Author's Note:

Hi readers! Again, thanks for all the reviews so far, they mean the world to me.

On another subject, I've changed my mind about the smut idea. Since I'm a very indecisive person (apparently) I am now choosing not to throw in a smut scene. Things will get pretty heated obviously, but I won't be writing a smutty scene. If they do have sex at some point during the story though, I will throw in an author's note or something to give you guys a heads up so that you're not all confused about what went down.

Also, the link to what Jade looks like wasn't on my profile before but it is now. Just letting you know as these kind of things help with the stories.

That's about it but I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Review, Favourite, Or Follow if you can. :)

I couldn't explain all the thoughts running through my head as I was led towards the McManus' apartment. So many different things were on loop in that moment; Camille's plan was one - a very big one. All I could think about was how much she was going to cherish this, how she would use it in some way to get back at Murphy. And there was no point in me hiding it from her. Her slutty best-friend screwing a married cop was my downfall. All I could do was work my way through it and hope for the best. I did of-course feel some peace that Jade was trying to help, I knew she'd do everything she could. But my big-sister knew how to knock people down, and when they thought they couldn't get any lower, she'd convince them otherwise. But her evil-ways hadn't really entered my mind until yesterday. Heck, I'd actually considered sibling murder. But I was too much of a chicken to be sent to prison - I wouldn't have lasted a day in there.

And if my thoughts weren't bad enough, my emotions were worse. Like extreme PMS. My stomach was in knots - good or bad I had no idea. My heart was racing, that much I was sure of. And I was a mix of practically everything; Excited, sad, angry, happy, nervous - it was quite the emotional rollercoaster. And Connor had absolutely no idea. Sure he knew I was nervous, anyone would've been able to tell. And the urge to tell him everything got stronger and stronger. I knew it'd break me eventually, and when it did I'd most likely have a heart attack or something. But until that moment came, I was going to keep it all under control to the best of my ability. At least until graduation.

"Right den lass, 'ere we are." Connor sighed, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I suddenly realised we'd exited the elevator and gotten to the bottom of the hallway without me realising it. But then again, my mind was all over the place in that moment. An hour could've passed and I probably wouldn't have noticed.

"Okay. You gonna open the door or what?" I asked, crossing my arms. Despite the air outside being quite warm, it seemed the building itself was a lot colder. And I wasn't exactly wearing a jacket.

He glanced between me and the door for a few seconds, sighing to himself as he finally stopped on me. "Ye need ta promise me somethin' Grace."

I rolled my eyes. "Connor, really?"

"Aye, really. Look, jus' do it for me an' ye won' 'ave ta do et again."

"Fine." I groaned, tilting my head slightly.

"Ye need ta promise me that ye won' bring anyone else up 'ere, not even yer best mate." He said.

"Promise." I sighed.

"I wasn' done lass."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry, continue."

He narrowed his eyes slightly at my annoyed tone, but didn't comment on it as he carried on.

"Ye can' tell anyone dat ye know where we live."

"Should I be worried right now?" I asked, both curious and nervous about the promises I was making.

"Not really, jus' keep yer promises an' ye'll be fine." He shrugged.

I nodded. "Okay, go on."

"An' if what we got goin' don' work den please don' try an set our apartment on fire. Or try ta kill me an' Murphy."

"I promise. But you need to raise your standards, stop going for the crazy chicks." I told him, smirking in amusement.

"Fine, laugh et up Gracie. Dis is for yer own protection, an' ours." He said, pulling out the key.

"What? I should worry for my life because you and Murphy happen to be man-whores?"

He finally unlocked the door and yanked it open, shooting me a quick glare as he did. "Man-whores? Really?"

I shrugged. "Best thing I could come up with. Sluts just didn't quite cut it."

Rolling his eyes he held the door open, gesturing for me to go first.

"Aw, and they say chivalry's dead." I teased, lightly tapping his cheek as I entered the apartment.

"Yer a real challenge lass." He muttered, coming in and closing the door behind him.

"That's what they tell me." I sang, squinting as he turned on the lights.

With it being quite dark outside, I wasn't able to see the apartment as good as I did now. And saying it was rough would be an understatement. It was all one large space, no walls apart from the usual four in a room, and two windows. The couch had a lot of holes, and a few beer cans were scattered across the floor. There was a small TV. A dining table littered with ashtrays, beer bottles, and fuck-knows what else. The boys' beds consisted of mattresses on the floor, and a small night-table separated the two. Meanwhile the shower was completely open, no curtain or anything. And a toilet had been placed in the corner. It wasn't the best apartment in the world, but I suppose it worked for them.

"It ain't much but it works I s'pose." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head as he glanced around.

I shrugged, lightly rubbing my arms for warmth. "It's not that bad. You got beds, a fridge, a shower, and a toilet. All you boys really need ain't it?"

"Aye, I s'pose. Anyway, ye wan' somethin' ta drink lass?" He asked, moving towards the fridge.

"What do you have?" I questioned, sitting on the beat-up couch.

