Chapter 16 - Ren's POV
*Saturday afternoon 22/05/14 - Bet: Day 11*
A gasp leaves her mouth as I hold up the piece of crumpled white paper in my hand. It's folded so I'm unable to see the writing though. Just as I begin to open it Molly dives forward, her towel slipping to her waist as she tries to snatch it from my hand. By reflex my hands shoots higher out of reach, stopping her from grabbing it. Her hand lands on my thigh but she seems so out of sorts that she doesn't even realise. Trying again to take the sheet of paper from me I resist the urge to restrain her and lean further away instead.
"N-no, don't open it!" she shouts close to my ear. She's clearly forgotten about her objections to closeness or touching because her hand still remains firmly on my thigh.
Ignoring her I continue to open the sheet. I get a glimpse of different hand writing styles but before I have it all the way open Molly pounces again, her hand moving higher up my thigh this time. If she keeps touching me like this then we are going to have a little problem rising if she doesn't stop. She moves, pushing me further to the edge of the bed and before I can clutch onto her or the bed frame I'm falling sideways onto the hard flooring. My shoulder breaks the fall so luckily my head doesn't take a battering.
"Ow shit!" I moan. Rubbing my shoulder I stand, my hand still clasping the paper.
"Oh my god...I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean it" Molly squeaks. Her face looks mortified so I laugh it off to show her no harm done even though it hurts like a mother fucker. I expect to see a bruise there tomorrow.
"It's fine. My body's made of steel so I barely felt it" I reassure her.
I continue to stand rather than sit on the bed again. It's probably for the best considering that the girl that doesn't like physical contact somehow managed to push me out of the bed.
"Please, just give the paper back" she whines desperately but makes no move to get up from her small bed. Her hazel eyes plead with me, her bottom lip pouting but I don't think that she's aware of it so it makes it kind of cute.
The way that she begs tells me what I have in my hand is important. I'm intrigued to see what's written on it, maybe a love letter to pretty boy perhaps? I've seen the way that she looks longingly at him when no one is around. Although since we've been hanging out I've seen that pining look less and less.
Her towel still remains around her waist, as if she hasn't yet noticed that it fell. Her chest moves up and down rapidly with the loud pants she makes from being out of breath having to chase my hand that held the paper moments ago. Her small breasts are shaped nicely in the swimming costume that I was unfortunate to see earlier. Wet chocolate hair falls around her cleavage making my eyes linger as small trickles of water fall across her pale skin. With a small shake of my head I redirected my disturbing thoughts to the paper in my hand.
I open the sheet but instead of looking down I keep eye contact with Molly. I want to see her expression. I know it makes me a bastard for tormenting her, reading something that she clearly doesn't want me to see but it's got her distracted from all the mess that happened at the beach.
Her eyes clench shut so I move my eyes from her and onto the paper.
*THE FEAR LIST*
1. Arachnophobia - The fear of spiders.
2. Astraphobia - The fear of thunder and lightning.
Before I can read the rest the paper is suddenly seized from my hand before I can stop it. I guess I should have kept a closer eye on Molly because she obviously used the time that I became distracted for the time to attack.
"Hey, no fair. I wasn't done reading that" I complain as I walk back to the bed and make myself comfy sitting against the headboard with my legs lying out in front of me.
Molly ignores my whining as she scrambles away from me and moves over to a desk. Opening the bottom draw she stuffs the paper under a pile of crap and locks it with a key. Keeping the key in her hand she turns slowly, her ass and hands support her weight as she leans against the desk. Her towel is back in its rightful place, tucked under her arms as her damp hair covers most of her face. Clearly she's in no mood to get close to me again. Her eyes stay down cast whist her teeth bite into her bottom lip. I can tell that she's waiting for me to say something.
I think about what I saw written on the paper. Was it some sort of bucket list that she wants to do before she dies? But then I recall the title 'The Fear List' and the things that she had numbered on there. Why would someone make a list of the things they are scared of?
"What does the list mean?" I ask lightly, hoping my soft approach won't send her running away from me.
