Semi-Edited

I really like this cover someone made me! It is so perfect!

Song above is Bright by Echosmith. I feel like it fits this chapter pretty well :)

Enjoy! 

The next morning I woke up late and severely sore. Thankfully I had no classes today because I would have been late. I didn't even hear Macey leave this morning so I must have been really out. My body was exhausted after everything that happened yesterday and didn't feel all that bad for sleeping in.

I laid in bed for another 10 minutes contemplating if I really needed to get up today. I knew I had to get up and do something, like Gage's and I's english assignment, but I didn't want to. Sighing I forced myself to get out of my comfortable bed and try and do something today.

When I got up I let out a huge groan as my whole body ached and popped. Who knew fighting took a lot out of you, seeing Gage after a fight he didn't seem to hurt like I did. I waddled like a penguin out of my room and to the bathroom. Maybe a good warm shower would help loosen my muscles. With that in mind I went to the bathroom and started the showering on warming up.

I started on stripping out of my clothes and winced as I pulled my shirt off. My sides and back throbbed making my glance down. Right where the guy from yesterday held my waist tightly had slight bruises. You could make out that they were fingerprints because of the spacing between the bruises. I scrunched my nose up at them hating that the guy held me that tight to make bruises.

Bracing myself to see what my back looked like I slowly turned around. Looking in the mirror I let out a gasp as I saw my entire back was one huge bruise. It was a dark black and purple color, so no wonder it hurt. Apparently the guy did shove me hard into the wall a few times, I thought I would just have a small back ache but not this. I grimaced just looking at it. I wasn't going to tell anyone about it especially Macey and Gage. Both would freak on me.

Not wanting to look at my horrible back anymore I quickly finished stripping and stepped under the warm water. At first it did hurt almost like I had a sunburn but after a few minutes the feeling faded and my muscles loosened a little. The bruises were going to take a while to disappear sadly.

Not taking too long in the shower I got out about 10 minutes later feeling better than before. Maybe with a few Advil I would be fine. I made my way back to my room to change and maybe text Gage to ask if he wanted to met up and do our assignment. Sure we had until Monday to do it but might as well get it done early.

As I went over to my closet to find something my phone buzzed on top of my desk. Thinking it was Gage or maybe even my brother I quickly went over and grabbed it. I frowned as I looked at the text on the screen.

Amy: Hey. Do you want to met up in 20 minutes at 95 Degrees?

Amy texted me. For a moment I wondered what she was talking about until I remembered her texting me yesterday asking if we could met up today. I had completely forgotten about it and to be honest I kind of didn't want to go. I didn't want to hear what she had to say.

I stared down at my phone nawing at my bottom lip trying to come up with a decision. I knew deep down that I would say yes and go. I had to hear her out and see what she wanted to say to me. As much as I wanted to just ignore the text and do something else I couldn't. With a sigh I sent her a quick text in reply.

Carter: Sure. I'll see you in twenty.

Now with only 20 minutes to get ready I set my phone down and headed back for my closet. I really had no clue what to wear but feeling a little chilly and just plain tired I opted for my maroon sweater that had little gold studs along the shoulders. If I got to hot I could just roll the sleeves up. Along with that I picked out a pair of light washed blue skinny jeans and my matching red converse. 

As I put my outfit on I had a small flashback to high school when this is all I would wear. This was a total Carter outfit. Since I didn't wash my hair I kept it in its high ponytail state not even caring. I was just meeting Amy for coffee, not like I was dressing up to meet a prince or something.

Going back to the bathroom I quickly put on some mascara and a little bit of concealer under my eyes to hide the huge bags I had. With a dab of pink lipstick and a few Advil pills I was good to go. Grabbing my hand bag along with my phone, money, and apartment keys I left through the front door. At the last moment I grabbed my school bag that held my english stuff in case I ended up over at Gage's.

If I say so myself I did pretty well for getting ready in 20 minutes. I pushed aside the ache in my back and in my hand, which was just as swollen and bruised as I knew it to be. The pain pills would hopefully start working soon.

The moment I stepped out of the building I was glad I decided on a sweater and jeans. Today it decided to be overcast with a cold breeze. It is crazy how one day it is super nice and warm out and the next cold and windy. I knew this was just the start of winter though, soon the streets would be filled with white snow and everyone would be inside drinking hot beverages.

