Burn (standard:romance, 4987 words) [1/2] show all parts
Author: Jade Catseye	Updated: Mar 29 2006	Views/Reads: 3899/2527	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Our love burned with an abandoned and reckless passion that threatened to consume us whole. For sanity’s sake, we decided to just remain friends, something that probably won’t last long, especially since I think I’m falling for his twin brother.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

façade when I had these things impeding my endeavors to remain as 
non-girly as possible? 

And that's when I saw him, the new kid, sitting my chair, legs propped
comfortably upon my desk and rocking his back and forth to the tunes 
emitting from his CD player, completely unaware of the blushing females 
gawking unabashed at the new,  self-proclaimed rebel. My eyes narrowed 
in distaste. Not to be inhibited by his bad ass pretense, I boldly 
stalked up to my desk and shoved his dirty Timberlands off of my desk. 

His eyes snapped open to reveal irritated, smoky blue pools, glaring at
me as if I were the scum beneath his boots. “What the hell do you 
want?” 

I bristled at this. “You're in my seat stupid.” 

He snorted and flicked me off, then proceeded to place his feet back on
top of my desk and jam to his beats once more with eyes closed, 
seemingly unconcerned. 

No he didn't just give me the finger. Not to be bested, especially in my
territory, I pushed, or at least tried to push his boots off of the 
desk, but to no avail. He had firmly planted them in place, then had 
the audacity to crack an eye and stare at me with a smirk that I would 
one day come to adore and abhor. Anger shot through me at his blatant 
disrespect for both myself and my desk. Rage skewing my vision, I 
snatched his headphones from the CD player and his head, not hesitating 
to throw them out of the open window. 

He flew to his feet, his lean, 5'11 frame easily dominating over my
measly 5'2. Gray blue eyes spoke of fury and irritation that were all 
directed to me. Not a good thing, especially when I all I could do was 
glare at his chest. Swallowing my nervousness, I stared back at him 
defiantly. Where were my comrades when I needed them? Out of the corner 
of my eye I saw them talking to Will, their backs facing me. Memo to 
self: Kill Will and Skye and throw their bodies over a cliff. 

“You're going to regret that little girl,” he said in a voice only for
my ears, his lips twisting into a sadistic grin. 

I jutted my chin out stubbornly. “Oh really? What are going to do? Tell
the teacher on me, snitch?” 

“No.” He took a step closer to me, so that we were mere centimeters
apart. “I'm going to do this.” 

In a move that totally took me by surprise, he grabbed me by the
shoulders and yanked me into his chest. Before I could get a word out 
or even think about doing anything in retaliation, I felt his lips 
crash against mine in a brutal kiss. It only lasted seconds but the 
effect was so profound, so overwhelming, that it literally took me a 
minute or two to recover. And when I did manage to regain my senses and 
saw him smirking haughtily down at me like he'd won some prize, my 
sanity snapped and everything went black. I don't remember much of what 
happened after that, but later I found myself in the principles office. 
They told me that I'd practically mauled the new transfer student and 
it had taken about four of my other classmates to get me off of him. 
Needless to say, I was given about a week of vacation time to ‘think 
about what I'd done.' The bastard had stripped me of my tomboy-hood, 
and the entire class had been there to see. This asswipe didn't know 
who he was messing with. 

I chuckled. Something even to this day I won't admit was that I kind of
enjoyed the less than sweet kiss, but like I'd ever tell anyone that 
since I did bitch how he ‘robbed me of my innocence and dignity' every 
time we argued. My amusement waned, leaving me to contemplate the query 
that was posing a hindrance on my ability to move on. But did I even 
want to move on? Perhaps that was the problem. Maybe on some 
subconscious level I liked the way things were in my comfort zone. It 
was a continuous cycle of repetition with us. We'd break up, try to 
remain friends, argue over how it wasn't working out, find ways to hurt 
each other whether it is with scathing remarks or flaunting dates in 
front of each other's face, then make up, and the cycle would repeat 
itself all over again. 