She stays silent for a while before she finally mutters "Nothing" either because she's pissed or because she's too scared of opening up.
"It's not nothing. Why do you have fears written down on a list? I didn't get to see the rest but I'm guessing that there are more things that you are scared of written down on it." I proclaim. When she doesn't reply I try again. "Am I right?" I shift off the bed and move closer to her.
"Yes..." she whispers, still with her head down. I stop within a dozen inches between us and hope that my lengthy frame doesn't intimidate her.
"And why do you have them written down?" I probe, curious to see what her answer will be. But instead all I get is a shrug in response.
Letting out a sigh I run my hands through my now lightly damp hair and consider what to do with this new information. The more I get to know Molly the more oddly fascinating she becomes. It's weird to think that when I first saw her I just thought of her as everyone else. A try-hard, a nerd that keeps to herself to make sure she keeps her precious 4.0 GPA so that she can get into the elite colleges. But now new things come to light each and every day that I'm with her.
Her shyness, the loneliness, even the frightened emotions that racked through her body when Dan laid his hands on her or when she plummeted into the cold sea; they all helped aid me in this bet to win her over. This list is just another thing that has been placed at my feet, almost as if a present from the big man above to use to my advantage. What better way to get someone on your side than to help them with their problems.
Relationships consist of respect, love, lust and gratitude. Surely she will be thankful of my assistance to rid her of her pathetic little fears. They seem minor and pitiful, something that a kid would be scared of. It makes me wonder what is on the rest of the list, do they get worse?
Quickly coming to the conclusion that this list will help me get closer to Molly I scramble for a quick plan that will help me see it through.
"Ok, so how about I help you?" I request, trying to keep the pleased smile from my face.
"What do you mean?" Molly questions, unease taking over her face.
"What I mean is, let me help you overcome these fears. I'm betting that you wrote them down for a reason and that reason is most likely because you wanted to get rid of the fears once and for all" I explain. Her expression still seems lost though.
"Let's put it this way. Why do we write stuff down in a list? To get it done that's why. Think of it as a bucket list of things you need to overcome before you die but instead we will just limit it to a month.
"Why a month?" She queries, finally looking up at me instead of the floor.
I'm not about to tell her that it needs to be done in a month because I only have six weeks left to finish this bet. She won't be in my life once I'm done. We won't be friends anymore because I'll either push her away or she will somehow find out about the bet. So instead I do the only thing I can do, I lie.
"Erh we need to do it in a month because...so we don't get off track. The quicker we do this the less likely you are to back out. There's no point in dragging it out" I blurt out as my excuse. She seems to take it in with a small nod that confirms that my lie is believable.
"So how about it?" I probe, trying to get her to say yes to this thing so I can sit back down and chill out for the rest of the afternoon.
"What would we do?" She demands timidly. I can see her withdrawing just from thinking about it too much. I know I'll have to act fast.
"Well every week we will try and overcome two fears from the list, depending on how many there are. How many are there exactly?" I ask, unsure if this was a good idea after all. Hopefully it's not a lot otherwise this could take up most of my time.
She stays silent, not answering and I know it's because she doesn't want to share what's on the list with me. Huffing out a sigh I give her a suggestion. "How about as we work through each two fears you show me the next two afterwards?" I wait for her answer, trying to gage her reaction.
She looks reluctant and somewhat scared. I can see the indecision though. Maybe she's had this conversation with herself before, perhaps she's tried to live out these fears but without a friend to help her through it she wasn't able to do it. It makes me wonder if Elle knows about the list. I make a mental note to ask Molly about that later.
"I know that you're probably scared to do this but wouldn't it feel great to be able to throw that list away at the end of it. To know that you didn't live your life thinking what if?" When I realise I sound like a girl spouting deep, meaningful shit I quickly clear my throat and redirect what I was saying "Plus we could make it fun and I'll be with you at all times. These guns will protect you" I joke, which gets a giggle from Molly.
"I'm not sure..." Is her reply. I don't know what else I can say to get her on board with this new idea.
