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Bella's POV

I looked at Connor, smiling as I did so. Maybe I hadn't made the wrong choice in letting Connor take me out.

5 seconds later

"Bella, get your foot out of my face!" Connor yelled as he swerved the car.

"NEVER!" I cried out.

1 minute later

"I'm sorry Officer, it won't happen again." Connor said with a sigh. The Officer nodded his head, giving me a weirded out look before walking back to his car. Once he had driven off, Connor turned to me.

"All that because you didn't want to listen to country music?" He asked, talking to me like I was a little kid.

I shrugged. "I hate country music. Accept it."

"You bit me then dove in front of the radio like a protective mama bear!" Connor cried out, staring at me in disbelief.

"Meh." I shrugged.

"Bitch."

"Hey!" I snapped, glaring at him. Connor shrugged, starting the car and pulling onto the main road.

"Meh."

I turned away to hide the small smile on my face.

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Connor's POV

"Meh." I said, a smirk forming on my face. I watched as she turned away, trying to hide the smile on her face.

"You hungry?" I asked her, waiting for the light to turn green. She turned, looking at the time.

"Yeah." She said, smiling. It was already eleven, and after skipping breakfast, I was pretty hungry.

"I know the perfect place."

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Bella's POV

"McDonalds?" I said slowly, staring at Connor in shock. "You're kidding me, right?"

"What?" Connor asked innocently, amusement shining in his eyes. I frowned and crossed my arms defiantly.

"I can't believe you took me to McDonalds." I said, looking out the window.

"Is someone disappointed?" Connor asked in a baby voice. I frowned and glared at him.

"Of course not. This isn't anything special, so I didn't have high expectations- or any for that matter." I said, opening the car door. I smirked as I got a glimpse of Connor's pissed off expression as I shut the door, walking to the entrance of the fast food place. As we stood in line, I noticed a lot of people glancing at him and me.

"What's everybody looking at?" I asked curiously, looking back at Connor. He looked around before a smirk appeared on his face.

"I look hot and you look like a hobo." He said, smirking like the asshole he is. I frowned and looked down at the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants I was wearing, and the nice button down and dark jeans he was wearing. For some reason, I burst out laughing, which caused this group of middle-aged women to start glaring and whispering.

"Would you shut her up?" One of them asked Connor bitterly. I stopped laughing and raised my eyebrow.

"You do know you're in McDonalds, right?" I asked her, loud enough for everyone to listen in. She stared at me in shock and nodded her head.

"So what gives you the right to judge me?" I asked, venom lacing every word. Her eyes widened and she just stared at me, completely speechless. I smirked and walked back to Connor, all eyes on me. Connor was smirking, amusement shining in his eyes.

"I already ordered, let's sit." He said, guiding me to an open booth. He placed the tray down in front of us, his eyes never leaving mine.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I've never seen a girl bitch off to someone in a McDonalds." He said, a smile forming. I laughed and looked around. Most people had gone back to their conversations, except for the group of ladies who were now watching me.

"So what's mine?" I asked, looking down at the tray.

"Here," Connor said, handing fries and me a burger. I raised my eyebrow as I looked at the rest of the food left over.

"You're going to eat all that?"

He looked down and shrugged. "Yeah."

"How are you not fat?" I asked as he stuffed his face. He shrugged and swallowed.

"How are you not fat?" He asked, grabbing his second burger.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I chewed my fries.

"You eat like no other." He said as if it was obvious. I frowned as swallowed, looking down at my half eaten burger.

"No I don't." I said, glaring playfully at him.

He scoffed. "You ate nearly four pieces of pie at the coffee shop, and I've never seen you being picky during lunch at school." I frowned and looked at him.

"If I didn't have a crazy fast metabolism, I guess I would be morbidly obese." I said thoughtfully, grabbing more fries. Connor burst out laughing, leaning forward and clutching his stomach. I grinned and finished my burger, leaning back in satisfaction.

"You're different." Connor said, pointing at me with a fry. I raised my eyebrow, and let out a small laugh.

"Thank you?" I asked.

"It's a complement." He said with a shrug, his eyes twinkling. We ate in a comfortable silence for a couple more minutes.

"Ready to leave?" He asked, picking up the tray.

"Yeah." Once we got in the car, Connor got a phone call. He glanced down at the screen before answering.

"What's up Matt?" He asked, confused.

"Wait what?" He paused, "no!"

He glanced at me and sighed. "She's right here." He rolled his eyes and handed me his phone.

"Uh, hello?"

"Bella Brown where the hell are you?!" Jess's shrill voice rang through the phone. I winced and yanked the phone from my ear.

"I though you said it was Matt!" I hissed angrily at Connor. He held his hands up in surrender, looking guilty.

"Jessica, calm down." I said slowly, bring the phone slowly back to my ear.

