. ⋆ ⭑✧*:･ﾟ

Cesar had snuck in through Cora's window that night, claiming that he was lonely and he missed her. It wasn't odd for Cesar to say such things. Matter of fact, he told Cora things like that all the time. He often described to her what he was feeling on his end of the line and then she would tell him how she was feeling. Most times though, Cora wouldn't say much, other than she liked spending time with Cesar, and that she missed him.

Cora wanted nothing more but to have those summer nights back where all she had to do was turn over on her bed to see Cesar's face. It wasn't just the seasons that were changing, it was the people of Freeridge too.

She didn't have to say a word as she opened the window for Cesar that night. He was the one who spilled first, the brunette nodding along with every word he said. "I get it," was pretty much all she could gather up.

Cesar and Cora sat at the edge of her bed, the boy placing a worrying hand over her knee. "Are you okay, mi amor? You don't seem as cheerful as you usually do."

Cora sighed quietly. "I guess I'm just worried for you," she admitted.

"You have nothing to be worried about," Cesar quickly tried to ease her mind, Cora looking down at the floor as he spoke. "Everything's going to be okay."

For mostly everyone, Cesar didn't bother hiding how his life had quickly gone downhill since joining the gang. He made sure everyone knew it was rough, yet he had no choice. Except when he was talking to Cora, he didn't mind sugarcoating it for her.

"I know, it's just that if something happens, I might not be able to protect you," Cora sat up straight, finally looking Cesar in the eye. It wasn't like her to act so cowardly, especially around her man. But, she was worried.

"You don't need to worry about protecting me, I can protect myself," Cesar grabbed Cora's hands.

She paused for a moment, unsure. Her heart wasn't beating a million miles per hour, and she felt no butterflies in her stomach. For once, she felt one hundred percent safe, secured, and loved by Cesar in a way that wasn't childish or immature.  So, she was sure.

Cora leaned in, pressing her cherry balm covered lips to Cesar's. He didn't hesitate kissing back, having expressed to Cora often about how much he adored how her cherry chapstick tasted. Cora raked her hand through his thick hair, expecting a moan to erupt from his lips as she tugged. He delivered, making Cora smile through their kiss.

It wasn't news that Cora and Cesar liked making out. While everyone knew them to be attached at the hip, it was also common knowledge that they were also attached at the lips three-fourths of the day. But tonight, things would escalate.

Cora pulled away, breathing heavily. "So uh, Andres seems to like Olivia, huh?"

Cesar shook his head slightly. "Let's not talk about them right now," he said in a low voice before placing his lips on hers again. Cora straightened her posture as she climbed on top of Cesar's lap, continuing to tug on his hair. 

He loved it.

"Mi amor," she whispered in his ear as he started working on her neck. "Take it off," she lowered her hands and tugged at the collar of his tee-shirt.

"Someone's eager," he teased, tapping his thumbs against Cora's hips playfully.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be like that."

"Fine," he removed his hands from her hips momentarily as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. "Your turn," Cora cocked her head to the side, her gaze trailing over her posters on her wall as she absentmindedly unbuttoned her shirt. Cesar sighed, placing his hands on the lower buttons and helping her. "You're such a tease."

Cora took her hands away from her shirt with a smile as she watched him do it for her. "Yet you love it," she said as Cesar placed kisses alongside Cora' bra straps as she pulled the shirt off her back herself, dropping it to the floor.

"You got that..." Cesar trailed, squinting his eyes as memories of Lola and Adam talking passed through his mind. "Sex kit?"

Cora giggled, getting off Cesar's lap, ignoring him as he let out a whimper. She walked over to her nightstand and opened the door, pulling out a single condom. "I don't keep the whole kit in my room. Besides," she nodded, referencing to the next room where Lola and Adam slept. Thankfully, they weren't currently home. "I'm not the one who needs it."

Cesar eyed the girl up and down carefully, his eyes hungry. "Cora, are you sure you wanna do this?"

Cora furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head. "You think this is my first rodeo, cowboy?"

Cesar gulped. "I just want to make sure you want to do this."

Cora smiled, sitting down next to him on the bed. "Oh, trust me, I want this as much as you do," she handed him the packaged protection. "Now either do something with that or help me out of these leggings first." 

He placed a hand behind her head and they resumed kissing, and she allowed herself to fall back on her bed, dragging Cesar down with her. 

 ⋆ ⋅ ☆

"Attention, students. One last reminder to buy your tickets to tonight's Homecoming Dance. A magical evening full of wonder, excitement, and romance can be yours for only 10.99. However, this is not an opportunity to get freaky. Remember: if you're not responsible, you'll end up with responsibility. So, there will be no twerking, yiking, getting crunk, lit, or turnt. For all you ladies, dress appropriately. Nobody wants to see your lower butt cheeks."

"Man, that's some bullshit! Did you hear that? Did you hear, no butt cheeks," Jasmine walked through the halls complaining. "You know how many squats I do for these nalgas? Come on, people, no butt cheeks?"

"And last but not least: no ID, no entrance. No exceptions."

The bell rang, but Cora was already throwing on a tan cardigan over her pastel pink tank top. "Why do they always tell women to dress appropriately? Can't they just tell the men to behave themselves?" she raked through her hair, combing it in a high ponytail with a scrunchie to match her shirt. She spun around to face Cesar, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes. "Oh, no, not this again. We've got to get to class, and we can't meet up later because you can't miss trig again."

Cesar chuckled, playing with his shirt in his hands. "What would I do without you?"

Cora shrugged. "Who knows honestly," she stared at Cesar. 

"Like what you see?" he smirked.

"What? No," she lied. 

Cesar nodded slowly with a smile. "Yeah, that's not what you were saying last night."

"Put your clothes back on, asshole," Cora grabbed her bag and waited the split second it would take Cesar to put his shirt back on (and ignored how he laughed the whole time), then they walked outside together.

"You're gonna dance with me tonight, right?" Cesar asked as he took Cora's hand into his.

Cora nodded. "I'll dance with you."

"To romantic songs?" he questioned.

"Low by Usher is romantic," Cora mumbled, earning a groan from Cesar. "What? I'm just not completely comfortable with slow dancing," they neared the doorway of their next class. "Can we talk about this later, babe?"

Cesar nodded. "Sure. We can talk about how slow we're gonna dance because it's going down."

⋆ ⋅ ☆

[ NOTE y'all s2 gonna DESTROY ME
update: this didn't age well ]

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1,335 words

PUBLISHED february 19, 2019
EDITED may 27, 2020