"Darling, are we going in here or not?" Magnus breathed huskily into my ear. The sound of his voice very nearly made me forget that I was mad at him.

Sometimes when Magnus was speaking I forgot the whole world existed.

It was him who opened the door, while I stood there distracted by how warm his breath had felt against my skin. He didn't walk in until I'd lead the way and I was the one to shut the door behind us.

We were alone in my room. It felt like I'd stood up too fast and gotten a rush. I never thought that would happen for real; I'd had the odd dream about it but what guy wouldn't? No teenager really wants to be celibate.

Of all the times I'd thought about Magnus being in my room I didn't think I'd be angry at him or that he'd be casually looking at my sports medals on the dresser. Mostly silver. I was used to being runner-up.

"You compete more than I expected-"

"Are you out of your mind?" I snapped. He really was planning to pretend nothing was wrong. I took his fake glasses off, they'd annoyed me all evening.

"I thought you missed me." Magnus smirked. "So many calls..."

"I called because you just left." I growled.

"Yes, sweatpea, that would be because I have a job." He sighed. It wasn't an exasperated sigh, or a stressed one. He just seemed bored.

Maybe he was bored. Was I just stirring up dumb teenage drama? I couldn't really hold Magnus' job against him. And he'd come to see me at home the only way he could without suspicion...

"You were flirting with my Mother." I reminded him pointedly. I wasn't going to let that one slide.

"Your Mother was flirting with me. I spent the whole time talking about you."

Magnus did have a point. And he was still looking at me with those eyes of his which seemed to glitter even though he was sparkle-free that evening. That must have been a struggle for him.

I took the opportunity to get a better look at a Magnus with no makeup or nail polish or hair product. He looked a little older that way - thankfully still younger than his actual age. There were lines on his face that you could see better this way and he was dressed in a way that was less stylish and more mature.

I know I said I was thankful he didn't look his age; but thinking about it I probably wouldn't have minded if Magnus really looked thirty. I mean, look at all the actors out there. There were hot older guys all over the place and it was perfectly alright to crush on them.

But there was also the other side to it; how Magnus felt about me. I mean, he had just spent the whole night talking about me like I was a child.

"Do you really think of me that way?" I chanced asking. I had to know, really. Before I got any more invested in a guy who felt like my babysitter or something. "Like I'm a kid?"

Magnus actually laughed when I said it. "Is that what this is all about?"

He sat down on my bed like it was something he did every day. When he motioned for me to come sit next to him it was the same way he did in his booth at JJ's every time he saw me. So new and so normal at the same time.

I hesitated, but only when I was close enough for him to pull me the rest of the way. He didn't stop at sitting me down, either, he put a hand to my chest and lowered me onto my back. I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. He just kept smiling down at me.

"I see you the way you are." He said as he put his hand through my hair. It should have been relaxing. Instead it was making my stomach do flips. "You're only a kid if you act like a kid. That's true of everybody."

Up until then Magnus had been gazing right into my eyes, keeping me stunned to the point where I could hardly comprehend that he was talking at all. His words just about registered. I had to concentrate very hard on keeping my stupid teenage hormones in check when he started to rake his eyes over my body.

Crap.

I quickly sat up and tucked my legs under my chin hoping he wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I'm subtle like that. I hid my face in my knees, too.

"You're laughing."

"I'm not laughing." Laughed Magnus. "You can think that if it helps you calm down, though."

I used to think the day I met Magnus was the most mortified I'd ever be in front of him. It would appear I was drastically wrong. The only plus side was that when I looked up again he'd turned his attention elsewhere.

"So, I actually have a question." He said matter-of-factly. Then he picked up one of my textbooks from the bedside and muttered something about how they hadn't updated them in years.

"Shoot." I told him, regaining composure. Thank the angel. I had no idea what I was going to do if I couldn't get a hold of myself. No pun intended.

"April 20th. How do you feel about skipping this 'prom' thing?"

"Skipping it?" I repeated, dumbstruck. I'd already had an idea to fake illness. Isabelle had been resolute that I couldn't do that and had to attend.

"I was going to invite you to dinner." Magnus paused; then added with a smirk. "Like a grown-up."

I kicked him for that last comment, happy to be able to move my legs freely again. My smile fell when his phone started to ring. Magnus never ignored his phone for long. I saw his hand twitch towards his pocket while he waited for me to say something. I kept quiet just to see what he'd do.

Right before the tone was about to cut out he answered it. "Already?"

Magnus pulled the phone away from his ear because the person on the other end was yelling. I couldn't really make out what they were saying, just that the voice was female and angry. There was music in the background. Magnus mouthed 'sorry' to me before turning the volume down and putting the device back to his ear. I pointed him towards the attached bathroom so he could have privacy.

When he returned the first thing he said was 'I have to go'. It seemed a little late to be getting work calls but hey, I didn't know how it worked in his industry. I knew he worked more when there was a big event coming up. He had to make contacts if he wanted to get a foot in the door.

So, I nodded, reluctantly. At least he seemed genuinely sad about going. Like this time I'd been given the silver when I'd really tied for the gold.

Magnus embraced me and I could hardly believe it was the first time that had happened. Somehow I felt like I'd known Magnus forever and it seemed weird that he'd never held me like that before. Or kissed my forehead like that before.

I was smiling again by the time he said goodbye.

"I'll text you directions for the 20th." He said. "It will be way better than your school gym. Promise."

I was quite excited today because I finished the remaining chapters of this story all ready for uploading over the next few days. "Clash" is the next chapter title. Many thank-yous for reading as always!