"Are you high or something?" She snapped.

"What? No! Why would you say that?"

"Well that would be the only explanation as to why you're with Connor Michaels right now!" I frowned and glanced at Connor, who was now watching me carefully, waiting for my response.

"Calm down Jess, I'm fine. I needed a day off, that's all." I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my tone.

"What about your date with-"

"Bye Jess." I snapped, hanging up. I turned to give the phone to Connor, who now looked pissed.

"Your date with...?" He asked, his eyes narrowed. I rolled my eyes and handed him the phone, looking away.

"Just drive." I muttered, staring out the window as he started the car.

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Connor's POV

Bella is incredibly bi polar. One second she is joking around, the next, she is giving me the cold shoulder. Somebody's conflicted. I've never been a patient person, and she was really testing my limits.

A date with Liam? What was she thinking? When I called her different, I had meant she was interesting. Something about her made me want to get to know her better, and whether she liked it or not, that's exactly what I was going to do.

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Bella's POV

I could tell that Connor kept looking at me every now and then, and it was bothering me, a lot.

"Would you stop that?" I hissed, turning to face him.

"Stop what?" He asked innocently. I gritted my teeth and turned away, balling up my hands into tight fists.

"Mood swings." He muttered, turning onto an empty street.

"Asshole." I muttered.

Connor glared at me before make a sharp left turn and pulling over. I saw his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel, anger rushing through him.

"What the hell is your problem?" He asked through gritted teeth. I frowned and looked away, ignoring him.

"Answer me!" He snapped, slamming his hand down on the wheel. I jumped at the noise, fear beginning to fill me.

"Stop yelling." I mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

"No! I won't stop yelling because you're pissing me off all the time. What the fuck is wrong with you?" He snarled, shaking slightly. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I did the only thing that came to mind-

I ran.

I unbuckled myself and flung open the door, sprinting off to the side. I must be in a park, I thought to myself, as I ran. Connor was scaring me and I had to get away. If I didn't, I was going to break down and tell him everything, something that I just couldn't do. I ran around the playground and into the woodsy area. I came across a bench, surrounded by a couple trees and a table.

A perfect place to think.

Now I know it was stupid to just run off like that, but after my break down this morning, I didn't know what else to do. I don't know what it is, but when I'm around Connor, I can't control my emotions- the feelings running through me. As awful as it sounds, he reminds me of Sam- well, the version of Sam that I loved. I know that a lot of girls all love the kind of guy that is sweet and caring: the perfect gentleman. For some reason, I was always into the bad boy- the one that was tough yet funny, caring but not sickly sweet, and had that sexy personality. Sam was all that. Key word: was.

It all started when he started drinking. It was during that time that he became more sexually demanding. I remember the first time he hit me, every time he did, the memory and pain was embedded in my head. We were at a party and he had been drinking a lot, but claimed he was fine. I remember him taking me into an empty hallway, away from everybody else. We had started kissing when his hands started to feel around. At first I was okay with it, but then he slipped one of his hands down my shirt and under my bra. I was fifteen at the time, so I panicked and pushed him away. I remember vividly the look on his face after I pushed him away-

Fury.

The next thing I knew, I was crumbled up on the ground, with a throbbing cheek. It felt as if a car had hit my face. But like I said, I was fifteen. I was too stupid and naïve to leave Sam. No... the beatings continued, until the car incident. He accused me of flirting with another guy, and I ended up being abandoned on the side of the road with a concussion, two broken ribs, a black eye, and a broken arm.

"Bella?" I felt a hand on my leg, causing me to let out a startled shriek as my eyes flew open. I looked up to see a worried Connor crouching down in front of the bench.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, his hand stroking my cheek. I instantly pulled away, my hands brushing underneath my eyes.

Awkward...

"I- I- I'm fine." I stammered, my whole body trembling. Connor scoffed, straightening up.

"No you're not." He said, looking down at me. I looked away, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Yes I-"

"You went bi-polar and then sprinted off to god knows where, and then I found you crying and curled up on a bench in the woods. So really, continue with your bullshit and tell me your fine, it's entertaining." I looked up at him in shock.

"Why do you care? Huh?" I snapped, standing up.

"I-"

"No," I snapped, cutting him off. "You have no right to act like I need to tell you anything. I barely even know you."

"Well that's what we were supposed to do today!" Connor snapped in defense. I barked out a short, sarcastic laugh.

"You took me to McDonalds." I hissed out, getting in his face.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm not good at this." He sighed, looking down. I hesitated for a moment. Did he just say he was sorry? Wait. It's Connor.

"I wonder why." I said sarcastically. His head snapped up and he glared at me. I could see the annoyance and anger in his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, his tone low and dark.

"You're not good at actually getting to know girls because you never have to! All you do is fuck around. Honestly, I doubt- no, I know that you've never just talked to a girl without fucking her afterwards." I was breathing heavily after my little rant. I watched as Connor narrowed his eyes.