Walking against the wind I headed in the direction of 95 Degrees craving a nice cup of coffee. The entire walk there I wondered what Amy wanted to talk about. I knew it had to be about Ethan or she wouldn't have made it sound so important. I really didn't want to get into the whole thing with her.

Sure I had kissed Gage yesterday and may have started getting feelings towards him but that didn't mean I was over Ethan. Something like that just doesn't disappear over night. Hell even when I was going out with Quinton I still thought of Ethan, he never fully went away from my thoughts.

I still couldn't believe her and him were dating. It happened so suddenly that I was still in shock of it all. My best friend dating my crush...of course this would happen to me. If I thought that some random girl dating Ethan was hard well this was harder. I felt almost betrayed by her. It was basically against girl code.

While I was angry at her in some way I wasn't. I understood why she wanted to date Ethan. He had the looks, the personality, the brains, he had the whole package. It was a miracle he was single before this. It was only a matter of time before someone snatched him up, I just never thought it would be Amy who would.

This whole thing was just crazy. I wasn't even sure myself of what I thought of the whole thing. I did still love Ethan, he was still the guy I could imagine myself being with forever. He is and will forever be my first love. Now enter in Gage who is the complete opposite of Ethan. Gage didn't care about sports or what people thought of him. He was the 'bad boy' of campus while Ethan was the 'good boy'. Ethan was the footballs hero (along with my brother) and Gage was an undefeated underground fighter.

Yes they both used girls, so I guess one thing they did have in common. It was common sense that Gage has been with plenty of girls in his life and I know Ethan has, I have been there for every one. But while Ethan made butterflies erupt in my stomach, Gage set my nerves on fire. He brought out something in me that wanted to be set free. I wasn't the timid, semi sarcastic girl around him like I was with Ethan. You would think that since I have known Ethan longer I wouldn't still be that way around him but I was. I was a little girl with a huge crush on the older, hotter, football player.

I wasn't sure of my feelings towards Gage at the moment. Yes we kissed and it was the best kiss of my life but I didn't know what to think of it. Last night after he dropped me off at my door and kissed me again I felt like I was on cloud 9. I had gone inside with a giant grin plastered on my face and a feeling that I knew wouldn't fade for a while. I went to bed smiling and reliving the kisses, not wanting to think too much into it. I just wanted to think about the moment without overthinking it.

Even now I didn't know what to do or think. I didn't know if I should bring it up to him or play it cool. Didn't know if we were going to kiss again or if Gage was going to say that after he had all night to think about it he regretted it, in turn breaking my heart. I didn't know. All I knew was there was some sort of feeling I had towards him and I wasn't quite sure yet if it was lust, or the start of a crush.

Pushing all those thoughts to the back of my mind I came up to 95 Degrees. Before opening the door I took a deep breath getting myself ready for a conversation I wasn't sure I was quite ready for yet. Once I had my bearings a little bit I opened the cafe's door and headed inside.

I glanced around the kind of packed cafe searching for Amy. It wasn't surprising that this place was full and with it getting colder more and more people will start coming in to drink warm drinks and to get away from the cold outside. Right when I thought she wasn't here yet I spotted her raising her hand off in the far left corner of the cafe. Peeking past some people I noticed she already had two coffees in front of her. I smiled at that glad she ordered mine for me.

"Hey." I said once I made my way over to her. I slid into the seat across from her, neither of us making a move to hug one another. It saddened me that we weren't even hugging each other now. Before both of us would have went for a hug the moment we saw one another.

"Hey." She said back a small smile on her face. She was holding her warm coffee in her hands almost like she didn't know what to do with them.

"Thank you for the coffee." I commented bringing it to my lips. The moment the warm latte filled my mouth I practically sighed, just what I needed. I tried to lean back in the chair but the metal bit into my back making me wince so I stuck with sitting kind of forward.

"No problem, figured I would get it and a spot before it became too busy."

We sat there awkwardly for a few minutes not really knowing what to say. I did not want to be the first to talk and it seemed neither did Amy although she is the one who asked me here. In the silence I looked at her and noticed how different she looked.

