"Now, your turn!" Alex drags me to the back of the library. The literature section, I don't even need to read the sign to recognize the place. Those shelves covered with rows of books of all sizes, shapes, ages, and from various horizons, all unique, I know these alleys very well, since I often lose track of time here.

"It's useless." I sigh.

"If you've made me apply for science scholarships even though there's no chance they grant me one, then you can do it too!"

We're currently in homeroom class, and the teacher has brought us to the library to allow us to do researches for our college applications and to help us with our big decisions for next year. I've kept bugging Alex to apply for scholarships for the past 30 minutes, so now, I guess it's his turn.

"They'll never grant a literary scholarship to a student in a scientific path, and you know I can't pay..." I say quietly as the words are still hard to pronounce out loud even if I've come to terms with them a long time ago.

"How did you say?" Alex lifts an eyebrow. "'You never know if you never try'?" He gives me one of his cocky smirks, knowing he's convincing me.

I glance around, finding the comfort of books everywhere around. Each book holds an infinite within its pages, and it engulfs me in an impression of endless possibilities that I don't have. So I try to look at something else, but besides Alex – who also gives me wings every time I catch the infinite of his tenebrous gaze – there is not much to focus on.

Given that we're in a 'scientific' class, most of the students are in the science section of the library. The library is weirdly organized. Instead of putting all the higher education information in the same section, they place them by themes with the other books, which explains why we're alone in this part of the library, not that I'm complaining, on the contrary!

"Hey! This is perfect for you!" Alex points to a poster right in the middle of the white wall.

My eyes widen, though I recognize immediately the bright red letters on a pale background illustrated with pages of books flying around, and I curse in my head the one who has put it here.

"Look! You gotta enter!" He looks back at me, a shine in his tenebrous eyes that makes my heart soar.

"I already know about it," I mumble, unable to lie under his attentive stare.

I think back to when my literature teacher, who is also in charge of the school newspaper, has told me about this contest, laboring the point. Yet I have no intention of entering.

"This not for me. I'm not enough experienced and talented." I look down, avoiding cowardly his piercing eyes that give me too much faith.

But he puts two fingers under my chin, making me hold his meaningful gaze.

"This is a contest for 'amateur and new talents'. It's written here." He cocks one eyebrow; an amused expression dancing in his eyes before they turn back to a serious intensity. "It costs nothing to try. If you lose, you lose, but if you win – and I'm sure you'll win, because you're REALLY talented – you can win a publishing contract. It's awesome!" he concludes with a bright smile.

I offer him a tiny smile in return. "I'll think about it..."

"Oh! Believe me, you're gonna do it!" he assures me with a convincing and convinced smirk.

I glance at the poster once again like it would give me an answer or the courage to try, but I remember why I've pushed it back as I get lost in my internal dilemma between my insecure, anguished whirring that makes me doubt myself, and my quiet dreamer voice that whispers me to try to pursue my dream. The battle is deafening, but useless.

"Stop biting your lip, baby." A murmur near my ear makes me come back to reality.

Alex is still in front of me, his intense eyes staring at my lips.

"Oh, right." I set my bottom lip free and let it go into a shy smile.

Though Alex is already focusing back his attention on the poster, narrowing his eyes in front of the tiny lines of the terms and conditions, and I narrow mine at him.

"Why do you always tell me this?" The question seems like a good distraction from the placard for both Alex and me.

"I see what you're doing!" He chuckles, shaking his head. "Don't try to change the subject!"

"I'm not!" My voice raises slightly to a higher pitch, before I add more serious, "I already told you I'm gonna think about it!"

"And I already told you you're gonna enter!" he retorts with a confident shrug. "But if you really wanna know..." He looks at me solemnly as he gets closer.

I nod, my eyes caught by his tenebrous ones.

"It's because every time you bit your lip," He leans closer near my ear and finishes in a whisper, "That makes me even more hungry for them."