"You know nothing about me." He spat out, turning to leave.

"Look who's running off now." I said, the anger fueling my courage to speak out like that. Connor whirled around, nearly knocking me over.

"Oh so now you want to bond and shit?" He asked, leaning down. I willed myself to not cower away, like I oh so badly wanted to do.

"I don't see why I have to tell you all these things about myself when you won't do the same." I snapped, crossing my arms.

"I'm not the one who turned into some psychotic demon this morning." Connor stated. I flinched at that, all previous steam from my anger lost.

"What was that all about?" Connor snapped, not noticing my uncomfortable silence.

"Well?' He asked, raising his voice. I flinched again, backing away slightly. This time Connor noticed and he frowned.

"You act like I'm going to hurt you." He whispered, looking at me with a hurt expression. I stared at him in surprise, guilt forming inside of me.

"Why do you always do that?" He asked, his voice soft, almost pleading me to tell. Trust me, I was so tempted to just spill out everything right then and there, but I couldn't trust him.

"Connor, I can't." I said quietly, staring at the ground. I numbly pushed past him; heading back to what I hoped was the direction of the car.

"But you'd tell Liam." I should have ignored that and continue to walk away, but I didn't- I couldn't.

"What makes you say that? Huh? Why would you even care if I did?" I snapped, turning around. I managed to hold my ground as Connor advanced upon me, only stopping when he was right up in my face, causing me to tilt my head up to look him in the eye.

"You say you won't tell me because you barely know me, so what's your excuse for Liam? You barely know him, and from what I've heard, it seems you two have gotten pretty close."

"Maybe because despite what you say, Liam is a good person. I would tell him things because he actually wants to get to know me- not get in my pants." I snapped, glaring at Connor.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to get to know you too? That maybe, just maybe there was a slim chance that this wasn't all an act?" Connor asked, his tone surprisingly calm. His questions took me by surprise, leaving me speechless.

"But- well, ....If you really wanted to get to know me better, why take me to McDonalds?" I asked. Connor sighed and looked away for a moment, before looking back at me.

"I told you, I'm not good at this."

"Well whose fault-"

"But I put myself out there." He said, cutting me off. "Look, it's obvious that I'm not good at getting to actually know someone, even I knew that. But I took a chance with you. I know it was an awful attempt, but you can't act like I never tried."

Now I was really speechless. I watched as Connor looked down, trying to hide the light blush that had formed on his cheeks. So many question were running through my mind that I didn't know how to respond.

"This was a waste of time. I'm sorry for making you ditch school, it won't happen again." He muttered, turning away. I reached out to stop him, but found myself stopping and pulling back. I mean, what was I going to do? Hug him? I sighed and followed him to the car.

35 minutes later

Thirty-five minutes of the most uncomfortable silence in the world. He never once looked at me, not even a sly glance. No... It was me this time. I kept looking at him, unsure if I should try to start a conversation or not. After he parked in his driveway, he unlocked his front door for me so that I could grab my clothes from the dryer.

Why was I being such an idiot, I asked myself as I walked into the laundry room. Connor Michaels put himself out there for me, and I couldn't even mutter a thank you? I scolded myself as I grabbed my clothes, heading back downstairs.

Halfway down the stairs I realized what I had to do. I could feel the butterflies build up in my stomach as I slowly made my way out the door.

"Here's your keys." Connor muttered, tossing the keys at me. I caught them, thankfully, but remained standing where I was.

"You can leave now." He said slowly, staring at me as if I was a "special" person. I frowned and glanced back at my car. But I needed Connor to take me home. I watched in horror as he turned to walk back into his house.

"ButIdon'tknowhowtogethome!" I rushed out, hoping that he would turn around.

"What?" He asked, turning around. Yes! I cheered to myself.

"I don't know how to get to back to my house from here." I said awkwardly, shifting side to side.

"Good luck then." He said dully, turning back.

"Wait!" I cried out, he froze but didn't turn back. "Please, Connor." I pleaded softly, gripping my clothes tightly in my arms.

No response.

"Please?" I asked, my voice weak.

Nothing.

I sighed and turned back, heading toward my car. My keys were ripped from my hand as I held them out to unlock my car.

"I'm driving."

I quickly nodded, hiding the smile that so badly wanted to spread across my face. We drove to my house in silence; I made the only sounds as I stuffed my clothes in my bag.

"Thank you." I mumbled as I got out of the car. Connor simply nodded as he got out tossing me my keys.

"How are you-"

"My bike." Connor said, jerking his head in the direction of his abandoned motorcycle. I had forgotten about that. I headed towards the door, ready to unlock it, when I remembered my plan. I quickly dropped my bag and turned around just as Connor was about to start his bike.