Instead of the Amy I have come to know the one sitting in front of me made me think of the girl who first moved here and had no friends. The girl who didn't really care too much about her appearance or what people would think of her. Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. Instead of a makeup caked face she looked natural with only the bare minimum on like me. She looked a lot younger and dare I say pretty not all dolled up. She was wearing a really cute leather jacket with a tan looking sweater/scarf thing underneath. She definitely looked different than her dressed to the nines look she always had. 

(I don't think I have put a picture of Amy (Blake Lively) in the chapters before) 

"Carter I want to start off by saying I am sorry." Amy suddenly said. She glanced at me while she traced her finger along the lid of her drink.

"Why?" I asked even though I kind of knew what she meant.

"I shouldn't have started dating Ethan without telling or asking you first. I know you didn't straight out say that you have a crush on him but I knew and it wasn't right for me to do that." She looked away from me and down at the table. "I always kind of knew you liked him but never thought much about it. I mean I didn't even think for a second I would date Ethan at all.

"Its just that...things happened and before I knew it we were kind of serious. I knew I had to tell you but I couldn't bring myself to tell you so I avoided you hoping it would solve its self out."

"You could have just told me." I said. I can't say I wouldn't have been mad but it would have made me feel better if she would have told me instead of finding out on my own.

"I know and I am so sorry about it. I wanted to tell you straight away but I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. I mean I'm a total bitch for taking the guy you have a huge crush on." I wasn't going to argue that she isn't a bitch because honestly she kind of is, especially after that.

I looked at her as she nervous played with her coffee cup. She actually seemed upset about the whole thing and I could see she felt terrible about it. If I was in her shoes I would have done the same thing, well maybe not the same thing but I get what she means. I am pissed she is dating Ethan but did I hate her for it? No. I think the more time goes on I don't necessary hate her for it. Still angry...yes, but hate her....no.

"Do you like him?" I found myself asking. I had to know if she truly liked him, not using him like other guys before him. He meant too much for me to get played by her. Amy glanced up at me, her blue eyes shining, and a soft smile on her lips.

"Yes I do. A lot actually." From the tone in her voice I knew she meant that. I have never seen that look on her face before which meant she did like him as she said. "He makes me feel like a better person than I am. He is more than I deserve." Hearing those words my heart ached but not as much as I would have a month or so ago. It was odd but I didn't dwell on it.

"Than I am happy for you." Her eyes went wide at my words.

"Really?"

"Yes. Amy I know you didn't mean to hurt me by dating Ethan and I understand. Yes I am still mad at you for not telling me that you even liked him or that you were seeing each other but I don't hate you for it. I know something happened to put you two together and I am not going to ask what it was because I know you need to tell me when you are ready; but I am glad you are now talking to me. You avoiding me and even Macey hurt and at first we thought you were just busy with school. You should have just texted us."

"I'm sorry. I was just afraid I'd spill it all the moment I saw you and break down." That is how I felt thinking of telling Ethan how I feel.

"Next time don't do that. Just say it okay?" I reached over to grab her hand on the table. "I want you to be happy and if Ethan makes you happy than I am fine with it. Just as long as you don't break his heart or that he does the same to you."

"I won't Carter. I can't imagine hurting Ethan in anyway." I softly smiled at that. At least he wouldn't be hurt and that is all I can ask. Sure I still didn't like the idea or the image of these two dating but I had to get use to it. I can't just avoid them like the plague the entire time they go out. I wanted them to be happy and if that meant giving up Ethan than I would. It wasn't like he was a former boyfriend that I had to give up, he wasn't mine to begin with. I had no claim on Ethan what so ever.

I squeezed her hand. As much I silently wished Ethan would one day like me back the way I like him I had to slowly let the idea go. If he was happy with Amy than good, he did deserve to be happy and same with her. Who am I to break up something like that? If I didn't forgive Amy than I wouldn't feel right about myself.

"Are we okay now?" Amy asked. I nodded at her. We were and I was just going to have to push aside my feelings; like I have always done. And besides I now had Gage to help get my mind of this. "Good cause I missed you."

"I did too and I know Macey did as well." She let go of my hand to stand up. I stood up as well and she pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back pushing aside the sad feeling inside of me. The feeling that Ethan will never truly be mine. Right now I just had to focus on having my friend back and being happy for her.