"Come on Mol, do this with me." I plead. I know I'm sounding desperate but this plan helps me out so much. It means that I spend more time with her, that I can earn her gratitude. She will confide in me and hopefully trust me enough that we can move our relationship to something more intimate.
"Will we be doing your fears as well?" She questions hopefully. I get a feeling that she doesn't want the whole thing to be about her. She's probably wondering what I get out of this but I can't tell her the real reason. Making her believe that I have fears as well might help to get her agree to this.
"Yeah we will do mine as well. So maybe we can help each other?" I offer.
"What are yours?" She eyes me to see what I'll say but instead I quickly answer to get out of it.
"I'll write them down on a list like yours and we can work through our lists together" I tell her. When I get home I'll have to scribble a couple things down that will sound like legit fears.
Biting her lip, she assesses me to see if my offer for help is genuine. After a minute of silently watching me she finally speaks.
"Ok" the whisper leaves her plump mouth.
"Ok what?" I ask, wanting to hear her actually say it.
"Ok we will help each other with the lists" she utters, wringing her hands together. I can tell she's nervous about this so I get some safeguarding in place so the plan doesn't fall through.
"And you can't pull out. You have to do whatever has been set up, no backing away from the challenge. That goes for either of us." I declare. She opens her mouth to protest but quickly closes it shut when I stare at her with my eyebrows raised, as if to dare her to try and argue against me.
She nods in defeat and crosses her arms over her chest. The key is still firmly in her hand but I don't know why she is still clutching to it like her life depends on it as she has already agreed to let me see it.
"Good, now shall we shake on it?" I propose to break the tense atmosphere.
She just stares at me and then my hand that's placed right in front of her. Her hand twitches but after waiting too long I give up and go sit back on the bed. It was stupid of me to think that she would be ready for it anyway.
"You got a laptop?" I ask her, wanting to get started on planning straight away.
"No why?" she responds, an embarrassed flush appears on her face.
"How do you do your homework then?" I question. It should have occurred to me that she doesn't have enough money for a laptop.
"Erm...the library. But why do you need to know this? What's it got to do with the list?" she quizzes, her brow creases with confusion.
"I was going to use the laptop to write up a list of places or things we could do to help get over the first lot of fears. But don't worry I'll do some research for what we can do when I get home. Actually this way is better because then it will be a surprise." I explain. After she nods her head in agreement the silence falls over us again.
"So what do you want to do now?" I demand softly. But before she can answer she lets out a sneeze, grabbing the towel that threatens to fall again.
"How about we get changed into some dry clothes" I suggest. Her cheeks stain red and I can't help but grin at how easily embarrassed she gets when it comes to anything about getting naked.
Putting my hands on my damp shorts I start to tug and stop when I hear a gasp from across the room. Molly's eyes are wide, focused on my hips. I see her eyes trail down toward my dick that's concealed in the navy material. Knowing that it will be taking it to far to strip down to my boxers in front of her I stop what I'm doing and walk over to the bag and pull out my jeans.
"I'll just take my stuff into another room and give you some privacy" I wait for her to show me which room I should use but when I look back at her, her eyes are still stuck on my shorts. Clearing my throat she jolts.
"Y-yeah just go to the bath room across the hall" she mumbles, pinks staining her soft cheeks.
I move out of her bedroom and into the small bathroom. I'm getting the feeling that all the rooms in her house are going to be small. My pantry is bigger than this room. It has an off white tile, most likely from being out-dated rather than going for the stylish look. The toilet and sink pretty much sit on top of each other the way that they are so close. The shower is stuck in the corner with a glass door that has seen better days. Trying not to judge too harshly I continue to look around. Above the sink is a small mirrored cabinet. Opening it up I see an array of different products.
Two toothbrushes lay on the bottom self. Molly hasn't mentioned anything about her family but only two toothbrushes must mean that it's just Molly and another family member. I try to wrack my brain for anything that she might have said that would give me answers. Although she hasn't actually voiced it I can sense that the family topic is an issue with Molly, just like it is with me. Maybe people with the same issues feel a pull to each other, that's why we connect so easily.