The only qualm I had with our relationship was the inevitable path it
would take. My heart couldn't take constant trampling, the contemptuous 
stabs and the possessive jealousy when we were apart. His mind set was 
fixated on his assumption that I was meant for him and him alone, that 
if he couldn't have me, no other guy could. I loved him, with all of my 
heart, but sometimes his actions made me wish that I'd never fell in 
love with him, that he had never spoken the heartfelt words that 
changed our lives forever. 

“I want you to be mine.” 

My breath caught in my throat with the utterance of those three words,
his eyes piercing my eyes with their beauty and intensity, his 
proximity entirely too close for my liking. I took a step back, my back 
meeting the wall behind me. He had me cornered. Why the hell had I 
agreed to stay after school to help tutor Jacoby's slow ass in Spanish? 
Damn me and my self-sacrificing complex. No doubt it would be my 
downfall. “What the hell are you talking about, O'Connell?” I asked, 
addressing him by his surname only when I was annoyed, and warily 
looking around, half expectant for his posse to jump out of the shadows 
and pummel me with water balloons like they had did in eight grade. 

Even with the dark shadows of the semi-lit cafeteria obscuring the
planes of his features I could still see the tense twitching of the 
nerve in his chiseled jaw, an indicator I had gradually become 
accustomed to in the years that I had known him as a sure sign of his 
nervousness or anger. Why he would be channeling either was completely 
unfathomable in my mind. I squeaked in surprise as he pressed his hard 
form against my body, his arms trapping me between both taut appendages 
as his hands braced the wall on either side of my head. 

“Did you not hear what I said?” His warm breath against my ear sent
involuntary shivers down my spine and I tried hard to focus on getting 
my next few words out. 

“Did you not the get the memo declaring your mental instability?” I
tried to bat away his arms so I could be released from the 
disconcerting prison that was throwing my whole thought process off. 
Growling when his limbs refused to budge, I glared at him with all the 
spite and indignation I had for him. “Get the hell out of my face 
before I break your jaw.” The time for being civil was over. 

“Angelface, you're not listening to me,” he murmured and I stiffened,
more so in shock than by his using the irritating pet name he had 
bestowed upon me, when I felt air being drawn from the surface of my 
skin. W-was he sniffing me??? 

“O-O'Connell, you're freaking me out.” The thudding in my chest was
prolonged for a moment in time as soft, supple lips planted tiny kisses 
along the sweep of my neck. I took in a sharp breath, my legs quivering 
beneath me as they gradually converted into a mass of jellified mush. 
Something stirred deep within the recesses of my body, something that 
ached for his touch, his warmth, his presence. My heart beat even 
faster than before, if that were even plausible at this point. What the 
hell was I doing? He was the enemy. I hated him. I wanted to stamp out 
his existence from the earth. He was a constant thorn in my side with 
his obnoxious, arrogant, hot-tempered, chauvinistic behavior, thinking 
he was God's gift to women. 

My head snapped up in realization. This was probably some ploy conspired
by him and his half-wit friends to show that he could get any woman he 
wanted. Eyes narrowing, I thrust him back with renewed vigor, 
satisfaction mixing in with the contempt in my sneer as he took a 
couple of steps back. “You fucking self-righteous pig. How dare you 
force yourself on me! How much money did they put up for you to get 
into my pants? You're an asshole, but this is a new low even for you.” 

“What the fuck Angel!” he blew up, the anger I was quite habituated with
manifesting itself on his face and providing me with some semblance of 
normality. “You actually believed that I would do something as sordid 
as bet on your virginity!” 

My face turned a nice shade of scarlet. How'd he know that I was a
virgin? Thankful for the darkness and the fury clouding his face so he 
wouldn't see the embarrassment on mine, I crossed my arms over my chest 
and stared fiercely at him. “I don't know what the hell is going 
through the small brain of yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I have 
places to go, namely anywhere that doesn't include your company.” I 
made a move to sidestep his seemingly immovable form, ready to make a 
hasty retreat, when his hand shot out of the darkness and latched onto 
my wrist. 

“Wait.” I froze at the barely discernable pleading tenor twined in his
gruff tone. He thrust a hand through his thick locks in frustration and 
anxiety. “I meant what I said.” 