****

After an hour of catching up with Amy she had to leave to go to class, leaving me alone. Macey wouldn't be done until 3 and it was only a little after 11 so it would be awhile. Standing out outside 95 Degrees I sent Gage a quick text asking if he was busy. Might as well see what he was doing.

I thought the weather would have cleared up a little during my talk with Amy but instead it seemed to get a little darker like it would rain any moment. I liked this kind of weather, where you could wear a sweater and be warm enough. Plus I loved the smell of rain.

When I got a text back from Gage saying he was free and to come over I almost yelled and almost did a small happy dance. Something about being able to spend the day with Gage was very appealing. Thankful that I brought along my school bag I headed in the direction of Gage's place.

It didn't take my long to get there and to get to their door. This place was slowly becoming as familiar to me as my own place and even Luke's. I liked that Gage didn't seem to mind that I came over and that he asked me to come. I barely knocked before Gage swung open the door.

As per usual he looked really good in a pair of black sweats and a white long sleeved shirt. While it covered his tattoos that I liked, it did cling to his muscular arms. His brown hair was laying flat agains his head instead of his normal style but I liked it. So yeah, he did look great.

"Hey." I said smiling at him.

"Hey." He moved to the side to let me in. My arm brushed against his side as I slide past him into his dorm. Once again looking around the place it was all neat and clean. I almost wanted to ask him to come clean my place.

"So why did you want to come over?" He asked moving over to the bar by the kitchen. He went around the other side and leaned against it looking at me.

"I was thinking maybe we could get started on our english assignment." I said going over to him and setting my now empty coffee cup on the counter.

"Princess seriously? He assigned it yesterday." He said looking at me like I was crazy.

"Well we don't know how long it will take us and what not. Plus it doesn't hurt to get a jump on it." I shrugged. It was better than just sitting around bored off our asses.

"I don't have my notebook." Gage said looking serious.

"Really Gage? This is your apartment idiot." I pointed out. "You are still going to do this with me." We stared at one another waiting to see who would break away first. It wasn't going to be me and I knew I would win for I have done this with my brother so many times. I had eyes of steel.

"Trying to intimidate me, really?" He asked, a small smile spreading over his face.

"Don't make me re-enact what happened yesterday at the gym. I can take you down." I said, smiling as well. Gage shook his head at me.

"Why did I get stuck with you as my partner." He muttered looking away from me.

"Because I am awesome." I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"And immature." He moved away from the counter. "Okay fine lets get this over with." I grinned in triumph. Carter wins again.

"Just makes yourself comfortable while I go get my books." Gage muttered as headed down the hallway towards I guess where his room was. Still grinning I went over to the couch and gently sat down. Even with Advil in me my back was hurting like mad. Taking out our textbook that had all the readings we needed as well as my notebook, I sat my bag on the ground by my feet.

For our english assignment we had to read three short stories and answer ten questions about each short story. We had to answer truthfully and in our own opinions. If we had different ones from each other than we put both down. It didn't sound too difficult but I had a small feeling that with Gage it wasn't going to be that easy. At least we had until Monday to turn it in, so about seven days if you count today; plenty of time.

A few minutes later Gage came back into the living room holding his own textbook and notebook. Even if we only got through one story today it was progress. A small part of me wanted to drag this out so I could spend more time with Gage.

"You know you can get comfortable on the couch. It isn't going to bite you." Gage said as he took a seat next to me. Because of my back I was sitting straight up almost like I had a stick up my butt. There was no other way for me to sit though, slouching forward hurt as well as leaning back.

"I'm working on my posture." I said and mentally slapped myself for that stupid lie. Gage looked at my weirdly but let my comment slide. "So I was thinking we could start on the first short story today and the questions. If we don't get all of them done that is okay, we have seven days to complete it."

"That sounds good to me. One a day seems like a good plan." Gage agreed nodding his head.

"Lets start with "Birdsong" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It looks the smallest." I suggested. We opened our textbooks and got started on the short story. (Yes this is a real short story. I had to read it for my english class, and surprisingly not too terrible)

****

"Gage you are not helping!" I whined as I sat there with my notebook in my lap and my textbook spread out on the coffee table. We were still on our first short story and Gage has done nothing to help me with it. I basically read the story out loud because he said he didn't want to read silently, and when I started on the questioned he just leaned back twirling his pen with his fingers.