I stop trying to gather more answers without actually talking to Molly and strip my damp shorts along with my boxers and throw them in the sink. Having no choice but to go commando I shove my jeans on and adjust myself so the jeans are not chaffing on my dick.
I run my hands through my hair trying to get the locks under control and away from my eyes as I make my way back into the hall. I hear shuffling coming from Molly's room but knowing that girls normally take a lot longer when getting ready I knock on the door rather than barge right in like I normally would.
"You decent?" I call after she doesn't respond to my second knock.
"One second." she shouts slightly out of breath.
Before I can get bored of standing in someone else's house staring at a chipped wooden door it swings open to reveal a freshly clothed Molly.
She's thrown on a pair of sweats and a white baggy t-shirt. Her hair is pulled back in a high pony tail to reveal a slender neck. It's weird that she can be so casual around me. I've never met a girl that would dress like this if she knew I'd be around. They always dress like sluts, with their pussy at risk of showing any minute. I admit that they sometimes look hot and fuckable but it's refreshing not to have to be worried about someone trying to seduce me every second. Molly's too innocent to be thinking like that.
"So now that you're not eye raping me anymore what shall we do?" I tease.
*******************************************
Molly's POV
*Monday morning 24/05/14 - Bet: Day 13*
I'm standing alone in front of my locker as I swap out my books for the next lesson. Now that Ashley has done who knows what with my bag, I'm not even going to dabble with the idea of approaching her to find out, I've had to use a small black cotton tote bag that I found stashed in my closet. It was the only one I could find in the house this morning and I wasn't going to ask my mom if there were any others otherwise the questions about my missing bag would arise. Instead I'm stuck with this one so in between lessons I will have to keep coming back to change my books.
As for replacing the bag with a new one I don't really see how I'm going to do that unless I ask my mom for money, again she'll question what it's for and I would really like to deter her from finding out about the incident with Ashely. Replacing the English and Maths text books that were stored in the stolen bag is a whole other problem that I don't really want to think about right now.
As I'm finishing up I let my mind drift to thoughts of Saturday. I still cannot believe that Ren Taylor, rumoured badboy for his bad attitude, aggressive fighting and player status was at my house, sitting on my bed bare-chested whilst conversing with me, the mute girl. I know that we've been hanging out at his house so this shouldn't all be a shock to me but to actually have him inside my house, where only Elle has entered; I don't really know how to get my head around that. Luckily he left before mom came home from wherever she had been that day so I didn't have to answer to her.
We'd watched some movies and spoken about places that we could go to start on my fear list but it got late pretty quick and the day was over in no time at all. My mind won't even grasp that he knows about the list or that he is willing to help me with overcoming each one. He said we would be doing his fears as well as my own but I can't really comprehend what sort of fears someone like Ren would have or if he even has any at all to begin with. However it still makes me feel a little relaxed that I won't be doing this alone, that all the attention won't be purely on me.
I close my locker once I double check that I have the right books. I turn around to head down the hallway to my next class only to stop dead when I nearly slam into a muscular frame.
"Good morning Best Friend what's put that frown on your face?" a familiar voice greets. I quickly lift my head to meet his eyes but flinch back when I see how close his face is to mine. Why is he leaning in so close? I take a step back and hug my bag to my front as a temporary barrier.
His grey eyes fall to the bag then back up to my face. His high-spirited grin fades somewhat as a light frown covers the surface. Just as quickly it's gone before I can over analyse it. I want to tell him that I'm feeling annoyed because of this stupid bag I'm carrying around but I don't want to seem whiney. But his eyes drift back to my bag again as if reading my mind.
"Hmm well that won't be a problem anymore" he declares the grin back at full force.
"What do you mean?" I mumble, confused about why he's so happy this morning and what won't be a problem anymore?
I think this is one of the few times that I've seen him actually be on time for school and not miss most of his classes. Instead of answering me he swings his backpack around his shoulder and starts looking through it. Opening it wider he pulls out a slightly smaller black and blue rucksack with swirly patterns. It looks a little expensive.