His self-consciousness pulled at my heartstrings and made something akin
to affection tug the muscles in my face into a smile. He was so cute 
when he was uncomfortable. The flow of my thoughts halted. I did not 
just think that. “I have to get out of here,” I mumbled, half-heartedly 
attempting to jerk my wrist from his grasp while striving to understand 
just what was going on with him. 

“Ang-“ 

“No!” I forcefully wretched my limb from his loosened grip and too a
precautionary step away from him. “Stop with these mind games! I'm not 
one of those stupid, bimbo wenches from your fan club that you can 
treat however you feel-“ 

“Dammit Angel, shut the fuck up and listen to me!” he barked irately,
his patience having worn thin. “I've never treated you like them! 
You're in a whole other league by yourself and that's what I love about 
you!” 

Eyes widening in disbelief, my heart jumped into my esophagus,
effectively cutting off the air to my lungs. For once, I had been 
rendered speechless and felt unable to stop the tide of emotion that 
came with his sincere words. 

His temperature falling upon noticing my silence, he offered me a
crooked grin. “You are like no other girl around here and that's 
something I've come to appreciate over the years. You're outspoken, 
brave, strong, intelligent, funny, don't take shit from anybody, and 
you are my equal in every way imaginable. And,” he trailed off, and I 
was helpless to do anything but stare as he reached out and took a 
strand of my hair between his thumb and forefinger, “you're beautiful 
as all hell,” he spoke softly, deserting the curly strand of hair in 
favor for lightly cupping my cheek and I couldn't but help but lean 
into the warmth of his palm. 

‘What if this is some kind of elaborate trap? What if I'm only digging
my own grave? He's tricked me before and he'll probably do it again 
just to get under my skin. The little bastard.' 

Going instantly on guard, I jerked away from his touch as if it burned.
“This is some kind of trap, isn't it? Why this sudden soul baring 
confession? I bet you're just-“ 

Words being cut off he grabbed me by my shoulders and pushed me against
the wall, his lips crashed down on mine before I could protest. Unlike 
the first time he had stolen a kiss from me in an immature attempt to 
impress me with his manhood and dominance, this time was filled with a 
desperation, a need, a fire that awakened dormant, deep seated 
sensations and had my body crying out for his in a way that no guy had 
yet invoked within me. Throwing caution into the wind, I wound my arms 
around his neck and allowed myself to be caught up in the whirlwind of 
emotion and feelings. I didn't care that he was my supposed arch enemy, 
that he had humiliated me in front of my classmates time and time again 
on numerous occasions, that we had physically fought each other more 
times than I care to count. Right now, here was a guy who was desperate 
enough to put down his defenses and break through mine just to get to 
my heart. 

Later on when we broke apart and stared at each other while drawing in
much needed oxygen to replenish our depleted lungs, I looked at him 
uncertainly, hesitant as to what I was supposed to do, how I was 
supposed to feel after what had just transpired. Would we go back to 
the ways things had been? Was I right and did I succeed in allowing him 
to exploit my undeclared feelings for him for a price? 

Apparently he read my mind, because he scooped me up into a gentle
embrace. “I meant every word I said here this night, Angelface. I want 
you to be mine.” He smirked at my indecision. “And I won't take no for 
an answer.” 

I rolled my eyes at the memory. He never could take no for an answer.
The bastard had pursued me for a week and a half after that night until 
I finally made up my mind to go out with him. And true to his word, 
there hadn't been any underlying motif in his want for me. From then 
on, our relationship had escalated into something of mass proportions. 
It amazed me still to this day how fast and hard I had fallen for him 
or how much he was willing to change in order for us to stay together. 
Up until then, he had mostly hung out with the school bad asses after 
being deemed worthy of being in their attendance ninth grade, and I'd 
like to believe that I had changed him for the better because after 
reeking havoc our freshman year and the first half of our sophomore, he 
began to tone down while we were together. So much in fact that he and 
his close friends increasingly started to integrate into my world of 
semi-preppiness. 

