A big thank you again for the reviews guys! I'm trying to update as fast as I can, but this semester is really kicking me in the ass. Stupid college, who needs it right? Hehe. Enjoy the chap and keep reviewing!

Chapter 9

Syd's POV

Thursday afternoon I met up with Francie for lunch after my 12:15 class. I met her at this small Japanese restaurant named Spirals, two minutes away from campus. I hadn't seen much of her this week except for in the mornings before class and late at night. She's been in and out going to class and I've been hanging out with Vaughn.

After a few minutes of waiting, the hostess took us to a table in the corner of the restaurant, right next to the front window. It was a small restaurant with only about 15 small tables around. Each table was covered with a clean white tablecloth and had a small vase of flowers sitting on top.

The place wasn't busy at all as I looked around and only saw a few people sitting around and feeding themselves with chopsticks. The walls were painted a tope color as Japanese paintings hung on the walls. Directly across from where Francie and I were sitting was Monet's painting of the Japanese lily pads.

When the waitress came over to ask us what we wanted, I ordered sushi while Fran ordered some Teriyaki chicken. It was nice to get in some girl time with her.

"So what have you and Michael been up to lately? Other than not being able to keep your hands off of each other." Francie said as she sipped her diet coke.

"Just hanging out. We watched The Godfather last night."

"Sounds like fun. So have you guys done the deed yet?" I nearly choked on the water I was just swallowing. Fran was never the type to be subtle.

"Francie!" I said a little too loudly.

"What? Come on Syd. You guys have been with each other every living minute of the day. Plus you're crazy about each other. Is it wrong to assume?"

"We've only been together for a few days. You really think Vaughn and I would move that fast?" Well, we did get a little overboard on his couch last night. But, I think I'll keep that thought to myself.

"You and Michael have wanted each other for as long as I've known you. It's just took you a long time to realize that. So yes, I maybe thought that you guys wouldn't waste anymore time since it took you long enough to even admit your feelings to each other."

"When the time comes for Vaughn and I to… you know… then it will happen. But, we just started out. We're not going to rush anything."

Just then the waitress came over with our food. I always loved coming to this place because the service was so fast. After the waitress put the two plates in front of us, we dug in. The sushi tasted delicious.

"I see. I fully understand what you're saying," Francie put another spoon full of rice in her mouth before continuing. "Oh, do you guys need a ride to the airport on Saturday, by the way?"

"No. Actually Vaughn and I decided to drive back home tomorrow morning after my class. We cancelled our flights this morning."

"Really? How come you guys aren't flying? It's a lot faster."

"Vaughn brought the idea up last night. He just thought it'd be more fun if we drove back. We might stop in Santa Barbara on the way home." I fiddled with my napkin on my lap.

"Oh how sweet! I wonder how your dad is going to react when you tell him about you and Michael."

The thought hadn't crossed my mind since the night Vaughn and I got together. I didn't even think about my dad or how he's going react when I tell him Vaughn and I are dating. He seems to really like Vaughn. But that's only because he's only been my friend all these years. I sure don't want my dad taking Vaughn out to our backyard and hitting him across the head with a baseball bat.

"Oh god, Fran. I didn't even think about that."

"I know. I like your dad and everything, but he doesn't seem to come off as the type of guy that likes his daughter dating." Funny, I'm 19 years old now and my dad still thinks I shouldn't be dating guys.

"True. Well, he'll have to deal. Besides, he likes Vaughn. I'm not sure he'll like him after I tell him he's now my boyfriend."

"Boy would I like to see the look on your dad's face and Vaughn's when you tell him the truth. That's going to be priceless."

"I should savor my time with him now before my dad kills him." I say laughing.

I doubt anything like that would happen. The worse that's going to happen is that my dad is going to have a talk with Vaughn and basically threaten him into taking good care of me.

"That's a good move Syd."

Vaughn's POV

Man, was Government boring today. My professor was going on and on about the war and the President. None of it interested me so I started to play Tetris on my cell phone instead. The sound of his boring voice echoed off the walls of the classroom. The sunlight was just creeping in through the clouds and started to hit the top of my desk. The class went by slow and eventually it was done. My spring break just officially started.

As I was walking out of the building I heard someone calling my name from behind. It was Weiss and he was jogging towards me. He must've just got out of class. Or, he decided not to go. That wouldn't surprise me at all. By the time he reached me he was slightly out of breath.

"Hey Mike. I didn't see you this morning."

"Yeah I got up early to run before going to class. What time did you get home last night? I crashed around 11:30 after Syd left." We started walking towards the parking garage where my car was parked.

"Around midnight. Francie was killing me while tutoring. I couldn't concentrate because they were showing the Yankees vs. Angels game on ESPN. Did you catch any of that?"

"No. Syd and I were watching The Godfather." Weiss started to chuckle and I didn't know why.

