Chapter 19

A/N: I’m so sorry my lil’ cupcakes ;__; This chapter’s pretty long, so I hope it’ll make up for the late update…I’m so sorry if I ruined your Saturday ;A;

Chapter 19: Abstinence, Another match, and Awkward coincidences.

But really.

Does he remember me?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander’s POV

I spent the next two days taking care of my lil’ angel (And of course, thanks to the suppositories, he recovered in no time).

Although by the third day, he was already back to working in the bakery.

“—Gretel can you get these into the oven? Oh, and Xander can you get Giselle to taste the cupcakes over there? Don’t forget to add the chocolate chips!” Chip sounded like a completely different person during peak hour.

I nodded quickly, propelling Giselle in the direction of the batter to let her taste it. After all, the new cupcake ‘Angel Chip’ was targeted at kids.

“Mm! Good!” Exclaimed my sister while she reached above the counter for more of the batter.

I snatched the tray out of her reach and slipped it into the oven quickly.

“Nope, no more.” I said firmly, plopping Giselle onto a small chair. “Tell Chocolate Chip when the cupcakes look yummy. Now they are all watery and ugly, so you know when to tell him right? You did it correctly just now—“

“I know I know I know!”

I pinched her cheeks for interrupting me, but ruffled her hair all the same. “Good girl.”

She beamed.

“Chip! Take the waffles into the bakery!” Rose called from a corner of the kitchen.

“B-But! I’m busy!” Chip protested, frantically piping the frosting of some red-coloured cupcakes.

“I’ll do it.” I volunteered, grabbing the tray of waffles and kicking the door open.

After almost a week at the Honeycutt’s I guess I got used to the buzz and rush of the bakery—especially with the massive amount of middle-aged women paying for bread and cupcakes for their children.

Sliding the tray into the bottom rack, I closed the display and retreated into the kitchen, leaving Coco by the crowded cashier.

I stole a glance at my angel.

His apron hugged his petite waist adorably, and he had Gretel’s hairband behind his fringe.

I had to resist the urge to embrace his adorable frame from behind.

Abstinence Xander. Abstinence. You can do this.

My eyes wandered to the apron again.

Nope.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Since I was away from school for practically a week, there was loads to catch up with.

“Dude what happened to you?”

“Where the hell did you go?”

“We thought you were hooking up with girls! Courtney said you did her!”

I frowned at the last one.

“What the fuck? That’s bullshit.”

Seth shrugged. “That’s what I heard.”

The bell rang and the few of us separated ways, with Blake and I making our way to the fields for PE.

“Xander,” Blake said suddenly, like he thought of something.

“What?”

“I’m not sure ‘bout this but I think bitchface told her friends to spread rumours about you.”

“Bitchface?” I raised my eyebrow.

Blake gave the ‘duh’ look. “Bitchface—Vicky…?”

Oh yeah. I was so worried about Giselle and Chip’s health that I assumed the slut was dead.

“What’d she say?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Something like you were poor and that you had a ugly sister.” He squared his shoulders, as if he didn’t care.

“But nobody seemed to care anyway,” Blake added.

I laughed, as we entered the changing rooms.

“Good then.”

“And she said you were...” Blake suddenly paused, and he drifted away.

“What? What else did she say?” I asked, a strange anxiety rose from my throat.

“N-Nothing…”

Frowning, I pressed. “You were about to say it! Just spit it out dude—“

“Forget it,” Blake said, looking me in the eye. “She’s just a bitch. No one believes her.”

“More importantly, we have another match this Saturday, so you better up your skills. Got it?” Said the captain of the volleyball team.

I sighed, dropping the matter.

“Since when did my skills need upping?”

Blake rolled his eyes.

“Fuck off dude.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Apart from the useless gossip in school, there were tons of incomplete homework (not that I cared) and topics to catch up. And the end-of-semester exams were coming up in two weeks.

Ah, shit.

As much as I wanted to do nothing but eat a certain dessert named ‘Chocolate Chip’, time was being more than a bitch.

