?"

I shake my head, and my throat jams, choking my voice. "Don't you know when and why?"

He squeezes his eyes, and when he finally looks at me, I see the same sea of emotions as mine. "If it's because of the kiss we shared a year ago, then it doesn't have to be the reason. Let's not make it a big deal. It was just a peck on the lips, a friendly kiss. Forget whatever bullshit I said about feelings and all."

"What are you saying, Adri? I don't understand." I scan his face in confusion.

"I can kiss you right now, the same way we did that day on the bleachers, and it won't mean anything." He has a playful glint in his eyes.

"Wasn't one kiss enough to create enough problems in our friendship? You want to repeat that awkward moment." I scoff, glaring at him. The memory of his whiskey-scented lips lingers in my mind, creating a chain of crazy emotions.

"I want to clear things out between us. We can recreate the memory, but this time with no awkwardness or confused feelings. Maybe we can forget whatever we felt in that moment, and we can go back to the way we were before that kiss." He looks at my lips for a flickering moment, and then his eyes are looking back at me for approval.

"What if it turns into another disaster and destroys everything that's still left of us?" My voice is as small as it could be.

"It won't, I promise." He says. "At that moment, we were vulnerable, but now we're in our senses."

I think through every word he says, and my mind wants to get rid of all the confusing emotions I share with him. He is right. Every dent in our friendship started with that one kiss. Not a kiss, just a peck. A friendly peck between friends. I want to test out his theory. It will either erase the memory or solidify the new feelings that are beginning to take shape.

"Okay, a peck then." My teeth clatter again, and my voice is a little shaky.

Adrian brushes the pad of his thumb on my cheekbones, with a soft endearing smile on his face as he gives me a reassuring nod.

And then, as the icy drizzle pours down on us from the splitting sky, his head leans forward, his fingers tuck my hair behind my ear while his soft, soft, pillowy lips touch mine. A sudden fiery brush of his lips electrocutes all my nerve endings, sucks the air out of my lungs, and leaves a trail of fire on my lips.

It's a peck, as he would like to say, lasting only a second before he leans away as if another second would be a gamble of control from his side.

If I had refused this chance a few minutes ago, I would've missed this friendly peck between friends with a handsome hunk of a guy with ocean eyes and sunshine of a smile.

If I can keep the memories of his whiskey-scented lips in the deepest darkest corner of my heart, then I can push this fiery kiss in the rain in some empty dark corner as well, only that I can't. Every space that lived in silence starts echoing with this feeling. Heat flames my skin as I stare at his soft fiery lips that branded me as they pressed to mine in a stupor.

I want them back on my lips.

This time I want to burn in their scorching heat as I part them with mine and taste the secret inside them. I want to leave my taste in every nook and cranny of Adrian's mouth so that he can never replace it with any Charlotte. I want to sift my fingers through his messy brown hair and explore the depths of it. I want to flatten my palm on the expanse of those abs under his black T-shirt and feel them flex under my touch. I want to do all of these and so much more.

But I can't do it.

I shouldn't do it.

Not when he is looking at me with those calm ocean eyes with a hope that it means nothing more than a peck.

"See, we didn't feel anything." He croaks out, taking away his touch from my face and wipes away the trails of rain from his face.

I remain stunned for a few seconds before lying to him with a nod. "Yes, no feelings at all."

A confident lie we both share now.

I can read the pleadings in his eyes as they lock momentarily with mine.

I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. We messed it up again. Fucking epic this time.

"Let's never do that again." He says over his shoulder as he turns to walk over to the bike.

"Yes, never again," I mumble as I follow him.

Because if we do this again, I might end up embarrassing myself by severing the lines of our friendship.

I can feel a pinch in my heart with the remembrance of my first kiss, the kiss I shared with you, Augustus. I'm losing the feel of your touch, and it's breaking my heart.

I wish you were here.

I wish Adrian wouldn't be here.

But the truth is he's here, and you're not.

He unhooks a second helmet from the bike and turns around, holding it out for me. With a determination to set everything right between us and a softness in his eyes, this is the green-eyed boy with whom I grew up. I share so many happy moments and sad ones too with this boy. A frenzy of emotions shoots through me as he sighs, setting his helmet on the seat and adjusting mine on my head. He gathers my wet hair to one side carefully, his fingertips leaving a trail of goosebumps as they glide across my neck and side of my face.

"We still have to work out all the missing days of our friendship." I place my hands over the helmet to adjust my small skull as he buckles the strap.

He scowls at me. "Maybe, you missed, but I was always watching over you like your guardian angel."

"More like a creep."

He chuckles, putting his helmet back on and straddling the bike. "That was me being an angel. My creepy self is a whole another thing. We don't want to go there, do we?"

"I have seen all of you. Remember the summer you dropped your towel, and I saw your naked butt?" I grin at him. That was the summer when we went to the beach for a family vacation.

"Don't remind me what I saw that summer when the waves almost plunged you in, and I saved you." His rumbling timbre stills me in my place. His voice is a cloud of smoke, his breath a potent elixir.

