If I Hate Her, Do I Love Her Too? by Ariel Foundation International / Ariana-Leilani Children's Foundation

IF I HATE HER, DO I LOVE HER TOO? WRITTEN BY ARIANA-‐LEILANI MARGARITA ALEXANDRA KING-‐PFEIFFER

PUBLISHED BY ARIANA-‐LEILANI CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION GENEVA WASHINGTON, DC. NEW YORK ISBN: 978-‐0-‐9990239-‐3-‐8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ariana-‐Leilani Margarita Alexandra King-‐Pfeiffer is a teenager who is an international connector of people since she was born. She is called “Ariana” by her friends. As a dual citizen of the USA and Germany, with the experiences of living in two countries with two cultures and languages, it has broadened Ariana’s circle of “friends” and life possibilities. Before school age she was an international traveler to many countries in Europe, Caribbean, and Africa. Additionally, “Ariana” was name after, and attended meetings at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and New Yok since she was 5 months old. She was given the name “The Little Ambassador” by many Ambassadors. Ariana is currently the Youngest Accredited Representative of a Non-‐Governmental Organization at the United Nations, in New York. Her focus is children’s rights. Ariana is athletic, creative, tenacious, strong, kind, compassionate and very smart. She enjoys reading and writing, is a designer, loves music, and singing. Ariana has always been an amazing dancer! She has a strong desire to help others. In her own words….“I love to read and write. I am someone who will try to help you with your problems if you have any. I love to make people laugh and I hate it when people are down/depressed.” Ariana has written eight other short stories including “Better When I’m Dancing”; “Travlyn: Hurt by Fake Love”; “Travlyn: Drama All Around”; “Travlyn: Diamond Hearts”; “No Time for Love”; “The Spy Squad”; “Deathly Love”; and “Battling for Love”; all which will be published too. “If I Hate Her, Do I Love Her Too” is Ariana’s first copyright published book at the age of 14 years old, but not the last. This book is published for Ariana’s 15th Birthday, on 7 May 2018. Written by Ariana’s Mother, Dr. Ariel Rosita King

CONTENTS Chapter One

The Day We Met

Chapter Two

Changed Girl?

Chapter Three

Carnival Fake Love

Chapter Four

But, Don't Tell Her

Chapter Five Bonjour, La France, Au Revoir Washington, DC 40 Chapter Six

Dancing in France

Chapter Seven Surprise for Alexia

Chapter Eight

Beach Drama-‐o-‐Rama

Chapter Nine

Famous Friend

Chapter One: The Day We Meet

My phone rings of delight. I pick it up as I walk head out the door to school. I see that the person calling is my best friend, Gabriel. That's the best part out of the whole day other than leaving school, and I answer before I miss the call. "Hey Gabe. Let me guess, you’re going to talk about some new girl who has caught your eye?" I say. He chuckles. "No, actually not it this time. Ready for the new school year?" he replies. "No and you know that." I say as I roll my eyes. "Oh, come on! Maybe this year you will get lucky to have a female fall for you.” he tells me. I roll my eyes once again. We keep talking and he makes me laugh so hard that I bump into someone as I walk into the school. The other person’s phone drops onto the hard school floor. "Hey! Watch it!" they shout at me. It ended up being a female around my age, but I don’t recognize her from the last school year. I pick up her phone from the floor. And it's cracked, the home button came off, the screen is shattered, and it's bent! This is not going to end well at all. "Look what you did! I hate you even though I don't know you!" she shouts once more. She looks like she was about to punch me, but she stops herself.

"Sorry. My apologies for cracking your phone. I'm Nathan. And you are....?" I say politely. "It's not any of your business, but I'm Alexia" she replies icily, shaking my hand. Her hand was nice and soft. Wait....what am I saying? That’s just weird. And the bell rings. "I have to get to class." I say as I walk away. My class is...history. Awe, man! I hate it so much. I walk into the room and I see the girl I had bumped into earlier. Why does she have to be in my class out of all people? "Oh, I see that we have the same first period. You don't like that, do you?" I greet her. "Of course not. Now get out of my face before I punch you." she replies. My emotion changes. "Fine. I didn't care about you in the first place. I was trying to be nice to our new student." I say harshly, but that might not have done anything to her. Our new student is so rude. I tried to be nice to her, but I can't take it anymore. I always thought you could never, and I mean NEVER, find someone this rude. That's what I used to think, but after meeting her, that changed my thoughts. 100 percent. I tried to be her friend, but I guess she doesn't want any. When I see Jeffrey walk into the room, the girl runs up to him and hugs him. "Hey Jeffrey. You know her?" I greet him. "Yeah, actually." Jeffrey replies.

"He broke my phone. Just look at it!" she says, showing him. I roll my eyes. "Do....you guys know each other?" Jeffrey asked. "I accidentally bumped into her and she dropped her phone. So, not really." I answer. "Ah, that makes sense." he says. The bell rings again. I go to my seat. "Students, we have a new student this year. I believe you will treat her with respect. Alexia, your seat is next to Nathan. Right there." she says pointing to me. Oh my Lord. "Um...miss.. I prefer to be called Alex instead of Alexia." she corrects. So, she's not a girly girl. I might get along with her after all. I never really get along with girly girls. All of that pink makes me want to vomit. And glitter counts as one girly thing. I can't stand those type of stuff. Alexia actually has a great sense of style. No pink, no rainbows, no unicorns. None of that. She wore a nice pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie with some sneakers. Why am I looking at her? Ew! I better get my mind out the gutter. I don't like her like that. I just met her. I don't love her......yet. Ew! I’m not even the one who is into that type of things. All of my friends, who are mostly males, are into that. Me, on the other hand, am not. “Welcome back, students. I’m your history teacher this year. My name is Angeline Perfect, but you must call me Ms. Perfect. Anyway, next week we'll be

learning the history of Abraham Lincoln and Ford’s Theatre. The Monday after, we’ll will be going to the Ford’s Theatre.” our teacher says. “You may talk quietly, sleep, draw, etc. for the rest of class.” Jeffrey was behind us, so Alexia and I turn around. I know that Alexia only wants to talk to Jeffrey, but he wouldn’t let that happen. Every time she tried to have a conversation with him, he would talk to me about that subject. He would ask me if I remember what happened about something similar. “Hey, did you guys hear about the school musical? I think the auditions are today and tomorrow. Are you guys going to audition?” Jeffrey asks. “Oh, there is a musical?” Alexia questions. “Yes. There is one every year.” I answer her. And every year I would try for it, but she doesn’t need to know that. Jeffrey pats me on the back and say,“ Nathan over here, audition got the lead last year. Nathan, are you doing it again?” “Wow, that’s good.” Alexia says, impressed. I shake my head and lie. “No. I’m not doing it this year. I hear there are so many people who are terrific at musicals.” “Nah. You would make it. But that’s your choice.” Jeffrey says. “Alexia! You should do the musical! You would be perfect for it.”

Alexia blushes and stutters. “ No. I wouldn’t make it if I tried. But what are they doing this year?” “They are doing My Fair Lady.” I answer. “Well, I’ll watch it when it’s performed.” Alexia says. The bell rings. Time for my next class which is French. I have to go all the way up to the fourth floor. I walk into the room and I seat myself next to my friend, Dylan. “Hey. Have you seen the new girl? She’s pretty. Like really pretty.” he says. “Yes I met her” I answer. “I think you mean that she’s mean instead of pretty.” “I meant that she’s pretty. How would you know she’s--” Dylan says. Something has stopped him from talking. I turn to see where he was looking and I suddenly I feel a brush against my arm. Dylan’s mouth hangs open. I give him a look, asking what’s wrong. Dylan mouths “Alexia just walked by you.” “Oh, it’s you again. Two classes in a row with you is pure torture. I can’t believe they did this to me.” Alexia says with a frown. I roll my eyes. “It’s so nice to see you too, again, Alexia.” I say sarcastically. “Um, excuse me.” she says as she taps on Dylan’s shoulder. “You’re in my seat. There is assigned seating. Look at the board.”

Dylan looks at the board and she was right. She was right next to me. Again! How much worse could this get. “Classe, bienvenue en français. Welcome to French. I know it’s the first day, but today we will be reading the script Romeo and Juliet in French. Alexia and Nathan will read the main parts. Only because they have taken French before.” our French teacher says, handing out Romeo and Juliet scripts in French. Great. I made it worse. “La dame parle. Oh, parlons encore, ange brillant. Tu es aussi glorieux qu'un ange ce soir. Tu brilles au-dessus de moi, comme un messager ailé du ciel qui fait tomber des hommes mortels sur leur dos pour contempler le ciel, regardant l'ange marcher sur les nuages et naviguer sur les airs” I start off. “O Roméo, Roméo! Pourquoi es-tu Roméo? Renie ton père et refuse ton nom. Ou, si tu ne le veux pas, sois juré mon amour, et je ne serai plus un Capulet.” Alexia says. She can read and speak French fluently. We continue until the bell rings. Dylan jumps out of his seat and comes over to me. “Dude, I didn’t know you knew French. And wow! She can read French and speak it fluently.” he says. “Who’s ‘she’?” I ask. “The new girl, Alexia. You got to admit. It was really good.” he says.

I shrug. “She was good at it. Hey, since it’s lunch this period, a few people can come to the audition for the musical. I’m auditioning. You coming?” I ask. He nods. “Yeah.” he tells me. When we got to the music room, someone was auditioning right then. I take a good look at them. Wait a minute. That’s Alexia! She said she wasn’t going to audition.Oh, well. “That was the last audition that’s on the list. Are there any last minute auditions?” the music teacher calls out. I raise my hand and say, “I am. I’m Nathan O’Connor.” “Ah, yes! Our wonderful Nathan. Go ahead.” he says. I run up to the stage and jumped up. Many people in the room have seen the last musical, and most of them know who I am because either they checked who played which role or because they were in at least one of my classes last year. “I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night, and still have begged for more, I could have spread my wings, and done a thousand things, I've never done before.” I sang with as much passion as I could muster. When I finished, I was met with a strong applause. I blush slightly and walk off the stage. I like performing, except I get too flattered and I start to blush when people really like my performances.

“Nathan, I have a feeling that the new girl is going to get the main lead for the females. Be prepared. We will be watching your performance...with some girl.” Tyler teases. “You guys know I’m not into romance like you guys are. I’m fine like this. All I really need is my buds, and my life with music and performing.” I tell them. “I have a feeling Nathan is hiding a girl from us.” Gabriel teases with the rest. “Ooh. Is it Alexia Underwood?” Dylan says, elbowing me. “You mean the Alexia in our French class?!?” I ask. “Yep. It’s her, right, right, right, right?” Dylan asks, teasing me still. “I’m not hiding any girl or anything! I’m not interested in anyone, so back off.” I tell them. “And I don’t know if this is true, but people keep saying she has a boyfriend.” The guys look at each other and then burst out laughing. I’m so confused. I wait for them to stop laughing. Finally, they do stop. “You will find out soon enough. We promise you.” Tyler says. I guess that means I have to find out myself.

Chapter Two: Changed Girl?

