Okay! So, sorry for the 3 month Delay! It's just that, I've been physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted lately that I wasn't able to continue writing this chappie :P In truth, I had like, 5 pages saved on word, but I didn't want it to end at that cause I know you guys deserve the best :P So yeah, I guess the best way to describe this would be better late than never XD :P
Anyway, just wanna thank all of you guys who have supported Half Loved so far! I guess this chapter's what I'd like to call, the rising action ;) This is where my original idea for HL will start, and I'm excited to hear your reactions and theories about it! ;) If you watch Pretty Little Liars, then yeah, you could say I'm gonna lean towards that a bit ;) :P
So yeah, apologies, and hopefully more updates :P I am a senior in college though, so no promises! BUT! I WILL try my best for my lovely fans! ;) Oh, and a shoutout to one of my newest readers, whose comments I love! ;) @Anteater55 You deserve a dedication, so long as you continue giving me your awesome feedback! ;)
Picture of Micah on the right btw! ;) -------------------------->
So here you go guys! Please do like, add to your library, VOTE! and Comment! :D I really do appreciate and love your commments to the extremes so please do keep them coming! I love you guys! :)
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~Chap 21: A Letter~
~Carter’s POV~
It was dark and all I could hear was our rapid breathing... I looked around but I saw nothing... nothing except for the moans and the lips that were pressing against my neck.
Whoa, wait.
Before I knew what was going on, I felt strong muscular arms embrace me and all I could do was gasp at the unanticipated bliss it had on me. The suddenness surprised me but before I could collect myself, the lips came crashing into mine. My eyes grew wide when I found myself kissing him back. The way those arms held me and the way his lips danced into mine felt strikingly familiar...
“Babe...” Tyler’s lips said in between kisses. Whoa. Why was I making out with Tyler?!?
Then, I felt another pair of arms grab at me from behind. “Share me some cowboy, will you Ty?” I heard Liam purr into my ear before he left a trail of kisses on my neck and collarbone.
“Guys.” I gasped meekly. They were definitely making it hard for me to think… “You need to stop…”
“Just when I’m about to join?” Jace said. The darkness of the room didn’t really make it any easier for me to convince myself to get away from this… this… well, whatever this was. Without warning, he pulled me firmly away from Tyler and Jace, not that hard, but hard enough so he could get me alone. Before I could say anything, he closed in the distance and kissed me.
It was a deep, tender kiss that almost made it look like he was afraid I’d break though I could still tell that he was fighting back his desire. It was an unusual kiss, but it didn’t stop me from melting into him. Slowly, I found myself forgetting all about what was happening and just wanted to focus on his lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting more, needing more of him.
It wasn’t long before Tyler and Liam found their way to me again, their lips leaving a warm trail of kisses on my arms and my back. Tyler’s breath was warm against my hair, and he pulled it back so he could kiss me deeper in the neck. His hands trailed its way all the way down to the tips of my hair, just below my waist, while Liam caressed the curves on my waist…
WAIT.
Long hair? Curvy waist?!? I struggled to break free from them, but Jace’s kisses were far too good to get away from… I tried my best to see through the dim lighting, and as much as I dreaded it, I saw my bare body in all its female glory.
“Wait! Guys!” I said as I pushed them away.
“What’s wrong Andrea?” Tyler said, pulling me against him.
Andrea? No… no… no… This is not happening!
Noooooo! I said as I opened my eyes.
I let my eyes trail around me as I tried to recover from what had just happe—oh, so it was a dream. I sighed in relief and shifted to a more comfortable position, but ultimately, I failed. It could’ve been easier if that arm wasn’t under my neck... What?!? I shifted my body around the comforter and saw my hand placed perfectly on top of Tyler’s chest.
WHOA. He doesn’t have a shirt on... so was it all real? Instinctively, I touched my head to see if I had long hair. Nope. I let my hands graze my chest, then my thighs. Nope, still flat as a board. Okay, so I’m still a guy, so that must mean it was only just dream... but Tyler and I were, well, in a pretty compromised position and...