"W-what's that" I stutter, I'm pretty sure I know what it is. Just the thought of him buying me something has me feeling flushed and nervous.
"Mol don't pay dumb you know exactly what it is. I was at the mall getting you a new phone and then I remembered that you didn't have a rucksack either. I wasn't sure if you had a spare one at home so I brought you one just in case. I would have asked you to come but then I thought about what happen last time we went to the mall and decided against it" he explains whilst holding it out in front of me.
I stare at him in silence, lost for words. When he sees that I'm not going to respond he frowns down at the bag and replies. "If you don't like it I could take it back, you could come with me this time if you want and pick something you like" he rambles, looking eager to please.
"You got me another p-phone" I barely get the word out. Out of his entire exchange that's all my mind stuck too. How can he just go out and buy me another phone. God what if I lost this one too? What do his parents say about him spending all this money on me? I cannot take another phone from him, I won't do it. I won't take the bag either even though it's really girly and cute or that it would come in handy.
"Yeah I got one to replace the stolen one" a dark look covers his face when he says this. "Don't worry I just claimed it on the insurance and said it was stolen so I didn't have to pay for a new one," he explains but for some reason I don't actually believe this is true. Why does he keep doing all these things for me? I can't help the little flutter that crosses my stomach at his kindness.
"And the rucksack is a gift. Best friends give each other gifts and shit. Think of it as an early birthday present if that makes it easier to accept it. When is your birthday anyway?" he asks, completely changing the subject.
"Erm June 18th why?" I lift my eyebrow in question.
"Hmm interesting, it's within the next two months" he murmurs to himself but still loud enough for me to hear.
"Yeah why is the fact that it's within the next two months interesting?" I probe. He looks lost in thought but comes back once I ask him this.
"No reason. So anyhow mine is on the 26th June just so you know. Don't go throwing me any surprise birthday parties or anything" he laughs with a wink.
He seems in a really good mood today and more confident that usual. The way he is speaking to me is exactly how Elle would speak to me. Are we truly getting to be close friends after such a little time?
I feel a pang of sadness when I think about Elle not being here to walk to class, most of her time being taken up by Ethan now. I must admit that ever since the beach incident she has been making a lot more effort. She even rang me after Ren left to check up on me and kept apologising for how little time we have been spending together. She promised that it would change and go back to how it was before she started dating Ethan. I don't really believe it will go back to exactly how it was before because she has Ethan and I have Ren now, though Ren is a friend and not my boyfriend.
I see Ren still looking at me, shoving the bag in my direction once again so I decide to swallow my pride and take it. I know I said I wasn't going to accept it but I can recognise the stubborn look in his eyes. It tells me that he will fight my protests and he'll win every time.
"Thank you, you really shouldn't have spent the money on me" I whisper. It makes me emotional that he cares about me and that I was in his thoughts over the weekend.
"You're welcome, now quickly shove your shit in there before the bell goes so that I can give you the phone" he orders.
I make quick work of putting everything I need into the new rucksack and proceed to swing it over my shoulder but before I can do it Ren grabs it and puts it on his instead. My lips part at the gesture but I don't know what to say so I decide to say nothing. The bell rings so I start to make my way to class knowing Ren will follow behind me even though his class is most likely on the other side of the school.
"So I put my number in for you and set the password the same as before so all you need to do is put your other contacts on there and download what you want and your good to go" he states whilst handing over the new iPhone 4s.
"I really don't like taking all this stuff from you" I speak the truth. I know it won't stop him from doing it but I still want him to know that I don't expect them.
As I reach for the phone and slide it into my pocket I look around and see people watching our exchange. Do they know that he brought it for me? I don't think we were talking very loudly so they shouldn't have heard our conversation. But then again they probably can't help but stare at the Ren talking to someone like me.
"People are looking as us" I whisper, trying not to draw any more attention to us.
"I don't care if you don't like me giving you things and like I said before I can afford it. Plus if you didn't have a phone then how am I supposed to keep in contact with you. As for people staring maybe we should really give these bastards something to look at" he steps closer with mischievous look.