Ahhhh! It's a new day which means I don't have to go through that drama all over again. But wait.....I forgot that Alexia now goes to our school. Man! I'm walking to school and I hear people gossiping about something. As I walk, I listen. "Dude, did you hear? The new girl, Alexia, is really nice. She isn't like what we thought she would be like." Nice? Give me a break. She is not a nice girl. Wait.....why do I care? I don't like her or anything. She's not even a friend of mine. Then I see her. She walks in her good sense of style and.....a smile on her face? Hold up. Did I miss something? "Hey....um...Nathan, right?" She says walking up to me. I'm so confused. "Uh. Yeah. Um....are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?" I say. She laughs. And it wasn't a fake one. "I'm fine." She tells me. We were actually walking together to French class, talking and laughing. I mean we weren’t skipping History, but we were told to go to our second period class instead of our first today. Anyway, the bell rings. "Class, you have your first project due in the next two weeks. Your partners are listed in the back." says our teacher French teacher. “You must create a short

story or play in French based off what you know and have learned. You can use a French-English dictionary to help you if you need it.” "Hey, I was wondering if you would like to come over to my house so we can get started." Alexia says, having a hand on my shoulder. Her hand relaxing on my shoulder makes me blush. “Huh? Why me?” I ask. “We are partners for the project. See?” Alexia tells me, pointing to the list. And she was certainly right. "Sure, I guess. I have nothing else to do." I respond, trying to keep my cool. "Okay. That’s great. I’ll meet you after school." she says as she walks away. Before I knew it, it was lunch. I wonder how that went by so fast. I sit with my friends as always, talking, laughing and making jokes. "Hi Nathan!" someone shouts across the lunch room. I turn and I see Alexia. She runs over to my table and sits next to me. The guys whisper to each other, without me this time. "What are you doing here?!?" I whisper-shout to her. "I got bored at my table with the same people, talking about the same stupid stuff." she says in response. “And it makes me want to vomit.” “Which is..?” I say with curiosity in my voice. “Romance crap.” she answers, as she bites into her sandwich.

I sigh. "Fine." I tell her, even though this is just going to make people think I have a crush on her or we’re dating. That's the one thing I can't stand, but I'll let it pass this time. I see my male friends starting to drool over her. Ew! “I was surprised when you auditioned at the last minute for the musical. I thought you weren’t going to like you said.” she tells me. “I was surprised that you auditioned. You kept saying you wouldn’t make it if you tried. But you made it. I can’t even tell you how good you were, to be honest.” I tell her. At the end of the day, my friends and I were talking again. Well, actually, having an argument. "Dude, you don't have to hide it. We are your best buds. We can tell you like her." one of them says. "But I really don't. First she was all 'I-hate-your-guts-so-get-away-from-me and now she is all Ms. Cheery Girl" I argue. Then someone covered my eyes from behind. "Guess who!" Lord, anytime someone says 'guess who' that makes it tell people you have a romance relationship with them. But, it was just Alexia. I take her hands off my eyes. "You ready?" she asks me all cheerful. "Sorry guys. I got to leave. Text me later" I say. So, Alexia and I leave.

She opened the door to her house, and I was in shock. A little boy came out and tugs on my shirt. He looks about 10. "Are you her boyfriend?" he asks. I can't respond to this. "Luke! How many times have I told you? I'm not going to date anyone!!" shouts Alexia. Another guy starts to tease her. "Come on. You never bring anybody here. You love him, don't you." he says. "Hold on, Nathan. I need to kill my brother before we can start." she tells me. Then she throws her bag down. "RYAN!!!! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!!!" She screams and chases him. I finally get a text.

12 Â

After that, Alexia comes back with blood dripping down her face. "What happened?!?" I ask, running over to her. "This happens all the time. Don't worry about me" she says. I take her arm and run to the bathroom. I wet a cloth and put it on her face. “Don’t worry about it, Nathan. I’m fine.” she tells me. I shake my head. “It’s not okay that your older brother did this to you. How do your parents allow this?” I ask. “They don’t allow it. After the first time it happened, he only has been doing this when our parents aren’t home yet.” she says with a shrug.

I continue to put the wet cloth on her face so the bleeding could stop. Alexia puts her hands on my shoulders and looks at me. Ryan, her older brother walks by us and does a double take. “Whoa! I don’t know what I just walked into, but I don’t like it. And neither will Mom and Dad” Ryan says. I say nothing. “Ryan, nothing is going on. Nathan just saw the blood on my face and decided to put a wet cloth on my face. That’s all.” Alexia tells him. “Hey, don’t you have a project to do or something?” Ryan asks, tilting his head a bit. “Oh, yeah.” Alexia answers and walks out. I just follow behind her back to the living room. “Um...can I ask you something, Alexia?” I ask with a slight blush on my face. Alexia turns to face me. “Yes. Is something wrong?” she asks with concern in her voice. “No, nothing is wrong. It’s just..” I sigh. “I was wondering if you would like to go to the carnival tomorrow. It’s not like it’s a date or anything.” I say, worried she might think I was asking her on a date.

Alexia laughs. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t thinking it was a date. I know when someone is asking me out and when someone is asking me to come as a friend.” she tells me. I finally relax. “Okay. Let’s start on the project.” I tell her. And we do. It wasn’t easy, but we were able to write a short story, in French. And it took two hours: thinking, writing, editing and typing. And now, what do I do? Well, tomorrow I get to see if I really do love her or not. But I bet you, that I really don't and never will love that girl.

Chapter Three: Carnival Fake Love

Today I have to take Alexia to the carnival. I mean, the guys and I do have a plan, so I have to go to the carnival with her in order for it to work. I knock on her door and wait until someone opens it. Ryan. Ryan gives a smirk. “Alexia your boy is back!” he shouts to her. “Who? What? Since when do you have a boyfriend?” I hear a man’s voice say. Her father. Oh, no… “Daaaad! I don’t have a boyfriend. A friend of mine is here. He asked me if I would like to come to the carnival.” Alexia whines. “Bring him in here. I need to meet this guy first if you want to date him.” her father says. Instead of asking her if it was okay, I walk into the house. As soon as I walk in, I see Alexia’s father sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper. He was a thin man with a mustache and had his hair neatly combed. I stand a few feet away and introduce myself. “Hello, Mr. Underwood. I’m Nathan O’Connor. I’m a friend of Alexia. A few friends and I are going to the carnival today and they wanted to meet her, so I asked her if she would like to come.” I explain.

Mr. Underwood smiles. A perfectly white, toothy smile. “I like this boy, Alexia. He’s a nice young man who can introduce himself properly. Nathan, are you in Alexia’s grade?” he says. “Yes, sir. I certainly am. Her and I have a few classes together.” I tell him. Mr. Underwood nods. Then Mrs. Underwood comes in and hugs Alexia. “Alexia, honey, you have a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?” Mrs. Underwood says. “Moooom! I don’t have boyfriend. He’s just a friend, okay?” Alexia says, annoyed. Luke runs down the stairs and asks, “who? Ryan or Alexia?” Alexia’s parents look at each other and burst out laughing. Alexia gives me an apologetic look. I just shrug. “Luke, Ryan has a boyfriend.” Alexia says, giving Ryan an evil smile. “I TOLD YOU! I’m not gay!” Ryan complains. “Um...I hate to interrupt this family conversation, but may Alexia go now? We have to meet our friends at a certain time.” I ask shyly. “She certainly may.” Mr. Underwood says with a nod. I smile. “What time will the carnival be over?” “We will only be there for an hour or two.” I tell him. “Okay. Have fun.” he says, looking back at his newspaper.

Alexia and I exit the house. Gabriel, Tyler and Dylan were across the street from us. Alexia and I walk over to them. Our plan is going to start in 3...2...1. “Alexia, how’s your fever?” Dylan says flirtatiously. “What fever?” Alexia replies. “Oh, you just look hot to me.” Dylan says as he puts an arm around her shoulder. Alexia blushes and looks at me. I shrug, not knowing what to say. I, personally, was trying so hard not to laugh. Pick up lines can’t save his life for anything. “Dylan, you are so bad at pickup lines. Why don’t you just give up?” I tell him. “Well, it’s not like you can do any better than me.” Dylan says. I laugh a little and shake my head. “Actually, I can do a whole lot better than you. I may not be into this, but I can do a whole lot better than that.” I say. “Oh, can you now? Since when have you been into getting a girl with pickup lines?” Gabriel questions. “Yes, I can. Like I said, I’m not into it, but since you guys started looking up pick-up lines.” I admit. “Fine. If you can get Alexia to blush more than Dylan did, we’ll pay you.” Tyler says. “Is that okay with you, Alexia?”

“Yeah, I want to see if he can.” she answers. “Hey, Alexia. Do you like water?” I ask her. “Yes?” she answers even though it sounded more like a question. “Well, that means you like 60 percent of me. How about me finish the other 40 percent with a kiss?” I say with a smirk. Alexia’s face turns to the shade of garnet. “Oh my Lord! Nathan definitely won. Like it’s not even a joke.” Alexia explains. “We’ll pay you tomorrow, Nathan. All the money on us today is for the carnival.” Tyler says. “To be honest with you, Nathan, I thought you weren’t going to have a pick up line to beat Dylan’s.” Gabriel tells me. I shrug. “Just telling you this now, but I thought of it last minute.” I explain to them. Their mouths hang open. “We need to go to the carnival. So let’s go.” And we walk to the carnival, making jokes and being idiotic. Alexia fit right in with us. She understood our jokes. She would tease us and joke around too. Finally, we arrive at the carnival. “You and Alexia will go together. The guys and I will be together.” Tyler says. “Why can’t we just go all together?” Alexia asks.

“They just planned it like that, so don’t ask questions.” I tell her. Alexia and I go to some games. She won many prizes, unlike me. Suddenly, there was a huge shadow crowding over us. Alexia and I look up. That shadow came from a male about our age, just very tall. "Hey, girly. You're pretty cute. How about you come with me?" says the guy. "Sorry, I don't know you. So, my answer is going to be a no. Ba-bye." she says, turning her attention to me. He grabs one of her arms and pulls her against his chest. "Nathan! Help!" Alexia shouts. "Um, excuse me, but she has a boyfriend. And currently that's me. So, I will ask you nicely to let go of her." I say. He does with a look of surprise on his face. "You're his girlfriend? When you have someone way better?" he asks Alexia. "Um, yeah. I mean, he is really adorable. Like, I bet you that no girl can resist that face." she says a points to me. I smile. Then Alexia shoots me an apologetic look. I shrug. I pull her into my chest and she smiles, holding onto my arms. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" I ask, flirtatiously.

"I think I'm okay, but I don't know." she says. The guy stares at us with his mouth hanging open. Then he walks away and so do we. "Are you okay? Seriously." I ask her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." she says. Since I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, I accidentally bump into someone. A female, to be exact. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I apologize to her. "Oh, don't worry about it. You’re cute, so I don’t mind." the girl says, giving me a wink. Then, she puts her hands on my face and gets closer to me. Alexia slaps her. "Who do you think you are?" says the girl in a sass, annoyed tone. "How dare you try to flirt with him! And I am his girlfriend, obviously." Alexia shoots back. "Why would you date someone like her when you have someone like me?" the girl asks me. "Because I love her. She is my world. No, she is my universe." I answer her. Alexia kisses my cheek. "Awe, Nathan! You’re so sweet!" Alexia says to me and I smile. That's when I see the guys in the corner of my eye. OH, NO! CRAP! I'M SO SCREWED! Gabriel comes up to me. "Hey Nathan. Can I talk to you for a second?" he asks.

