♪ More Alive Than Ever ♪ {14}

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"I don't mean to run,
But everytime you come around I feel,
More alive, than ever."-Adore

--

"...How did I not fall off this while I was unconscious?" I asked with a hint of suspiscion. My eyes zeroed in on the beautiful yet frightening metal contraption in front of me.

Blake gave me a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Long story. We'll save it for a rainy day." He laughed nervously.

With a dubious snort, I watched as he walked to his motorcycle. Its wheels had sterling silver-plated rims, the body had an intricate flaming skull design on the exterior, and the soft cushioning of the leather seat made me raise an eyebrow. Judging by Blake's "rainbows and unicorns" personality, I never thought of him as a reckless speed demon. But, then again, I was itching to get on the bike.

Awake this time, of course.

Seeing something thrown towards me out of the corner of my eye, I thanked my quick reflexes and reached out, catching the unknown object. Glancing down, I noticed it was a sleek, jet black helmet whose shine intensified underneath the orange glow of the sun.

"You do know how to put on a helmet, right?" Blake's voice yanked my gaze upwards. He was situated on the seat of his motorcycle, casually leaning on the handlebars. The loud purr of the bike intensified as he revved the engine.

"Of course I do, I'm not stupid." I snapped, putting the helmet over top my wavy brown locks abruptly.

Blake replied by bursting out laughing, rapping a knuckle against his own helmet. It was a shade of navy blue that complimented his green eyes.

"What?"

"Sturm, you put it on backwards." He laughed, climbing off the Harley Davidson and walking over to where I stood a blushing mess.

"Whatever-" My breath caught as he reached his hands out toward my face. I froze like a deer in headlights, suddenly imagining his soft, calloused hands wrapping around my neck. Choking me. Strangling me.

"It's your fault she's dead."

No.

I didn't do it! It wasn't my fault!

His hands inched closer and time stood still until the feeling of a weight being lifted off my head caused me to release a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

As Blake readjusted the helmet properly, I reached a shaking hand up to my face, pinching my cheeks to get the blood flowing again. By the time Blake had finished, I wasn't a sickening shade of pale anymore and back to my stoic self.

He smiled at me and said, "Now, let's get going."

I nodded and he helped me onto his motorcycle, climbing on after me.

"Here, you'll fall off if you don't hold on tightly." Blake smiled politely and grabbed my arms, hesitantly wrapping them around his waist. I couldn't help but blush furiously.

My arms tightening around his upper torso, I placed my cheek on his back, smiling a bit. It felt right. He was right.

Revving the engine, I waited for him to take off, but surprisingly he didn't.

"Harnage?"

"Sturm?" We both spoke at the same time.

"You go first." I insisted, moving my face so I could look at him as he glanced behind at me.

"You know... whatever it was... I'm sure it's notyour fault."

My body froze as he turned back around, finally pushing off and moving forward. My hair flapped in the wind underneath my helmet but I didn't notice. Nor did I realize that I was gripping Blake tighter than necessary. Instead, I fixed a blank stare at his back.

I hadn't even noticed I had spoken aloud.

--

"I thought we were going to grab something to eat?" I shouted over the roar of the vehicle, as Blake pulled into a small shopping centre.

Platinum Outlets. The extravagent sign at the centre's entrance read; the names of the shops it was comprised of were written in smaller lettering below the centre's name.

Blake didn't reply at first, too busy finding a good parking spot near the front of the store he wanted to go in. I couldn't see which store it was since all I could make out was his black leather jacket and the pine trees in my peripheral vision.

When he finally parked, I released my hold on his waist and he jumped off, offering a hand to me. Flashing him a small smirk, I ignored his courteous gesture and jumped off myself, wincing a bit as I jostled my injury.

"So, I'm guessing this means chivalry is dead?" Blake guessed with a chuckle, removing his helmet and placing it on the handles of the motorcycle. I handed him mine as well.

"It always has been," I gave a shrug and he rolled his eyes in reply.

"Come on." He grinned, gesturing for me to follow him. With a sigh and a rub on my growling stomach, I followed like a little lap dog as we crossed the street and stopped at the entrance to...

AT&T?

"First things first," Blake beamed, opening the door. The bells overheard rang and the cashiers turned at the sound, flashing us a smile in creepy unison and saying far too cheerfully, "Welcome to AT&T!"

