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I cannot sleep.
I've been wriggling in the bed from the past half hour. Hell, I even tried counting sheeps but to no avail. I want to get up but I'm tied down by Ridge's arm, which is tightly wrapped around my body, while his head is tucked in my neck, as he snores softly.
When we had fallen asleep, we were at a distance since Ridge has slight pain in his ankle. But somehow, after he fell asleep, unconsciously, he scooted closer to me, and now our legs are intertwined together, and he's practically sleeping on me. Not that I mind at all.
A lazy smile takes over my face when I turn a little and look at his features. He looks so peaceful and beautiful, those thick lashes lightly fluttering, his plump lips parting a little as he breathes softly. I kiss his head softly, then turn away, patting my hand on the bed in search of my phone.
I find it lying under the covers, tucked near my waist. Switching it on, I decide to pass some time on social media since I don't think I'll fall asleep any time soon. Ridge stirs slightly, delving deeper into the covers, his arm tightening around me a little.
I place my left hand on his, intertwining our fingers. I scroll through instagram, looking at random, unnecessary posts. As I'm scrolling, a videp pops out, the loud music making me jolt in surprise. It's a Maroon 5 song, Maps.
I lower the volume, and sing along, making sure he doesn't wake up.
"But I wonder where were you, when I was at my worst down on my knees," I sing along, making sure that my voice is as low as possible. But when is my life on my side anyway?
Ridge stirs in his sleep, lifting his face from my neck, rubbing his knuckles against his eyes, "Why are you on your knees? I'm pretty sure it's three in the morning right now." His voice comes out sleep hazed, husky and rough.
"It was just a song," I mutter sheepishly, locking my phone and throwing it back on the bed. I snuggle close to him, "sorry I woke you up."
He lets out a soft, low chuckle, his sleep laced voice sounding like music to my ears, "It's fine, baby. I wasn't in a deep sleep anyway. And now that I'm awake, I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep."
"Well, let's get bored together then," I retort, cuddling next to him. He kisses my neck, his lips curling up in a smile against my skin. We lay there in perfect silence, enjoying the feel of each other's heartbeats and warmth in the cold weather.
"Don't you sometimes wish to just run away and never look back?" I murmur against his neck.
He tilts his head up to look at me, propping his chin against my chest,"Your dad will probably kill me before we even step out of the house."
I laugh quietly, "I don't think so. He'd just ask us to call every second about our whereabouts, but he won't kill you."
"Well then, my dad will kill me for sure, or my mum," he counters.
"That can be a possibility," I nod, "your mum can be scary when she wants to be."
"She loves you more than me, okay," he scoffs, "she was asking about you yesterday. She wanted to meet her favorite person. Because apparently, I'm a dumb ass."
"I'll come with you tomorrow then," I snicker, "I mean I cannot help that I have a lovable personality."
He smiles at me, dimples flashing, "That's why I love you."
My face lighten up at his words, "I love you more."
He nestles into me, burying his face against my chest and sighs deeply. "I don't want to get up but I really need to use the washroom damnit."
"Well, I cannot do anything in that now, can I?" I chuckle, before pushing him off of me, "Get up lazy ass, this bed ain't going anywhere, and neither am I."
Dejected and slightly annoyed, he pushes himself off me and stands up, grumbling, "I was so fucking comfortable."
"I know," A giggle escapes my lips, "go and come back fast. I'm getting cold here."
Groaning, he paddles towards the bathroom, muttering incoherent under his breath. He takes a few minutes to step out. He closes the door behind him and then brings his hands up to rub his face.
I close my eyes and yawn loudly.
"Ow," I hear him yelp in pain. I sit up in my bed, alarmed.
"What's wrong? Is it your leg?" Worried, I ask him, only to receive a deadpan look from him.
"I banged my toe against the table, and it hurts," he whines, walking towards the bed with slow steps.
"Well, that's the only action you're getting for a while so might as well enjoy it," I snicker and fall back on the bed, my hair spilling in all possible directions.
"Is that so?" There's challenging undertone in his voice and then he jumps on top of me, caging me in his arms, almost putting all of his weight on top of me. I cry out at the sudden impact, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"What the hell?" I whisper yell, furrowing my eye brows at his sudden actions. Without another word, he captures his lips in mine, making me forget my question. I wrap my legs around his waist, locking them together behind. His tongue sweeps out to tease my bottom lip, before his mouth descends down to the hollow of my neck, peppering open mouth kisses along the way.
"What were you saying baby?" I feel him smirk against my neck.
"Just shut up and kiss me." My words come out as a breathy whisper. He chuckles against my skin, then begins to trace the path again to reach back to my lips, and them kisses me again before pulling back, again.
"As much as I would like to continue, we can't. You dad is literally in the room across from ours," he murmurs against my lips.
I groan loudly, "Cockblocker."
He lets out a laugh, pecking me tenderly. "I love you."
