I HAVE NEVER BEEN so proud of Dean. What he said to his parents takes a lot of courage and overcoming, but we all know he has a touch too much of both. 

I've realized two things since that conversation four days ago. One: I'm pretty sure Dean can handle just about anything and everything. And two, if he doesn't stop being such an all-around perfect guy, I'm going to drown in love. 

Because so far, we haven't actually fought once ─ well, if you ignore our fights over the last piece of chocolate. I wouldn't say it worries me how well things work between us, but it does make me suspicious. At the same time, it's not like we've never argued before.

After we found out that Gavin hadn't been a true friend to Dean, there was a huge fight plus radio silence for two days. And when Dean didn't stick to our deal a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty angry too, but I immediately mellowed when I saw how much it hurt him to have to call his parents. 

Bronwyn and Peter snap me out of my thoughts by suddenly making eyes at each other so much that my eyes go wide. Just a moment ago they were engrossed in their study books, now they are showering each other with compliments and dirty looks. 

I look around the campus in awe. Many students look over at us, but that's probably more because word has spread that Dean and I are officially a couple. Sometimes I don't mind the stares, but now I feel a little uncomfortable as I dig my fingers into the grass beneath me. 

"Do you guys fight a lot?", I ask my friends suddenly out of nowhere before I can stop myself. "Well, of course, I'm aware that you've only been together for about twenty-four hours, but I'm still interested. The question is just hypothetical and I'm sure it has nothing to do with Dean or anything." Okay, who am I kidding? "Alright, it does have something to do with Dean, but I'm not asking because he and I fight, but rather because we pretty much never fight. Is that normal?" 

Bronwyn turns her head away and from her quivering shoulders, I know she's about to snort. Peter puts his thick book down and surprisingly takes my question seriously. "Most people in couple relationships argue more than twice a month, that's forty-one percent. About one out of ten couples, that's eleven percent, even have arguments several times a week, and one out of twenty get into fights every day just over little things." 

"I love it when you rattle off some study results." Bronwyn looks at him with an amorous smile, which Peter returns. 

I sigh. "Those study results didn't do anything, I'm afraid. I just want to know if things are going too well between Dean and me. I can't ask him, though, because he has almost as little experience in these things as I do." 

"Initial relationships are allowed to run smoothly, Sydney," Peter says as he shoves a piece of carrot into Bronwyn's mouth. "Besides, Dean is not an argumentative person, so I guess you'll have to wait a while." 

I have to agree with Peter. Dean is indeed never one for arguments ─ only when it comes to chocolate ─ and so our current state of being in love is probably perfectly normal. Don't they say that the first problems in a relationship only appear after three months? 

But maybe we've been through so much in the last few months that our need to argue for the next five years has been used up. 

The students around us suddenly start whispering and I immediately know why. The reason, of course, is Dean, who comes across the campus grass to us and gives everyone here an autograph smile that is almost as attractive as his dimpled grin.

His hair is a little shorter again because I only cut it for him yesterday, and despite his strong facial features and high cheekbones, he doesn't seem dark or unapproachable at all. He walks towards us cheerfully and confidently, even waving demonstratively at a few people to let them know that he notices their attention and their whispering. 

I lean back with a sigh and bury my elbows in the grass. How can anyone not fall in love with Dean? And I'm not just talking about his handsome appearance, but also his perpetually good mood, his caring, his patter, and the mischievous twinkle in his dark brown eyes that clearly shows he's never not crazy enough for anything in this world.

When he spots me, the autograph smile turns into the fabulous dimpled grin and I catch him walking a little faster, blocking out everyone else on campus. 

The moment he sits down on the grass next to me, I'm already pulling him down to me and pressing my lips on his with a smile. I don't care that everyone is watching us. I never have cared. 

"Mmm," Dean hums contentedly against my lips. "That's the kind of greeting I'm into." 

"I know." Grinning, I lean back again and hold my face up to the sun, which makes an appearance for once and maybe tans my pale skin a little. 

Dean grabs a carrot from Peter and stares at me as he chews, causing me to blush a little. Playfully clueless, he raises his eyebrows as he bites into the carrot again and groans dramatically, almost as if he's never eaten anything more delicious. My abdomen tightens painfully and I try to give him an angry look. 

Bronwyn clears his throat briefly and grins. "Shall we go or will you volunteer to find a room?" 

"What you prefer," Dean counters, not taking his eyes off me. "I wouldn't mind a few spectators." 

I know it was just a joke, but he still earns a punch on the arm from me. He laughs softly, tilting his head slightly. The sun's rays cover his beautiful face and make him look a little younger at that moment. I almost sigh with happiness, but I can just stop myself.

Peter grabs his book and carrots and reaches for Bronwyn's hand expectantly. "If I'm honest, I have absolutely no problem with going." 

Bronwyn is on her feet in a flash and apparently can't wait to be alone with Peter either. I have to smile. Being freshly in love really does feel incredibly great.

My eyes wander to Dean, who looks amused at our friends, and I suddenly know that it certainly feels just as great to spend your whole life with the person who completely fulfills you, inspires you to do crazy things, and accepts everything about you. There can't be anything more beautiful than that. 

As Bronwyn and Peter almost run down the campus to the apartment, Dean moves a little closer to me and I take it as an invitation to lean against him. We sit like that for a few minutes when Dean suddenly whispers, "Nothing feels better than holding you." 

Smiling, I look up and meet his warm brown eyes. 

"Well, maybe it feels even better to be inside you, but that's not really romantic, which is why I didn't really want to say it." He almost lowers his head in embarrassment as I laugh and then put my hand on his cheek to kiss him.

