A/N

A lot more fluff, I know. I'm trying to get into more interesting content, but at the same time I feel obligated to build off of what I started or I will regret it later. I won't take up anymore time here, so R&R please.

Chapter 8

Eragon

After the kiss, Arya seemed more open around him. Neither of them officially said anything about a relationship, but what they had was definitely more than a friendship. The rest of the week passed quickly, which might be a result of Arya's openness. His arm slowly became usable and the soreness in his chest became dulled, but still noticeable if he overextended. Eragon went into the gym as soon as he could to start doing very light exercises to strengthen the muscle again. He was careful to avoid damaging the bone, in case if wasn't fully healed. He also had some scruff, a trait he got from his dad, from not having a razor for a week. It wasn't spectacular, but he was content with it, being only seventeen. Police had come by, asking him a number of questions, then left.

It was Sunday afternoon and he was closing on the last of his 10 kilometer run. He was ignoring the extra weight on his arm, from the cast, as he thought back to the second most important part of the week, after the kiss with Arya.

The GT-R pulled into the salvage yard. Eragon saw the SLR immediately and began fighting the flashbacks. He walked over to the manager as Arya parked the car, showing his ID and explaining that he was there to get the house key.

Arya was waiting by the SLR as he arrived. He leaned in and reached for the glovebox when a familiar sight stopped him. There was still blood in the driver's seat. Dad's blood, he thought. He shook his head, then grabbed the key from the glovebox. It was on a keychain with a ring. It looked like a class ring from high school, with a sapphire in the top and a strange symbol on it. It has to be dad's, he thought as he put it on his left ring finger, due to the cast blocking his right hand's fingers. Eragon turned around, nodded to Arya, and the two of them left without a word.

HOOOOOOONNK! blared a horn over his music, shaking him from his thoughts. He turned to see Arya in her GT-R, smiling at him. "Time: 42 minutes, 34 seconds," came through his earbuds, indicating he finished his 10k. He pulled his headphones out and walked to her passenger side door, leaning in.

Eragon smirked as he spoke in-between breaths. "You are a very beautiful young woman to be driving around this part of town all by yourself."

Arya scarcely blushed at his compliment and unlocked the doors. "Just get in. And don't smash the bread!" Eragon looked at her lips, wanting to kiss her. It was an urge he felt a lot since the initial kiss. She noticed he was looking at her lips and she looked back to the road. She bit her lip, which only made her look all the more attractive. "How was your run?" Arya asked, eyes still on the road.

"It was fine. The cast made it an adjustment, but no other issues. How was your run to the store?" He asked, trying to understand her plan.

"Oh, I'm so winning this bet. If you can make a meal out of what I got, you definitely need to get on Top Chef," she challenged.

"Are you doubting my prowess?" He said, moving closer to her by leaning his torso across the console.

She stopped at a red light, then put her nose a millimeter from his and replied, "so what if I am? You're the one who said I could pick 'any' ingredients, so long as you had enough to make a meal." The light turned green, but neither paid it any attention. Eragon replied by closed the distance, kissing her passionately. Arya didn't hesitate to respond, but after a couple of seconds, a horn blared behind them and both of them pull back. Arya sped through the green light, looking back to see a teenager in a 2017 blue Audi R8 riding her tail. Eragon watched as Arya waved to the girl in the R8 behind them, then drove the last half-mile to Arya's house. Eragon noticed the R8 was following them there. "Is the girl in the car behind us going to join us?" Eragon asked, unaware of who she was.

"Yeah, it's a friend from school. My mom is staying late at work," Eragon noticed Islanzadí stayed late almost every night, "so I invited her over for a couple of hours." Eragon merely nodded as they pulled into the driveway, then the garage. Eragon and Arya got out of the car and grabbed the various ingredients. They either put them on the counter or in the refrigerator, depending on what the groceries needed. "I'm going to introduce you, follow me," Arya said, leading him to the front door, where the girl was waiting patiently. When Arya opened the door, standing there was a beautiful sixteen to seventeen year old girl. She was average when compared to Arya, however.

As the door opened, the girl spoke, smirking. "So, Arya. What was that in the car that I saw?"

Arya only replied with "nothing," then changed the subject. "Eragon," she said, looking at him, "this is Saphira," looking at the girl, then finished with "Saphira, this is Eragon."

Eragon smiled politely and said "hey, nice to meet you" while sticking out his left hand.

Saphira hesitated, noticing his right hand was in a cast, before sticking out her left hand and said "likewise" in a kind tone.

Arya spoke up, asking "so, how long do you think it will take to make dinner?" as she looked at Eragon.

