Bound to You

Chapter 18: Challenge

20:00

Ileana put her romance novel down. She had just been reading the same paragraph over and over without understanding it. She couldn't focus no matter what she did. 

She wished for one Saturday where she wouldn't cry when visiting her father. He looked so in pain today and she was just helplessly watching him suffer. And her mother...the long hug she gave her was tighter as ever and she could still feel the chill. 

Definitely. There was something that she wasn't telling her. She just couldn't prevent the negativity from creeping in her mind. Why was it so hard? She got out of her bed to approach the vanity and clasped the photo that was stuck on the corner of the mirror. 

Her hands quivered. It showed her 15th birthday when her parents had organised a grand surprise birthday party for her. They had invited so many people, from her friends to their friends and now, when they needed support the most, there was basically no one.

Her window knocked and she jolted on the spot, scared. She stared at it for a moment, her heart racing in panic as she wondered what that weird noise could be. 

She swallowed hard and slowly approached the window, her hand trembling as she peeped through the curtain only to be astonished. She pulled the curtain, opened the window, staring at that badass boy who was waiting there. "Why are you here now?!"

He looked so stylish in that leather jacket and those jeans. His hair was just messy, telling her he probably rode his bike without wearing a helmet. 

"Hmpf, I don't think this pajama is the sexy dress I was expecting." He ran his hand in his scintillating hair and she just realised it was raining.

She wondered what he was talking about and when he just touched his own crystal necklace, she looked at him as if he was mad, "Oh no! I'm not coming! Have you seen the time?!"

Jace didn't drive all this way to hear that nonsense. He grabbed the window ledge and jumped inside, brushed his jacket to shake off the droplets of water. He was about to make a nasty comment when he noticed something strange on her face. 

He paused for a moment and she stepped back, alarmed at the way he was scrutinizing her. How was it normal that he thought he could come here whenever he wanted?! "You can't come in like that... Just go." 

"Oh you wanted me to use the door?" She sighed hysterically. 

He sniggered as he looked at her purple pajama covered with cute octopuses. So weird. He raised his finger to touch her nose, "Are you okay?" 

Something lit within her for an instant second and she breathed, "I'm fine." 

He was amused at the generic response she gave him. He allowed himself to walk inside and observe his surroundings. Her room was small but so cosy. He approached her shelf, noting that she had a lot and a lot of novels. Most of them were romance and thrillers. That was a pretty good collection. 

He walked till her study desk where her school books were neatly piled. He saw the cute origami animals that decorated one corner of her desk as if it was a mini zoo. He was about to reach for a blue paper dragon when she grabbed his arm and tugged at him, "Get out before someone sees you." 

He scoffed, "Oh no, we're not doing this, princess."

He brushed her hands away and said as he pointed out, "If you're sad then I want to know why."

How could he tell by merely looking at her? Were her eyes puffy? She was a total mess right now and nothing could be more embarrassing. She jogged to the vanity to stare at her reflection and no, she looked just like the normal girl that she was. So, how could he tell?

Jace half-smiled when she checked herself in the mirror. He knew she wasn't alright because it was written all over her face. He could not see that lively spirit in her eyes. And he knew how to light up any girls' mood. 

They were so easy to read, so easy to comfort and so easy to get. He really needed a challenge in the end. He checked out the clock hung on the wall and knew it wasn't too late.

She suddenly saw him in the mirror right behind her, still confused as to why he was invading her privacy. His arms surrounded her waist and effortlessly, he pulled her to him, hugging her from behind, "You don't have the right to be unhappy when you're with me." 

All the hairs on her body stood straight and she shivered, trying to push his hands away. What the hell was he doing?! He was a psycho. He only ended up securing her tighter against him. 

She lowered her head, reddening for all it mattered. His arms were so strong. She could feel the firm length of him behind her, covering her like her shadow. 

She fitted so perfectly. She smelt so good that he was himself stunned as he realised he didn't want to let go. And as he looked at her face in the mirror, he was surprised to find her all red. Her nails dug in his arm and she gritted, insisting, "I'm fine." 

He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, "No, you're not. Matter of fact." 

She snarled, "Why the hell are you harassing me?" 

She was so cute. He chuckled, his breath tickling her ear and he released her and she suddenly missed his arms. She crossly said, "Just go away. If Sierra ever finds out that—"

"Shhh. Just get ready. We'll have so much fun that you'll forget whatever's bothering you." 

