quatorze

Hello fellow Wattpadians!

So this chapter is dedicated to the phenomenal bluefire58 for her consistent supportive comments on every chapter! I know I don't respond often but I love your comments, darl ❤

So as I was typing up this chapter, I realized that I have never made a full cast for any of my stories. I usually don't do so as I prefer letting you guys conjure up images of what you think the characters look like.

However, in the interest of celebrating how far this story has come, I've decided to post a few *tentative* ideas of people whose aesthetics match somewhat the looks of the story's characters. These are, by no means, what you have to imagine the characters to look like, but I thought this would be a cool thing to do, especially since Wattpad started allowing writers to put in gifs and pictures into their chapters.

So, without further ado... here's my unofficial cast for this story :)

Rodrigo Guirao Diaz as Danny

Constance Jablonski as Elise Crawley

Liu Wen as Rebekah Lee

And because I have a massive soft spot for this one, I can't choose my perfect guy for him so I'm leaving this casting as: 'Whoever the heck you want it to be' as Sebastian Crawley.

Like I said before, this is only my opinion. I would love to see the casting that you guys have in mind for the main characters (if you have one).

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Percy

*

Six weeks later

The Australian economy has become increasingly reliant on the rich minerals that our land possesses; this has become...

Rebekah could feel her eyelids slowly shut as her fingers danced incessantly across the keyboard. Her body was craving sleep and without the help of caffeine, she wasn't sure if this essay could be done before 8am the next morning.

Let this be a lesson to never start an assignment the night before it's due, she thought grimly as she peeked at the clock at the corner of her screen.

Across the room, she realised that Elise was slumped over a pile of papers. Wisps of blonde hair fell across her face as a trickle of saliva drooled down the side of her mouth.

"E!" Rebekah hissed. When there was no response, she scrunched up a piece of paper and tossed it at her friend. It bounced harmlessly off the top of Elise's head, causing her to jump to life.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Elise sat up straight, her bones cracking with the sudden movement. "Fuck, is it morning?"

"Technically, yeah. We have six hours until this paper is due." Rebekah yawned. "Although, at the rate we're going, we're going to need six days to get it done."

Elise groaned and stood up. "That's it. I'm calling in the big guns." She walked over to the mini bar fridge in the corner.

"E, we keep the coffee here, remember?" Rebekah tapped the side of her desk.

"Who said anything about coffee? I'm grabbing a Red Bull."

Rebekah's eyebrows shot up her head. "E," she said in a warning tone. "Those energy drinks will make you have a massive crash later."

Elise grabbed a red and blue can from the fridge and bumped it shut with her leg. "We need it, Beck. If we're going to have any chance of finishing this damn assignment, I need a shot of caffeine."

"A shot of caffeine is one cup of coffee. One can of Red Bull is equal to eight cups of coffee." Rebekah could feel her forehead scrunch up with concern. "You're going to come down from your energy high in a few hours and feel horrible."

Elise grinned. "I know." Opening the can, she downed half the contents before Rebekah could stop her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "As Seb likes to say, c'est la vie." She offered the rest of the contents to Rebekah who declined with a wry smile.

"Well, then." Elise rubbed her eyes. "Bottoms up!" She finished the rest of the drink and threw the empty can into the waste paper basket before half-skipping towards her desk. "Now, let's get this shit done."

*

Twelve hours later, she crashed.

She could barely make it out of the last lecture of the day, and Rebekah found herself hauling her semi-conscious roommate back to their room.

"I feel like shit," Elise mumbled as Rebekah tossed her onto her bed. "Fuck, my head hurts. I don't even remember what I wrote for our report."

Rebekah didn't say anything as she pulled off Elise's shoes and removed her glasses. When the glasses were safely out of Elise's reach, she pulled the covers over her.

"I'm never touching a drop of Red Bull again," came a muffled voice from under the blankets. "Never."

