A/N: Uurrrg... I'm losing motivation to write this. (I promise I will finish it though!) Reviews are loved and help me write; just throwing that out there.

Chapter 9 The Naked

So I know what you're all hoping for right now.

You're all hoping that Fang re entered the bedroom shirtless in all his sexy studly glory and how my heart totally melted once I saw his toned abs, and how I immediately jumped him as soon as he walked back into the room. And how passionately I made out with him and proceeded to deflower his precious family jewels.

Ready for disappointment?

Fang didn't walk into the room shirtless. He was quite fully clothed, in fact. Okay, maybe he took off his hoodie so he was just wearing a very tight navy shirt that showed off his six pack quite nicely, but I didn't notice that as he walked in. I didn't even notice him walk in, period.

Because, being the freaking idiot that I am, managed to fall asleep in three minutes.

Three minutes. Yes, I know that's crazy. But let me explain.

The moment I sat on Fang's bed, it was like there was a magnet on his pillow and a steel plate in my head.

I'm serious. He has the comfiest bed ever. For the first time in my life, I could understand why a girl would want to end up in Fang's bedroom.

So when I sat down, I couldn't help but think to myself, damn, this bed is so deliciously comfortable. I wonder what it would be like to lie down on it.

… Wait, that's a lie. When I sat down, it felt like there were angels singing. That previously-mentioned thought came several seconds later.

So I just leaned back and stared at the ceiling, enjoying the totally awesome comfiness.

At that moment I think I knew what it was like to be in love. And legitimate, this-could-be-forever, you're-my-soulmate love, this-is-better-than-sex love.

So my eyes just drifted shut.

And within a minute I was dozing on my one true soulmate.

Then I woke up three minutes later with Fang cuddling up next me. It was so romantic all the teenaged girls in the world threw away any dream about Edward Cullen and just went 'aaaaw' about how cute we were.

Ha.

Yeah, right.

What actually happened was something more along the lines of this:

"Snuggling the real thing is far better, Ride."

I woke up from my doze with a start, looking around in confusion. It was a double nightmare; waking up in a strange place and to the sound of Fang's voice. And my total humilation was added to that, which made it triple the terror.

Great.

So I looked around and saw that somehow I'd managed to flip onto my stomach and wrap my arms around Fang's pillow. (Which smelled like Lavender. I'm really hoping it's fabric softener or something. I'm not sure if I could handle it if I found out that he uses floral shampoo.)

I immediately sat up, straightening my spine and feeling humiliated.

"Here's a hint: Try to get the guy into the bed first before you hop in yourself. And don't fall asleep. Drool isn't sexy."

I wiped away the strand of drool at the corner of my mouth, failing to feel embarrassed about that tiny detail . "It's not my fault!" I complained, trying not to think too much about the fact that Fang's pillow had my drool on it.

"What? Did you trip and fall into my bed and spontaneously pass out?"

Fang was leaning casually against the doorway, wearing that stupid tight top. If there was anything that screamed man-whore, this was it.

"No," I said, climbing off Fang's bed (sadly parting with my lover, our romance was so tragically short, we could probably rival Romeo and Juliet) "I just sat down on your bed."

Fang raised an eyebrow. "And an asteroid flew threw the window and hit your head, knocking you out completely?"

I blushed, realising how stupid I was about to sound. "Actually, it's just that your bed is ridiculously comfortable. I sort of just... passed out on it."

Fang nodded, as if it was completely reasonable. "Megan, Kayla and Taryn all said the exact same thing. It made Megan so comfortable we actually ended up doing it on the carpet to keep things exciting."

"Eeeew, I can't believe I touched that!" I said, glaring in horror at the bed.

"Hey," Fang said, sounding offended. "Megan, Kayla and Taryn are all lovely people."

"No, it's because you've been in there."

Fang raised an eyebrow. "So, what did you think before you found out that little tidbit? That I just slept on my desk or something?"

"No, but nakedness is something else entirely."

Fang grinned. "I sleep naked every night, dear. Always be prepared is my motto."

Fang had been surprised when he walked into his bedroom after taking a message from one of his father's business associates. He hadn't expected Max to make herself so comfortable on his bed so quickly; usually she was wound up like something... wound up around him. It was strange to see her looking so unguarded and relaxed, just so calm and peaceful. He's never seen that look on her face before.

And yeah, maybe Fang did notice the way her shirt rode up just enough so that he could see her tanned hip slope down into the protective covering of her jeans and how that same shirt was pulled tightly over her body, but that wasn't important at all.

Most of the guys at their school thought that Max was pretty hot; her lean figure curved in all the right places, and not mention the tough girl attitude made most guys' eyes linger a bit too long on her.

She certainly wasn't on any A-list when it came to looks, but her biting sarcasm and way that she carried herself certainly did attract attention. Not that Max noticed, of course. She was usually too preoccupied to notice how someone would lean back in the chair as she sauntered past or hold her gaze a second too long,

And Fang wasn't ashamed to agree with the boys that thought she was hot. He wouldn't exactly say no if Max suddenly cornered him and forced her lips upon his – any single sixteen year old straight guy with an ounce of common sense wouldn't say no to that.

