The burn/torch thing was MerlinMegaFan12's idea. :)

Chapter 19: The Hip Shop

I woke up in the morning to see that my school was cancelled thanks to the snow. Sighing in content, I lay back down and closed my eyes, only to be jolted up two seconds later by my ringing cell phone. I lifted it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Is school cancelled?" Grayson asked. He had an adorable morning voice.

"Yeah, why didn't you just check the television?" I muttered as I rolled onto my back.

"Because it would have been better to hear it from you," he told me. I wanted to coo but knew that I'd sound stupid. "And because I lost my remote so I couldn't change the channel."

I knew it was too good to be true. "Bye, Grayson."

"Bye, Darling." Once I hung up the phone, I giggled into my pillow before falling asleep.

~~~

"Audrey, come here." I looked up to see Grayson walking towards me, his hands behind his back. Why is he calling me Audrey? We're on good terms; he usually calls me Darling.

"Yeah?" I asked him, glancing around at the snow covered floor. Light snowflakes flowed through the air and landed carelessly on the ground.

He smiled at me, his eyelashes holding a few stray snowflakes, they dissolved once he blinked. He looked breathtakingly beautiful, as corny as it may sound. Urging to run my hands through his hair, I eagerly approached him because he was walking too slowly. "Come closer."

I was a few feet away from him when he pulled something from behind his back. It was a torch with fire burning at the end of it. I gasped once he reached out, burning my hand lightly. I winced and pulled my hand away, watching the malicious expression slip onto his face. "Grayson? What are you doing?"

He laughed and began walking towards me, closing the space between us. The torch was on my jacket and I quickly ripped it off, throwing it to the snow as I began running away. Grayson was a lot quicker than me and ran circles around me; his hateful smirk was matched with spiteful eyes. I whimpered when he reached out and allowed the torch to burn another portion of my skin.

"Wake up!" I snapped up, glancing around. Grayson caught my eye and I whimpered, cowering backward in my blanket.

"Get away from me!" I snapped. "You're going to burn me again!" I began searching my arms for the burnt patches of skin. What is he doing in my house?

"What are you talking about? I'm only here because your mother told me to make sure you're up by ten thirty so you can walk your dog. You're a heavy sleeper. I've been calling you for the past ten minutes. I assumed you just weren't answering, so I come over and you're dead asleep," Grayson told me, running a hand through his hair. "So just get up and walk the little loaf."

Making sure the blanket was up to my neck, I narrowed my eyes at him. "You couldn't walk my dog for me?"

"I'm not a dog walker," he told me, tucking his hands into his jeans.

"Yeah, but after your dog nearly killed me yesterday- you think you'd owe me one, or a million," I muttered, flipping onto my stomach.

"Yeah, you'd think- but that's not the case," he snorted.

I sighed, resting my head on the cold pillow. "I don't want to get up; I'm tired," I whined.

Grabbing the pillow from under my face, Grayson smacked the back of my head with the soft object. I groaned, turning on my side to glare at him. He smirked at me, tossing the pillow on top of my head. "That's what you get. I had to get out of my bed in order to get you up." He exited my room with an evil laugh, slamming the door behind him.

I got up and crawled out of bed, having to face the frigid air. Taking a pair of sweatpants and a large t-shirt out of my dresser, I walked towards the bathroom. I showered and changed, throwing my hair up messily. I exited the bathroom, my hair dripping slightly. I didn't have time to blow dry it if I wanted to walk my dog. I didn't want to have to clean up his pee if he decided that he couldn't wait until ten thirty.

I got downstairs and was surprised to see Grayson in the kitchen. He was sitting on the counter while watching the stove. I noticed a pan on a burner, containing a large omelet. "So, you were dreaming about me?"

I groaned. "It was more like a nightmare. You burned me with a torch multiple times."

"Well, that's... pleasant," he muttered and I nodded. "I expected you to blush and say, 'Oh Gracie, I totally wasn't dreaming about you. Don't be so conceited, ugh.' Or something along those lines, you know?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't talk like that."

He rolled his eyes. "You do, but anyway, are you hungry?"

I nodded eagerly. "Too bad, this is for me!"

His statement earned him a glare and he groaned. I grabbed the orange juice out of the fridge along with two cups from the cabinet. "I'm only kidding; it's for you, too."

"It better be," I told him as he took the omelet out of the pan and cut it in half. He handed me a plate as he sat on the opposite side of the table in the dining room. I smirked at him. "T-thank you."

He narrowed his eyes at me and I knew that he realized I was mocking him about his stutter last night. We ate in silence as I devoured the food. It was delicious and although it cured my hunger, it didn't cure my burning curiosity as to why he was still in my house. "Why are you here?"

He looked up at me and quirked an eyebrow. "Your mother told me that you usually fall back asleep but I knew you were awake once I heard your terrible singing."

I felt my face burn in embarrassment. "I thought I was alone!"

"Yeah, Pierce the Veil, more like Pierce my Eardrums," he muttered under his breath and I kicked him underneath the table. "Did I ever tell you that you're extremely violent?"

"Yes, thank you." I gave him a cheesy smile as I poured the orange juice into two glasses.

"Why isn't there any pulp?" he asked as he sipped the orange juice.

"You like pulp?" I asked him, wrinkling my nose slightly.

He nodded. "It's the best part."

I scowled at him. "Well I hate it."

He glared at me before he continued eating. Once we finished, I put the plates into the sink, washing them quickly. "Are you ready to walk Tobias?"

"You're treating me like a kid. Oh wait! I can't walk him; uh, my hair is wet and I can get sick." I pretended to frown. "Can you do it for me?"

"What? No!" he exclaimed as I grabbed the small dog's leash and hooked it onto his collar. I shoved the leash into Grayson's hand before grabbing his opposite hand, allowing the butterflies to form in my stomach as I pulled him towards the door.

