A/N: Another pic of Ashton (Drew Van Acker) on the right. Except, you can see his awesome hair. >>>>>>
P.S.: I still need a Jason! (That sounds funny lol) Any suggestions?
P.P.S.: Chapter 3 is now dedicated to yellowbird and this chapter is dedicated to Live_and_Smile. Thanks for the feedback! (4 spots left).
Sitting in class, I couldn't wait to get home. It was the day my parents were coming back. Tony and I had been getting along a lot better. Well, actually, I had mostly avoided him since that day he let me rest and then cooked me an amazing dinner. I was afraid that the change in his behavior was only temporary and I didn't want to be there when he changed again.
I was in class with Fiona, Jojo, and Jason. Jason had only one class with me. I figured he must have been a senior like Ashton.
Jason sat beside me and constantly flirted with me; not in a creepy way like Tony, but in a cute, sweet, flatering way. He'd tell me how gorgeous I looked or that I smelled nice. Sometimes he would even play with my hands, but he never went further than that or did anything that might cause harm to my relationship with Ashton. Of course, on some level I knew that if Ashton found out about it, he wouldn't be happy. He would kill Jason and if he saw my reaction to the flirting he might kill me too. Ashton had never been violent towards me, but then again I had never given him reason to be angry with me. Now I could list five reasons off the top of my head and that made me a bit uneasy.
All of a sudden someone poked my side and I almost fell out of my seat. I turned and came face to face with Fiona. She passed me a note. It read:
What DAFUQ are u doing with the new kid? Did you suddenly 4get that u have a totally sexy boyfriend who has the tendency to be violent towards guys who hit on his girlfriend?! And why are u giggling like a stupid? Do u like him or something? Why didn't u tell me? Don't u trust me? What is going on w/ u l8ly?
I chuckled at the note. She could be pretty dramatic when she felt like her friends didn't trust her. I also found it amusing how she always used stupid as a noun instead of an adjective.
I noticed Jason was trying to read the note and I quickly moved it out of his view before whispering, "Mind your business."
He moved closer to me and whispered in my ear, "You are my business." Then before I could move away, he nibbled my ear. I quickly shrugged him off before anyone saw.
"Geez, tone it down a bit. You're like a dog with a bone, me being the bone!" I whispered yelled.
He chuckled at me while I wrote back to Fiona.
Calm down. Nothing is going on between me and the new kid who has a name (it's Jason). Of course I trust u and if I liked him, u and Jojo would be the 1st ones 2 know. Ashton will be fine. He doesn't need to know anything b/c it's not important; just a little innocent flirting.
I passed her the note and got a reply less than a minute later.
It didn't look 2 innocent when was nibbling on your ear! And haven't u done enough lying to Ashton. I warned you about his violent tendencies and at this rate, the violence could be directed at BOTH of u!
Again, I had to keep Jason from seeing the note. I don't know why I didn't want him to know I had a boyfriend. I guess I just thought he would stop taking to me, and to be frank, I kind of liked the flirting. Ashton never flirted with me. My reply was defensive.
I didn't ask him to do that and I told him to stop. And I won't lie to Ashton. I just won't mention this part of my day 2 him. I don't tell him every aspect of my life, only what he needs 2 know and he doesn't need 2 know about this b/c it means nothing!
I quickly handed her the note, but before she got a chance to write anything back to me, the teacher snatched it up and began to read it. I watched as her facial expressions changed throughout the note.
"Oh...oh my..." She looked between Fiona, Jason, and I.
"Why is she looking at me?" Jason whispered. "What's in the note?"
I blushed a deep crimson color.
"Azula, Fiona, see me after class." She said before folding up the note, grimacing, and walking back to her seat.
Jason was still confused. "So were you guys talking about me or something?"
"No!" I answered too quickly and blushed deeper.
"Yes you were! You were probably writing dirty things like how you want to undress me later have your way with-"
"Shhh! No!" I stayed as quiet as I could.
"It's nothing to be ashamed about, but don't you think we should be in a relationship before you start saying things like that? I mean, geez, really. At least take a guy to dinner."
Before I could protest or make a witty comeback, the bell rang and Jason was out of my sight in seconds.
Fiona and I waited until everyone was gone before we went to the teacher, Ms. Wimm's desk.
"Ladies, you know I do not tollerate passing notes in class. I am going to have to call your parents."
"My parents are out of town." I quickly told her, since they wouldn't be home until nighttime.
"So who are you staying with? You're too young to be alone while your parents are out of town."
I cleched my teeth in anger. "I'm almost seventeen."