When lunch break came, I told Blake and the guys to go first. And made my way to the usual spot under the tree.

Of course, Chip was there—sitting under the tree with his lunchbox in his lap. But unfortunately for me, he wasn’t alone.

His two friends eyed me as I took firm strides over.

“Hey.”

Chip turned around and his head jerked upwards in surprise, as he craned his neck to look up.

He blushed crimson and instantly lowered his gaze.

“H-Hi,” He replied shyly.

Shit he’s so cute.

I heard a cough from the side, and tore my gaze from Chip, resting on a rather indignant-looking guy and beside him, a pretty girl.

“Xander, right?” The girl, Kim I think, spoke in a calm voice. But I could almost sense the overwhelming wave of anticipation in her voice, as if she was excited.

“Uh…yeah…?” I said, unsure what she wanted.

“Wanna join us? Chip made rice balls and octopus sausages.” Kim asked nicely.

Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I immediately sat down and grabbed the first rice ball.

“Thanks,” I said to Kim and the guy. Then I turned to Chip. “Thanks Angel.”

His cheeks coloured again, and I realised that I really, really liked his blushing face. It made him look so erotic.

“Y-You’re welcome…”

After moments of silence, Kim broke it all-too-excitedly.

“So…you…and Chip huh?”

I winked. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Kim rolled her eyes but laughed all the same. “Hello? Like—the way you look at him is like—a wolf looking at his prey. You even lick your lips involuntarily,” She pointed out.

“What? I do?”

Kim and the other guy nodded.

“And besides, Chip seems different these days…he blushes way too much when we talk about you,” said the other guy, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

“And you are…?”

“Jack. Woops forgot that you’re Mr. Popular,” Jack said sarcastically, smirking a little.

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. Sarcasm? I can handle that.

“Yeah sure—not as if you don’t have a thing for Miss. Pretty over here—“ I jerked my head in Kim’s direction.

Jack’s face reddened and he began to stammer. “W-What? No I don’t—“

“Okay okay guys, we get it, stop snapping at each other’s mouth’s come on.” Kim interjected, pulling us apart.

I reached across Chip’s lap, grabbing another rice ball.

“Vicky.”

The name almost made me spit the delicious rice in my mouth.

“What the heck? Must you say that ugly name while I’m eating?” I directed the question to Kim, who had blurted the name nonchalantly.

“Well…not exactly.” Kim flipped her hair, “We just wanted you to know that we’ve taken care of her.” The girl beamed, and I thought I felt a dark presence.

She cracked her knuckles, still smiling. “But of course, it’s never enough is it? We have another plan.” Kim gestured to Jack and herself.

I heard a small sigh beside me. Chip’s head was hung low.

“Err—does it involve killing her?” I asked, “Cuz if it does, I’m in.”

Kim checked her nails. “Hmm, well…no. That won’t do will it? We need her to suffer.” She laughed, and I swear, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Jack scooted a meter away from Kim.

“K-Kim…don’t do anything rash—“ Chip started anxiously, but his friend cut him off.

“Don’t worry Chippie, nothing rash. Just slow torture.” Kim smiled.

I tried to cover up my laugh with a cough.

“Okay, I’m in.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Saturday was the hottest day ever. The air was dry and stuffy, without a trace of wind.

I checked my watch.

“Chip,” I called over the breakfast table, gently nudging him under the table.

His head jerked up and he blushed when our gazes met. “Y-Yes?”

“You’re coming to the match right?” I asked, sending a spoonful of scrambled eggs into my mouth.

I saw Rose and Gretel glance over, but trying to act as if they didn’t hear anything.

“U-Um…I guess…” Chip replied in a small voice, and he peeked through his eyelashes, giving me a coy smile.

I felt a rush of excitement and relief well up in my chest, and I practically beamed.

“Great. We set off at ten?”

My angel nodded, nibbling on his waffle. His sisters stared at him.

“W-What?”

Rose, Gretel and Coco shook their heads, sighing unanimously.