She exclaimed, "I said no! It's a bad idea. I'm not like you. I can't just sneak out of my house in the middle of the night like that, you moron." 

He dived his hand in his hair, quite annoyed. None of the cheerleaders refused a night out with him. In fact, none of the girls he actually invited. They just loved it when he knocked at their window in the middle of the night and termed his actions as romantic when all he wanted was to spend his time, playing around. And here he was, facing that stubborn cute nerd.

"Fine. If it's going to be this way, I'd rather go to bed." There was a way to treat girls like her and if the gentle approach did not work, he had to do his kind of approach.

He removed his shoes one after the other and she was shocked, "What are you..." 

He gave her a warning, stopping her in her sentence, not wanting to be bothered. He stretched himself and walked to her bed. He jumped on it much to her surprise. She cringed and hurried by his side, held his arm to pull him away. 

He laughed, holding her shark plush and hugging it, "Be a good girl and let me sleep."

She exasperatedly asked, "Why are you doing this to me? I don't think you lack girls to accompany you to your hell." 

He clasped her wrist suddenly and pulled her close with a firm tug, her forehead almost colliding with him, "I'll be frank to you, princess. You're a challenge. That's why. Else I would have been entertaining myself with someone much hotter and much more exciting than you." 

She winced as he hurt her hand. "What do you mean by challenge?" 

Understanding he gripped her a bit too hard, he released her and said no more about it, "If you don't get dress, I'll strip myself naked and when Sierra comes, she'll find me in your bed and she'll know that we did the deed." 

"Eww, you're disgusting." 

"Thanks for the compliment. Now turn off the light and let me sleep, sunshine." He turned his back to her, found himself facing a thick novel and he tossed it away to take all the place he wanted. He closed his eyes. This bed was so warm and comfy. 

Ileana was frustrated as she picked up the romance book he so vulgarly threw to the carpet. He was such a...nuisance and he was holding her poor baby shark so tightly that she was sure that he was suffocating it. 

She was more bothered by the fact that he said she was a challenge though. Maybe that was what he was talking over the phone to Sam?

Whatever she did, one thing was sure. She'd land in trouble. Hum. Maybe she could actually call Sierra and tell her about Jace being a problem. But what if that i***t pull out a first class game and Sierra actually believed him. She was in such a dilemma. 

She looked at the clock. 08:12. She looked at her bed and had a sudden desire to just kill him off. Ugh. Furiously, she stormed to her wardrobe to take out that one dress she never got the occasion to wear before. 

She did not want to associate herself to him but she also didn't want to land in trouble with Sierra again. God, she already disappointed her aunt by coming up late from the arcade the other day all that because of Jace. 

She dashed to the bathroom to change. Sneaking out was the best thing to do, she decided. And about Jace...she'd just give him a piece of her mind. She'd actually make him regret taking her out again. Was that a sort of date? She didn't want to know. 

The idea of going with him scared her but there was something definitely reassuring in his cocky voice. He'd not hurt her. She swallowed hard as she applied a light makeup. But what if he did? He was a psycho, right? This was better than facing an angry or suspicious Sierra though.

She returned to her room, directing herself to her bed and said, "I'm done. Let's go." 

When he said nothing and she just saw his chest rising and falling slowly, one hand over his eyes because of the light, she realised he had actually fallen asleep. So fast? He looked like an angel. She bit her lips, poking his arm, "Hey. Wake up." 

He shifted, pushed her hand away and turned his back to her, grumbling, "Just five minutes." She walked to the window, placed her hands out to collect rain water. She suddenly ducked as she saw a taxi pulling over. Sierra! 

Ileana quickly ran to Jace, shook her wet hand over his face, splashing the droplets on him and exclaimed in panic, "Get up, you jerk!"

He groaned, feeling the icy drops and he sat upright, "Hey, I said five minutes!" 

She grabbed his arm, pulled him brutally out of the bed, making both of them tumble on the carpet and he squinted at her, the light in her room hurting his eyes, "You're crazy or what?!"

"Get under the bed. Now."

"What?"

"Just do it." 

She instantly stood, ran to turn off the light and crawled back to her bed, covering herself with her blanket and mentally counted.

Sierra got out of the taxi after paying the driver and she found herself in the rain again. She made her way to her house when she spotted a motorbike, parked on the pavement. It was black in color but other than that, she couldn't distinguish it well because of the rain. 

She ran to the house and she sighed heavily, standing on her carpet, completely soaked as she closed the door behind her. The lights in the living room were still on but that wasn't unusual. She thought she'd find her niece watching TV but maybe she was just reading her novels in her room. 

