Hey! So I'm posting this chapter today instead of later on in the week because I looked at the reviews this morning and there are almost 80! This is only the eighth chapter! I'm so glad you guys like this story, so thank you! :D Anyway, So it's snowing here in the UK and I'm actually surprised I managed to finish writing this when I was so excited lol, but here is the chapter and I really hope you like this one :)
Chapter Eight - Take A Risk
"I'll take you home." Blake said softly and pulled his gaze away from Nellie's as he started the car.
Nellie didn't respond. She kept her eyes locked in front of her at the road ahead, not daring to speak up. They had almost kissed. Kissed! It was one thing to talk to a Titan, but to come that close to kissing one of them. That was completely out of the picture. If anyone ever found out she would be completely exiled from Carmel. It didn't matter who her brother was or where her social standing was within the school, it was an unspoken rule.
You don't date a Titan.
But she wasn't dating Blake, she had almost kissed him, but that was just as bad. Nellie wasn't sure what her brain was doing to her right now, but as they drove down the streets of Lima all she could think of doing was kissing those lips that she was millimetres away from just five minutes ago.
Without realizing it, she found herself turning her head to the boy and her eyes bore into the side of his perfectly defined face. She was so infatuated that she didn't even notice as Blake pulled up to her house.
Blake frowned as he turned to see her already staring at him. "Nellie?" He asked quietly and she finally snapped out of her daze, blinking quickly.
"Sorry," She mumbled and shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts that were gnawing at her brain. "Thanks for the ride." She mumbled and made a move to step out of the car, only to be pulled back by Blake's hand and his lips crashed into hers.
Nellie's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as the shock of the kiss registered in her brain before she closed her eyes and melted into his lips. They were soft, softer than she had thought they would be. Way softer than her ex boyfriend's lips had been. She sighed into it as Blake's hand moved up to cup her face and she could have sworn she felt tingles run across her skin.
It was over far too soon as Blake pulled away from her, but he kept little distance between them. His hand moved down to her neck and stayed put as he stared into her eyes. She could see his eyes searching her own, but she wasn't sure what he was looking for.
"What?" She whispered, surprised that she actually managed to get any words out at all.
Blake sighed as his tongue poked out, wetting his lips slightly in a way that made Nellie's inside go crazy. "I just- Apart from Shanna and Aylin- I've never met a girl like you before. You've heard so much crap about me, but here you are, sitting in my car and you're letting me kiss you."
Nellie blushed slightly and glanced down at her lap. "I think everyone deserves a chance." She said before she looked back up at him, dark brown meeting light brown.
"Well, thank you for that." He said and cracked a smile.
Nellie opened her mouth to respond but the loud throttle of a car behind interrupted and they both turned to see a car speeding up the road and the music on full blast. "Shit," Nellie's eyes widened at the familiar car. "That's Reece. I gotta go!" She exclaimed and grabbed her bag, jumping out of the car within seconds.
"Wait!" Blake exclaimed as Nellie went to slam the door. "Will you call me?" He asked softly, glancing behind them quickly at the approaching car.
Nellie glanced up the street to where the car was getting too close for comfort. She nodded quickly in a hope that Blake would leave. "Yeah."
Blake nodded and flashed her a smile before he stepped on the gas and drove off. Not even ten seconds later, Reece pulled up into the drive with Damian and Cameron.
"Who was that?" Reece asked as he got out of his car and looked to where Blake's car had just drove away.
"Oh-" Nellie stuttered. "It was Jake." She lied quickly.
"Doesn't Jake have a pick up?" Cameron frowned as the group started walking into the house.
Nellie's eyes widened slightly as she tried to come up with another lie quickly. "Yeah, that was his dad's car though." She explained as they walked through the front door and they started pulling their jackets and shoes off. Cameron nodded, seemingly accepting her answer and Nellie let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey Nel, you wanna come watch the game with us?" Reece asked as the three boys started walking toward the family room.
