Chapter 42

I sat on a chair at the corner of the room, with my leg bouncing anxiously. I watched as Chase and Wesley fought in the middle of the room, while Lindsey stood by my side. Her leg, too, bounced up and down anxiously as she watched the training session unfolding in front of our eyes. We both grimaced simultaneously when Wesley brought Chase to the ground in a painful manner. Chase let out a groan in displeasure as he arched his back in pain. He gritted his teeth and punched the floor in frustration.

My lips tugged downward in a frown as I ran a hand over my forehead and hair. Wesley helped Chase to his feet and told him something before patting him on the shoulder. I ruffled my own hair a bit in frustration and heaved an exasperated breath through my nose. I sensed someone crouching down in front of me, and I lifted my eyes to see Chase's frown.

"I will try my best to win, Amelia," he mumbled with little hope.

I stared into his eyes for a moment, before handing him a bottle of water half-heartedly.

He took a seat beside me and I could see Wesley and Lindsey conversing a few feet away from us from the corner of my eye. I didn't even try to eavesdrop as I focused my attention mainly on the boy sitting beside me.

His right cheekbone was covered in a dark bruise due to the training and his nose was slightly crooked. There was a stubble already growing from the lack of shaving this past week. His brown hair was longer and disheveled, making him look attractive in a new kind of way. He took the glasses from the floor and put them on, making a ghost of a smile appear on my lips.

"You shouldn't be doing this," I said.

He took one last gulp of water before he placed the bottle down and turned his body to face me fully. He grabbed both my hands in his and pondered for a minute. "Perhaps I shouldn't, but I'm done running away from the danger I know will follow me always. It's time I face it once and for all, even if I end up losing," he told me, and my smile turned into a frown. He didn't meet my eyes once, but his eyes remained at our joined hands instead.

I pulled his hands slightly to grab his attention, and his eyes met mine. "Thinking like that will only result in you losing. Look, even if I don't approve with the tiniest bit of this deal, you should find some motivation to kick some ass," I scolded and squeezed his hands for good measure.

"I only have what—three days left to train? I have only been able to take Wesley down twice in these four days. How many times has he taken me down? Twenty-three. Amelia, if I can't even win against him, how will I be able to take Bryce down?" he asked in frustration.

I bit down on my own lip as my jaw clenched in irritation. I held his hands firmly and stood up, dragging him with me to the middle of the training room.

"Hit me," I said through clenched teeth. 

His eyes widened a fraction and he shook his head vigorously. "I'm not going to fight you," he said pointedly.

"Yes, you are," I deadpanned. When he went to shake his head, I sent a sharp slap through his left cheek, making his head whip to the side, and I saw the slightest hint of his jaw clenching.

I pushed him harshly. "Stop being such a bitch and hit me."

He stumbled backward and kept his gaze trained to the side, avoiding me.

I pressed on, pushing him once again making him fall and land on his bottom. I kicked his leg and he winced a little in pain. My eyes turned ice cold as I glared down at him, waiting for him to break. "Come on, you coward. You asked for it, now stand up and fight me!" I shouted.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, keeping his composure. "This will get you nowhere, Amelia," he said while standing up. He opened his eyes and glared at me pointedly. "I am not going to fight you."

We'll see about that, I thought.

My chest was heavy. Each breath I took felt painful at the pain I was about to inflict on him. I braced myself and kept my eyes set in a hard glare to not give off my façade. "Oh, come on, nerd. We both know that there's a part of you which wants to fight me," I spat.

He bit the inside of his cheeks, yet still kept his gaze away from me.

I continued, "If it weren't for me, you would still be walking around the school with your stupid books without having to worry about being killed."

"Amelia, stop," he warned.

I smirked in the slightest and pushed him once more, sending him crashing into the wall behind him. "You would still be living a happy life with your mother," I said. "You wouldn't be feeling so useless and powerless. Go on, nerd, stop being so weak."

"Stop," he said through clenched teeth.

Almost there...

"Lily, I think you should stop," Lindsey said from behind me.

"That's what you've been all along, a weak, bitchy coward," I seethed, ignoring their warnings. I slapped him once, twice, then pulled at his shirt. Chase's brown orbs turned a shade darker, and then I knew I achieved my goal.

"Shut up!" he shouted and pushed me off him.

I crashed to the ground due to such brute force. Chase's kind and innocent expression morphed into one of rage, scaring me momentarily. I scurried to my feet and stood in my fighting stance, while staring at him intently.

Chase stomped over to me and threw a blind punch, which I instantly dodged. My feet gave up under me when he kicked the back of my knees and sent me to the floor once again. His fist made its way to my face, but I rolled my head to the side and heard his fist collide with the matt centimeters away from me.

