• Angelina's POV •
We all made it back to the resort in one piece. The gala had gone successfully according to my parents who seemed to be in better spirits than before.
I was at least glad for that.
As I opened my door with my room key, I was tapped on the shoulder. I whirled around to see Jeremiah.
My face dropped.
"What now?" I was tired and just wanted to hop into bed with Conrad's hoodie.
And honestly I was sick of Jeremiah's mindless games with me. He's all protective and really fucking attractive and then he goes and kisses Tatiana. It makes no sense to me.
"Someone's got an attitude." He presented his smirk to me causing me to sigh frustratedly.
"Came here to get on nerves I see."
He ignored my statement.
"What's the deal with you and Luka?"
What the fuck?! I know I ask this a lot, but why does it fucking matter?
"Oh my god, why do you care? You make no sense to me! You treat me like shit, you go after my cousin, and now you're worried about who it is I'm interested in? Why-"
The words left my mouth when he pushed me into my room and pulled me into him. Like before at the gala, I grabbed his arms to steady myself. He took this as his invitation to lean in and I tilted my head up to give him easy access and closed my eyes.
Seconds passed as I waited for him to kiss me.
I hate him. Don't get me wrong, but the tension between us was undeniable. As much as I want to slap him at times, I've been thinking about doing the opposite.
The more time went, the more I anticipated it. Until I slowly came to realize I was waiting for a kiss that wasn't coming. It was yet another game for him.
I pushed him off in embarrassment.
He stumbled backward but quickly caught himself.
"Why?" My voice cracked. "Is this funny to you?"
"No." He answered. He reached his hand out for me, but I jerked away from him.
"Get out." I demanded.
His eyes softened.
"Angel,"
And there it was. He hadn't called me his nickname for me in years. Last time he did, his voice was still squeaky and developing so to hear it in his new mature sounding voice.. it actually hurt to hear him say it.
I didn't even realize how much his voice had changed until now. The realization only hurt more.
"Leave." Was all I said.
Thankfully he listened.
But as he reached for the door handle, he paused and turned. "I can't stop you from wanting Luka. So just don't get hurt. And if you do.. come to me."
And he left.
I felt a pull in the pit of my stomach when he walked away after this. His words left a wide hole in my brain.
Come to me..
• Conrad's POV •
I walked my mom to her room after the gala and talked to her a bit before letting her rest. I walked out of the door as Jere approached it.
I went in for a handshake and he completely ignored it. "Hey, have you talked to Angelina lately?"
Of course he's asking about her.
"Yeah, like all the time." I said pointedly.
I've always known that Jeremiah has a crush on Lina. I'm pretty sure I knew even before he knew. Before a few years ago I never really paid attention to it. Him being a dick to her definitely made me doubt it for a bit until I kept getting questions from him about her— like this one.
"Are you hooking up with her?" He accused.
"No, she's my best friend, Jeremiah." I rolled my eyes.
"I saw you two walk upstairs together the other night."
He's really bad at pretending to hate her. Like really bad. I don't know who he thought he was fooling.
"We watched a movie and fell asleep."
He paused for a moment. "All you did was watch a movie?"
"Oh my god, Jere, I'm not fucking the girl you like! Chill out."
I was sick and tired of him questioning me about her. It was stupid how he treated her like shit and then got so jealous over who she was with. Maybe she'd consider being with him if he wasn't such an asshole.
It's like he's a preschooler, picking on the girl he likes at recess.
"I don't like her!" He yelled.
I ignored his obvious lie. "One day you're gonna have to grow up and just tell her."
"I don't!" He was too quick and too defensive.
"Yeah, okay, little brother." I walked away from him laughing.
~
• Angelina's POV •
After everything that happened with Jeremiah in the past few days, I needed an outlet. Dancing was like therapy for me. When I did it, all of my problems melted away.
So I woke up the next morning and changed into a black leotard and grabbed my pointe shoes before leaving my room to find the resort's theater room. The room was usually empty if there wasn't an event happening.
I was happy to find that it was indeed empty.
I played music from my phone and let myself get lost in it. There wasn't a set routine I was doing. I just allowed myself to flow and my body did what it wanted. I was already starting to feel the stress leave my body with every move I made.
This session did exactly what I needed it to do.
• Jeremiah's POV •
I was walking back from eating breakfast when I saw Angelina rush past me without even seeing me there. She walked in a direction I hadn't seen her go in before.
Was she wearing ballet clothes?
Curiosity got the best of me and I followed her. She walked into the theater room and I quietly walked behind her. When she started dancing, I took a seat in one of the furthest rows in the back so that she couldn't see me.