"Yeah. 'Scuse me, Alexia." I say as I follow him back to the rest. "You love her. It’s obvious." says Tyler. "No, no, no. A guy was flirting with her and she didn't like it so I had to pretend to be her boyfriend and then we walked away. Then, I accidentally bumped into that girl and she tried to kiss me, so Alexia pretended to be my girlfriend. That's all.” I tell them. They looked at me with shock written all over their faces. We talk a bit more and they end up believing me. But they still think I have a crush on her. We all walk to Alexia, but when we see her, she has a black eye and she is sobbing. We run. When I get to her, I immediately hug her. "What happened?!?" I ask with concern. She starts to cry into my chest and I rub her back. "M-my e-ex c-came up to m-me a-and a-asked m-me to be h-his g-girlfriend a-again. A-and I s-said n-no s-so h-he p-pu-punched m-me...." she stutters as she cries. All the guys and I give each other a look. A guy comes to Alexia. “Are you sure you don’t want me back now?” says the guy. Alexia nods. The guy grabs her arms. “Did I make it a choice? Well, it’s not.” “But I don’t want to upset my current boyfriend” Alexia says in between her sobs. “Nathan, hon, please help me.”

I step forward. “Be honest with me. Do you want him?” I ask her. She shakes her head. “No! I want you and only you!” Alexia says. “Excuse you, but she’s mine and you can’t take her from me.” I tell him. He sneers. “I can’t believe you love this weak stupid guy. He has no muscle if you didn’t notice.” he informs her. And that was true. I have no muscle. I am a weak boy. But I’m not stupid. I learn things really fast. But based off this guy, I don’t think he cares about how smart someone is. Just the looks and how strong someone is matters to him. “Actually, you're wrong. Nathan has muscle you just can’t see it in his arms.” Alexia ‘corrects’ him. “Is that so? Okay, Nathan. We will fight for the young lady. If you really love her, show me what you got. But if you don’t love her, just hand her over to me and you won’t get hurt.” he tells me. This was the biggest problem I ever had. It’s either protect Alexia and never hear the end of the guys saying that I love her or I put Alexia in danger and keep myself safe. I take a breath. “Fine. It’s on.” I say, glaring at him. He gives me an evil smile. I take Alexia’s ex by the arm and throw him onto the concrete floor. He gets back up, but with blood on his face. He charges toward me, but before he could punch me onto

the floor, I roundhouse kick him, my foot into his face. Thank the Lord I learn martial arts. “Okay, okay. You win! Take your girl.” Alexia’s ex says to me and walks away, glaring at me. I turn to Alexia. She was crying, but with happy tears. I smile and hug her. “Thank you, Nathan. I really appreciate it so much.” she whispers in my ear. “Don’t worry about it. You’re a friend of mine and I care about my friends.” I tell her. “Let’s bring her back to her house. The carnival is too dangerous.” Dylan says. Alexia and I nod. So we walk back. Once we arrived at her house, I ring the doorbell. Mr. Underwood opens the door. “ALEXIA! What happened to you?!?” he asks full of concern, taking her face in his hands. “Dad, remember Maxen? He was at the carnival and he tried to get me back. The thing is, I said no and he punched me.” Alexia explains. “Oh, wait till I get my hands on that boy.” Mr. Underwood says, anger heats him up. “Actually, Nathan already did it. Nathan beat Maxen.” Alexia says, giving me a big smile. And hearing that made Mr. Underwood smile as well.

“I approve of this young man to be your boyfriend, if you would like to.” Mr. Underwood says. I blush. “For now, I’m fine without the boy drama, but maybe.” Alexia says, giving me another smile. I blush. Then they guys and I left for the day.

Chapter Four: But, Don’t Tell Her

As soon as I walk into my house, my phone chimes with a text. I take a look.

I walk into my room, closing the door behind me. I look at the text again. I sigh and go into my contacts. I press call when I see Dylan’s name. “So, did you or did you not?” he greets me. “It wasn’t a date. And you know that.” I say, rolling my eyes. “It was a date, alright. But whatever. Now answer the question.” he says, impatiently. “...It was nice.” I say with a blush. I’m glad he wasn’t able to see my face at the moment. The teasing would never end if he saw my face right now.

“Dude, seriously.” he says to me, almost shouting. “Okay, okay. I liked it….a lot.” I admit. There was silence. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Sometimes I just want him to shut up while other times I don’t care. This I was unsure about. “Did you just admit that you liked it?!?” he asks me. I nod, forgetting that he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I did. But I liked it because she’s a friend.” I explain. Hopefully that gave him a hint, but most likely not. “I think you found your future girlfriend.” he says with excitement in his voice. “Huh? What are you talking about?” I ask in confusion. “Nathan, I bet you that she has a crush on you.” Dylan says with confidence. “Whoa. Your brain must have died because I’m sure you’re wrong all the way. “I say, shaking my head no. “Hey. Do me a favor and call someone for me.” he says, changing the subject. “Sure, give me the number.” I say. And he does. “Okay, I’ll call back in two minutes.” Then I hang up. I call the number, waiting for the person to answer. Finally, they do. “Hello? Who is this?” says the person on the other end.

“Hi. This is Nathan O’Connor.” I tell them. “Nathan?!? Is that really you?” they ask me. “Um, who is this?” I ask shyly. “It’s Alexia. Is something wrong?” Alexia says. I blush. Dylan tricked me into calling Alexia. I will get him for that later. “No! Nothing is wrong. Sorry, Dylan tricked me into calling you. Anyway, how did you like the carnival?” I question. “It was...nice, I guess.” she says hesitantly. That didn’t sound like she liked it. “So, you didn’t like it?” I ask her. Then she snaps at me. “I absolutely hated it! I hate your little friends, but guess what? I freaking hate you more than anything!” And she hangs up. I call up Dylan right away. “Dylan! Something is wrong with Alexia! I was talking to her and then she just got all mad saying that she hates me more than anything!” I say, panicking. I was panicking so much that my head started to sweat, my head started to spin and my heart was beating harder and louder than a drum. I couldn’t even the phone steady. “The guys and I will bring her over to your house. We will be there in about five minutes. Just chill out.” he says seriously. Then he hangs up.

The next thing I knew, the doorbell rings. I hurry downstairs and open the door. The guys and Alexia were standing right there. “I TOLD YOU!! I FREAKING HATE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD! YET YOU GET THEM TO DRAG ME HERE!!” Alexia shouts. “What did I do?!?” I ask her with concern. “YOU RUINED ME AND MY LIFE!! I HATE YOU SO BAD! I JUST WANT TO KILL YOU WITH ANYTHING!” she shouts once more. I look down at my feet and walk back up to my room. “Okay...I’ve always wanted to do that myself, but the people who I care about and care about me won’t let me.” I mutter under my breath, upset. I tear slips down my cheek. I walk into my room and lock the door behind me. I sit on my bed, hugging my pillow. I wanted her to know something, but she would never understand since she hates me. My phone chimes. I take a look.

I open my door quietly and walk slowly downstairs. When I got the bottom, the first thing I see is Alexia sleeping on the couch. She such a sweet and nice girl and I’m worried what’s wrong. I look at her some more and she’s.....kinda....cute. I blush slightly “Ooh. Nathan, I can tell you think she’s cute.” Tyler says with a smirk. I blush more. "N-no. I w-would n-never." I stutter, looking down at my feet. The guys chuckle. Gabriel puts a hand on my shoulder, smiles and says, "It's fine. We won't tell her, unless you want us to. And you know we will try to help you as much as we can. " "Thank you." I say with a soft smile.

Then I feel a pair of hands holding onto my arm. I turn and blush. Alexia. The guys give me a smirk which just makes me blush even more. Thank god Alexia isn't awake or this would have ended badly. Tyler comes up to me and whispers in my ear. "Just lay next to her and fall asleep. I’m sure nothing will happen. If she freaks out, just say you were asleep and then she probably laid next to you and fell asleep." he whispers. I blush even more just thinking about it. I shake my head fast. They chuckle once again. I don't know what they are up to, but I don't want to find out. Instead, I just sit next to her. Gabriel pushes me gently onto the couch, so I was laying down right next to her. The next thing I knew, Alexia’s hands were on my chest. "Relax. I’m sure nothing bad will happen." Dylan says. I take a few breaths. They smile. "If you guys get married, you are going to have to get used to this." Tyler teases and my cheeks heat up again. "That's something that won't happen. If I proposed to her, she would literally go insane. I know that for sure." I tell them. “Yeah, right. Whatever you say." They say in union. Then they explain that they actually have known Alexia before they had met me. They were just pretending not to. At least that's what they told me. But I wonder...what if we

.really did get married? I shake my head fast. I slightly blush from an idea. The guys try and try again to get me to say. I keep say no, until I finally say my idea. “Okay, so my idea is...what if we make a love potion?” I say, looking away as my blush continues. “Hmm. That’s actually interesting. We should.” Dylan says with a nod. The others nod as well. “I think we should. We could have Alexia drink it. We will put it in a soda or something. It won’t be the real thing, but it’s better than nothing.” Gabriel explains. I smile. I am curious to see what happens. We go into the kitchen and find a recipe on the internet. We print it out.

We joke around as we do this potion. Then they all ask me the exact same question in union. “Why did you want to make a love potion of Alexia?” The heat in my cheeks were probably the shade of fresh cherries. They stare at me, waiting for an answer. I sigh and take a breath.

“I think I’m crushing on her. I wouldn’t know what it’s like so I don’t know. But I think I do, now that I look back at my actions for the past few days. I mean, I blush when she is mentioned, I walked into her house and introduced myself to her father even though he said to bring me in there if she wanted me to be her boyfriend. I keep think about her...and I stare at her in class….” I admit, looking at my feet with a blush and smile. I couldn’t stop. Then we finally finish it. “I can’t believe it. Nathan is about to get himself a girlfriend.” Gabriel says loudly. "Who is getting himself a girlfriend?" a voice asks from behind us. We quickly hide the love potion recipe in the inside jacket pocket. "Gabriel is getting himself a girlfriend. “Dylan says. "Oh. Good for you. I can’t wait to meet this girl." Alexia tells him with a smile, patting his back. "Man. I need something to drink." She sees the soda with some of the love potion. Alexia takes it in her hand and takes a long drink. Hearts fill her eyes when she lays her eyes on me. She runs up to me and cuddles into his chest. I blush. "Nathan...I love you. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I really do love you." she says.

I think it worked! She learns her head closer to me. I blush more than ever. "Alexia....what's gotten into you?" I ask, cupping her face and she smiles. I know it’s just the potion. "You got in my head, simple as that." she says flirtatiously. "Hold on, Alexia. The guys and I will be back." I excuse myself and the guys. I bring them up to my room and close the door. “I can’t believe it worked!" I whisper, full of joy. They nod, giving me such huge smiles. I thought those smiles were going to split their faces in half. When we came back downstairs, Alexia came running to me, again. She cups my face, blushing, which caused me to blush. In the corner of my eye, I could see the guys recording this, but I say nothing about this. “Baby, please go out with me. Please.” she says. I know she’s under a love potion and I have a crush on her, but I don’t want to be her boyfriend because of a potion. I would say I already was as soon as she said it...if it was real. “Alexia, I want to, but now is not the time for it.” I inform her. At one point I thought I heard her say something like “I really do love you, Nathan.” under her breath, but I must be hearing things. Alexia looks at me seriously. “Nathan...I know there was a love potion in my drink." she says.