"Hi there!" Blake chirped with just as much enthusiasm, if not more. The shocked faces of the employees were priceless. I guess they've never seen a happy customer before. I let out a light chuckle. Blake turned to me and winked.

"So what are we doing here again?" I asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Getting you a phone." Blake replied nonchalantly, turning to the display of cell phones on his left and prodding a button. "What does this do?"

I gaped at him for a split-second before marching over and punching him right in the bicep.

"Ow!" We both exclaim; and I was struck with a deja vu moment.

Sheesh, Lacey. Since when can you pack a punch? Xander's voice exclaimed in my mind and I frowned, wondering if Carter and Olivia told him yet.

And if he hates me now too.

I shook my fist a bit, stretching out my fingers as Blake rubbed his muscles.

"What was that for?" He pouted, giving me this puppy face that oddly enough made me want to punch him again yet at the same time stroke his head.

"Stop spending money on me!"

"But this is a date, Sturm. It's like, in the Guy Manuel to spend money on the girl on the first date." Blake stuck out his lip, dodging another one of my punches.

"It's not a date!" I countered, slapping his hand away from pressing another button on another phone.

"Yes, it is. I said so." Blake said stubbornly and he peered over my shoulder, suddenly grinning widely.

"There it is!" He barreled past me excitedly, making me loose my footing for a second. As I righted myself, I spun around in his new direction, nearly paling at the sight.

He was rapidly gesturing to the display of iPhones and other assorted Apple products, giving me his signature lopsided grin that I was quickly getting used to.

"This is what you wanted, right?" He asked.

"I was being sarcastic!" I replied, exasperated. This boy was too kind for his own good.

"Close enough," He gave me two thumbs up and then waved his hand in the air, yelling for assistance.

I turned beet red and shook my head so my hair could cover my face. People were starting to stare at his child-like behavior.

"Yes, sir?" An adequate looking male worker asked, standing beside Blake.

"We'll take this, please." Blake nodded, pointing to said iPhone 5.

"Will that be all?"

"Sturm, do you want earphones too? Or a car charger? Or a USB cable? Or a-"

"No!" I shouted, glaring at him.

"Then that will be all." Blake laughed, patting the salesman on the back.

"You and your girlfriend are adorable, man." The employee laughed before heading off to fetch my new phone.

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

"Yeah, I know!" Both me and Blake spoke at the same time. I glared, he smirked.

"You'll pay for this." I threatened, wagging my finger.

"But I am paying." Blake replied innocently, playfully batting his eyelashes.

"... Oh, shut up."

--

After a $199 (tax notincluded) purchase, much more bickering, and a few more punches resulting in bruises for me and him, we finally settled into a small local Italian restaurant.

"Order the spaghetti." Blake said, pointing on the upside down lettering on my menu. He sat across from me, insisting that he'd like to talk to my "pretty" face instead of having to crane his head to smile at me.

"Is it good?"

"It's my favorite. I've been having it ever since I was a kid." Blake smiled, nodding.

"Oh, yeah. You guys grew up in Seattle, right?" I asked.

Blake mused a bit, pondering an answer. "You are both correct and incorrect."

"Care to share?" I put down the menu to glance at him more fully. But I didn't expect to see such a guarded expression on his face. Where did cheery, happy, annoying Blake go?

"No." He hissed out through gritted teeth, and something told me that our discussion was over.

"Harnage-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Lacey." My body jolted a bit, surprised by him calling me by my actual name. This was the first time he'd call me Lacey, and hopefully it would be the last. It just didn't feel right.

Luckily, our awkwardness was spared when the waiter -a young teenage girl with blonde hair and light blue eyes, came to take our order. I noticed her being much more observant of Blake rather than taking our orders like she was supposed to.

A weird, twisted feeling in my gut appeared.

"Can I help you, si- Wait a second!" The blonde (her name tag read Teagan) exclaimed, shoving her notepad and pencil in her apron. "Oh my God, you're Blake Mercer!" She erupted in high-pitched giggles that caused the majority of the diners to turn our way.

Blake inwardly cringed and I smothered a snicker at how stupid he was to go out in public and think that nobody would notice.

"Erm... yeah, that's me. What's it you?" He snapped at the poor girl who stared back in shock. I could tell she would swoon at any moment now.