The smug smile on his lips says it all, and I've no idea what exactly he saw that day. The only thing I remember while choking on the salty water as it stung my eyes and nose is Adrian carrying me out of the water in his arms. When I regained my senses, I was wrapped in a fluffy towel, and he was stroking my wet hair, looking all pale.

"You never told me what you saw exactly. So, it doesn't count." I spit, placing my hand on his tight muscles, and slither up behind him. "You're too chicken to remind me."

"Are you sure you want to know?" He angles his head over his shoulder as I squeeze my thighs around his hip. The dress slides up a little, making it difficult not to feel his body heat through the rough material of his jeans. I can feel his muscle tense up, same as mine, but he shifts his attention on the gears, revving us through the drizzly wind. He moves his hand back, holds my cold fingers, and wraps them around his waist, making me snuggle some more to his back. "I don't think so. But I can assure you one thing that it was way sexier than my naked butt."

That earns him a tickle on his belly, and we both laugh like crazy as he zooms towards my apartment. I feel every twitch, every contraction of his muscle plastered on his back as he rides the bike through the turns. The purring of the engine transfers his excitement to me. It's the first time I'm on his motorcycle since he owned the black beast, but somehow I don't feel frightened as he shifts the gears and maneuvers it. It almost feels like the only escape from my troubled mind. With him, it's always like this, natural and instinctual. I'm content snuggled up against his body heat as the icy cold wind breezes around us.

***

Adrian trails after me as soon as I open my apartment door. I leave him wandering around my place and praise Olivia in my mind for clearing up my clutter from the living area. What can I say? I'm not a very organized human. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge on my way to the bedroom and toss it to him after chugging a mouthful.

"You should get changed," he says, twisting the cap back on, placing the bottle on the counter, and leaning against the island. "Take a shower."

Of course, because apparently, I smell like Liam.

"Why? Because I smell like Liam?" My blood simmers, and I shoot daggers through my eyes as I shake my head and glare at him. I grab a clean towel from the heap of unfolded mess in my dresser, but when I turn around to throw it at his face, I find his gaze narrowing at my question.

"No, because you drenched in the rain," he says, leaning against the door jamb of the bedroom, "And I'm pretty sure you no more smell like him."

"Yeah, how are you so sure now?"

"After being plastered to my back the entire ride, I'm pretty sure you smell like me now." He steps a foot inside, takes the towel from my hands, and drifts back into the living room. All the while, his green eyes held me in a daze, veering electricity up my spine.

I feel my heart pinching again with a possibility I know shouldn't be there. I strip and let my heartbeat drown in the spurting water of the shower. It would be better if Adrian's words or anything related to him doesn't affect me. Except, I know it does. I try washing away all the new feelings he's stirring in me and all the sinful things my mind keeps brewing up every time I look into his green eyes.

With us pretending to ignore whatever this feeling is, it will be difficult not to be uncomfortable around each other. But I'm going to work on that friendship as we promised. That's what keeps bugging my head as I step out and change into a pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt.

I take a sigh of relief that I'm not in a towel as soon as I step out of the bathroom. Because I find Adrian on my unmade bed, sitting over my tangled-up sheets, talking on the phone. He ends it with a goodnight and looks up at me with a sudden softness in his voice.

"I was talking to Sarah." He says, straightening his spine and getting up from my bed. "You weren't responding to her messages. That's why she freaked out."

My stomach tightens with the same anxiety I've been pushing away. I ignore Adrian's eyes as I walk out of the room, finger combing my wet hair.

"Why didn't you tell me about your father?" He asks, following me into the hall. Of course, my mom informed him about my father's health condition, and now he's trying to pity my anxiety or maybe lecture me on not sharing it with him. Sometimes, I feel his friendship with my mom overpowers my friendship with him.

He grips the back of the couch where I flop down and watches me stabbing in random channels on the television.

"We were not talking." I shrug, pausing on Nat Geo and increasing the volume. There's a long pause, almost like he disappeared from the room before he snatches the TV remote from my hand and mutes it.

"I'm not here to pity you, V." His timbre is soft as he stands tall before me with his hands on his hips, forcing me to look up at him instead of the muted screen.

Why is he still here? He should leave. My eyes dart towards the open window across the room and I groan when I see it's still raining outside. I can't push him out of my apartment in this weather.

He's here bare-chested with the dog tag necklace falling sexily down his neck and black metal complimenting his tan skin. Textured brown hair falls rebelliously over his brow as he keeps looking down at me with those ocean green eyes. His black jeans hang low on his sculpted hips, giving a nice view of the sharp patterns of his muscle and dark dusting of hair below his navel. He's arresting in a not so demanding yet challenging way that makes it easy to dive into his glory.

"Stop looking at me like that, V." He settles down on the couch moving my legs to the side.

"Like what?" I ask, placing my legs on his lap and leaning my head against the armrest. I do know what look he is talking about, but I feel rather smug, making his ear tips turn red. He can be cute too when he is shy, and I'm glad that look is reserved for me alone.

"If you're trying to divert our topic of discussion, then you're failing." His eyes are hard this time when I meet his gaze, his jaw has a tightness, and I know he hates it when I close off from him. "I'm here, V, and not because I pity you. I'm here because I care. I thought you were doing fine with your job at the coffee house and going to the dance classes, but I was wrong, wasn't I?"

