#ashfranklin

As of this moment, we are gathering support from everyone in the Campaign for T@gged Season 4 during the School Spirits Season 2 on September.

It was prom-night, and for once I was obsessing over hair, clothes and makeup. I had gone a little heavier on the makeup, and my hair was curled and pulled away form my face with a few bobby-pins. So far so good. I had bought a cute and classic blue dress for the occasion, but there was another dress that I could not stop thinking about. A couple of years ago my mum bought a purple dress, and I was so pretty. It was a bit more bold than the blue dress. It was shorter, tighter and showed some cleavage. I was debating in my head. The blue dress was definitely the safest and easiest choice, and it was a lot more "me". But then again, what about this whole situation is really "me"? 1. I'm going to prom, 2. I'm going to prom with a date, and 3. I'm going to prom with freakin Montgomery de la Cruz… The last 6 months of my life have been very much out of the ordinary. If I'm willing to take such a big risk with Monty, then I might as well take a small risk with my wardrobe. Maybe it's time to see that I actually have stared a new chapter in my life, and that the me that I was is no longer the me that I am…

The doorbell rang and I knew it must be Monty coming to pick me up. He had suggested renting a limo, but I thought that was a bit over the top, so he was just going to drive. I grabbed my purse and went out to see him. I entered the hallway, and there he was, looking breathtakingly handsome in his classic black tux. "Wow", he said when he saw me come in, looking me up and down in my purple dress. "You look amazing", he grinned. "Thanks", I blushed. My mum was already standing with the camera in her hands, ready to make memories. We made some silly poses for her, but she wasn't pleased that she didn't get a serious and normal picture of us. I didn't care. It's not like I'm ever going to forget this moment anyway. We said bye to mum and dad, and went out the door. He grabbed my hand as we walked over to the car. "You really do look amazing", he repeated. "So do you", I smiled back. He stopped in front of the car and pulled me closer to him, wrapping his hands around my waist. "I'm really happy you wanted to go with me", he said. I wrapped my arms around his neck and reached up, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. As my lips parted from his he pulled me right back in for a hug. First the left side, then the right side. He was acting very strange. "What's going on?", I asked, rather concerned. "Nothing. I'm just making sure you mum get the pictures she wanted", he said, chuckling. I turned to see my mother in the window, grinning, with the camera in one hand and giving Monty a thumbs up with the other hand. "Idiots", I mumbled, and got in the car. Monty laughed and waved at my mum before he got in the car too.

We were sitting in the car, and my mind was all over the place. I loved the thing we had going. The last week we had acted as if we were a couple and I had let my guard down a bit. I was in love with him, no doubt, and it had been everything I hoped it would be. At the same time I was scared to let him in all the way. For years I had hated him and been terrified of him. I've watched him ruin people. He had changed, but there was still a tiny doubt in my mind. What if he goes back to his previous ways? What if it's me that gets ruined next time? What if…? But what if not? What if he stays this way, but get tired of chasing me? What if I ruined everything, just because I couldn’t give him a chance? What if he changes back to the way he was, because he got tired of chasing me when I couldn’t let him in and it would all be my fault? He has done so much to be the man he thinks I deserve, while I still haven't let go of the past. I know he's not going chase me forever. I have to make a choice, and I have to do it now. Either I let him down easy and hope for the best, even thought I will loose him completely, or I have to actually start this new chapter I had been thinking about earlier and take this chance with him. If I let him down I will loose him for sure, and it would break me. If I give him a chance, there's still a chance that I might loose him and get broken, so why not give it a chance? What if it works out and I get to be his girl? I feel like I owe him at least a chance, and maybe I owe I to myself too? Maybe it's time to stop playing it safe, and realize that change could be a good thing? Don't I deserve to just be in love? I had made my decision, and I had made it just in time as we pulled into the parking lot at school. Tonight will be a test run. I'm going to just go with the flow and be in love. Whatever happens I will not over-analyze it, and I will go with my instincts. For tonight I'm just a girl going to prom with the guy she's in love with. Tonight I'll be Monty's girl.