My breath hitches as he pulls his face closer to mine right in the middle of the hallway as students steam pass to get to class. From the corner of my eye I can still see some of them watching, now whispering into their friends ears about the scene in front of them. I take a step away when my stomach flutters, playing havoc with my insides as I feel his warm breath coat my face.
"Ok, maybe next time" Ren replies when he notices my retreat but instead of looking guilty he just gives me another cocky smirk.
Maybe next time what? When he stepped closer to me what was he planning on doing? Kissing me or whispering something? I'm so confused. But what I'm more confused about are the feelings that I keep having when he comes close to me. They're not as fearful as they used to be. My face turns red at the thought of actually feeling attraction to Ren.
**********
Schools finally finished and I'm walking towards the parking lot when I feel my phone vibrate in my jeans pocket. I miss the call but not before seeing a flash of the callers picture. Ren's alluring silver eyes and chiselled face stared at me only seconds ago. He was looking all badboy sexy. I can't help but laugh and conceal the blush that covers my face.
I swipe to unlock it, putting in the code so I can get the text message that just came up straight after the missed call. The contact name comes up as 'Sexy Best Friend' and given that only Ren and Elle are the only ones that have been entered into the phone, of which I did Elle's myself, my best bet is that the text is from Ren.
Sexy Best Friend: Meet me at my car in the parking lot when you see this.
Reading the text I can't help but feel a little giddy at the thought of spending more time with him. I look back to Elle who is a couple steps behind me, hugging close to Ethan's waist as they discuss what they're plans are for tonight. I did receive an invite to tag along but I gracefully declined. I didn't really feel like being a third wheel and God forbid she sets me up with someone again.
She's supposed to be giving me a ride home like always but I need to find a way to get out of it. I don't really want to tell her than I'm meeting up with Ren because of her disproval of him. I think she hates him even more now since last Saturday when he took me home instead of allowing her to. Sure he still sat with me at lunch today but meeting outside school is in a completely different ball park. I decide to lie instead because I really don't want to get into a fight with her since we only just made up.
"Hey Elle, I forgot that I was supposed to get some books from the library. Just go on ahead without me" I inform her. I avoid eye contact with Ethan and pretend that's he's not there so I don't start stuttering.
"You sure? I can wait for you if you want" she answers back, finally unhooking herself from Ethan.
"No it's ok. I've got to use the computers and stuff" I blurt quickly. I don't want her waiting around. She nods knowing that I normally have to use the school computers to get my papers written so she buys the lie.
"You sure?" She asks again, looking uncertain on whether to leave me to walk home alone later on.
"Yeah it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning though ok" I call back already making my way back towards the school to make it look believable.
"Ok, don't study too hard thought and I'll call you later" she yells, turning back around to snuggle close to Ethan.
It's strange how my crush on Ethan seems to be disappearing more and more each day. I just don't know whether it's because I'm getting used to the idea of him dating Elle or because of the pushy badboy that's come into my life.
As soon as they get into her car and drive away I start to make my way back to the parking lot and look for Ren's car. I spot him leaning against his car with a lit cigarette in his mouth. We're not supposed to smoke on school grounds but from the looks of things I don't think he really cares.
I wrinkle my nose when he take another drag. I hate smokers. I don't know why but they make eerie feelings flow through me, as if telling me that it's wrong. Like the smell and consuming smoke is associated with something corrupt, I just don't know what. Shaking the thoughts away I take a deep breath and try not to breath too deeply so I don't inhale the smoke or odour. I'm pretty sure that if I told Ren I don't like them he would put it out but I don't want him to think I'm a freak any more than I already am. He already knows about my issues with physical contact, dark confided spaces and my list of fears, no need to let him in on any more of my oddness. When I'm close to the car he gives me a quick smile, puts out finished cigarette and throws some gum into his mouth.
"Hey you bring your list with you?" he quizzes, the smoke odour now mixed with mint.
"Yeah why?" I say checking my back pocket to see if it's still there. I don't trust putting it into my bag after my other one got stolen last time.
