Chapter Twenty One

Kevin was still reeling. She'd slipped through his fingers yet again. She had a leg up on this one. She was winning. No matter how hard he tried to capture her, nothing worked; he'd charmed, he'd teased, he'd challenged, he'd appeased, and still she wasn't budging. There had to be a way into Rebecca Stone's guarded heart, and Kevin was going to find it.

But it seemed like the more he began to truly hate her, the more desirable she became. Yes, Kevin had to finally admit to himself that the farther Rebecca Stone distanced herself from him, the stronger came his urge to possess her, take her, make her his. He wouldn't let her become the one that got away.

He called to Rebecca's retreating back.

"Hey!"

She stopped, but didn't turn around.

"We still have to go back to Charms, you know!" Kevin hollered down the corridor. Rebecca let out a sigh of frustration, then stomped back down the hall towards him.

"Fine. Whatever," she spat at him, offering him no other acknowledgement.

"You know what would be funny," Kevin smirked, beginning to regain his mischievous demeanor as he bounded next to her like a large puppy (Rebecca hated puppies), "is if we went into that classroom holding hands or pretending to not hate each other."

"That would be the least funny thing I could think of. Ever."

"Come on!" Kevin wheedled. "You'd get to hold the hand of someone as gorgeous as myself, and we'd completely screw up the rest of the class! Plus I heard one of the Slytherins bet seventeen Galleons that we'd make up by the end of the day."

Rebecca stopped pointedly and looked at him. "That would not be funny, McKinlet," she said, ice practically coating every word. "That would be us conning someone out of seventeen Galleons. And I would have to touch you."

"We could split it evenly. I'd even give you the extra Galleon."

"No, Kevin," Rebecca barked. He decided to ignore that she'd used his first name.

"Well, I'm broke, and you therefore leave me with no choice." Without any warning, Kevin scooped her up in a bridal carry, ignoring her squirms as he opened the door of the Charms classroom. The room immediately went quiet as every head, besides Flitwick's, turned to the door.

"Hey guys! We're back!" Kevin beamed at the classroom. Ty's jaw was the first to hit the floor. "There ya go, darling," he grinned at Rebecca, placing her carefully down on the floor. He loved that she was hating this so much.

"Thanks, love," Rebecca seethed, with no choice but to play along.

"Didn't you guys get punished?" asked an annoying voice from the back.

"Miss Witte, please be quiet," Flitwick snapped. "You two... come back in here. Practice the spell we were working on. No other spells whatsoever." He enunciated the last word with such force that both Kevin and Rebecca felt one final wave of shame before they continued their Charms class as if the last half hour hadn't happened at all.