You Stole My Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Chocolate Gateau
When we were in sixth grade, I was the only girl in my class who didn't need a bra. This was majorly humiliating for me, but at least nobody knew. For a while.
One day in gym Sabrina spotted me pulling on a t-shirt without pulling on the oh-so-important undergarment.
"Sarah, where's your bra?" She exclaimed with barely contained glee.
"I-uh, forgot it?" Came my weak response.
"How could you forget your bra?" Brittany demanded.
By the end of the day, everyone knew that I didn't wear one. The humiliation seemed endless. The shame of allowing Sabrina to know something that private never left me. That's how I felt after the outburst in the office yesterday.

"Sabrina's parents are what?" Carley asks outraged. "That's sick. I mean, I knew the school was corrupt and that her parents were the main culprits, but threatening the head of the school like that just so that their precious little princess can avoid justice and consequences of her actions, I mean...that's just,"
"Exactly what happens in real life." Blake interrupts. "All the big mafia bosses and drug lords get out because of the size of their bank accounts."
"Illegal bank accounts." Carley pouts.
"So, by that logic, Sabrina's the equivalent of a drug lord or a mafia boss?" I ask dryly.
"Yep." Blake nods.
"I think I like that comparison." Sabrina, master criminal. Yep. Makes sense.
"What comparison?" Shane plants a kiss to my temple and sits next to Blake. We're sitting in the cafeteria, doing our best to ignore the stares of the gossiping student body.
"Sabrina as a drug lord." Carley quips.
"Oh, because she escaped the justice system?"
"He gets it!" Blake high-fives Shane and grins. It's awesome how fast the guy managed to fit into our little group of outcasts.
"Why did that chick beat you up anyway? Was it because you were hugging her boyfriend?"
"I don't know. And that was Zac."
"You might wanna keep an eye on him. He's beginning to see through Sabrina's cracks, and well, dude's had his sights set on Sarah since the beginning of the semester."
"Blake!" I moan.
"Hey, he practically beat up your homecoming date, Sarah. That's an SOI in my book."
"An S O I?" Carley looks at Blake.
"Sign of interest." Shane puts in. "He's the guy that was hugging you just before Sabrina, um, attacked you, right?"
"Yeah, that's him. Big dumb football jock." Carley informs Shane.
"Guys! Can we not talk about this?" I plead.
"Keep an eye out for Sabrina and Zac. Any other threats to my girlfriend I need to keep an eye out for?" Shane asks, deathly serious. I want to slug him in the chest, but at the same time my heart flutters when he calls me 'his girlfriend'.
Blake adds; "Just Caleb. Although I really hope the guys back in Ireland now."
"He's the homecoming date?"
"Guys, can we talk about something else? Jeez. It's like you think I'm this little damsel in distress who needs 24/7 protection detail." I huff.
"You were used as a punching bag, Sah. I think you need some sort of protection detail." Carley pats my shoulder as if to placate a petulant child. I shrug her off.
***
Later that day, Shane and I head back to my place. My dad decided that he was way too busy to press charges against the girl who assaulted me, but he has time to meet my new boyfriend. Crap, I'm nervous for this. Mom insisted that we have dinner as a family tonight, to make a good impression on Shane.
In other words, it's going to end in total disaster.
"Hey babe, relax. I'm sure your parents can make it through one evening. It was their idea, wasn't it?" I bite my lip and pull Shane upstairs with me. Maybe we can hide in my bedroom and they'll forget.
"Woah," His dark eyes widen as he takes in my relatively large bedroom plastered with Marvel and One Direction posters. "So...how many guys to you bring up here?" He asks, casually. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Is he playing insecure?
"Only the really good kissers." I wink. Shane's eyes gleam dangerously.
"Oh, so what does that make me?" He reaches for me, and plasters my body to his, our faces nearly touching.
"I think I made it kind of obvious." I say and initiate a kiss. I don't know where my sudden courage comes from, but I think Shane likes it.
Bleep bleep.
A sudden vibration in my back pocket has me pulling back, although I really don't want to.
Let me know how it goes, wishing you luck! Xxx Carls
I smile. She doesn't know my parents are fighting, but she does know that I've been a mess since my dad asked me to invite Shane over.
"What is it?" Shane asks, reaching for my phone.
"Just Carley." I set my phone down on my desk, keeping it away from his prying eyes. While the text was innocent enough, I don't want him to see the sixty-something missed calls and texts from Zac that I've been ignoring since the incident with Sabrina.
"Just Carley, huh?" He reaches around me in an attempt to get to my phone. I grab his hands and lift my face to his, as a distraction. He kisses me, but then pulls away abruptly and ducks around me.
"Hey!" I protest and snatch the phone away before he claims it.
"Oh, so you wanna play dirty." He grabs me by the waist and tickles me. I squirm and squeal, still trying to keep the phone away from him. His lips graze my neck and in an instant he's holding my phone.
"That's not fair, give it here!" I reach for it, but he just holds the phone way above my reach. I jump up and down in a half-hearted attempt to get it back. Deep down I know it's hopeless.
"Why's Zac calling you?" He pins me with a serious gaze. I shrug.
"Concerned friend?" Shane sighs heavily, his dark eyes troubled.
"Sarah, Blake told me about your crush...if you'd rather be with him-"
"No! Shane, I really, really like you. And Zac only started talking to me this year, and trust me, he's made my life a living hell. He's the reason Sabrina's gonna totally psycho on me-this year. He turned homecoming into into a WWE grudge match. I haven't responded to any of his texts, or answered any of his calls. You have nothing to worry about, I promise." Something in Shane's expression relaxes, like he's had a huge weight lifted off him.
"So it's more of a stalker thing?" My chest tightens.
"Yeah, something like that." I lie. Why is Zac calling me? Because it sure as hell isn't stalker reasons. I assume he really is concerned, but it's been two days. Why hasn't he given up? Why does his persistence make me feel warm and fuzzy inside?
Shut up, focus on Shane. Your super sweet, super hot boyfriend. Not Zac.
I repeat this to myself in my head as Shane asks; "Do I need to sort him out?"
"No, it's fine, I-I can handle it...babe." The word babe taste odd in my mouth. I haven't had a boyfriend long enough to call them babe without if feeling strange. Scratch that, I've never had a boyfriend, period
"If you're sure. Let me know if I need to...uh, talk to him." His eyebrows knit together in concern. I lean over and place a kiss on his rough cheek. I can feel the stubble starting to regrow.
"It's fine, relax." I breathe, trying to take my own advice.
***
"It's lovely to finally meet you, Shane!" My mom coos. Dad grunts and shakes Shane's hand, never taking his eyes off of Shane's face.
"What were you doing up there in my daughter's bedroom?"
"I was helping her hang up a poster sir." Shane answers smoothly. Daniella snorts. "She can hang all her own posters. Nice lie though." I glare at her.
"He helped me pin The Avengers one to my ceiling." Not actually a lie. He did help me pin the thing back, after it fell on top of us.
"Oh, honey," my mom stresses the 'honey' when she speaks to my dad, lacing the word with arsenal, "Shane seems like a nice young man, and Sarah's responsible enough to know the rules." Thank you mom!
"Yeah, besides, I have Blake up there all the time, Dad."
"He's gay, isn't he?" My eyes pop out of my head, and Shane bites his lip to keep from laughing. Daniella's not that polite.
"He's dating that goth-chick,Carley. Really, Dad, don't you pay any attention to your kids?" I resist the urge to scream at them. Carley's not goth a Blake's not gay! Why do they label my friends like this?
"Let's just go eat." I pull Shane into the rarely used dining room. Mom's set the table for a full three-course meal complete with fancy silverware. Ugh, really?
Once we're all seated, my dad at the head, mom and Daniella opposite me and Shane, Maria comes out carrying the starter. Some salad drizzled with a vinaigrette. Conversation is stiff, and my mom tries to make it seem like this is an everyday occurrence by asking us stuff like "how was your day?" and "did you guys hear about the attacks in Iran last week?"
Main course is steak and potatoes-which Carley says is the staple diet for cholesterol-addicts. Shane gently squeezes my knee, sensing my discomfort. I smile at him. I can do this, I can get through this.
"It's so nice to meet a young man with such manners," my mother pointedly looks at my father who has his entire steak speared on his fork and is ripping chunks of meat off with his teeth.
Sensing the hostility aimed at him, he seems to forget that we're a 'happy family' tonight, and slams his fork down.
"You make one more jab like that, woman, and I swear I'll-"
"You'll what Gareth? Break another vase? Walk out on me? You've been threatening to for months now." Mom looses her cool, and just like that I wish the floor could swallow me up.
Daniella panics and rushes to answer a fake phone call, leaving me and Shane sitting in the middle of the fight. Their arguing quickly escalates into full-on screaming and I try to slowly edge out of the room, gripping Shane's hand tightly.
I'm standing in the doorway when mom picks up the heavenly looking chocolate gateau and flings it at dad. Dad's face is covered and mom stands, her chest heaving.