“Ughhh!” I let out in a guttural sound of frustration.
“Huh...?” Tyler mumbled as he woke up. He blinked a couple of times as I struggled to get away from him. Apparently, I was sleeping half way on top of him, so yeah... I guess you could say he noticed. “Carter?”
Yup. He noticed.
“I d-d-didn’t mean to uhm... well, what I’m trying to say is...”
~Tyler’s POV~
Carter mumbled something as I blinked back the heaviness in my eyes. Once they adjusted to the light, I saw how close we were. He was looking a little bit shaky so I smiled reassuringly at him. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He said, smiling back awkwardly.
“What’s up? You seem shaken.”
“Uhmm...” he trailed off, looking from me to the hand I had on his waist. Oh, yeah... sometime when we were sleeping, I heard Carter shuffle restlessly, so I decided to sleep next to him. Next thing I know, he hugged me and well, yeah... I mean, I’m not complaining, but it seemed like it was making him uncomfortable, so I decided to let him slide off me. “Sorry about that.” He said sheepishly. “Was I heavy?”
“Nah.” I chuckled as I turned to face him, tucking my arms behind my head. “Though, I would’ve preferred it if you kept the nibbling on my neck a little less aggressive.”
“What?” he asked, looking startled. I mean, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling Carter’s hair on my chin as he licked and pecked at my neck. “But I wasn’t nibbling you or anything...” he said, looking aghast.
“Alright alright.” I smiled as I tried not to laugh at how adorably red he is from all the embarrassment.
~Carter’s POV~
“No, seriously... I didn’t... or did I... did I?” I mumbled to myself. Did I? What if that wasn’t a dream? Ugh, from the familiar headache I have right now, I’m betting we got a little too carried away with the shots. Who knows... I could’ve... I could’v—
“AGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!” Ashley shrieked as she jumped up from Cam’s arms.
In an instant, Cam pulled her out of the way even if he didn’t know the threat. Jace, being the fighter that he is, rolled up to assume a fighting stance, but my panic made my clumsy feet move involuntarily, making me collide with him. In an ungraceful mess of tangled limbs, we fell on top of Tyler.
“What’s happening?” Liam said half asleep as he crawled away from whatever the commotion was about. Micah on the other hand bolted up, and hid under a table, as if hiding from an earthquake.
“Get it off me!” she said as she pleaded frantically to Cam.
“Get what off?” we all said at the same time.
“The furry thing on my back!” she said as she showed us the moving lump on her shirt. What the glob is that?!?
Cam tried to calm her down while Jace and Liam tried to “lightly” hit the wriggling thing off with pillows. I was watching the frenzy unfold before me when I saw a familiar bob of brown fur on Ashley’s neck. Finally, Tyler helped and was able to dispatch the furry blob from a frenzied Ashley. Jace was about to whack the... well, whatever it was when I noticed just what it was.
“Wait!” I screamed as I flung myself at him. Jace looked incredulously at me as I clung awkwardly at his upraised hand. I caught Micah’s eyes and motioned toward the scared blur of fur that just ran off under the bed.
“What was that?” Ashley and Cam asked.
“C’mere boy.” Micah coaxed the scared little ferret with a strawberry slice. It sniffed the fruit a little bit, just enough for Micah to take it by surprise. “This is—”
“Yoda!” Mom cut us off as she entered the door. The ferret jumped off from Micah and crawled up mom’s robe. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you since last night!” she said as she scratched her pet Yoda’s chin.
“Uhm, mom?” I said awkwardly. I looked around at my friend’s mortified expressions. I then noticed that most of us were actually underdressed. We were all in our boxers, with the exception of Cam who was in a tank top, while Micah and I had our shirts on. Ashley was wearing one of those short sleeping shorts and a thin fitted pullover. To top it all off, we were covered in chocolate. Okaaay.