She focused on what she had to do. She gathered her courage and walked to Ileana's room. She had to tell her about tomorrow. About the engagement. She heard movement inside and she knocked and opened. "Ileana?" 

Oh well, she thought she saw the lights on from outside. It was unusual of her to sleep so early. She walked in the dark to her bed and gently called out, "Ileana, you awake sweetheart? Got something important to tell you." 

The girl shifted and mumbled, "Mmh, I'm tired. Tomorrow please." 

Sierra felt suddenly concerned. She leaned over her, pressed her hand against her forehead and asked, "Do you have fever?"

She checked for a moment. Her hand itself was cold. She sighed in relief and laughed softly, feeling silly to worry over nothing, "Nope, you don't. Good night then." 

She caressed her hair, placed a brief kiss on her forehead and then glanced at the windows where the curtains were fluttering against the wind. Rain was coming inside, wetting the floor. So careless of her. 

She walked to it to close it and when she looked outside, she could see the distinct shape of the motorbike. She paused for a moment, recalling how she did see the lights in this room on. She suddenly flipped the switch on, plunging the room in the light and looked around the room, her mind imagining quite a bizarre thought. 

She pensively said aloud to herself, "Could it be?"

Jace did tell her that he was going to pick a girl up.

She suddenly walked to her niece's wardrobe and opened it, demanding, "You're not hiding anything from me, Ileana?"

Shoot! Ileana's heart skipped a jump as Sierra's detective skills surged out of nowhere all of a sudden. She faked being annoyed, making sure to plunge her face against the pillow for her to not spot her makeup, "What? No, turn off the light, Sierra. I want to sleep." 

Sierra peeped in the bathroom, drifting the shower curtains away, "I have a strange feeling that...oh, maybe I'm wrong. Might not be Jace's bike after all...Haha, I'm so silly. Why would he be here anyway?" 

She looked straight at her and added questioningly, "Or maybe he actually is?" 

Ileana groaned, the matter was getting out of hand, "You're dreaming. Why are you thinking about him anyway? Out of all people."

What if she looked under the bed?!

Ileana quickly asked, trying to distract her, "You wanted to tell me something right?" 

Sierra realised that she needed her complete attention and this was rather a delicate subject, "A...er, tomorrow. Alright, just sleep darling. I'm...off. Sweet dreams."

She quickly turned off the light and exited the room.

Ileana sighed in relief once the door clicked. That was so close. Jace rolled over, moving away from the bed and stood, laughing freely as he sat on the mattress, beside her, "Bet she'd have killed me had she found me. She's so smart. And you're such a natural actress." 

Ileana grabbed her pillow and slammed it on his face, "And you're a pain. Get out of my room." 

He grinned, placing the pillow down, leaning close to her, "Don't make me shout out for her, Ileana..." 

 She clenched her teeth, gently pushing him away, "Fine. But let's make it quick."

He opened her window again to jump out, "Follow me, your highness."

Ileana tossed her shoes out of the window, "Watch out."

They dropped onto him and he cursed, "Damn it. You're blind or what?" 

She giggled, carefully sat on the edge of the window and said, "It's quite high!"

"Just jump!"

He stared at her, finally getting a view of her. God. She was drop-dead gorgeous. "Here I come!"

She leapt and he quickly reached out to catch her as she didn't even give him time. 

Bad positioning, he realised as her weight shifted completely on him and he skidded against her shoes only to fall for the second time on the grass in this week.

He groaned, "You're already killing me." 

She shifted on him, staring at him, the tips of her released hair brushing his face. He gazed at her, ignoring the rain drops that fell on him. She was wearing a light pink lipstick and makeup. Her beautiful hair was all wild and her scintillating blue dress was just really short and sexy. "You look...so different." 

She asked, "In a bad or good way?"

He just smirked and said as he lifted a strand of her hair to tuck it behind her ear, "Good. But you could be my bad girl tonight." 

She grimaced and moved away from him to stand up. She grabbed his shoulder as support and quickly wore her heels. She breathed as she looked at him hesitantly, "I still don't think that's a good idea." 

"Rule number 1. Nothing is a good idea when you hang out with me."

"If Sierra finds out—"

"Rule number 2. We don't give a damn about the adults."

"But what if—"

"Rule number 3. Being carefree is all we need to be. Now stop thinking and come on. Else, I could go on making rules."