"I am helping." He said back still twirling his pen.

"Yeah cause that is helping." I muttered. We were literally getting nowhere.

"Just write "I don't know" on all the answers and BAM we are done." He offered. I sent him a look to ask if he was joking.

"Gage we can't do that! This is for a grade."

"Oh come on Princess lighten up." He nudged me with his arm and I held back a wince. Somehow both of us moved closer together in the last thirty minutes so our sides were almost pressed against each other.

Sitting here with my back straight was not helping me, in fact it seemed to make it worse or the pain pill had worn off. I must not have hide my wince for Gage sat up looking at me weirdly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah peachy. Why?"

"You look like you are in pain. Your face is all scrunched up and it looks like you are holding back something." The way he was looking at me made me feel like he could see my bruises through my shirt. Under his gaze I swear I felt them pulse and throb even more.

I didn't want Gage to know how bad I got hurt yesterday. He would just blame himself and try to do something to the guy who did it, like he didn't already. I know he would be mad at himself for noticing earlier. I would rather just hold the pain in than make him feel bad.

"I'm fine." Right after the words left my mouth Gage suddenly pushed me hard making me fall to the side and back against the couch. My bruised back made contact with the the couch which caused a loud yelp to escape my lips. I immediately jerked up trying to leave some of the pain. Yeah I didn't well with pain.

"Carter you are hurt." Gage said, standing up. He stared down at me as I had my face scrunched up and was breathing through my nose because of the pain.

"No I'm not." I said in a soft voice. I was still going to deny it.

"Carter." He said in a tone I have never heard before which made me jerk my head up to look at him. "Where. Are. You. Hurt?" He said he word slowly and with a firm tone. I stared at him opening he would budge but by the look he was sending me I knew I had to do what he asked.

"My back." I muttered. He made a gesture for me to stand up and turn around. I sighed and did what he asked.

Gage took a step back as I stood up and turned so my back faced him. I closed my eyes as I felt his hands grab the bottom of my sweater. I didn't want him to see my back and how bad it looked, because it looked terrible. Showing my bare back to him made me feel really vulnerable for some reason.

I held my breath as Gage pulled my shirt up. I heard his intake of breath a second later and instantly tensed up. It probably looked a littler worse than this morning. That is what sucked about bruises, they had to get worse before they get better.

"Why didn't you tell me about this yesterday?" He asked, his voice soft and almost sounded like he was hurt that I didn't tell him.

"I kind of forgot about it until this morning when I woke up. And I didn't want you to worry." I said. My breathing hitched as I felt the tip of his fingers brush softly down my back, exactly where the bruising was. I have never seen him or felt him be so gentle. I liked it.

"Carter this doesn't look so good." He said softly.

"It doesn't feel so good either." I admitted.

"You shouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place." I heard him mutter under his breath.

"Gage couldn't have done anything, you were busy trying not to get hurt. I did this to myself by getting involved. But if I hadn't who knows what that guy would have done to Dylan." And I was right. I did this to myself but jumping into the fight and I don't regret it. Sure I got hurt but it didn't matter. I helped my friends out and in turn made myself feel like a badass. It actually made me feel alive and that is something I've never really felt before. So no I did not care that I got hurt yesterday.

Gage kept rubbing his fingertips softly against my back and along my spine, causing me to shiver slightly. His warm fingers felt really good and made me forget about the pain for a few minutes. I didn't even care that the back of my bra was exposed or my bare back showing off my love-handles, his touch made me forget about all of that.

"You should have told me. I was rude to push you onto it."

"Yeah that wasn't nice." I said over my shoulder to him.

"Lets get you some painkillers and an ice pack to put on it." He stepped away from me and I instantly felt cold without the warmth from his body and hands. I watched as he went down the hallway to get me some medicine. I stood there awkwardly with my back still exposed.

He came back not even a minute later with some in his hands. He made quick work of grabbing a glass of water for me to take the pills with and two ice packs.

"Okay first, take these." He handed me two Advil's which I quickly drank down. "Now go lay down on your stomach so we can put these ice packs on your back." I didn't question him for he was a pro at bruises and what to do about them. Laying down where I was just sitting, on my back, Gage hovered above me.