"No thanks." Nellie shook her head at the three boys and walked up the stairs. She couldn't sit in a room with the three of them after what she had just done. It was only now that she was out of Blake's proximity and breathing different air to him that she realised just how bad this could be. If anything more to happen between them all hell would break loose, for the both of them and Nellie wasn't sure if a boy was worth losing her brother and her school.
"Snap out of it Nellie." She mumbled to herself as she closed her bedroom door and dumped her bag on the floor. "Who cares what the school thinks?" She asked herself as she fell backward onto her bed.
She liked Blake. That part she had figured out, but did she like him enough to risk everything? That was going to be the hard part. If she called him then she wouldn't be able to go back from this. She would be going against her brothers, her father and all of her friends.
"I care what the school thinks." She admitted to herself and rolled over onto her front. Why couldn't there be a guy at Carmel that she liked? Why did the only guy she had liked since well, ever, have to be from McKinley?
Why did it have to be Blake Jenner?
Nellie didn't even attempt to start her homework, she couldn't think about anything other than Blake and what the consequences would be if anything else were to happen between them. She finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until her alarm woke her the next morning.
"Hey mama." Blake said as he walked into the kitchen and gave Julie Jenner a kiss on the cheek. A wide smile was etched across his face and he was sure his mother would comment on it, but right now he didn't care. "What's for dinner?" He asked, looking over the various vegetables she was cutting on the counter.
"Casserole." Julie responded, looking at her son suspiciously. "What's gotten into you?"
Blake shrugged as he hopped onto the counter. "Nothing." He grinned at her.
Julie turned and looked at her youngest son, the look on his face showing that it was a lot more than just nothing. "I know that look Blake Jenner. Your father had that same look on his face right after-" She stopped herself mid-sentence as her eyes widened in realisation.
"Right after what?" Blake frowned at his mother, showing his obvious confusion.
"-Right after he kissed me for the first time." She finished in a whisper and set the chopping knife down. "So, who is the lucky girl?" She asked, turning to Blake and offering him a soft smile.
Blake's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "There is no girl!"
Julie gave him a look that said 'yeah right' all over it. "I'm your mother Blake. I can read you like a book."
Blake sighed and rolled his lips together. He definitely wanted to talk to someone about the whole situation he had with Nellie. His friends weren't an option, because they thought he was just playing a joke and his brother and father would quite possibly murder him, so his mother was his only option right now.
"Ok, so I met this girl..." He started and glanced up at his mother's gleaming face. "...But she goes to Carmel." He admitted and looked down at the floor, afraid to look back up.
There was silence for a few minutes and Blake hoped it was good. He knew his mom hated the feud between the two schools, but when it came down to it, would she back her husband up over her son? "What's her name?" Julie finally asked and Blake looked up to see his mother's warm smile gazing across at him.
"Nellie," He whispered and let out a silent breath of relief. At least he would have his mom on his side if anything else were to happen. "Her name is Nellie and she's great!" He said a little more confidently and watched as his mother's smile dropped ever so slightly.
"Nellie, as in Nellie Veitenheimer?" She asked quietly, hoping to god that her son hadn't fallen for the worst possible girl at Carmel. Of course she would be happy for her son either way, it could finally mean an end to this feud that apparently meant so much to the town, but if this girl was a part of the Veitenheimer family it could be dangerous.
"Yeah." Blake nodded slowly, watching closely for his mother's reaction. "I think I really like her." He admitted and blushed lightly. He felt like a girl gossiping, but he needed to get it off of his chest and this seemed like the only way.
"I'm glad to hear that you like someone Blake, but-" Julie sighed and rolled her lips together in a way that was almost identical to Blake. "- She's a big part of Carmel. You're going to have to be careful, both of you are."
"I know that." Blake nodded in agreement. "I don't know if anything is even going to happen with us, but if it does I'm glad I can count on your support."