Chip looked like a lost kitten. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him up the stairs, telling him to change quickly.

“O-Okay,” He nodded and proceeded to look through his tiny drawer of clothes.

I rummaged through my backpack, grabbing the school team jacket and beach pants—what I usually wore to competitions. Tearing my shirt and pants off, I changed into the beach pants and slipped the jacket on, without bothering to wear a shirt.

Who wears a shirt at the beach?

And then I turned around just to see Chip pulling on a thin, white shirt.

Pfft. Oh right, Chip wears a shirt.

At least no one else can see what’s mine.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We decided to borrow Hansel’s bike for the day to get around easily.

But it wasn’t for the sake of convenience that I would get around in a bike, rather, it was the fact that I could feel Chip’s slim arms around my waist and his soft body pressed on mine. You probably already know that.

“You okay?” I turned around to see Chip struggling to get on the bike.

“I-It’s too high—“

I couldn’t stop the laugh escaping my mouth and my angel pouted.

“Okay, I’ll lower the seat,” I got off the bike and did several adjustments, with Chip thanking me gratefully.

Hopping back onto the front, I felt a pair of slim arms wrap around my waist gently, as if shy.

Cranking up the pedal, I pushed off from the ground and sped down the road, feeling the pair of arms tighten in fear around my mid-section.

I smiled to no one in particular, wondering what this warm and fuzzy feeling was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The first thing I felt as we neared the beach was burning gazes.

We got strange looks from different people—some old woman taking a walk, a volleyball participant I recognized, and a couple of students from different schools. Including ours.

I felt the small hands gripping my jacket loosen, as Chip’s body recoiled from mine.

I parked the bike at the stands and got off, slinging the duffel bag across my shoulder. Chip followed, bringing along his picnic basket while he practically hid behind me.

“Xander! Dude, you’re late! We were supposed to—“ Blake trailed off when he saw the small figure behind me.

“Hey…you’re Chip…right?” He asked, albeit hesitant.

My angel nodded, and he opened his mouth to say something when—

“Oi!”

“Xander, what took you so long?”

“The weather’s freaking burning! Can we go for a dip during the break?”

My group of friends arrived all at once, gathering behind Blake as they looked at me in somewhat eager anticipation.

Chip recoiled from his position and moved further behind me, shrinking from the crowd.

I felt him tug at the hem of my jacket and I sensed his anxiety.

“Listen—er, I gotta go warm up with Blake first. So…” My gaze swept the group.

“Move?” I ended.

The crowd disintegrated in the next instant, and I felt Chip’s hand slip from the back of my jacket.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chip’s POV

U-Uwah, so many people…

I glanced up at Xander, and caught a glimpse of a rather frightening expression on his face as he said a single word: ‘Move.’

S-Scary…reminds me of the time when I first met him in school.

Upon seeing the look on Xander’s face, the crowd thinned instantly, leaving only the tall guy from Xander’s Beach Volley team.

I breathed a sigh of relief—and all of a sudden, Xander turned to face me, leaning down to level our gazes.

I took a step back, startled by the close proximity.

“Hey Angel, listen, I gotta get ready for the match—but I’ll take you to find Kim and Jack first okay?” He asked, whispering gently into my ear.

I shivered involuntarily, and I think Xander saw how awfully sensitive my ears were.

He smirked, and reached a hand out—

“Ahem.”

I jumped, almost forgetting the presence of Xander’s teammate.

“Sorry to interrupt but I think we’re running late…”

Xander cast his gaze skywards before turning back to face his friend. “Fine, whatever. I’m just going to get this lil’ guy over to the stands.”

“More like—to greet your fans,” I heard the other guy mumble under his breath.

“What did you say?” Xander threatened playfully, grabbing a fistful of his friend’s school jacket.

“Nothing, nothing…”

The taller male placed a firm hand on the small of my back, propelling me in a direction.

“C’mon Chip, let’s go.”

I nodded, but there was an itching sense of discomfort at the back of my mind.

Like insecurity.