The room goes silent. All of us knew I confessed, and the bad thing is that she wasn’t under the spell of the love potion. Which makes me look like an idiot. “Why is everything blurry? Why is every spinning? Why is it getting extremely hot and then extremely cold in here? What's going on?!?” Alexia screams, full of fright and confusion. I hold her arms, worried. "Don't worry. I will always love you, no matter what happens, Nathan." she say, sweetly. Tears just fill my eyes. I did this to her. Later, Alexia walks up to me and gives me a hug. I look up at her. "Don't worry. The potion wore off." she tells me. And I give her a smile. I’m not fully okay, but a lot better than before. I hug her back which makes her smile. We hear a few 'awes' behind us, but we don't care. We rather make one another happy and get teased than having someone in complete tears. I notice her blush. “Hey, why are you blushing?" I ask. She blushes more. “N-no r-reason..." she stutters. Hmm...Is she interested or something? Nah, she wouldn't. But one day I will find out.

Chapter Five: Bonjour, la France. Au Revoir, Washington DC

I walk into my French class on Monday morning. Alexia walks into the room, but something seemed different. What was it? Did she dye her hair, maybe? No, that’s not it. Did she grow an inch? That’s not it. Oh! She was wearing a dress. I blush. I have never seen her in a dress until now. “Class, two people will go to France for a week and write a report on what they saw and what was different in France than Washington DC. You must choose one male and one female to go.” our French teacher says when she walks into the room. “I think Alexia and Nathan should go. They both know French very fluently.” I hear Dylan’s voice behind me. I blush. Going to France with a girl like Alexia would be a dream… “I don’t know, I think Nathan and I would make a much better report than him and Alexia.” Stephanie says, batting her eyelashes all flirty like. Then she starts sending an icily glare towards Alexia. “But the thing is, Stephanie, you only know basic words and numbers in French. Alexia and Nathan know the whole language.” Dylan reminds her, rolling his eyes.

“Well, then Nathan can teach me the whole language in France. Right, Nathan?” she says with a smile. Sweat bullets drip down my neck. “Well, um, actually I don’t have time to help you with it. I’m not a good teacher.” I tell her. “Oh. Then I guess you will have to teach me until I understand.” Stephanie says with a giggle. “Stephanie, just shut up. Listening to you trying to flirt with Nathan is making me sick.” Dylan says, rolling his eyes once more. “Please, it really is quite desperate.” Alexia spat. “If he liked you, you would have known by now.” “Well, you don’t have to listen. You guys are just a haters and haters gonna hate.” Stephanie says with a shrug. “Class! If you think Nathan and Alexia should go on the trip, raise your hand, s'il vous plaît.” our teacher says, getting everyone's attention. Everyone in the room raises their hand except Stephanie, Alexia and I. “D'accord. Alexia and Nathan, you guys will have early dismissal today, so you can pack your bags and go to France today!” our teacher exclaims. “W-what?!? Today?” I ask. She nods. “Oui, today. You will leave after lunch. There must be at least one parent to go with you.” she tells us.

“Nathan, after you’re done packing, come to my house. My dad always wanted to go to France, so he’ll probably come with us.” Alexia informs me and I nod. “Oh! And you must dress nicely when you first arrive!” our teacher says with a smile. “Make sure you take pictures of France and have at least one picture together.” Alexia and I nod. We knew we are going to take plenty pictures of France and us being stupid. Then the bell rings. When I get up to leave the room, I feel someone’s hands on my bicep. I turn and I see Stephanie. Oh no. “Hey, honey” Stephanie says in a sweet voice. “I’m sorry you have to go on the trip with...her.” She sends a deadly glare in Alexia’s direction. Alexia just sends an evil smile back at Stephanie. “Look, you are not my girlfriend, so you do not have a right to call me that. And I actually want to go to France with her” I tell her. “You would rather go to France with her instead of me?” Stephanie says surprised, pointing to Alexia then herself. I nod. “But, baby. I know you love me. All you have to do is ask me out and I will say yes.” she says. “Plus, it would be sooo romantic being in France with you, looking at the beautiful starry night sky for a week.”

“Um, I hate to ask this, but don’t you have a boyfriend?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. Stephanie giggles and says, “Actually, I do. And guess what? It’s you, baby!” she says with another giggle. “I’m not dating you! Look, to be honest with you, I don’t like you as a person, so please do me a favor and get out of my face.” I say harshly. Then Stephanie gives me a look with burning fire in her eyes. I was surely going to die before I graduate high school. “Fine! I don’t need you! I was just trying to get you a girlfriend so you could stop weeping over how tragic your life is!” Stephanie says, sashaying away. Almost everyone knew about my life. It is tragic. My parents died in a car crash. And my grandparents died when I had my first birthday. All I had was my uncle Jay, Aunt Audrey and my older sister, Lillian. I tear slips down my cheek and I wipe it away. I feel a hand on my shoulder and when I look up I see Alexia in front of me with Dylan by her side. “Don’t listen to her. She’s just mad that you’re not interested in her.” Dylan says. I nod. Then Stephanie comes, sashaying back over to me quickly. “My baby! What did this evil girl do to you?” she says, trying to pull me into a hug. Dylan and Alexia block her path.

“I’m surprised you wouldn’t know because you’re the definition of an evil girl. You should know what you did. And he’s not yours.” Alexia says harsh fully. Stephanie glares at her. “Why don’t you stay out of it, Alexia,” Stephanie spat at Alexia. “I don’t know what he sees in you.” Alexia’s eyes narrow. “What do you not understand? He doesn’t like you. Go cry yourself a river, build a bridge and get over it! The thing is, if you know his life is tragic, you shouldn’t be making his life even worse. But of course you couldn’t possibly understand. ” Stephanie huffs. “At least I know what happened to him, unlike you.” “Actually, I do know what happened. When I told Dylan that I met Nathan, he explained to me that his life is really tragic.” Alexia explains. “Look Stephanie, it’s quite obvious that you love Nathan, so let’s clear this up. Nathan,” she says turning to look at me. “Do you like Stephanie?” I shake my head so fast, it could have rolled off my neck. “See? Now that that's been cleared up, why don’t you go find anybody else to talk to?” Alexia says raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, well-” Stephanie starts. “Ah ah ah,” Alexia says as she points the opposite way down the hallway. “Buh bye.”

Stephanie stammers a bit before sashaying away in a hurry. I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thanks.” “Yeah, well, last thing we need is her messing with your head before we go to France, lover boy.” Alexia says with a smile. “Lover boy?” Dylan asked giving me a smirk, “is he yours?” “Oh my Lord! Dylan!” I put my forehead in my hands. “Really?” “Always,” Dylan said putting his elbow on my shoulder. Alexia just laughs as we walked to our next class. “So are you guys excited about France?’ he said in a sing-song voice. “That’s a stupid question. I’m going to be spending a week in France! It doesn’t even matter that I’m spending it with him.” Alexia says jerking her thumb towards me. I bring my hand to my chest in mock offense. “I am offended!” I said in a high voice, “I’ve always loved you though!” I pick her up by the waist and spin her around. “It will be sooooo romantic!” I say as I put her down. “You, Nathan O’Connor,” she says, poking me in the chest. “are an idiot.” she smacks my cheek playfully. “Awe, look. You guys aren’t even in France and your already acting like a couple!” Dylan says, teasing us. “Bring it down, brony.” Alexia says, raising an eyebrow toward him.

“My little pony is an amazing show!” Dylan said mock whining, “Rainbow Dash is my idol.” I roll my eyes and push him. “I can’t wait to spend a week in France!” Dylan brushes of his jacket and sticks his chin out. “Well, I can see where I’m not wanted.” he says with make sadness. “I guess I’ll just go now.” he says walking down the hallway with his head down. “Your friends are weird,” Alexia said giving me a look. “They’re your friends too! And they have been your friends longer than they have been mine.” I remind her. She pushes me onto the floor and runs out of the school. I pick myself up and run after her. Finally, I catch up with her and throw her my shoulder. “Ew! Go get a room!” one of our classmates yells from the sidewalk. “Shouldn’t you be in class?” I yell back. “Shut up!” They yell, and Alexia laughs. “NATHAN! PUT ME DOWN! I HAVE TO GO HOME!” she screams as she laughs. “No. You are mine, little lady!” I say in my best Darth Vader voice. “NATHAAAAAAAAN!” she yells. I laugh as I put her down. “Don’t do that!” she whines as she punches my shoulder. We walk and talk until we get to her

house. Mr. Underwood raises an eyebrow at me, still unsure if I was dating Alexia. Mrs. Underwood just smiles. I walk home and pack for France. After having my sister criticize every outfit I pick, I finally settle on one. I walk back to Alexia’s house with my suitcases and knock on the door. I hear people running to the door, some thumping and someone with a commanding voice tell everyone to go sit down. A few moments later, Mrs. Underwood opens the door, looking at me up and down, looking satisfied with what I am wearing. “Hello, Nathan. Alexia is still getting ready, but you can come in and take a seat.” I walk in, setting my suitcase by the door and take a seat on the couch. Mrs. Underwood offers me a soda and I take it with a smile. As soon as I opened the can, Mr. Underwood walks with all of his suitcases and gave me a smile. “Nate, how are you buddy?” “I’m okay, sir.” I said cautiously. “How are you Mr. Underwood?” “I’m doing fine. As soon as Alexia comes down, we can leave.” he says, saying the last sentence a little bit louder. “I’m coming, Dad! Stop your whining!” Alexia calls from upstairs. You could hear her suitcases thumping down the stairs as she makes her way down into

the living room. I stand up to get ready to leave, but when she steps into the room my breath stops. “You look nice, Alexia.” I said struggling to say the words. She gives a small laugh and raises an eyebrow. “Jeez, Nathan. You’re acting like you’ve never seen me in a dress before.” “That’s because I never have!” I exclaim, trying to redeem myself. “It’s just...interesting.” “Oh my Lord. Did you just say ‘interesting’?” Ryan says as he walks into the room. He leans against the banister and raised an eyebrow. “He said interesting.” Alexia repeats. “Dude, I have the right to tell you this ‘cause your gonna go spend a week with my sister in France, but don’t ever tell a girl the way she dresses is interesting.” Ryan says, shaking his head. “Ever.” “I-I w-wasn’t-” I stammer. “Ever.” He repeats walking towards me. He grabs my shoulders and stares at me. He just stays like that for a second before his face contorted into laughter. He falls onto the floor laughing. “W-what?” “Your expression was literally the funniest thing I have seen in ages!” Ryan says, wiping tears from his eyes.

Alexia laughs. “Leave him alone you guys!” She punches her brother in the shoulder and he falls over in mock pain. “Dad. Nathan. Let’s go. Now.” she says, turns around and walks out the door. Her dad looks at me for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. “NOW!” I heard her yell from outside and scrambled to get my suitcases. Two hours later we finally get on a plane. “I hate planes!” Alexia complains as she steps onto the plane. “Sweetheart, calm down. It won’t be long.” Mr. Underwood says attempts to calm her down. “I mean, we are going to Paris, France!” Alexia smiles. “So true! And I still can’t believe it!” she says, trying to calm down her excitement. I smile and put my arm around her neck. “Croyez-le, bébé! Nous allons en France!” Alexia smiles and playfully shoves me. “Cesser d'être un tel Casanova.” I smile and put my hands on my hips, mocking her. “Out ce que tu dis, ma chérie.” “What in the world are you two saying?” Mr. Underwood asks us, raising an eyebrow at us. “Should I be worried?”

