Chapter 16
Song of the chapter is "Sweater Weather" by The Neighbourhood.
Enjoy!
Kiara POV
"Connor, get the hell off of him!" Isabel screams for the third time, not seeming to make much of a difference considering both of them have been trying to beat the living squat out of each other for quite a while now.
I've given up trying to tear them off of each other long ago, earning a few scrapes of my own from the now shattered coffee table. The pack house is filled now, settled with people trying to get a good view of the fight like it's some sort of wrestling match on TV. Some people even started to throw objects at them, egging them on even more.
"Connor, please," I try again weakly, and being ignored once more.
"-the fuck are you trying to do?" Adrian yells as he dodges one of Connor's hits to the jaw.
Connor eyes avert to mine for just a second, but long enough so I can see the ferocious glint swirling in the green depths. He grabs Adrian's hair and hauls him up so that he can growl in his ear.
"I told you if you crossed the friendship line I'd rip you apart."
It was low, and only meat for Adrian to hear. But the rage in his voice was enough to make it loud enough for Isabel and I to decipher, and I don't doubt that everyone else in the room heard it too.
Now Isabel is getting pissed off, and no one understands that Adrian and I are just friends. Yeah, he was in love with me, but the point is that he only was. He's not anymore; He has Isabel now.
"Adrian? What did you do with her?" she points to me, her voice raising an octive. Her silk, cornfield colored hair whips with her as she turns to me, eyes widened.
"Isabel, it's not-"
"You Bitch!" She charges me now, and I only have a second to think, I think she is going to throw something at me, and half a second to think, I should probably duck or something.
An object hits the side of my head, not enough to leave a mark but enough to freaking hurt like hell. I scream in surprise as she picks up a vase from one of the display shelves and hurls it at my head. I duck just in time as it shatters against the wall. Is she trying to kill me? I spare a side glance at Connor who's still focused on punching Adrian.
Despite the angry blonde trying to murder me, I roll my eyes at him. Then I notice that Isabel is starting to yell at me.
"You just couldn't have one hot guy, huh? You had to have both!" What the hell is she even talking about? "What, did you sleep wtih him?"
The onlooking crowd "Ooh's" at her scene, and I've finally had it.
"Everybody, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Silence. It's a beautiful thing, really. Everyone around us seems to halt completely, some people even staring at me with apprehension. Isabel, although looking annoyed, stops her screeching and keeps her hands clenched at her sides. Connor is staring at me, his eyes still narrowed and his fist raised mid-punch. Adrian's eyes are widened in surprise and is sort of smiling a bit, which only makes me angrier.
"Yeah, I cursed, get over it Adrian." His smile falters as he attempts to look serious. "And I'm only going to say this once: I did not sleep or will ever sleep with your goddamned boyfriend," I shoot a look at Isabel, who twirls a lock of her hair around her finger in embarrassment. "We don't have feelings for each other, even if my overly jealous mate refuses to believe that."
Without glancing back, and probably looking stupid with the cuts all over my arms, I strut with the very little confidence I have. The crowd seems to part with me, making an aisle-like walkway to the stairs.
I guess it's always better to leave them speechless, I think as I walk up the stairs, my footsteps echoing in the silence.
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The next time I see Connor is when I'm in my room, freshly showered after the whole fiasco, trying to get the bits of glass out of my palms. After fifteen grueling minutes of trying to pick out the tiny glass pieces out of my scratched hands, I slam the tweezers down on my nightstand in defeat. I pick up my Peter Pan book, turn to a random page, and start reading, loving how I can know exactly what happened in the pages before because I've read it so many times.
The doorknob turns quietly, and I probably wouldn't have heard him come in if it wasn't for my hyper-sensitive hearing. He comes closer, and I bounce with the mattress as he flops himself next to me on the bed. And I hate the way my heart flutters when his scent invades my thoughts.
"Peter Pan, huh?"
I keep my eyes on the pages, trailing my fingers across the binding and ignoring him. Although it's taking everything in me right now to restrain myself from burying my head into his neck and revelling in his scent for a while. Someone should seriously bottle that stuff.
He continues, not noticing my silent treatment. "'Death is but the next great adventure'," he quotes, and I can't help but snap my head up, letting the book fall to my side.
"You've read it?" I ask him in surprise.
He shrugs. "I saw it lying in the kitchen a couple of weeks ago, so I decided I'd give it a read. It was pretty good." I can't help the grin that captures my face, because I would never expect someone as intimidating and tall and who actually trains for fun to enjoy Peter Pan.
Then I get the chance to see the yellowing bruise blooming on his jawline, and my smile vanishes. And I remember that I'm supposed to be angry with him. I keep my face void of emotion as I study him; he only seems to have that one bruise, and judging by how enflamed and red his knuckles are, Adrian probably has injuries much worse.
"Does it hurt?" I ask coldly, though I can't help but run my fingers tenderly over his jaw. Although he was the one who started the fight and should take the blame, my eyebrows knit at the thought of him in pain. He nods, and it takes a lot for me to pry my hands away from the comfort of his skin. "Good." I avert my eyes from his intense gaze and instead on the duvet, running my hands along the soft fabric to distract myself from wanting to touch him.