We walked inside holding hands, and met up with Jenna and Adam at the entrance. They had arrived minutes before we did. "You came! And you look fantastic!", Jenna squealed and threw herself into my arms. Monty and Adam did some kind of complicated handshake in the background. It's a baseball-thing, I guess. "So you two are dating?", I heard Adam ask Monty. I could tell that Monty didn't really know what to answer. "Yes, we are", I said. Monty turned and looked at me with a shocked expression, but it quickly got replaced by a wide grin. "So now you're dating?", Jenny asked me while raising one eyebrow, as we walked into the school. The boys was walking ahead of us so they couldn’t hear. "I decided to try something new", I said, shrugging. Jenna just nodded. Knowing me as well as she did, I think she actually knew what I meant and what had been going through my head these last months. I had a great night. I danced, talked and laughed. The night was everything I hoped it would be, and gave me a clear answer that going with my instinct and stop thinking could be a good thing. I went all in with Monty, sitting on his lap, playing with his hair and making out during a slow dance. He had stars in his eyes, and seemed to be very happy with the night too. Jenna and I even spent time with the jocks, getting to know some of the guys that seemed cool. All in all it was a perfect night, and I was sad when it was over and time to go home. We said a quick goodbye to Jenna and the guys before we left.

"Did you have a good night?", he asked on the drive home. "It was perfect!", I grinned, making him grin too. "It really was", he agreed.

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Do you think she should give Monty a chance? Do you think she'll get her heart broken?

The movie came to an end and Monty stretched and yawned. "I'm starting to get tired so I should probably go home", he said as we both sat back up. "Hell no!", I instinctively yelled at him. He looked at me confused and raised an eyebrow. "You do not get to suggest these kind of movies and then leave me home alone at two o'clock at night. Montgomery de la Cruz, If you leave me here now then I swear I will hate you forever!", I ranted, with panic in my voice. I could see him trying to hide a smile, and hold back a laughter. "Alright, alright. What do you want me to do? Sit outside the door and bark in case of any cats show up to harass you?", he said snickering. "Shut up! Let's go to bed", I said, giving him a real annoyed glare this time. He followed me into my bedroom and just stood there watching me as I climbed into bed. Lucky I  had been wearing my PJ's all day, so I didn't have to go to the bathroom alone to change. Monty just stood in the middle of the room, waiting for directions. "So do you have like a guest room or…", he asked. "Now, that would make me be alone in this room, and we both know that's not happening", I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Come on, I saved some space for you right here", I said lightly patting the empty space on the mattress beside me, mimicking his tone and motion from earlier. "Really?", he said surprised, but the quite opposite of disappointed. "It wouldn’t be the first time", I said, referring to the time we fell asleep during a movie. "No, but this feels kind of different", he said. He had moved over to the bed, but he was still standing next to it. "Just get in before I change my mind", I joked. He took of his jeans, but kept the rest on. Monty crawled into bed next to me and I felt the warmth of his body as he placed an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, making me the little spoon. "Good night", he whispered. "Good night", I whispered back. I was already drifting off to sleep, feeling completely safe in his arms.

