16. When enemies kiss

Listen to Pyramid by Charice ft Iyaz.

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You hate someone because of their qualities, and most times if you're unlucky, you unknowingly develope feelings for the said person you hate despite some of their qualities.

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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I giggle with drowsy eyes because of the bellow of Max that bounces through the walls like a lion's roar at first and only ends up like a cat's whine. Not offended at all or let out swear words from being interrupted from my six hours beauty sleep

It isn't even six thirty a.m in the morning yet, and Max has gone to take his bath. What made him scream was the glue in his shampoo container that I sure as hell discern is sticked to his hair.

Flashback

I had tiptoed into his room when he was asleep because he always left his door unlocked with his lights on. Suprisingly his room was tidy and he didn't snore or drool. I was having a debate with my subconscious to punch him so hard, or muzzle him for being such a jerk and pain in the ass or spit into his mouth.

But my subconscious warned me greatly, not to let my presence be known by Max in his room

And with me contemplating on what to do to add to my plot against him and the bottle glue on my hand, Max tossed in bed and I crawled and hid under his bed before his barefoot touched the ground.

He made his way to the toilet to pee and returned back to his bed to sleep.

After counting to three hundred, I rolled out and crawled towards his restroom.

There, I emptied his shampoo into the sink and slipped the glue into his shampoo container. I slid open the lid of his mouth wash, emptied it's contents into the sink, sneaked my pee in, spit inside and close it shut.

And I flushed the combination of his shampoo and mouth wash down the sink.

"Yes!" I mouthed, fisting pumping the air in victory, dropping the idea of tiptoeing my way out and crawled instead.

I stopped dead on my tracks, and jumped out of the fear of being caught when I saw a human figure by the door.

"Shit!" I hissed through gritted teeth and face palmed.

But the person made no attempt to speak, he just stood at one spot, not even moving.

"Who are you?"

"You are who?" The person mumbled sleepily. The voice sounded alot like Sam's.

"Sam, is that you?"

"You that is Sam?" He replied back with closed eyes then yawned with his hand fisted against his mouth.

I heaved a sigh of relief when I noticed that it really was Sam and not a burglar. But he just saw me making my way out of his brother's room.

It was worst because I just got caught.

But with the way he stood like a statue left me pondering if he was sleep walking.

My thoughts drifted to the scene at Nana Jonse's house when he was sleep talking.

Oh my God, yes! I let out a puff of breath in relief. He didn't only sleep talk but also sleep walk.

But damn, did he always unknowingly switched to a Yoda Mode when he talked while sleep walking?

It was so awfully amusing.

I was leaving when I came back and feign slapping him, but he didn't move an inche or flinch. I made ugly creepy faces at him, shoving my fingers into my mouth and drawing my lips wide, he did nothing.

I danced Gangnam Style, and knowing Sam who gets slightly irritated and would've made an affront at me with his face twisted in disbelief and disgust, but he didn't. He was just staring straight ahead of him untill he pushed the door of Max's room open, staggered his way in and closed the door shut behind him.

End of flash back

Max didn't join us for breakfast, and it was during lunch break he came to school with a baseball cap on his head, looking so pissed with clenched jaw and even snapped at Vivanna that she wasn't his girlfriend when she came to sit on his laps.

I badly wanted to see his hair which I was certain he'd shaved bald at the barber's shop, but he wouldn't take the baseball cap off.

Today being Friday, school ended late in the afternoon and I had gone to my locker the third time today to check for a letter from my secret good kisser of a coward.

The tiny flicker of hope I had in me vanish on seeing nothing. Even as I rummage through my locker, still nothing.

With a flumping heart, my shoulders sag in worry.

I was disappointed.

Frustrated.

Pained.

Since the letter yesterday about how sweet my lips tasted, he'd stopped writing me.

He stop writing when I began expecting and anticipating his letters. I couldn't even get him off my mind since the kiss we shared.

My hands itched whenever I remember how they'd be propped around his well toned back. He is really tall, and I recall standing on my toes a little as I pulled his head down to mine for the kiss. My breath seizes itself and my heart hammers in my chest when I reminsice the hot breath, the feel and taste of his lips on mine.

I want to know him.

To see what he looks like.

It totally is pure torture because he stopped writing me.

A strange mixture of several emotions overwhelm me and the way I felt was indescribable.