“Oh gosh, what happened in he—ohhh...” mom trailed off as she looked from each one of us, then back again. “Oh! Ohhh... Andy, can I talk to you outside?” she said and smiled indirectly at my friends as I followed her out the hallway. She turned around as soon as I closed the door. “Andrea Carter! Would you mind explaining to me what just happened in there?”
“Well...” I trailed off as I scratched my head.
“You know your dad and I have been very lenient with you Andy. What happened in there...”
“I know it’s a mess, and I’m sorry! We kinda got carried away.”
“More like you got too carried away!” she sighed as she shook her head in exasperation. “Andy, we can’t have you going around and... well... we know you’re 17 and all, and you’ve got teenage hormones, and... we just don’t want you to catch anything and...”
“WHOA. WAIT.” I said with horrified eyes. Am I thinking what my mom was thinking? “Mom, nothing happened between us!” she eyed me sceptically. Well, I don’t blame her... I mean, she walks in and most of us are half naked, with chocolate all over our bodies. If I didn’t know any better, it looked like we were having some sort of weird orgy or something! It didn’t help that I was clinging to Jace and Cam and Ash were practically welded to each other.
“Honey, you can trust me okay? I won’t judge you. Well, I’m not saying I’m not disappointed but... I just don’t want you to lie to us. Though, I won’t blame you. You have a good eye when it comes to choosing friends. Talk about eye candy. But still...”
“Mom! Ewww!” I shrugged. “And besides, I’m not lying. We didn’t do anything other than have a few shots and have a food fight over the fondue.” Well, that and a few rated make out sessions. Okay, so maybe I was lying. Partly, that is...
“Oh, whew!” she smiled proudly. “I knew we could count on you!” she pinched my cheeks. Yeah right. You were questioning my virginity just a few moments ago! I rolled my eyes out at her internally. Oh mom... looking at her grinning sheepishly gave me a slight twist of guilt in the stomach. After all, mom and I weren’t in good terms when I left for Asher Heights.
I sort of lashed out at her and blamed her genes—and eventually, her—for my crappy phasing. I knew it wasn’t fair cause she probably went through the same random changes, but I was just so pissed at my ex and the pressures of training that I started to break. Having your trust broken and your dreams stolen can do that to you I guess... but in the end, mom was still all smiles and acted as if nothing happened between us, even if I practically stormed out of the house. If it wasn’t for gramps’ support, I wouldn’t have had pulled it off. I never thought I’d miss her pinching my cheeks. I guess I regretted my words and actions... I mean, I missed my mom, more than I cared to admit.
“Mom...?” I said meekly. She raised a brow and smiled at me. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, it’s okay. We can send the pillows to the dry cleaners anway. I’m just glad you weren’t uhm... being an active teenager.” She laughed awkwardly.
“No, I mean, for before. Before I left... I’m sor—” mom cut me off with her finger.
“Honey, that was nothing.” I tried to speak but the finger on my lips prevented me from talking. “And I’m sorry as well for giving you ‘the genes’”. She air quoted. “I would’ve stopped it with me if I could.”
“Mom,” I finally said after breaking free from her finger padlock. “It’s not your fault... and I’m sorry that I blamed it on you... I guess I was just too... you know.”
“I know.” She winked. “Well, it’s a good thing you got a whole bunch of hot friends to keep your mind off ex-who-must-not-be-named. I mean, that Tyler couldn’t keep himself off you eh?” she teased. “Oh, and that mysterious Jace watches you like Swiper watches Dora.”
“Did you just compare Dora the Explorer with my friendship with Jace?” I said, trying to suppress my laughter.
“What? Yoda likes to watch that show.” She said as I gave mom’s pet ferret a scratch in the head.
“Well, I’m glad you like them.”
“I’m glad you like them.” She teased. “You do, don’t you? At least, one of them? How about Ashley?”
“Mom, Ashley’s with Cam.”
“Oh right, they’re off the market then. So you’re left with Tyler, Jace, and... oh, I almost forgot about that adorable blonde. Liam right? I like him.” I rolled my eyes. Is she seriously hitting me up with my friends?