I woke up before him again. I closed my eyes for a minute to soak up the feeling of his warm breath against my neck. Even in his sleep he was holding me tightly in his arms. I wanted this moment to last forever. It felt perfect. I turned around, facing him, and admired his sleeping face. I could not hold back a smile. He looked so peaceful. I leaned over and gave him a soft light peck on the lips. He furrowed his brows in confusion for a second, before opening his eyes and smiling softly. "Hi", he said in a horse voice. "Morning", I replied. "What was that for?", he asked, still smiling. "For being cute when you sleep", I grinned. "Don't watch me while I'm sleeping, you creep", he joked, making me giggle. I climbed over him an out of bed. I expected him to follow, but he didn't. "Are you just gonna stay in bed all day?", I asked. "No, not all day, just for a little while longer", ha said looking a bit uncomfortable. "Really? You can't still be tired. Come on, I'll get bored", I said playfully, and tried to pull the covers off him. He latched on for his bare life, panic in his eyes. "NO! You can NOT do that right now!" he said, sounding a bit too serious. " Chill out, it was just a joke. Are you okay?", I asked genuinely concerned. "Just go shower or something. I'll be out in a few minutes", he said. Was he mad at me all of a sudden? " Was it something I did?", I asked again. "No, it's not your fault… kind of", he said. It looked like he was blushing a bit. I sat down next to him and placed my hand on his thigh. " Is there anything you need, or anything I can do?". "Not that!", he said, acting like my touch was stinging him or something. He sat up a bit and folded his hands. "Okay, so do you not know what usually happens to guys in the morning? Especially those who haven't had sex in a while when he is woken up by a kiss and a girl freakin sitting on him to get out of bed?", he asked, obviously rhetorically. "No….. OH!", I finally caught on. Morning wood… "Shit, sorry. I'll leave", I said, holding in a laugh. "Either that, or you'll have to take care of it", he said smirking. I kind of loved, yet kind of hated, the way he could change things around like that. Go from being embarrassed about something to owning it like that. "Oh yeah? You want me to take care of it? You want me to make it go away?", I teased him, while straddling him. His hands grabbed on to my hips, and my hands wrapped around his neck. His eyes turned hungry and filled with lust. I rocked my hips slowly once, while leaning in and lightly brushing my lips against his. His grip on my hips tightened, and I could feel what he had been trying to hide throbbing against my thigh. I leaned in close to his ear and whispered softly "Just picture your grandma naked", and jumped off before he could realize what had just happened. "OH, for FUCK sake!", he shouted and covered his face with a pillow. I was laughing so hard I could barely stay on my feet. "Did it work?", I managed to say while gasping for air. "I hate you for that, but yeah, it worked", he admitted, glaring at me through squinted eyes.

We ate breakfast and talked for while at the kitchen table. I was happy to hear that he was excited to get the script for the play we were doing in acting class. I was a bit scared I had been pushing him too far when I insisted on him saying he wanted the male lead. I was really looking forward to preforming it with him, but also all the time we would have rehearsing for it. Things were looking really bright. After Monty left, I called Jenna and filled her in on the whole weekend, as promised. She was almost more excited about it than I was, and practically squealed on the phone when I told her about the kiss. "I knew it! You were the one he changed for", she cheered. "What do you mean?" "Last week I heard him talk back to one of his buddies in the hallway, telling him to stop being suck a dick to this guy he was harassing. And on Friday I saw him accidentally walking into one of the students he usually pushes around, and he just said sorry and kept walking. Haven't you noticed? He haven't given as much a snide comment to a single student in like… weeks", she said. I hadn't noticed, but as she got me thinking. I realized that she was right. I had not seen him picking on a single kid in weeks either. He really was trying, and I felt bad that I hadn't even noticed…

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I started paying closer attention to him in school. Jenna was right. He really had changed. The rest of the jocks didn't really seem to notice, but his usual victims did. I even saw a kid flinch as he walked past him, but smile relieved as he realized he was in the clear. I was standing by Jenna's locker before lunch, waiting for her, when the jocks passed by. Monty among them. One of the jocks pushed a kid as he walked by, making him fall down, and in response the kid shouted "fuck you". The jocks stopped and turned, and the guy who had pushed him started walking slowly towards the kid who had gotten back up on his feet now. That's when Monty placed a hand on the guys shoulder, stopping him. "Not worth it, dude", he said, and started walking away. The group of jocks followed, and hesitantly the guy followed too.

