half/closer

half / 16 [1/2]

"What's gotten into your foul mood?" Alec asked as he dribbled the basketball repeatedly against the concrete of the school track and field.

Rolling my eyes, I gulped down the energy drink I was holding before I acknowledged his presence. "And why are you here? As I remember, you don't play any sports for our school."

"I need to talk to you," he said, gripping the ball between his hands.

"You always need to talk to me. Tell me, Alec. You sneaked into my room not because of Xander, right?" I questioned suspiciously. Alec would never let himself get into trouble just because Xander asked for help. He was better than being his chained puppy.

Letting out a sigh, he looked at me apologetically then he glanced over his shoulder. The cheerleading squad was on break, stretching their muscles before our dance routine so he was free to annoy me. Well, maybe it was good that he was bothering me, or else I would just stare longingly at the soccer field which was being occupied by the soccer team, of course. And Khloe Summer belonged to the team who was playing as our forward. And that forward player hasn't talked to me since Monday... since I apologized.

And today was already Wednesday.

Ughh, why did she have to be difficult?!

"You're right!" Alec's voiced out, getting me out of the daze and causing me to shake my head in amusement.

"Spill it out!"

Alec surprisingly averted his eyes in coyness then he cleared his throat. "Uhhm, what do you think about Cathy?"

My eyes widened, tilting my head slightly in shock. "So you like Cathy, huh?" I teased with a devious smile as I referred to our squad manager.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck timidly. "Well, yeah. C-Can you help me... with her?"

I laughed out loud as I hit his arms playfully. "You're a wuss. You can't even ask her out yourself."

He groaned as he threatened to throw the ball at my face which I knew he would never do. "C'mon! Help me! At least, open a conversation with her about me so that I will know what she thinks of me."

"She thinks you're barbaric."

Alec dropped his mouth open in disbelief. "No! Hilary, Tell her I'm not barbaric! I'm a gentleman but not barbaric."

I burst out laughing again. "I-I know. I know, darling. I'm just kidding. She never said that to me."

To my surprise, he flipped me off before punching the ball with his fist in annoyance. "You're such a loser! I'm serious with her."

Shaking my head again, a mischievous smile crept on my lips. "Do you really want my help?"

Alec nodded eagerly like a kid receiving her smartphone for the first time.

Turning to my group, I spotted Cathy seated on the bottommost row of bleachers. She was too engrossed on her laptop, undoubtedly making our practice schedule for the upcoming football game. Yup, she was too absorbed in her own duties so she probably didn't have time to play with romance.

It was time to change it.

Without further ado, I tugged Alec's shirt and forcefully dragged him in her direction. "Cathy!"

My voice immediately got her attention and I felt Alec tensed behind me. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" he panicked but he was following me anyway.

"Come here for a minute, Cathy!" I called out again so she immediately stood up and approached me halfway. I tightened my grip onto Alec's shirt so he wouldn't be able to escape this golden opportunity.

"What's up, Ry?" Cathy asked as she fixed her glasses on her eyes. She was pretty for a nerd and her body curves were in the right places so I wasn't surprised that Alec had developed a crush on her.

Chuckling to myself, I stepped back and regarded the boy beside me. "Alec here wants to ask you something."

The raven-haired girl looked up at Alec with confusion and there was no indication of judgment in those dark eyes which was good. The latter was completely stunned at his own place. He may be tough outside but Alec was a dork individual. But still, he was strong and brave.

Holding the ball between his hand and hip, Alec stood straight up as he gazed down at his little crush. "Can-Can I get your number? I want us to be friends. I-If you want, of course."

Oh, he was a stuttering mess.

Cathy frowned and then she glanced at me. I gave her a reassuring smile and thumbs up, indicating that I approved. "Isn't he your boyfriend, Ry? Are you fine with that?" she whispered to me.

I chuckled in disbelief before nudging Alec in his arms. "He's not my boyfriend. How many times do I have to clear that up?"

"Yeah, yeah! We're not together. That's impossible. She's not even my type!!" Alec hollered which caught the attention of the students around us.

I gawked at Alec in disbelief and Cathy laughed at his outrageous denial. This i***t! How could he scream out loud that I wasn't even his type?! Although I was only into a certain brunette, I could roughly tell that twenty-five percent of the student body completely adored me. Of course, the rest of the numbers were for my friends.

Dammit!

"That's quite bold, Alec," Cathy commented as she laughed softly. Then she held her hand out and smiled sweetly at Alec who just deformed my reputation. "We can be friends, I guess."

