"I think I'm gonna take some pills to fix my brain, cause I tried every other way. But some things you can't fix yourself."—Lauv.

••

"Just a quickie, Blaze."

"Amber, no. I said I don't want to." He rolls his eyes heavenward as he grips her slender hands to move them away from his chest.

They are now standing in the hallway that leads to the hotel's lobby, the music from the party sounding distant and faded. Blaze had no intention of giving this girl the time of day, but he didn't want her blabbering on about his brutal sex-life right in front of Harmony. She is the only girl he cares about, and if she were to view him in a negative light, he has no idea how he would be able to handle that.

Amber scowls and wastes no time to hitch onto him again, this time lowering her hand to the strings of his shorts.

Blaze screws his face up and grabs her wrist. "You have no damn pride for wanting to have sex with me in the hallway of a hotel."

She frowns. "When since you care about the location? You never seemed to have a problem that time we did it outside of your house. Stop being so different."

Blaze sucks his teeth and tries to walk away, but she grabs onto his arm again, bouncing on her toes desperately. "Blaze, come on. Just once, please?"

He grits his teeth and rolls his neck in sheer annoyance. He fears that other guys are out there trying to hit on Harmony during his absence, yet this girl just won't leave him alone. He saw the stares of envy and admiration from the majority the minute they had arrived, and it's not hard to see why. Her purity is shining. It is evident that she's an untouched gem.

With annoyance engraved on his face, he resists the urge to push Amber fiercely away from him. Logics. That's the only thing saving her from it because he couldn't care less about her feelings.

"Could you just leave me the fuck alone?" He asks in the calmest way possible, and it is as if it holds more power than if he were to yell at her.

Amber stares at him in awe, but she doesn't get time to recover as he grips her shoulder and nudges her to the side. He begins to walk away from her, and she gasps in shock, seething at his vanishing presence.

"You're an asshole, Blaze Xander!"

"I know," he retorts as he breaks the corner and leaves the area.

••

"Harmony."

Her strides are ceased by a cold hand to her elbow, and she looks around to see Kite standing behind her. He's sighing in what appears to be exhaustion.

"You should join the Olympics. You walk so fast." He chuckles as he releases her, and she smiles weakly.

Discerning the disconsolate gleam in her eyes, Kite scratches his forehead remorsefully. "Don't mind what they said, they talk too much sometimes."

"It's okay," she tells him and means it. She doesn't want to be too overly sensitive about Blaze's past when he had already enlightened her about his mental condition. His ASPD is a good enough explanation for his merciless sleeping around.

"Where are you heading to?"

"Um..." She nips at her lip, glancing around the busy pool deck. "I don't even know..."

Kite laughs as he crosses his arms against his torso. "Okay, so you were just going to walk around?"

She giggles and gropes her forehead, feeling quite silly. "I have no idea."

He bites his lower lip then grips her wrist. She jolts at the unexpected contact, and it makes him chuckle. "Won't hurt you. I want to show you somewhere."

"Oh...okay."

He pulls her along with him, and she twists her lips in slight discomfort. "Where are we going?" She questions.

"You'll see."

He passes the entrance to the hotel's lobby and turns a corner. Harmony looks behind and watches as the party disappears out of her view, and the discomfort expands within her. When she refocuses ahead, Kite stops in front of a cabin-like hut and thrusts open a double glass door, gesturing that she goes in first. She hesitates as she looks at him with uncertainty, and he smiles. "I am not planning on hurting you."

After a moment of contemplation, she lets out a faint sigh and finally enters the room.

Beautiful—that's the first word that comes to her mind when her eyes grace the interior decor of the space.

The illuminated colored light bulbs, being the only sources of light, give the room a disco-like effect as the rainbow hue glow off their skins. A doughnut-shaped pool occupies the center of the room, and there is a minibar right next to it. Harmony's lips stretch into a smile at the architectural creativity in front of her.

"What is this place?" She turns around to ask Kite.

"Well, my Dad owns this little section," he tells her. "It's a private area for couples."

At the mention of the word 'couples,' Harmony's smile fades into a line as she looks over at him. Kite notices the reaction and titters faintly. "It's not what you're thinking. I mean this in the friendliest way possible."

She brings forth a smile, and he takes her hand in his again. She doesn't like it. For some reason, it makes her feel guilty toward Blaze. Though they aren't officially a couple, she knows he wouldn't like this, and so as soon as they sit down on the edge of the pool deck, she discreetly pulls her hand away.

"It's nice in here." She says, moving her feet in the waters below them.

"Yeah, it sure is." Kite is looking at her while he says this, and Harmony catches sight of his eyes and chuckles awkwardly. "What?"

