A/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday, but it was my birthday and I was a bit busy... The joys of being finally being fifteen.


Chapter 10: The Chocolate

As it turns out, Fang was pretty organised about the whole thing. Apparently Fang was an astronomy dork, which is pretty surprising. He explained to me in a low, rough voice that I wasn't used to hearing and recited the definitions we would need to know for the Decathlon.

"So we're going to need to know about the Sun's composition, which is mainly hydrogen. There are some heavier elements, however..."

It was weird to just sit and listen to Fang talk without him insulting me or just being a pain. It was like he was in a completely different mode; he didn't even seem to be aware of me. Even his voice was completely different. He took no arrogance or pride in the fact that he knew all this information.

He was just explaining. Sometimes he would look up at me and say, 'This is what you must memorise,' or 'You do know what gas that does, right?' and if I didn't know, he'd explain that too, with no mirth.

It was weird, simply put. It was like he was a completely different person. He didn't make snide remarks or insult me at every turn. Maybe Fang should become a teacher. He'd probably abuse the position.

Heck, he didn't even make one innuendo. And if that doesn't say something I don't know what does.

We were done by four o' clock. By that time we were both lying on our stomachs with our elbows touching, staring a the textbook that Mr. Hendricks gave us, too bored to actually open it again.

There was silence. It borderlined on uncomfortable, but it wasn't quite awkward.

"We'll need to entertain ourselves the next few hours," Fang said, breaking out quiet. "What ever could two teenagers in a bedroom do to possibly pass the time?"

"I'm hungry, personally." I said, ignoring Fang. "Is there anything to eat in here?"

Fang rolled onto his back and put stretched his arms out behind his head, arching his back as he did so, striking a porn star pose. "Gorge all you want, babe."

"I don't want food poising, but thanks for the offer."

Unperturbed by my rejection, Fang gracefully sprung to his feet in one fluid movement. Huh. I never noticed how skinny Fang actually is. Even though is toned, he's not muscular. I wonder how much he does actually eat. He left the room, saying that he'd get some eats.

Several minutes later, I was once again lying on Fang's carpet, this time with a can of Coke and a a slab of chocolate. It felt surreal to be in Fang's house, eating his food and lying on his carpet and listening to his music.

Yeah, I decided to raid his iPod while he went downstairs to get some food. I was surprised that there was so little Screamo music on it, though. I'd always pictured Fang to jam to heavy metal and stuff.

I recognized some of the stuff, like The Killers, Muse and The Automatic. Apparently Fang was hectically into alternative and Indie, because those were the only few things I recognized. But then again, I don't pay much attention to the music scene, so that could also explain it.

Fang made it back to the room the moment I found something interesting in his library.

"Kesha?" I asked incredulously. "Do you seriously listen to Kesha? And Taylor Swift is your top played? What is this?"

Fang flopped down next to me, snatching the iPod away from me, clutching it protectively to his chest. "Don't judge."

"I can't believe that you, Mr Prince of Darkness, has Kesha on his iPod. The fangirls are simply going to love that."

His eyes widened a fraction. "I swear, if you tell a soul about it you will die a very painful death. And trust me, I can get very creative when it comes to killing."

I ignored his threat. "And how exactly are you going to stop me?"

Then Fang did the unspeakable act.

He his hand darted out and stole the chocolate slab from my hand.

That's cold, man.

I screeched and made a mad lunge for the brown gold, springing over Fang's back, grabbing the slab, finishing off with a tuck 'n roll as I landed back on the carpet on Fang's right.

Fortunately for me, the carpet was about three inches thick, saving me from making a loud noisy bang as my shoulder hit the floor.

I squealed with mock joy and held the chocolate to my chest, as if I was holding a pile of cash.

And so that's how it started.

It ended with me pinned down, gasping for air, laughing, while Fang sat on my stomach and ate the whole slab in front of me, chowing down six blocks at a time.

"So, Ride, what would you do for these last three blocks?" he asked, waving the chocolate in front of my face. I snapped at it but Fang jerked his hand away too fast. Damn.

Fang ended up putting the chocolate in my one hand, but since he had his own hand gripping my wrist, I couldn't actually eat the chocolate. I tried to push him off me, but since he's so damn heavy, it was like forcing a truck off my arm.

I squirmed for what felt like a long time, trying to get the chocolate to my mouth while Fang just laughed at my attempts. The chocolate quickly melted against my warm skin.

And then I spotted my gap. Fang was laughing so hard that he let my other, chocolate free hand go. I quickly elbowed his chest – ow! that thing is made out of rocks, I'm telling you – and in a moment of surprise, his center of gravity tipped backwards just enough so that I could pull myself into a sitting position and take my chocolate smeared hand and rake it through Fang's ridiculously smooth and glossy hair.

Fang instantly rolled off me and sprang to his feet, his face a mask of horror as he tenderly felt his ruined locks.

"My hair!" he said in bewilderment. "You got chocolate in my hair!"

I, however, was merciless. I spotted the half full Coke can within arm's reach.

Thirty seconds later Fang was drenched in a combination of melted chocolate and Coke.

Point to May-Alex Ride and her awesomeness.

"Ride," he said, stretching out his arms, the Coke dripping onto his shoulders. "I think you deserve a big hug."

I backed up against the desk. "No, no... You're not touching me with your cooties and your Coke. Stay away!"

