|20|

•Charlotte•

"Yesterday was so boring without you." Lizzie wrapped an arm around mine as we walked into the school. I chuckled as I noticed Ramon standing besides my locker. 

Lizzie leaned closer to me. "He was asking about you non stop yesterday. I didn't tell him what yesterday was." She said to me as we walked towards my locker. 

Ramon pushed himself away from my locker, watching every step I took towards him, a smile on his face. "Hey." I said to him as I pulled my arm away from Lizzie who stood besides Calvin and the others and talked to them about how boring her next class was. History. 

"Ciao amore." Ramon moved close to me as I opened my locker and stuffed my maths books inside. I didn't want to carry them. "You didn't come yesterday to school." He pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You look completely fine to me." He ran his gaze over my body. 

"Grow a vagina and bleed every month, Ramon and then tell me I look completely fine." I smiled up at him as he laughed. The others looked at him confused as I closed my locker. 

"This was what I missed yesterday." He grinned at me as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Let me walk you to your class." 

"My legs work perfectly fine." I said to him, allowing him to keep his arm on my shoulder as he held onto my bag and walked me upstairs to my next class which was History. Lizzie and the others followed us. 

"I can see that." He smirked at me, glancing at my bare legs. I was wearing a dress today. It was a dark burgundy dress that I paired with a black jacket. I was wearing a pair of gold hoops. 

Shaking my head at him, I pulled his arm away. "Glad to know your eyesight works." I grabbed my bag off him as he chuckled at me. 

He seemed to be in a happy mood as I headed towards my history class and he watched me with a  big smile on his face. 

"We can meet at my place today, to finish this project." He called out to me as Lizzie walked towards me. Her back was facing him and she wiggled her eyebrows at me. 

"Tired of me already, Ramon?" I smirked at him as I ignored the people staring at us. 

"Not at all, amore. Not at all." He grinned, not able to keep the smile off his face. "I'll see you after school." He said as I nodded and walked into history class. 

I smiled to myself as I headed towards my seat, Lizzie trying so hard not to laugh. "Don't even start." I pointed to her and she nodded sitting besides me, giving me those knowing looks. 

I might have missed annoying him. 

***

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I walked out of the school with Lizzie. Today had been a fun day, and lunch was overwhelming when the boys came to sit near us. It felt like they were a constant part of our friend group. I had noticed how a lot more people started eating outside, along with Tiffany and her friends. 

Ramon had shown me the essay he had written and it was worded beautifully with a hint of simplicity. It was just below the thousand mark and he had printed it out as well. I had one copy just in case I wanted to change anything he had told me.  

"I'm going to go with Ramon to his house to work on the project. It's our last time because tomorrow is the practical." I told Lizzie who nodded at me as she pulled out her keys from her pocket. 

"Coming to my place later?" She asked and I nodded as I saw Ramon waiting near his car, his eyes on me as he waited for me to come to him. 

I waved at Lizzie who sat in her car as I walked towards Ramon. "I didn't bring any ingredients." I told him, stopping in front of him as he opened the passengers side door for me. 

"I'm prepared." He said to me, a smirk on his face as I climbed into the car to see the boys sat at the back. They waved at me as Ramon closed the door behind me. 

"Does he take you guys everywhere?" I asked them as I pulled on my seatbelt. 

Alex and the boys chuckled. He answered me. "Ramon is afraid of you so we're keeping him company so he doesn't faint in front of you." 

I laughed as Josh said." Got to keep his bad boy reputation alive." 

Ramon opened the drivers side door and climbed into the car, looking at us confused. "Hey bad boy." I grinned at him as he rolled his eyes and closed his door. 

Ramon Vitali was not anywhere close to being a bad boy. 

"So does this mean, we can eat more cake?" Josh asked as Ramon pulled out of the parking lot and out of the school. 

"Yes but I don't want any side comments. I want this cake to be perfect." I said to them and they all nodded in the back. 

"Whatever you say, Miss Woods." Josh winked at me and I rolled my eyes, a smile on my face. 

"Will I be allowed to talk?" Ramon questioned as I faced him. I nodded as he smirked to himself, his eyes glancing at me before facing forward. 

I watched the world move outside the window, as we arrived into his street. I noticed the two guards standing outside the black gates which they immediately opened for us. 

"I'm going to head up to your room." Alex said to Ramon who nodded at him as he drove up the long driveway and parked his car. The boys jumped out and walked inside the house quickly. I jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut as Ramon walked towards me. 

"My mom is home today." He told me as we walked toward his house. He pushed the door open, the silence filling my mind. "She's busy working in her office, though." He said as he closed the door behind me. 

I followed Ramon into the kitchen which was empty of any living person, except all the ingredients we had used the last time placed on the counter. 

"I thought if everything is already prepared, we won't have to panic like the last time." He said behind me as I glanced at him. He ran a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited for me to say something. 

I nodded. "I think that's perfect." I smiled, placing my bag on the table and picking up one of the aprons. Ramon nodded as he wore his apron as well and headed to the oven to preheat it. 

