February rolled round and so far nothing had gone wrong. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but nothing happened. In a few months I'd be doing my final set of exams and apparently going to a beach house with my friends.

I hadn't seen Jake much this week. I'd been studying and he'd had quite a lot of appointments. Shay and Ash had patched things up fairly quickly so that was a relief. I was hoping we'd see each other tomorrow night.

For now my Thursday consisted of going back to the dorm and watching Netflix. I also had some coursework that needed finishing. I wanted to finish it so I had nothing to worry about tomorrow.

I left the lecture hall and wandered down the hallways, minding my own business. I pushed open the double doors and stepped in the sunshine. Despite it being Winter, the weather was oddly unseasonal and I basked in the golden rays.

A figure caught my eye and I almost turned round and ran away. Ella was sitting on a bench across the way. She was staring at her phone balanced in her lap. It could just be a coincidence, but her eyes shot up and she saw me. Oh crud, this was no coincidence.

A million thoughts ran through my mind. The first being that she was going to kill me. The second that I should have gone out the side door. I gulped when she stood and walked towards me. She was so beautiful and here I was; the ginger potato. She ghosted over to me in the most elegant way.

I was surprised when she smiled nervously. She paused in front of me, toying with her long, wavy hair.

"Hey, Dakota," She breathed. "Could we talk?"

This was unexpected, but I nodded anyway and she smiled again, still nervous. We started to walk together and into Starbucks. I ordered my usual chocolate frappe. We both sat at a table in the corner and for moment no one spoke.

"So," She paused. "I feel I should apologise to you."

I stared at her in shock. I wasn't expecting that.

"What for?" I asked. I felt it should be me apologising to her. She was so pretty and I felt kind of undeserving.

"For being such a bitch." She murmured, sipping her cappuchino.

"I didn't think you were." I replied.

Her face broke into a smile again and I saw relief flit through her eyes. The worry vanished from her face and I saw a vulnerability in her.

"Well, I did," She continued. "You know how it feels to like someone."

I nodded, fully understanding where she was coming from. I had experienced all the pain of liking someone. Months of it and it hurt so much.

"I got so jealous when I saw you two together and I knew it wasn't going to work. I fought for it, but I could see it coming." She said, softly.

"I actually got jealous of you. You're so pretty." I replied, and she chuckled.

"Looks aren't everything," She relaxed into the seat. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm happy for you and Jake."

"Thanks, Ella. I really appreciate it." I smiled.

We stayed and chatted for a while. I found that we had a bit in common and we left Starbucks as friends. We paused outside and she turned to smile at me again.

"I had fun talking to you, Kota," She said. "We should hang out again."

"Same here. Safe journey." I replied.

The sun was slowly starting to dip behind the clouds and I strolled down the street, flicking through my workbook. I got to the dorms and could hear the sound of loud voices. I was hoping for some peace from my insane dorm mates.

Kellin was here again. He was talking loudly about something and I wanted to slip by quietly, but I was spotted.

"Hey gorgeous." Kellin rushed over, hugging me.

"And where have you been, young lady?" Danny asked, reclining on the bean bag.

"That is seriously none of your business," Ben appeared in the doorway. "Also why are you here?"

Danny looked hurt and I laughed. I noticed Vic across the way, textbook balanced on his lap. Kellin was clearly bored. He ended up coming back to my room and watching Netflix whilst I finished a few essays.

"So, how's the boyfriend?" He asked, halfway through Mean Girls.

"Yeah, good, we're going out tomorrow."

Kellin waggled his eyebrows at me and I giggled at his behaviour. He ignored the film for a minute, clearly aiming to give me some relationship advice.

"Have you two kissed yet?" He pressed.

"Yeah, a couple of times." I murmured, typing in an effort to ignore this line of questioning.

"Anything other than kissing?" He grinned.

"N-no, just kissing." I mis-typed and heard Kellin snicker.

After a while, someone knocked on my door and Vic appeared. Kellin waved from the bed and he looked throughly unimpressed by this.

"You better not be bothering Kota." He cautioned.

"I'm not." Kellin pouted.

Vic shot him a dubious look. Kellin smiled and slid off the bed. He hugged me and rushed over to Vic, hugging him. I felt so happy for them. I re-read through my finished essay and saved the file.

I guessed I should put on my pjyamas and relax. I wheeled myself away from the table and sighed. My phone buzzed and I glanced at it, before picking it up.

Hey, babe, guess where I am ;) xx

Oh good, we were onto riddles. I frowned and stood, heading to my kitchenette to make a coffee. I flicked on the kettle and started to text back.

No idea, where are you? xx

I set down the phone and waited for the kettle. It didn't take long and I opened one of my little coffee packets and added the hot water. My phone buzzed and I jumped.