Julie nodded and smiled softly. "You'll always have my support." She whispered and kissed his cheek. "Now, go! I'm sure you've got homework!"
"Thanks Mama." Blake nodded and made his way to his room to start on his homework. As soon as he got to his bedroom, he shut and locked his door, just in case his brother decided to be snoopy and pulled out his phone, hoping that Nellie might have called. He felt his heart sink slightly and he let out a disappointed sigh when he saw that there were no new messages or missed calls.
Nellie carefully ran her thumb across the screen of her phone, debating whether or not she should call Blake. She didn't want to leave him hanging, but she also didn't want to get his hopes up. After sleeping the rest of the day when she got home she hadn't been able to keep her mind off of Blake. All throughout school she felt herself deliberating over what she should do.
It wasn't until she hung out with her friends at the pep rally after school that day that she figured out what she had to do. If she started dating Blake, she would lose all of her friends, she was sure of it. There was no way they would stick around and watch as she completely ruined the school's reputation.
"Hey Nells, dad's got someone to see us both downstairs." Reece poked his head around her bedroom door, a wide smile etched across his face. "You're gonna flip!" He added excitedly.
Nellie sighed as she put her phone in her pocket and followed her brother out of her room. "Who is it?" She questioned, gnawing on her lip slightly.
Reece simply grinned in response and Nellie had no choice but to follow him down the stairs. As the two of them entered the dining room they were greeted with a table of food and a full table of people. Nellie frowned as she looked over the people, her two other brothers, Jason and James were sat at the table as well as Jason's wife Claire and their three year old daughter. She looked over to her father and saw him speaking with a very familiar looking man.
Her smile immediately dropped.
"Nellie! Reece!" Jack Veitenheimer exclaimed as he spotted his youngest children in the doorway. "You remember Dan Clark right?"
"Of course." Nellie nodded, trying to keep the irritation to herself. "The dean at Ohio state." She added quietly and her eyes met Claire's across the dining table. The older woman gave her a soft smile and Nellie tried her hardest to return it.
"Well come, sit! Dinner's ready!" Jack said excitedly, ushering his children to sit down at the table. Nellie slowly followed her brother to the table and they sat in the two spare seats. Nellie sitting between Reece and James while the dean sat on Reece's other side.
Nellie was glad her brother had taken the seat next to the dean; she didn't want to sit through a whole meal and pretend that she was interested in going to his school next year. She was going to go anywhere but Ohio State, that was for sure. She couldn't wait to get away out of the state and be able to do exactly what she wanted.
Ever Since their mother died when Nellie and Reece were eight years old everything had changed. The house became cold and quiet, the usual laughter and happiness that radiated through their home while their mother was alive had disappeared and all these years later it still hadn't returned.
"Yes, Nellie is interested in pursuing something in Journalism." Nellie snapped her head up as she heard her name escape her father's lips. She held in a frown and concentrated on eating the food in front of her. "Right sweetheart?"
Nellie chewed on her food, taking as long as possible on the small bite. "Yeah." She finally nodded after swallowing hard.
"Well we have a great writing programme if that's what you're looking into?" The dean piped in and Nellie took a quick glance toward Claire who looked almost as uncomfortable as Nellie.
"Yep, our Nells is so talented!" Jason interrupted, not realising that he was wrong all together. Nellie was definitely talented in that aspect, but she didn't want to go into Journalism, or anything to do with writing really. She would be a dancer like her mother.
Nellie smiled tightly and took another bite of her food, trying to tune out the conversations around her. College was a stressful topic for any Senior, but when everyone around you wanted you to go and do something completely opposite to what you had always dreamed of, it was that much harder. Nellie would have done anything to not be sitting at the table and discussing plans that weren't going to happen.
After another twenty minutes of pretending to pay attention and giving bleak answers whenever questioned, Nellie was saved as her cell phone rang in her pocket. "Nellie, we're at dinner." Jack scolded as he turned to his daughter.