"This is going to be really cold for a little bit." He warned me right before he pressed both ice packs right onto my bare back, he didn't even put my sweater down. I yelped and jerked up. "I'm sorry but this is the only way for it to heal faster." He apologized but he didn't sound that sorry.

"Damn that is cold." I gritted my teeth as he pulled my sweater back down over the packs. The cold was literally breath taking. "Is this really necessary?" I asked.

"If you want your back to feel better, yes." Gage said simply. I wanted to say no but knew I needed the ice. "Since you have to lay down for a while, we are taking a break from homework."

"And do what? Sit in silence?"

"No we are going to watch a movie." I tilted my head up and looked at him, surprised. "What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care, but make it something good." To honest I could care less, as long as I was watching it with Gage.

"Okay so we have Transformers, Rush Hour, or Fast and Furious." Gage listed off.

"Rush Hour." I didn't even hesitate to answer. Serious yet funny, wouldn't make it too awkward.

"Rush Hour it is than." I watched Gage as he squatted down to put the DVD in. With him kind of hunched over I could make out his back muscles through his white long sleeve shirt. Damn muscles are seriously hot. You never know you like them until you see a guys in a tight shirt or shirtless; both great options to look at.

I stared at him like a freak but I could careless at the moment, he didn't know with his back turned. When he turned away I looked in the opposite direction not wanting to be caught staring and drooling over him.

I watched as he made his way back towards me. I thought he was going to sit somewhere else but instead he was right above me. He glanced down at me but all I could do was lay there staring at him with wide eyes. I lifted my head ready to ask him what he was doing when he sat down in the little section left near my head. Gage than moved over so I had to lift my head all the way up, and grabbed the pillow I was using. He now sat exactly where my head was and with a gentle hand pushed my head down onto his lap.

I laid there frozen as he got himself situated with my head on his lap. Gage literally laid my head on him to use as a pillow! I literally had no words and my heart was beating erratically. There was other places to sit but no he had to sit exactly where my head was and have me lay on him.

This was so not Gage and I almost asked if he was feeling okay. Maybe he was high or something. He didn't say one word as the movie previews started. The pillow I was using before, now sat on the other side of him. I wasn't going to lie though his leg was surprisingly soft and comfortable. They were muscular but laying on them it wasn't terrible.

It took me the entire previews to relax and just go with it all. There was no way Gage was going to move or let me move for that matter. The cold packs on my back were non-existent and even the pain was going away.

I had to admit though, this was not a bad position to be in. On top of a hot guy, watching a movie, while he cared for me was not at all. I didn't think this is how the day would have turned out when I first got here but I wasn't complaining at all. Gage was being really sweet and not like himself, something I was actually enjoying. It was nice not seeing his usual cold, rude, standoff-ish self.

Gage started the movie and than sat his hand on my head. His fingers started running through my ponytail and I practically sighed. A guy who played with your hair was a definite keeper. I silently yelled at myself for not washing and wearing my hair down. It wasn't like it was gross and dirty but still.

Laying there with ice on my back, my head on Gage's lap, and his hand in my hair I smiled. I smiled because for once I felt cared for by someone else than my family. Smiled because I brought out a different side of Gage today. And I smiled because there was something blooming in my chest that I had no idea what it was, but I wanted to find out.

****

The next few hours passed by like that. With my laying in Gage's lap and him making sure I was feeling okay. We ended up watching two movies before I had to finally move. Laying there for over 4 hours was making me all stiff. When I did get up my stupid phone decided to buzz with a text from Macey. My perfect little bubble was suddenly popped.

Macey's text said she was out of classes and wanted to talk. I had no idea what she wanted to talk about. Maybe that I got home kind of late last night and never told her where I was. Maybe she was mad at me. I sadly knew I had to go and see her which meant leaving Gage, something I didn't want to do. I had a good afternoon with him and leaving would be like this day hadn't happened.

"I guess I gotta go." I said as I read the text. Gage was still sitting on the couch and was looking at me. "Macey needs to talk to me." I explained even though I didn't have too.

"That is okay. Dylan should be back here soon too." From the way he was talking I could tell he didn't want me to leave but he would never admit that out loud. He got up and grabbed the now warm ice packs and headed to put them away, as I texted back to Macey.

