10. The chapter where Christian carries Rose

Rose

We got back to campus about eight o'clock at night and the setting sun was painting the sky in countless shades of orange.

" You are her cousin, and she pretended not to know you," Sky muttered in disbelief.

We were walking through the parking lot back to the villa, remembering how Allie had simply ignored our presence in the restaurant earlier.

" She was with Simmons, surely she couldn't even remember her own name," Liam chuckled, "It's nothing I wasn't expecting.”

" And will she be allowed to remember her own name? I bet from now on she'll just go by babe, or whatever cheesy nickname he puts on her.”

" Don't be mean, Rose. Not everyone can have the innate talent for nicknames like me," Liam winked at me.

I was about to answer when a figure a few meters ahead caught my attention. Christian was lying under a tree with his eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the world around him.

Trying to resist the urge to approach, I turned my attention back to my friends, but to my surprise, they had all stopped talking.

" What was it? " I frowned, not understanding the looks they were giving me.

" We'll meet you inside, Rose," Sky hummed, walking away.

" Try not to take too long, I have something to give you," Liam warned, putting his arm around her shoulder.

I watched in disbelief as they all walked away laughing, leaving me behind. For a second I thought about following them, but they were already teasing me. I shrugged before approaching Christian, stopping beside him, hoping my presence would be noticed, and when it wasn't, I used the tip of my boot to poke at his ribs.

" Can't you give me some peace? " he murmured, his eyes still closed.

" I'm just checking to see if you're alive, the other way to do that is to pour water on you.”

Christian sighed, opening his ice-colored eyes before sweeping across my body in a not-so-discreet manner, causing me to arch my eyebrows when our gazes met.

" Until you arrived I wasn't at risk of death, now I'm not sure. You already hit me over the head with a glass and tried to run me over, maybe I should get a restraining order," he ignored my expression.

" Very funny. Why are you here alone?”

Christian stood up, running his fingers through his hair, then snapping his neck.

" I was reading an article on my cell phone and decided to take a break," he shrugged.

" And then you sleep in the middle of campus? Just when I think you couldn't get any weirder!”

"Do you want something, Campbell?" He stepped closer, crossing his arms.

Christian was taller than I was, so I had to lift my face to look into his eyes at his closeness.

" Not really, I was just hanging out with my friends and saw you here," I blurted, not sure what had led me to him. “You know, I wouldn't miss the chance to kick you.”

He let out a small laugh, uncrossing his arms before looking around, watching the place get emptier and emptier.

" Since I'm to blame for you ending up here alone, I guess I'll have to walk you back to the dorm, right? " he proposed, starting to walk.

" Walk me? You should carry me back, after all, thanks to me you're alive," I returned, not accompanying him.

He stopped, turning to me with an incredulous expression.

" I’m alive thanks to you?”

" I didn't try to kill you today," I offered him an innocent smile.

" Only in your dreams, Campbell. I'm not carrying you," he was emphatic.

I crossed my arms, arching my eyebrows as I maintained eye contact with the boy, not bothering to respond verbally.

" I'm not carrying you," he repeated slowly.

I tilted my head to the side, still keeping my gaze locked on his, not convinced by his answer. Christian's blue eyes lit up at this little silent battle, and for a second, I didn't know if I would actually get what I wanted, but he quickly looked away, causing a victorious smile to appear on my lips.

He turned his back to me and on an impulse, I jumped onto his back, slipping my arms around his neck, hooking my legs around his hips. His hands moved up the skin of my thighs exposed by the little shorts I was wearing, supporting me in that position before he began to walk toward the dorm building.

" I love this new mode of transportation, very comfortable," I teased him.

" In one week you have hit me with a glass, tried to run me over, kidnapped me, ripped the skin off the back of my neck, and now you have turned me into a donkey. Why did I make friends with you?" he complained.

" Ahhh, you just admitted that we are friends," I teased him, ignoring the rest of his words. “Donkey is a great nickname.”

" Silence. We're not friends, and you need to lose a little weight," he muttered, taking advantage of the open front door to enter the dwelling, "How can you be so heavy while being so thin?”

" Did you just call me fat?”

" I called you heavy," he corrected, carrying me through the halls, attracting some attention, "but probably half your weight comes from your bones and half from your ego.”

I slapped him on the head, before pulling his hair to the side I wanted him to carry me.

" My friends are in the common area," I warned.

" You can give me directions without pulling my hair out, Campbell," Christian muttered.

I brushed my fingernails against Christian's scalp before closing my hand over a beautiful patch of black hair.

" What can I say? Your hair is soft, great for pulling," I teased, feeling a little pressure from his hands on my thighs.

But without answering, he reached over to the couches where my friends were gathered, stopped there, and then let go of me.

" You missed this haunting along the way," Christian warned.

" I told you, Sage. I told you your crucifix wouldn't get in the way of our friendship, she is back," Liam sneered.

" Get a bigger one, and if it works, get me two.” Christian advised before turning his back and leaving.

I watched him walk away, before forcing Liam to give me some space so that I could also lie down on the couch with him, feeling satisfied with this brief interaction.

I felt Liam's hand on my waist, pulling my body close to his.

" You know that if any inspector comes by here, she's going to fight with both of you, right? " Sky warned, sitting cross-legged on the armchair.

" I'm just waiting for Rose to stop daydreaming so I can give her the present I've separated for her.”

That statement caused me to turn my face away from him.

" Did you say present?”

Liam indicated with his head a small paper bag. I sat up in a jump, reaching for the bag as he stood up and stretched.

" So this is what you ran to your room to get? " Theo teased the boy.

Opening the bag, I pulled out a tank top, or at least, what was left of one, since it looked like it had lost a nasty fight with the scissors. The side was very low cut, and you could see that it had been cut halfway down its length, and the neckline had also been expanded. But what was most striking was the handmade painting of a skeleton riding a flaming unicorn with the letters "T A M" underneath.

" Oh my God, you ripped off the shirt? " Sky blinked dumbfounded.

" That's called customization, I saw several tutorials on YouTube before I did it," Liam corrected.

" You should have seen others, because it looks terrible," Theo muttered, sitting on the floor against the wall.

Okay, this was far from professional work, but it wasn't that bad.I took off the T-shirt I was wearing, wearing only a bra, attracting the attention of some people passing by.

" What are you doing? " Sky raised his voice.

" Trying it on," I pointed out the obvious before putting on the shirt, adjusting the fabric to fit my body.

I stood up, turning around so that my friends could see every detail.

" It looks better than I imagined," Theo admitted.

" I could have cut a little on the back too, it would have looked cool," Sky stood up, analyzing the details more closely.

" Nice tattoo," Liam called our attention, pointing to the bandage partially hidden by my bra.

Damn, it's starting again!

" Liam, I love the gift, I'll use it next time we go out," I warned, grabbing the shirt and my purse that were forgotten on the couch, "but now I have to go. I loved hanging out with you guys.”

I hurried my steps away from the group, but not before I heard Theo practically shout.

" You can run away if you want, Rose. We're not going to let this go!