I would have thoroughly liked to not have to even look at Onyx Hayes if given the chance, but unfortunately I shared two classes with him every day, and he'd fallen right back into his obnoxious ways as soon as his back was too me Tuesday night.

Fortunately, I was so distracted by my date with Ty tonight that I'd spent the last three days doing a decent job avoiding my neighbor. His words had hit me where it hurt, and though the look on his face when he'd said them told me he hadn't meant to hurt me, it still felt like the wind had been knocked out of me anytime I met his eyes.

I was easily able to pretend with Mikey and Angie that I was okay with it all, but deep down was a broken little girl wanting for a second to understand why her father abandoned her. To understand why love stories couldn't play out the way they did in books and movies. Why the guy couldn't just fall for the girl and they live happily ever after. Why there couldn't be a fantastical epilogue with the love story broadening into a dream wedding and two beautiful children running around and warming the protagonist's heart so they never again had to think about the hell they'd walked through to get where they are.

"Mom." I hadn't been able to talk to her since I'd heard her words about Olivia, as I hadn't known how to approach the subject, but given this was technically my first date and she was a hopeless romantic, I knew she needed to be part of the magic. "Do I look okay?"

Mom, sitting on the couch with her laptop, fixed the glasses askew on her nose and looked to me at the entrance of the hallway. She didn't say a word, but I could feel her emotions starting to overwhelm her as she set aside her computer and met me in the hall. It wasn't until she'd brushed my curled hair behind my shoulder that the tears finally entered eyes.

"Oh, Rory." she whispered, "When did you go and grow up on me?"

I started to blink, then fanned myself and shook my head, "Mom, stop. It's a date, not Prom."

I'd spent over two hours on my makeup and it was about to be cried off before my date even saw me.

"You're so beautiful." she hugged me against her, kissing the top of my head. "My beautiful little girl's a gorgeous woman now. God, time sure does fly."

I waited until she'd gotten a better grasp on herself to shift on my feet and mutter, "Mom, what's going on with Olivia?"

There was silence for so long I was sure I'd have to leave before I got an answer, but she eventually said, "She's sick, honey. Really sick."

"But she's going to be okay, right?"

She didn't answer, instead she took my head between her hands and stared into my eyes with her own glistening with tears. "That's not for you to have to worry about right now, sweetheart. Go have a great night. We can talk about this another time."

I wanted to protest but the time on the clock over the mantel was beckoning me toward the front door and I hugged my mom one last time. "She'll be okay, Mom."

"I love you, Rory." Mom called after me as I stepped out on to the patio.

I turned and smiled at her over my shoulder as she tried to clean herself up. "I love you too, Mom."

The minute I shut my front door behind me, I thought I'd see Ty's car already sitting along the curb waiting, but was honestly a bit relieved he wasn't here yet. I needed to be able to clean myself up a bit. As I was dabbing at the corner of my eyes, I heard a car door slam shut and jumped off the bottom step of my porch to find Onyx helping his mother from the passenger seat of his car. They both stopped as I crossed my yard for the curb.

"Oh, don't you look absolutely stunning tonight." Olivia complimented, grinning. "Not that you don't look beautiful every day. Where are you headed, sweetheart?"

"On a date." I replied with an excited smile.

Her eyes immediately went to Onyx as if she were scolding him for not mentioning anything, before she reached out and touched my cheek gently, as light as feather against my skin. "You have fun, okay? And if he tries anything, use some of those MMA moves I taught you a few years ago."

I laughed and rested my own hand on top of hers, wincing a little when I felt how frail it'd become. "I will. Have a good night, Olivia."

"I want to hear all about the date and the boy tomorrow." she said over her shoulder as she made her way up her driveway. I smiled after her but it faltered when I turned to find Onyx staring at the end of the neighborhood, likely waiting for Ty's headlights to blind the two of us.

"You look good, Sky." he whispered once he'd come back to reality, taking in my appearance. It was the first thing he'd said to me in three days, and I wasn't sure how to take it so I just smiled weakly. "He tell you where he's taking you?"

"No." I thought about my response, "Wait, did he tell you?"

Onyx chuckled, "Of course not. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you."

"Not everyone is you, Sky, walking that fine line between love and hate." he explained with a grimace. "Some people actually hate me."

Before I could deny I was walking any line that had the word love on it, a horn sounded and both of us jumped and our heads whipped toward the car that'd pulled up a few feet away.

"I better go." I said, making a gesture toward the car. "I'll see you around, Onyx."

He wasn't even looking at me anymore, but at Ty through the open passenger side window. Before the tension could turn to more, I opened the door and climbed in. Ty and Onyx mad dogged one another for a while before Ty finally revved the engine of his car and turned it around. I waited until I was sure he wasn't looking to look to the side mirror, finding Onyx still standing at the foot of his driveway, face twisted in a scowl as he watched after us.

*

The restaurant was beautiful; a Brazilian themed cuisine and Ty had even managed to get us a seat outside under some palm trees so we could actually hear each other rather than try and scream over all the other chatter.

"Okay, I got to know. Why don't you have a boyfriend?" Ty asked, sipping on a Sprite. "Is there something I don't know about you that I should?"

I smiled, stirring my straw in my water. "No, I mean, I don't think so. I'm just not really a people person. I don't trust easily, and most guys only want one thing so they don't stick around long enough to gain it."

His lips curved downward at that. "Damn. I'm sorry, Rory."

"It's fine." I waved my hand in the air dismissively. "Not a big deal."