I pouted as I witnessed them exchange their numbers. How fortunate that they could freely do what they want. Although, I was happy for both of them and of course, with everyone in love around me.

Romance was thriving everywhere.

Senior year was the age of romantic chances. It was the time for confession and floating emotions so that you wouldn't have any regrets when you go to college or apply for university. Everyone would eventually have to leave and only memories rest. As for me, it was the period to form a passage for my future endeavors- dreams I didn't even want in the first place.

I envied them so much. They could freely fight for something they longed for, things that their hearts desire. So as long as I could hold onto someone, it was enough for me. I could declare my feelings to her anytime but I wouldn't risk it. It was better to have Khloe in the state we were in than to be rejected straightway.

Even so, I wouldn't want to regret not being able to confess to her. I decided that I would have to wait until graduation. So afterward, I would be able to tell myself that I had gained the courage to fight for one thing I craved for.

I didn't want Khloe to be one of my regrets.

"Watch out!!"

A loud voice drew me out of my trance and I turned sideways in terror. However, it was already too late when something hit me hard on my head.

I felt myself stumbled backward, my body fell into a pair of strong arms. I heard Cathy's concerned voice as my sight doubled up in fuzziness. The blue sky was slowly getting darker and eventually I felt like I was floating as my consciousness was being detached from reality.

And the last thing I've seen was the face of the girl who was always in my mind before I tumbled into widespread darkness.

•••••

A squeeze in my hand slowly brought me out of my slumber. Opening my eyes, the sight of the white ceiling made me realized that I fainted after I took a hit. Whoever knocked me in the head, they must pay for it. This was the first time I've experienced this. A while ago, I was probably the center of attention and I couldn't imagine how stupid I looked when I collapsed. Alec had already denied loudly that I wasn't his type and then someone had the guts to black me out after?

"She's awake, "I heard Cathy say to someone, causing my head to turn but winced when I felt a little dizziness.

"Slow down," the clinic nurse said softly as she walked near me then assisted me to sit up.

As I finally cleared myself out of a daze, I observed my surroundings. I was sitting on one of the clinic beds which was divided by the others with cream curtains. Alec was sitting on the stool chair as he held my hand in concern while Cathy was standing behind him with a worried look on her face.

On the other side of the bed, Mrs. Jenkins, our school nurse, was standing beside Mrs. Russel, our couch, and then followed by Mr. Wells, the soccer coach, who was staring down at me with a poker face.

"Are you completely aware of yourself now, Miss Damien?" Mrs. Jenkins asked and I promptly nodded. "How are you feeling?" she then questioned as she checked both of my eyes with a tiny flashlight, causing me to wince.

"I-I think I'm gonna be fine," I answered, but then my head burnt inside. "My head is hurting a bit though."

"Concussion," my nurse uttered, earning sighs from the two coaches who watching me like I was a foreign entity.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Mrs. Jenkins assured all of us. "But I need to ask you questions before I release you from here. For precautions, alright?"

I nodded obediently, letting out a soft smile.

"Do you want us to call your parents?" my coach suggested.

"No, please," I refused too quickly. "I'm clearly fine so you don't have to call them."

The last thing I wanted was to give them a lot more reason to restrain me.

"I'll drive her home," this time, Alec proposed.

"No way," I said firmly as my eyes enlarged at him. He should know that he was not allowed in the estate because of the incident we had last weekend.

In my relief, Alec immediately understood. "Oh, right. I forgot. I don't have my car with me," he made a fabricated excuse instead.

"Sorry, I also don't have my car today. I came with Fiona," Cathy said sadly to me.

In the corner of my eyes, Mr. Wells walked closer, and then he pushed the clinic curtain aside, revealing my brunette who was sitting on the other bed. "That leaves for you to take her home, Miss Summer. You really hit her hard so she's your responsibility now. Don't tell me you don't have your car today."

Oh god! Khloe was the one who hit me?!!

"It was an accident, Couch," she groaned and she couldn't even look at me. "But, fine! I will take her home."

"That's settled then," Mrs. Jenkins clapped her hands together. "Will all of you head out now except for you, of course," she said as she pointed to Khloe.

Before leaving, Alec kissed me on my head while Cathy told me that the rest of the girls would be pleased with the great news- that I was totally fine. Mrs. Russel told me that I could head home early. The cheerleading squad would continue their practice though.

The nurse asked me general questions and then gave me an Aspirin for me to drink after I eat, in case my headache was still occurring. Khloe remained quiet as she impatiently waited for me. Of course, it really hurt me that she was disregarding me all this week but it hurt me more to think that she wasn't even worried about me. She was the one who hit me in the first place.

