A/N: Sorry for the wait~ Here it is! Enjoy :)

Chapter 11: Hugs, Taking the bullet, and…Metal poles.

Xander’s POV

“Chip…?”

He raised his head, and I saw his tear-stained face.

My knuckles blanched from the pressure I exerted on my fists. I’ll kill that bitch next time.

Chip stood up hastily, and began to stumble over his words. “I-I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to—to co…copy…or s-steal Vicky’s idea…or anything…”

I was suddenly overcome by this strong impulse to touch him.

In the heat of the moment, I brought his small frame towards me, entangling my fingers in his honey blonde hair and pulling him into my chest.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chip’s body was like a life-sized hot water bottle—warm and fuzzy.

He froze in my arms, head buried in my chest and I could feel his heart pounding in his fragile ribcage like a frightened bunny.

The faint bells of Christmas could be heard in the distance, as the first flakes of snow began to fall.

“X-Xander?—what…w-what are you—“ He gasped when I hugged him tighter.

Nothing came to my mind in those few seconds we made contact. No violent urges to throw up or disgusted thoughts—it just felt...complete.

The flushed face. The warm bag of hot-cross buns. The very smile that lit up my life.

Never have I thought hugging a guy would be this easy. Or maybe it’s because Chip smells absolutely delicious.

I felt a puddle of warm liquid on my shirt and my hand instinctively made for his back, rubbing it slowly. “I—‘M sowee…itsh ust…ur shirt’sall w-wet…” His voiced came out in muffled chokes as his tensed shoulders began to ease into my body.

Maybe. Just maybe. Angels do exist afterall.

I realised that Chip’s frame was a perfect fit to mine as we stood under the tree; me caressing the top of his head.  

“Don’t be sorry.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I brought Chip to the washroom to dry his tears and kept trying to catch his eye, but he simply refused to look at me. I didn’t want to go back to Econs.

If I did, I’d probably kill the V on sight.

It was really awkward after that, and at that point of time, I caught myself wishing that I knew more about the small guy beside me.

So…am I gay?

Was I gay since I was seven—after meeting Chip?

No way in hell.

Without realising, I let out a groan, causing Chip to jump and glance at me anxiously—as if I was about to eat him up.

“I-It’s okay! Y-you don’t have to walk me back to class you know…?” And for the second time, I saw him force a smile.

His eyes were so, so sad.

Imagine someone plunging a knife into your heart, and twisting it sideways.

“Listen, let’s wait for Mrs Harry, ‘kay? We’ll explain it to her.” I said, trying to sound as gentle as possible. His mouth parted in a tiny ‘o’ and he shook his head vigorously.

“Nono, r-really, it’s completely fine—there’s nothing to explain, really—“

“Yeah there is, Vicky stole your idea.” I said bluntly, gripping his small shoulders.

Chip looked taken aback by my sudden comment.

“T-That’s not…how did you…how did you know?” His eyes darted to mine, searching for answers.

I sighed. “The laceration—the style was similar,” My grip tightened on his shoulders involuntarily and Chip flinched. “Sorry. ‘M sorry I didn’t say anything—“

“I-It’s really okay!” He tried to smile again, wriggling out of my grasp. “It wasn’t your fault at all…”

I was about to reply when I got cut off by a familiar voice.

“Boys?” It was Mrs Harry. “What are you both doing here?” She crossed her arms and stood sternly in the hallway, eyeing us suspiciously.

I hadn’t realised that the bell had rung until students began to file out of the classrooms. I felt curious eyes on us both, trying to figure out the situation. For all I know, it looked like I was picking on Chip.

His tear-stained face didn’t help.  

The small guy adverted everyone’s prying gazes and focused on his shoes—like he usually did.

“Sorry Ma’am, can we talk to you for a sec?”

Our teacher raised an eyebrow.

“Hm, sure.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We entered the staff quarters, Mrs Harry leading us to a large conference room.

She gestured at the seats and locked her fingers together.

“Miss Vicky has told me about the situation at hand.”