I'll give you a hint. Come outside ;) xxx

Seriously? He couldn't be. I set the cup down and slipped on my converse and headed out into the corridor. Tay and Alex were in the lounge, watching the widescreen tv, cuddled up together. Tay grinned when I ambled by. I pushed open the double doors and stepped out into the evening.

I saw the motorbike parked across the way and Jake leaning against it. He glanced up and grinned when he saw me. I smiled and crossed the street, avoiding a blue Peugeot.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, gasping when he hugged me.

I never thought hugging would feel so good. His arms wrapped round my waist, pressing my small frame closer. We pulled apart, but stayed close.

"I came to get you." He smirked, well that sounded ominous.

"How romantic. I have lectures tomorrow." I replied.

"Why don't you be a bad girl and spend some time with me." He grinned.

"And what about lectures." I reminded him.

He handed me a helmet and I accepted. This was probably a really bad idea, but it felt right at the time. I put the helmet on and climbed onto the bike. Jake climbed on and I wrapped my arms round him, very conscious of how close I was to him. The engine roared into life and we took off down the street.

I did wonder where we were going, but kept my eyes closed. I felt us weave through the traffic. We did eventually stop somewhere and when I opened my eyes, it was gym. Seriously, a gym?

I clambered off the bike. Jake removed his helmet and ran a hand through his hair. I passed him my helmet and we walked into the gym. My face must have been so confused. Jake stopped at the desk to speak to the guy. They seemed to know eachother. I saw the guy shake his head at something.

I had no idea why we were here. Jake walked back over to me and took my hand.

"Jake, why are we here?" I whispered, just in case it was a secret.

"It's a surprise and you need to be quiet." He grinned.

We were obviously doing something we shouldn't. We snuck through the gym and I noticed people lifting weights and some women doing yoga. We snuck past them and through a small door at the end of the hall.

"How do you know this place?" I murmured.

"I work out here." He replied.

We continued down a narrow hallway past two doors. In the dim light, I couldn't see what was on them. We rounded a corner and my eyes widened. It was swimming pool. I stood by the door, looking clueless.

"I'm not going in there." I said, automatically.

"It'll be fun." Jake chuckled.

"I have no swim suit." I said, with a lot more determination this time.

"That's such a shame." He replied, approaching me.

The look in his eyes made me step back. We were all alone. I couldn't see any cameras in here.

"If we get caught we'll be in so much trouble." I bleated.

He pulled back, smirking at me. He turned round and slid off his jacket. No way. The t-shirt came off next and my throat nearly closed up. When he removed his boots and jeans I covered my eyes. I heard the splash and removed my hands.

"Come in, it'll be fun." Jake laughed.

"I can't just wear my underwear. It's embarrassing." I protested.

"Put on my t-shirt." He called, swimming backwards.

"O-ok, turn around, please."

He smiled and turned round, swimming away from me. I removed my t-shirt and then my jeans. I picked up Jake's Slayer t-shirt and pulled it on. It came to the top of my thighs, but I still felt extremely under-dressed.

I walked to the edge of the pool and walked down the stairs and gasped at the coldness of the water. I rubbed my arms and shivered. I turned round and nearly colided with Jake. My eyes went downwards.

I could see all the tattoos. They were literally everywhere, spanning across the plain of his toned chest and stomach. I averted my eyes and met his eyes.

"See something you like?" He said, voice slightly deeper.

"N-no, I mean, not like that, oh crap, I'm rambling." I sounded so pathetic.

He grinned, moving a little closer, until my back touched the steps. His head dipped down and our lips met. A sound of surprise left my lips and I felt his tongue slip between my lips.

I mimicked him as best as I could. His hands gripped my hips, keeping me in place and pressing us closer. I could feel the heat from his body through the t-shirt. For some reason, it made me shiver and I pulled back.

I was just getting used to being close to him until he swam backwards, laughing. I was still blushing when he splashed me. I recovered quickly and swam after him, trying to splash him back.

After a while we got out and sat on the edge of the pool. I hadn't thought of how we were going to get home.

"T-shirt, pleae?" Jake laughed.

"It's soaked." I giggled.

We did get dressed again and I couldn't help but laugh when Jake zipped up his jacket, hiding the wet t-shirt. His hair was still damp as was my own. We would need to sneak out again, which we managed to do.

I thought I'd be heading back to the dorms, but was surprised when we pulled up outside a block of flats. We parked in a downstairs carpark and I slid off the bike.

"So, am I staying the night?" I asked.

"Yeah, I really want you to. I haven't seen you much this week." Jake replied.

I followed him upstairs towards the flat, not really knowing what to expect.

Notes

Hey everyone, first of all, I'm so sorry. Been so busy and started an original story and doing coursework. I love this story so I want to finish it. I've missed everyone :)