"Like you said, he doesn't walk that far. The only thing you'll have to do is walk him down the block and pick him up whenever he falls over, okay?" I demanded rather than asked. Opening the front door, I tossed him out of it, smirking when he almost slipped in the cold.

The snowflakes dotted his hair as he walked down the steps of my porch, taking my fat dog with him. My dog looked like a tan hotdog. Tobias slipped and fell over and I saw Grayson look around as if he was about to do something bad. "Don't drag him!"

Grayson groaned and leaned over, picking my dog back up. Tobias looked up at him with crossed eyes as his tongue slid out of his mouth. His breathing was heavy. I snorted as they walked four feet before my dog tipped over. Grayson would groan in frustration every time.

I watched as he angrily walked back towards my house, my obese dog in his arms. He put the dog down when he reached the steps. My dog hopped up them while he stormed up the stairs. At the top step, his foot slipped and he fell down the six steps. I laughed loudly, placing my hands on my knees while he struggled to get back up. Once he did, I saw blood on his hand as he clutched his wrist. My laughter died down and I groaned. "You seriously hurt yourself falling down those stairs?"

"No, I just fell down the stairs for your amusement," he hissed as I opened the door for him to enter. He wiped his shoes on the mat while I walked towards the bathroom in order to grab the first aid kit.

"Wash off your hand in the sink," I told him once I grabbed the kit. He was already in the kitchen, running his hand under the water, allowing the red water to pour down the drain. He winced occasionally.

I put on the gloves, wiggling my fingers as I stared at them. I approached him with a large gauze dampened with something to clean his cut. He looked at me and shook his head. I groaned. "This isn't the stuff that burns," I lied.

"You're lying," he told me, cowering in the corner with his hand cradled against his chest.

I groaned. "Stop being a baby; you're 17 and a football player."

"So? What does my physical ability and age have to do with pain tolerance?" he snapped.

"Oh, I don't know, you'd think a guy who gets tackled every other day would be accepting of a little burning sensation," I told him.

"I don't get tackled because I'm the best on the field," he explained, scowling. "And I thought you said it doesn't burn."

"That's before I knew you could tell what this stuff was, now hurry up before it starts bleeding again," I told him and he shook his head. I crept towards him and he lifted his other hand as if to keep me away. "Come on, it won't hurt."

He quickly ran by me, catching me off guard. He ran into the living room and I followed him, the wet gauze in my hand. He was beside the couch. "Get away."

"You'll get an infection and die," I told him.

"What do you care if I die?" he snapped as I tried to approach him. He moved the other way, causing me to groan.

"I wouldn't care; I just wouldn't be able to move another dead body into my basement," I complained jokingly. He just stared at me with a horrified look on his face. "I was just kidding, Grayson."

"I doubt that you're joking," he told me. Catching him off guard, I threw myself over the couch and landed in a heap on the floor. He was too busy laughing that he didn't even notice when I grabbed his wrist. I lightly dabbed the gauze onto the cut that had stopped bleeding.

He hissed in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" He tried to pull his hand from me but I had his wrist in an iron grip. I learned from Natalie. After a while, he stopped trying to escape and once the cut was clean, I let him go. "Do I get candy for surviving?"

"That's what you get for trying to drag my dog," I snapped.

"I wasn't going to drag him! I was just going to wait ten minutes and bring him back inside," he excused.

"You're an idiot," I told him as I dragged him towards the first aid kit. I applied healing ointment to the long cut, bandaged it and wrapped it. I then discarded the gloves and washed my hands again. I placed the first aid kit back before entering the living room. I groaned when I saw Grayson was still there. I may have a crush on the boy but having him around was so nerve-wracking. What if I embarrass myself? "You're still here?"

He grinned. "You know you enjoy my presence."

"We're spending too much time together. Leave! Go! Shoo!" I groaned as I plopped down onto the recliner.

"I need time to heal. Besides, would you like me to fall down the stairs and hurt myself again?" he asked.

"Yes, I would," I replied, earning a pillow to my face. I turned and glared at him as he just smiled innocently. "Don't be such a jerk."

"Says the one who wants me hurt," he snorted as he rested back on the couch. "Remember when I would ignore you just so I could play with my Gameboy?"

I laughed, surprised that he remembered that. I bet he wouldn't if it wasn't for Emily bringing it up. "Yeah, I remember that."

"I wish my Gameboy was here now so I could ignore you," he told me, his eyes closed and his good hand behind his head while his injured one rested lightly on his stomach. I walked over with a pillow in my hand and placed it on top of his face.

"Don't fight it," I muttered when he tried to push me away. A few seconds later, he managed to wrestle the pillow off of his face.

"Did you just try to smother me?" he asked, sitting up.

"I don't know, did I?" I shrugged as I jumped back into the recliner, my legs hanging off the side. Scowling, Grayson laid back down, his eyes closing. "What are you doing? Don't you have a home?"

He snorted. "I do, I just don't want to go back to an empty house."

"So you'd rather sit in my presence?" I asked as I flipped the channel.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he asked. Rolling my eyes, I turned up the volume. "Can you turn that down?"

I ignored him and continued watching Adventure Time at the volume it was at. "Did you hear me? I asked if you could turn the volume down."

Instead of turning it down, I clicked it up another decibel. He got up and stormed over to me, taking the remote out of my hands and turning it down. I stared at the television as he dropped the remote back into my lap. Once he was settled down and comfortable, I grabbed the remote and increased the volume.

He groaned loudly. "You don't listen at all, do you?"

