I know I said it would be a while, but...I've been on WP for exactly one year today, and I just got so inspired. Enjoy

"Charles, I'm not so sure if you should be keeping another one of those concoctions from your DevDept acquaintances," Tamara said. All the while, she eyed the bottle of clear liquid placed on the kitchen counter.

She was standing in front of the kitchen doorway, with Keelan and Rowe. None of them dared to step into "Charles' territory" as they called it, afraid of what the fourth ranker might do to them. "His" kitchen was off limits to them, except Val.

"The last time you brought one, Valeriana and Corvan got stuck together," Rowe chimed in.

"And they have been avoiding each other ever since," Keelan added. He stuffed the large cookie he was holding into his mouth. Luckily, Charles' back was to him, so he didn't get a scolding for his manners.

The fourth ranker turned to face them.

"First of all, this liquid is harmless and it's for my father," he said to Tamara. She stopped herself from flinching at the mention of the last word.

"Second, it's the twin's fault that their hands got stuck together, Lord Rowe," he said to the second ranker.

He then faced Keelan, who had just swallowed his chewed cookie.

"And lastly, Valeriana is the one avoiding him. Whereas Lord Corvan had been trying to talk to her," he said.

The three of them kept quiet after that. They should be preparing for bed already because they had classes tomorrow, but they can't seem to take their eyes off the bottle.

It was as if, something was going to happen. That bottle of liquid had something to do with it.

They didn't know whether that "something" was going to be good or bad.

A weird smile suddenly appeared on Charles' face.

"Now...."

-------

Valeriana sat in front of her desk, doing some advanced studying for her classes tomorrow.

Her eyes kept drooping close, and her head lulled forward because of sleepiness.

A knock on her door startled her. At the same time, it caused her head to fall flat on her desk. She sat up straight at once from the pain.

Who could be knocking at this hour? She thought as she made her way to the door. All the while, she kept rubbing her face to sooth the pain.

She swung the door open, without looking. Just then, she felt large hands grab her shoulders. She was turned, so her back was to the door.

She was pushed against it, closing it with a loud bang in the process. She looked up just in time to see Corvan's face. But not a second after that, her eyes widened, when his lips claimed hers in an ardent kiss.

She stood frozen, as the young lord moved his lips over hers, coaxing her to respond. Her knees started turning to jelly, as her eyes fluttered close.

But before she could melt into the kiss, she forcefully pulled them away from his. Corvan tried to connect their lips back again, but Val pushed him an arm's length away from her.

They panted heavily, with Val's face a bright shade of crimson. Corvan on the other hand was eyeing her lazily with half-lidded eyes.

He stepped forward, and Val instinctively shrunk back to the wall. She held her breath, as he leaned in close to her ear.

"I'm sleeping here tonight," he whispered. A shiver went down Val's spine at his words and the way he said it.

"W-What?" was all she said. Corvan moved away from her and made his way to the large bed. She just stood there in a daze as she shook her head with vigor.

She put on an angry face, as she stomped over to him.

"Corvan von Vaushna de la Wylden...! Go back to your room and sleep there," she said, as she shook him.

Corvan just swatted her hands away as he mumbled incoherent things under his breath. With a huff, Val turned away from him and headed over to her desk and resumed studying.

After a couple of minutes, when she finally thought that she was able to focus on the demonology book, she felt Corvan's presence behind her.

Taking her aback once more, he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She kept still as a statue when he laid his head on her shoulder.

"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" he said.

"Corvan...let go," she whispered. If she was to be honest, she didn't want him to do so.

"I have to study for tomorrow," she added, as she tried to pry his arms off of her.

"Do that tomorrow. Let's sleep, please" he whined.

He placed a light kiss on her neck.

Valeriana couldn't believe what was happening now. Corvan, of all people, was BEGGING her to sleep instead of studying.

Not too long ago, he was the one forcing her to sit on this desk and shoving information into her slow brain. Yes, she called herself slow.

She stood up, causing Corvan to let go of her. She whirled around to face him, and took in his appearance.

His cheeks were flushed with a light shade of pink. He swayed a little as he stood. His eyes kept drooping close every second.

He looked drunk.

Hesitantly, Val moved closer to him, and placed the back of her hand on his neck, checking for his temperature.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Corvan took her hand, and kissed it lightly. She blushed when Corvan pulled her into another embrace. He doesn't smell like alcohol, she thought. She can't believe that she just smelled him.

"I'm fine," he said. He was the one to break away. He eyed her up and down, before surprising her for the third time that night.

He effortlessly picked her up and carried her in his arms. Val let out a shriek and immediately began yelling at him to put her down.

He did put her down. He tossed her on the bed unceremoniously, before pulling his tunic over his head. It left his well-defined muscles exposed for Val's eyes to feast on.

She looked away before her thoughts could go haywire.

The first ranker crawled on top of the bed, before rolling on top of her. He made sure that his weight wasn't crushing her small frame.

Valeriana was redder than red, as she placed her hands on his chest, trying to push him off of her.

"Corvan, whatever you're planning on doing, please stop," she said, and then gulped loudly.

He took her arms, and pinned them above her head, before leaning in.

"What am I planning Valeriana?" he whispered against her lips.

"Corvan," Val whispered.

