Chapter 5

After school, Nikki and Kristine decided to go across the campus and through the gym to avoid the gang in the parking lot. They were taking the long way home.

"Nikki, if the gang is really there, I wonder what happened to the two guys?" asked Kristine.

"They probably learned their lesson, never try to help girls who didn't need their help in the first place."

"Is that so?" asked a voice. "Then may I ask why you two are walking this way where the gang can't see you?"

Nikki stopped in her tracks, she knew who that voice belonged to....X.

Kristine turned towards the voice, "Its them!" she exclaimed.

Nikki slowly turned around to face Xavier. "Hello," he said, "Did you miss us?"

"No, I certainly didn't, but I'm sure she did," snapped Nikki as she jerked her thumb towards Kristine, who was eyeing Zachary.

"Well," answered Zachary, "So much for a warm welcome, huh, Xavier?"

"Yeah." replied Xavier, as he looked at Nikki.

Kristine saw that they were handsome even in the light. "Um, we didn't get a chance to thank you for helping us last night. We didn't know where you'd gone."

Zachary smiled at her, "No problem, you're thanking us now."

Nikki rolled her eyes, Kristine was hopeless. She knew it wouldn't have taken long for Kristine to start drooling over them.

"Well, now that that's over with, would you two ladies mind if we escort you home?" asked Zachary, as he offered his arm to Kristine.

She gladly took Zachary's arm, but Nikki hissed, "No. We don't need anyone to escort us home. We're old enough to walk home ourselves."

"Oh, well then would you mind if we just walked with you? Just to talk?" asked Xavier.

"Listen," snapped Nikki, "can't you get it through your head that I don't want to even know that you exist!"

"Listen," mimicked Zachary, "we helped you get away from the gang, now the least you can do is talk to us."

Nikki was about to shoot something back at Zachary, but Kristine cut in, "Nikki. He's right, you know, we should at least be friendly to them."

Nikki huffed, the only reason Kristine wanted to be friendly was to be near a cute guy. "Fine, let's go for a walk, if it'll make everyone happy."

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Kristine and Zachary took the lead, while Nikki and Xavier followed behind. They walked past the gang who never saw them, to the park where they could talk. Zachary and Kristine sat on the bench near the bushes where the two boys first saw the girls. Nikki and Xavier walked to the street light a small distance away.

Xavier leaned against the pole and gazed at Nikki through hooded eyes. She was looking everywhere but at him. He smiled to himself as he drank in the vision of Nikki. He'd thought she was pretty the first time he'd seen her, but now that he was closer and actually had time to really look at her, he realized she was breathtaking.

She had hair, the color of chocolate, that reached almost to her waist. His fingers itched to run through her hair, knowing it would be silky smooth to the touch. Naturally long eyelashes fanned over the kind of brown eyes that darkened or lightened according to the seasons. Her creamy skin had a healthy, pink tinge to it making her seem to glow from the inside out.

She was petite, but even he knew she was all strength inside. He knew she had to be. He knew things had happened to her that even he couldn't imagine. He longed to reach out and run his hands through her hair, over her skin, to touch her.

Instead, he dipped his head, caught her attention, and said, "Nikki, look, I get that you've been through a lot of hard times. But I want you to know that I'm not here to make you hurt more, I'm here to help you live again."

Looking into his emerald eyes, Nikki knew he was telling the truth, yet she resisted. "I don't want to live again, why should I?" she asked. "There's nothing worth living for."

"Yes there is. There's the people that love you," he paused, "And there's me."

Nikki stared at him in shock, "H-how? I, I don't even know you."

Xavier smiled, "Oh, you will know me. I know you will, and you will learn to trust me too."

She shook her head, "I can't, you don't understand! Everyone I love or trust gets..." Nikki couldn't go on, her throat constricted every time she tried to talk about it.

Xavier saw that Nikki was getting upset, "Nikki, nothing is going to happen to me, I..."

"Oh right!" interrupted Nikki, "Everyone else said that too! And where are they now?" she hissed, "I'll tell you where, they're all buried six feet under the ground!"

Nikki could feel the tears began slowly flowing down her cheeks, unable to stop them from falling. She turned away from Xavier, not wanting to let him see her cry.

Xavier walked over to her and gently turned her to face him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. He held her there, letting her cry for a while before putting his fingers under her chin, so that she would lift her eyes to his.

"Nikki, it's okay to cry, you have to let it all out eventually." He let his hand caress her cheek as he continued, "But, you have to know, I'm still alive and I promise, nothing will happen to me. I care about you. And as long as you're with me, nothing will happen."

Xavier lowered his head to rest against hers. He watched her slowly smile as she curled her fingers around his hand still resting against her cheek. He returned her smile and slowly lowered his lips to brush them against hers before lifting his head to look into her eyes again.

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Nikki smiled again and tilted her head closer to his. Their lips met again, this time in a longer kiss. As it deepened, her arms went around his shoulders, one hand traveling into his hair.