I feel a shiver spring near my ear, going all the way down my spine and back up to my heart, and I can't help but smile.

I realize I'm once again biting my lip unconsciously as his gaze is fixed on them. Another thrill runs along my skin, this time, in sync with the skip of my heart, and it ignites a flame of boldness inside.

"Really?!" I ask, still sucking the bottom of my smile.

"You should stop..." he warns me with a devilish smirk.

But the frisson tickling my members makes me keep going.

"Don't tempt me..." he adds low and hoarsely, his dark gaze flickering to my eyes before coming back to my lips.

"Or what?"

I don't know if it's the thrill of getting caught or the burning look in his eyes, but I feel bold and powerful, so I play with my bottom lip, my smile widening into a playful grin.

"Or I'm gonna kiss you right here, right now," he rasps, emphasizing each of his last words with a breath that skims my lips, closer and closer.

"But we're in the middle of a class, you can't," I reply quietly, yet defiantly, liking the control I have over him as his gaze seems dazed by my lips.

He leans even closer – if that's possible – laying his hands on the shelf behind me, one on each side of my face, and trapping me as a dangerously dark look is pervading his eyes.

"You know I'm a bad boy. Don't challenge me." He smirks.

Suddenly, I don't feel so much in control anymore, falling in my own trap between the warmth of his body, the dark promise of his eyes, and my need to taste his sinful lips. Breathless, I release my bottom lip to suck in a shaky breath, and without taking my eyes off his, I nibble it ever so lightly again.

His lips crash on mine, capturing them hungrily, before I can even blink or think about what has crossed my mind.

Quickly, he pulls away, leaving me in need of his lips more than in need of oxygen.

"I warned you..." he whispers huskily, and with these words, his possessive hands grab my waist, bringing me closer to him.

I'm melting under his touch, and with the dangerous sparkle in his eyes, I understand I'm losing control of everything outside and inside my body. But I don't care as he takes my bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling faintly on it.

The melting inside my veins turn into a fire spreading gradually under his intense stare, and all at once, my core fuses like lava when his teeth sink deeper into my bottom lip, tugging slowly on it.

My sigh of satisfaction gets lost in his kiss as he takes possession of my mouth voraciously. I return it with the same hunger, no longer in control over the situation, him or even my body. His tongue explores my mouth and his sweet minty taste invades me. Seeking more contact, I edge closer, earning a low grunt from him, and roughly, his hands grab my butt, pulling me even closer to him as my legs wrap instinctively around him.

At this point, I don't care where we are. The thought of getting caught is thrown away at the very back of my head. Actually, the whole world around us is pushed back, almost forgotten. There is only Alex and me, and all the parts of my body lit on fire by his touch, which means my whole body given that our bodies are glued to each other, his possessive hand fueling the flames everywhere they pass and his lips being the source of the fire that keeps growing in my core.

Every time we pull apart to breathe, his mouth stays close, attacking my bottom lip. Helplessly ablaze, I grip his back, my nails digging in his shirt.

The bell ringing like a fire alarm freezes too soon our burning embrace. Yet it doesn't extinguish the inferno inside of me, the want of more, the need of more, and when I look into Alex's intense dark eyes, I make a decision without hesitation. There are no conflicting voices now, just a buzzing echoing in sync in my whole body, heart, and mind.

Alex pulls me out of it, putting me down gently, though his breath as heavy as mine lets me know he might be quite dazed too.

When my feet touch the ground, I fully come back down to earth and reality too, realizing what has happened and where we are. Luckily, no one seems to have seen us. I shake my head, biting my lip without meaning to when I notice a book fallen on the floor: 'Romeo and Juliet'

"You still didn't learn, did you?" Alex chuckles, putting the book back on the shelf, and then brushing my swollen lips with one finger before grabbing my hand as we're going back to the cold reality of the class, our bodies still burning.

Things are getting hotter in this chapter, I hope you like it! ;)

What do you think is Elena's big decision?

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