"Why were you avoiding me?" he suddenly asked. His brows contorted into a serious frown.

"You're seriously asking me that?" she said. "Why?" Corvan asked patiently.

"I'm embarrassed okay? Embarrassed with what happened in the library!" she said, as she turned her head away from him.

A lop-sided grin appeared on the first ranker's face. He let go of one of her hands, and used his free hand, to grab her chin. He made her face him.

"You liked it," he said. Valeriana's face flamed up again. Gods! When is this going to stop? She thought.

"Don't avoid me again. You have no idea how frustrating it is when you're not talking to me," the young lord said.

It was her turn to ask a question.

"What do you...mean by that?" she said.

"Hmmm...." Corvan placed his forehead on hers, before he answered.

"I enjoy our little fights. I find you amusing when you're angry," he said. Val just stared at him.

"You may not sing well, but I do not mind it one bit. I could listen to you all day," he continued. Valeriana doubted the last statement.

"I hate it when that annoying Zion hovers over you. You're the first person to ever make me realize the meaning of jealousy," he said. The fifth ranker was too shocked to interrupt him.

"I am amazed by the wonderful knowledge that sometimes escapes these delicious and loquacious lips of yours."

"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid my eyes upon. I love your eyes, especially. I always find myself getting lost in their azure depths," he said.

"Corvan...stop," Val said. He shook his head, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I think I like you. No, I think I am starting to feel more," he said, as he leaned in close.

Valeriana's heart was pounding wildly in her chest, from what he just said. She knew what he was going to do next.

Her eyes slowly closed as Corvan's lips inched closer towards hers.

But her eyes flew open when she suddenly felt his entire weight on her. She had trouble breathing, as she tried to push him off of her.

She then realized that Corvan's face was buried on her neck. He was already letting out quiet snores.

"Unbelievable...." She whispered angrily. She couldn't stop herself from being extremely disappointed by this.

-----

Val woke up from a sudden movement next to her. She groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

She was just in time to see Corvan's long blonde hair swaying behind him as he left out the door.

She sat up at once and looked around. How the hell did she fall asleep with Corvan's weight was slumped on her.

She shook her head vigorously, and ran around her room, preparing for the day ahead.

Almost an hour later, she was already walking into the dining room. The people to catch her attention were, Tamara, Keelan and Rowe.

The three of them were already in their seats and looking like they were going to throw up anytime soon.

Zevlin and Genevieve were also there, looking worriedly at them.

"What's going on?" Val asked them.

"Charles," Keelan said as his head landed hard on the table.

"Good morning, Valeriana," Rowe said, as he laid he leaned his head on the table, more gently than Keelan.

"Last night, he made us drink a special whine that he and his DevDept acquaintances made," Tamara said. Compared to the other two, she looked a little better.

"It was practically like water. It was odorless, tasteless, and colorless," she said.

"But the effects are stronger than normal whine. My head hurts," Rowe said.

Charles chose the time to enter into the room with the food in his hands. He set them down on the table before he spoke.

"It's not that strong. Lord Corvan had five glasses of it, and he was barely drunk. He was only swaying lightly when he went to his room," he said.

"Corvan too...?" Valeriana said.

She looked down at the floor, as disappointment washed over her.

He was only drunk, she thought, he won't remember any of the things he said last night.

She suddenly felt like crying, as she bit her lip. What is wrong with me? She thought.

The others in the room seemed to notice the gloomy air around her, as they fell quiet and stared at her.

"Val, are you okay?" the younger twin asked.

She looked back up at them, at once, and gave them a forced smile.

"I'm fine," she said.

"What are you all doing?" a voice came from behind her. She didn't have to look to know who it was.

She didn't dare turn around, and inched her way slowly to her seat.

But before she could step a foot further, a large hand grabbed hers, forcing her to turn around.

"Good morning," Corvan said as he gave her a small smile. The other rankers' brows were tossed to their hairlines.

Val took her hand back, and looked down. "Same to you," she mumbled.

Taking her by surprise, Corvan wrapped a steel arm around her waist and pulled her towards him.

He bent down, and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

The rankers present dropped their jaws at this.

Val was wide-eyed and frozen like a statue, even when he pulled away and gave her a soft peck on the forehead.

"I forgot to do that last night. Sorry for falling asleep," he whispered.

He remembers? Valeriana thought as he let go of her. He made his way over to his seat.

Genevieve and Tamara were the first to break out of their shock. They both let out girlish squeals as they clasped each other's hands and bounced on the souls of their feet.

Tamara broke away first, when she felt the effects of Charles' whine again. She groaned as she went back to her seat.

Genevieve turned to her twin, and they both grinned.

"CorVal, CorVal...CorVal!" they both sang, as they locked their arms and spun around.

Charles shook his head and went back to the kitchen to grab the rest of their food. Keelan was too queasy to even glance at the food that was already there. Meanwhile, there was a smile tugging at Rowe's lips.

Valeriana just stood there dumbfounded, as Corvan smiled at her from his seat.

######

Did I go over board? To be honest, I'm pretty happy about this one...hehehe

I'm pretty sure when Corvan does confess to Val in the series, it will be even better.

*SQUEALING WILDLY ON MY PILLOW*

Can't wait till that happens!

---Nen