“You do know you’re hitting your son up with his guy friends right?” I said with emphasis on son. “Not that there’s anything wrong, I mean, I’m all for no discrimination.”
“Oh right. Well, I’m just saying that cause I know how confusing it feels after phasing. You’re struggling with still liking boys right? It’s only normal cause your female brain is still adjusting.”
“Well, for argument’s sake, I’m just gonna go with whoever feels right. Anyone.” I smiled. “Anyone decent, that is.”
“That’s my boy.” She smiled. Aww... motherly love. I could almost tear up right now!
“I love you mom.” I blurted as I hugged her. I got taller as a guy, but still not tall enough for mom.
“I love you too dear. Always and forever.” She said as she kissed my cheek. “No go on in. I better invite your friends to brunch. And for the record, I’m team Liam.” She winked but scrunched her brows soon enough to correct herself. “Wait, but I really like Tyler’s breeziness, so maybe I’m team Tyler... but Jace is all mysterious which is quite attractive. And he reminded me of your dad when we were in college... so Team Jace. But Liam and Tyler are good choices too!” she rambled on.
“Mom!” I facepalmed myself as I opened the door. Upon entering the room, I couldn’t help but cover my mouth to refrain from laughing. My friends were a mess in a tangle of clothes they tried to hastily put on.
“Sorry for walking in unannounced earlier.” Mom said sheepishly. “I was just looking for Yoda, and since I heard from the caterer that Andy brought a fondue tray here and seeing as Yoda likes chocolates... well... you get the picture.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ashley shudder. “Sorry for causing such a stir Mrs. Carter.” Liam piped in as the others agreed apologetically.
“It’s nothing.” Mom smiled reassuringly. “Now go get fixed up. I had the caterers save some lunch at the patio. See you!” she said before closing the door behind her.
“Well that was awkward.” Tyler said.
“You don’t say?” Micah said as he mimicked the meme.
“I can’t believe that a ferret practically caressed my whole body.” Ashley quivered. “I even got these nick marks.”
“Hey, you have the same marks too Ty.” Cam said as he examined the same reddish spots on Tyler’s neck.
“Say, you do have them.” Micah agreed. “That nasty little Yoda was at it again.” He laughed.
“What do you mean it’s at it again?” Tyler air quoted.
“Well, Yoda was notorious for liking too much chocolate. Like, he can smell it from a mile away. He likes to lick it off wrappers, spoons, and occasionally, our other cousin’s hands. He’s practically obsessed with the stuff.”
“You mean to say that Yoda did this and not Cart...”
“Okay!” I cut him off as he flushed a bright shade of red. “How about we get some late lunch eh?”
“You’re right. I’m feeling a little famished.” Cam said.
“It is 2:30 in the afternoon.” Liam agreed with a yawn.
“I guess we better take a quick shower first. I mean, we are covered in dried chocolate.” Micah said.
“How about we shower at the same time? Saves water and time.” Liam suggested.
“And since when did you become an environmentalist?” Ash asked with a raised brow. Liam wiggled his brows and mouthed a ‘since birth’ which all got a disapproving sigh from everyone.
“Ugh, whatever Liam. I’ll meet you guys out okay?” she as she walked out the door. “Text you later babe.”
“Aww, you call each other babe.” I teased Cam. He looked at me with a straight face and I didn’t know if I should take back what I said but before I knew it, Cam’s arm was around my shoulder, leaning his whole body on me.
“Hey you’re heavy!” I said as I struggled under his weight. They all laughed at me, heck, even Jace smiled. And as unusual as it is, Cam was being playful. Oh the things love can make you do...
“Well, I can call you babe if you want to.” Tyler joked as he brushed Cam off me.
“Uhm, I think he has enough babe-calling from me.” Liam winked. I saw Ty tense up a bit and I looked over at him. He caught my eye and looked away as he started to pick some fresh clothes.