He was quiet as we ate, occasionally asking about classes or explaining baseball jargon that quite literally went through one ear and straight out the other.

It wasn't until we'd finished eating and started walking along the strip mall on the other side of the street that he said, "What'd Hayes want? Why was he out there with you?"

"He'd just gotten home with his mom." I answered. "They were just asking where I was going."

Ty made a clicking sound with his tounge. A little irritated, I asked, "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, I'm not doing all that childish bullshit, Ty."

He threw his head back, then glanced my way again, "I don't know, just seems like he's into you."

"Onyx into me?" I halted to a stop and grabbed his chin between my fingers. "Did they lace your food with some drugs or something?"

"Come on, Rory. You're a book girl, a movie buff. You can't be that oblivious." he said. "He looks at you every time you look away, babe."

I snickered, "He's just hurt, Ty. I may or may not have written a list a few years ago of all the reasons I hated him and he found it."

"You what?" he asked with a loud laugh. "I got to see it."

I pulled my phone from my purse and found the picture I'd taken just in case it was lost and handed my phone over. He held it for a few minutes before he turned it off and handed it back without a word.

"What?" I asked.

"Look, I don't want to sound like a dick, but I need to know now. Do you have feelings for him, Aurora?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What? Why would you even ask that?"

"Have you read that list?" he buried a hand in his hair. "Rory, half of those sound like you're fighting feelings for him. They aren't even valid."

I let a couple pass between us before I closed the distance between us and touched my palms flat against his chest. "I don't have feelings for Onyx, Ty."

"You sure?" he whispered, the very touch of his hand against the small of my back sending butterflies fluttering about in my stomach.

Leaning into the touch I smiled and stared up into his dark eyes, "Positive."

**

I was so happy by the time we pulled back up to my house, that I didn't even bother to tell Ty I wasn't ready to be kissed. He leaned forward and kissed me without hesitation, though I did stop his hand before it could go any further. He squeezed my hand before allowing me to get out and made sure to say, "I'll text you as soon as I'm home. Goodnight, beautiful."

I stepped out on to the curb and watched him disappear before I started laughing, grinning from ear to ear.

"I take it the date went well." Onyx's voice was barely audible and when I looked to his house I didn't see him for a second. After a slight movement I saw he was laying across his lawn with one arm flexed behind his head and the other draped across his stomach. So happy that even he couldn't burst my bubble, I walked over and laid down opposite of him.

"It was amazing." I said, making gestures with my hands. "He was so sweet. And we talked. He let me talk and listen. He actually listened, Onyx."

He laughed quietly from where he laid. "That's great, Sky."

"He kissed me in the car too. Like, I didn't think I was ready, and I'm pretty sure it sucked and he was just being nice, but it was amazing."

Onyx was quiet for a while before he rolled over on to his stomach, so he was looking at me. "You look happy."

"Nothing like the sad, depressed girl wanting her happy ending, huh?"

His eyes dropped to the grass. "I didn't mean it like that, Sky."

"I know." I huffed, sitting up and crossing my legs over each other. "But it was true and I hated that you could see that."

"Just add that to your list." he replied with a wink.

I smiled and though I'd just had a magical night, I moved closer and touched my hand to his. "I'm sorry about your mom, Onyx."

He opened his mouth, looking ready to shoot me a bitter retort, but retreated back into himself. After a moment he sat up and met my eyes, his guard dropping the same way it had in the hallway a few weeks ago.

"I'm scared, Aurora. I don't. . . I can't lose her."

I was a bit startled hearing my name, but recovered quickly and leaned against his shoulder, squeezing his hand. "You won't. She's going to be okay, Nyx. She's literally the strongest woman I know. She's been through some shit and still came out. She's going to get through this too."

He rested his head against mine for a while, eyes on my hand in his. Then, slowly he turned his head just a little and I did, ready to talk to him again, but every word of comfort I had been ready to offer fell dead.

The way he was looking at me was nothing like the way Ty had tonight. Though Ty had been sweet and staring at me with genuine interest, Onyx was staring as if I were someone worthy of far more than just a quick, sweet kiss or flirtatious wink. Like I was worth something. Like under all this crap wasn't a broken girl desperate to be accepted and wanted.

"Go inside." he said, the warmth of his breath against my cheek. "Go, Aurora."

The mood swing was concerning, but I was an idiot and just sat there, confused. "Onyx—"

"Go home." he said threw his teeth. "Please, Aurora."

Knowing better than to test him again, I pushed myself up from the grass and leaned down to grab my bag.

"Goodnight." I whispered, and though I half expected no response out of him, he averted his gaze from the street and looked up at me.

"Goodnight, Aurora."

Something about the way he said my name stung and I quickly turned on my heel. It wasn't until I'd walked through my front door and made my way through the house and to my room that I realized the entire trek into my house I'd been fiddling with the bracelet around my wrist.

Showering and slipping into my pajamas, I texted Ty back and ran a hand threw my damp hair as I stared up at the ceiling.

That moment out on the lawn had felt the same as the other night when he'd leaned into my window. Intimate, intense. Hot. I had never once in my life imagined I'd be on the other side of Onyx Hayes gentle touches and vulnerable eyes.

Rolling on to my side, I pulled my blanket up to my face and squeezed my eyes shut. I'd just promised Ty there was nothing between Onyx and me, but the very fact I could still feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek and couldn't remember anything about my kiss with Ty wasn't looking too good.

I'd just have to pray it was a momentary lapse of reason, because there was no way in hell I had feelings for Onyx Hayes.

Right?