“No, Dad. We were just talking about how we know Ryan is gay.” Alexia says with a giggle. “I mean, have you noticed his actions when a cute guy comes over?” “I bet it’s pretty funny.” I say to Alexia and she nods, giggling. “Ryan might be bisexual, but he’s not gay.” Mr. Underwood says. Alexia and Mr. Underwood start a new conversation, but I don’t pay attention. I take a look at my phone. I go to a website call www.lovetesting.com. I found when I was playing game once. And I couldn’t exit out of the ad, which for that website. I type in the website and type in Alexia’s name and mine. When the result pops up on the screen of my phone, I almost jump out the chair. I can’t believe our names together got a 95%. “You were testing to see if we were meant to be?” Alexia asks me. I blush and shake my head. She chuckles. “Then how come my name and your name is typed in the blanks for that website? I think it’s something like www.lovetesting.com.” I rub the back of my neck and blush. “Je m'ennuyais, d'accord? Mais je fais d'autres personnes aussi …” Alexia giggles. “D’accord.” “We are in Paris, France!” Mr. Underwood exclaims, his eyes sparkling with joy.

The three of us get off the plane then someone taps on my shoulder. I turn around and my face goes pale. “Stephanie?!? Que fais-tu ici?!?” I ask. “I mean...what are you doing here? You should be in Washington D.C. learning French!” “Hold up! You came on our plane, so you could spy on us and be in France with him! How dare you!” Alexia fumes, wanting to punch her. Stephanie giggles. “D’accord. Si une orange est orange, pourquoi une chaux appelée vert ou un citron n'est-elle pas jaune?” Stephanie asks me. Alexia and I burst out laughing. “What’s so funny? All I said is that so maybe I did, but what’s the harm in that.” “No, you just said: if an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?” Alexia translates and she and I start to laugh again. Stephanie takes my arm and says, “Nathan, you look so cute in that outfit and with your luggage!”

“I hate saying this, but Stephanie is actually right about that….” Alexia says, blushing and turning away from me. I take a look at Mr. Underwood, but he’s just looking around. So, I take Alexia by the waist and pull her into my chest, with her back against my chest. “Eh, what I’m wearing is okay. But Alexia looks out in the dress she’s wearing.” I say flirtatiously. Alexia blushes more and puts a hand on my right cheek and smiles. “Alexia, was that made recently or something.

“Actually, this is a vintage dress. But my luggage, purse and shoes are modern day things.” Alexia answers. I take my hands of her waist a second before Mr. Underwood turned around. Thank the Lord. That was close. “Well, toodles! I have to leave, but I’ll see you around, Nathan.” Stephanie says, waving at me . I roll my eyes. “C’mon. We need to go to your Aunt Julia's house.” Mr. Underwood says to Alexia.

“My Aunt Jaliyah lives in Paris, France. So, we will be over there for the week.” Alexia explains to me and I nod. “Hey, type in your name and Stephanie’s and see what pops up.” So I do. When I show her the percentage, she gives me a smile. “I kinda expected more like a 5% instead of a 26%, but it’s still pretty bad.” she says. Then we arrive at her aunt’s house. Mr. Underwood knocks on the door and middle aged woman opens the door. “Ethan! Alexia! It’s nice to see you.” the woman says. Alexia smiles. “Hello, Aunt Jaliyah. A friend of mine and I are in Paris, France because of our French class.” she says. “Is it that boy you keep talking about, Nathan?” her aunt asks, teasingly. Alexia blushes. “I’m Nathan O’Connor, Alexia’s friend. I see she has spoken a lot about me, hasn’t she?” I ask her aunt, teasing Alexia as well. Alexia’s face gets redder. “Nathan! Va juste taire?” Alexia says to me and I laugh. “Oh oui, elle parle beaucoup de toi, Nathan O'Connor.” Miss. Jaliyah says to me with a wink and I just laugh. Then Miss. Jaliyah whispers in my ear. “Tu aimes comment elle parle de toi, ai-je raison? Et je suis sûr que vous avez tous deux le béguin pour vous.”

My face heats up this time. I nod then shake my head. “Don’t worry. When she loves a guy she will be mean at first and then all kind then explode and then all flirty.” she continues. I think through. That’s exactly what happened. I blush more. “Oh! Alexia your cousin is here, too.” Alexia’s aunt says. As I walk into the house behind Alexia, I see a blond haired girl with red at the very ends. The girl turns around. I freeze. “Hi, Nathan!” she says. “SHE’S YOUR COUSIN?!?!” I ask Alexia in panic. Alexia nods slowly. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME STEPHANIE CRYSTAL IS YOUR COUSIN?!?” I scream at her. “Nathan! Calm down!” Alexia says, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrug her hand off and walk out the house. I walk to a park I saw when we were walking to her aunt’s house. I sit on the bench. I call Gabriel, Tyler and Dylan all at the same time. When all of them pick up, I say nothing at first. “Dude, say something.” Dylan says. “Sorry. I’m having a panic attack. First, Stephanie gets on the plane Alexia and I were on and then I find out that Stephanie Crystal is Alexia’s cousin.” I explain. “And Alexia didn’t tell me until five minutes ago.”

“Man! We would fly there, but we can’t. So, good luck dealing with both cousins.” Tyler says. Then I hang up. As soon as I do, I get a call myself. I pick it up without looking at the caller ID. “Nathan...look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you need to come back.” I hear the voice say. Alexia. “Fine. Only because I’m not going to get a hotel room and we have a report.” I say then hang up. When I walk back to her aunt’s house, I knock on the door. Stephanie tackles me when the door opens. “Get off me, Stephanie.” I say to her. “Baby, don’t worry.” Stephanie says to me, sweetly. “ I SAID GET OFF ME! I’M NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS.” I yell at her. Stephanie gets salty and pushes me to the floor as soon as I get up. “Hmph. I don’t care about you, anyway. Nobody cares for you anyway. “ she says to me. Then I do something I would never do: I slap her. But that isn’t my fault. Stephanie is the one who got me to do it to her. She didn’t listen to me, so that’s her loss. “Look, just because I turn you down doesn’t mean you need to be rude. That’s why no guy loves you for who you really are. And I just told you to get off me and I’m not in the mood for your stinkin’ flirting and your attitude.” I say straight to her face. Then I walk in and sit on the couch next to Alexia.

“Alexia, I forgive you. But if you do that again, you will get hurt.” I say to her. Alexia smiles. “Follow me.” Alexia says, getting up from the couch. I don’t know where we are going, but I follow. Then I see it’s Alexia’s room. She closes the door right behind me. And she plays some nice music. Without thinking, I take her waist and sway her. She giggles. Alexia puts one of her hands in one of mine and puts her other hand on my shoulder. I smile. We sway around her room, smiling and blushing at each other. “So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you'll wait for me, hold me like you'll never let me go” I hear the lyrics say. Alexia laughs. “Please don’t kiss me. If you do, I’m calling an ambulance to help you.” Alexia says with a giggle. “Good to know, because I won’t anytime soon...or later.” I say with a smile. Alexia stops dancing and changes a song that my sister plays all the time. “Do you know this song?” Alexia asks me. I nod. She starts to sing. “I can feel you comin' from a mile away, my pulse starts racing from the words that you say and you say so many of them like you don't have a clue that I'm signed, sealed delivered with a stamp on” I surprise her by singing the chorus. “You don't have to try too hard, you already have my heart, you don't got a thing to prove, I'm already into you, so.”

When the song ends Alexia asks me, “How did you know the lyrics?” “My sister listens to that song all day long.” I admit with a shrug. “But my biggest question is how did you learn to dance like that? I can’t find two percent of guys who can do that.” she asks full of curiosity. Everybody asks me how I can do that type of dancing. I chuckle. “Last year, we had a dancing unit in gym. I can do every dance there is. Some dances I learned because of events I was in while others were in the unit of gym.” I admit. “Wait, so you can do ballet?!?” Alexia asks full of shock. I nod. “Isn’t it painful for you?” “When I first did it, it was really painful, but now it isn’t.” I tell her. She nods with a smile. Suddenly, Stephanie bursts through the door. “Alexia! I don’t know why you are friends with him. He just slapped me!” Stephanie says, pointing to me. Alexia turns to me wide eyed. “That’s your fault. You didn’t leave me alone, you didn’t stop flirting and you are such a drama queen. I mean, who starts out all sweet, but then acts like they don’t care about someone who they do care about and that person they care about keeps turning them down? Really, who?” I ask. “The answer to that question is her, Stephanie Crystal.” Alexia answers. Then Alexia closes and locks the door in Stephanie’s face.

“Alexia! Nathan! We are watching a movie!” Miss Jaliyah calls us. Alexia and I walk to the living room. I sit on one end of the couch with Alexia right next to me. “Je vois que vous ne pouvez pas obtenir assez de moi, pouvez-vous?” I tease her with a smile on my face. “Oh, préféreriez-vous vous asseoir à côté de Stéphanie? Excusez-moi.” she says, rolling her eyes. I shake my head quickly. I didn’t need Stephanie cuddling herself up to me, hold my arm and putting her head on my shoulder. I’m perfectly okay without it. Alexia laughs. Mr. Underwood turns off the light and the movie begins. About half an hour later, I slip a hand around Alexia’s waist, pulling her closer to me. Alexia looks at me with a small smile and slight blush. I give her a big smile with a slight blush too. Alexia shrugs and cuddles into my chest, which makes the both of us blush more. After the movie, I take a look at Alexia. Asleep, but still cuddling into me. “How about you take her to her room?” Miss Jaliyah says, smiling at me. I nod, blushing. I pick Alexia up and walk to her room. I lay her on her bed and walk away. As soon as I plop myself onto the living room couch, I fall asleep.

Chapter Six: Dancing in France

The next morning I wake up to my phone. A new text message from Dylan: what juicy things happened? I chuckle and text back this: Alexia and I ballroom danced-ish….And we cuddled as we watched a movie. I hear a yawn behind me. I turn and see Alexia. “Morning, Alexia.” I say. “Morning.” she answers, giving me a hug and turning on the TV. “Enter this contest to win a chance to perform something later tonight at Théâtre de Babylone. All you have to do is go to the website performingattheatre.com and type in your first and last name and what you will be doing. And this will be on TV! Good luck!” the person on the TV said. “I’m going to enter you in!” Alexia says, excitedly. “WHY?!?” I ask, my eyes getting big as saucers. “You will see.” Alexia says, typing my name and what she wants me to do. Then she enters it. “Oh, Nathan. I see you are entering the contest too.” Stephanie says behind me. I roll my eyes. “Alexia entered me in.” I explain. Alexia nods smiling.

“Yup. His dancing will beat you trying to sing. The last time you tried to sing, you broke a window.” Alexia says, shaking her head. “You know that wasn’t me!” Stephanie complains. “And now the winner is…” the TV says again. Alexia and I turn and watch. “Nathan O’Connor! He will be doing different types of dances, like ballet, ballroom, waltz, tango and a mix of hip hop and breakdancing! Congratulations, Nathan O’Connor. We cannot wait for your performance. You must be at the theater at six pm. You will be performing at seven” “YOU WON!” Alexia screams happily, giving me a big bear hug. I smile and hug her back. Then I remember. “I didn’t bring any of my dancing clothes!” I say in disappointment. “Then we will go shopping for it right now!” Alexia exclaims. “Fine.” I reply. We walk out the door, going straight to a mall. We buy some dancing attire and shoes for them. We had at least four bags. When we get back, Mr. Underwood gives us a strange look. “Alexia entered me in a contest and I won. But I didn’t bring any of my dancing attire with me so we had to buy some.” I explain. “You’re going to dance? What type?” he asks. “He will be doing ballet, waltz, tango, ballroom and a mix up of hip hop and breakdancing!” Alexia tells her father.