~~~

It was hard to put into words why Grayson was at my house. It was even harder to explain to my mother, who was giving me nervous looks as Grayson exited our house. "Not that I don't like him or anything, but why was he here?"

I turned off the television and walked over to her, leaning on the counter casually. "Well, you're the one that sent him over to wake me up so I could walk Tobias."

"Yeah, I didn't expect him to stick around for about five hours," she told me, looking back towards the clock that read three o'clock. I shrugged.

"He didn't want to be home alone. Most of the time he was here was spent arguing with me about the volume or the channel," I told her, grabbing a can of Sprite out of the fridge.

My mother nodded, giving me odd looks. "So did you walk Tobias?"

I shook my head and she groaned. "He walked Tobias for me."

Mid groan, she closed her mouth and opened it to speak before closing it again. Shaking her head to rid of whatever was disturbing her, she turned to me with a smile. "I have to go file some papers; the roads aren't bad so if you're up to it, you can drive to the mall."

I shrugged and nodded, grabbing my phone and sending a text to Sandra and Lola. I didn't get a response from Sandra and I figured she was sleeping in. Lola texted me saying that she couldn't because she had plans with Kyle. Groaning and flopping down onto the couch, I looked at my contacts again. Apparently Kyle was busy, not that I'd want to hang out alone with him- that'd be weird. I had a feeling that Carson was sleeping in as well. It'd be odd to hang out with Shane if we weren't around other people and I just spent hours with Grayson and I don't plan on coming off as clingy. Sam doesn't seem like the shopping type, either, besides- we have different fashion tastes. Bypassing unimportant people or family members, I reached the last name on my list: Seb.

I sighed and sat up, sending him a text. It's risky but if all goes well, I'll be at the mall and shopping in less than an hour. And I'll be with a friend: Sebastian. Receiving a reply almost ten minutes later, I groaned. 'I'm working, sorry, if you want you can swing by while you're at the mall.'

My ears perked up at the latter of the sentence. 'You work in the mall? Where?'

'The Hip Shop, the stupid store with all of the sun glasses and hipster clothes,' he replied.

'I'll definitely swing by,' I told him as I rushed upstairs to my bedroom. Changing into a pair of blue denim skinny jeans and a light tan shirt, I slung a blue hoodie over my torso and slipped my feet into my tan and gray boots. I grabbed my keys and stuffed my phone into my pocket, running outside. Shivering as I got into my car, I turned on the heat.

