You fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time.
-Quoteslife101.net

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Chapter 5- Trouble When You Walked In

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'Unless you want some couple to come in here while you're here. They'll be too drunk to care whether you're in the toilet or not.' Asher replies.

He crosses his arms and shoots me an arrogant smirk. His presence fills the room. Its like a subtle commanding aura. I glare at him.

'That part I understand. I'm a little confused as to why you had to come in with me.' I counter.

'Just doing my duty to keep you out of trouble.' He answers.

I raise an eyebrow.

'As you saw with Fred, I can take care of myself.' I say.

What does he think I am? Some kind of helpless damsel in distress?

'I invited you. I'm responsible for your safety.' He shrugs.

I shoot him an irritated look.

'Hey, I'm not trying to be alpha male here. I'm just looking out for you.' He says gently.

I scrutinize his expression and see that he's being honest. He's just worried about my safety. He's not trying to exert some male dominance over me so I relent.

'You're out here and I'm in there. There's not much you can do to protect me from the toilet monster.' I joke, gesturing the the toilet.

'I could come with you if you want.' He suggests, his dark gaze taking me in from head to toe.

I should feel panicked that I'm locked in a bedroom with a someone who is most likely a delinquent and that he's giving me the look but instead a warm flush rises up my chest and my cheeks heat up.

'I think I can handle myself against the toilet monster.' I squeak, averting my gaze.

A lazy smirk tugs at his lips. My heart stops for a millisecond.

Oh God. This boy is trouble.

I hurriedly escape the charged environment. I breath a sigh of relief once I'm inside the toilet and away from his heated gaze.

I turn on the tap to mask the sound of me peeing.

This is so awkward.

I'm thoroughly aware of his presence even though a closed door separates us.

Why didn't I lock it?

Even though I didn't lock the door, I know he's not going to do anything underhanded. Asher isn't the type. Motorcycle gang member or not, he's honorable and somewhat of a gentleman.

I quickly finish my business, wash my hands and head out before he thinks the toilet monster really did get to me and come in after me even though there's no such thing.

'All done.' I say as I close the toilet door behind me.

The atmosphere is still slightly charged and the look he gives me is impossible to interpret. I can't guess what he's thinking.

He opens the door and gestures for me to exit before him.

'Wait.' He says, angling his body so the space is too small for me to pass through without brushing a good part of me against him.

He's standing so close I inhale his scent in every breath I take. A blush spreads across my cheeks and nervous butterflies flutter in my stomach.

'What?' I ask in a breathy whisper.

He trails his hand over my cheek stopping at my chin. His finger pads are rough against my soft skin. The sensation causes electric sparks that travel down to my stomach.

I draw in a sharp breath.

He finds Brenda's hair pin and pulls it out of my hair in one swift move.

My hair cascades down in waves to my shoulders.

'Much better.' He smiles.

It's a genuine smile that makes him look less intimidating and more boyish and carefree. The sight makes my heart thud violently for a second.

I smile back.

He shifts and nods for me to go ahead. He closes the door behind us as we step into the corridor.

Fred is still unconscious on the floor.

'I'm heading back downstairs.' I say since I don't know where Asher is going to.

He nods and silently follows me.

'An "Okay" wouldn't kill you.' I mutter quietly.

'Okay.' He says with a smile.

It's not the first time I'm seeing his smile but my heart skips more beats than I would like to admit.

I may be eternally crushing on Leo but I can appreciate a hot guy when I see one and Asher might as well be off the charts. His quiet and mysterious presence adds to his charm.

What is it about bad boys that we girls can't seem to stay away?

I scan the crowd for Brenda when we get downstairs.

'Your friend headed off with that guy you're always hanging out with.' Asher says.

I quit looking for her in the crowd.

It's crazy how he always knows my next move.

'Tom? Wait, how did you know I came with Brenda?' I frown.

He shrugs.

'Right. You're on the talk only when necessary plan.' I mutter quietly.

'You can hang out with me till you find your friend.' He offers.

I don't know what possesses me because I'm usually shy and reserved but something about Asher makes me say what I'm thinking. Or maybe I'm just hoping to get a rise out of him. I'm flustered and he's perfectly composed. Not fair.

'In absolute and utter silence punctuated by the occasional nod and grunt of response? I'll pass.'

He stares at me thoughtfully for a few seconds.

'I terrify people twice your size. I'm trying to understand how it is that I don't scare you.' He says gravelly.

'Line forms behind me.' I reply truthfully.

He smirks.

'If you figure it out, let me know.' I add.