"Why are you laughing?" I said as I hit him in the arm.

"It looks like you guys were enjoying the movie." I lifted my eyebrows up in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Mike, did you not look at yourself in the mirror this morning? You have a couple hickeys on your neck." I cringed as I remembered seeing those after I got out of the shower. I forgot that my sweatshirt didn't cover them well.

"Oh shit. I forgot to wear a jacket that hid my neck this morning. No wonder why the girl that sits next to me in Government kept staring at my neck."

"Yeah dude. You have Syd's love bites. So were you guys really watching The Godfather? Or was it just playing in the background while you guys were doing whatever you were doing?"

After walking up to the 2nd floor we found my car and got in. Weiss takes the bus on Tuesdays and Thursdays because he only has one class. To his luck he found me and didn't have to take the bus back home.

"We watched the beginning of the movie." I said as I pulled out of the garage.

"That's a good attempt."

When Weiss and I got home he collapsed on the couch and took a nap while I decided that I would start packing up my stuff. I took down my large Nike bag from my closet and started to organize my clothes. Since we were only going home for a week I wouldn't need that much clothes.

I'm thrilled to go home and see my mom. I'm even more thrilled to tell her that Sydney and I are now a couple. I know she is going to be so happy when she finds out. She's loved Syd from day one and treats her like she's her daughter.

Growing up, Syd was always at my house. Before we got our licenses my mom would drive us wherever we wanted to go. When we reached high school, Syd would go to my basketball and baseball games and sit in the stands with mom. It was always nice looking up into the bleachers and seeing my two favorite girls.

After packing up a few t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, shoes, socks, and boxers, I was set. I didn't need to bring any jackets with me. I had a couple at home just in case it gets cold and I need to wear one. Plus, in case I need any dress clothes they were at home too.

I dozed off for an hour or two until Syd called me and told me to come over. As I was leaving the apartment I saw that Weiss was still knocked out on the couch. One leg was hanging off the couch as his mouth was wide open. His snoring was filling up the whole room and I was glad I was leaving. I let out a small laugh before closing the door and locking it up.

I made it to Syd's place in no time. After knocking a couple of times, Francie opened up the door.

"Hey Francie." I said as I walked in.

"Hi Michael. Syd's in her room."

"Thanks. What are you doing for Spring Break?" Francie walked over and plopped herself down on the couch.

"Just hanging out here. Syd told me you guys were driving home tomorrow. Have fun!"

"Thanks, you too."

I walked into Syd's room to see her bent over in front of her closet, unaware of my presence. I was loving every minute of the view. She was obviously looking for something on the floor of her closet. After standing there for a minute I decided to make my presence known.

"Hey beautiful!" I said as she turned around and gave me one of her adorable smiles.

"Hey there gorgeous." She came over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm glad you're here. You can help me pack."

I went over and sat on her bed. She had a small luggage case open on the floor, but it was empty. I sat there looking around her room as she went back to rummaging around her closet. A huge Coldplay poster hung on the wall opposite of her bed. Her desk was in the corner where her laptop sat on it. A few papers and books were scattered next to her computer. Her dresser sat under the window with a few picture frames on it.

One of the frames had a picture of her and her mom when she was young. Syd resembled her mom so much. The picture must have been taken when Syd was around 4 or 5. Her mom was sitting on the stairs in front of their house and Sydney is in her lap. Her mom's arms are tightly wrapped around Syd's body as their faces are pressed cheek to cheek. Both of them were showing vibrant smiles.

The second frame was of her and her dad at graduation last year. Jack had his arm around Syd as they stood next to a tree in front of the student parking lot. He looked so proud of her that day.

The last picture was of us at Homecoming. It was the picture taken at school in front of the light blue background. I was standing behind her in my suit with my two hands on her waist. She had her hands on top of mine and was dressed in a gorgeous black dress. A smile came to my face as I remembered every detail of that night.

Syd's POV

After digging through my closet I walked over to my bed and put down a pile of clothing. Vaughn was just sitting there silently looking around my room. It seemed that even though he's been in here more times than I can remember, he looked around like he was seeing it for the first time.

After folding up a few t-shirts and jeans, I put them at the bottom of my luggage. I reached over to grab my bras and panties when Vaughn grabbed my pile of bras first.

"Yeah… You won't be needing these." He said as he held one of them in the air.

"Vaughn!" I yelled and threw one of my socks at him.

"What?"

"You're supposed to be helping me. Instead you're sitting there looking at my bras."

"Syd, we're only going for a week. You don't need that many clothes and you don't need my help."

"Fine. You can just sit there and look cute then." He laughed and then stood up.

"Can I look cute sitting over there by your computer? I want to check some baseball scores."

He walked over my luggage bag and sat himself down on the desk chair. I continued to pack up my clothes while I saw Vaughn looking at the Yahoo sports page.