~Tyler’s POV~
Cam and Jace decided that showering together was actually a time saving idea, so they decided to pull Liam in along with them while Micah went to his room. I on the other hand decided to go out the balcony to have a little air. Man, the view here was spectacular. I couldn’t help but breathe in the fresh air as it seemed to welcome me.
“Hey.” I heard Carter say from behind me. “Why you all alone out here?”
“The view’s nice.” I answered a little bit vaguely. I still didn’t know how to react to Liam’s teasing so I just decided to walk out here. I honestly didn’t know why I was being so bothered by it anyways... ugh. Darn that stupid game. Now I can’t help but think about what happened between Carter and me. Yeah, we made out, and I liked it. Why would I even like it? I mean, no offense to Carter, he’s a really cool bro and all, and he’s pretty adorable when he panics...
“Uhm, Ty?” he asked, waving a hand in front of me. “You awake?”
“I think I zoned out. Sorry” I said, shaking my head apologetically. Dang. Now I’m losing concentration. Now there’s definitely something wrong with me. “What was that again?”
“I was asking if you’re okay. You seemed a little out of your dimple-y self.”
“Oh.” I said, remembering to add his genuine concern for others on his growing list of positive traits. “I’m fine, just still pretty... well... uhm...” I was trying to avoid his gaze, but when I caught his eyes by accident, I couldn’t help but give in. The genuine concern he had for me was too pure, that it’d be impossible to lie to him. Reluctantly, I told him the truth. “last night was a handful, so yeah.”
“Oh.” He said, seemingly expecting another answer from me. “Well, yeah... my cousin could be quite a handful, I must admit. Sorry about that.”
For a moment, I thought he meant something else when he apologized. I knew it was nothing, but I decided to push it. “Sorry about what?”
“Uhm...” Carter trailed off before a towel fell on top of his head.
“Bathroom’s all yours.” Cam said as he opened the door for Ashley.
“You can use my bathroom Andrej.” Ash said as she hugged Cam. “Better take a bath.”
“Okay.” He said, seemingly relieved. “See you later Ty.” He smiled sheepishly before bolting out the door.
~Jace’s POV~
Lunch was satisfying and tea on the reunion at Carter’s place was leisurely. Carter seemed slightly anxious when dealing with his family members, which is probably the reason why he wanted us to come along. In truth, I wasn’t expecting that I thought my practice was worth skipping for this. It’s definitely a new experience, but I wouldn’t really say I wouldn’t do it again. Somehow, Carter had a way of making me feel somewhat at home when he directs smiles at me in between talks with his family.
It didn’t take us long before it was time to go home. We said our final goodbyes, with a few tears from Carter as he engaged in what some may say a heartfelt conversation between his parents and his gramps. Even Ashley teared up a bit. We said our thank you’s and goodbyes and his gramps told us e were welcome to come anytime soon, which Liam said was an offer, he wouldn’t decline to. After that, Micah drove us to the train station, which was a bit too eerie, seeing as we were the only ones there along with a few good twenty people or so.
“Well, I guess this is the end of your little weekend getaway.” Micah grinned.
“It was fun while it lasted.” Ash laughed. “You were a great host Micah. Thank you.”
“Yeah, you we’re pretty cool.”
“Aww... Thanks, you lovebirds.”
“Nice meeting you bro.” Tyler bro-fisted him.
“Bye Jace.” Micah said with a smile. “Looking forward to seeing another lap dance from you next time, ayt?” he laughed and the others joined him. “Kidding kidding. And oh, sorry again for getting you drunk Liam.” He said sheepishly.
“Please, I wasn’t drunk. And besides, I don’t think this is the last time we’d be seeing each other.” Liam smiled. “Pretty sure gramps told us to swing by soon.”
“Alright, alright.” Carter laughed as he hugged his cousin. “See you cous. Thanks for driving us here.”
“Ayt ayt. You bozos better take care of this clumsy little cousin of mine okay?”