"Oh my God, the tabloids were right! You are the bad boy of the group, not Zeke. Can I have your autograph? Please, oh pretty please?!" Teagan shrilled, yanking out her notepad again, but this time for an autograph.

"Look, can't a guy eat in peace?" He growled, rubbing the back of his head in frustration.

"I don't mean to interrupt your date, Blake- OH MY GOD, YOU HAVE A DATE." Teagan stared incredulously at me as I glared her down with as much hatred as I could muster. A slight burst of satisfaction hit me when she shrunk back a bit.

"She's not my date," Blake hissed, getting up from the table. I raised an eyebrow at his words. Didn't he say himself that this was a date? And the way he was acting so cruel caused me to stare at him in shock. Wheredid the Harnage I knew go?

I'm really not like that jerk I was pretending to be. That was just a fake persona I created so that I could get out of tough situations. I swear I don't really act like that. I'm kind of nice once you get to know me.

Oh.

"She's my... cousin."

Oh?

"I'm your-?" I started but he cut me off by adding, "Right, Carmen?"

The look in his eyes made me mentally relax; his green gaze shone with mischief and silently told me, Just go with it.

"Yeah," I lied, actually sounding convincing. I turned to a surprised Teagan. "We just wanted to eat out in peace. I just wanted to have lunch with my cousin for once before he leaves me again. Is that just too much to ask for?" For dramatic effect, I added a lip quiver and slightly teary eyes.

Blake burst out laughing but hid it effectively as a cough. I shot him an amused look. Teagan, on the other hand, looked mortified.

"O-of course! I'm so sorry to have interrupted! Hey, how about I make your meal on the house?! I'm so, so sorry!" She exclaimed and whirled around to tell the cook our orders.

Instantly, the innocent expression was wiped from my mouth and I smirked, examining my fingernails as if nothing just happened.

Blake just laughed, slapping his knee for an exaggerated effect. I half-smiled, glad he was back to normal.

"You should definitely be an actress later in your life." He wiped away a tear.

"Nah, bro. I'm not in that kind of life."

Sending me his signature lopsided grin, I felt a warmth in my heart that both scared and confused me. I haven't felt this way since Marco was non-abusive. Honestly, what was I supposed to be feeling?

"I'm not your date?" I quoted, ignoring the feeling in my stomach.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to be assosciated with me in that way. The press will eat you alive. I'm just saving you from all the drama."

As I mulled that statement over, Teagen returned soon later with our meals, and quickly left as fast as she came.

We ate our lunch comfortably after that and talked, mostly about music. It turned out that we had a lot in common, but I also learned that I wasn't the only one who knew how to set boundaries.

Whenever I brought up a question about Infinite Records or his personal life, he'd get that same guarded expression and redirect the question to another topic. It reminded me of how I would shrug off anything relating to my life at home.

A sudden thought entered my brain and I froze, my fork clattering onto my empty plate, creating an echo around us.

"What's up?" Blake asked worriedly through a mouthful of pasta.

"What time is it?"

He quickly swallowed and took out his phone, responding, "2:47."

"Oh, crap!" I exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "I completely forgot that Gabriel told me our first practice was at three!"

"Today?"

"No, tomorrow, idiot."

"Sheesh, I was just asking." He smirked. "Well, I'm guessing that means you have to go?"

"Unfortunately, yeah." I muttered, making sure Rev was still in my boot and that my sticks hadn't fallen out during the motorcycle rides.

When I found that they were still in there, I turned to see Blake handing me the small plastic bag we got from AT&T. "My number's already programmed in there. Speed dial numero uno." He grinned as I took the bag hesitantly.

"I still can't believe you payed for all that." I sighed, grasping the bag in my hand as I ran my free one through my hair.

"Ah, ah, ah. No more stalling, you don't want to be late for your first rehearsal."

"Although, that would be one more reason Gabriel would hate me." I muttered under my breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Anyway," I shifted on the balls of my feet, pursing my lips a bit. "Erm.. thanks for today, Harnage. It was actually pretty.... fun."

Blake smiled and made a shooing gesture. "It's my pleasure. Now go on and do your little drumming thing. Oh, and good luck in the competition."

I half-smiled back faintly, giving a one-shouldered shrug. "You too."

He gave me a salute that made me roll my eyes. And with one last glance at the boy in front of me, I dashed out of the restaurant, the image of his lopsided grin still etched into my mind.

--

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Stay lovely,
Isabelle

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