Rebekah rolled her eyes as she stumbled over to her own bed and kicked off her own shoes. She was terribly tired from the all-nighter they just pulled, but she doubted that she felt half as crap as Elise did.

She shrugged. She had tried to warn her.

Within moments, she heard soft snores coming from the other bed.

Despite her exhaustion, Rebekah found herself unable to sleep. Something was niggling at the back of her mind so that it remained active while the rest of her body sought for sleep.

With a soft groan of frustration, she slid out of bed and pulled on her track shoes. Maybe a workout would make her tired enough to fall asleep.

She slipped out of the room and ducked into the hallway, frowning at the bright sunlight that pierced through the large glass windows. She felt so tired and grumpy that the mere sight of sunlight was annoying her.

Exiting the dormitories, she pulled her jacket tighter around her. Summer had bled into autumn and the weather was beginning to cool. Cloud hung low in the sky, grey and ominous as they threatened to let their contents spill forth.

Jogging to the student gymnasium, she slid her card against the card scanner. When a green light blinked, she pushed the door open, half-expecting to the greeted with the thick stench of sweat and heavy grunting. Instead, she was met with nothing.

The gym was empty.

Surprised by this, Rebekah roamed around the machines, most of which she had no idea how to use. Her sister had dated a gym rat back in high school but Rebekah herself had hardly ever been in a gym.

Truth be told, she felt unnerved. Mirrors filled the wall on one side of the room, making it hard for her to escape her own reflection. It wasn't as if she hated it; she just wasn't sure if she wanted to watch herself die as she attempted to run on the treadmill.

Her eyes had almost done a completely scan of the room when she noticed someone in the corner. They were lifting weights in silence, perspiration pouring down the side of their face. Their white shirt was soaked through so that it clung to their form.

Rebekah felt a thrill run down her spine when she recognised who it was.

"Seb?"

The weights clattered to the floor as Sebastian jumped, clearly shocked by her voice.

"Beck? What're you doing here?" He felt around for awhile until he found the towel laying at his feet. "I didn't know you came here to work out."

Rebekah let out an unladylike snort. "I don't. This is my first time." She sobered quickly. "What're you doing here by yourself? I thought Elise said that you were only allowed to come to the gym with Danny."

"Danny went out with a few new friends. I thought I'd come here without my babysitter to come clear my head." Sebastian wiped his face and arms with the towel before tossing it over his shoulder.

Rebekah stepped closer, smiling when Sebastian reached out instinctively to settle his hands on her waist. Before she could stop him, he had tugged her down so that she fell into his lap in an unruly heap.

"You're all sweaty," she protested. "Your shirt is almost dripping."

Sebastian chuckled, his grip on her tightening so that she couldn't escape.

"I'll let you go if you kiss me."

Rebekah stopped squirming and glared at him. "Are you blackmailing me?"

A smirk played at the corners of his lips. "Maybe."

He leaned closer, his face mere inches from hers. Up close, Rebekah could see how long and dark his lashes were as they kissed the skin below his eyes. His hair was growing long and it curled around his ears, tantalisingly soft and silky.

Reaching out tentatively, she rested one hand on his chest and the other in his hair, running her fingers through the strands. His head tilted closer and without hesitation, he planted his lips gently on her cheek.

"Were you aiming for my lips?" Despite the shock, Rebekah couldn't resist teasing him. "Because I think you missed."

Sebastian smiled. "Doesn't matter," he murmured. He pressed his lips against her cheek again, this time edging closer to their target destination. "Once I find them, I'll kiss you senseless."

Rebekah felt herself blush at this. Sebastian enjoyed doing this this- pushing her boundaries. He liked showing her new things, but he was careful to never push her past her limits. Elise had told her that Sebastian would love corrupting her, but Rebekah realised that she enjoyed experiencing new things with him too.

