I don't know how this happened but I just spent the whole night writing >.< So this was up a lot quicker than I thought it was going to be over the past couple of days because of the whole microsoft word fiasco (actually this chapter is totally different from the first one I wrote becuase I couldn't bare the idea of trying to type it all out again only to find out I couldn't remember it - it would have annoyed me so much)
Hopefully you guys will like it anyway xD
ANYWAY votes and comments as always are very much appreciated, but most of all PLEASE ENJOY::
Chapter Twenty
Willow’s P.O.V:
“You realise that the textbook is meant to be used for studying – not as a pillow.” Derek said teasingly, looking up at me from where he was sitting on the floor next to his bed that I was now hogging.
“That’s good.” I mumbled. “It’s a terrible pillow.” It was cold, uncomfortable, and smelt strongly of ink.
Derek shook his head, turning his attention back to his homework. Following his example I lifted myself up on to my elbows so I could read the text in front of me properly.
The words blurred slightly as I stifled a yawn behind the back of my hand, trying not to be rude, but Derek still noticed.
“Bored?” He asked.
I blushed slightly. “Not bored.” I rushed to say. “Just tired, I was up pretty late last night thinking up some new dance routines.” I explained. “Plus I don’t get any of this.” I said gesturing to the textbook with a pout.
Derek turned his torso to face me, resting his arms on the bed. “Where are you stuck?” He asked.
“…Question one.” I told him.
He gave me a surprised look.
“Yeah I know it’s pretty bad.” I said feeling stupid. I’d started about half an hour ago and I hadn’t done a single question. “I’m not all that smart.” I admitted.
Derek’s eyebrows creased together. “That’s not what I was going to say.” He said. “I was just wondering if you wanted any help. The questions sir gives out are usually pretty tricky.”
I felt some of my uneasiness fade. “You don’t mind?” I asked.
He smiled warmly. “Not at all.” He promised, picking up my notebook to look at the question. I’d scribbled out pretty much all the working out I had attempted to answer the question, but it was still legible enough for Derek to see what I had been doing.
“You were actually pretty close.” Derek told me.
“I was?” I asked.
“Yeah. You just forgot to use this equation first.” He told me tapping his finger to the bottom right corner of the textbook I’d been using as a pillow.
“Oh.” I said, looking back and forth between the textbook and my page of work.
“Try it again.” He encouraged me, and I nodded my head.
“Alright.” I agreed. Unsurprisingly I didn’t run into the same problems I’d been having before, and the numbers the calculator was now spitting out at me weren’t ten decimal places long either.
Derek beamed at me when I completed the question without any hiccups.
“Great.” He praised. “Now question two…” Derek continued to help me, reaching across for my pen, his arm brushing against mine.
He gently guided me through the questions I struggled with, circling the key words in each one to highlight their importance, and giving me gentle nudges when I made small mistakes like forgetting a negative symbol in front of my numbers.
By question 7b though the numbers were starting to blur together again and I was making mistakes more often as my concentration wavered. I propped my chin up on my calculator, trying to puzzle over the question.
“Bored?” Derek asked a second time.
“N-no. I already told you I’m just a bit tired is all.” I told him.
Derek nodded. “In that case we should probably take a break.” He reasoned.
I instantly brightened up. “A break?” I asked eagerly.
Derek raised an eyebrow at me. “Not bored?” He asked, teasingly.
I ducked my head down, hiding my embarrassed wince.
“Yeah a break.” He answered, closing his on textbooks and pushing them aside.
I beamed happily sitting up, and closing my own textbook before he changed his mind. “Good thinking.” I praised him, stretching my arms over my head before letting them fall to my sides again, feeling much more awake. “We could watch a film or something!” I continued keenly.
Derek’s lips stretched into a wide grin. “What film do you want to watch?” He asked.
“I don’t know…what’s your favourite film?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders, and mumbled something under his breath.
I frowned leaning forwards towards him. “I missed that.” I said tucking my hair behind my ear to hear him better. “Say it again?”
Derek blinked up at me. “Uhh...”
I gave him a confused look, and his cheeks flushed slightly red.
I cocked my head to the side.
He cleared his throat. “Megamind.” He said.
I grinned at him. “And here I thought you were going to say something like ‘star wars’.”
“Star wars is more than one film.” He pointed out.
I grinned at him. “Which is your favourite?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m a stereotypical nerd don’t you?” He asked back.
I leant forwards so my fingers brushed the edges of his thick-rimmed glasses. “Pretty much.” I told him teasingly.
He pulled a face. “The Empire Strikes Back.” He told me, answering my question.
I cocked my head to the side. “Want to know something cool?”
He gave me a wary look. “Yeah?”
“My favourite film is Megamind as well.” I confessed.
“It is?” He asked in surprise.
I nodded my head, grinning happily from ear to ear.
He gave me a questioning look. “What’s that smile for?” He asked.