Nikki briefly wondered what was wrong with her, but then his tongue swept into her mouth and caressed her tongue and all thought flew out the window. His kisses were drugging, addictive. He tasted spicy, yet sweet just like his kisses felt. He seemed to be hungrily devouring her, but in such a gentle, delicate way that didn't threaten her. She could feel her knees growing weak as she tightened her hold around his shoulders.

Xavier moaned as he drank his fill of her sweet mouth. No one could have prepared him for the taste of her. Ever since he'd laid eyes on her, he'd wondered what it would be like to kiss her, now he knew. And it was nothing like he'd dreamed. She was sweet, tasting like strawberries and vanilla. She felt so soft and warm against him and he found himself hoping he could taste her like this forever.

While one hand cupped her cheek, the other gently caressed her back pulling her even closer to his body. When he felt her hand in his hair gently urging his head closer, he let his lips brush over the corner of her mouth, then down her cheek. As he began to brush kisses along her neck, they were interrupted by an urgent voice.

"X, we've got to get out of here, the gang's heading for the park." Zachary smirked as he suddenly realized what he'd just interrupted, "Soooo, looks like there's not a war anymore, huh, X?"

Xavier, afraid Nikki would get upset said, "Um, Zach, let's not start with the jokes now."

Nikki glared at Zachary, "If I were you, I'd keep my nose out of other people's business! I'm sure Kristine would be able to keep you occupied!"

Just then Kristine came running towards them, "Um, look, let's not argue now or we'll all end up dead. We've got to get out of here! C'mon!"

She grabbed Zachary's hand and started running. Xavier looked at Nikki, then held his hand out to her. She glanced at his hand, then looked into his eyes as she slid her hand into his.

He gave her a grin as they ran after Zachary and Kristine.

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The girls took them to the barn, where they knew the gang wouldn't think to find them.

"We can stay here for a while, they won't come here. This is my parent's property, but I don't think the gang knows this barn is here." said Kristine.

Xavier and Zachary looked around, they knew the barn well, but the girls didn't know that they did. Zachary smiled, "It looks like a comfortable place to hide out in."

Kristine laughed, "That's exactly what we use it for. And when we want to be alone to think, we come here. There's really no other place to go without the gang coming around."

Zachary pointed to a set of stairs that led upwards to a second level. "Where do those go?"

Kristine looked at the stairs as she replied, "They lead up to a place even more private than down here, it's an old hay loft."

Zachary grinned, "Sounds interesting, can I see it?"

Kristine nodded and led Zachary up the stairs.

Frowning, Nikki watched them go thinking that Kristine was showing Zachary the only really private place they had left. She knew she'd never be able to find another place as private as the loft had been. She turned around and saw that Xavier was sitting on a pile of hay in the back of the barn.

He smiled, patted the space next to him, and said, "Come sit here, we can talk until they come back." He knew Zachary would take some time to be alone with Kristine.

Nikki looked at Xavier warily, wondering if he really only wanted to just talk. She hesitantly made her way to sit next to him, watching his every move.

Xavier could see that Nikki was being cautious and watching him out of the corner of her eye. He knew what she was afraid of. "Nikki, I said we would talk, I have no intention of hurting you."

She arched an eyebrow, "I can see that talking is not really on your mind. Besides, I think we both know that they will take a long time to come back down here."

He sighed, "Look, I'm going to just say it, and hope you won't get upset. I happen to like you. A lot. But I want you to be comfortable with me. To trust me. I'll be honest with you and I will trust you too. You have to let your feelings out. Don't you see? You're keeping it all bottled up inside and it's just making you bitter. If you don't let it out, it'll end up hurting more in the end."

"That's not my fault," retorted Nikki, as she leaped to her feet, "Do you think I asked to end up like this? Do you think I enjoy it?"

"See?" he gently pointed out, "You're being defensive."

Nikki stared at him. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She sat back down, looked at Xavier, and smiled, "Better?" she asked.

He nodded, "Better." He paused before asking, "Can I ask you a question?"

Nikki nodded.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?"

Nikki was silent.

"Nikki, you've got to learn to open up and trust again. You can trust me. I will keep my word."

"Okay," she finally agreed, "I'll try."

Xavier graced her with a full blown smile. "Good."

Nikki looked down at the ground and smiled shyly, "So, they'll be taking their time up there, what shall we do while we wait?"

Xavier used his fingers on her chin to turn her to face him until their eyes met, "We can talk about whatever is on your mind."

"No," Nikki replied, "I don't feel like talking. Can we just sit here? Can you just hold me?" She moved closer to Xavier as thoughts raced through her head. She hoped she wasn't making a terrible mistake in getting close to him.

Xavier put his arm around her, holding her close to his side. She lowered her head to his shoulder and circled her arms around his waist. She closed her eyes as she felt him lay his cheek against her head.

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They remained that way until Zachary and Kristine came down the stairs.

"Hey X," exclaimed Zachary, as he jumped down the last few steps, "Why don't we walk these two young ladies home now?"

Kristine walked over to where Xavier and Nikki were now standing. She smiled at Nikki, "I think we better go home before our folks start to worry about us."