In a flash, he has my hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss the scrapes. "What happened here?" he mumbles against it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him look genuinely concerned. But I keep my tone distant anyways. "I was trying to pull you guys apart and fell into the coffee table. What was left of it, anyways."
"I'm sorry," he sighs, "Shit, I'm sorry."
I pull my hand out of his, looking him directly in the eye. "Before you jumped to conclusions, I was going to tell you that Adrian told me he was in love with me, and that he was jealous of you because I was your mate. But that was before he met Isabel. You didn't have to go all 'Karate Kid' on him."
He raises an eyebrow at my movie reference, and runs a hand haphazardly through his hair to bring it out of his eyes. "I know, I just..." He shakes his head and leans in closer to me, so close that I can see the gold flecks in his eyes. "Look," he says, his voice taking on a husky edge. "I'm not really good at the romantic mate stuff. But I know that every time Adrian even says your name I want to bash his head in. I don't know why, maybe you're right and I'm just overly jealous. But I really like you, Kiara." He leans in closer so that our foreheads are touching. "The thought of someone taking you away from me makes me sick."
My heart finally melts at how sweet he's being. I wrap my arms around his neck and he manouvers his around my waist and pulls me until I'm straddling his lap. "I'm not going anywhere," I whisper and he slants his mouth over mine, kissing me fervently, like he can't get enough of me.
And pretty soon both of our shirts are strewn somewhere across the room and I'm kissing his bruise lightly and all down his chest making him glue my hips to his. And when he sucks on my neck, I unconsiously grind on the prominent bulge between his legs.
"Oh, fuck," he groans through his teeth, then flips us over so that he's hovering me and attacks my lips wtih his. I'm running my hands down his sculpted chest when I hear my bedroom door being opened. I barely have time to gasp in surprise before Connor shields me with his body, just as the door flies open.
"Hey, Kiara, do you know where- Oh, shit! I'm so sorry!" Adrian covers his eyes with his hand, backing up towards the wall.
"Today's just not your day, Jackson," Connor jokes, sounding only half facetious. He reaches behind him and pulls his T-shirt from out of nowhere and hands it to me. I throw it on and crawl out from behind him.
"'Kay, I'm good now," I call out. Adrian lowers his hand, and I can see the damage Connor has done to his face. He has a bruise around his eye that's already yellowing, and one more across his jaw. He has a busted lip to add to that as well.
"Hey," Adrian says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He clears his throat. "I just, uh, wanted to clear things up with Connor." He motions towards me. "We're not... Kiara and I were never... We aren't like that."
Connor gives him a nod, though his eyes are still narrowed. I giggle behind my palm at his attempt to look threatening when he's shirtless, his hair is sticking up in random places from me running my hands through it too many times, and his lips are red and slightly chapped from kissing. It also makes me wonder what a sight I must look like right now.
"Are we cool?" Adrian holds out his hand, and it feels like forever until Connor stands up and slaps his palm to Adrian's.
"Yeah, we're cool." They do that guy hug thing that no one really understands, and Connor comes back to sit down behind me, kissing my shoulder.
Adrian gives me a knowing smile. "Isabel wanted me to tell you that she's sorry for throwing the vase at you, Keek. And the hairbrush." So that's what hit me in the head!
Connor laughs lowly, the sound vibrating through my back. "She threw a hairbrush at you?"
I feel my head and cringe when I find the tender spot. "Jesus, that girl can throw." Adrian's eyes light up at the mention of Isabel, and he smiles gently at the thought of her. I can have a serious good look at him now, and I realize he looks so happy. More than happy. If Isabel Cornwall can make him that happy, then who am I to take that away from him? "Are you excited that she's officially moving in tomorrow?"
His smile deepens, if that's even possible. "You have no idea, Keek." I bite my lip at his bubbling excitement. "I really want her family to like me though. They're all moving here; her sister, her parents, everyone."
My heart melts at how nervous he looks, and I stand up to hug him around the waist. "They'll love you, Aid," I call him the nickname I used to as a kid when I couldn't fully say the word Adrian. "I promise."
"Even with your black eye," Connor interjects, making me turn around and glare at him. He's smiling knowingly and I roll my eyes.
"Don't mind him, he just gets overly jealous sometimes," I say, shooting Connor a look as he lays against my headboard, puts his hands behind his head and jokingly blows me a kiss.
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SO sorry it took so long for me to update!
I've been super busy lately, and haven't gotten any time to write. This chapter's kind of short, but I hope it will suit you guys until the next update :).
Isabel Cornwall will officially move into the pack house in the next chapter!!! What will happen? Will she mess things up even more than before? Will Connor ever get over his jealousy with Adrian?
Idk why I always ask these questions at the end of my chapters, I just realized it makes me sound like one of those commercials for TV series. lol.
Anyways, thanks guys for voting and reading! Love you all!