But that holds no fact that he still is the secret coward. He is, and will remain as long as he keeps hiding, playing silly games with me.

I close my locker shut and hit something solid with my face the moment I turn to head straight ahead of me.

"Watch it." The voice of the angry male growls, but the hands of him is on my waist, steadying me on my feet. And I look over and see it's my step brother, Maxwell McKenzie with Evans at his side, who has something that looks like a letter that he hides behind his back when he notices I had my gaze fixed on his hand.

My nostrils flare and I shove Max backwards, away from me. I did it not because I'm pissed but because the air os so hot between us and was thick with tension. Since Wednesday night that he watched me danced, I can't stand him, don't like the feelings that resonate inside of me with him next to me. Plus my heart beat becomes a regular stuttering mess when he is close by.

And when I pushed him, it was ironical because instead of him to fall, I'm the one that ends up tripping and almost lands on the floor if it isn't for Evans who is fast in holding me, and the impact makes my lips to smack lightly against his.

Max nostrils flares, with him clenching his fist on seeing this, that I hear the sound of his fist cracking, and his back rises and falls as he releases a loud tottering breath.

He stares at us with something like a hint of jealousy with his lips thinning.

"Slut." He hisses at me between his teeth, and turns around to head the other direction, bumping shoulders with a tomato replica Evans who still has his hands propped around my waist.

"Asshole!"

"What the actual fuck?" I and Evans yell after him at once, with Evans raising his hands up in confusion with an irritated facial expression.

"Shut the hell up." Max growls over his shoulder and I wonder who he means, if it is me or Evans, or the both of us.

* * *

"Do you think Jordan Riverdale is cute?"

"No."

"We locked eyes today, and I'm sure he felt the spark I did. It was like a jinx. Other than, he isn't a monster but looks like a freaking anime character with the blue hair, red shirt, yellow pants and green shoes. Kids avoid him because he's always so quiet and cute. They think he's all varieties of weird cause he speaks Italian and switches to French the next, and then Chinese. Cute right?"

"No."

"You know, I've been fantasizing about having his babies when I accidentally on purpose tripped on him today and we locked gazes. It felt like those slow mo in movie scenes, just that there wasn't Perfect by Ed Sheeran playing on the background. I think we'd make a cute couple, what do you think?" It's Veronica who has been rambling on about this Jordan guy, both she and Maggie came home with me from school.

"No?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"If I kill you and have your body parts selling around Black market, would you hold it against me?" She inquires, mildly disgustes and mildly frustrated at my one word replies.

"No?"

"Are you even listening to me?" She growls through gritted teeth, moving away from the wall she is leaning on and raises her hands up in frustration.

"No?"

Maggie giggles, laying flat on my bed with crossed legs, hugging the giant teddy bear.

"Oh my God Kate-"

"Hold on." I interrupt her as I look up from my laptop that I'm browsing my history assignment to her in my big rim study glasses that hangs loosely at the perch of my nose, holding my finger up to silence her. "Why do you always fall for pathetic loosers?"

Ver rolls her eyes. "That's because the male population, specially the good-looking hot six packs, well defined abs specimen sees me as this unattractive Asian Ameican nerd, and Jordan seems like a nice guy."

"He seems like shit to me, dressing like an anime character totally washes him out."

Letting out muted curse words, she goes back to seat on my bed with a frown on her face like an angry wild cat. Ver has these Asian eyes because she is half Japanese and half American.

Snorting, I pick my phone up to dial Madeline's line to get the pizza outside from the delivery guy who came from Dad's restaurant. I can see him all the way from my window.

But when Madeline picks up, I hear unendingly loud crashes of things and wince.

"What the hell's happening?"

"I'm at the library r-room. Was dusting and rearranging the books when the book shelves collapse on me-ow!" She barely finishew before groaning in pain, causing the last word that proceeded out of her mouth to sound like a cat's Meow.

I hang up, groan in frustration, cussing Madeline and her clumsiness, then make the decision to go get the pizza from the delivery guy myself.

After taking the pizza from the guy, I proceed to the kitchen to get cups from the cupboard and Pepsi from the fridge. I was done getting the Pepsi and was closing the door shut when a very shirtless, barefooted Max, clad in just his grey jogger pants walked into the kitchen.

I abrutly pry my eyes away from him in attempt of not becoming a drooling machine because he has a nice athletic body.