“Wow! We are going to go watch this tonight” Mr. Underwood exclaims. “It says on the website that friends and family of friends may watch live!” Alexia says happily. I smile. Then my phone rings in my back pocket. I answer. “Hello?” I ask the person on the other line. “Hello, Nathan O’Connor. We forgot to tell you that you will have famous female dancers for your waltz and your tango dancing. If you have a female friend who can do ballroom dancing with you that would be great.” the voice says. “Okay.” I say then hang up. “Alexia, can you do the ballroom dancing? The lady that was supposed to I think can’t make it or something.” Alexia nods. “Yeah, I can do it.” she says. “Why not me, Nathan?” Stephanie asks, taking my arm. “I’m a good ballroom dancer.” “I haven’t seen you do it. Alexia can do it well. I’ve seen her do it.” I explain. “Can we practice the ballroom dancing, Alexia?” Alexia smiles. “Yup. You need to become professional. Go change into your costume while I find the right music, okay?” she says, walking to her room. “Okay.” I say, heading to the bathroom with the outfit on my arm. Then I change and come out. I walk into Alexia’s room. I see her, but the only difference

is that she was wearing a ballroom dress. I eyes go wide and my mouth hangs open. Alexia finally looks at me and smiles. “I’m guessing this is perfect for it.” Alexia says with a giggle. I nod. Alexia plays the music. I put my right hand on her back and take her right hand with my left. She puts her left hand on my shoulder. I smile with a slight blush. “You look really nice in that dress.” I compliment her. She smiles. Then we dance. The next thing we knew it was almost time for us to leave. “Let me get change into my regular clothes. And you do too.” Alexia says, shooing me out of her room. I nod. I change into my regular clothes, packing a bad with my outfits and shoes. Alexia comes out, with her hair done and carrying a bag as well. Alexia and I walk out, getting into the car. I was in between Stephanie and Alexia. The three of us talk on the way there. “Time to get out!” Mr. Underwood says. Alexis opens her door and the three of us get out. Then we shut the door. When we enter, a lady comes up to us asking, “Are you the winner Nathan O’Connor?” I nod with a smile. She grabs me arm and shouts, “Nathan O’Connor is here!” I turn to a Alexia and mouth, “help me.” Alexia shakes her head and giggles. “Go change into your hip hop or whatever clothing for your performance. I nod. I change into a plain white t-shirt with a jacket over it, a pair of black pants

and a hat. I come out. When Miss. Jaliyah, Mr. Underwood, Stephanie and Alexia see me, they smile broadly. “Five minutes till show time.” someone says. I nod. “So, what do you girls think?” I ask Alexia and Stephanie. “Nice!” Alexia says when Stephanie says, “hot!” Mr. Underwood chuckles. “So you girls think he’s nicely hot?” he says with another chuckle. The girls shrug. “We guess so.” they say in union which makes us all laugh. “Show time, Nathan.” the person says again. The girls, Miss. Jaliyah and Mr. Underwood sit in the front row. “Welcome, you wonderful people! Here we are, the Contest Winner Talents show!” a guy with a deep voice says into a microphone. I look through the curtain a bit, but then close it. “And now, this year’s winner….Nathan O’Connor! Give him a hand.” People applaud. I come from behind the curtain. The man then says, “So, Nathan, what are you doing and why do you like doing this?” He hands me the microphone. “I am doing different dances. I like to dance because different dances show your emotions. The different dances can sometimes tell people a story of what’s going on in your life.” I say in the microphone.

He take the microphone back. “That’s a wonderful answer. I see you’re ready to dance.” I nod. “Take it away, Nathan!” I go into the middle of the stage. I take a look at Alexia and I see her recording. She gives me a smile and I smile back. The music plays and I start to dance passionately. After I’m done, I take a bow and the audience applause wildly. I smile broadly and walk off stage and change into my tango outfit. I walk back on stage and get into position with some lady I have no idea who it is. The music plays and we start immediately. We finish two minutes later. The next thing I knew I was in my waltz outfit, dancing once again. “Thank you, Nathan! We can’t wait for more of your dancing. We will be back in five minutes!” I walk off the stage and walk up to Alexia with a smile. She tackles me in a bear hug. I laugh. “That was so awesome!” Alexia says. She plays the video. I watch, laughing at some of my crazy hip hop dance moves. We watch the rest. “Go change. It’s almost time for your ballet performance.” Mr. Underwood says, looking at his watch. I take my things so I can change into my ballet outfit. “We are back! You will be surprised with Nathan’s next performance. Here he is once again!” I am introduced again. I walk onto the stage as people applaud. When the first note of the song plays, I move around, dancing my heart out. At the end, I take a bow, people giving me a standing ovation.

“Nathan, what will be your final performance?” the man asks me. “I will be doing a ballroom dance with a friend of mine.” I say, smiling at Alexia. I go change in my new ballroom outfit, while Alexia changes into a pair of heels and her dress. We walk onto the stage. “Nathan, you will be doing a ballroom dance with…” “Alexia Underwood.” I finish his sentence. “Blow away our minds, Nathan O’Connor and Alexia Underwood.” I take her hand and put my other hand on her back. I give her a smile. She miles back at me. The song we practiced to started to play and we start. Then I spin her around with a smile. She just laughs. I quickly look at Stephanie and she was not happy whatsoever. We take a bow at the last note. I kiss Alexia’s cheek and she blushes, which makes me laugh. Alexia and I walk down the stairs. We get into the car and the next thing I knew, I was asleep.

Chapter Seven: Surprise for Alexia

Today is Alexia’s 17th birthday. I wake up an hour early and tiptoe into the small kitchen. I text Dylan, asking if Alexia like pancakes.

I roll my eyes when I see this. I put my phone on the table. I put on an apron and take out the ingredients. Then I start, humming to myself. A few minutes later, I finish making the pancakes. I take the syrup and our it on top. I put them on a plate, placing it on a food tray. I pour orange juice into a glass, putting it on the tray too. I put my phone in my back pocket . I pick up the tray, walking to her room. I knock on the door.

“Come in.” Alexia says with a yawn. I walk in. Alexia’s eyes widen and I smile. “Happy birthday.” I say, handing her the tray. “How did you know I like my breakfast like this?” she asks, motioning me to sit next to her. I sit on the side of her bed, with a smile. “I had to ask Dylan if you liked pancakes. And he gave me more details.” I say, with a shrug. She smiles. She leans to me and kisses my cheek, making me blush. “I have something planned later for us.” I say, pointing back and forth between us. She smiles more. She takes a bite. “Did you make this yourself?” she asks, taking another bite. I nod. “This is really good. Gabriel wasn’t lying that you make amazing pancakes.” I chuckle, shaking my head. Gabriel is always asking me to make food for him. And so Dylan and Tyler as well. They say I should become a chef, but I disagree. I take out my phone, putting it on camera. “Smile. I want to send them a picture.” I say. She smiles and the picture looks like she has had a million pictures taken of her. I send it. I end it to Alexia as well, writing happy birthday afterward. “I’ll also be making the cake. Just tell me what you would like it to look like. Alexia smiles and shows me a picture. I tell her to send it to me so I can look at it when I make it.

“Let me get dressed now.” Alexia says, getting out of her bed, going to her closet. “Of course, your majesty.” I say, walking out. I wait for her for two minutes later. She comes out in a pretty dress with a birthday sash over it. I smile. “You look beautiful, your majesty.” I say, kissing her hand. Alexia blushes. When we walk down the stairs, Stephanie hugs her. “Oh my God! You look so pretty!” Stephanie explains with a real smile. Which makes me smile as well. “Can I take a few pictures?” Alexia nods. “Didn’t you give me this last year?” Alexia asks her. “Oh yeah!” Stephanie says, taking a bunch of pictures. “Shall I make the cake now?” I ask Mr. Underwood. “Yes, please. Did Alexia tell you what she would like?” Mr. Underwood asks me. I nod, showing the picture. “You can make it look exactly like it?” I nod once again. I go into the kitchen, baking Alexia’s cake. When I finish, I walk Alexia's birthday cake to her. “I can’t believe you made it exact!” Stephanie says, surprised. I smile. “Wait till you taste it.” I say, sitting next to Alexia. I kiss Alexia’s cheek softly. “Happy birthday, Alexia.” Alexia blushes with a smile. “You need to stop flattering me.” Alexia says with a s smile.

“I’ll do that tomorrow.” I say with a laugh, which makes her laugh as well. I then cut the cake. I eat mine after I hand them theirs. The four of them love it. “I’ll be right back.” I say, walking into the little room I am borrowing for the week. I change into a tuxedo. I walk back with a smile. “I’m back. Come with me, Princess Alexia.” Alexia blushes once again. “What’s going on?” Alexia asks, getting up from her chair. “Nathan is taking you somewhere.” Miss Jaliyah explains and I smile. Alexia finally takes my hand. I open the door for her, leading her out. I then close the door. “So, where are we going?” Alexia questions me. “For a few hours, the Eiffel Tower, then a date.” I say with a wink. She laughs. “A friend date or like a real one?” she says, raising an eyebrow. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me. “A real one, Princess Alexia.” Alexia puts a hand on my shoulder. “I honestly would love that.” she says with a shy smile. “Then let’s go.” I say, taking a few steps, still having my arm around her waist. She smiles at me. I smile back at her. We take a bus to the Eiffel Tower. Then we finally arrive.

“It’s beautiful!” Alexia says, looking at it. “Just like you. Now stand in front of it, smile and pose. I’m taking more pictures.” I say, taking out my phone. And she does. I send them to her and the guys. The guys absolutely love the pictures, too. Four hours later, we got to restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. A lady leads us to a table. “My you look lovely. What would you like to order? It’s free for you and your date since it’s your birthday.” the lady says. “Thank you.” Alexia says, then orders. The lady turns to me and then I order. The lady walks away. I put my hand on top of Alexia’s, looking at her with a smile. “I hope this birthday of yours was special.” I say to her. Alexia smiles at me. “I absolutely love it. This is the best one I ever had, Nathan. I won’t ever forget this.” Alexia says. “Did you plan this on your own? How long?” I nod and smile. “Yes. I asked the guys what your dream is and they said that you always wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower. So, I asked your father if I could take you there then take you to a restaurant. I’ve been planning the details since we got chosen to go here.” I say, smiling more. “It’s absolutely perfect. Thank you. I never expected it to happen like this.” she says as she holds my hand. I hold her hand back.

“Dance with me, Princess.” I say taking her hand, getting up. She does too. “Of course, I will.” Alexia says. A slow song plays. I put my hands on her waist while she wraps her arms around my neck. I pull her close to me and she blushes. People crowd around us, watching. Alexia and I blush, not minding the attention. When the song ends I whisper, “May I?” Alexia nods in confusion. I lean in slowly, closing my eyes. I brush my lips against hers, kissing her softly. Then I break it with a soft smile. I look at her. Her facing is as red as a ruby. “How was that?” I whisper to her. Alexia blushes more, looking away from me. She mumbles something. “Can you repeat that?” “I l-loved i-it...” Alexia stutters. I smile and make her face me. “Good. It was just for you even though I have never done that until now.” I say to her, which makes her blush more. I take a look at my watch. “Well, it’s time to head back.” I tell her, leading her to the door. I open the door and she steps out. The wind is cold. I take off my tuxedo jacket and put it on Alexia’s shoulders. “Nathan, don’t. I’ll be fine.” Alexia says, trying to give it back to me. “You’re wearing a dress with no sleeves. And it’s cold. Take it.” I say.