A loud tapping noise caused me to jump and I turned to see Grayson laughing as he hunched over beside the driver's side window. I slowly rolled down the window, letting a dry laugh escape. "Ha, ha, ha, hilarious."

He nodded. "It really was. Anyway, where are you going?" he asked as he leaned up against the window.

"I'm going to the mall," I told him as I reached to turn on the radio.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked curiously. I thought about it before shrugging.

"Sure, that's if you don't mind seeing Sebastian for a few minutes," I told him and he pursed his lips before walking over to the passenger's seat.

"You know how bad it looks when a girl is driving a guy around?" he complained.

"You know how bad it is when a guy is sexist?" I snapped as I drove down the street, going a bit slower than usual.

In response, he just shrugged and reached for the radio- finishing the task I wasn't able to. He clicked on the music and my Fashionably Late CD blasted through the car. He turned it down slightly but left it on. "You like Falling in Reverse?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, they're pretty okay."

I nodded, a small grin stretching across my face. He gave me a weird look before turning and paying attention to the snow outside of the window. "Any plans for the weekend?"

I shrugged, shaking my head. "As far as I know, no; do you have any plans?"

He bit his lip as I stopped at a stop sign. "There's a party tomorrow, I might go."

I nodded, slowly pulling off again. "That sounds fun, you should go."

He snorted. "You sound like my mother."

"She's aware of this party?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him and he wrinkled his nose, shaking his head.

"Is work cancelled for today?" he asked me curiously.

I nodded, giving him a flat look. "If school is cancelled, what homework do the students have to do?"

He shrugged. "Maybe they have a project."

Smirking at his unconfident answer, I continued driving, letting the sound of Ronnie Radke's voice fill the car.

~~~

Once we arrived at the mall, Grayson groaned. "I'm hungry."

I glared at him. "Stop whining and go get a cinnamon bun or something."

"No, I don't want a cinnamon bun. I want real food," he muttered as I looked around for the Hip Shop.

"Then get real food," I mocked his whiney voice as I stood on the tips of my toes in order to see past the few people in the mall, who all seemed to be standing in my line of vision.

"What are you even trying to see?" he asked.

Glancing over my shoulder once before continuing my search, I shrugged. "The Hip Shop."

"Why?" he snorted as he grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the food court. Stopping in front of a sub stand, he turned and paid his full attention to me, expecting an answer.

"Sebastian works there," I told him as I looked around once more before giving up. I'd have to check the mall's map in order to find it.

He snorted again. "I hate that guy."

"Of course you do," I replied as I crossed my arms.

"But yeah, I hate him. So what?" he asked as his eyes surveyed the menu overhead.

"So what? He's my friend; you guys treat him like trash," I snorted as I already decided what I want.

After we ordered, he turned his attention back to me. "We treat him how he deserves to be treated."

"So he deserves to have his car trashed with eggs and yogurt?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. "Oh, and don't forget the spoiled milk."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess he does. Besides, how'd you even meet the guy? Were you on www.creepinmyarea.net?"

Giving him a flat look, I held back a laugh. He noticed this and smirked, poking me in the side, causing the laugh to squeal out. Getting over the flirtatious movement, I cleared my throat, trying to gain my sense of seriousness back. "I told you already; he's Sam's brother."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sick of that same excuse. Why are you still talking to the guy if you don't like him?" he asked as he carried our food to a table. He handed me my bag as he sat down across from me in the booth.

I scowled. "I may not like him as a boyfriend but he's my friend, Grayson, and just leaving him after my other friends trashed his car wouldn't be very nice."

Shaking his head and sighing, he placed his sub back down on its wrapper before holding his hand's up. "Okay, let's change the subject."

I nodded as he raised the sub back up to his mouth and took a bite of it. "So, can we talk about Saturday and yesterday?"

Choking on the piece of sub that lodged itself in his throat, he began coughing as I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Once he recovered, he looked at me with a red face; I'm not sure if it was from the fact that he'd just been deprived of oxygen or from pure embarrassment. He coughed awkwardly. "What's there to talk about?"

Groaning in frustration, I bit my tongue. "You can't be serious! You know what happened. Don't you recall, 'g-goodnight?' Or even the whole scenario where you were about to kiss me and I turned away? Did you just toss those out of your mind?"

His eyebrows were both raised as he stared at me. The shock was evident on his face and he pursed his lips before sighing. "No, they did not leave my mind."

I waited for him to continue with the subject but he just sipped his drink and stared at me. "I-Is that all? You mean you have nothing to say about it?"

He shrugged, shaking his head. "No, I mean, what do you expect- me to apologize and beg for your forgiveness?"

I scoffed. "No, I'm asking for an explanation."

Shrugging again, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, there isn't an explanation."

I gaped at him, my mind working hard to process the information I'd just received. "So you're saying that there isn't a reason why you attempted to kiss me?"

He shook his head. "It just...happened."

I nodded, returning to my food. Boy, don't I feel stupid?

