The Invisible Silver Lining [CURRENTLY BEING EDITED]

Chapter 13

I go back and forth on the PoV's in this chapter.

Let me know what you think please, I'd really like the comments!!!!!

-CFF

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**Xander's PoV**

Damn. Why does she have to taste so good?

She's pushing her soft lips against mine as her arms wrap around my shoulders. Her fingers play with the blonde hair at the nape of my neck as she tilts her head. I place my hands on either side of her waist, trying to maintain control and not push harder against her. I'm enthralled, but she pulls back after a minute, cheeks slightly flushed and lips a soft red. She really is gorgeous. I don't know why she denies it. I've tried giving her compliments, several times actually, and she brushes them aside, as if she refuses to believe me. Like I'm lying or something. She looks out at Mr. Rain, who is sitting out in the audience, and asks, "Was that long enough?" with just a hint of a bite in her words. Mr. Rain nods and starts speaking, before realizing we can't hear him. He picks up the megaphone again and starts over. "Perfect. Keep going!"

So we do. We run the play again, and again, and again. With the six performances next week, we need all the practice we can get. There's a few more kissing scenes in the play that we act out, but that's all it is. Acting. I really hope I can get Em to trust me enough so we can do this for real. Cause I want that more than anything, for her to be on my arm, for her to be my girlfriend, for her to be mine. I have strong feelings for her, more than I've had for anyone in a long time. There's this spark about her that I'm attracted to like a moth. She's beautiful, she's caring, she's compassionate, she's funny, she's intelligent. She's so energetic, she loves everything she does, she faces everything that comes her way willingly. She's got it by herself, she can handle anything.

But I know there's going to be some things she's not gonna be able to handle herself. Damn it. Why won't she give me a chance? I wanna be the one who she can lean on, who she can go to. The one who's gonna hold her up through the hard times. Because whoever did it in the past obviously didn't do a good enough job. But I know she's not ready yet. She's told me several times through her talks that she's just not ready to be in a romantic relationship. And I've told her that's fine. But what I haven't told her, cause I know it'll turn her away from me most likely, is I'll wait for her. And I will. I'll wait till she wants me back. I respect her so much that I don't want to force her to do anything she's not ready for, or doesn't want.

She comes up to me back-stage after the final run-thru of the day. She's smiling softly, but there's a wariness in her eyes. "Hey." She says, "Hey." I smile back. "I was just gonna look for you. Wanna do something tonight?" She tilts her head slightly, her bangs falling over her left eye. She brushes a hand to move it out of the way. "Like what?" I have to get my thoughts back on track, that little movement alone made me loose my train of thought. Damn Alexander, don't get distracted!

"Well. Danny's is having half-price coffee night tonight. And then I thought we could do a little fun." She raises an eyebrow. "Like what?" She repeats. I chuckle. If I'm correct, she's going to have fun tonight. "Its a surprise." I say. She says nothing as I continue. "But Blake's going to tag along, and if you wanna bring someone too you can." I can see she's debating. She smiles after a minute of thinking. "Alright. But I gotta do something first. Meet me at my place in two hours?" I look down at my watch. Its currently 5:48. We have plenty of time. "Sure. I'll get Blake and we'll meet you over there." She grins and grabs her water bottle and purse. I think of something else and say, "One more thing, don't dress casual, its kind of fancy." She takes her keys out saying, "Sounds good. See ya." She smiles once more and leaves. I go get Blake and tell him it's a go. We leave in my car, to go prepare for tonight.