My eyes itch with each of his words and turn glassy as I nod, picking on my nails. "You were not talking to me, Adri."

"Come here," he says quietly, softly, and an outstretched hand appears beneath my face.

I stare at his hands for a few seconds, contemplating the comfort and security that comes with them. When I finally place my cold palms on his warm ones, the certainty replaces unpredictability. When he pulls me to his side and brushes his fingers through my tangled waves, I realize it's worth all the walls that are cracking inside right at this moment. And taking a final leap of faith, I rest my head on his chest, suppressing the moan of relief his scent forces from me, and move close enough to rest my legs on his lap.

"I'm sorry for being such a bad friend." He cups the back of my neck. "I'll never do that again. And you have to promise not to close me off when you're sad. I hate those sad flickers in your brownie eyes. I hate it."

His words stick inside my throat, making it tighten just a little with the passion radiating from his voice.

"I think we both need to work on this," I say, "but I know we'll ace it if we try."

He props his chin on my head and whispers, "I'm with you, V, always."

We stay on the couch like that for a long time before my phone chimes up with a notification. It's a message from Olivia.

Liv: Tell me you reached safely. I'll be a little late, but I'm safe. Noah is with me. ;)

Me: I'm home and safe. Stay sober and be nice to Noah. ;)

Adrian leans back on the couch, staring at me as I type in the message and toss my phone on the trunk.

"She'll be safe with Noah, right?" I ask.

"Noah's a decent guy. The real concern here is will he be safe with Olivia?" He gives me one of his infamous smirks as he stands, tugging his hands inside the front pockets of his jeans. "I should go."

"Stay," my voice is a little rushed, and I cringe internally for sounding so desperate. My eyes roam from Adrian's sparkling green eyes to his exposed torso and back to his face. "Are you going to head out like that?"

"Are we going to watch a movie or something if I stay?" He crosses his arms across his chest and raises a brow in my direction. I can read in his eyes that he never intended to leave but wanted me to ask him to stay. He's back to being the obnoxious Adrian.

"What movie?" I ask him, brushing away the waves of my tangled hair falling over my eyes and nose.

"All the Bright Places." He grabs the remote and unmutes the television. He rents the movie and sets it up on the screen, giving me a show of his back muscles flexing as he moves.

"I told you not to look at me like that." He says, joining me on the couch and pressing the play button on the remote.

"Why did you choose this movie?" I chew on the inside of my cheek. "You don't like cheeky teen romances."

He settles in beside me, propping his feet on the trunk and stretching his arm along the back of the couch behind me. Then his heated gaze captures my face, my throat as I gulp visibly and back to my eyes. "Because it has a Violet in it."

My pulse spikes up as the movie starts, and he faces the screen as if he can see right through me but decides to avoid it. So, I do the same and let my focus shift to the TV screen.

"I want to do something else too if you'll allow me." His voice is soft under the loud dialogues of the movie.

Something else what? Kiss me? Pull me on your lap and smell the column of my neck and let me do the same. God! Tell me that's what you want to do.

"What?" My voice turns dry and hoarse with all the dirty possibilities wiring in my head. I'm burning up all of a sudden.

His fingers brush the skin of my shoulder softly, up, down, and in a circle. The cool metal of his rings against my heated skin zigs electricity up my spine as he takes forever to speak. "I want to braid your hair."

What an actual eff? Braid my hair? That's what he wants to do.

"You're joking, right?" I swivel to catch a glimpse of depth in his eyes that I have never seen before. "Do you even know how to form a braid?"

"I do," he holds my shoulders and turns me around. "Now, watch the movie and let me braid your hair."

I look over my shoulder to gape at him, but he nudges my face back on the screen.

His fingers sift through my tangled hair as he gathers them together, leaving a soft trail of his fingertips on my skin. I close my eyes, letting free a sigh as he parts my hair and starts braiding my loose strands gently, rhythmically.

Somewhere in the middle of this relaxing feeling of his soothing touch in my hair, the saddest part of the movie comes up, and I'm sniffing quietly. My eyes burn, and my nose gets runny as I feel his fingers pause mid-way.

"It's just a movie, V." I can feel the vibration of his voice on my back as I lean on him. I shift against him, resting my chin on his chest, and gaze into his calm eyes.

He brushes away the tears peeling down my cheeks and rests his palm on my face as I mumble, "I'm so happy that we're friends again."

"Me too, V." He tips his head down and places a kiss on top of my head, then stretches back on the couch. The soft rhythm of his heartbeat and the warmth radiating from his body makes my eyelids heavy. And as I lose myself to sleep, a thousand questions swirl inside my head.

Why can't I stop thinking about his lips touching mine, and why can't I stop myself from wanting more than a touch of fire? I want to burn, and it's toxic for my fragile heart, which still belongs to you, Augustus. This. Is. So. Messed. Up.

***

Author's Note: I know it's a late update, but my work schedules are killing me. Hope! I made up for the delay, and this chapter was worth the wait.

Do you think Adrian and Violet messed up for real this time?