I watched her dance to the quiet music at the head of the room and became mesmerized. I always knew she was talented, she started dancing when we were kids and she's only gotten better since, but this was a whole different level.
Seeing her in action without the pressure of a crowd was breathtaking. I'm not blind. I can obviously see that Angelina gets more beautiful every year, but in this moment I saw her in a whole new light. She was more than beautiful.
Why do I keep having these thoughts about her? Shoot me now.
It made me feel crappy to know I'd ruined our relationship forever. I could never tell her these thoughts I had about her. My anger toward what she did when we were younger was still there, but it was dwindling. There was just no way for me to tell her that.
In the midst of my amazement, I decided to sneak out while she was still into her dance. I didn't want to get caught so I left the room, trying to make sure the door didn't close too loud.
Successful in my attempt, I walked down the hallway unsuspectingly.
• Angelina's POV •
I'd heard the door to the theater shut. My head swiftly turned in the direction of the sound and I saw a head of blond curly hair sneaking out.
Jeremiah.
Had he been watching me? When I danced in private it was a personal, intimate thing. Him imposing on this moment was a violation of my privacy.
I marched toward the door in anger. When I opened the door, he was just down the hallway.
"Hey!" I called out to him.
He turned and panic arose on his face when he saw it was me that yelled. He reluctantly walked in my direction while I stood with my hands on my hips.
"So you're stalking me now?" I asked.
His hand found the back of his neck as he looked away from me. "I just saw you dancing and-"
I cut him off. "That wasn't an open performance."
"I know." He dropped his hand from his neck.
"Obviously you don't. Let me make this clear to you right now, Jeremiah. You've done nothing but mess with me for 4 years and I'm done entertaining you! Just go fuck my cousin like you want and leave me the hell alone!"
I stomped away from him and went back into the theater room.
• December 23rd •
It was an especially snowy day when Susannah asked all the kids to join her in her room for movie night. The resort had issued a warning to all the residents telling us to be careful and that a blizzard was close to forming nearby.
I was hoping things weren't even more awkward between Jeremiah and I. He hadn't been his usual self around me since I'd yelled at him. What was once teasing and annoying me was now avoiding my eyes and walking the other way when he sees me.
And I, for a reason that I could not fathom, found this to be worse.
Conrad and I were sitting on the couch together when Jeremiah walked into the suite with Tatiana trailing behind him. Our eyes met briefly before he looked over to his mother and smiled at her.
"Great," Susannah came from the kitchen with bowls of popcorn and a beautiful smile on her face. "Now we can choose the movie!"
Jeremiah and Tatiana sat on the further couch opposite to us, giving me an almost perfect view of them, while Susannah sat in the love seat next to us. We bickered about which Christmas movie we'd watch before we finally landed on A Christmas Story.
"Stop pouting," Conrad nudged me. "You didn't even suggest a Christmas movie."
"Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie!!" I pouted even harder just to spite him.
"We can have a marvel binge soon, Angie." Susannah said as she started the movie.
I smiled in triumph.
Halfway through the movie the buttery popcorn made me feel thirsty. And what was I thirsty for? HOT COCOA!! With extra marshmallows of course.
I decided I'd warm some up for everyone and pulled out 5 mugs from the cabinet when I walked into the kitchen.
I was halfway through the second mug when I accidentally dropped a marshmallow and bent down to pick it up. Suddenly I felt hands on my waist and a body glide against mine to get to the other side of me, using my hips to guide them. I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck, he'd gotten so close I could smell his usual scent— that damn cologne!!
I stood straight and looked to my left to find Jeremiah opening the refrigerator. I glared at him as he pretended that he didn't do anything and grabbed a bottle of water. He went back to the couch without sparing a glance at me.
Why is his touch so exhilarating to me?
Lord, I feel like I've been asking myself too many questions regarding Jeremiah Fisher.
I brushed the interaction off and continued with my task. Finally finished with everyone's cocoa, I handed them out to them. When I got to Jeremiah, he finally looked at me. His light eyes stared into my dark ones as his hand brushed mine in the exchange. Everyone else had said thank you but he hadn't said anything.
I sat back with Con and as soon as I did, I looked up and met eyes with Jeremiah again. I looked away to avoid a stare down. We did this a few more times throughout the movie.
It's like he refused to just watch the movie. His gaze always seemed to wander over to me. And each time my face got hot and I would look back to the tv.
Finally I'd had enough of his stares so I whipped out my phone and texted him.
Me: did u forget our conversation the other day?
He replied almost instantly.
Evil Rat Bitch 🐀: ur the one texting me angel face 😉
I looked up to him already looking at me. I rolled my eyes at him and looked away. If I keep being forced to be around Jeremiah, my eyes are gonna get stuck in rolling position.
I fucking hate him.