My eyes drifted downwards and settled on my posse. There were my
comrades in arms, of course, Skye, preppy girl to the bone, and Lolita, 
rebel turned cheerleader. Then there was Will, who needless to say had 
teamed up with us after going out with Skye throughout the rest of 
middle school and on into high school. They were still together after 
five years. How quaint. The two cronies that would follow my lover to 
the ends of the earth were Jack and Nicholas. Seeing as though there 
would be no more pillaging of the school after crossing over into our 
world, Jack had joined the football team to take out his frustrations 
with society. For someone who thought he would never amount to anything 
in life was sadly mistaken, especially after becoming star quarterback 
and earning a full year scholarship to his dream college, USC. 
Nicholas, not too keen on the idea of giving up his way of life, had 
managed to keep his punk fascia and had interestingly enough merged it 
with prep in such a creative way that had the entire school rocking his 
look. Try as they might, nobody could match his flare for style and 
originality. 

Then there was O'Connell. My gaze skimmed over to the part of quad where
he stood talking with one of the member of the hockey team, and 
enviously watched as one hand ran through his shoulder length ebony 
hair. How the hell he'd managed to get that glossy sheen a mystery to 
me even to this day. Prick. What I still found amazingly attractive 
about him was his ability to wear our style of clothing and maintain 
his bad ass appearance. Quite the turn on if I do say so myself. 

I quickly turned back to the canopy overhead and shut my eyes, my veneer
that of one napping. Seconds later I could feel his eyes roaming over 
my body. It was strange how we were so connected in every way 
conceivable. Our auras attracted and repelled and gave a new definition 
to the word magnetism. By some means, our friends had known that we 
would hook up sooner or later, even if we had pitted them against each 
other in a battle of the sexes. We knew each other inside and out, 
including our deepest, darkest secrets, ones in which we hadn't even 
admitted to ourselves. But in some ways I still hated him for reducing 
me to a fumbling schoolgirl every time he touched me, for retaining 
information about myself that I had withheld from my closest friends, 
for making me feel as though he was the missing piece of the puzzle to 
the completion of my soul. 

A flurry of butterflies stirred in my stomach as I felt him approach,
the deep, baritone pitch of his voice as he greeted our friends 
propelling a rush of excitement through my veins. Try as I might, I 
couldn't help the flood of anticipation that crowded in collaboration 
with the other rampant emotions that teamed in my body. I tried to 
anchor the organ that was currently doing somersaults in my chest, the 
warmth emitting from his body transferring to mine as he came to lie 
beside me under the tree. 

“Angela,” he sang song playfully as I felt him softly tug with a strand
of my hair. 

I ignored him and continued to feign sleep, concentrating hard on my
breathing so it wouldn't look too obvious I was faking. 

He shifted beside me, pressing closer against my side, his lips brushing
along the curve of my ear. “I know you're not asleep, Angelface,” he 
whispered huskily, the seductive undertones eliciting a none-too 
discreet moan on my part. 

Rolled my head to the side and glared menacingly at the use of his
beguiling mannerisms that were supposed to be off limits to the 
incredibly gorgeous guy propped casually on his side. “You bastard, you 
know that turns me on.” 

Blue eyes laughed at me, their silver flecks swirling with mischief.
“That was the point.” Nimble fingers trailed down the side of my jaw 
and I struggled valiantly with the urge to yank him into my arms and 
have my way with him. “Why are we doing this, Angel?” Seriousness 
etched onto the perfectly chiseled features of his face. “We both know 
this isn't going to work. Why put us both through this agony?” 

I painfully tore my gaze away from him and stared once more at the
leaves dancing to rhythm of the light breeze. “Devin,” I dragged out 
his name slowly to emphasize the issue that clearly had not sunken into 
his thick skull yet, “we both consensually agreed that this was for the 
best. You know as well as I do the consequences of us being together on 
that level.” I brought my gaze back to meet his solemn one. “It's not 
worth it, Dev,” I said quietly. 

Devin looked at me unconvinced and looked as though he wanted to argue
more on the subject until he saw my pleading puppy dog eyes. Nobody 
could resist them, especially the one whose heart I held. Letting a 
sigh of exasperation, he muttered a few choice words under his breath 
before laying all the way down, his body spooning mine from the side. 
“I miss you in my arms,” he murmured, his arm languidly draping across 
my waist. “These past two weeks have been hell for me. I want you so 
bad it hurts.” 