I shrugged my shoulders slightly. “This is the first time we’ve found something we properly have in common.” I told him chirpily. For the past few days it seemed like everyone had been determined to point out Derek’s and my differences – asking me if we were actually well suited to one another or not.
It felt nice to have something in common. Even if it was a small thing like a favourite movie.
Derek gave me a thoughtful look. “I-I’m sure we have other things in common too.” He said. “What’s your favourite colour?”
“Pink.” I told him, my lips quirking slightly as I held in a small laugh.
“Oh.” His smile fell a bit.
“What’s your favourite colour?” I asked him.
“Blue.” He said quietly. “But I’m sure we have other things in common.” He repeated quickly. “We…both hate bus rides.” He said. “And…enjoy dancing.” He concluded.
I bit back my ever growing smile. “I thought you hated dancing.” I said raising an eyebrow at him.
His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I’m not good at dancing – but I don’t hate it… I like dancing with you.” He finished, his eyes not meeting mine. My heart squeezed slightly.
He turned his head so he was facing forwards, and away from me once again, so I moved to the edge of the bed, letting my legs hang at either side of him as I leant over him.
Gently I titled his head back so we were looking at each other again.
“I’m terrible as video games…but I like playing them with you.” I told him. “And…even maths was kind of fun with you helping me.” I said.
His lips spread into a wide grin as he shook his head slightly. “Okay, not even I enjoy maths.” He said laughingly.
My cheeks warmed with a light blush.
“You know what that means?” He asked.
“What?”
“You’re a bigger nerd than me.” He beamed a teasing glint in his eyes.
I laughed a little. “You know what? You’re right.” I told him. “I should have these instead of you.” I said taking his glasses off gently, trying them on.
The whole world turned fuzzy.
“Wow your eyesight’s terrible.” I commented, looking around the room.
“No I thought I wore them because I had perfect vision.” Derek said sarcastically.
I lifted up his glasses to look down at him, a small grin taking over my lips. “Interesting.” I mused.
“What is?” Derek asked.
“The superman effect.” I said thoughtfully. “Take away your glasses and you transform from mild Derek Reed into Super Sassy Guy.” I teased.
Derek scrunched up his nose in thought. “Not sure I like the word sassy.” He said.
I laughed. “What word would you like instead?” I quizzed him with humour.
He paused, thinking about it. “How about ‘quippy’?” He suggested.
I tilted my head to the side. “I’m not sure that’s a word.”
He frowned. “It should be.”
“You should write to the dictionary people.”
“Lexicographers.”
“What?” I asked.
“People who write dictionaries are called lexicographers.”
I stared down at him. “How do you even know these things?” I asked.
“I…honestly don’t know.” He said.
“Nerd.” I teased. “Here. You’ve earned these back.” I said carefully putting his glasses on, making sure not to stab him in the eye with one of the arms.
“Ahhhh…” He said. “I can see again.”
I took his face in my hands, my fingers lightly tracing the lines on his face. “Glasses suit you.” I told him honestly – though I hadn’t really looked at what he had looked like without them.
“They probably looked better on you.” He said. “Can’t say for sure of course, because I couldn’t see a darn thing.”
I chuckled. “I’ll take the compliment.” I accepted playfully, running my thumb along his cheekbone just under his glasses.
I leant in closer to him. “So you’re short sighted right?” I asked him.
“Extremely.” He said.
“So how close would I have to be for you to be able to see me clearly without your glasses on?” I asked, leaning even closer. “Here?”
There was about thirty centimetres between us.
“A bit closer.” Derek said quietly.
I inched towards him gently.
“About there.” Derek said when there was about six inches between our noses, his voice coming out slightly strained. I understood the feeling. It had felt like my throat had tightened being this close to Derek.
I stayed where I was, my hair falling around us acting as a shield between us and the rest of the world.
Silence stilled the air around us.
“You know, you’ve not kissed me since we started dating.” I told him quietly. If there had been much more distance between us, or if his hearing had been half as bad as his eyesight, he probably wouldn’t have heard me say anything.
Derek visibly swallowed, and I worried for a brief moment if I’d made him extremely uncomfortable by being so forward. Until he spoke.
“Do you want me to?” He asked.
“Yes.” I refrained from saying ‘duh’.
Derek seemed to let out a small breath of relief, before he gave me a quick grin. “Good.” He said so softly I barely heard him.
Swiftly he rose to his knees, before turning around to face me. Sometimes I forgot how tall Derek was, but he was close to the same height kneeling on the floor as I was to him whilst sitting on the bed.
I wasn’t given much time to think about it. Both his hands reached for me, either side of my head. His fingers gently found the back of my neck, drawing me closer to him.
My heart raced unevenly as he pressed his lips to mine.
A soft demanding kiss.
A felt my troubles floating away as I kissed him back. I scooted closer to the edge of the bed. Closer to him, as my hands moved to rest on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat beneath my palm, but my own thundering pulse drowned out the rhythm of his.
Eventually he pulled away, and I did the same slowly catching my breath, but I kept a hold on his shirt.