"Because we are going to tick one off" he makes a ticking gesture with his hands, looking all too happy with himself.
"W-what today?" I stammer, suddenly feeling uneasy.
"Yes today, as in right now. Well technically in about twenty minutes. We still have to drive there first" he informs me coolly.
"W-where are we going" I stutter again. I can't help but revert back to my blundering self when I'm both a shocked and frightened at the aspect of completing something from my list. I know he said that we would be facing our fears but I didn't think it would be happening so soon. In twenty minutes no less.
"It's a surprise. Plus I know your probably freaking out so I won't tell you until it's necessary or when you just see for yourself" he gives me a smirking grin as if he knows what's good for me.
I reframe from asking him to tell me because I know once he's said he won't, he won't go back on it. Instead I give a quick nod and climb into his car. He moves around to his side, climbs in and starts the car. Know that we are confined in the small space the scent of the smoke is heightened but I try not to show that it affects me. When he looks over I place a forced beam onto my face, hoping that he doesn't feel my unease with the thought of him being a smoker.
"So did you see the sexy photo I put on the phone" He asks me. I think he's trying to distract me so I don't think about where we are going or what we're about to do. I can't help but blush at what he says thought, I'd called it sexy not just minutes ago when I first saw it.
"Yeah it's better than the other one I had of you" I reply trying to fight the smile that's crept onto my face. I like the playful side of him. It's rare to see it but it always shows me he's not as intimidating as I first thought when he initially approached me a couple weeks ago.
"Yeah that's because I wasn't doing weird faces to get you to smile" he sticks his tongue out playfully as to prove his point.
"God I don't want to think about that" I blush even more. Why would he want a picture of me on his phone, to see my face whenever I called? Not that I can see myself actually having the confidence to call him first.
"What there's nothing wrong with your picture? I'm starting to get the feeling that you don't like your photo taken. Maybe will have to do something about that" he shoots me an evil look, making my eyes go wide. What's he going to do?
"Calm down. I'm just suggesting that we take a couple of snaps of us on each fear we complete. It also means that we will have photo evidence that we've actually done them. But don't go making a shrine of my lovely self in your bedroom with the pictures though" he gives me equally wide eyes, forging horror.
I don't really like the idea of taking pictures but even if I tried running from him he'd still get them somehow without me noticing. I'll have to try to stay alert.
"So are we doing just my list today or yours as well? Actually you still need to tell me what's on your list" I demand timidly.
"No, not so fast. You only showed me two of yours," I raise my eyebrows when he says 'showed' because we both know that I didn't give my list freely. He winks and continues "so I'm only going to give you the first two of mine. But I'll tell you after you complete your fear today. Think of it as a treat or motivation if you will" he explains.
Just then we pull up in front of a large brick and glass building and my protests die on my tongue. My eyes flick over to the wooden sign post that sits out front the entrance.
Havensdale Animal Enclosure
I'm confused about why he would bring me here but then I ponder about what's on my list. Oh no.
1. Arachnophobia - The fear of spiders
He parks the car and comes to my side when he realises I'm still sitting in the car. I squeeze my hands together to try and relieve some of the stress but it doesn't work. I must seem really pathetic. Ren opens my door and crouches down so that we're the same height. He braces both hands onto the roof of the car so his arms make a cage around the open door. Instead of spooking me it makes me feel safe. Dragging my eyes away from the welcome sign I let them drift over to Ren.
"It's ok, I'll be here the whole time" he reassures me with an encouraging smile.
Taking a deep breath I give a quick nod and unfold myself from the chair. Ren quickly stands and removes his arms but I still feel the heat from our close proximity. Steeling myself, I prepare for what's going to happen next.
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Authors note
Hey everyone - I know its been a while since I last updated and I'm really sorry but I'm back now and I have this new chapter above for you. Hopefull will be posting again within the week.
Please don't forget to vote. !!!!!
Also check out the second book in the Fear series 'Bad Boy Fear' and add it to your library. What do you think of its book cover let me know.