"I need you to stay away from Evans." He snarls from behind me when I side step him.

Slowly, I turn around and face him.

The first thing I notice about him is that his bangs are gone and his hair is lowered to his scalp, making him look times ten more attractive than before.

I curse myself silently because what I did only boosted his sexual appeal.

"You're not possibly talking to me, are you?" I snort, cocking one eye brow at him and bite on my buttom lip from the heat that descends on when his eyes does a once over on me.

My hair is in a messy bun and I'm clad in a green crop top, high waisted jeans shorts and my flip-flops.

He moves till he is standing in front of me that I gulp and blink because of the heat crawling on my skin.

"Stay away from Evans, that's all I came to tell you."

I scoff and fold my hands. "I'm not close with Evans so why should I stay away from him?"

"You two are getting all cozy with eachother." He places his hand on the wall behind my head, bends his weight and levels his eyes to mine.

I feel my lips part in suprise.

He must be insane to think we're having an affair. Oh, now I get why he called me a slut earlier today. The bastard!

"You're sick." I spit out.

And Max slams his fist against the wall close to my head that I shudder out of fear.

Why is he acting this way?

But hold on a freaking sec Kate!

There was something like a letter on Evan's hand today at school, a letter he hid the moment I saw it.

Fuck!

I saw him left for the party with Max and Miranda on Wednesday.

Could he be my secret coward?

The guy who kissed me?

And before my thoughts can carry on rambling, Max inches his head foward to me and I recoil steps backwards and press my back to the wall, frighten the bastard is going to punch me again.

He looks away from my gaze and bites on his buttom lip that I catch a glimpse of his pearly whites.

And when he returns his gaze back to mine, my throat tightens and my heart thuds heavily and loudly in my chest, creating bitter sweet sensations that my mouth tastes salty and hot.

Because Max's green eyes are cloud with so much pain, want, hate and longing the same time.

"You're the worst, you're all saucy and bitchy, plus spoilt. You've got a lot of crazy tension inside of you and even your silence gets on my nerves. I hate you, I-"

"You-"

"Shut the fuck up!" He growls interrupting me, slamming his fist harder on the wall behind my head and I flinch, suprising both my self and him by keeping my mouth shut.

"I hate you so much and I want to crush you because inspite of how much I've caution myself to stop thinking about you, I can't, I fucking can't!" He looks troubled, like he wants non of this to happen but has no clue on how to put it to stop.

I swallow with unbelieve and shock surging through me, lost for damn words, having no idea on how to feel or act.

"I think about you all the damn fucking time. I hate you so much because you make me feel things that make me hate myself. I hate you so much because you make me want you from just the way you breath.. oh, fuck!" He curses because I'm panting really hard, still rendered dumbstruck.

I want him.

Oh God! I want Max.

I want my step brother.

I want the guy I hate so much who in turn share mutual feelings with me.

"I fucking want my bitchy little spoilt brat of a step sister. I've always wanted Katherine right from the moment my eyes caught glimpse of her at our parents shitty wedding thirteen days ago." He has this habit of speaking to himself like he has audience.

I'm suprised when he throws his head backwards and lets out a pain laced laughter.

And when he returns his eyes to mine, they are red and slightly wet with tears.

I clear my throat and finally find my voice when I remembered the insults, the harsh comebacks and the punch.

I vibrate with instant anger, curl my fingers into fist and clench it so hard.

"Get the fuck away from me you sick pysch-" I'm interrupted from going further because he is already kissing me.

Max is kissing me.

The guy who hates me so much is kissing me.

The kiss is slow, hot and deep that it spins my brain and my heart hammers in my chest, slow down it's pace while my wayward knees becomes numb and weak as he cradles my head with his left hand and press myself to him with his right hand.

I tear my mouth away from him and shove him backwards because there is something oddly familiar from the way he had kissed me, the taste and feel of his lips.

Deja Vu overwhelms me.

He is...

No!

I can feel my eyes well up right in their sockets out of shock as realization hits me hard. While he stares back at me with his eyes that speaks so many things, and slightly swollen pink lips that turns me on. My brain wants to care about how handsome he is.

But my anger gets the best of me.

I raise my hand up to smack him across the cheek but he is fast in catching hold of my hand, restraining me from doing what I had intended to do.

I kick him in the balls, and release my hand from his grip when he groans in pain and bent to cup his balls. With that, I flee.