I narrowed my eyes. That fucking w****. What now?

“Well,” Mrs Harry took a deep breath, “Apparently, Chip was asking her for…for help with his recipe.” Her gaze darted to the poor figure beside me, “Which I hardly believe…actually.” She added under her breath.

“It wasn’t—“ I began, but the teacher held a hand up. “I do not want to hear anything from you, young man. I will talk to you personally later.” She glared, and I instantly knew she was talking about the flour.

Mrs Harry continued. “She said that Chip pretended to be helping her, but instead, he was really trying to get some information (she quoted with her fingers) out of her.”

My hand—which was initially supporting my forehead—slammed on the table, propelling me to stand.

“That’s it. I’m done with her.”

I started to make my way to the exit, fists balled.

“Mr Jaxon, you come back right here,” The female demanded, “Now.”

I let out a frustrated sigh, chancing a glance at Chip. He looked as if he had come back from someplace like hell—tired, worried, and desperate.

I sat down.

“So, Miss Vicky claims that you have stolen her idea.” Mrs Harry directed her gaze at Chip. “Is that true?”

Chip parted his lips, as if wanting to say something, but then he closed them again.

“My dear, if you stay quiet like this, I’m really going to have to believe her.” Our teacher had disappointment etched on her face, as if she didn’t want to be having this conversation.

The small head lowered, and I thought I saw a tremble in his hands.

“I…I don’t really…”

“You really don’t have anything to say?” Mrs Harry pushed again, and I could tell that this was her final straw.

Crap. Just. F***CKING. SAY SOMETHING!

I felt something break in me—and before I knew it, the words were already out of my mouth.

“Mrs Harry, Vicky was lying. Chip didn’t copy her idea.”

The teacher raised her eyebrow. “And how do I know you’re not lying?”

Again, I didn’t think. The words just flowed.

“It was me—I stole his idea.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chip’s POV

W-What did he just say…?

Mrs Harry was just as shocked as I was. Her mouth shaped into an ‘o’, and she leaned forward.

“What did you say?” Her tone was one of complete disbelief.

“I said that I stole Chip’s cake, and that’s why our cake designs were similar. Vicky didn’t want to get me into trouble so she lied.” Xander’s face was serious—his flawless features composed. “Now do you believe me?”

What was going on? Why was Xander covering for me?

My brain began to register the fact that Xander was actually trying to take the blame for me—not only will Mrs Harry take her attention off myself, she would also believe Xander without question.

It’s as if someone asked you not to trust him, it is human behaviour to do the opposite. Whereas if one asked you to trust him, one would begin to doubt.

And Xander was doing just that—admitting a crime he did not do.

Poor Mrs Harry looked cornered. “I…I’m sure you didn’t—“

“But Mrs Harry, I did. I’m to blame—is that not enough?” Xander pressed in a firm tone.

I tried to catch his eye; tell him that this was not worth it. He ignored me.

I tugged at his shirt, trying to gain his attention yet again, and Xander’s gaze flitted to my face. My eyes widened slightly when I saw the look in his grey orbs—something gentle, something reassuring.

“A-Absolutely not.” Mrs Harry said crossly. “You both will serve detention every Wednesday from now on. For…for at least an hour.”

Xander shrugged. “Sure.” He turned to me for a response. I could only nod back.

“Let’s go Chip,” The towering figure grabbed me by my arm and made for the door in a few easy strides.

“Ah—w-wait!”

“Boys, I am not finished—!“

The door slammed shut behind us.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My mind spent the rest of the day circling around…well…thinking about…You-know-who.

As usual, I flopped onto my bed with a ‘creak’, mentally and physically exhausted after peak hour at Honeycutt’s.

Today was…strange. Really strange. Xander was…unusually…nice. Yes. That’s the word.

I knew at the back of my head that his change in behaviour had something to do with that picture he saw the other day.  

