Courtney’s POV

Bzzzzpp. Bzzzzpp. Bzzzzpp.

I yawn and press the snooze button. Ugh, Mondays.

After getting dressed and fixing my hair, I trot downstairs to make myself a bowl of cereal. My father is just leaving for work.

“Bye, daddy.” I say and give him a peck on the cheek.

He adjusts his tie before waving good-bye and stepping out the front door. “Bye. Have a good day, sweetheart.”

I pour দুধ into my bowl of Cheerios and sit down to the breakfast table. I stir the spoon around in circles and stare at the food. Sighing, I bring a heaping spoonful to my mouth and eat it. I’m not awfully hungry. At least, not for Cheerios.

I eye my cell. It wouldn’t hurt to give Duncan a call, would it?

Snatching my phone, I find Duncan number in the তালিকা of contacts and press talk.

The phone rings several times before he answers.

“Mmm?” His voice is groggy and unclear.

“Duncan? It’s Courtney.”

“Huh? Oh, Princess, hi. আপনি woke me up.”

“What?” I gasp. “Duncan, school starts in fifteen minutes!”

Duncan groans on the other line. “Oh, right. It does…” His voice fades out and I can hear him begin to snore.

Grinning, I grab my CIT whistle off of the counter and blow, holding it to the phone’s mouthpiece.

Pppppfffffttttt!

“What?! I’m up! I’m up!” Duncan seems much আরো alert now.

“Good. Don’t forget the project. It’s due today and it’s at your house.” I remind him.

“Right… the project…” He seems to be falling back asleep.

“Duncan!”

“Okay, I’m awake. Sheesh. I’ll see আপনি in fifteen minutes.”

“Good.” I snap my phone shut and finish what’s left of my cereal. After quickly brushing my teeth, I head out the door and lock it behind me.

“So, how was the party?”

Becky লিঙ্ক her arm through my right arm, and Tara লিঙ্ক with the other as we travel down the hall.

“It was fine.” I reply simply. Becky smirks.

“You let loose, didn’t you?”

“No…”

Tara laughs. “You so did. I wish I’d been there to see it.”

I smile and slowly shake my head. “I guess… a little. It was fun. Except that I woke up with a huge headache.”

“And,” Becky leans in closer. “Duncan…?”

I feel my face go beet red. “What about him?” I croak.

Becky narrows her eyes at me. “Courtney… what happened?”

I bite my lower lip. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Becky searches my face for an answer. Her jaw পায়জামা and her eyes widen when she comes to a conclusion. “No way! He did not!”

Tara frowns. “What? What are we talking about?”

“Nothing.” I snap. “Nothing happened, so there’s nothing to talk about.”

Becky leans অগ্রবর্তী and looks at Tara. “Duncan kissed Courtney.”

Tara gasps. “No way!”

“How do আপনি do that?” I ask. She must read minds.

“It’s a gift.” She shrugs. “And what a jerk. He can’t just go স্নেহ চুম্বন you! Where is that boy so I can kick his selfish ass?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Don’t do that. He just…”

Tara eyes me. “Why not? Aren’t আপনি mad at him? You’re going out with Josh, remember?”

“But he doesn’t know that.” I reason. Becky gawks at me.

“Courtney! If আপনি don’t tell him soon, he just might get the impression that, আপনি know, you’re single. আপনি have to tell him.”

“Look.” I sigh. “I just don’t want him to know, okay? It’s none of his business, anyway.”

“Courtney-”

“Promise me আপনি won’t tell him. Promise?”

Becky reluctantly agrees. “Fine. I promise.” We look at Tara expectantly. She rolls her eyes.

“I’m not going to tell, okay?” She is notoriously bad at keeping secrets. I stare for a সেকেন্ড longer just to make sure.

“I have science. See আপনি later.” I wave to my বন্ধু and step inside the science classroom. Not surprisingly, Duncan is sitting in one of the desk, playing with his lighter. I raise a brow and take the আসন in front of him.

“Do আপনি have the project?” I ask. Duncan looks up and nods towards the desk.

“Yeah, I didn’t forget. Thanks to your wake up call.” He smirks.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t going to let my grades suffer just because আপনি needed your beauty sleep.”

The door opens and I quickly take my seat. Mrs. Trendall walks to the front of the class and sits at her desk. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Duncan snapping his lighter shut and shoving it into his pocket.

“Bring your projects to the front.” She instructs. I snatch the papers off of Duncan’s ডেস্ক and walk to Mrs. Trendall’s desk. She briefly glances over the front page and places it on her ডেস্ক with the other projects.

“I trust আপনি had enough time to finish?” She asks.

I nod. “Yes. We got it done after school.”

“Good. Now take your seat. Class, open your textbooks to page fifty-four.”

I do as instructed and the class proceeds as usual. When the ঘণ্টা rings, I pack up my বই and head out. Duncan walks alongside, to my dismay.

“Did আপনি want something?” I ask.

“Oh, I already got what I wanted the other night.” He grins. I feel my face flush with embarrassment.

“You’re such an ogre. And দ্বারা the way, আপনি can’t just চুম্বন me like that!” I growl. Duncan shrugs.

“You know আপনি liked it. আপনি know আপনি like me.”

I glare at him. “I do not like you, okay?”