He threw his coat down on one of the chairs and pulled open the fridge, chewing the inside of his cheek as he scanned the contents.

"Fuck, not much. Beer, whiskey. Ef we 'ad a tap I'd offer ye water."

"Well whiskey seems like too much for little me, so make it a beer."

He nodded and grabbed two beers from the fridge, kicking the door closed with his foot before turning to me.

"Here ye are."

"Thanks." I muttered, taking the offered beer from him.

He sat down on one of the chairs while I pulled my legs up onto the couch, rubbing them with my left hand as I held the beer in my right. It was once again silent, but not as awkward as last time.

"So ye got an early star' tomorrow?" He asked, leaning back against the wall.

"Depends on why you're asking." I shrugged.

He grinned. "Gettin' ta dat already? Thought ye weren' dat kind o' girl."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not, but I am curious as to why you're asking me if I have an early start tomorrow. And I'm not telling you until you tell me why you want to know."

"Well," He sighed, abandoning his beer on the table as he made his way towards me. "Maybe I wan' ye ta stay tonight." He finished, kneeling in front of me.

"I don't know." I hesitated, tilting my head again.

"I'm not askin' ye ta fuck me Gracie," He reassured. "Jus' stay."

I sighed in thought. Sure I had school tomorrow, it was a Tuesday after all. But maybe I could still get there on time, and if not I could ask Jade to cover me. Considering the circumstances though I was pretty sure she'd be more than happy to oblige. The only problem was Camille, she'd probably wait for me to get home tonight so she could give me the full interrogation. But if I didn't come home, she'd probably freak-out and repeatedly insist that I had slept with Connor. And then I'd probably say yes just to piss her off, in which case things would get a lot worse.

"I do have an early start tomorrow, but I guess I could tell them I'll be in late or something." I offered, shrugging slightly.

He nodded, looking rather pleased. "Sound's like a plan Gracie."

I smiled and rolled my eyes, putting my beer down on the floor before leaning forward. "One problem though."

"What's dat den lass?" He asked, shuffling around so that he was kneeling between my legs.

"What am I gonna wear to sleep?" He instantly opened his mouth but I cut him off. "And if you say nothing I swear to god I'll hit you, and not just because it's the most overused line in the history of Rom-Coms."

"Damn. Well dere is one other option, though I'm pretty sure it's worse than the 'nothin'' line."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "What?"

He sighed over-dramatically and raised higher on his knees. My eyebrows raised as gripped the bottom of his brown sweater, lifting up and off before dropping it into my lap. He was right about one thing though, it was one of the cheesiest things I'd seen in movies.

"Would dat be better?" He asked, gesturing to the sweater in my hands.

I shrugged, attempting to keep my eyes on his face instead of where they really wanted to wander. "It'll do."

He nodded and grabbed my half-full beer from the floor, chugging it down before throwing it onto the dining table.

"Ye know Gracie, dere ain't anythin' for ye ta change behind." He told me, scanning the apartment as he did.

"Don't worry," I reassured. "I'll just get changed here."

His eyes widened slightly, probably in either disbelief or shock. "Ye serious?"

I nodded. "Sure, why not? I mean, I'm proud of my body, so I really don't care what you see."

He nodded again and I got to my feet, his sweater in my hands. Changing in front of people had never really been a problem for me, not in the school locker rooms and certainly not in front of guys. Besides, I had my underwear on, so it's not like he'd be seeing much. Just enough to possible drive him insane.

"You wanna turn around?" I asked amusedly.

He'd taken up my spot on the couch, slouching back with his arms outstretched against the back of the couch. The fact that he was only in jeans and his boots made him a lot hotter, and it wasn't very helpful for my self-control.

"Thought ye didn' care what I saw?" He grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but stay put okay? I don't completely trust you."

He tilted his head slightly, placing one hand over his heart. "Ye don' trust me lass? Dat hurts ye know."

"Oh please," I scoffed. "I'm sure another girl has hurt you a lot more than I did, and it wasn't with words."

"Dat ain't true Gracie. Although it was a good attempt on their part, o' course Murphy was always in the wron' place at the wron' time." He chuckled.

"Using Murphy as a shield? What a nice brother." I sarcastically remarked.

"Oi! I'll have ye know I'm a terrific brother! Now 'bout dis clothin' problem." He said, gesturing to the white dress I still wore.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Calm down horn-dog I'm getting there."

He merely shrugged innocently in response, earning another eye-roll from me. But I did tug off the dress, staring down at the floor as I switched it for the sweater. Seeing his reaction to my being half-naked wasn't something I needed right now, not with him looking like that anyway.

With him being a lot buffer and taller than me, the sweater was quite big. It reached mid-thigh and the sleeves ended at the tips of my fingers, so it was sort of like a night-gown. And with it being already warm from him, I was tempted to just hug myself to lock in the warmth, but I thought it would be pretty weird if I did that.

"So, 'ow does it feel?" He asked.