"I'm not sure. It depends on what all you gave me to choose from," he replied, thinking. "I should probably get to it for that very reason." He waved, winked at Arya, then walked to get to work. He berated himself shortly after for doing that. Why did I do that? That was dumb. He began examining his ingredients, trying to decide what he could make out of it, when an idea came to him.

Arya

Arya watched as he winked, then walked off. What is going on between us? she asked herself, unsure.

"What was that?" Saphira whispered to her.

"Huh?" Arya tried to play dumb.

"Don't try that. You got yourself a special somebody?" Saphira said, being a nosy friend.

Arya realized her efforts were futile and was honest with her. "I'm not sure, honestly."

"Well, he obviously likes you and you didn't shut him down like you do every other guy, so that means-" Saphira was cut off.

"I said I don't know, Saphira." Arya wanted to desperately change the subject. "Why don't we go see how dinner is coming?"

Saphira became quiet, not sure about what to say. "Okay."

As they entered, Saphira spoke first. "What's cookin' good lookin'?" Arya knew what she was doing. Saphira was trying to get Arya to admit she has feeling for Eragon, if not to herself, then to Saphira. Her intentions were always pure, but how she went about it wasn't.

Eragon hesitated for a moment as he looked at Arya, unsure of what to do, before he spoke. "That's for me to know and you to find out. We never decided on what I get when I win, by the way."

Arya laughed at his false arrogance. She thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. When she said this, Eragon apparently had an idea. "How about, if I win, I get to drive your car."

Saphira looked at Arya. Both of them knew Arya didn't let anyone drive her car. As soon as the words come from my mouth, she will know. "Alright," Saphira had a look that said I'm right and you know it on her face, "but I won't be able to drive your car if I win. You don't have one."

"I guess I'll have to get one, then," Eragon replied. He then added, "how about, once I get a car, you will be the first person to drive it?"

Arya thought about it for a moment. "I agree to your terms. I won't wreck it too badly. You'll be able to recognize it afterwards., at least," she said, smirking. Saphira had, without either of them noticing, backed to the corner of the room to observe the change in her friend.

Eragon glanced at the stove, to check the timer, before looking back to Arya. His left hand was in his running shorts' pocket, while his right was lax. He took several, slow steps towards her. His brown eyes were locked with her emerald eyes as he spoke. "You wouldn't."

"It's a possibility," she said, with a mischievous smile. Arya knew what he was about to do. She had an urge to run, to keep the side that is attached to Fäolin pure. But she didn't want to run away. If anything, she wanted to run towards him, but she couldn't move. She couldn't even speak. She could only watched as he took the last step, looking at her lips. It felt like an eternity before she felt the impact, then another eternity kissing. His left hand went to her cheek, while her hand went through his hair. He slowly backed her into the counter. Suddenly, the stove let out a loud beeeeeep! Eragon slowly pulled back and put his forehead against hers.

"You know, I wouldn't have to do this if you never made that bet," Eragon's breathy voice said.

She slowly pushed Eragon towards the stove, then saw a person out of the corner of her eye, a grin from ear to ear on the girl's face. Shit, Saphira saw the whole thing. Arya opened her mouth to speak, when Saphira held up her hand and shook her head. Saphira did speak, however, and said "hey, I'm going to go to the bathroom." She walked out of the kitchen.

Arya wanted the moment to last longer than it did, but she knew that was impossible. Instead, she walked up behind Eragon and wrapped her arms around him. She mumbled into his shirt, "you need a shower."

She felt his shoulders rise as he chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I'm going to get one after dinner." She nodded into his back. They stayed like that for over a minute before the sound of the sink made her mind up to break away from Eragon. She didn't want Saphira to be a third wheel.

Arya was watching Eragon put the finishing touches on the meal as Saphira walked back in. Saphira spoke as she saw what he made. "Really? We're having meatloaf?"

Eragon replied with "yeah, it's my mom's recipe. I'd normally charge you, but under the circumstances of a bet, I'll make an exception."

Saphira didn't reply, but, from Saphira's facial expression, she had a reply, she just didn't want to say it. She probably doesn't want to bring either of his parents up, Arya thought as she returned her attention to the meal that was now finished. Eragon took a step back and said, smirking, "alright, dig in. Try to leave me some once you're done eating my amazing food." Both Saphira and Arya have him a look that said stop being arrogant.