"Wait!" I called out, sprinting towards him and getting in front. Luckily Connor slammed his foot on the brake, stopping only inches in front of me.

"What the hell, Bella? Are you trying to get yourself k-" He yelled as he yanked off his helmet.

"Thank you." I breathed out. I gathered all the confidence I had and walked to the side of his bike, ignoring his confused expression. Before another second could go by, I leaned forward and kissed him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tippy toes all for this. I pulled away after a minute or so, enjoying his surprised look.

"You put yourself out there for me." I said, "I was a bitch to you yet you still tried, and that means a lot."

No response.

Awkward...

I looked up at his face, attempting to read his blank expression. "God, I'm sorry." I muttered, turning around. I made it a couple steps before turning back around, a surge of confidence running through me.

"Actually I'm not sorry." I said. Connor raised his eyebrow, but remained silent. "I not going to pretend that you didn't make me actually like you when you admitted to trying for me. I don't care if maybe that was some pick up line you use on most girls because you know what? It worked." With that, I turned away, walking back towards my front door, picking up my fallen items. Just as I unlocked the door, I was suddenly turned around.

"It wasn't some pick up line. I meant every word of it." He said softly, leaning down to look into my eyes. I stared back at him, not bothering to hold back the smile that covered my face.

"What do you say to coming inside?" I asked. "So we can talk, that is. You know, get to know each other better." Connor's eyes were twinkling when I finished.

"Or we could just..." He leaned in, his lips brushing against mine.

"Connor!" I shrieked, raising my hands to push him away. He leaned away, letting out a loose, carefree laugh.

"Lead the way, darling." I playfully scowled as I opened the door, heading into my house with Connor behind me.

"Bella! Bella, is that you?" My mum called out, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Mum! What are you-"

"Why'd you skip school?"

"How-"

"Jess." She said, pointing to the pile of books at the foot of the staircase. "I heard you and Connor took the day off, together." I blushed and mentally cursed Jess as I readied for my mum's scolding.

"Well, it's a good thing you two are back because Connor's family is coming over again."

"What?" Connor asked, confused. My mum nodded cheerfully, smiling at the both of us.

"Yes! It's going to be wonderful! I'm making lasagna!" She said, giggling a bit.

"But-"

"Listen, it's nearly five o'clock, so Pumpkin, go get changed while Connor helps me in the kitchen." Connor gave me a helpless look as he followed my mom into the kitchen, leaving me to go change.

1 hour later

"Bella, could you hurry up!" Connor hissed from out in the hall. I finished applying the mascara, taking a step back to look at my reflection.

"That's it, I'm-" The door opened up, revealing a frozen Connor.

"What do you think?" I asked, twirling around in the light orange dress.

"You look beautiful." He said, smiling at me. I looked away to hide the blush that I knew he had already seen.

"Are your parent's here yet?" I asked, as I followed him out into the hallway.

"Yeah, we're all waiting for you." Connor said.

"Hey, it's not easy finding something to wear on such a short notice!" I hissed at him right as we entered the dining room.

"Bella, you look gorgeous as always." Mrs. Michaels exclaimed. I blushed and politely thanked her, taking my seat next to Connor. Just as we began to eat, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get that." I said, excusing myself from that table as I walked to the front door.

"Hello, can I-" I froze in horror. "Liam?!"

"I texted you to say I was going to be late. Didn't you get it?" He said, handing me the bouquet of flowers.

"Honey is there a- Oh! Hello there." My mum said, standing by my side.

"Mum, I forgot I had a date tonight and Liam-"

"Not a problem!" She said, ushering him into the house. "Please, join us!" My eyes widened as she lead him to the dining room. I watched helplessly as they added a new place setting for Liam. I placing the flowers to the side as I sat down-

In between Connor and Liam.

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Connor's POV

Just when I thought I had Bella, that I was actually started to get through to her, guess who shows up?

Liam.

I controlled the urge to punch him in the face as he sat on the other side of Bella. I glanced back at the bouquet of flowers she had put to the side.

Douchebag.

Well you know what? I don't care if he thinks he can steal Bells from me. I just got her and I'll be damned if I was going to let her be taken away so soon- or ever for that matter.

There was one thing I knew for sure. I, as shocking as it may be, like Bella. Whether she likes it or not, she has gotten my attention- my interest. So now? There was no way in hell I was going to let her get away.

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Bella's POV

As the conversation picked up again, I remained awkwardly silent as Connor

burned holes into the side of my head, and Liam looked at me with a confused expression. Maybe this will all be okay, as long as nobody says anything to-

"Bellaby, is Liam your boyfriend?" Luca asked loudly. My heart stopped beating and my mouth went dry.

"No Luca! Bellaby likes Connor! They kissed, remember?" Sophie said to Luca loudly.

All eyes were on me.

Kill me.

Now.

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