In acting class we got the first part of the script our teacher had been working on all weekend, and we started rehearsing right away. Monty kept impressing me with his acting skills. I thought back to the first day of class, and thought about how much he had evolved since then. He could really be going places. A month passed by in no time, and every spare minute I had was spent either rehearsing or thinking about the play, with or without Monty. We spent so much time rehearsing that we never really had time to talk about anything else.

It was afternoon and Monty and I were in my room working on a couple of new pages of the script we had just gotten. I watched him as he sat, deeply concentrated, marking his lines. I realized how much I had missed just talking to him. Just being with him and focusing on us. I didn't even have the chance to tell him that I'd noticed his efforts to change yet. I moved from the chair by the window over to the bed where he was sitting. He was so deep into it that he didn't even notice. "Hey", I said to get his attention. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. I took the pen and paper out of his hands and placed in on my night stand. He looked confused. I smiled and grabbed his hand, and he smiled back, still confused. "Less work, more play", I said, and his expression changed from confused to excited. "I just wanted to say that I see you. At school. I can see that you've changed", I told him, and he smiled. I leaned in and kissed him softly. As I pulled back again, he was the one taking over. He pulled me in for another rougher and sloppier kiss, and I let him guide as I slowly laid back and he climbed on top of me. I let my hands do what they wanted. Touching and feeling, sliding from his hips, up his back and wrap around his neck. His hands stared exploring too, tracing the outline of my body. His touch was sending shivers through me. I let my hand slide softly through his hair, down his muscular arm and back up to is neck, where my other hand already had a firm grip. The warmth of his heavy breath on my face, his eager lips moving in sync with mine and his heavy body weighting me down was arousing. And I was not the only one getting aroused. I had felt the whole evolution of his dick growing against me, while his lips and hands got more and more eager. I wanted him. I wanted him bad. I pulled lightly on his shirt, hoping he would take the hint, and he did. His lips parted from mine for a split second before they came crashing back, giving him just enough time to pull off his shirt and throw it on the floor next to the bed. I traced his abs lightly with my fingertips. Hole shit, he was muscular. His hands slid slowly up underneath my shirt, giving me plenty of time to stop him if I wanted to, but I didn't. I needed to catch my breath, and left a trail of kisses down to his neck. I bit him gently and he made a silent growl. He had slid his way up to my breast, and squeezed it lightly over my bra. The bulge in his pants was rock solid and rubbing against me. I wanted more. His hands was softly playing along the line of my bra, his fingers pulling it down to give him access. With one hand placed firmly behind his neck, my lips were back on is and the other hand unbuttoned his jeans. I slid my hand into his jeans over his boxers to feel him, and rubbed on the big hard bulge I found begging to be released from it's cotton prison. He made a sound of pleasure as soon as I touched him. He was throbbing in my hand.

"Maya, are you home?", someone yelled from down the hall, and in what felt like one tenth of a second Monty rolled off me, and I jumped out of bed. He buttoned his jeans back up and grabbed his shirt from the floor. We both knew he would not have time to put it back on as the footsteps in the hall stopped outside my door. Fast as lightning he grabbed the glass of water from my nightstand and poured it on his shirt. I didn't even have time to ask him what the fuck he was doing before the door to my room opened. " Hey, are you.. Oh, hey Montgomery. I didn't know you were here", my mum said smiling. Her eyes was filled with questions as she looked at him standing there with his shirt in his hand. "Hi, Mrs. Kinney", he said and there was a minute of silence where she just kept looking at him with questions in her eyes. " I spilled my drink", he lied, holding up his wet shirt. " Oh, I see. I can put that in the dryer for you" she smiled, and took his shirt as he handed it over to her. "Thanks", he smiled. "So, are you staying for dinner?", she asked, looking at both of us. My heart was still raising and it was like my body had shut down and I had forgotten how to talk. "Sure, I could eat", Monty said. My mother nodded and left the room. I felt all the air disappear from my lungs and fell back into the chair. "Holy fuck, that was close", I said on exhale. We looked at each other and bursted out laughing.