"Yes, but you mentioned your parents were gone ealier this week and you're not allowed to be home alone that long until you're eighteen. Hmm...maybe I should notify the police..."
"No, no, that won't be necessary." Fiona interrupted.
"Yeah, I have a babysitter." I said, annoyed.
"Oh, right. The principle mentioned that to me. Your parents listed him as an emergency contact," She turned to her computer and started typing things. "Tony, right?"
"Right."
Fiona slapped my arm. "Why didn't you tell me it was a guy? Is he cute?"
"Yes, but you wouldn't like him, trust me."
I heard Ms. Wimm on the phone with him. "Yes, that's fine. -pause- Should I keep her here until then? -pause- Ok. -pause- Very well. -pause- Bye." She turned back to us. "He wants to come talk to me personally and he'll be here in a few minutes. He said you should just wait with me."
I rolled my eyes. This was not happening.
Ms. Wimm then called Fiona's mom, who didn't give two shits about note passing, but pretended like she did. Fiona was free to go, whereas I had to stay and wait for stupid Tony.
"Ms. Wimm? Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked, though I didn't need to go.
"Yes, take a hall pass and come back quickly."
I quickly walked out and ran to my locker where I was supposed to meet Ashton. I was really late and I knew he'd be pissed.
"There you are!" He pulled into a hug before stepping back a questioning me. "Where have you been? I was worried sick! I almost went to look for you but figured you would come here once you were done doing whatever you were doing. Which was?"
"Fiona and I got in trouble for passing notes and the teacher called our parents, or in my case, my babysitter. I have to wait until he gets here and they talk before I can leave."
Ashton was about to say something when suddenly he stopped and glared at something behind me. I turned around and came face to chest with Tony.
"Hello, Azula."
"Oh, hey, Tony."
"Azula," Aston cut in, "why don't you introduce me to this friend of yours."
I had to hold in my snort. Friend wasn't exactly a word I'd use. "Ashton, this is my babysitter, Tony. Tony, this is Ashton, my... boyfriend."
Tony's eyes narrowed at the word boyfriend and behind me Ashton's grip on my arm got tighter by the second. I was almost to the point of squealing from the tightness of it before Tony finally noticed and pulled me to him, causing Ashton to growl. It was a real growl, low and husky. To be honest, it was kind of a turn on, but at the same time, it scared me.
"Come on, Azula, your teacher is waiting for us." Tony said, dragging me away. "It was nice meeting you, Ashton." He said through clenched teeth.
We stopped in front of the door and Tony turned to me. "That's your boyfriend? You could so much better. I'm so much better." Then he walked into the classroom without giving me a chance to respond.
"Ah, you're both here. Good." Ms. Wimms said as I walked in.
Tony extended his hand towards her. "Nice to meet you."
She smiled sweetly and handed him the note. "This is the note Azula and her friend Fiona were passing."
He read the note, his facial expression changing. First he seemed angry, then he looked... smug? What was he looking so smug about?
"Well," He began to me, "I am very disappointed in you, Azula. You know better than to pass notes in class, and the contents of this note are appalling." He then turned to Ms. Wimms. "Thank you for notifying me. I'll take care of it from here." He grabbed my hand after I picked up my stuff and we left. We went straight out the door because it was almost the end of the day anyway.
When we got into the car I immediately started firing questions. "What have you got to be looking so smug about? Why did you keep the note? Can I have it back? I wouldn't want that to fall into the wrong hands."
All he said was, "Too late," and left me to sit and wonder what he meant.
When we got into my house, I turned to Tony. "What do you want?" It had occurred to me in the car that Tony could use that note to blackmail me. Now that he actually knew who Ashton was, all he had to do was give it to him and I'd be in some deep shit.
"So I see you're up to speed." He smirked.
"Yeah, I am. Now what do I have to do to get that note back?"
"Nothing. You're not getting it back. It gives me way too much power. All you can do is keep me happy, do what I want, be my slave."
"What? You're insane. Anyways, my parents are coming home today so you won't be here anymore." The thought of my parents finally coming home made me smile. They had never been away from me for that long and for once I really missed them.
"Maybe, but they'll just leave again tomorrow. But me? I'll be here. I'll be here when they are and when they're not." He came close to my face. "So get used to it."
I could feel my bottom lip starting to tremble, but I would not let him see me cry. He was right. He would always be here and honestly, if I tried to tell my parents everything that had happened, they wouldn't believe me. He knew this.
"Tell them, I dare you." He narrowed his eyes, challenging me.
"Ok, I will." Challenge accepted. I had to at least try.
¥°¥°¥°¥°¥
I was in my room getting ready for dinner when I heard the door bell.