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The first thing that I noticed as soon as I stepped out of my house to go to school was the thick blanket of snow covering the driveway and almost everything in my vision. The morning sunlight struggled to pass through the clouds, making the streets look like a clear, unfinished white canvas.
It wasn't snowing right now, but last night's remnants looked heavenly, making a shit eating grin to spread on my lips. I am pretfy sure that my cheeks and nose are tomato red by now. The chilly air blowing, makes me wrap myself tighter around the hoodie I stole from Ridge.
"I don't want to go to school today. This looks too surreal to leave behind," Em's soft voice whispers behind me.
I turn around to give her a small smile, "Same but there's no way dad will let me skip this time. I've already missed many classes and I need my grades to go up, not down."
"I don't care about my grades, and I'm pretty sure dad's going to be too busy with Cherry to notice us in the house," Tanner's nonchalant voice mutters from my side.
I give him a dry look. "All the more reason to get out of the house."
"Right." Em nods, skipping towards the car.
"I'll wear headphones," Tanner shrugs, but follows Em.
"Shut up and move dumbass," I snicker and follow them.
It takes up a little longer than usual to reach school since I had to drive a little slow due to the snow covering the roads. The school is filled with it's usual chatters and crowds as always when we step inside.
Our friends are in the usual place, all huddled up together, talking about something enthusiastically. I wonder what that is about.
"Hey fam," Bruce is the first one to see us. He waves his hands in the air, urging us to move faster.
"What are you guys talking about?" Em chirps.
I stand next to Rigde and give him a side hug, "Hey."
He kisses my forehead, giving me one of his soft smiles, "Is that my hoodie?"
"It's ours," I mumble against the fabric of his jacket.
"Right," he chuckles, "You look beautiful in this."
"I look beautiful in everything," I give him a cheeky smile, laughing along with him.
"SO, AS I WAS SAYING SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT BEFORE RIDGE AND LYDIA RUDELY INTERRUPTED ME," Bruce yells a little, making us snap our head to look at him glaring at us.
"Sorry," I mutter sheepishly while everyone else laugh.
He gives me a sarcastic smile and then continues, "Since the weekend is approaching, I have a very awesome idea."
"Oh shit, you get one of those?" Ashton gasps.
"Put your boyfriend on a leash, Erica," Bruce remarks, rolling his eyes, "Right, so my parents have a cabin that's about three hours away from here, and I was thinking maybe we all can go spend the weekend before Christmas there. It'll be like. Christmas getaway."
"The same cabin where you almost died, when you were drunk, and looking at the stars, on the roof?" Neil raises an amused eyebrow.
"Yep, that's the one," he nods, rolling his eyes.
"Then I'm in!" Tanner exclaims.
"That's an awesome idea," Trish beams at him.
"Drinks are on me," Eric declares, "Because I want to get shit faced drunk and I do not trust you guys in bringing enough stock."
"You like puking your guts out the next day, huh?" Kiara snorts. Everyone bursts into fits of laughter, while Eric turns a bright shade of red, scowling at her.
"Great!" Ridge exclaims, "So it's settled then?"
"So, we are done with the discrussion, right?" Erica rushes out, "Then I am going. Or else Mrs. Wilson will have my head if I miss the council meeting." Without wasting another second, she sprints out of our sight.
The bell rings, making us aware that it's time to go study. But luckily, I have a free period according to my schedule. Everyone groans in dismay, bidding farewell and walk away to their respective classes.
"What do you have right now?" Ridge asks.
"No class right now so I'll be heading to the library," I tell him.
"Well, even I have a free class so I'll go with you," he smiles, "but before that I have to get something from my locker."
"How about I'll go and get us a nice place to sit while you get whatever you want from your locker?" I suggest.
"Fine by me," he nods and then we begin walking.
I head towards the library, hoping to get a seat near the window since the weather outside is killer right now. Once I find a place to sit, I throw my bag on an empty seat next to mine, and take out my chemistry assignment that's due this week. Since Ridge's going to be here soon, might as well take some help from him in clearing out the doubts and problems.
I snap my head up when I hear the scraping of a chair against the floor. Ridge smiles at me, a bunch of books in his hands. He also has a denim jacket shrugged over his shoulder, which wasn't here before. He was only in a black hoodie which means that this jacket was in his locker.
And let me tell you, he looks absolutely beautiful with the jacket on.
"If you're done checking me out, can I take the seat?" He smirks. These were his first words when we met.
"I'm not quite done yet. Will you pose for me please?" I flutter my eyelashes at him, the same way I did the first time.
He lets out a hearty laugh, plopping down on the chair next to mine, kissing my head, "You're crazy."
Who would've thought that we would come this far?
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THE END?
Not quite! We still have one last chapter and an Epilogue lovelies! And I'm so excited for it! As much as I do not want to part ways with them, every good thing must come to an end one day.
The chapter and the epilogue will be posted soon!
Till then,
Stay Safe and Stay Happy! <3