Stella Yamada hated Valentines Day.
She hated the flowers, the frilly outfits, and should she even mention the colors? Pink? Uh-uh, not in this lifetime.
It was nothing personal, just the love-sick and sappy attitudes of her peers sickened her. 'Blinded by Love' was an understatement when talking about her band mates.
Mo and Scott were about as useful as Charlie, which isn't saying much. The two were well past the honeymoon stage, but they were obsessed with each other.
Every now and then it seemed romantic, even the legendary guitarist let out a few awws, but they spent too much time with each other. And frankly, Stella was sick of the star-struck looks they gave each other every second.
Olivia and Wen on the other hand irritated the half-Asian spitfire on a whole new level. Not only were they oblivious to the fact they like each other, but they have the nerve to tell Stella how much she supposedly needs a boyfriend!
Stella Yamada? A boyfriend? Who could ever handle her, even if she wanted one? The stubborn rebel would snort in annoyance. No one controlled what she did and a boyfriend would ruin her independent status.
As if any guys here caught her attention. She wanted to be surprised, wanted her heart to beat faster with every breath when he came close to her. And no guy made her feel that way, no one has and no one ever will.
So when Olivia brought up that a great way to celebrate the wonderful, cheery day was to play 7 Minutes in Heaven, how did the great revolutionist react?
Stella would never admit it, but she wanted to do with being stuck in a closet with anyone; especially on Valentines Day. However, being the fearless leader of the group, how could she say no?
Of course, no one told her who the participants would be. She figured just the six of them, a friendly game just to mess around with.
So when Stella knocked on Olivia's door mid-afternoon, the last thing she expected was to see Ray Beech sitting in a circle with the rest of her band mates. He was sitting between Wen and Olivia with Mo, Scott, and Charlie across.
"What's he doing here?" She spat with disgust, glaring at him. At the sound of her voice, the group of teens turned to watch the exchange, Ray smirking up at her.
"It's called an invitation, Yamada." He retorted, causing the loud-mouthed guitarist to clench her fists. Her gaze flicked to Scott, a sheepish grin on his face, knowing that the sight of the obnoxious front man would unhinge her.
"You are so dead Pickett." Stella mumbled sitting as far away from Ray as possible. "I know, but I wanted to see how this would play out." He answered nodding at Olivia to start the game. What was he talking about?
How was the band okay with Beech being here? He was an asshole! All Stella could do was sit there nostrils flared, glaring at the cocky soccer jock.
"Alright so, rules are: whoever the bottle lands on when you spin it you have go in the closet, no matter who it lands on." Olivia said glancing at Ray.
Everyone nodded reluctantly. "Great, also the lock is on the outside of the door, and there'll be a timer out here that everyone else watches…so don't even think about cutting your time short." Olivia continued, grabbing a bottle from behind her and setting it in the middle.
"So who's first?" Mo asked, looking between the seven teens. Everyone looked between each other, waiting for someone else to volunteer.
"How about Ray?" Charlie suggested, glancing around for agreement. Stella breathed in deeply, looking away, trying to contain her aggravation.
"Sure, he's new here, why not?" Agreed Scott as Wen shrugged and nodded. Mo and Olivia muttered agreement. All eyes focused on Stella, waiting for her approval.
Ray watched, a smirk on his face, enjoying her discomfort. "Whatever." She huffed, glaring at her friends.
Stella couldn't believe this.
Here she was, about to play 7 minutes in Heaven with her band mates, who were treating the egomaniac douche-bag as if he were an old friend! But the stubborn revolutionist would never let him win.
And if winning meant keeping her cool, then that was a sacrifice she was willing to take. Ray glanced at Stella one last time before, grabbing the bottle and spinning it with a flick of his wrist.
Everyone watched anxiously, wondering who the participant (or in Stella's case, the prisoner) would be to join Ray in the closet.
As the bottle slowly lost momentum, Stella's heart started to pound in her chest. Please don't land on me…Please don't land on me.
One more slow turn and the bottle shifted, pointing straight at the half-Asian guitarist.
The group slowly looked at Stella, mouths gawking. Fate had made it's choice.
Ray stood up snickering. Now the other teens started smiling, the thought of their leader stuck with Ray Beech amusing.
Stella looked up a the ceiling letting out a frustrated gasp. Of all the assholes…
Trying not to loose her temper, Stella stood up, walking past Ray and into the closet without meeting anyone's gaze.
Ray followed behind as Mo stood up closing the door and locking it with a click. She started the timer on the floor, smiling at the rest of the group.
"That was pretty easy." Scott muttered sharing knowing looks with the rest of the band.
Meanwhile in the closet, Stella stood, leaning against the wall, avoiding Ray's gaze. The two hot-heads were on opposite sides of the enclosed space about a yard apart, but they could still feel the heat emanating from each other.