I liked being this close.
Derek’s hands moved from the nape of my neck, slowly down to my hips, resting there. They’d left a trail of warmth over my arms and shoulders, where his skin had brushed against mine.
“In the future,” I said my voice coming out breathier than usual. “You don’t have to ask before you kiss me.” I told him, giving him a small smile.
Smiling back a little sheepishly he nodded his head. “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, squeezing my waist ever so slightly.
“So want to watch that film now?” Derek asked.
“Yeah. Megamind?” I asked eagerly.
He nodded his head. “Sure.” He agreed standing to his feet and moving over to his DVD collecting.
Once he had set up the DVD I moved so I was only taking up one side of the bed and gestured for him to come sit next to me. He did and I curled myself up next to him, stealing his warmth by keeping as close to him as possible.
At some point during the film I ended up falling asleep, the fact I’d only gotten a couple of hours the night before finally catching up to me like it had threatened to all day.
Derek’s P.O.V:
I was careful not to move too much as Willow slept soundly at my side, remembering her words about being tired before.
It felt bizarre how at ease I felt with her by my side.
My lungs lost a bit of breath as she pressed herself closer to me, seeking warmth.
Trying not to jostle her too much, I pulled the thin extra blankets, which hung from the end of my bed ready for winter, over her shoulders. As I did some of her hair fell over her face, and my hand went automatically to brush it away for her.
As I brushed her hair back, the tips of my fingers grazed her neck gently, and she instantly squirmed away – a tight smile twisting onto her lips and her shoulder moved up protectively.
I grinned widely as I realised that she was ticklish on her neck.
Another thing we had in common.
I made a mental note to tell her, remembering how brightly she had smiled when she found out we shared the same favourite film.
Would she smile like that again?
Pushing the thought out of my head I turned my attention back to the film. I’d already turned the sound lower and put the subtitles on so I could watch it without making too much noise.
It was only when her phone started ringing almost an hour later that Willow stirred. Stretching softly she rubbed her eyes. “Is that my phone?” She asked groggily.
“Yeah.” I answered her question reaching for her phone on the other end of the bed, and passing it to her.
“Thanks.” She said, giving me a grateful smile before she answered the call.
“Hey, Uncle Charles?” She asked.
I tuned out from the conversation and continued to watch the film so I didn’t eavesdrop. It was hard not to pay attention to Willow though. Every time she moved I’d catch it from the corner of my eye and she as simply as that she caught my attention all over again.
The phone call didn’t last long, but Willow looked a lot more awake by the time it had finished.
“That was my Uncle calling. Apparently I have to go.” Willow said with a sheepish wince. “Sorry about falling asleep on you.” She apologised.
I quickly shook my head. “I didn’t mind.” I told her. “Want me to walk you back?”
She smiled softly at me. “No need.” She said. “I brought my car here, remember?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Though that does remind me…are you busy this weekend?” She asked.
“Not that I know of.” I said, trying to recall any plans I might have made.
“How do you feel about coming to my house?” She suggested. “My Uncle said he’d like to meet you again properly, because we’re dating now. So what do you think? Want to come?”
I grinned at the nervousness in her voice. “I’d love to.” I told her honestly.
I knew her Uncle meant a lot to her – so I definitely wanted to meet him again.
I saw her visibly relax and she grinned. “Great. I’ll let him know.” She glanced down at her phone, looking at the time. She let out a sigh. “And now I really have to go.” She said frowning a little again.
I picked up her books, and helped her carry them to her car.
Once she had driven off around the corner I went back inside, trying to fight off an excited grin. I almost walked straight into my stepbrother without noticing. Stumbling to a stop just in time I winced when he shot me a death glare.
“S-sorry.” I apologised.
He continued to glower wordlessly at me.
I flinched.
He’d been like this ever since I had started dating Willow. We were apparently no longer on speaking terms, but instead of just ignoring me like he used to he now gave me the darkest glares he could muster.
To say he was angry with me would be an understatement, and for once I fully understood why.
I wasn’t exactly the most social teenager, but even I was aware it was a dick move to start dating a girl that your brother wanted.
He’d even asked me to help him.
“Look about-” I started, wanting to properly apologise at very least, but his glare had my words sticking in my throat and before I could pry them free he was already walking away.
I winced.
Yeah. He was definitely mad.
…But I couldn’t make myself feel regretful. Horribly guilty? Yes. But regretful? Not when it came to Willow.
And that made Spencer’s anger ten times more justifiable.
___
That's it for now! Next update I do will probably be for My Happily Never After for any of you who read that :P
ANYWHO ONE MONTH TILL CHRISTMAS!!!!!! (HAVING SUCH A HAPPY FIT ABOUT THIS) I should probably try get some sleep soon I'm going to go see mocking jay part one (so annoyed that they split it in two btw) later - and I'd hate to fall asleep in the middle of it <3 x
STAY BEAUTIFUL - LIKKLEANGEL