Captivating

Avery: I'm using a different POV for this chapter so I'm taking the spotlight off of Kick and Kendall for a moment but worry not my friends they will be the center of attention again soon. Enjoy!

-Christina-

I have not slept a wink all night. I stared at the clock watching time slowly tick by. Eleven, Twelve, One, Two… By four am I gave up trying to sleep entirely. I considered going into the boys room to wake up my brother but I knew he wouldn't be happy that I woke him up at four in the morning. I've always been like this, an insomniac. No one really knows that I'm an insomniac, except for Ronaldo. I can count on one hand the number of times I have not called him at four in the morning with my sleeping issues, I wouldn't be surprised if he were hovering over his phone right now, waiting for me to call. My phone buzzed and a text appeared on the screen, it was from Ronaldo.

"Meet me outside"

I smiled, he was so predictable. He has been my best friend for years, I'm a closet science geek, he is very open about it. It almost made me want to come out of the geek closet and accept that I was a geek. He made me want it, but the fact that he was dating Kendall held me back. But even now, four years after they dated and broke up, I couldn't come to terms with who I really was and how I really felt. He has always been there, always wanted to help me. So many people think of him as a egghead and a geek but I see him as much more then that. I saw him as a best friend, and so much more. I was thirteen and studying for a history test the night I realized I was in love with Ronaldo. We were in his room, notebooks, question sheets, texts books, and binders sprawled out across his bed. I tucked my pencil behind my ear along with my recently cut brunette locks and slammed my textbook shut.

"Well I'm stumped" I exclaimed, rolling back my icy blue eyes and collapsing face first onto his navy blue duvet.

"If only they had science back in the fifteenth century" Ronaldo said, laying down on his stomach, his face inches away from mine.

"Does everything have to be about science to you?" I mumbled into the bed without looking up at him

"Science is used for good" Ronaldo replied

"Science was also used to blow up Japan after the Holocaust" I reminded him "That not only killed thousands of people but also gave millions cancer. Don't you remember the story of Sadako Saski?"

I knew without even looking at him that his head was down, and I smirked, knowing I was right. We had heard the story many times, she was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. It wasn't until a few years later that Leukemia set in, or as her mom liked to call it the "Atomic Disease." She was hospitalized and was given a year at the most to live, so she started folding paper cranes, believing that if she folded one thousand paper cranes a wish would be granted. She then died at the age of twelve.

"You know I would never kill anyone with science" Ronaldo told me "Einstein won a noble peace prize, that's what I want"

I looked up slightly, my eyes meeting his. His eyes were so interesting, a light green colour mixed with grey, I wanted those eyes. They were the kind of eyes that made you stop and stare, and sure one or two ladies at makeup counters have told me I have amazing eyes but his eyes were different. They held the stars, the sky, the world, Infinity. And before I can stop myself I reached out and touched his face, tracing an infinity around his eyes, he smiled at me slightly and I smiled back. That was the moment I realized I had been so stupid, I actually believed all those years of our friendship that I thought he was nothing more then my best friend. I held on to that moment, looking into his eyes, my finger tracing his jaw line. If I had just moved two measly little inches we would kissing, but we couldn't, he was dating Kendall, who was my friend. I couldn't do this, not to a friend. I almost couldn't help it, his smile, his eyes, his voice, his hair, and every little detail in between. It was all so captivating. He was captivating.

And then, here I am, five years later a seventeen year old girl slipping on her favourite pair of moccasin slippers to sneak out to meet her friend, still wearing her plaid pajama bottoms and oversized "Big Bang Theory" top. It was Ronaldo's shirt but every time I stayed at his house watching "The Big Bang Theory" I would beg him to let me wear it. So one day, when it was my birthday, he gave me the shirt. It was in a large blue bag filled with purple tissue paper. It smelled like axe and the lavender air freshener that his mom loved so much, but it also smelled like him. It reminded me of all the Big Bang Theory marathons that we had when we were younger, every time we joked that he sounded like Howard Wolowitz, every time we role played as Sheldon and Penny, and all of the laughs that were yet to come, whether they came out of Sheldon's mouth or his. But I didn't want him to be Sheldon anymore. Not Sheldon, Penny's friend, I wanted him to be Leonard, Penny's lover. I wanted him. The Leonard to my Penny.

"Knock, knock, knock, Penny! Knock, knock, knock, Penny! Knock, knock, knock, Penny!" He exclaimed as I approached, he too was in slippers and pajamas. "Nice shirt"

We both smirked And just like that the feeling of love is back. And in that moment, I want to kiss him, I want to hold him, I want to love him, I want him. I couldn't do that though, he thought of me as a friend and only a friend. Four years ago I felt heartbreak for the first time, when he and Kendall started dating, and for the second time when he told me he got his first kiss. I wanted to cry but instead I let my anger out through a paintbrush. I painted a lot, even after Ronaldo and Kendall broke up I painted. It was my way of saying "I'll always be here, and I'll always love you."

"You couldn't sleep either?" I asked

"Sort of," He replied with a laugh "I think our all-nighters have put my body on a timer"

I smirked at him, and then we start walking, past the pool and basket ball court, and onto the open grass field behind the hotel where I saw kids playing Frisbee earlier today. He sat down on the grass and patted the ground next to him, offering me a seat. His smile was warm and inviting as I sat down beside him and looked up at the sky. The sky was a deep purple and the sun would be up soon, but for now I was enjoying the slowly fading stars.