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I had to know what on earth that episode in the cafeteria was all about. I could not get it off my mind the entire day. So when the school bell rang for the last time that day, I said a quick goodbye to Jenna and ran outside to the parking lot. Monty was already sitting in his car and I reached just in the nick of time. I got in his car like it was the most natural thing in the world. He looked confused, yet didn't really seem to have a problem with it. "I have questions…" I said. "Okay. I'll take you home", he said and started the car. We didn't speak during the drive home, but I invited him in once we got there. I was eager to get him behind closed doors so I could finally get some answers to what and why. I dragged him with me through the house and closed the door behind us as soon as we got in my room. "The cafeteria today during lunch… what was that all about?", I asked, cutting right to the chase (no pun intended). "What do you mean?", he said, acting like he had no idea what I was talking about. I gave him a look, telling him stop acting stupid. "You walk by and just look at Chase, and suddenly he's acting like I'm poisonous… There's no way in hell that was a coincident", I said. He sighed. "Okay, so I told him to stay away from you", he admitted. "With just your eyes?". "Yes. The jocks respect me, and a disapproving look is all they need to stay way", he explained. "But why?", I asked again. "Chase is… he's bad news, okay? He's not a good guy in general, and he's certainly not good enough for you", he said while raising his shoulders. I wanted to point out the irony in that statement coming from him, but I decided it was best to just leave it. " And I thought maybe he was going to ask you to prom, so I got a bit… jealous", he admitted, blushing a bit. Monty was jealous? I never even thought about that. "Why? It's not like you asked…", I said, stating the obvious. "I didn't know I could", he replied. I felt so stupid. Here I was making it perfectly clear to him that I don't want anything to do with the guy he was at school, and then I get disappointed when he doesn't ask me to prom. I was sending him mixed signals, and I get why he was confused. I didn't know what to say. "Look, Maya, I have done so much to change. I have worked really hard to be the kind of guy who would be good enough for you. You know that. I might be far from perfect, but I'm working on it every single day. You say that you see the change, and I'm gonna show you I can keep it up. Please, give me a chance to prove it to you", he said, with hope in his eyes.

I thought for a second. There was no denying that I had fallen in love with him. And there was no denying that I saw how he had changed. I wanted to be with him, but I was scared. Scared of getting hurt, and scared of making a big mistake. What would I do if he fell back into his old habits? But I felt like I owed him a shot to prove to me that he could keep himself out of trouble. "Okay. We can stop with all the secrecy", I said. He smiled. "Good. Then it's my turn to ask you a question", he said, smirking. He pulled me in and sat down on the bed with me in his lap. I giggled. "Maya, will you go to prom with me?", he grinned. "Yes", I grinned back, and he pulled me in for a kiss. God, how I had missed his lips. His wonderful and addictive lips. "It's a date", he winked at me, still grinning. "Don't push it, buddy", I chuckled and kissed him again. If someone told me year ago that I would be going to prom with Montgomery de la Cruz I would probably have pissed myself laughing.