For minutes we explore our mouths until at some point I breathlessly detach myself from him and tuck a few tangled strands behind my ear. His hair is also a little messy, but I wouldn't fix it for him because I kind of like the look. "Do you think it's weird?", I ask him. 

"Kissing you while everyone stares at us? Absolutely not. If it is, I'm honored." 

I roll my eyes with a grin. "That's not what I mean. Do you think it's weird that things are so ... well between us?" 

At first, he furrows his eyebrows in confusion, but then he juts his chin in understanding and shakes his head. "No, to be honest, it's been clear to me from the beginning that it's going to be good. Besides, 'good' is relative anyway. After all, I've been arrested twice and once of those times I was taken to New York." 

"But nothing has happened since that whole thing." 

"I wouldn't exactly put it that way now." He suddenly clenches his teeth tensely. Then he looks at me almost in awe. "You love me, don't you?" 

"Yes, of course," I counter suspiciously. 

"What if I had done something bad? And by that, I mean something pretty, pretty bad." 

I frown. "What did you do?" 

"Are you quite sure you'd still love me?" 

"What. Did. You. Do?" 

He sighs. "I went to Rikers Island." 

Honestly, a huge load falls off my mind at that moment, because after all, I was expecting something really, really bad. Still, I scowl and slide away from him a little. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I feel stupid," he answers immediately, looking me firmly in the eye. "I was locked up there not even a couple of weeks ago, and I got into a fight with the inmates. And I met Xander there again, which really hasn't been a glorious moment. I didn't think you'd understand why I had to go there. I don't even understand it myself." 

A little reassured, I approach him again. "I thought for a second you didn't mention it because you didn't trust me." 

"What?" quickly he shakes his head and reaches for my hand. "Sydney, you know that's not true. I always tell you that I trust you."

He puts his free hand on the back of my head and pulls me even closer to him. Just before he joins our lips, he whispers, "Because I love you more than anything."

My heart melts when he kisses me and I feel his tongue on my lips, which I immediately open willingly. I like the fact that Dean doesn't just kiss me like this when we're alone, but that he does it every chance he gets. I tug a little on his short hair and deepen the kiss, causing him to moan softly. This sound is even hotter than the moan he made earlier when he bit into the carrot. 

We both end up in the grass at some point, me on top of him. Just because I know that most of the students are back in their lectures, I gently wander my hands under his T-shirt and let my fingertips slide over his firm stomach. He jerks away from me, his face contorting a little. "We should stop if we don't want to do it in the middle of the campus lawn." 

I have to grin because he keeps using the word 'doing it' since I said it after he got free and we had sex in Bronwyn's car. 

Of course, she doesn't know about that till today. 

Determined, I put my hands on his shoulders and pull him back into a sitting position. Then I settle down on his lap and look at him promptly. "Then tell me about Rikers Island." 

"Okay." He takes a deep breath and puts his hands on my back before he starts. "I went to New York yesterday and I skipped my classes, especially for this. Don't look so reproachful, Curly, I know full well that wasn't a good idea, especially since I just started my studies again." 

I grin. " I always love it when you do the moralizing part before I can." 

His hands move further down to my butt and in the next moment, he grips it firmly, causing me to gasp in shock. There's a flash of amusement in his eyes. "Anyway, I had a choice between having a conversation with Gavin or Kolin and I had a really hard time deciding, but I chose Gavin for now because I thought talking to him would be easier." 

"Was it?", I ask suspiciously. 

Dean slowly shakes his head. "No, but I still had to do it to get some kind of closure with him, you know? When I first got there, he threw me off by constantly mentioning you. He... He said, for example, that you'd be better off without me." 

"You can't possibly take that seriously." Upset, I brush my curls behind my ear. "Dean, he choked an innocent girl. The world is probably better off without him."

"Don't worry, I know that." A wry grin forms on his beautifully curved lips, however, it immediately slips as he continues. "I realized at some point that he was just trying to distract me and my visiting time was almost up. So I asked him the only question that interested me." 

Questioningly, I raise an eyebrow. 

"I asked him why he bothered to fake our friendship," Dean says, looking a little absent-minded. "All these months he's been able to fool me, but for what in the end? I just didn't get it." 

"What did he say in response to the question?", I want to know as my heart beats a little faster. I'm a little afraid of the answer if I'm being honest. 

"He suddenly became quite serious and not as emotionally cold as usual. For him, the kiss between Hollyn and me at the party was the worst thing that could have happened, whereas for her and me it has been almost meaningless. He never liked the fact that Candice was so desperate to help me during my escape that he was forced to pretend to be my friend, my 'savior in need', as he claimed. He was angry at me, at the Dean, he knew from high school. I can't believe he still holds those things I did at sixteen against me, but apparently, that's how it is. He hates me for superficial things like money, prestige, and power. Something that has slipped away from me for so long and is no longer important to me."

I tenderly stroke his arms and listen attentively. Dean doesn't often talk about his childhood or teen years, but when he does, I'm reminded of what a different person he must have been back then.

With his former character, he turned people on himself, people like Gavin, Kolin, and Xander, who even went so far with their hatred of him that Dean was briefly locked up in the New York jail. 

"I apologized," Dean suddenly adds, looking a little incredulous. "I actually apologized for being a spoilt dick back then and Gavin just laughed in my face. That's all that came from him." 

"Are you going to talk to him again?", I ask. While I don't think it will do any good, I know I'll support Dean no matter what he's up to. And if he thinks talking to Gavin again will help him, I'll drive him to New York myself.

To my surprise, however, Dean shakes his head. "No, but if you don't mind, I'd like to pay another visit to the guy who's most responsible for this whole mess."

I narrow my eyes. "If you mean Kolin, then I just don't mind going with you." 

He smiles. "I was so hoping you'd say that."

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