Dad wipes the dessert from his eyes and glares at mom. "You horrible bit-"

"DAD!!" I scream. I didn't know what else to do; but apparently it quickly stopped the fight because both mom and dad look at me, their furious expressions slowly fading as if they've just seen a ghost.
"Sarah-" my mom starts, her eyes starting to water.
"Just get a divorce and save us the trauma." I spit.
Shane stands like a statue, frozen in shock. Great. Now he knows what he's getting himself into. I just know he's not going to stick around after this. I spin on my heel and run upstairs.
"Sarah, wait!" Shane runs up after me.
"Go away, Shane."
"Why would I do that, Babe?" His voice is soft. He opens his arms and I fall into them, sobbing.
"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," he whispers. He presses his lips to the top of my head, then pulls back.
"Why are you still here?" I ask. "I mean, you just saw my mom attack my dad with desert. Why aren't you running for the hills?" Shane's eyes sadden.
"Sarah, nothing, absolutely nothing, could make me "run for the hills". Unless of course you wanted me to. I Lo-I care about you."
I bury my head in his chest. He smells like soap.
"I care about you too." I mumble into the fabric of his shirt.
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A/N
Hey guys!!!!! 💃💃💃
At this point we have to admit, that right now, we are utterly, and hopelessly torn between Shane and Zac.
So we're turning to you guys (our very loyal readers that we love very much😘) for help.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and if you think Shane is awesome and if you think Zac is super sexy, and if you think Sabrina should get suspended, give us a vote! Love you guys and thanks for all your support and patience!
Next chapter should be up soon. (With just a little more blonde hottie for you)
🙊no spoilers!!!!
Love you guys!
Keep reading
Xoxo
Storm and Snow