Duncan doesn’t believe me. “You keep telling yourself that, Princess.”

“What makes আপনি so sure?” I sneer.

He smiles as if he knows something that I don’t. “Oh, I have my reasons.”

I roll my eyes and walk off. “Whatever.”

“See আপনি later!” Duncan calls after me, and I find myself wondering what he means.

I turn the skull around in my hands, fingering each crevice. The wood is smooth on my skin. I don’t bother to try and get rid of it, I know it’s useless. I suppose fait doesn’t want me to part with it just yet, even though my head does. I sit up in my বিছানা and stare at the skull. Most guys give their girlfriends flowers. But then, I guess Duncan isn’t like most guys.

Running a hand through my hair, I place the skull on the edge of my বিছানা and grab my book off of my nightstand. I open to a page and read. After fifteen minutes, a noise interrupts me.

I glance up, but there’s nothing there. I wait a moment before returning to my book, only to hear the noise again. I set my book down and listen. The sound comes again, and I realize it’s coming from outside. I try to dismiss it as nothing, but it’s a little too close for comfort. I sit up, alert, and wait. I can’t figure out what it is, but it’s a kind of creaking noise. After listening for a few minutes, I decide it’s unimportant, and return to reading.

But as soon as I do, I’m startled দ্বারা the sound. I look sharply to the window, and my jaw drops.

I make a mad dash and snatch the skull, shoving it into the box on the floor. With a kick of the back of my heel, I push it under my বিছানা and turn towards the window.

I glare hatefully. He can’t do this! He has no right! And yet, I’m always the one who turns into a stuttering idiot.

An idea sparks in my head.

Not this time.

Duncan’s POV

“You have a lot of nerve coming here.” Courtney growls.

“I know.” I grin, hopping through the open window.

“Well? What do আপনি want?” She snaps, placing her hands on her hips in an irritated pose.

“I think আপনি know.” When Courtney doesn’t respond, I sigh and explain. “A confession.”

She shakes her head. “There’s nothing to confess.”

I chuckle. “Look, why not get it over with? It’s so obvious, so why don’t আপনি just make it easier on yourself and admit it. আপনি will eventually.”

Instead of denying it again, Courtney tilts her head to the side and looks at me with interest. “You know, আপনি keep telling me how you’re so sure that I’m ‘in love’ with you, but what about you?”

I scoff. “What? It’s not like I’m in denial, like আপনি are.”

She waves the মতামত away and continues. “Yeah, but আপনি act so cool, like আপনি don’t care. But I don’t think that’s true.” Courtney steps closer, looking at me intently. “Is it, Duncan?”

I half-smile, teasing her. “Why don’t আপনি decide?”

“See? That’s what I mean.” She fingers a strand of brown hair. “But I know how আপনি really feel.”

I clench my jaw. She’s kidding, right? “Oh… yeah?”

Courtney smiles a little. “Yeah. আপনি can barely control yourself, can’t you? You’re just itching to do something, aren’t you?”

I try to pretend that she isn’t dead-on. “It’s tempting, I guess.”

Courtney slowly shakes her head, biting her bottom lip to hold back a smile. “You have it all planned out, don’t you? আপনি would sneak through my window, I’d get angry. I would deny liking you, but you’d pester me until I would finally crack. Am I right?”

Yes. But I don’t want her to know that.

She doesn’t wait for me to reply. “And then…” Courtney taps her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose we’d make out.” She wanders over to the other side of the room and leans against the door frame.

“Right?”

Once again, she doesn’t wait for me to answer. “And, knowing you, you’d have me pinned down. Like at the park.”

Courtney sighs softly. “You would চুম্বন me…”

“And you’d resist.” I say with an eye roll, predicting where this is going.

“Maybe…” Her eyes meet mine, and I see them flicker dangerously. “Or maybe not.”

Courtney tilts her head slightly to the right, her gaze never dropping. “Maybe… I’d give in for once.”

I walk over to her, intrigued. “And if আপনি were to give in, what would happen next?”

A smile stretches onto her face. “Well…” She whispers. “Maybe then I’d মোড়ানো my arms around your neck… your hands on my waist…”

I’m listening intently. “Your mouth on mine, lips pressed together… fingers running up and down my side… me moaning your name…”

I can feel the heat of her breath on me with every slow spoken word. “Us rolling, entwined, on my bed… your lips on my jaw, on my neck… hands running through my hair…”

She traces her fingers along her collarbone, drawing my attention to the area. My mouth goes dry.

“And… uh, then…?” I croak.

Courtney walks slowly around to my other side, her gaze never leaving mine. She steps forward, causing me to stumble back. “Then…”

She leans closer, and my হৃদয় pounds. I tilt my head to the right slightly, ready for what I know is coming. This is it. She’s giving in. Finally!

“This.”

SLAM!

I blink. It takes a সেকেন্ড to see what’s in front of me.

The… door?

I hear the click of a lock. She… she slammed the door in my face!

Courtney giggles from the other side. “Goodnight, Duncan. Be sure to close the front door on your way out.”

My jaw slacks. I should have seen that coming.

“Oh, and Duncan?” She’s going to দুধ this for all it’s worth, isn’t she?

“You might want to wipe the drool from your mouth.”