And I couldn’t help but agree with what Xander’s friend said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Xander took me to the stands, he was immediately surrounded by an impermeable horde of girls—and me?

I was thrown somewhere along the sides of the circle, somehow a few good meters away from Xander when I was just an inch away a second ago.

Just like a plastic bottle swept by the crashing waves of the vast ocean, further and further away from the shore—I, the useless bottle, was…defeated.

I smiled quietly to myself, and decided that it was best to give Xander some space.

After all, he didn’t belong to me.

I-I guess…

“Chip!” A familiar voice called from behind, and I recognized it immediately.

I spun around, just to catch Kim in my arms.

“H-Hi Kim!” I said breathlessly, taken aback by the crushing hug.

“Hai-eeeeeeeeeeeee!” She stretched the last syllable, proceeding to further tighten her arms around my shoulders.

When Kim finally let go, I took several seconds to catch my breath.

“Soooo~ today’s going to be a great day!” She sang, punching her fist up into the air.

“What—why—?” I huffed, catching a glimpse of Jack wandering across the stands. I waved to catch his attention.

Kim didn’t seem to notice that Jack had arrived, or that I was panting heavily—or that she almost killed me, for the matter.

Her gaze was directed at the horizon, as she looked past the stands in a rather grand manner.

“Why, my dear. Today, we shall have some fun at the beach!”

She twirled a strand of her blonde hair, and added, “Vicky will be here today.”

“E-Ehh??” I stood bolt upright, no longer caring about the ache in my chest from before.

Grabbing Kim’s shoulders, I turned her to face me. “What do you mean? You couldn’t possibly—“

My best friend smiled.

“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late so where are we—w-what’s with that smile…?” Jack stopped mid-sentence, recoiling from Kim.

“Ehehe…” Kim only laughed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander told me that in today’s match, there were only 4 schools competing. Two from our local town, and another two from the next. It was a round-robin tournament, which meant that it was going to be slightly longer than the previous ones.

Under the cool shade of the stands, I watched as Xander tossed the ball into the air, sprinting, and jumping to give the strongest jump serve that I’ve ever seen. Um, well, not that I’ve seen many.

But I could definitely tell that he had improved.

The first match was confusing as usual (for a person like me who knows nuts about sports), but all I knew was that Xander and his teammate, Blake I think (the announcer said it a few minutes ago), were having a breeze with the opposing team.

The scores kept going up, and the gap was getting wider and wider—our school’s morale bursting through the roof.

“Oh—and that’s a score for Rivendell! A beautiful spike I must say—“

“And there it is again!”

“Another point to Rivendell!”

The crowd cheered, and some jeered. Kim and her friends were beside themselves, screaming and clapping.

Before I knew it, the last point was scored and it was time for the second match. If our school won this round, it would almost be an automatic win—because out of the 3 teams we were going against, we would have won 2.

Since the system went by the number of wins, it would be an easy clinch for them!

I really hoped Xander would win.

“On court number one we have Rivendell going against Northvale!” The crowd cheered.

“And on court number two we have Ashton High versus Hamilton!” The players took their places and the stands hushed.

From my seat, I could see both courts pretty well, and strangely, I found one of the players from Ashton High quite…familiar…

He looked like someone I knew, but that wasn’t possible—I’ve never been to Ashton High. It was the other high school in the town, the one that was closer to the bakery but not to Rivendell.

“And now, referees—please.”

The whistle blew and the striped ball went into the air.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We didn’t win.

I could see the look on Xander and Blake’s faces when they were one point behind—afraid that the next would be scored by the opposing team.

And when they did, Xander and Blake turned to each other but said nothing. Just hit each other on their backs and smiled.

“Alright players—great game! Now, the last match will be held after the two-hour lunch break, make sure you drink up and rest, for the next one is the deciding match of our winners!”

Xander and Blake shook hands with their opponents and left the court.

On the other side, it seemed that Ashton had won the round, with two wins on their side.

T-Two wins already…? Then the last match…

Rivendell versus Ashton.