Never piss the nerd off.

I kicked his abdomen and jumped to my feet, sending a right hook toward his cheek. He grabbed my wrist before I could hit him, and he kicked my abdomen back. I staggered backward, the air being knocked out of my lungs.

His hand held my wrist in a tight grip, preventing me from crashing into the wall. With his eyes now a little lighter, he twisted me around, forcing my arm over my back. He pressed me against the wall, causing my cheek to squish against the hard surface.

I let out a painful groan and smacked my free hand repeatedly onto the wall, a sign of surrender. He slowly let go of my arm as his warm, rapid breath fanned my neck. I cradled my arm against my chest softly and turned around to face him. A satisfied smirk adorned my lips.

"If you can win against me, you can win against Bryce. You just needed a good reason to," I whispered to him since he was standing close enough to hear me. He just stood there, regaining his breath with a scowl on his face. I gave him a sad smile and squeezed his shoulder, knowing for a fact that the words from just minutes ago were still present in his mind.

I stepped around him and walked to where our things were at. I massaged my arm absentmindedly as I grabbed my bottle of water and walked past Lindsey and Wesley who were standing there dumbfounded. Before I walked out of the training room, I called over my shoulder, "Training is over for today."

I made my way to my temporary room and went straight to my drawers. I pulled out some sweatpants, sports bra, and underwear before strolling inside the bathroom. I opened the key to the shower and stripped while the water got warm. I stepped under the shower and took my time washing my hair and body. Once I was finished, I dried myself and threw my clothes on.

I stepped out of the bathroom while scrubbing my hair with the towel, only to stop dead in my tracks. Chase was standing in the middle of the room, head hung low and hands deep inside the pockets of his sweatpants. I slowly hung the towel on the backrest of a chair and stood a few feet behind him.

"I was expecting you to be mad at me for the rest of the day," I said. He lifted a hand from his pocket to scratch at the back of his head.

"Perhaps I am," he answered after a few moments.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, my lips set in a thin line. My heartbeat slowly increased in anticipation, not expecting him to be in my room so soon.

"Those words you said back there, they hurt, Amelia," he muttered, and I frowned.

"I know," I said and looked down. "You needed fuel added to your fire for you to finally snap and react. If you didn't snap out of the way you were thinking, you would've never won against me or anyone for that matter."

"Did you mean them?" he asked so low that I had to step closer to listen to him.

"Not all of it," I admitted. "At least not the part where I called you those things. I could never mean any of them, no matter how mad I get."

He turned around to face me finally, his eyes a blank stare as they looked at me. I stared back at him with the same blank stare, my shoulders tensing and my lips going back to a thin line. I wasn't going to show any more vulnerability around him anymore. He scoffed and ran a hand down his face in frustration.

"I sometimes don't understand you, Amelia," he said, now advancing forward. I stepped backward. "Your eyes back there held this dangerous glint to them while saying those things making me believe them. Now, you say you didn't mean them and look so indifferent about the situation that it only makes me think you're lying, even though I know that you're telling the truth."

"I think you should leave," I said calmly, yet looked down as I felt my barrier start to break down. He kept moving forward until I didn't have more room to step back. I pressed my back against the wall as he stood mere centimeters away from me.

"Look at me," he ordered. I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling vulnerable under his strong gaze as I shook my head.

"Look at me," he ordered again, only this time, in a whisper. I clenched my jaw and finally looked up at him. The moment I did so, his lips came crashing onto mine hard, taking me entirely by surprise. My eyes widened astonished and his body then pressed against mine, the kiss getting heated. I instantly got lost in the feeling, my eyes fluttering shut and arms going around his neck.

His hands moved to my bare waist and held me firmly then licked my lower lip. I granted him entrance and he took it instantly, our tongues battling for dominance. He bit down on my lip, earning a breathy moan from me as I let him win. He started kissing down my jaw and neck, kissing on a certain spot that made me throw my head back against the wall.

He kissed his way back up to my lips and attacked them once more in a passionate kiss. A knock at my door made us spring apart from one another, both of us a breathing mess. We stared at each other, and I was startled to find a hint of lust under in his gaze. Was this really Chase?

"Food's ready. Get your asses down before it gets cold!" Wesley spoke from the other side of the door then left. Chase looked down at me and gave me one last kiss, before slowly walking away to the door. I stood there dumbfounded, my mind whirring over the events that just took place here.

"You really piss me off sometimes," he said and walked out.

I should definitely piss the nerd more often.

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[Edited: September 17th, 2020 by mich_44]

Steamy ending right there. Well, not too steamy, but it has a little heat. The nerd isn't much of a nerd anymore. How exciting! Tell me your thoughts on the chapter and vote if you liked it xx