I looked up at him and shrugged, fiddling with the sleeves. "Warm, comfy. So it feels pretty good."

He nodded and stood from the couch, walking towards me. "Aye, looks good on ye too."

"Don't get any ideas." I playfully warned, allowing him to stand behind me and wrap his arms around my waist.

"Can' 'elp meself Gracie." He shrugged, resting his chin on my shoulder. "Ye jus' look too good in me shirt lass."

I smiled slightly and laced my fingers with the ones against my stomach. "According to my sister, the Carter girls can look good in anything. Even a potato sack."

"Aye, ye probably could." He muttered, nuzzling the right side of my neck with his head like an affectionate cat.

"That feels really good." I admitted, leaning back into him.

"Really now?" He asked, sounding too happy about it.

"Calm down Connor, it may feel good but it doesn't push a secret button that makes me wanna jump you."

"Damn, an' I was sure et would work."

I smiled in amusement. "Said it before and I'll say it again; Not like other girls Connor."

He squeezed my stomach a little tighter and I squeaked. "I know Gracie, still don' hurt ta try though does et?"

"I guess not." I sighed, letting my head fall back onto his shoulder. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

"Well, I got a few ideas..."

"Not that."

"Fine," He groaned. "What else is dere ta do?"

"Sleep maybe? I mean, I've been tired as hell for the passed few days, I could do with an early night." I shrugged.

"Can we et least snog a little before ye go ta sleep?" He practically begged, gently pushing me towards the mattresses.

I dragged out a loud sigh, but let him get us both to the mattress on the right.. "I guess."

My eyes widened slightly as his hands slid around to my ass, getting a good grip as he carried on moving us towards the bed-substitutes. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, if anything I loved it. And to be fair to him, I had been a bit of a tease that night. Changing in front of him, practically forcing him to make out with me in McGinty's. Even I had to admit there was only so much a grown man could take, and I had a small feeling I'd pushed it tonight. But the fact that he hadn't tried anything further yet caused my liking of him to grow - and that wasn't a good thing.

"Ye guess or ye know?" He asked, finally stopping us both.

"I know?" I offered, feeling the tingles again as he move around me to lie down on the mattress.

"Ye soun' a bit unsure lass." He chuckled.

His position was a little more than inviting to say the least. He was still shirtless, and still wearing only his boots and jeans. Legs spread and knees up as he laid on his back, his hands now folded underneath his head like a pillow. But I was most likely the same. Wearing only his sweater, my boots, and some jewellery, I probably looked just as tempting - not to pat myself on the back or anything. But a nun could walk in and immediately think we were up to something dirty, and I wouldn't blame her one bit.

"Nope." I muttered, shaking my head.

He nodded, chewing the inside of his cheek. "Well den ye won' min' gettin' yer arse down here now will ye?"

I smiled in amusement and held up my index finger, signalling for him to give me one minute. He nodded, closing his eyes as he relaxed into the mattress. And as soon as he did, I took off my boots and jewellery - except for my necklace. I hadn't ever taken it off before, and I didn't plan on starting now.

After taking off the unnecessary clothing, I looked down at him, my head tilted as I gnawed my bottom lip nervously. It had been a while since I'd done this and he was kicking my emotions into overdrive. One minute I was nervous, the next I was higher than the clouds. I hadn't felt like it in a while, and it did scare me a little. Topped off with the circumstances we met under, and I was close enough to being thrown into a mental institution from the pressure. But I couldn't think about that, all I could really concentrate on was him. And that was actually a good thing, it took my mind off all the other stressful bits of my life.

"Tic-toc, tic-toc." He sang, his eyes still firmly shut.

Rolling my eyes I silently walked towards the bed, moving around so that I was stood to his left, in between both mattresses. He seemed completely oblivious to it, but he could've been just waiting for me, letting me do it in my own time. And if he was, I couldn't have been more grateful.

Placing my hands down on either side of his head, I rested my left knee on his left side, swinging my right leg over so that I was straddling his stomach. My hands moved down to rest on his still-bare chest, while I slowly lowered myself to sit on his lower stomach. Not too high to possibly suffocate him, but not too low to have something stick up against my ass. It was like the perfect position - and he didn't seem to protest much.

His eyes snapped open and he smirked, moving his hands down to rest on my thighs.

"Hi there stranger." He greeted, his thumbs lightly rubbing my skin.

"Hey." I muttered, bringing one hand up to toss my long wavy hair over my right shoulder.

He moved his right hand up to the back of my neck, gently pushing until I lowered down, my face an inch away from his.

"You a'right?"

I smiled slightly and nodded, nuzzling his nose with mine. "I'm amazing."

He grinned and leaned up, keeping my head in place as he crushed his mouth against my own.

Author's Note:

Hi readers! So, hope that was a good chapter for you, it was longer than the other chapters I've done but I doubt anyone's complaining. ;)

I just felt the need to throw in a little chapter of Connor and Grace. Hopefully it wasn't too fluffy, but still cute.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review, Follow, and Favourite if you can, :)