She puts the jacket around her shoulders, giving me a smile. I come behind her, intertwining my fingers with hers. Alexia looks at me and smiles. “Would you like to walk back or take a bus?” I ask. “I usually would say a bus, but…” Alexia starts. “But I want to walk this time.” “Then we shall. Let’s walk, princess.” I say, staying how I am. Then we walk. We joke, laugh, etc. as we walk. We arrive at her aunt’s house and Miss. Jaliyah opens it. “How was it, Alexia?” Miss. Jaliyah. Alexia looks at me with a smile. I smile back. She turns back to her aunt saying, “It was perfect.” “How sweet!” Miss. Jaliyah gushes. Alexia nods. “We got free food since it’s my birthday.” Alexia explains. I nod. We walk into the house. I kiss Alexia’s head. “Night, princess.” I say, walking to the room I’m borrowing. “Night, Nathan” Alexia says. I hear a smile in her voice. When I close the door behind me, I immediately call Gabe, Dylan and Tyler. “Hey. you guys are going to go insane what happened.” I say, happily. “What happened?” Dylan asks. “I mean, other than making her pancakes, and making her a cake.”

“Well, I took her to the Eiffel Tower like I said and she loved it. Then I took her on a date. And--” I say, getting interrupted by Tyler. “And what?!? What happened?” Tyler says. I chuckle. “And so, we danced. Now, you are not going to believe this.” “SAY IT ALREADY!!” the three of them say at once. “I kissed her. And we walked back to her aunt’s. When we walked, she let me intertwine my fingers with hers.” I explain, blushing. “YOU KISSED HER?!? WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A PARTY WHEN YOU GUYS GET BACK!!” they shout through the phone. “Chill!!” I say to them. “You kissed her though!” Tyler says. I laugh. “Well, I can actually see why. She looked hot in those photos.” I laugh harder. “Anyway, I have to sleep now.” I say, then hang up. I change into my pajamas which is a undershirt and sweatpants. I climb into the bed and blank out.

Chapter Eight: Beach Drama-O-Rama

I buy a few canvas’, paints and paintbrushes at an art store. I walk to the house and knock on the door. Alexia opens it, raises an eyebrow. I laugh and walk in. “What’s with the art stuff?” Alexia asks as I look up famous French painters and the paintings they did. “I’m bored and I was thinking I could make paintings look like famous paintings.” I answer, looking at the Grand Canal painting. I pick up a brush, starting to paint. “Jeez, Nathan. How many talents do you have?” she asks, sitting next to me. I shrug. I take out my phone and play a song called Paris. I mean it makes sense since we are in Paris. I hum to the song as I work. When I finish, I smile. I let it dry, putting my name in the lower right corner. I take picture of it. “Hey, you brought your laptop, right?” I ask, facing Alexia. “Yeah, I already started the report.” she answers. “Can I borrow it? I want to upload a few pictures and make a slideshow. Madame Bellerose will absolutely love it.” I say to her, waiting for her to login. She hands me her laptop. I upload a picture of Alexia in front of the Eiffel Tower,

the painting and some other pictures. “Now, I will upload your videos of me dancing and us dancing.” I turn to her and her eyes are wide. “What’s wrong?” I ask her with concern. “Don’t put the one of us dancing. That was bad.” she says. I shake my head. “I have to. It was amazing. I have to put all three videos.” I say as I upload them. Stephanie comes from around the corner, hugging me from behind. “You haven’t spent any time with me while we have been here.” Stephanie says, giving Alexia a nasty look. Alexia rolls her eyes. “Anyway, we are thinking about going to the beach since it’s so nice.” “We should go. I bet it’s pretty.” I say. “When?” “Now.” Stephanie answers. I get up from the couch, changing into my swimsuit and putting a white t-shirt over my head. I put on my flip flops. Someone knocks on my door. I open it. I smile. “Hey. Let’s go.” Alexia says, wearing a summer dress over her swimsuit. I walk out of the room, following her. Alexia and I get in the car. This time, Alexia’s in the middle. Stephanie could not shut up on the way to the beach. When we finally get there, I get out the car, waiting for Alexia. Alexia steps out, putting on her sunglasses to block the sun. I take her hand leading her to a good spot on the sand.

I open the umbrella and stick it in the sand. Alexia sits under and I sit next to her. Alexia smiles which makes me smile back at her. The next thing I know, Alexia is taking off her dress, showing her swimsuit. I notice that it’s a bikini and I blush the shade of crimson. Alexia giggles. “What’s wrong, Nathan? Your face is as red as a cherry” I shake my head fast. “Nothing is wrong. I usually wouldn’t say something like this, but I have to be honest with you...you look sexy in that..” I say, my cheeks heating more. I look at her and I see that she’s blushing as much as I am. “Do I look sexy in this, Nathan?” Stephanie asks me. “You look nice.” I say. “May I take a picture…?” Stephanie giggles. “Of course you can, Nathan.” Stephanie says with another giggle. “Sorry, but I actually was talking to Alexia…” I apologize, turning to Alexia. In the corner of my eye, I see Stephanie is mad enough to have steam come out her ears. Then Alexia nods. I stand and face her I take out my phone and put it on the camera. I take at least 3 pictures of her. Then I send it to the guys. Gabriel calls me as soon as I send it. I pick it up. “Hey.” I say.

“Who is that sexy girl in the picture?” he greets me. I laugh so much that my sides hurt. “What?” “That ‘sexy girl in the picture’ is actually Alexia” I say laughing more. Gabriel hangs up and calls Alexia shouting, “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NO BIKINIS!! I’M TELLING YOU, GUYS ARE GOING TO DROOL ALL OVER YOU AND THEN ONE MIGHT STALK YOU!!” I laugh once again, but harder than before. Alexia hangs up on him. “Hey, let’s go in the water!” Alexia says with a smile, taking my hand. I smile. “Sure, Alexia.” I say. Alexia runs to the water. “Race ya!” she says, laughing. I laugh as well. When I catch up with her, I grab her by the waist and pick her up over my head. Alexia laughs, trying to get me to put her down and she fails. I slowly put her down when we get in the water. Alexia screeches. “It’s cold!” she says, getting out. “I’ll be back.” I nod, going back to where our things are. Stephanie sits next to me, taking my arm and smiles. “Why do you keep taking my arm?” I finally ask her. She giggles, coming closer to me. “Well, you already know it, but I’ll tell you. It’s because you have so much muscle and you’re hot.” she answers with another giggle.

“Thanks?” I say, more like a question. “I’ll be back. I’m going to check on Alexia, okay?” she says, getting up. I just nod. Five minutes later, Stephanie is running back to where I am. “Nathan! You won’t believe me if I told you what’s happening!” she says. “What’s happening?” I ask. Stephanie takes out her phone and pulls up a video. “She’s talking to a bunch of guys, not caring that they are touching her inappropriately!” she tells me. “WHAT?!?” I say. Stephanie plays the video. At least seven different guys are crowding around her. Most of them looked like they were at least 20 years of age. I don’t watch the video and stand. “Where is she?” Stephanie gets up as well and points. I follow her finger and see her. “Let’s break it up now.” she says, running. I run after her. When we get there, I push through the crowd of guys. “Whoa, what’s going on here?” I ask. A guy who used to go to our school says, “nothing, except having fun with this sexy girl.” “Really now?” I ask. In the corner of my eye, I see a guy slide a hand on Alexia’s lower back, then sliding it down to her butt, grabbing it.

“Well, it looks like you’re touching my girlfriend. How dare you.” I say, getting pissed off. The guy who just touched her butt sneers. “Right, it seems like she’s single to me.” he says. Then Stephanie surprises me. “That’s my cousin. Touch her again, I dare you. This guy over here-” she says pointing to me, “-is her boyfriend so just shut up. To me, it looks like you’re just a stupid 26 year old who can’t understand such simple words.” “I’m 19 who has a scholarship to Ivy League.” says the guy, walking to her. Stephanie gives a sarcastic applause. “Oh my god! Good for you! I honestly don’t care about you or your scholarship. And FYI, she wouldn’t date you, anyway, no matter how hard you try.” she says, harsh. The guy rolls his eyes. “Well, if he’s her boyfriend, why don’t they prove it?” he say turning to Alexia and I. Then I mouth to Alexia, “I’m going to give you an actual kiss for your warning” and she mouths okay. I walk up to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and she puts her head in my neck. “Baby, do you need a kiss?” I ask, making her face me. She gives me a small nod.

I lean in and brush my lips against hers. She kisses me back, putting one hand on my chest while putting the other on my neck. I pull her closer to me. Then she breaks the kiss and smiles at me and I smile back at her. “See? I told you that’s her boyfriend.” Stephanie says, crossing her arms with a smirk. I take a look at the guys and they have their mouths open, just hanging there. It was hilarious. I take Alexia’s hand and we walk away. “You guys both owe me for that” Stephanie says as we walk back to Mr. Underwood and Miss Jaliyah. I nod at her. “We do. And I’ll do mine right now I guess. What will it be?” I ask her. “A kiss” Stephanie says immediately. “You mean like on the hand or the head or your cheek?” I question her. Stephanie shakes her head. “No, a kiss like you just did.” she answers. I turn to Alexia. Alexia smiles and nods. I sigh. “Okay, come here.” I say. Stephanie doesn’t hesitate and comes, facing me. Stephanie takes a hand of mine and puts it on her cheek. “Really?” I say, rolling my eyes. “Yes. I usually don’t do things like that.” she says.

I sigh. “Fine.” I say as I lean in close. Stephanie closes her eyes and so do I. I kiss her lightly and he kisses me back with no hesitation. I pull away. “There you go.” Stephanie gives a huge smile. “I don’t mind that it was short. It was still a kiss” she says. “What is Alexia going to owe you?” I ask her. Stephanie taps her cheek lightly. “Hm. Ooh! Alexia can buy me this cute dress” she says, pulling out her phone and showing a picture. “Group selfie!” And she takes one. “Hey, can Alexia and I use that selfie for our report?” I ask her when she send it to me. “Yes! She will love it.” Stephanie says. “Nathan, we have to practice for My Fair Lady, remember?” Alexia says, taking out the script. I face-palm. “Of course! That’s what I was forgetting.” I say, taking it out of a little bag of mine. “But we still have time. We go back to school on Monday.” “I know we do, but this needs to be memorized before Monday.” she says, looking over her parts.

“I already know half of mine. I saw it many times.” I say, laying onto my towel. Both girls lay next to me. I stare at the sky. The sun is setting. “Isn’t the sky beautiful?” “It is, very” the girls say in union. “Well, it’s time to go back to the house.” Mr. Underwood says. The three of us get up and pck what we brought. Then we climb into the car. Since it was I fall asleep quickly.

Chapter Nine: Famous Friend

“Wake up, wake up, wake up! Nathaaaaan, wake uuuuup!” I hear first thing in the morning. I sit up, stretching as I rub my eyes. I blink a few times before I see who just woke me. “What is it, Alexia?” I ask, still stretching. Alexia sits on the side of the bed, smiling a huge smile. “Well, first off, it’s already the afternoon. But that’s not what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you that we are going to the biggest and greatest concert of the year!” she says, jumping up and down. “I don’t feel like it, Alexia.” I say, laying back down, putting my arm over my eyes. Alexia says nothing for a minute. Alexia takes my arm off of my eyes, putting her hand on my forehead. “Nathan, are you okay?!? This is the biggest and greatest concert of the year!!” Alexia says, practically shouting. I put my arm over my eyes once again and groan. “Are you sick or something?”