But he didn't have feelings for her. Definitely not; that would be weird.

He never had feelings for any girl. Max wasn't any different. And it didn't matter either way. She already had a boyfriend, apparently... Why did that bother him so much?

He just got a kick out of annoying her, which was ridiculously easy. It was comfortable; he liked to think of it as some backwards friendship, even they weren't even on a first name basis yet.

Just conversation and a few laughs. Maybe they didn't really spend time with each other the way normal people did, but it wasn't like they hated each other, was it?

Maybe she did hate him. It wasn't like he made it difficult for her to dislike him. Not at all.

He grinned wryly as he thought of what his best friend might say about this whole situation. She would probably whack him around the head and tell him to stop perving on an innocent girl sleeping.

So he stopped.

Fang leaned casually against the door fame, ignoring the tense muscles in his neck and back. Then juggled some responses in his head. He went for something egotistical and witty.

She woke up.

She looked frantically around the room, desperately trying to gather her bearings. Then she saw him and that relaxed posture disappeared as she sat straight up and her shields reappeared. In a second, he was completely shut out.

And then they began to banter, just as they always did. He said something dirty. She was grossed out.

Nothing unusual.

"Do you seriously sleep naked? What if you wake up to find your house burning down or something?" I asked. It was repulsive and engrossing at the same time. Was he BS'ing me? Or did he really sleep in his birthday suit?

Fang shrugged. "Come to my bedroom in the middle of night and find out," he winked. "And for the house burning down thing, let's just say that the fire fighters will explore their gay side for that night."

I was so freaked out right then. I had just found out that my lover slash one true soulmate of a bed turned out to have herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea – the works.

And to think that I actually touched that bed.

The horror.

The pure and absolute horror that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

And the worst part is that I'd never know if it's true or not, unless I do actually come to his house in the middle of the night, but the mental scarring of seeing Fang sleeping naked would probably put me in an asylum for the rest of my existence.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "As many questions as I have now, I'm not going to ask. Can we please just start with the information?"

Fang straightened up from the doorway and strolled into the room as if he owned the place.

… Wait. Forget I said that.

Fang walked over to his school bag and bent over, giving me a fantastic view of ass (a view that I could have gone my whole life without seeing, thank you very much). I couldn't help but wonder if he could fit his cellphone in his jeans pocket, would it snap when he bent over?

It probably would. Those jeans were tight.

Like, I'm-wearing-my-sisters-skinny-jeans-two-sizes-too-small-for-her, my-skin-is-going-to-have-this-pattern-engraved-into-it, I-can't-fit-a-piece-of-paper-into-my-pocket tight.

Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit.

But only a bit.

He looked over his shoulder as he pulled out his Biology books. "Like what you see, Ride?" he asked as he stood up.

Anger flushed my cheeks. "No," I said unconvincingly.

"Admiring my jeans?"

"I was, actually, Novia. I think it's a miracle that you can actually fit into something that puny. Can you even sit down without ripping something?"

He smiled wryly.

"Yeah, they're pretty comfy, actually. They're fifty percent elastic, so I can still move around and look at the same time." he grinned even more. "And they're still pretty easy to take off. Want to try?"

"Vanity is not an attractive trait, Novia."

"It's not vanity if everyone else agrees with your hotness."

"I don't."

"Denial is also said to be an ugly emotion, Ride."

I frowned slightly at his echoed words. "Why is it totally inconceivable to you that a girl is not willing to fall at your feet and worship the ground you walk on?"

Fang shrugged as he casually cleared his desk, setting his Biology books in the center. "I choose not believe such a woman exists."

I rolled my eyes. Is just me or do I do a lot eye rolling when I'm around Fang? "Do you don't believe I exist then?"

"No, I just believe that you're repressing your attraction towards me. For someone that has a ninety-percent average, you're pretty thick."

I'm not sure if I should be insulted or take that as a back-handed compliment.

"I see you would never, even for a second, doubt your hotness? Or think that someone would actually see past your face and see the gaping void of a soul within?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps. But there's nothing wrong with enjoying a painting, even though you don't like the artist." He took a step away from the desk, indicating to it with a hand flourish. "Our project awaits! So could you please stop going on about how much you love me so that we can start working?"

I had to swallow down my frustration and stop the rapidly building scream in the back of my throat. There's no point in arguing with Fang; he drags you down to his level of stupidity and then beats you with experience. Which was a lot, apparently. Of experience, I mean. Not the dragging part.

I pulled out some papers from my school bag; I'd printed off some information last about what we must memorise for the Decathlon.

I sauntered over to Fang's desk, while skimming through a page. I already knew what that sheet said, I just didn't want to have to look a Fang's grin.

"Okay, so where do we start?" I asked.

"Well, usually there's some foreplay, like flirting, music and the removal of the top layer of clothing."

A/N: What's your favourite colour?

This week's rec is Not so Normal by Biteoutoflife. It's a really enjoyable highschool fic.