Accidentally in Love
~Chapter 2~
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I'll be posting a chapter each day, so I hope you enjoy it. :)
Things went back to normal immediately after Adrian's apology, all feelings of awkwardness dispelled. Both boys settled into the old pattern of laid-back conversations and hanging out for no reason at all. It seemed as if though nothing would ruin their easy friendship from now on.
Something had to change.
Really, it was all Lissa's fault. After Christian dumped her, she had been having serious problems with her attitude, which was partially due to spirit, too.
Christian had come storming into Adrian's room, his blue eyes flashing with anger. Once Adrian had managed to calm him down somewhat, he had relayed the incident in detail.
"Christian!"
Christian turned to see Rose approaching, Lissa trailing behind her.
"Hey, Rose. What's up?"
She asked him something unimportant, and he just barely stayed in the conversation. Every few seconds, he found himself stealing glances at Lissa, who was either glaring at him or avoiding looking at his face entirely.
A spark of annoyance flared in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away in favor of listening to Rose.
"…and that's why I can't stand the moroi council," Rose was saying.
"I agree, Rose, but I have to get to class."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll talk to you later?"
"Sure. See you sometime tomorrow."
He waved goodbye to Rose and turned to leave, but Lissa's voice stopped him.
"Really mature, Christian. You're going to pretend I don't exist now?"
"This isn't about you, Lissa," Christian snapped. "Not everything is! Just because you're a Dragomir doesn't mean the world revolves around you!"
Maybe he'd overreacted, but he was getting tired of her attitude, and this brought back his old resentment of her endless parties and snobby royal friends. He had gone along with it for her sake, but not happily.
Lissa looked mad, but now Rose looked absolutely furious.
Leaping to her best friend's defense, Rose snapped back, "What is your problem? Lissa didn't do anything to you, and you have no right to act like a brat!"
Rose whisked Lissa way, and Christian was left there fuming.
So that was why he didn't miss hanging around girls…
By the time the recollection was over, Christian was standing in the center of the room with gritted teeth and hands curled into fists.
"That really sucks, man," Adrian said sympathetically. "Sounds like she was being a total bitch to you."
Christian snorted angrily. "Tell me about it."
"Tell you what," Adrian continued, getting up, "I have an idea that'll let you get your anger out and break the rules."
Now Christian was interested.
"And what would that be?"
Adrian smiled mischievously. "Hand-to-hand combat. We can practice sparring with each other as long as you keep your punches non-lethal."
"It is forbidden for moroi to practice fighting…"
"Exactly."
"I'm in," Christian agreed, his grin now mirroring Adrian's own.
Minutes later, the two boys were facing each other, fists raised. They bounced on the balls of their feet and eyed their opponent sharply.
Christian struck first. It wasn't a great punch, but he was a moroi after all, and they weren't known for their fighting ability. Quickly, Adrian had his arms up in self-defense. The blow glanced off, making him wince. Punches were exchanged this way, with Christian and Adrian alternating between offense and defense each time.
But, of course, that's when things went wrong.
In his haste to channel his anger out through his punches, Christian swung too forcefully. His fist missed the target, and momentum carried his whole body forward. He swore and tried to stop falling, but he crashed into Adrian, who went toppling backward.
The chances of their current situation were probably very slim, but still they ended up on the floor, Christian laying completely on top of Adrian.
Color flared on Christian's cheeks. This was the very definition of awkward. Not meeting Adrian's eyes, he scrambled to his feet. Adrian followed him seconds later.
"Sorry I knocked you over," Christian said. His own voice sounded strange in his ears. Adrian opened his mouth to reply, but Christian couldn't stand to be in the room anymore, so he cut in, "I think I've had enough. I'll just be in my room…Bye, Adrian."
Christian left without looking back, willing the blush to leave his face. It must just be a result of embarrassment from the missed punch. It was not because he was flustered by an excess of physical contact with his best friend. Definitely not.
Was this going to be a pattern?