I gulped, a strange discomfort at the pit of my stomach.

“C’mon Chip! What are you waiting for? Let’s go have fun at the beach!” Kim’s friend, Anya, grabbed my hand and dragged me down the stands—leading me to the rest of the group (including Jack).

Jack and I helped the girls to set up the beach umbrellas and towels, while they laid the mats under the shade.

Proudly setting my picnic basket on the corner of the mat, I brought out sandwiches and brownies I baked the previous day.

“Brownies!”

Everyone made for the food eagerly, including Jack—who didn’t seem to mind spending time with Kim’s friends anymore.

Just when we were starting on Anya’s fruit salad, I heard an ear-piercing voice sound not far away.

“Oh, it’s so hot here!”

“Look Vicky! Our spot’s been stolen by some idiots!”

There was a gasp, followed by a shriek. “What?! How dare they?! I’ll—“

Vicky’s pretty blonde hair came into view, and she seemed to get a shock when she saw us staring back at her.

“W-What are you guys doing here?” She stammered, as her friends filed behind her like bodyguards.

Kim raised her eyebrow. “Is there a problem?” She asked, tone rather amused. (Gosh, I always wonder how she can keep her calm in these sort of situations every single time!)

Vicky flinched slightly from the tone in Kim’s voice, as if she something had hit her.

“I…Well, this is our spot, so could you move—“ Vicky began, only to be interrupted

“Uh, excuse me, but I think we came here first,” piped Anya, and Natasha nodded.

One of Vicky’s friends had her mouth in the shape of an ‘o’, as she placed a manicured hand over her chest.

“Ugh, these people! How rude!”

“C’mon Vicky, let’s find somewhere else—“

Vicky bit her lip, and for a moment, I thought she looked a little afraid.

But then her gaze flickered to me, and her expression hardened, sending me a cold glare.

I recoiled from her gaze, as the group turned to walk a few meters away—to a rather nice shady spot under a palm tree.

What exactly did Kim and Jack do to Vicky?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I could hear another group of people coming our way, and they settled not far from us, propping up the beach umbrellas and mats.

The chatter was alive but so mixed that I couldn’t catch much of their conversation.

I didn’t really take much notice of them, until I heard a girl’s voice saying: “Hey Xander, could you help me with my suntan lotion? I can’t reach the back…”

My head turned, eyes taking in a very pretty girl wearing a nice swimsuit—um I mean…underwear…I mean…um…underwear that was allowed on the beach—a-anyway, she placed a slender hand on Xander’s shoulder, handing him a bottle of lotion.

I lowered my gaze, feeling my heart twist into knots.

I-Is this jealousy?

Another voice in my mind chided: Don’t be jealous Chip! You have no right to be!

You’re right…Xander doesn’t belong to me…

“Oi, Xander! You coming or not? We’re going to start the game!” I heard another voice call from the middle of the shore.

“Uh—coming!” Xander shouted back, still held back by the girl.

He said something to her which I couldn’t quite catch, and then dashed off to join his friends at an extra volley net set up in the middle of the beach.

Xander’s friends handed him the ball and they seemed to be deciding the teams.

“Xander! Can you teach me how to play?”

“I asked first!”

“Xander’s on my team—“

Their voices were loud enough for me to hear, especially the girls’ but I didn’t know why…

Just then, Kim stood up from the mat, and grabbed my hand.

“W-What--?”

She yanked me up, hard, into a standing position, and the rest of her friends joined her.

“Err—Kim? What are you doing?” Jack asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Hmm~I think we might go and join those guys over there!” Kim hummed, jerking her head towards Xander’s group.

“E-Ehhh??” I tried to wriggle my hand out of Kim’s grasp, but her grip was vice-like. “But I don’t want to join—“

“Let’s goooo!”

The girls giggled, and together, they dragged me towards the volley net—where Xander and his friends were.

I felt a wave of heat creeping up the base of my neck, and I knew that my entire face was red.