After folding my last article of clothing, my jean jacket, I zipped my suitcase shut and stood it up against the wall.

I walked over to Vaughn and put my arms around his neck as he continued to look at the box score for the Giants game. Just then a loud grumble came from his stomach causing us both to laugh.

"I see that you're hungry there, buddy." I said as I kissed his cheek.

"I'm starving. Do you wanna order a pizza?"

"Yeah sure. Let me ask Fran if she wants some."

I let go of Vaughn and walked out of my room. Francie was no longer on the couch and I could hear her milling around in her room.

"Hey Fran? Vaughn and I are going to order a pizza. Do you want some?" She was standing at her closet peering into it when I walked in.

"No, that's ok. Actually, I'm going out to dinner with Will tonight," She said as she grabbed a red lacy top from her closet and put it up to her body. "Do you think this looks good with the skirt I'm wearing?"

"Yeah, it looks great," Francie had such a good taste in clothes. I wish I had her fashion sense sometimes. "When did he ask you and where are you going to dinner?"

"He called me a couple of hours ago. We're going to this Italian place called Buca di Bepo's. It's supposed to be really good."

"Oh ok. Well, Vaughn and I are just going to hang out here if you want to bring Will back after dinner."

"Ok, we'll see what Will wants to do."

"Have fun Fran! I want details tomorrow!" I said as I walked out of her room and made my way across the kitchen.

When I got back to my room Vaughn was still at my computer. I grabbed my cell phone off my dresser and dialed Toto's number. Without even asking Vaughn what he wanted, I ordered a large 2 without anchovies. It was to be delivered to my apartment in half an hour.

When the pizza arrived, Vaughn paid the pizza guy and made his way over to the couch where I was sitting. He put the pizza down on the coffee table and put two slices on our paper plates. I grabbed the remote from the love seat sitting perpendicular to the bigger couch and flipped it on to a re-run of Friends.

We sat there eating our pizza and laughing at the TV. They were showing the one episode where Ross buys leather pants and wears them on a date to some girl's apartment. During the date the leather pants makes Ross hot so he goes to the bathroom and takes them off. When he goes to put them back on, they won't fit so he starts putting water, powder, and lotion all over his legs. Eventually, he has to come out of the bathroom with no pants on and his date kicks him out of her apartment. Vaughn and I couldn't stop laughing.

Towards the end of the night, after watching TV and downing ¾ the box of pizza, we made it back to my room and were lying on my bed. Both of us were lying on our backs, staring at the ceiling as we continued to talk about old times. Vaughn had both of his hands behind his head as my hands lay on my stomach.

"Do you remember that time in 7th grade when you told me you didn't want to be my friend anymore?" He said as he nudged the side of my head with his elbow.

"What when did that happen?"

"We were at the St. Robert's carnival and I went out the Ferris wheel with Allison Walker. After I got off the ride you told me you didn't want to be friends with me anymore." I suddenly started to laugh because I did remember that.

"Oh yeah! I think you cried when I told you that."

"I didn't cry Syd. I was just deeply hurt."

I turned to my side so I could face Vaughn. He was still looking up at the ceiling as I traced the letters of his gap sweatshirt. I stayed silent as I continued to survey him. His hair was perfectly messy and his forehead was clear of wrinkles. The scruff and stubble around his mouth appeared to be getting a little longer since I'm assuming he hasn't shaved in a couple of days. But I loved the scruff around his mouth. It made him look so much sexier.

"I was mad at you because you said you were going to ride the Ferris wheel with me. Then I saw you get off the ride with Allison and I got mad." I really was mad at him that night. I remember feeling a little pang of jealousy when I saw him with another girl.

"I'm sorry Syd. If it makes you feel any better, she asked me to go on the ride with her." Vaughn turned on his side so he was facing me. His thumb started to run down my cheek as he stroked my face.

I leaned in and started to kiss his lips softly. I pulled away and started placing kisses over his eyes, on his forehead, on his nose, on his chin, and then finally back to his mouth. Our kiss started getting heavy as Vaughn's tongue traced my bottom lip, seeking approval. I gladly opened my mouth as his tongue entered and had it's way with mine.

After a couple of minutes he pulled away and looked up at my clock sitting on my dresser. It was already ten minutes past midnight.

"Syd, I have to go." He said as he got up and started to put on his shoes.

I didn't want him to leave. The night was going so well and I didn't want it to end. When we were lying there on my bed and I was staring into his eyes, it made my heart swell. The tingly feeling ran all the way throughout my body from my finger tips to the tips of my toes. I knew what I wanted and I wanted to wake up to his same smiling face in the morning.

"Vaughn..." I grabbed his hand after and made him sit back down on the bed again.

"Yeah Syd?" He ran his thumb over the top of my hand over my knuckles.

"Stay with me tonight."

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