~~~

When we finished eating, I jumped up from my seat, dragging Grayson along. I struggled to forget the conversation that died only moments ago- the almost kiss had no purpose. It shouldn't surprise me as much as it does. Dragging him to the mall's map, I squinted to find the Hip Shop. Pulling him towards the escalator, I continued to yank him towards the Hip Shop.

He abruptly stopped once we reached the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Going to the Hip Shop?" I quirked an eyebrow. Didn't I already tell him this?

Scoffing, he wiggled his hand from my grip, sending another wrecking ball to my self-esteem. Acting as if it didn't hurt me, I placed my hands on my hips. "I don't want to see Sebastian; you do."

"Yeah? So?" I shrugged.

Catching him off guard by grabbing his arm, I yanked him inside of the shop. Sebastian seemed to recognize us almost immediately. "Audrey! And you brought...him...along."

Sending a glare in Sebastian's direction, I nodded, glancing at Grayson. "You can let me out of your iron grip now; I won't run away- did you forget that you're my ride home?"

I obliged, releasing his arm from my hold and turning to Sebastian. I leaned on the counter, watching as he rolled around in the chair behind the desk. "This place is...cool."

"Don't you mean...hip?" Sebastian laughed as he pointed to the sign overhead. I glanced at the large sign. As if the store's name wasn't large enough outside. And as if it wasn't branded on every single item's tag.

Grayson snorted. "Way to land a job."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "And where do you work? The library?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't dis the library," I joked with Sebastian and he smiled at me before shooting a disgusted look at Grayson who easily brushed it off.

"So, tell me why the mutt is here," Seb asked, leaning over the counter.

Groaning, I placed my hand on my forehead. "Can you refrain from insulting him? At least for my sake."

Seb groaned. "Anyway, why is he here?"

"I'm in the room, you know?" Grayson scowled as he turned and glared at Sebastian.

Seb gave him a flat look. "Yeah, I know, and I'm questioning why you're here. Do you listen?"

I watched as Grayson clenched his fists and I knew it was my turn to step in. "Hey, Seb, well, Grayson and I have to get going! We're going to go shopping. I'll see you some other time, yeah?"

Seb nodded, smirking. "It's a shame we didn't get to hang out today. You know, I've missed you."

I nodded, smiling in response. "I've missed you, too." Grayson and I exited the store, allowing me to let out a breath of relief.

"That guy is such a... jerk," he caught my glare in time to change his words.

"Maybe because you trashed his car. He's not a jerk to me," I told him.

He scoffed. "Yeah, because it's obvious that he likes you."

I laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, because that's obvious."

He gave me a flat look. "I'm serious; I think he likes you."

"So? And what's the problem with that?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know; it's just bad to hang out with guys that have a crush on you," he noted.

I rolled my eyes. "So? Is it bad that someone has a crush on me for the first time in a long time? Sorry that I'm not like you Grayson and people don't flock towards me."

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Look, that's not what I was saying- I just don't want you to lead him on."

"He knows that I don't like him like that," I told him. "Besides, even if I did like him- I probably wouldn't date him."

Grayson looked at me with a confused expression on his face. "What? Why not?"

"Because my friends don't like him," I explained. "If they don't like him, I can't hang out with both of them at the same time. I'd have to hang out with one or the other, and one of the two will feel neglected."

"Really?" Grayson asked, a smirk pulling onto his face.

I punched his shoulder, allowing a small smile to make its way onto my face. "Not you, you idiot, Sandra and Lola."

He gaped at me. "What? Why doesn't my opinion count? Or even Kyle's or Carson's? Or even Shane's clouded judgment?"

"Because you guys didn't like him way before I even brought him up," I muttered.

Allowing a sigh to slip between his lips, he offered me a smile. "Okay, so I guess that makes sense, but what if it were some other guy?"

I shrugged. "I don't know; it depends on the situation."

Grayson nodded. "And just out of curiosity, what do Lola and Sandra think of me?" he teased.

I punched his shoulder, earning a laugh from him. "Shut up, you idiot."

"Anything for you, Darling."