I pulled out my phone to text Mary that I would be home a little late before setting the timer. 

"Is your dad at work as well?" I asked Ramon as he started rolling the fondant and I started measuring the ingredients. 

We had our parts. He would do the decorations while I baked the cake. 

"My dad?" He mumbled to himself. "My dad died during the summer." He said to me, without turning to look at me as I froze with the hand mix in my hand. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." I apologised immediately as he chuckled to himself. 

"It's alright, amore. Nobody in school knows. We've kept it low." He said and I nodded as I switched the hand mixer on and glanced over my shoulder to see him rolling thin strips into roses. 

The fact that he could move on and smile this year, astonished me. He moved on, as if the death didn't affect him. Death affected everyone, in their own way but to know he still smiled and laughed made me feel happy. 

I mixed the batter together and switched the mixer off once I was done. "Need help?"I felt his breath on the back of my neck as he moved closer to me. 

I tried not to jump as he moved besides me and picked up the tins that were already prepared with parchment paper. I handed him the bowl and he poured the mixture into the four tins. I walked towards the sink to wash my hands so I could start doing the fondant. 

"Were you actually ill yesterday? I can get my mom to make you her famous get well soon remedy. It works on all of us in an instant." Ramon asked as he walked towards the oven and pulled the door down. 

"I went to the cemetery yesterday." I told him the truth. It had been five years since my mom's death but it still affected me to this date. "Yesterday was the date she had died on. I take the school day off just to go and see her and spend some time away from the darkness in my mind." I watched him pick up the two tins and walk towards the oven. 

The darkness that clawed at my mind, at my insecurities. It laughed at me every time I tried to push it further down inside of me. I wasn't giving it the time of day because I was better than that and I couldn't afford to concentrate on something else. 

"I didn't know." Ramon said as he placed the last two tins into the over and closed it. 

"I didn't expect you to." I chuckled at him as I headed towards the roses he had made. The roses looked beautiful, a few different sizes. We needed more and we needed to paint them gold with the shimmer. 

"You can talk to me, amore. I won't ever judge." Ramon said as he placed a hand on my back, his fingers rising up a little, making my back tingle as he pulled away and stood besides me. 

I watched him roll the white fondant. "Are we not going to go back to ignoring each other after this is over?" It was a genuine question. 

I assumed he was only talking to me because I was his partner. Nothing more. 

Ramon chuckled, shaking his head at me. "No chance, amore. You're in the long run with me." He bumped his hip with mine as I rolled my eyes, a smile on my face as I picked up the small paint brush. 

"You'll get bored of me. They all do." I said to him as I picked up one of the roses gently and started painting it gold with the edible shimmer. 

"Lizzie has stayed long enough with you. I don't think you're that bad." He answered as he started making more flowers. 

I smiled. "Lizzie has been my best friend since birth pretty much. You have a long way to catch up if you want to get up to her level." 

He chuckled. "I accept." 

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as he hummed to himself, and made flowers while I painted the roses. Ramon walked away from me to start making the frosting needed for the cake. 

"Once I burnt my hand in the oven." Ramon started to say as I watched him walk towards the oven and look inside of it through the glass. "Riley, my sister had told me she left my phone in there. Blindly I put my hand inside to see it was empty but hot. I still have the scar on my hand." He started walking towards me and pointed towards the light scar on the back of his hand. 

"Why did she do that?" I asked, glancing at his hand and then back up at him. 

"I told her she couldn't date." He chuckled as he picked up the icing sugar and the butter. 

"I would totally burn your hand as well." I watched him as he measured everything with the scale before putting it in a clean bowl. 

"Are you looking to date?" He asked casually as I bent down and picked up the paint brush that had fallen. I threw it in the sink to wash it up later. 

Glancing at the timer, I answered him. We had plenty of time. "Got anyone in mind for me?" 

I lowered my head near the counter so I could paint the roses perfectly. We had enough time left to let the cake cool and then decorate. Ramon was quiet as I turned around to glance at him. He was standing behind me, and I chuckled as he picked up the gold shimmering bot. 

"I have a perfect person in my mind." With the clean paint brush he dipped it into the shimmering gold dust and moved it towards me. I shook my head at him, taking a step back as he reached out his arm and the paint brush touched my lips. "I think he would take good care of you, from whatever fears you." 

"Nothing fears me." I answered him as he painted my lips with the shimmer. I watched as his eyes darkened as he glanced at my lips. 

"I've heard a lot of stupid shit about him but I think when it comes to loving someone, he would do it blindly." His eyes flickered up towards my eyes, as he placed the pot and the paintbrush behind me, on the counter. 

"Isn't that dangerous?" I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as Ramon took a step towards me. 

"Love is all about danger, amore." I watched as he moved his hand towards me. I could feel the heat from his body, as his thumb brushed the shimmer from my lips. His gaze was glued to mine as I watched him place his thumb into his mouth. 