"There's Taurus" I said, pointing up at the constellation

"What?" He asked

"Your zodiac, you were born April 28, and therefore you are a Taurus" I explained

"Oh right" Ronaldo said "And you were born September 25, that makes you-"

He stopped talking. I knew that it was because he knew nothing about astrology, he also didn't believe that your entire life has something to do with the position of the stars on your birthday. I didn't believe in horoscopes and zodiacs either, it takes away from my catholic beliefs. Ronaldo believed in science, I believed that the fact that it was all so intricate and perfect meant that God really did exist. He was saying "here is the world I am giving you, enjoy it" but Ronaldo disagreed. I was fine with that, it's not like I was trying to shove my beliefs down his throat and it wasn't like he hated me for believing in a higher power. Opposites attract, and I love him the way he is.

Then suddenly I felt something warm on my hand, I looked down and I realized it was his hand. He hasn't held my hand since we were six and we got lost at the local amusement park. I looked up at him and my eyes rested on his for a moment. And then, before I can stop myself, I'm leaning in…

-Moxie-

"Where the hell is she!?" I yelled at the top of my lungs

All I know is that I woke up and Christina was not in bed. I screamed her name, waking up the other girls in the process, she wasn't even in the room. She didn't leave a note, or a text, or told anyone she was going anywhere. At first Fiona suggested that she was in the boys room with her brother, but when we called them they said that she wasn't there. And the strangest thing, neither was Ronaldo. Then we put two and two together. That is when our search began.

"I am going to murder him!" Mouth screamed "What does he think he is doing with my sister?"

Mouth sat down in the closest seat with his head in his hands, Fiona touched his arm but he waved her off.

"It's probably nothing bad" I reminded him

"Yeah" Gunther agreed "Maybe they went for an early breakfast or a morning swim"

Mouth jerked his head up with fire in his eyes.

"Are you saying he saw her in a bikini?!" Mouth yelled

He looked enraged, almost murderous. Oh Ronaldo how I would hate to be in your boots right now. I always knew that Christina liked Ronaldo, even if she never admitted it. I have a useless superpower, I can tell when two people are perfect for each other, sometimes just by looking at someone. I knew why Christina had never admitted to her crush, it was all because of Kendall. Even years after the break up, Christina needed to learn how to come to terms with how she feels, and learn that sometimes you have to take chances. Love was a lot like life, if you don't take a chance nothing will ever change.

"Uhh" I heard Jackie mumble

"If he hurts her I'll tear his oversized brain out!" Mouth screamed

"Then you might not want to look over there" Jackie whispered

I turned my head to where she was looking and I saw Christina and Ronaldo, kissing. I knew it. I knew Mouth had seen it too, his eyes widened to the size of plates, his mouth dropped open.

"I'm going to kill you" He screamed

Mouth ran forward as Kendall and I held him back. Christina and Ronaldo's kiss was broken and the were staring at us like we were aliens. Christina jumped up and ran towards her brother, leaving Ronaldo sitting in the field alone. Mouth looked at his sister, there was fear in her eyes. She knew that he was going to yell at her.

"What the hell did you do?" He yelled

"It was just a kiss" She replied calmly

"Just a kiss that can turn into a make out, and you know what happens after a make out" Mouth scolded

"Mouth anger wont solve anything" Kendall calmly told him "Just relax"

I could tell that Kendall was trying to be the peacekeeper in this situation. She usually wasn't the person who attempted to keep the peace, usually she stayed out of it. I looked over my shoulder and realized that Kick was the one staying out of it. He was mindlessly poking at the ground with the toe of his shoe, he was usually the peacekeeper. I stepped towards him.

"Are you going to help?" I asked him

He shook his head "I think I'll let Kendall have this one"

()()()

I sat in the back next to Mouth, who had his headphones in his ears, refusing to talk to anyone. Christina and Ronaldo sat on opposite ends of the car, which were specific orders from Mouth. They awkwardly exchanged longing glances at each other the entire car ride. It almost made me sad, to see my friends have their love lives and I didn't have one myself, even if I did want one. I looked over at Gunther, who was sleeping like a baby in the seat next to me, and I couldn't help but notice how he had changed over the years. I lived in Mellowbrook three times, when I was three, when I was nine, and we moved back there permanently when I was thirteen. Every time I had seen Gunther he changed, he went from a cute toddler to a cute kid, and now that he has lost all of his baby fat and gotten more muscular he's not just cute anymore. But he was my friend, he didn't think of me that way.

"Do you know what it's like?" A voice whispered into my ear

I whipped my head around, accidentally smacking Mouth in the face with my hair.

"Do I know what what's like?" I asked

"To watch your sibling make out with your best friend?" Mouth groaned

"My siblings are ten" I said "By the time they get girlfriends I will be in university"

"Lucky you" He snapped "I mean how would she feel if I dated her… best friend…"

He trailed off, and I had just one thing on my mind. This cant be good.

()()()

Kick's Play list #1

"Off to Vermont" or "Awkward car ride of awkward silence"

Back in Black by AC/DC

Keep Your Eyes Open by NEEDTOBREATHE

Teenage Wasteland by The Who

The Wall by Pink Floyd

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

Sixteen Saltines by Jack White

Some Nights by Fun

My Wish by Rascal Flatts

Hurt Me Tomorrow by K'naan

Every Rose Has It's Thorn by Poison

Release Me by Pearl Jam

Kick's side notes: Things are getting awkward. New Hampshire is a very awkward state. Hitting Vermont in exactly half an hour.

Avery: It's done! Yes! I successfully completed this chapter and it only took me six hours :) Well hope you enjoyed and what you thought of the play list, I'm trying to give everyone a different preferable music style. Stay tuned for the next chapter!