I told Jenna at school the next day, and once again she seemed more ecstatic about it than me. She insisted on dress-talk during lunch, and it actually sounded like a good idea. I had no clue what to wear. She went on about dress-colors and accessories, and I zoned out again while pretending to listen. I heard her say my name, and it snapped me out of it and back into conversation. "What?", I asked. She was staring wide eyed at something behind me. "Why is Montgomery de la Cruz heading for our table?", she asked. She actually seemed a bit scared. "I don't know", I said, not even bothering to turn around. Monty sat down on the surface of the table, with his feet on the seat next to me. "Hi", he smirked like only he could. "Hi", I replied, not in any way trying to hide my confusion about why he was at our table. "Hi, you're Jenna, right? Adams girl?", he asked Jenna. "Yes", she said. She looked like she was in shock. "I'm Monty. I'm dating Maya", he grinned, ignoring my annoyed glare. "We are not dating", I said, lightly slapping him on the knee with the back of my hand. He grinned and turned back to Jenna again. "Okay, listen to this, Jenna. I take Maya to the movies, right? Paying for the tickets, the popcorn, the drinks and everything, holding her hand during the entire movie and taking her home after. Now, what would you call that?", he asked her. "A date", she stuttered, trying to get herself together. "It wasn't a date", I said, sighing. "It so was a date", he reassured her, like I wasn’t even there. " It was not a date", I repeated myself. "Sounded like a date", Jenna replied. "But we're not dating, so it wasn't", I said. "Sounds like you're dating", Jenna said, smiling mischievously now. "And we're having our second date at prom", Monty said to Jenna. I took a deep breath. "It's not a date", I said, staying calm. "Your friend and I disagree. Jenna, tell her we're dating", Monty commanded Jenna. "You're dating", she said to me, giggling. "Monty, did you want something?", I asked him with an annoyed tone. My tone didn't seem to influence him one bit, thought. He seemed to be quite amused. "Not really. Just wanted to say hi, you know, now that I can", he said, grinning. He dumped down on the seat next to me and put his arm around me. "Don't push it! All the privileges you have earned can easily be taken away from you again", I threatened, making him chuckle. "So I'm guessing no kisses then?", he asked, putting on an innocent act. I just glared at him in return. "Fine. I'll be back for that kiss, though. Nice to meet you, Jenna", he said, and walked back over to the rest of the jocks. I couldn't help but to smile. He was such a goof. I turned back to Jenna again, and she was staring after him with her mouth half open. "How can you be this chocked? I told you everything", I said, chuckling. "I know, it's just so…real all of a sudden. One thing is hearing about it, but seeing this… it's just so… I don’t even have the words", she stuttered. I get it. If the roles were reversed it probably wouldn’t really sink in with me either until I witnessed it.

After school I ran into him again in right outside the door. "Hey, do you want a ride home?", he asked. "I'd love that, but I promised to walk with Jenna today", I explained. "I can take her home too", he smiled. I asked Jenna if she wanted a ride, and she was in. Most of the cars in the lot was already gone, and it wasn't a whole lot of people left either. Jenna got in the backseat, but as I opened the door to the front seat to get in, Monty jumped in front of it, slamming it shut again. "I will take both of you home, but there's a catch. There is a small fee to be payed", explained to me, with a playful smile. I looked confused at him. "I told you I'd be back for that kiss", he said, pulling me closer to him. I giggled. "So you're trying to con your way to a kiss now, huh?", I smirked. "You know, just a drowning man grasping at straws", he said shrugging. I let him lean in and give me a kiss. I was expecting a quick peck, but what I got was a long and soft kiss. I wanted to just stay there and kiss him for hours, but I remembered that Jenna was in the back seat. I pulled away slowly. He leaned after me, lingering on my lips for as long as he could. "We have an audience", I giggled once he eventually had to pull away. We both turned and looked at Jenna who was sitting in the back seat, again with her eyes wide and her mouth open. We both laughed.

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Who is excited for prom? :D

It was the most awkward dinner ever. Mum, dad, Monty and me. My mum had given Monty one of dads shirts while he waited for his own to dry. My dad hadn't met Monty until today, but knowing my mum I'm sure he had heard lots about him. My mum was wearing a mischievous grin throughout the whole dinner, while bombarding Monty with all kinds of questions about him. I didn't really say much. Just sat there awkwardly, giving my mother "The evil eye". She started asking him about his family, and I could tell he was starting to get uncomfortable. "Shit! We're late!", I said, interrupting her in the middle of a question. They all looked at me with confusion. "It's starting in like ten minutes. We gotta get going", I said to Monty, looking sternly at him hoping he would get the hint. "I don't… Oh, right! Yes! Yes, we are late", he played along. We excused ourselves from the table and I went to get his shirt from the dryer. We rushed out the door and into his car, yelling "bye" to my parents without waiting for a reply. "What are we late for exactly?", he asked as soon as we had driven far enough to no longer be visible from my house. "Nothing. I just needed her to stop with the questions", I replied shrugging. He chuckled. "So what do we do now?", he asked again. "I don't really know. What do you want to do?", I asked back. "How about we go see a movie?", he suggested as we drove past the cinema. "Why not, were already here"