He smirked at me, noticing my gaze on his lips. 

"Ramon." I heard a woman call him and he turned around to face her as I pulled myself away from him. 

There was a beautiful woman in a grey suit standing near the door,looking at us. Ramon walked towards her, saying something in italian as the timer on the oven started ringing. She brushed her brown curls away, looking at the oven in confusion as I walked towards it. 

"I'll get it, amore." Ramon shook his head at me, telling me to stay there as he picked up the oven gloves and opened the door to it. 

"Charlotte, I'm assuming?" His mom questioned as she walked closer to me. 

I nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs Vitali." I smiled at her and she returned the smile as Ramon placed the cake tins on the cooling rack he had placed on the counter. 

"You should stay for dinner with us." She said to me and Ramon turned to face me, nodding his head as he closed the oven door and turned it off. He pulled it open a little, to let the hot air flow out. 

"I can't stay long, I'm sorry. My dad is waiting." I told her and she nodded as she turned to Ramon. 

She said something to him in italian and he chuckled, nodding as she walked out of the room. I frowned at him as he picked up a straight blunt knife and started pushing it into the side of the tins so they didn't stick. 

"Does your mom not like me?" I asked walking towards him to help him with the other tins. 

He took a glove off and handed it to me. "She does. She wants you to stay for dinner though." 

I pulled the glove on and picked up the other blunt knife. "I can't. I have to go and help my dad. I have a neighbo- family member looking after him at the moment."

Mary was family. 

"Is your dad ill?" He asked me with confusion in his eyes. 

I nodded at him. If he claimed to be in the long run with me, he would need to know I couldn't spontaneously leave my house. "I take care of him." 

Ramon nodded. "I think that's fucking amazing. You continue to surprise me." He chuckled to himself not a single drop of pity in his eyes. 

He admired it. The constant fights and struggles I had inside of me, he admired it all as he grinned at me and turned back to the cakes. 

I smiled to myself. 

Ramon could weave his way into my mind and a part of me wouldn't mind at all. 

***

"Embarrassing story?" I asked him as I held the container with half a cake and my bag in my hand. 

"Hmm." He thought as he opened the car door for me. His eyes widened as I climbed inside. "Oh I've got a funny one." He said as he closed the door to me. 

We had finished making the cake and put the cakes in the fridge to cool them off so the frosting wouldn't melt. While we waited for the cake to cool down, we washed the dishes, talking about anything and nothing. 

We had finished decorating the cake with ten minutes to go as well.  The cake looked beautiful and we were ready to do the practical tomorrow. I took a picture of it before cutting it in half. 

Ramon jumped into his car and started it up. He started driving out of the gates that opened up for him. "One time Riley told me to go check the spider in her bathroom. She was terrified of them and me being a nice brother," he shook his head to himself as he slowed down and pulled out onto the main road. "I went into her bathroom to see a tampon on the floor." He muttered as I grinned at him. "It was covered in red and I thought it was blood and screamed my fucking heart out." 

"She was recording me as I tried to run out of the room. She laughed saying it was ketchup." 

I laughed. "I need to see the video."I said to him. 

"Not in your dreams, amore. I was young and stupid and feared whatever the fuck girls went through." Ramon shook his head, shuddering at the thought of seeing another tampon. 

"Tell me one of your embarrassing stories." He said, turning the car and taking me towards Lizzie's house. 

"Honestly my mind is blank." I chuckled at him, hating to be on the spot when it came to questions. "My life hasn't really been entertaining enough." 

Unless I counted the fights I had and seeing the faces of every opponent that walked out of the ring, defeated. 

"I think there is more to you than you are letting on." He said as he took a left, arriving in Lizzie's street. She lived closer to him than I did. 

I chuckled but didn't answer as he parked up outside her house and glanced at me. "Ready for tomorrow?" He asked,talking about the practical test. 

"Yes. Come early tomorrow, please." I told him and he nodded as I opened the door and climbed out of the car. 

I shut the door and walked around his car,heading towards Lizzie's house so she could drop me off home when he called out to me. I turned around and walked back towards his car. Ramon rolled down the window completely, as he rested his arm on the door, staring at me with a smile on his face. 

"Did you think about what I said?" He asked me and I looked at him confused. "I know a guy who is willing to take you out on a date, if you're up for it." 

I could feel my face heating up as I shook my head at him. "I don't think a guy could handle me." I took a step back as he smirked at me. 

"Give him a chance." He was smiling, waiting for an answer as I walked away, my face heating up, as I tried to stop smiling. 

"You didn't answer me, amore!" He called out to me as I knocked on Lizzie's door. 

"Goodbye Ramon!" I waved at him as he laughed. 

The door opened and Lizzie stared at me. She glanced out the door to see Ramon driving off. 

"I was blushing." My face was still heated as she squealed. 

What was wrong with me?

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.....

Thoughts so far? I want to know what's going through your mind.

Question- Who do you usually see as a character?

There was a phase where every author(myself included) used Francisco Lachowski.