The first few times he had encouraged her to sit on his lap, she had felt as if her body was on fire. She'd squirmed and strange sensations had threatened to overwhelm her, but now, it just felt... right. She loved how his arms felt wrapped around her torso and the way she could freely run her fingers through his hair in this position.

As his lips edged closer to hers, Rebekah could hear alarm bells ringing in her head, and she couldn't help but feel so immature. Kids were having their first kisses at 13 and here she was at 18 with her heart pounding against her ribs purely because she was about to be kissed for the first time.

He narrowed the gap, his lips now barely a hair's breadth from hers. Their breaths mingled together and she could taste the anticipation in the air. A lump filled her throat.

Without warning, her eyes slid shut and a second later, Sebastian's lips found hers.

He was gentle, slow as he moved his lips against hers. He tasted divine, like honey and cinnamon and sweet nectar all rolled up into one. His arms loosened their grip on her as he reached up and cupped her cheek lightly.

His soft lips swept across hers, and almost on instinct, Rebekah found herself kissing him back. He was delicious, like a drug she couldn't get enough of.

So this is what she'd been missing out on all these years.

When they both finally needed to breathe, they broke apart, panting. Rebekah could feel her heart racing at a million miles per hour.

She glanced up at Sebastian, expecting something close to a smirk on his face but there wasn't one. Instead, there was a look of consternation plastered across his handsome features.

Rebekah felt her heart sink. She hadn't considered how bad the kiss might have been for him. After all, she was about the most inexperienced kisser in the world.

Her face began to grow red with embarrassment and she was about to make up an excuse to run away when his voice stopped her.

"Was that... okay? For you?" He sounded so tentative and unsure of himself that Rebekah wasn't sure if she'd heard him right.

"Was what okay?" she asked in confusion.

"The kiss. Fuck, I'd wanted it to be so perfect, but I didn't do it right. I'm so sorry, Beck. I wanted your first kiss to be perfect, like you. I mean, you deserve the best and-"

Rebekah watched Sebastian's lips move but she'd stopped listening. She couldn't imagine how he thought a perfect first kiss should go, but the one he'd given her had seemed perfect enough.

"I loved it," she said.

Sebastian stopped word-vomitting. "Wait. What did you say?"

Rebekah could feel her confidence return slowly as she poked his cheek lightly. "I said I. Loved. It." She  smiled. "I don't have any prior experience to fall back on, and I have no idea what a good kiss entails, but I... I l-like kissing y-you." As if on cue, her cheeks began to heat up and she was, again, glad that he couldn't see her blush.

But she needn't have worried. Rebekah watched a bright smile light up Sebastian's face. "I like kissing you too, babe. In fact, you're the only person I want to kiss." The term of endearment rolled off his tongue like it was the most natural thing in the world. But before Rebekah could even process the enormity of it, he was already speaking again.

"And I don't mind that you don't have any prior experience. I look forward to teaching you everything there is to know." He tightened his arms around her again and dipped his head forward so that his lips were pressed against the smooth column of her neck, causing shivers to run down her spine. "Are you free tonight?"

"I think so. Why?"

"I want to take you out on a date."

Rebekah felt her heart tighten and butterflies erupted in her stomach at the prospect. She had grown to love how forward Sebastian was with her. She needed him to be; she was too inexperienced to understand flirting. "I guess you could call it a blind date then," she murmured softly.

Sebastian pretended to scowl. "Eye see what you did there," he mumbled. "And eye don't know whether to be offended or proud that you just used one of my jokes on me."

"You're a bad influence."

Sebastian laughed. "But I'm your bad influence."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. She still hadn't told him about Robin and their arranged marriage, but she wasn't sure she wanted to. Life was so easy with him. Being with him made her forget all her troubles; she liked him way more than she should. Besides, Robin was in love with someone else. Surely their families wouldn't make them marry each other when they saw how happy they each were with their respective partners.

And as Sebastian reluctantly unwound his arms from around her, Rebekah realised something.

If she wasn't already in love with him, she was pretty damn close.