The three of them made their plates and sat at the table. Arya sat at the head of the table, with Eragon and Saphira on either side of her. Eragon was watching both of them, expectantly. Arya and Saphira looked at each other. They were going to do their absolute best to claim they don't like the meal. As soon as Arya took a bite, however, that plan fell flat on its face. She wanted to savor every bite, as the spices, ingredients, and beef blended into one of the best meals she's ever had. "You don't pass, you didn't use all of the ingredients I got you," Arya said, thinking of the bread.

"Oh, shit!" Eragon exclaimed, almost running out of the room. He returned moments later with a plate with six slices of bread, each topped with cheese and chives. They were baked, but a little too long based off of the black spots dotted around the crust. "This is the best part...well, it was the best part before it got burnt." He set the plate down in front of them, grabbing a piece and putting it on his plate.

Arya grabbed a piece and came up with a reply, saying "this is burned, you automatically fail."

"Well, in my defense, it was going perfectly fine until someone...distracted me," Eragon replied, looking straight into her eyes.

"So, when do I get to drive your car?" She asked, trying to assert her victory and change the subject simultaneously.

"Woah woah woah, I think we need a second opinion. Saphira, what do you think?" Eragon asked, desperately trying to win the bet.

Saphira smirked and Arya immediately knew she had been betrayed. "He has a point, the main meal is perfect, while the side is a bit burned. I think Eragon wins."

Arya's mind raced. How do I get out of this? She thought to herself. The only arguments she could think of could easily be deflected. Arya knew it was a dirty trick, but she went with it. "The deal was made about just the two of us, not a third party."

Eragon stared at Saphira, his face asking are you serious? As he was distracted, Arya took a bite of the bread. Damn it, it's just as good as the meatloaf, she thought to herself.

The three of them argued for almost thirty minutes, with Saphira and Eragon arguing against Arya. Arya and Eragon finished their meals, while Saphira was almost done. It was inevitable that Arya would lose, and, realizing this, she forfeited. "Fine," was all she said.

After a couple of moments of silence, Eragon spoke first. "So, how about Friday?"

Amidst the arguing, Arya had almost forgotten about the prize for winning the bet. Saphira spoke next, saying "I think I'm going to head out. It's almost 9:30 pm and I haven't been home since this morning. My parents will start to call if I'm out later than 10." All three of them stood up and they walked to the door. They spoke their goodbyes and, as the door was closing, Saphira have Arya a smile that said I was right.

As soon as the door shut, it became awkward. Eragon spoke up. "I think I'm going to head to bed. I don't think I've been on any sleep schedule for several weeks now." Arya nodded. They quietly put their dishes away, then went to their respective rooms. Eragon reached his door first and looked at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came. Instead, he walked inside and shut the door. As she watched him go in, she asked herself do I want more? Because tonight says I do. She shook her head of her thoughts, then changed and went to sleep. After countless minutes of thought of Eragon, sleep finally came. The next thing she remembered was her alarm blaring, waking her. Time for school, she thought.

Eragon

As he looked at Arya, he wanted to say a millions things. Many things he thought were cheesey, but that didn't make them any less true. That kiss was the best kiss I've ever had. I wish moments like those would never end. There were more. Many more. A third, however, was by far the strongest. I think I'm in love with you. As he looked into her eyes, he wanted to scream it. But the words never came. Instead, he stood there and stared at her, looking like an idiot. As he shut the door and changed, he could only think to himself does she feel the same for me? That was one amazing kiss it she doesn't. He fell asleep, with his mind racing.

A/N

Asnari-Thanks for the review. I think I have an idea on how I'm going to do the ExA. I completely agree about people abandoning work after they start it too. I got annoyed because I kept asking myself "what happened to the rest of the story?" as they just abandoned them. My dad drilled "if anything is worth doing, it's worth doing right" into me too much to leave something abruptly incomplete. As far as magic goes, I can't figure out a way to implement it right, so I might write this, then write one with magic later on(it depends if I'm up for writing another after this). I'll put some more thought into it and see what unfolds.

I know it's an abrupt ending. I was going to add more, which would basically be the next school day. Once I was almost done with it, I realized that I accelerated things too fast. I'm going to add a buffer where I can do more with the plot and car stuff(which I really want to get back to). Anyways, please leave a review to let me know how you think I did. I know there's been no car stuff, but I've found a way to implement gun violence if you guys will be interested in that(maybe?). I'm terrible at making decisions. Also, I have an AP Exam tomorrow(Monday) and Tuesday of this week, so I know I won't be able to write anything before my next deadline, so I might as well upload this before diving into my calculus book.

Any PC gamers here? I've been really into World of Warships and I just got the German Destroyer Z-23. It took me almost a month to get it too.