Apologizing is a start but I doubted she would start anyway.

Once Mrs. Jenkins released me, Khloe and I began to head out. She led me into the cheerleading locker room so that I could get my things and change my clothes while she ran to do her own thing in their own room. After waiting for her to finish everything, we met at the school entrance and then we began to walk side by side in the middle of the parking lot, an awkward silence was in the air between us.

What was her problem?!

In my annoyance, I halted and tugged her arm forcefully. "Look, if you really don't want to drive me home, can you just give me your phone so that I can call my driver?"

Khloe scowled as she clenched her jaw. "Why don't you use yours?"

I rolled my eyes. "Because I don't have it. I'm grounded... Ring any bell?"

Filching her arm from me, she continued to head towards her car, completely ignoring my sarcastic approach.

I groaned, loud enough for her to hear as I trailed behind her. Khloe sauntered towards the passenger side and opened the door of the car for me, motioning me to go in.

"Careful, we don't want to hit your head again," she said with a blank expression on her face.

Although I found her sweet for her chivalry, I brushed it off, reminding myself not to be swayed. She avoided me for almost three days, giving me a cold treatment so a simple gesture wouldn't do at all.

Once we settled in, she drove out of the school, an irritating silence was still in the air. I just stared out of the window, trying not to cry at her behavior. Even my headache was killing me.

I'd never seen her treat someone like this. Khloe was always lively and uplifting. She was always cool and composed so what did I ever do to her? Did I really make a grave mistake for her to treat me like this? I was expecting her to understand me, to cope with me but she was giving me a hellish kind of a week.

I was stressed enough dealing with my parents at home so why did she also have to be hard on me?

While questions continued to pile up in my head, a soft sniffle came out from my mouth and a tear escaped from my eye. Gosh, I couldn't help it!

I couldn't take Khloe being mad at me.

"Don't cry," I heard her mutter.

Rubbing the lone tear out of my cheek, I gave her a piercing glare. "Don't cry?! Are you kidding me?! Don't pretend you care for me."

With a troubled look, Khloe sighed deeply, and then she turned the stirring wheel. She pulled out on the side of the road. Regarding my presence, she tilted her head to look at me. "You always assume things."

My blood boiled at her response. "No, Klo. You won't deceive me this time. I know you're purposely avoiding me. Why? Because I didn't show up? What the hell, Klo? I told you already. What else do you want from me? I came to apologize to you but it seems like it was nothing to you."

I saw her gripped the wheel hard, eyes already intensified with rage as she glowered back at me. "Yes! I'm avoiding you," she admitted, her voice rose, causing me to freeze at my own place. "Do you know the reason why I treat you like this? Because you're literally driving me crazy, Hilary!! Do you know how worried I was when you didn't show up?! I tried to call you so many times but you couldn't even answer your goddamn phone. I know you hate being late so I thought... I thought you were abducted in the woods or had an accident on the way. And the stupid me got so worried and searched for you until sundown. And when I couldn't find you, I headed straight to your house, only to discover from your father that you were there as if you don't care that someone was waiting for you! So your sorry is not enough because you don't have any idea... you don't have any idea how scared I was!"

After her sudden outburst, my eyes bulged out while my mouth hung open in total surprise. Khloe was panting hard as her penetrating forest orbs remained sealed with mine. Finally, all her words fell into my brain like a violent squall. She was worried about me? She was scared for me?

My gaze softened as my body reflexively neared forward to her. "I'm- I'm sorry, Klo. I don't have any idea what you went through. Please forgive me... I wasn't able to talk to you because Dad was watching me like a hawk."

Khloe's frown deepened but she looked like she was already calming down. "Your Dad didn't even allow me to enter your house."

I let out a problematic sigh. "Sorry about that."

Then and there, a silence plunged again between us, although this time, we were staring at each other's eyes. There was a full of sincerity in those orbs and I couldn't help but blush. Khloe was upset because I made her worried. She was avoiding me because I unintentionally made a huge mistake. Although I was disappointed in myself, I was happy inside because she cared for me this much, to the extent she would search for me until sundown. Did it mean anything at all?

After a moment of silence, Khloe released an enormous breath as the hues of her eyes fizzled, reflecting mine. "Look, I'm sorry for avoiding you. It was really immature. And for hitting your head... it was an accident."

"It's fine, I guess," I managed to say and chuckled. "My head is still hurting though. You really hit me hard."