“No, I’m not sick. I just don’t feel like it today.” I say, pulling the covers over my head, but she takes it right off. “Nathan, what’s wrong…? You are definitely not yourself today.” she says, concerned. “I’m fine.” I say. “I don’t believe you, Nathan. Something is wrong.” she says, suddenly getting quiet. I take a peek through my arm and I see her looking down at the floor. I sit up and pull her into a hug, putting my head in her neck. This action of mine surprises her. “Alexia, I’m fine. I promise.” I say, taking my head out of her neck, giving her a smile. But not a fake one a real one. “I want to go. I meant to say that I don’t feel like it. I’m just tire. It’ll be fun.” Alexia smiles back at me. “Good. That scared me for a minute.” she says, finally hugging me back. “One question, how did we get tickets?” I ask. She smiles more at me. “One of the singers is actually an old friend of mine. His name is Oliver Malazii.” My eyes go as big as saucers. “You know OLIVER MALAZII?!?” I say, shaking her. “You know him in person and he’s a close friend?!?” Alexia nods with a smile. I jump out of the bed and go to my suitcase.

“We are going and we are going!” I say, trying to find the perfect casual outfit for this. I hear Alexia giggle. “It’s in a few hours, Nathan.” Alexia says with another giggle. “But this is OLIVER MALAZII” I shout, tossing my clothes behind me. It can’t be too formal or too casual. It has to be PERFECT. Then I finally find the perfect one. “Hey, Nathan? What do you think of this?” Alexia says, holding up a white shirt and blue jeans. My eyes pop out. “Put it on. I wanna see.” I say, putting the clothes that I tossed out back in my suitcase. Alexia blushes. “Nathan...that makes you sound like a perv.” Alexia says shyly, as she looks down. I walk over to her and put my hands on her forearms. Alexia looks up with a blush. “What are you doing, Nathan?” “I didn’t mean it like that. I mean to say is that, I want to see you in it because I’m sure you will look pretty in it like you always do.” I say, gazing into her eyes. Alexia shakes her head, looking away from me. “I’m not, Nathan. I’ve actually never been pretty in my life…” “Believe me. You’re gorgeous, seriously.” I tell her, inching a little closer. “Nothing can compare to your beauty.” A tear slides down her cheek. I wipe it away with me thumb. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. Some people go get their face changed because they want to look as good as you.” “Nat--” she starts, but I interrupt her by deciding to brush my lips against hers. I close my eyes and my hands slide to her waist, pulling her towards me. I feel her slowly wrap her arms around my neck. I smile, choosing to deepen the kiss. “WHOA! Since when do you have a boyfriend, Alexia?” I hear a male’s voice. Alexia breaks the kiss and her cheeks start to have a slight blush. Alexia turns around to face him. “Oliver Malazzi, he’s not my boyfriend.” Alexia says. My eyes widen a bit. I’ve just been caught kissing Alexia by Oliver Malazzi. Oliver walks over to Alexia and gives her a hug with a smirk on his face. “Are you sure ‘bout that? ‘Cause this looks like the guy you’ve been telling me about.” “That’s because he is, you idiot. Now why don’t you just shut up?” Alexia says with a laugh. I turn to Alexia and give her a smirk. “How many people do you talk to about me?” I ask in a flirtatious voice. Alexia’s face heat up a little more. “Don’t you guys ever shut up?” Alexia asks, facing away from the both of us. “Actually, no.” Oliver and I say in union. “Oh, right. Oliver, this is Nathan. He’s the one I’ve been telling you about. And Nathan, you already know who this is.” Alexia says, introducing us. I nod.

“Hey. I’m glad to finally meet you. You must have charmed this princess because she really never liked to kiss guys.” Oliver says with a laugh. I laugh as well. “I think I did.” I say. “And I’m glad I did because she’s a dangerous one.” “So true. Very dangerous.” Oliver says with a nod. “Alexia says that her cousin, Stephanie, has a humongous crush on you.” I nod. “She did us a favor and so she made me pay her back with a kiss…” Oliver pretends to gag. “I feel so sorry for you, dude. But you took my place. She did the exact same thing to me.” I face-palm. Stephanie is forever going to be guy obsessed. “I’ll let you guys go back to your little kissing moment.” Alexia hits him in the arm and he laughs. “Oliver,” I start. “Is Alexia pretty? She thinks that she isn’t.” Oliver looks at her raising an eyebrow at her. “Really, Alexia? Again with this?” I take out my phone and pull up the picture of her in her birthday dress. “Holy, holy, holy!” Oliver says, looking at the picture. I think I saw hearts in his eyes. “Alex, you're insane. No girl looks that pretty naturally. Well, except you. But seriously! If I pull this picture up during the concert, I bet you that the rest of the males that are performing would crowd around you after the concert, trying to flirt with you.” Alexia rolls her eyes. “Go ahead. I don’t care because I know what will happen if that happens”

“Well, it’s time to leave. I’ll wait on the couch until you guys are ready.” Oliver says, walking over to me. Then he whispers in my ear. “Nathan, if you want her to kiss you more passionate, all you have to do is use mint Chapstick before you kiss her. She gets really passionate when she kisses a guy who tastes like mint.” I nod and he walks out, closing the door behind him. I sit on her bed and smile. “What?” Alexia asks. “I don’t think we were done kissing.” I say with a slight blush on my face. I take out my Chapstick, which thank the lord, is mint and I apply a layer on my lips. I put it back in my pocket. “No, Nathan. I don’t like kissing.” she says, shaking her head. “Then why did you kiss me back?” I ask Alexia smiles at me. “Okay, okay. Stand up, then” “Who says we have to stand up for a kiss?” I ask with a smirk, wrapping my arms around her waist. I pull her onto my lap. Alexia blushes, turning away from me. I close my eyes slowly and press my chapped lips against hers. Immediately, I feel her kiss back, more passionate than the other times that we’ve kissed. As I kiss her just as passionate as she kisses, I pull her slightly closer to me. I lace my fingers through her hair, still holding her around the waist. Alexia places both of her hands on the back of my head, making sure I don’t break the kiss the kiss too soon. Soon enough, she breaks the kiss with a calm smile on her face.

“That was nice.” Alexia whispers, still smiling. “It was very” I whisper back at her, holding her around the waist. “Did Oliver that mint Chapstick is my weakness or something like that?” “Yes. Have you figured my weakness?” “No, what is it?” “You actually want to know?” I ask, raising an eyebrow Alexia turns her head away from me, blushing. “Yeah, I mean, why not?” I smile. “You’ll have to guess.” “Cherry? Strawberry? Candy cane?” “No, no and no. It’s French Vanilla” I show her a picture. “Specifically this lip balm.” Alexia laughs. “You and Oliver are almost twins” I pick her off my lap and stand. Then I give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Speaking of your famous friend, we better get back to him and stop making him wait.” Alexia smiles and takes my hand, leading us to him. “Hey Alex,” Oliver says as we walk in, walking to his limo. I’m going insane, but in the inside about being in the limo with him and Alexia. “You know you’re doing your part for the song Key to My Heart, right?” “Why do I always have to do it?” Alexia asks him as she climbs into the limo. I go in after her.

“Because you’re the one who wrote the part” “Wait,” I say. “She wrote the female part for your most famous song?!?” I ask them. Alexia blushes, saying nothing and Oliver laughs. “She certainly did. She also sang it when we did the recording” Oliver answers, nodding. “D-do the g-guys know that it was you?” I ask Alexia. Alexia shakes her head. “No, why?” “They said as soon as they find out who this “mystery lady” is who sang it in the song, they are going to propose for marriage somehow….” “WHAT?!?” Alexia practically screams. Mr. Underwood tells her to lower her voice. “Nathan, I want you to record the concert and send it to me. Also the picture of Alexia I saw.” Oliver says to me. We trade numbers and I send him the picture. I feel a tug on my arm, but I ignore it. I feel another tug and I find Stephanie tugging my arm, trying to get me closer to her. “You need to stop hogging him all to yourself, Alexia. He’s not yours.” Stephanie says, giving Alexia a glare full of ice. “You’re mean and rude to him every time he turns you down. And then you think you can get him to be interested in you? Wow, that’s a very interesting stupid thought.

The stupid thing is that you know about his life and how tragic it is. BTW, he isn’t yours either.” Alexia says with an annoyed look. “He’s my Prince Charming. So, I suggest you back off or else.” “One, if you haven’t noticed, you have absolutely no charm to charm him with. Two, or else what? You’re going to throw your designer heels at me or something?” As the girls argue, I sit next to Oliver. “Hey, um….have you and Alexia ever kiss before because I’m confused how you-” Oliver interrupts me. “Um...yeah. We dated two years ago. Are you asking because you really like her?” he says with a smirk. “N-no. S-she’s o-only a fr-friend. I-I d-don’t like her in th-that way.” I stutter with a blush. Oliver smiles. “You don’t have to hide it because I can tell she’s pretty interested in you.” “She isn’t. I’m sure.” Oliver rolls his eyes. “Dude, believe me. She’s never been so passionate about a guy until you. Everyday it’s “Nathan did this and Nathan did that. Nathan likes this and Nathan likes that.” You can’t tell me that I’m wrong.” “I’m positive she doesn’t. We could ask right now and she would say no.”

“Of course she would say no, dummy. She doesn’t want you to know. Or at least yet.” I roll my eyes and Oliver tosses me one of his shirts. “Put it on. There will be paparazzi” he tells me. So, I put it on. I whisper in Oliver’s ear something (which you will find out) and she gives me a smile, basically telling me to do what I told him. “Alexia, babe” I say flirtatiously to Alexia, moving back to my original spot next to her. I flip one of my hands into hers. “May I ask you an important question?” Alexia blushes. “Yeah.” “Will you….marry me?” I ask with a straight face, trying not to laugh. “WHAT?!?” Alexia and Stephanie shout in union. Mr. Underwood tells them to stops bursting his eardrums or else he going to go deaf. “No, no, no, no, no, no, noooooo! Nathaaaan, you’re supposed to propose to meeeeeee!” Stephanie cries. “Nathan! Did you hit your head or something?” Alexia asks with a concerned look on her face. “No, I meant to propose to Alexia. I’m perfectly fine.” I say, holding Alexia closer. The two of them doesn’t say anything. The suddenly Oliver and I look at each other and burst out laughing. “I’m just joking. Chill out.” I say in between laughs. Alexia rolls her eyes with a smile and playfully hits me in the arm which makes me laugh more. The limo stops and we get out.

I feel someone pull on my arm as soon as I get out. I look to find a blonde haired lady with a camera. She smiles. “Hello. Stand next to the girl with the white shirt and blue jeans. I want you to close your eyes and kiss her cheek. And young lady, I want you to smile and close your eyes when he does.” the lady tells us. I smirk at Alexia and grab her by the waist, making her face the lady with the camera. Alexia blushes the shade of scarlet. I put my face near hers. When I kiss her cheek, I feel her smiling. A real smile. I don’t think Alexia needed to be told to smile. The lady must have took at least a hundred pictures of the four of us, but in different poses and all. After the lady was done taking pictures of us, we walk into the concert building. Alexia and Oliver change into their performance outfits. On top of their outfits, they have a long coat. Then we walk out. Alexia, Stephanie, Mr. Underwood, Ms. Jaliyah and I walk into the crowd and Oliver goes backstage. It’s time to rock the night.

IF I HATE HER, DO I LOVE HER TOO? Nathan O'Connor, 17, accidentally bumps into the new high school student, Alexia Underwood. They hate each other, until one day Nathan's friends try to get them together. Will they or will they go separate ways?

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