"I'll get it!" I heard Tony call.
I had dressed casual but also formal. I wore a long-sleeve, violet, button up, satin top and my black jeggings. I paired them with my violet flats and curled my hair before finally being ready. I was hoping my appearance was put-together enough for me to be taken seriously. I rushed out of my room to greet my parents.
I watched as Tony opened the door. He was dressed in a black button down shirt and dark blue, faded jeans. I had to admit, he looked pretty good. I could see how he fooled my parents into trusting him and that irked me. I smiled anyway.
He opened the door. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Vue."
"Hello, Tony." My mom said, stepping into the house. "Azula!" She held open her arms to me and I hugged her. "I've missed you."
"Hi, mom." But it was muffled because of how tight she was hugging me.
"Candace, let her breathe." My dad chuckled.
She let go of me and I went to hug my father. "So where are we going for dinner?" I asked when he released me.
"Pocahontas." My mother answered. Pocahontas was a private and expensive restaurant. Each table had a whole room just for privacy. "Let's go."
The thing about my parents' car is that it was a Lamborghini Aventador and my car was a Bugatti Veyron, meaning they both only had two seats, so I pretty much already knew what was coming. "Azula, you and Tony ride together and you can show him where the restaurant is."
I just nodded my head at my mothers orders and pouted as we went to the cars. "I don't understand why we couldn't all just go in your car." I told Tony when we were out of hearing range.
"Because your car is cooler."
"Are you kidding me? You have an Infiniti. You know how cool that car is? There's no reason we couldn't all go together."
"Oh yeah, it is, isn't it? Oh well, too late now. Besides, yours is still better." He got inside the driver's seat, since I was still on punishment and I wasn't supposed to have my license.
We drove in silence besides me giving him directions. There was tension in the air and I knew we were both thinking about the note. Would he really use it? What if he asked me to sleep with him? What if I said no? Would Ashton break up with me if he read it? Then again, wouldn't sleeping with Tony just so Ashton wouldn't see the note defeat the purpose of me having a boyfriend? I would just be cheating.
All too soon we reached the restaurant. I started to feel uneasy about the task at hand. What if Tony decided I needed another 'punishment' for trying to tell on him? He did dare me to, but he also knows they won't believe me. What if it was a trick?
I pushed the thoughts aside as we entered the restaurant, hand in hand. I hadn't even noticed him slip his hand into mine, but as soon as I did I pulled mine away.
"Don't touch me. That's just one more thing to tell my parents tonight." I scoffed at him.
"Whatever. I'll believe it when I see it." He still didn't believe I would.
I just put a fake smile on my face and went to the room we reserved for dinner. We all sat down and ordered our drinks. As I sipped on my strawberry lemonade, I tried to decide on when to tell my parents and what was the best way to bring it up.
If I told them before food came, either we would all leave early and we wouldn't get to eat, or it would be an extremely awkward dinner. If I told them after, they would be focused on other things and would probably just ignore me. What if I told them during dessert? Yes, that was the best time. Everyone would be too stuffed to care about finishing their icecream. It was perfect.
But how would I bring it up? I couldn't just outright say 'Hey, Mom and Dad, the babysitter you hired is molesting me'. Well, maybe I could but how could I say that in front of Tony? Not only would it be awkward, but he would just deny everything before I had a chance to explain.
I looked over at him and saw that he had already been staring at me. He didn't even bother looking away. He just winked at me. Before looking away, I glanced at his drink and saw that it was over half empty and it had only been about five minutes. He would no doubt have to use the restroom before dinner was over. I'd bring it up then. I could just start out by saying I don't like the babysitter, then tell them why. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was something.
My thoughts quickly evaporated as I stared at the food in front of me. I had ordered the Parmesan Chicken Pasta, which was breaded chicken breast over al dente penne tossed in Parmesan cream sauce, then finished with marinara and Swiss. It smelled delicious.
I looked beside me at Tony's food and it also looked really good. He had ordered the Spaghetti Squash Marinara, which was red pepper marinara tossed with roasted spaghetti squash and tender zucchini.
He saw me eyeing his food and whispered to me. "You want a bite?"
I looked over at my parents. They weren't paying us any attention so I turned back to Tony and nodded. He picked up his fork and put food on it before moving it too my mouth. Had the food not smelled so wonderful, I would have argued. Instead I just opened my mouth and bit down. It tasted amazing. I was too busy chewing to notice his fork going to my plate to eat my food. I only saw my food enter his mouth. I rolled my eyes and shrugged it off, even though he really should have asked because I didn't remember offering.