Nikki nodded her agreement.

The four of them walked out of the barn with Xavier and Nikki once again trailing behind the other two. Kristine and Zachary were oblivious to their friends as they walked arm in arm, whispering and giggling together.

Xavier walked in silence next to Nikki, he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was watching the two in front of them with an amused expression. Xavier knew she was still aware of him next to her, but she was still wary of him. He could feel the uneasiness radiating from her. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, to put her at ease, but he knew better and continued to walk silently besides her until they reached the house.

Zachary took Kristine into his arms and kissed her. When he pulled away, he took her hands in his and looked into her eyes, "I'll be back tomorrow."

Kristine smiled, "I'll be here."

Zachary chuckled and shook his head, "No, I mean, I'll be at the school to walk you home again, okay?"

"Okay."

Zachary let go of her and she walked towards the house. She waved to him as she walked inside. Zachary watched her disappear into the house before he turned and walked off some distance to wait for Xavier.

Xavier had remained standing next to Nikki, both of them still silent. He looked at her trying to find the right words to say to her.

Nikki stared at the ground while conflicting emotions whirled inside of her. She wished Xavier would take her into his arms, while the other part of her wanted to turn and walk into the house and pretend he'd never existed.

Xavier took a chance and moved closer to her, "Bye, Nikki."

Nikki didn't look at him as she whispered, "Bye."

He leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "Remember, I care about you."

She nodded.
Xavier turned and walked off to where Zachary was waiting for him.

Nikki watched as the two of them walked off into the distance. She reached up and touched the spot on her forehead where he'd kissed her before letting her hand fall to her lips. She sighed and forced down the tears that were threatening to spill.

When she got control of herself, she spun around and stormed towards the door, scolding herself mentally, Nikki you idiot! Are you trying to be like Kristine? Letting a cute guy get to you? He's probably like all the others. He just wants something. Well, with the way you're acting, he just might get it. I don't believe it! You're getting all mushy inside!

She let out an exasperated sigh as she walked into the house. She paused to say hello to Amy and Felix before walking to her room. Kristine was taking a shower, so Nikki had some time to herself. She lay down on her bed and stared at her ceiling.

She tried to push Xavier out of her mind. Tried to convince herself that she could care less about him, but her real feelings eventually won.

Nikki rolled over on her side and frowned. She did care about him, he had such an overpowering affect on her. There was something about him that drew her close to him, like a moth to a flame. She just wished she could put her finger on it.

Kristine walked into the room, drying her hair with a towel. She walked over to her own bed and plopped down on it. She saw Nikki lying on her side and asked, "Well, what did you think of them this time?"

Nikki rolled her eyes, "What do you mean, what do I think? They are still strange and we still don't know them very well."

"Well, today they seemed really nice and well-mannered. I didn't see anything wrong with them at all. They were very nice."

Nikki eyed Kristine intently. She wondered if Kristine really meant that or said it for her own reasons. "Kris, I don't think you are looking past his good looks. Somehow I still think they're after something."

Kristine shook her head, "No Nikki. They are really nice. At least Zach is. We spent the entire time up in the hay loft talking. He really listened to me. When I told him about what's happening to us, he really did seem sincere in his concern."

Nikki saw the look in Kristine's eyes and decided that it was best not to argue with her. Kristine looked as if she believed everything she'd just said.

"Look," said Kristine, "I know you probably thought that we were doing something else up there, but we weren't. We only talked. I'm not stupid, Nikki. I don't let every cute guy that shows interest in me take a piece of me. I want to get to know a guy, before I decide if I like him enough to let him close to me."

She got up and walked over to Nikki's bed. She sat down besides her and looked her in the eye. "I may drool over every cute guy I see, but that doesn't mean he's got me. I have to really, sincerely like him and I've got to feel like he's doing the same. Trust me on this, will you?"

Nikki sighed, "Okay, Kris. I will trust you. I'm sorry, it's just that you always seem to go on and on about a guy as if that's all you can think about."

"I know. It's just that it's fun to talk about guys. I guess it keeps me from getting too depressed about what's been going on in my life right now."

"I understand. Next time I'll try not to mind."

Kristine grinned, "Good. Now, honestly, don't you think they were nice?"

Nikki shrugged, "I guess so. They didn't try to force us nor were they rude to us. They seemed nice today, but I don't know if they'll always be this way. In these days, it's hard to really know who you can trust."

"Well, I guess that's the best answer I'll get from you. I don't blame you for being cautious. Just don't over do it. If Xavier turns out to be a great guy and you never gave him the chance, I'm never gonna let you forget that!" Kristine laughed.

Nikki chuckled, "Okay, Kris. I promise that I'll give him a chance."

Kristine grinned, "Great! I just know we'll all get along fabulously! You guys will be good together!" She gave Nikki a hug, then returned to the bathroom to finish drying her hair.

Nikki changed into a comfortable pair of shorts then settled down to do her homework. After a while she began to wonder if she'd ever get her homework done, because all she saw when she looked at her math book were his emerald green eyes looking back at her.