His words made my heart clench, for I was having the same dilemma. These
days all I could seem to think about was him and why the hell we'd made 
this stupid decision to play it safe. I gave him a weak smile and 
threaded my fingers through his. “If it's any consolation, I can't 
stand not being with you either.” 

He picked up his head, hope shimmering within the depths of gray and
blue. “Then why don't we forget this lets-just-be-friends bullshit and 
go back to how it used to be.” He dipped his head and began to nuzzle 
my neck affectionately. “We've learned from our mistakes. We won't make 
them again. I'll never hurt you again, I swear it.” 

A part of me desperately wanted me to believe that the words of loyalty
and love coming from his mouth and to give in to what we both wanted to 
badly, but the jaded, embittered part of my heart that had been burned 
one too many times told me to think with my head, that this was how it 
always was in the beginning, that I knew how it would end. I opened my 
mouth to object, fully prepared to count off all of the things that may 
and would come because of our union, that is until I felt a small, hard 
sphere glide along the expanse of my neck. 

I ground my teeth together against the volley of desire that battered
away at my conscious. He knew how to get me and I'd be damned if I say 
I didn't love it when he used that tongue ring of his. Oh, how I'd 
missed that little silver ball along my flesh. “D-Devin, stop it before 
we rip each others clothes and do it right here on the quad.” 

I felt him smile into my skin. “Don't you remember, angelcakes,” he
kissed my flesh, “we already did that,...five times.” 

My face flushed with the memory of our naked, entangled bodies making
love in the courtyard of our school, the close calls with the officials 
only enhancing the experience. Yet another aide memoire that added the 
growing list of why we should just stay friends. I wriggled out of his 
arms and scooted away from him to put some much needed distance between 
us.  “You're not making this easy O'Connell. We will not being going 
back on our promise to stay friends understand?” 

He clutched his heart with mock pain and rolled on his back. “You're
killing me with all of this talk of just being friends.” He sucked in a 
harsh lungful of air for emphasis. “Quick Angel, kiss me before I pass 
on to the afterlife.” 

I laughed as he puckered up, awaiting the kiss that would not be
delivered anytime soon though I felt the urge to comply. “You're going 
to hell.” 

Dropping the act, he moved onto his side, his head propped on his hand
as a he gave me a devilish smirk. “Don't pretend that you won't be 
sitting right next to me in first class. Your ass is just as bad as 
mine, maybe even more, putting me through all of this agonizing, 
torturous pain with this friendship shit.” 

I balked since he had also consented to this arrangement, angry retorts
lining along the tip of my tongue, ready to be expelled like notched 
arrows but they slid to the back of my mouth and fell out of existence 
when he reached over to caress my cheek, the adoration in his smoky 
eyes causing my breath to catch. “But I guess I'll respect our 
decision,” he smiled, the dimples in his cheeks making their acclaimed 
début, and in one swift movement that took me off guard, gathered me in 
his bronze arms and held me close to his chest. 

“Devin-“ 

“Shh,” he cut off my gripe, “I won't try anything, I promise. Let me
just hold you.” 

“Cocky asshole,” I grumbled, but acquiesced to his wishes and instantly
relaxed in his hold, the familiarity of his embrace and his enticing 
scent of the spices and cinnamon transporting me back to a time where 
there was only us, to a time where everything was simple and 
uncomplicated. I sighed and closed my eyes. But gone were those 
carefree days where naiveté and irresponsibility had governed our 
actions and everything revolved around us. If only things had been 
different. If only we didn't love each other with reckless abandon and 
an unparalleled ferocity. If only our fire didn't burn to the point of 
incineration. If only we didn't make one another bleed with our gutting 
jabs and sharp words. 

My eyelids fluttered open and I studied his profile as he rested,
heartening warmth overtaking my soul at his striking features. I traced 
a finger over the contours of his cupid's bow shaped lips and down to 
his stubborn chin. I truly did love him and it was taking all of the 
willpower I possessed not to deviate from the path I had set for 
myself. Smiling regretfully, I closed my eyes and joined him in the 
realm of sleep. 

If only.... 

AN: So, should I even continue? Review and tell me what you think! 


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