After eating in silence, well my parents talked about their business trip while Tony and I stayed silent, it was finally time for dessert and I was torn between two items: Double Chocolate Cake and New York Cheesecake. I looked back and forth between the two before finally deciding to get the Cheesecake. To my surprise, Tony picked the Double Chocolate Cake and I already knew he was planning on sharing. Even if he wasn't, I was most definitely getting some.
When the dessert came I picked up my fork and turned to him with puppy dog eyes. I didn't even have to say anything. He just chuckled and nodded. I reached out with my fork but then he shook his head and said, "Allow me."
I rolled my eyes again but nodded anyway.
"Oh, and if I give you this then you have to give me a piece of your cheesecake."
I frowned and sighed. "Fine."
He cut off a piece of his cake and fed it to me. It was amazing. My taste buds exploded with flavor. "Mmmm."
He laughed as he took a piece of my cheesecake. By the look on his face I could tell he liked it so I was eager to eat it as well.
Just as I was starting to forget about my plan, I noticed Tony's leg start shaking. No more than thirty seconds later he excused himself to go to the bathroom. It was time.
"Mom, Dad?" I asked to get their attention.
"Yes, Sweetheart?" My mom replied.
"I need to talk to you about Tony. I don't like him."
My dad raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, you're not going to like everyone you meet. You're just going to have to live with it-"
"No, no! That's not what I mean! I don't just not like him for no reason. He's a really terrible person."
"Don't say that." My mom said sternly.
"No, it's true!" I continued. "He's a perv! He tries to get me to do things with him even though I have a boyfriend!"
"Azula Vue!" My mother yelled, silencing me. "This is a new low, even for you!"
"What are you talking abo-"
She cut me off. "I cannot believe you would lie about something so serious just to get out of punishment! We ought to send you to boarding school."
"But I'm not lying!"
"Enough!" My father put in. "There will be no more talk of this. Tony is a nice boy and it is beyond disgraceful that you would speak of him this way. You are not to leave the house this weekend. You are to stay with Tony until you learn to get along with him."
"But-" Then I heard the bathroom door open.
"I'm back. What did I miss?"
"Nothing." I grumbled. "Nothing at all."
Tony and I both knew that he knew I had just tattled on him and my parents brushed me aside like I wasn't their daughter. How could they believe a total stranger who wasn't even there to object to my accusations? Didn't they love me at all?
When we got back to the car I tried to ignore Tony, but I could feel his eyes on me.
"So you're just going to act like nothing happened? Like you don't know that I heard pretty much everything you guys said?"
"That's the plan."
He chuckled. "I knew it would end up like that and you knew it too. I tried to tell you. Your parents don't..." He trailed off.
I turned to look at him. "Don't what? Love me? If that's what you were going to say then you were right to stop because they do love me. The fact that didn't believe me doesn't mean anything."
"No, it means that they don't trust you. Even if they don't, they still should have taken your word for it. They have to. All parents do. So no, they don't love you."
"Whatever. That's just one thing."
He raised his eyebrows. "You want me to make a list? They are never at home. In fact, they're leaving tomorrow. They don't even call while they're gone."
"Long distance phone calls are-"
"Are what? Expensive? So is the car they're driving. They have money. And what about at the restaurant? They barely said a word to you until you tried to tell on me. Then, they just took my side like I was family and you were a stranger. Azula, they don't care about you."
I looked away to wipe my tears, he was right. They didn't love me. They treated him better than they treated me. All this time I was missing them, they probably didn't even think about me once.
He stopped the car and I noticed we were home but we didn't get out.
Tony put a hand on my shoulder. "Look, I know this is hard to accept, but I know the signs. My parents were never there for me either. I didn't have anyone who was there for me. I know how you feel, so I just want you to know that I'm here for you whether you want me to be or not." Before I could object, he pulled me into a quick hug.
We got out of the car and I noticed we got home before my parents and realized they must have stopped somewhere else. I looked over at Tony hoping he wouldn't 'punish' me for telling on him.
He opened the door for me, and then as if reading my mind, he shook his head. "Not tonight."
I nodded, knowing it would be like that from then on. He would do whatever he wanted and I would have to just go with it. I went up the stairs and into my room, or at least I thought it was my room. I was too tired to tell and my eyes were still blurred from my tears. A few minutes later Tony came in and I knew I was in his room. It was too late though. I was already half asleep in his bed.
He chuckled before changing and getting into bed with me. He wrapped his arms around me and I was too tired and sad to care. I was too tired and sad for anything, so I drifted off, and for a moment, I hoped I wouldn't wake up.