And then there was the fact that he simply ‘took the bullet’ for me without even blinking. That very thought left me hanging in nothingness; my mind a blank. Somehow, I was very sure that the Xander I knew a few weeks before wouldn’t hesitate to feed me to the wolves.

And now?

I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Hey—do you think this is just a phase? Maybe it’s just a small infatuation I’ll get over. At most, it could only pass for a teeny crush.

But then I wondered whether it was possible to fall into another hole after you fell into the first.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“—Chip? Chip are you even listening?”

My head snapped up to face a ruffled-looking Kim. “Oh! Um…” I smiled apologetically, “what was it again…?” I stopped in my tracks.

Kim huffed, “First period is Gym, where do you think you’re going?”

I glanced around my surroundings, suddenly realising that I had wandered to the Science block, with a set of Gym clothes clutched in my hands.

Kim rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm. “You’re really hopeless without me you know,”

“Heh heh…” I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly, wondering what Kim’s reaction would be if I actually told her about Vicky.

We gathered round the benches, waiting for coach to arrive while the cool morning breeze swept across the school.

Kim and I were swinging our legs lazily in the stands in a comfortable silence. In the distance, I could see another class making their way towards the same field in their Gym attire.

Oh, I noticed that their attire was a navy blue in colour, indicating that they were seniors.

Involuntarily, my eyes began to search for the broad, firm shoulders that I found familiar.

Familiar because for some reason, my eyes always seemed to follow his back.

The taut, built shoulders I could never reach.

Within a few seconds, I singled him out easily, among his usual group of friends—both girls and guy. They were, obviously, very good-looking, I couldn’t help but feel inferior to every single one of them.

“Hey Chip, look its Xander!” Kim giggled in my ear and nudged my playfully.

I tried to keep a straight face. “S-So…?”

My best friend hummed cheerfully, “Nothing~ just thought you should know.”

Well, unfortunately for me, I already do.

Xander’s class began to make a couple of rounds around the field at the instruction of their coach. After which, he crossed the field in a light jog towards our junior class.

The coach blew his whistle to gain our full attention.

“Hey is this class 3A?” We nodded.

“Okay, so—your coach Mr Ryder is absent today and he wants me to fill in for him. What I need you guys to do is run a couple ‘f laps and we’re good to play our sports,” The coach said in a firm and loud voice, rubbing his hands together as if ready to go.

“’Cause of the senior class I have today, I’ll need to be responsible for both classes—so I don’t want any of you gettin’ in trouble ‘kay? Am I understood?”

“Yes Sir.” 3A chorused.

“Good. Now if you guys could get goin’ on your rounds…we have a tight schedule.”

Huff. Huff. Third…huff…round…

My breaths came out in short, uneven pants as I pressed on.

Xander was one of the first few who finished and was already pouring cool water down his throat. He stood around the benches, talking to one of his class mates.

I didn’t realise that I had slowed down to a weak jog until Kim’s warning.

“Chip, watch out—“

Before I knew it, something hit me. No, not an idea—a metal pole. I fell on the grass, clutching my forehead.

I had unknowingly started jogging off track and wandered into the grassy area. What was a metal pole doing here out of nowhere?

My first reaction wasn’t to check on myself, but rather, I glanced in Xander’s direction.

Xander was choking on his water, while his friends around him were starting to get worried. There was this strange smile on his face—as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

My face heated up immediately, and I crouched into a ball of embarrassment.

He had seen me! Oh gosh, that must have been the lamest thing ever!

I hid in my knees, wondering just why I had to be such a clumsy fool.

But then again, it didn’t cross my mind that if Xander had seen my stupidity, it would mean that he had to be looking at me in the first place.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Hellooww wonderful readers! Today, we have a special guest *drags Xander into the view* and here he is! :D

Cupcake:—So what were you thinking when Chip knocked into that sexy metal pole?

Xan: *rubs his temples and pinches the bridge of his nose* Shit. That was fucking cute.

*wriggles eyebrows* I believe so too.

Vote, comment, and this is a cupcake for youuuu!

-Cupcake 

1/2/2014