He insisted on paying for the tickets, the popcorn and the soda. He held the doors open for me, and was really acting like a gentleman. There was very few people there, so we got pretty good seats too. It felt weird, but nice to do something other than hide out in my room for once. He took my hand and intertwined our fingers, looking straight ahead at the screen like he didn't even know he was doing it. He seemed oddly pleased with himself, wearing a half smile. He noticed me staring at him. "I can't believe I managed to trick you out on a date", he said, clearly satisfied with himself now. "This is not a date", I replied. He looked at me and raised one eyebrow, like his face was saying "isn't in obvious?". "It's not a date!", I repeated. He chuckled. "What part of this makes it not a date?", he asked, trying to prove his point. I thought for a second. The movies, he paid, holding hands… This SO was a date. "The part where we're not dating", I said, pretty pleased with my answer. "So… If we're not dating, how come we're on a date?", he asked again with great confidence. "It's not a date!", I repeated again, louder this time. Once again he just chuckled in response.

After the movie was over he drove me home. "This has been a great day", he said as we parked in front of my house. "It started out a bit frustrating, but at least I we got to have our first real date", he continued. I shook my head, and chuckled. "Idiot", I mumbled, making him chuckle too. I gave him a long and wet kiss, letting my lips linger as I slowly pulled away again, then got out of the car and shut the door behind me. He rolled down the window. "That's it? If this is how you treat your dates then there's no wonder you've been single for so long", he joked. "What do you want, then?", I asked playfully. "You could invite me in. We could pick up where we left off before we got so rudely interrupted earlier", he said smirking. I giggled. "Sorry, I don't put out on the first date", I winked at him, turned and started walking away. "Hah! You admitted it! It was a date!", I heard him yell after me. I was chuckling, but pretended I didn't hear him.

The next day in acting class we got the last pages of the script. We had been rehearsing for so long on the first part that we already knew it by heart, and I was excited to see how she'd been writing the ending. "This play is really good", I said to Monty as we waited for our next scene. We were going through the entire play in class, just so the teacher could give us all some notes on where we should focus the most towards the last couple of weeks before preforming. "It is. And I'm mostly excited about the ending though. I can't wait to spend hours with you practicing that last scene", Monty winked at me. We got called back out on stage again before I could reply. We didn't go through the last scenes since we had just gotten them and had no time to rehearse them yet, so the public kiss would have to wait. The last half hour of class we got to go through the last pages ourselves, while the teacher went around with advice and notes she had been taking during the performance. "Maya and Monty, you are a power-duo", she opened with as she approached us. "I don't really have anything to put my finger on. There's no doubt that you have spent hours rehearsing. But remember that the hardest scene is yet to come, and I think you should just focus on nailing those last pages too. Especially the last one", she said. "I guess we should start rehearsing as soon as possible", Monty grinned.