Surprisingly my back was feeling a lot better thanks to Gage. He definitely had his own run in with bruises and knew what to do. I was thankful he did finally know about it and helped me out. If not I would be in a lot of pain right now.

"Want to continue on our assignment tomorrow?" He asked as I gathered my stuff and put my bags on my shoulder.

"Yeah. I get out of class around 2 so I am free afterwards." While I didn't want to leave at least I will spend tomorrow with him again. Just being around him made me feel good.

"Okay I'll text you when I get out as well and we can met here." I nodded and smiled at him agreeing. It sounded perfect to me.

I had to force myself to walk to the door or else I would stay here. I needed to see what Macey wanted to talk about and if I didn't show up she would be super pissed. That was something I did not want to be on the receiving end of. Macey was just like her mom when she got angry, it was like World War III, I swear.

"Thank you for helping me." I sent him a smile as I opened the door. Everything in me was telling me to kiss him but I ignored it.

"You are welcome. Make sure to keep taking painkillers and to put an ice pack on it before bed." He smiled back at me. "If you need anything just call me. And call me when you get home." My heart warmed at that. Who knew Gage would tell me to call him to make sure I made it home okay. He definitely was changing, little by little.

"I will." He stepped towards me and when I thought he was going to kiss me, his lips landed on my cheek. It was a small peck but enough to make me blush bright red. While it wasn't a kiss like I wanted it was better than nothing. Grinning at me he stepped back.

"Bye Princess." Not trusting myself to speak I nodded and quickly left his apartment. When I made it a little ways from the door I pressed my hand to the cheek he just kissed. A wide grin spread across my face, it almost felt like my lips were going to tear off with how wide I was smiling.

I was still grinning like an idiot as I left his building and headed towards mine. This day had turned out practically perfect, or at least it did in my eyes. I never knew I would have fun just sitting around watching a movie with Gage. Something about him made me feel like I was home.

I was strolling along, still grinning, and I bet people were staring to think I was high or something. I didn't care though nothing was going to tear down my high right now.

I of course spoke too soon about that. Just as I was coming around the corner near my building I saw something that made me look once than instantly whip back to look at it again.

You have got to be kidding me!?

Standing right in front of the door was my brother, Luke, and my best friend Macey, kissing. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hiya everyone! I am back with an update, finally! I am sorry it has taken me a little while but I have been busy all week editing the first draft of the "A Year Agreement" and sending it in to my editor, as well as signing up for fall classes, and of course reading Me Before You. It was freaking amazing! And I couldn't help myself but buy the sequel today (no shame!) 

So this chapter is kind of a filler but you get to see Gage taking care of Carter as well as Amy finally talking to Carter about Ethan. Later on in the chapters it will explain what happened that made Ethan and Amy get together and stuff like that. Right now it isn't that big of a deal but it will be later on. I hope this made you look at her slightly different. If you haven't noticed she is slowly changing from what she was in the beginning of the book, it is gradual but it is there. Think there is a reason behind it? Comment what you think!

Shit is about to go down next chapter! Get your umbrellas and hold onto your seats. Carter has caught Luke and Macey together! What do you think is going to happen? Is she going to be pissed, is she going to yell at them, or is she going to be happy for them? 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as always. I want to say another quick thank you for following me! We are almost to 50 THOUSAND FOLLOWERS! Yes 50 thousand.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! You guys are unbelievable. I could hug and kiss all of you. 

**P.S AUGUST 1ST IS THE DAY YOU CAN START VOTING FOR THE WATTY'S. Well for the Fan Voted Award on Twitter. (The other awards for the Watty's are chosen by HQ). This means that whoever gets the most votes for their story(s) they get the award. Make sure you have a twitter so you can vote. All you have to do is type.....Silent Love #Wattys2016, or A Year Agreement #Wattys2016 OR BOTH!!! That is it. You can tag me if you'd like, you can post a quote from the story, or even the link to the two stories. Each person that tweets and 'likes' the other tweets is a vote. So if someone posts one tweet with that above and all of you like it, those count as separate votes. I will of course let you know when the date gets closer!!! 

VOTE, COMMENT, AND BE AWESOME!! 

<3 <3 <3 <3 

-Ken