“Hey! Can we join you guys?” Kim asked, putting on her most charismatic smile as she took off her cropped-tee. Revealing her…appealing, black swimsuit (which wasn’t really a swimsuit it’s just underwear but honestly girls call it a swimsuit).

Some of Xander’s friends cat-called, and Blake laughed.

Xander rolled his eyes, but then his gazed flickered behind Kim.

And I swear, I thought I saw his eyes light up.

“Sure! Do you know how to play?” Xander asked, directing the question to Kim and the girls.

“Of course,” My best friend replied, sashaying over to the opposite net.

I shuffled my feet, feeling out of place—as the girls in Xander’s group glared at Kim.

“How ‘bout you teach us first? Since all of you guys seem to know how to play Volleyball.” Anya piped up.

Xander glanced at Blake and the rest of his sporty-looking friends.

“Okay then—“ Once the words were out of Xander’s lips, everyone went right up under his nose to beg him to teach them.

Seeing that no one could possibly notice me, I tip-toed away silently, wanting to get out of this awkward situation as much as possible. However, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone following me. I quickened my pace.

“Hey! Oi!” An unknown voice called from behind.

I continued walking.

“Hey! Uh—the one in the white shirt!”

Me?

I turned around, just in case.

Oh! It’s the guy from Ashton High!

The one I found…strangely…familiar…

“Hey, I heard you guys wanted to learn Volley?” He asked, smiling a million-dollar smile.

I felt a strong heat claw at my cheeks.

“U-Um…not me—I’ll just…” I couldn’t even speak properly—his gaze was really intense, making me feel really uncomfortable.

“That’s fine, I can teach you!” He played with the striped ball in his hands, sandy blonde hair flying in the wind.

“Ace Salander,” The good-looking guy extended a hand, “you?”

I was taken aback by the quick escalation of the matter, and quickly glanced back at my friends near the volley net.

That was when I saw Xander’s face.

His expression was hardened and fierce, his shoulders tensed—as if someone had offended him to a great extent.

My eyes darted back to the person in front of me—Ace.

“U-Um…I think I should be…going…back…” I took a few steps away tentatively.

“Aw, c’mon just tell me your name?” He said, expression somewhat pleading.

I blushed, flattered that someone would even want to know my name.

“Chip…Chip Honeycutt.”

“Cute name for someone as cute.” Ace winked, and I blushed harder.

Inching further away, I tried to get some distance.

But just then, he grabbed hold of my arm.

I gasped and flinched. “W-Wha—“

“Don’t be scared, Volley isn’t that bad—“

.

.

“What are you doing?” A low voice interrupted, and Ace was shoved aside.

“Woah woah,” Ace had his hands up—as if surrendering.

Xander stood strong beside the Ashton participant, his eyes ablaze.

They were even levelled in height—both equally tall.

“What were you doing?” Xander asked again, tone dangerous—almost filled with venom.

Ace backed up, shrugging.

“Dude, I only touched his arm—“

“You touched him?”

“Chill! I’m just being nice—“

Xander laughed. But it wasn’t a nice one.

Then his face sealed—showing no expression.

“The fuck do you want—Ashton kid.” I flinched at his tone.

Ace raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, you’re the Rivendell guy.”

“Nice serves,” he added, trying to lighten the mood.

Xander gave him the look that basically said—don’t mess with me kid.

Ace suddenly clapped his hands together, as if remembering something.

“Rivendell! My sister’s there—she’s a senior!”

Xander raised an eyebrow, unamused.

“You know her? Her name’s—“

.

And then I realised why I found him awfully familiar.

It’s not that I saw him before, but rather…

“Vicky! Sounds familiar?” Ace finished, an excited expression on his face.

Xander looked ready to kill.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N:

So…Vicky has a brother?? O.O Whut. Well, he doesn’t sounds too bad…r-right? Ahh~ I’ll see you guys next Saturday!

Oh! And vote if I should let the next chapter be Vicky’s death. Okay I’m just kidding.

Can any of you guess what Kim did to Vicky? X’D

-Cuppiecake.