71| Tiny, Little Arguments

It was about 10 in the evening when Travis entered the Crawford mansion and silently tiptoed towards Zoey's room, without getting caught by Richard. Although her father was okay with them dating, Travis didn't want any unnecessary interrogation about what he was doing here at night.

He looked around to check if the coast was clear and then hopped towards the stairs. He was climbing the stairs with his head towards the lounge, when suddenly a menacing cough greeted him.

Turning his head to his front, Travis heaved a sigh when he found Sam standing there, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Thank God, it's you." Travis said.

"Why are you going into my sister's room like a thief at this time of the night?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"I... Um..." Travis pondered if he should be afraid of this middle schooler standing in front of him. "I just needed to talk to her."

"About what?" Sam asked further.

"About our Literature exam on Wednesday." Travis lied.

"You couldn't do that over phone?" Sam interrogated.

Groaning, Travis came straight to the point and asked, "What do you want?"

"Ask Zoey to give her me old headphones. She doesn't use them anyway." The little devil shrugged.

"Fine." Travis said. "Can I go now?"

Nodding, Sam stepped away, making room for Travis to pass. Travis was walking past him when he heard him say, "No hanky panky."

"The whole family is extra." Travis muttered under his breath and scurried towards Zoey's room.

He entered inside and found Zoey sitting on her bed, reading something. When she acknowledged Travis' presence, she immediately hid whatever she was reading under her pillow.

"Hi." Travis said and moved to the bed to sit beside her.

"Hi." She smiled back but she looked a little constipated.

"What's that?" Travis pointed towards the magazine looking thing peeking out from under her pillow.

"Nothing." She said in panic. "Just some adult magazines."

"Really?" Travis assessed her face to find out why she was lying. When she didn't say anything, he pulled out the magazine from under her pillow and read the name on the cover.

Milan Fashion Institute

"What is this? Some kind of prospectus?" Travis asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Mom sent it." Zoey replied half-heartedly.

"Why?" Travis asked as he quickly glanced through the pages of the prospectus. It was mostly about fashion and clothes and others things completely out of his grasp.

"Well," Zoey played with the hem of her top as she contemplated what to say. "She wants me to join this institute for a year."

"Does she know this is in Milan?" Travis chuckled.

"She wants to move there, with her." She said and with that, Travis' eyes widened. It took him a minute to process what she had said. Milan. In Italy. For a year. Away from him.

"Um... What did you tell her?" He asked carefully.

"I refused her obviously." Zoey replied, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"You don't want to go there?" Travis asked.

"No, that's not the point. It's just I can't move to a completely different country, leaving you and everyone else behind." She responded.

Travis stayed silent for a minute, analyzing the situation before giving in his input.

"What do you want? Do you want to attend this institute?" Travis asked.

"No. I mean, it's a great institute and I will learn a lot but I don't want to leave this place." She replied.

"Why?" Travis asked.

"Are you seriously asking me this? You are here, Travis. I don't want to leave you." She turned annoyed all of sudden.

"You won't be leaving me. I mean, you will come back after a year. Right? Besides, I'll be moving out for college too." Travis said.

"You don't understand. It's either Milan or you. There is no common pathway." Zoey replied.

"That's not true. We can be in a long distance relationship for a year." Travis tried to make her understand.

He didn't want to be the reason Zoey leaves such a big opportunity. He wanted to be someone who helps her move forwards, not someone who pulls her back from any kind of success.

"For God's sake, Travis. It doesn't work like this always. I'm not a long distance relationship type person. You are either with me or you are not. Who knows what happens in Milan? What if I never want to return? What if you decide that you are better off without me? What if one of us find someone else? What if I change there?" Zoey argued.

Travis assessed her dilated pupils, the frown on her forehead and reddish hue on her nose. She was angry and at that moment, there was no point arguing with her. So he did the next sane thing. Cupping her chin, he leaned down to peck on her lips. Her body immediately relaxed in his arms and she responded to his kiss eagerly, entering her tongue into his mouth.

"This discussion is over." She muttered under her breath as she moved into his lap and wrapped her arms around Travis' neck, deepening the kiss.

"Just think about it." Travis said, gently massaging her scalp, all the while returning her kiss. "Don't make a rash decision."

Breaking the kiss, Zoey glared at him with a dangerous look in her crazy eyes. "Do you want me to leave?"

"I want you to be happy." Travis said.

"Even if we are not together?" She squinted her eyebrows.

"What do you want me to do, Zoey? Act like a toxic, possessive guy who wants you to not pursue such an important opportunity. Because I am not that person and I won't do that." He said honestly while looking into her eyes.

Instead of appreciating him, Zoey's anger peaked. "Fuck you." She said and tried to disentangle herself.

"No." Travis kept her locked in place by gripping her waist.

"Leave me. I'll go, as far away as possible." She huffed, pulling herself away but Travis kept his hands secured.

"I won't let you be impulsive. You don't get to get angry at me foe wanting what's good for you." He said calmly. "We will find a way. You will talk to your friends and your father and reach a responsible and mature decision."

"Fuck you." She said again.

"You can do that afterwards." Travis lifted a corner of his mouth in a lazy smile.

When it became impossible to maintain an angry face at him, Zoey rolled her eyes and gave up. "You are a pain in my ass." She muttered under her breath. Travis just shrugged in return and kissed her cheek briefly.

••••••••••

Althea's prom dress was back from her stylist and she was trying it on for the fitting. After putting the dress on, she stared at herself in the mirror. The royal blue silk dress hugged her chest and then flowed down her body smoothly. The color complimented her glowing skin and brought out her eyes.

She was assessing herself in the mirror when she heard a surprised gasp from the doorframe of her room. Turning around, she found Ethan standing there, with his jaw hung low.

"You can't see me in my prom dress." Althea yelled.

"It's not a wedding dress, idiot. Of course I can see you." Ethan chuckled and then moved towards her. She looked breathtaking, so beautiful, almost like a Greek goddess. "It really isn't fair to other girls that you exist in the same world as them." He said, standing behind her and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

His words caused a smile to appear on her face. "Stop stroking up my ego. I am already arrogant enough, according to some people." She joked.

"Those people can suck my---"

"No foul language in my room." She kicked him in the shin.

"Yes, Ma'am." He said and lowered his face to rest it on her bare shoulder. Her scent, her curves, her hair, her skin, everything made him crazy. He wanted to have her right there, right now but he knew there were still three days before prom. Three days of pure torture.

She hummed when he slowly nuzzled his nose along the curvature of her delicate neck. "Prom is coming." She said.

"Don't remind me. It's not good for my hormones." He chuckled against her skin and placed a kiss against her collar bone, earning a small gasp from her.

"Have you planned anything special? I am not losing my virginity in school's store room." She stated.

"It will be a night to cherish forever. Don't worry. I'll make every moment special." Ethan said and stepped away before he could lost the last inches of control he had. Her proximity was not good for him, specially when every day in the past two months had been a hell.

"You better. Or I will change my mind last minute." Althea smirked.

"You won't have to. I assure you." He replied confidently.

Althea tried to keep her face straight, although the discussion created many small butterflies in her stomach. "Okay, now go. I need to tell my stylists about the things that need any changing." She said and turned her head towards the mirror.

"Fine. But only because seeing you in this dress is increasing my risk of stroke with every passing minute." Ethan said.

Althea chuckled at his words and then pushed him out of the room so she could call the stylist in peace without him hovering around.

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