Khloe pulled a distressed look. She raised her hand and then caressed the side of my head carefully. Her touch was always warm and I loved the feeling of it. Gosh, I terribly missed her.

"I can kiss it better," she suggested, her lips cast a foxy smile.

"Oh yeah," I laughed out, although I was already a blushing mess.

Leaning forward, she stroke my cheek before placing a light kiss on my temple. I caught the fragrance of her closeness. She smelt like a mix of fresh sweat and a little bit of sweet perfume. Khloe would sometimes smell like a certain flower and I wondered what product she was using or it was just her natural odor.

Drawing slightly away, I bit my lips as I gazed at her adorable face again, which caused her eyes to fall onto my lips. I could stare at her forever but I bet it wouldn't do for me because it'd been days since we last kissed.

Deprived of inhibition, we both tended forward and finally, our lips met in a soft blaze. The flesh of her lips was somewhat lenient yet it ignited the sleeping fervor into my core. All the atoms in my body recognized every trace of her moving lips onto mine and it was slowly puncturing my needs.

The needs of her-all of her. She was mine. Khloe was mine alone!!

Seeming to resemble the desire in me, she sensibly cupped the back of my head, her fingers tangling in my golden hair, and our lips' motion turned to a lively dance. My hands had their own mind as I rested them on her shoulders, gripping the fabric of her varsity jacket.

Whilst her other hand stroked the skin of my thigh under my cheerleading pleated skirt, she slipped her tongue into my mouth, earning a throaty moan from me. The air inside the car was steaming hot as our tongues glided against each other in a hot soaring kiss.

I was slowly falling into an abyss of lust and when she drew her lips away only to squeeze my bottom lip between hers, I clearly knew that I wanted more.

Not satisfied, I moved from my place and straddled her on the driver's seat. We were both panting, giving an illusion of a sensual fog around us which divided our presence from the outside world of this contracted space.

I kissed her hard and our breath caught out from the collision. Arms around her neck, hands gripping my waist under my cheer tops, our lips were in a tangled hurried mess. It felt like we were thirsty for each other- predators who were lavishly consuming each other after days of starvation.

Due to extreme desire, I started to grind my body against hers and the sensation of our lips and hips movement brought a warm, tingling pulsation between my legs. And it all began-my body was getting hotter each second, attentive to how soft my skin felt against her. The caress of her hands slipping on my butt sent me quivering in chaos. I had trouble thinking anymore and all I wanted was my desire to be filled by her.

Khloe was driving me insane!

"W-Wait," she murmured as she pulled away.

I hummed, my lips trailed open-mouthed kisses on her neck.

Khloe chuckled, sending vibrations to her throat. "Wait, B-Boots. I have an idea."

"Y-Yeah?" I breathed out without any interest. But then, in my frustration, she gently pushed me away. I gave her a look of disbelief. Couldn't she just keep quiet and enjoy the moment?!

Khloe looked at me with amusement in her eyes, although they were still darkened with hunger. "We don't want you to leave any marks, do we?"

Oh hell! I would leave a lot of bite marks so that they could tell that she was already somebody's property, especially to that Xander.

"Hey, listen to me," Khloe spoke again, and then she pressed my cheeks playfully to get my full attention.

"What?" I pouted, totally aware of our position. However, I remained seated on her lap because I wouldn't want to let go of her anyway.

"We have to go to an electronic store," she said and I grumbled out loud. Seriously?! She stopped our make-out session because she needed to go to some bullshit store?!

"C'mon, hop aside," she urged me to go back to my sit and even though I was disappointed, I eventually obliged and fixed my muddled self. I crossed my arms to emphasize my frustration, my face scrunched up in irritation. I refused to look at her because she was such a clam jammer.

Yes, I said it! I was really turned on and we were just getting to the good part but she had to stop it because of a stupid reason. She couldn't get a damn clue! Stupid Khloe, ugggh!

"Don't be like that," Khloe chuckled once she began to hit the road again. "We are okay, right?"

I sneered bitterly as a response. "Yeah, we are more than fine but I bet you don't want me to leave a mark because Xander will see it."

Dammit! I was jealous and I knew that I had no right to feel that way but I just couldn't help it.

Khloe sighed. "It's not that. Xander and I are clearly in an open relationship and we established that we can see other people. I just don't want Quinn to tease me all night."

Oh no! Xander wanted more!

I looked at her in curiosity when I remembered something. "By the way, Klo. She talked to me about us."

Khloe was somewhat astounded, her head tilted instantly to look at me. "W-What? What did she tell you?"