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"Monty…", was all I managed to say. I was at an absolute loss for words. He was talking about me. This girl he was describing, all the beautiful things he was saying about her… it's me. And even more shocking is the fact that he thinks that I'm too good for him. Montgomery de la Cruz thinks that I'm too good for him. I went through a million emotions in just seconds, but I was still at a loss for words. "I don’t even know what to say", I managed to stutter. "To be honest, I don’t either. This isn't exactly how I was hoping to tell you this", he replied. I felt so bad. If I hadn't listened to his private conversations, he wouldn't have been forced to confess like this. I didn't want to do that to him. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to out you like this. I had no idea", I explained. I placed my hand on his and squeezed it gently. "It's okay. You would have found out sooner of later anyway", he said while giving me a nervous smile. I had so many thoughts running through my head. I don't even know how long we were sitting there in complete silence. "Look, I get it if you don't feel the same way. I just want you to know that I'm… I'm really trying to turn things around", he said interrupting the silence. "That's the thing. I do! I do feel the same way, but I feel the same way about the Monty that only I know. And honestly, I could never stand next to you at school and watch you do the things you do to other students. I just can't", I told him, every word stinging as painfully in my own chest as it probably did in his. "I get it", he said nodding softly, and I could see that my words had hurt him. But it was the truth, and no matter how great of a guy he was around me I could never support those sides of him. For a while we just sat there in silence again, just letting it all sink in. I wanted to do something to break this awkwardness, but I had no idea what to do or say. "Promise we one thing though. Promise me that we won't change. Not let things get weird. We're still just us, okay?", he asked. "I’ll do my best", I replied with a smile, but I wasn't even sure that was possible at this point.

"So, what now?", I asked. A desperate attempt to change the subject and get things back to normal. He looked at me for a second, and then a smirk spread across his lips. " Yeah, let's see… What where we doing before this? Oh, that's right. You rudely interrupted me in the middle of something", he said. I could see the playfulness in his eyes, so I know he was joking, but I couldn't really remember what he was referring to. What were we doing before this? "Like the knight in shining armor I am I had just saved you from the terrible wrath of the vicious and evil stray cat, and you were going to reward me", he said still smirking. I giggled. "Okay, what do you think is a suitable reward for your heroic efforts?", I asked, playing along. "According to the fairy tales, I'm pretty sure I am entitled to the princess and half the kingdom", he said, pretending to be dead serious. "Well, you can spread out on the couch, but I am unfortunately fresh out of princesses", I chuckled. "No, you're not. I found one right here", he said and pulled me onto his lap. I giggled like a little girl, and pretended to fight back. "Let me go", I laughed. "Never. You're mine now", he said, and added an evil laugh. He held me on his lap, straddling him and facing towards him. Our eyes locked and he placed his hand gently on my cheek. "Now how about that reward…", he almost whispered. His lips turned magnetizing again, but this time I no longer wanted to fight my urges. He pulled me closer to him, and leaned in slowly. As our noses touched, the butterflies in my stomach was replaced by wild hurricanes. Our lips barely touched at first, but it felt like a shock of electricity. I almost felt dizzy. There was no way I would be able to hold back anymore. My hand instinctively found it's way up to his neck, as our lips crashed harder together. Such an explosion it felt like inside. His hands grabbed onto my waist, and his tongue was softly begging for mine. I freed his wish and our tongues met and played, concealed by our lips. I almost fainted before I decided to pull back for air. The kiss was so intense, we were both out of breath. "Holy…Wow!", he said, looking at me with stars in his eyes. As if those eyes was not hypnotizing enough to begin with… "How's that for a price?", I giggled, probably blushing. "I have to save you more often", he chuckled.

"So, what do you wanna do now?", I asked, climbing off him and sitting back next to him on the couch. "How about another scary movie?", he suggested. "Sure. I'm down". I pressed play on the next horror movie we could agree on, and went to the kitchen to get us some drinks. When I came back he had spread out across the couch. "Really?", I said, giving him a glare telling him I was not amused. "Don't worry. I saved space for you right here", he said, gently patting his own chest. My face did not react, and I stood there giving him the same glare. "Oh, come on. You know you'll get scared and basically end up in my lap anyway", he said, with a wide grin. He had a point. I exhaled dramatically and shook my head gently, but I couldn't hold back a smile. "Good princess", he joked, as I got comfortable next to him on the couch and laid down to rest my head on his chest.

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