"Sorry," Nellie mumbled, but still stood from the table. "I'll just be a minute." She said and rushed from the room, pulling out her phone when she was far enough away from the dining room. Looking at the screen she saw Blake's name flashing. She hesitated before answering it, taking anything that would keep her away from her father and the dean, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"Blake," She said quietly and shut the door to the family room, not wanting any of her family to overhear her. "Hi."
"Hey!" He exclaimed from the over end of the phone. "Am I interrupting?" He questioned, noticing her quiet tone.
"No, I've just finished dinner. My family are close though." Nellie replied softly. She didn't want to admit it, but hearing Blake's voice was almost comforting after such an uncomfortable half an hour with her father barking on about college. "So, what's up?" She asked and couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. The smile that she really didn't want to appear just because she was talking to Blake – she wanted to tell him that they couldn't see each other again, but she couldn't seem to find those words as his soft voice ran through her ear drum,
"Ok, well I was wondering if uh- you wanted to hang out tonight?" Nellie couldn't help it as her smile widened as she heard the nervousness in his voice. It was different to his usual confidence and it almost made her like him that much more.
Though she was still smiling, she let out a sad sigh. They weren't doing this anymore, but as her father's booming laugh sounded from the dining room she couldn't help but think this was the perfect opportunity to get out of this dinner. "I'd love to." She finally said.
"Really?" The surprise in his voice was evident. "Great! Do you want me to pick you up at your house? We could go to the movies or something..."
"That sounds great, Blake." Nellie replied and deep down, it really did sound great. Her head was telling her to break things off before they even started, but her heart was telling her something completely different, and right now, she didn't want to listen to her head. She just wanted to get the hell out of her house and Blake had just given her a reason too.
"Ok, so fifteen minutes?"
"Fifteen minutes." Nellie repeated and nodded her head. "I'll wait a few houses down so nobody notices you."
After saying a quick goodbye Nellie stayed put in the family room, trying to come up with an excuse as to why she had to leave. After coming up with an acceptable excuse she made her way back to her family and hoped her father would let her go.
"Hey Daddy, I gotta go!" Nellie exclaimed as she rushed into the dining room, using the acting skills she had picked up from a few school productions she had taken part in. "Marissa had a car accident!" She lied easily and made a mental note to make up a lie to her best friend to get her to play along if necessary.
"What? Is she okay?" Claire immediately asked. Her friends were always hanging around the house and Claire had become close with both Lindsay and Marissa.
"I don't know, but I've gotta go." Nellie responded quickly as she pulled on her jacket from the coat stand. "I'm so sorry Mr. Clark."
"That's quite alright. I hope your friend is alright." Nellie gave him a tight smile before she rushed out of the house, not waiting for her father to interrupt.
Nellie smiled to herself as she shut the front door and started walking down the drive. She had only gotten about five houses down when Blake pulled up next to her and she quickly climbed into the car. "Hey" He grinned at her. "You ok?"
Nellie nodded and clipped her seatbelt on. "I'm great."
Blake nodded and smiled at her before he started driving down the street. As Nellie looked at him now, maybe she was ready to take a risk with him. She didn't even know how people would react, nobody had dared try dating somebody from the rival school before, but there was always a first time for everything right?
"I'm thinking we should go to the movie theatre across town just in case we bump into anyone." Blake said, breaking Nellie's chain of thoughts.
"Sure," She responded with a soft smile. "Sounds perfect." Though Blake had at first been an escape route for her to get out of that dinner, she was now glad that she had accepted his invite. If not she wouldn't have seen him and she probably would have ended up rejecting him over a phone call and now as she was only meters away from him she couldn't remember why she had thought that would have been a good idea.
What did you think? Let me know in a review :)
Again, I want to thank you all for reviewing and keeping me going with this story! If any of you have any questions about anything then it would probably be best for you to message me on my Tumblr account, the link is on my profile. I write blellie fics on there too, so you might come across some that you haven't yet read! :)
THANK YOU! :)