I bit my lips. "She knows about us."

Khloe frowned as she focused her attention back on the road. "Sorry, she forced it out from me because she started to notice things between us. She's really observant, you know."

I snickered. Gosh, Quinn! She was talking big about not pushing Khloe to do things she didn't want to do but she enforced out the information about us from her already. What a cunning move, indeed!

"What else did she say about us?"

"Nothing, she just told me that she already knew and she won't interfere because she trusts you anyway," I answered, leaving out the rest of my conversation with her sister. Of course, that must be set aside.

She nodded, turning her car to the service road. Once she parked on the sideway, in front of a little electronic shop, she headed out, telling me to just wait in her car.

To my relief, my headache was already gone but instead, my mind was filled with the sensual session we had not so long ago. Although I was glad that we got to that point, we almost stepped out of our boundaries. Holy s**t! I was glad that I didn't force myself further because if things got out of hand, I didn't know what would be the outcome.

I should've taken things slow. But I missed her so much so I couldn't blame myself in the first place. I wanted to kiss her like that again. It was really hot I couldn't keep up. It was absolutely my lust speaking though.

After a few minutes, Khloe returned with a paper bag in her hand. She beamed excitedly at me as she fished out something out of the bag.

In confusion, I looked at the familiar device when she handed it out to me. "Walkie-Talkie?"

She nodded with an adorable grin on her face. She took out her own device and showed it off to me. "Yeah, so we can talk from now on while you still don't have your phone. It's a long-range walkie-talkie and I already had them set up for us. Matching walkie-talkie with matching frequency."

I laughed in amusement. "Klo, you should've bought me a temporary phone."

The hazel-eyed brunette shrugged her shoulder. "Oh yeah, that's probably more convenient but I really wasn't thinking and just straight up bought it after I got the idea," she ranted before eyes shifted from me for some reason. "Sorry, I was just thinking about how to connect with you. It's just for the two of us."

'It's just for the two of us'. That statement swirled inside my brain like a whirlwind. My breath hitched while my heart rate sped up, slowly realizing that this device was only meant for us. This seemed like a couple rings or matching t-shirts. Oh god, I was such a dork!

"Okay, I'll return it and buy a phone instead," she exclaimed and tried to snatch away the device from me but I immediately gripped it to my side.

"No! I love it, Klo. This is perfect!" I said with a wide grin on my face.

She looked at me weirdly. "Are you sure?"

I nodded enthusiastically before leaning in to hold her face. I pecked her lips thrice, the last one was harder as I poured my appreciation to her. For making me simply happy like this after a terrible week. "I'm sure. Thank you."

Khloe laughed beautifully. "You want to test them out," she proposed and I nodded, turning on the tiny device.

Before we start, she hopped out of the car first and closed the door. She ran towards the other side of the road and waved at me, making me laugh at her antics. "Okay, walkie check. This is K.S. at your service. Message over... Do you copy?" she said, her static voice could be heard clearly.

Staring out the window, I held up the two-way radio with a smile. "Copy, K.S. This Is H.D. inside your car. Over," I replied and I remembered the day Cassie and I played like this in a military camp for kids. I couldn't believe I would use my code again after all those years.

"H.D., I have a question," Khloe said and then asked, "How do you organize a space party?"

I giggled. "How?"

I could see the beam on her face from my spot. "You plan-et!"

I rolled my eyes with a wide smile. "Ha-ha. That's corny, Klo."

"No, this is K.S.! And that's not corny!"

"It is!"

"No, but I have another one."

I couldn't tear off the smile on my face. "Okaaay?"

"Why did the banana go to the doctor?" she asked again with a mischievous look on her face.

I shook my head. "Why?"

"Duh! Because it wasn't peeling well," she hollered, raising her fist.

I laughed out loud, arching my head back. "Still not funny!"

Khloe narrowed her eyes at me and she stomped back towards her car. Once she was in, she pouted her lips, staring at me like a defeated kid. "C'mon, that's funny. You're laughing."

I persistently laughed at her stupid jokes. "Yeah, because they're lame, Klo."

She groaned. "Okay, I admit. Those are dumb," she stated then let out a burst of infectious laughter, making me flutter inside.

I laughed along with her, enjoying this exquisite moment. It was rare for Khloe to laugh like this and I was truly pleased that I was a part of the reason for the sound of her happiness. I would treasure this memory in my heart and wouldn't regret meeting with this amazing person no matter what.

Because Khloe was a person you would want to bump into in every life you could have.

•••••