Fang flicked his hair out of his face, showering me with a fine spray soda. He kept on advancing. I planted my hands firmly on his chest and pushed, but it slowed him down for a second.

A second later his arm were around me, I couldn't breathe.

Not the omigosh-he's-so-hot-I-can't-breathe, but it was more of the he's-crushing-my-ribs-I-might-just-die I can't breathe. And he made sure that I was soaked too by giving me a good ol' bear hug and nuzzling his soaked hair onto my shoulder, which made me yell even more.

"Ew, ew, ew!" I yelled. "Get off of me!"

Fang let go. I fell to the floor, my stomach convulsing in silent laughter.

"Don't mess with the best," he warned as he crossed his arms, still managing to be threatening even though he looked like a drowned cat.

I shakily stood up again. I took one look at bedraggled Fang and I started laughing. He joined in; probably laughing and how ridiculous I looked.

And we stayed like that a long time, just clutching our sides, trying not to fall over, grinning like idiots.

But eventually the laughter became small chuckles and faded into gidddy grins.

"We should probably get cleaned up," I suggested.

Fang nodded, shaking a bit more Coke everywhere.

I couldn't help it, I didn't even think I put my hand up and ran my hands through Fang's hair, making my hand even stickier. "Sorry about that," I said. "I know how you like to keep your hair looking fantastic at all times." A second later I realised what I was doing and pulled my hand away as if I'd accidentally touched a hotplate on an oven.

Fang shrugged, acting as if the unexpected contact was something totally natural. "It happens."

He walked off to the side of his room, right next to his closet was an opened a door that blended in almost perfectly with the wall. I was surprised to find a miniature bathroom. It was compact; just with a basin, shower and toilet and a cupboard on the wall. Where did he keep all his hair products! He probably had a secret compartment or something in his shower.

Fang ducked his head into the sink and turned on the faucet, rinsing out his hair.

"If you want, you can borrow a shirt of mine. We can rinse out yours and put it through the dryer and no-one will ever know this happened."

I nodded. And then I realised that Fang couldn't see me. "Yeah, I can feel the soda drying on me already," I said.

His response was drowned out by the water. He lifted his head and squeezed out some droplets, and the pulled his shirt off, making a point of facing me.

Asshole.

"Ride, can you help me out? I think I got some chocolate smeared into the back of my skull that doesn't want to come out."

"Sure," I said, swallowing. I approached Fang carefully, as if fleas would jump onto me if I got any closer. Once I was in the bathroom, he turned to face the mirror and crouched slightly, so that I could reach him. I had to stand on my toes anyways. His hair smelled of Coke. How unexpected.

I carefully parted it while I was hyper-aware of every move that he made, trying my hardest not to touch any part of his body except for his scalp.

I eventually found the matted clump of chocolate that had hardened into place. I gently started working it out of the strands.

We stood like that for only about two minutes while pulled and pried chocolate away, trying my best not to tug painfully at his wet hair.

I couldn't help but watch a droplet of water run down his smooth back and disappear into his jeans. I then noticed the jagged scar that ran down the right side of Fang's back. Forgetting my job completely, I ran two fingers over it.

"I got that when I fell out of a tree," Fang said unexpectedly. My hand jolted away as he spoke. My hands moved up to Fang's hairline again and I picked out the last piece of chocolate.

"All done," I said. My voice wasn't half as shaky as I felt. "There are still some nits, but I didn't really want to touch those."

Fang turned around. He took a towel and started trying his hair, bending over forwards so the water droplets wouldn't hit the floor.

"How did falling out of a tree make such a huge scar?" I asked, trying to get over how awkward this was and what a shameless man-slut Fang is.

Fang looked up from under his towel. "It was incredibly bad luck," he explained. "I hit every branch on the way down and my head on a root."

I winced.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It was fine," he said. "I had to spend a few days in hospital so souped up on meds I don't really remember what happened." he indicated to another another scar on his hip that sunk below the hemline of the jeans. "I got that one too," he said. "And a hectic concussion," he added as an afterthought.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to imagine a younger Fang sporting all the jagged cuts and head injury, but I couldn't. "How old were you?"

"Six."

I couldn't help but eye that scar on his hip. It really unsettled me; the way it stood, slightly raised compared to the rest of his skin and was several shades lighter, and how it curved to my left. There was something sinister to it, as it had been obtained at a far pricier cost than a fall from a tree.

I finally looked up and saw Fang staring at me. "No, Ride." he said, smiling slightly. "You may have gotten away with touching the scar on my back, but you're definitely not getting close to this one."

I gaped at him and his audacity and for once didn't have a comeback.

"Now it's your turn take of your shirt, Ride," he said.

"In most circles that's considered sexual harassment."

Fang shrugged, the muscles in his neck stood bulged slightly as he did so. He turned his back on me and started to rummage in his closet, eventually throwing a shirt behind him. I automatically reached out and caught it. It had the batman logo on it.

"Change in the bathroom if you like," Fang said as he stood up, pulling a shirt over his head. To my surprise, I was disappointed to see the skin and muscle disappear.

I grabbed the shirt and walked straight to the bathroom, closing the door behind me.


A/N: Ah, so finally we get some action and a slight indicator of a plot-point. No cookies for guesses, but you're welcome to review opinions.

Question: What turns you off a a fanfiction?

Rec: A Little Place Called Home by Miss Fish. It's a fanfic legend, but I suggest that all the newbs that aren't familiar with it should go and read it.