“Hey, I’m not little!”
“Oh whopeedoo, your train’s here. Better not miss it!” Micah said as he helped us with our bags. “See you next time then!” he waved us goodbye.
We all sat on the same positions we were in yesterday and it didn’t take long before each of us fell asleep.
~Andy’s POV~
“Thanks again you guys for coming with me. I so owe you big time.” I said as I gave all of them a hug. Well, all of them, plus an awkward little arm-shake-hug for Jace.
“Don’t worry, we should be the one who should be thanking you for the wonderful trip Andrej.” Ash gushed as she hugged me tightly.
“Yeah, that was one great weekend.” Liam agreed.
“I think I enjoyed a little more than I should’ve too.” Ty grinned, displaying that cute little teddy bear dimple smile of his. If I didn’t know any better though, I would’ve sworn he was hiding an inside joke underneath that adorableness. Somehow, I found myself biting my lip as I looked away
“It was a tiring experience, but it was, in a way, worth it.” Jace said, in what could possibly be his most colourful description of his weekend activity. Oh wow, so our weekend probably was fun! I mean, even Jace ‘enjoyed’ it, so it must’ve been a success! YAY!
“Thanks Jace.” I said, and I found myself hugging him on impulse. “Oh, I’m sorry.” I said, not really caring at all if it was making him uncomfortable. I was so happy, I felt like my happiness would rub off on him too. Surprisingly though, he didn’t flinch away, but gave me a light, awkward squeeze.
“Well, good night you guys.” Ash said as we walked her to her dorm. Cam gave her a light peck on the lips, which was kinda romantic, considering how I’ve known Cam as a snotty, prissy roommate.
We then headed to our dorms and Jace, Ty, and Liam went up the Western Hugher building bidding us good night, while Cam and I walked up the Eastern Rummer building. I was having a hard time with my bags so Cam helped me while Rose opened the door for us.
“Well good evening to you guys.” she smiled warmly.
“Hey Rose.” I smiled as I entered the door. “Thanks.” Cam and I said in chorus.
“By the way, between me and you,” Rose whispered as she sign language-d something that resembled like a cookie. Oh! She baked cookies!
“Don’t worry, he’s cool. Right Cam?” I said as I nodded towards him.
“Cool about?”
“He won’t tell anyone you have an oven in your room.” I smiled.
“Oh, cool.” Cam said, seemingly amused.
“Here.” Rose said as she handed me a paper bag of cookies. “Made them fresh. Maybe Mr. Deverough would like it.”
“Want some?” I asked Cam, already on my second cookie. He nodded, but had his hands full with both of our bags so he just opened his mouth. “Ugh, fine.” I rolled my eyes as I gave him the remaining half of my cookie.
“Say, these are good!” He laughed, nudging me to give him another bite. Oh wow, he’s still playful Cam even until tonight? Could this be true? Or has he really had an attitude makeover? Hmmm...
“Oh, before I forget.” Rose said, cutting me off from my thoughts. “You have a letter for you Andy.”
“Hmm... a letter. Who is it from?” I said as I observed the envelope.
“I don’t know, he didn’t say, actually. He just dropped it on my table while I was talking on the phone. Must be a secret admirer.” She winked.
Hmmm... a secret admirer. HAHA. Oh well, the ‘To Andy’ handwriting on the envelope seemed fairly normal so I guess it was just a note from someone from class.
“Well, while you’re staring all googly eyed on your letter, I’m gonna go upstairs and fix my things. Meet you there alright?” Cam said as he nodded a goodnight at Rose.
I said goodnight as well, and told Rose I was gonna update her about my trip tomorrow and she was happy to just see me back again. Aww... anyway, I opened the letter on the way up the elevator. It was really hard to unseal but I was able to open it just as I turned the knob on my door.
The door opened and I saw Cam look at me with anxious eyes. I felt like crying. “What happened?” he asked as he walked over to me. Hastily, I folded the letter and shoved it in my jacket.
“Nothing.”