I wonder what it would be like if I liked Asher instead of Leo.

***

I wander around the party with Asher for a while before I finally find Brenda.

'I've been looking all over for you. By the time I got off the dancefloor, you were gone. Is everything okay?' She asks.

'I ran into a bit of trouble but I'm all good now. You ready to head out?' I ask.

'Beyond ready.' She sighs dejectedly.

'Let's get going then.' I say, leading the way back to the car.

We get in and buckle our seat belts. I carefully back onto the road making sure to avoid the drunk party goers milling around.

'Too bad you never saw Asher.' Brenda pipes.

'Never say never.' I reply, glancing at her.

'Oh my God. You saw him?!' She asks.

I think back to our charged encounter.

'Yeah. I definitely saw him.' I say.

Before she can press me for more details, I pull up in front of her dorm.

'Good night.' I smile.

'You'll tell me all the details tomorrow. G'night.' She replies, hurrying into the dorm building.

Turning on the radio, I make the short drive to my apartment complex.

The cold night air greets me when I step out of the car and I finally understand why Brenda ran into her dorm because I do the same.

I stand, shivering in the lobby as I wait for the elevator to complete its descent. I rub my hands on my arms to create friction and heat.

3rd floor.

2nd floor.

1st.

The ground floor button lights up.

Finally!

The elevator opens to reveal Leo dressed in a blue T-shirt and a grey hoodie with black pants.

'Leo.' I gasp.

'Kels?' He frowns and that's before he even takes in my appearance.

'Where are you coming from?' He bites off.

And so the overprotective streak rears it ugly head.

'A party. A friend invited me.' I manage a smile and double my efforts at warming my arms.

'A party?' He growls.

'If you're going to yell at me, can I have your hoodie first? I'm kinda freezing my butt off here. Who thought it would be a good idea to turn on the air conditioner at night?' I say.

I've long since learnt how to deal with Gavin and Leo when they go into their overprotective mode.

In quick precise motions, he pulls off the hoodie and helps me slid it on.

'Thanks.' I say and stop shivering. 'Now you can yell at me.'

'I'm not going to yell at you.' He grimaces.

'You're trying not to.' I counter.

'It's late at night. Damn it Kelsey! Anything could have happened to you.' He snaps.

'Told you were going to yell at me. Just so you know, this is generally the time these kind of parties usually take place and rarely does anything truly bad happen. Besides I went with Brenda and I had Asher. I was perfectly safe. And even if I didn't have them, I can take care of myself just fine. Bottom line is, nothing bad happened.' I reply.

Unless you count the mini episode with Fred but Leo doesn't need know that.

'Asher? Is that the guy you were flirting with the other day?' He narrows his eyes, anger pouring off him in waves.

'I wasn't flirting with Tom!' I yell.

'So that's a different guy. So what now? You surround yourself with male "friends" now?' He asks in a condescending tone.

Is this just his overprotective streak clouding his judgment or is that what he really thinks of me? That I hop from one guy to the next?

'Like you said, friends.' I bite out.

'Friends who you just love to flirt with.' He says in a mocking tone. He looks at me the way a butcher apprises meat.

'Back off Leo. I don't know what has gotten into you this night but you fucking back the hell off.' I warn.

His words hurt me more than I thought it would but I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing he has hurt me. I won't cry because that's what he wants.

'Isn't it the truth?' He continues.

I only warn a person once. Crush or not.

Before he can process what's happening, I land a solid punch on his jaw, hop in the elevator and press the button for it to close.

Thankfully it closes before he gets over the disorientation. He mutters a curse under his breath and hurries away.

I sag against the elevator wall and release a breath of relief.

What was that all about?

Why did I punch him? There was no need for that. Sure he was being disrespectful but I could have just walked away. I shouldn't have punched him.

I punched my crush. What the hell was I thinking?! He's never going to like me back now.

By the time the elevator arrives at my floor, Leo is standing at my door.

How did he climb the stairs so fast? I guess that's one of the advantages of being varsity quarterback.

How he knows which room is mine, I have no idea.

For a millisecond, I consider heading back into the elevator and running away but where would I run to?

Steeling my shoulders, I close the distance between us.

'What do you want?' I ask.

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For readers:

If you had to pick one which would you choose: Chocolate or vanilla?

A/N:

An early update! Hope you
enjoyed reading the chapter. Personally, I don't like it. I'll probably edit most of it later on.

What do you think Leo wants now? Any ideas?

I'm going to try updating more than once a week. If there's anything you think will make this story better, let me know. :)

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