"Of all the jerks to be stuck with I'm with you." Stella huffed, breaking the awkward silence. She glared at him, as he shook his head.
"Well you know Yamada, this isn't exactly my idea of spending Valentines Day either." He retorted, meeting her hard stare.
Stella laughed bitterly. "As if you have anything better to do. Why did you agree to come here anyway?" She asked, letting out a sigh.
Ray took a challenging step toward her, voice raising. "Hey, I have plenty of things to be doing." He told the half-Asian revolutionist defensively. "Maybe I wanted to hang out with Scott since he seems to be the only one who cares anymore."
The hint of poison in his voice caused the already irritated spit-fire to flare her nostrils. "Maybe people would care if you stopped being an insensitive, douche-bag!" She yelled back, standing straight to meet his gaze.
"Well maybe I only act like that because I'm tired of people taking what's mine!" The blonde soccer star replied, taking another step toward Stella.
The stubborn guitarist rolled her eyes crossing her arms over her chest. "Reality check Beech: The school is not yours, the students are not yours, and the fans are no longer yours either." She stated with a confident smirk.
"Who said I was talking about any of those?" He asked coolly, taking another step. Now standing inches away from her, his breath tingled her skin.
"Maybe I was talking about you." He whispered.
For once in Stella's life, her voice hitched in her throat, unable to respond. She just gazed up at him, heart hammering in her chest.
His ice-blue eyes met hers, unblinking as both teens stood frozen. Stella was acutely aware of his closeness, the tension crackling in the air.
Ray, seeing that he finally got the determined loud-mouth to listen to him, decided to come clean.
"Maybe I only act that way out of jealousy, to get your attention. Because I like you." He muttered, gazing down into her entrancing eyes.
So many emotions and thoughts buzzed through Stella's head all at once, leaving her shocked.
Was he serious?
Doesn't he hate me?
When did he starting feeling this way?
Yet above all, she couldn't ignore how her pulse quickened at his words. Butterflies churning in her stomach.
The thought of anyone actually liking her was appealing. But the fact that it was Ray added a whole other level of passion no one else could make her feel.
She examined him, seeing him in a way she never really thought of until now.
His thick, blue letterman jacket made his eyes glow with pride and warmth instead of his usual cold gaze, making it impossible to turn away.
His blonde spikes gave her the temptation to run her hands through it, just for entertainment. And the longer he stood this close, the more welcoming he became.
He watched her intensely waiting patiently for her response.
How should she respond? Nothing stopped her from pushing him away and slapping him across the face. That was how she should respond.
What she did instead surprised them both.
She roughly grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him towards her, crashing her lips to his.
A million sensations registered in both their minds.
Stella has kissed plenty of guys in the past, but this was the most immense rush of adrenaline she's ever had. Not even Madison Square Garden could compare.
After her initial panic she had when she realized what she did, she felt herself slowly relaxing, sinking into the kiss and leaning into Ray.
Of course Ray, being the player he was, has shared a million kisses with the ladies. Whether it be a quick peck in the hallway, or a total make-out session behind the school, he's had his share of PDA's.
Although the fear of rejection he felt when he admitted his feelings for the witty revolutionist made his heart pound, right now his heart was thumping a bazillion miles per minute.
At first he was shocked to feel Stella's warm lips locked with his. But as he began to recover from his overall confusion, he found his hands snaking around her waist, bringing her closer.
As their lips moved in sync, Stella's grip on his collar loosened as she lost herself in their connection, her head feeling lighter by the second.
Ray managed to tease her lips apart, gently pinning her body to the wall as Stella wrung her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers through his spikes.
Stella tried to stop the moans escaping from her throat with little success, as Ray's hands trekked from her waist to her thighs.
Obviously distracted, the two teens were unaware of the lock on the door slowly turning and the door being quietly opened.
"What's happening?" Olivia asked Scott in a hushed tone as he and Mo peeked through the crack in the door.
At the sight of Ray and Stella's make-out, Mo started smiling and Scott let out a silent 'Yes!'. Carefully shutting the door once again, Mo and Scott turned to look at their friends.
"Well they're gonna be a while." Mo stated letting out a chuckle as she turned the timer off. Charlie's eyebrows raised as Wen and Olivia high-fived.
"Really? Our plan actually worked?" Charlie said beginning to smile.
Scott nodded, grinning. "Yup. And I guarantee this will be a Valentine's Day they'll remember."
"Meaning Stella will FINALLY have a boyfriend!" Olivia squealed excitedly.
As the rest of the group continued talking and gossiping, Ray pulled away from Stella, leaning his head against hers.
"So Stella…will you be my Valentine?"
Stella let out a smile before bringing her lips back to his, continuing from where they left off and clearly answering his question.
Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all…