His broad shoulders lift in a shrug. "Nothing at all. You're just really pretty."

She blinks in discomfort as he stares her directly in the eyes. The look he is giving her is much too intense for her liking, so she turns her face away from him. "Thank you..."

"It's just so unfortunate." He sighs. "I am mad that Blaze has your heart."

His words cause her body to stiffen as she reunites their gazes.

"I know you love him; it's obvious," he continues bitterly. "And to be honest, I am so very jealous, Harmony."

All moisture has left her throat, and she has no idea what to say to that. Her mouth opens and closes with no words coming out. Kite basically admitted that he likes her.

Luckily, his phone dings from his shorts, just in time to save her from this uncomfortable situation. She quietly sighs in relief as he grabs it from his pocket.

Kite stares at the text for a while, and a look of mischief gleams within his orbs. He pokes the corner of his mouth with his tongue before he begins to type a response.

"Is that April and the girls? Are they here?" Harmony curiously asks.

"Um, nope." His focus is affixed on his cell as he taps away. "Tia texted me a while back saying they might be late because they ran out of gas."

"Really? I hope they're fine."

"They will be." He grins at her before tilting his side to put his phone back into his pocket. He shifts closer to her on the deck. "What were we saying?"

Harmony pretends not to remember what they had been speaking about prior, hoping he will drop this topic. "Um...I can't recall."

"You don't have to avoid it, Harmony. I know you don't like me that way, and I get it."

Her gaze softens as a tide of guilt spreads over her. She thinks Kite is a nice guy and he deserves someone great, but she's just extremely sorry that that person won't be her. Her heart belongs to Blaze Xander, and only him.

"I am scared, though," he mutters.

"About what?"

He meets her eyes, revealing two pools swamped with powerful emotions. "I am afraid that Blaze will hurt you."

She stares at him. Everyone is afraid that Blaze will hurt her, but she is not feeling that way anymore. Not when she has come to fully understand him, and even him walking away with that half-naked girl is not enough for her to give up on him.

"But if he does, I will be here." Kite finishes.

She swallows. Too much vehemence is coming from him; it's just too much to handle.

"Um...Kite—"

He brings his face forward and presses his lips against hers suddenly. Her eyes go wide, and he lifts his palm to cup her cheek when she breaks the contact and shift her face away from him quickly.

Oh, God. What just happened?

"Harmony..."

She blinks her eyes, refusing to look at him as a strong pang of guilt rips through her.

"I am sorry," he mutters.

She covers her face with her hands, feeling as they become wet with tears. "Oh God, why did you..."

"What the fuck?!"

Oh no. Harmony looks up to see Blaze standing at the doorway. His face is red with fury, and she feels her whole world comes crashing down.

A gasp leaves her mouth, and Kite smiles softly as he lowers his head while salivating his lips.

Rage radiates around Blaze as he plods over to them, holding Harmony by her arm and pulling her up to her feet. He glares down at her with clenched jaws, and he looks so scary that her body quivers.

"What the fuck is this, Harmony?"

"Blaze. I didn't-I didn't..." She's unable to form words as tears streak down her cheeks.

Kite pulls himself up from the deck with a sigh. He pushes his hands in his pockets while standing stiff-backed.

"Surprised you're jealous, Blaze. You walked away with a half-naked girl leaving her alone and you expect—"

A hard fist to the face shuts him up instantly as he goes toppling to the floor. Harmony is now standing at the side, wondering how Blaze managed to have nudged her out of the way that fast. She covers her mouth with a trembling hand as Kite wipes his bloody nose with his knuckle.

"Didn't I warn you to stay the fuck away from her?"

Blaze's voice is creepily calm, but he's clenching his hand so hard that his knuckle becomes bleached.

Kite lets out a burst of dry laughter, shaking his head from the ground. "How can I? When she's this sexy?"

Harmony winces, dreading what the outcome of such a response would be. She knows Blaze. He lacks compassion and mercy. It is not of his nature.

Blaze narrows his eyes that are now two holes of absolute blackness. Turning away, he grabs an iron chair from around the bar table. The blood drains from Harmony's face as she watches him advances toward Kite, who is still seated on the floor, presuming that Blaze is bluffing.

"Blaze, please." Harmony tries to grab his hand, but he shifts away from her. "Blaze, don't do this!" She slides in front of him, pressing her hands against his unclothed chest.

"Just stop, don't do it. Please don't." A soft sob leaves her mouth, and he tears his angry gaze away from Kite and points it toward her. "Are you fucking defending him?"

She shakes her head. "No, I just don't want you to do something that could ruin your future."

She would say 'something that you will regret' but recalling that Blaze can't feel remorse for anyone, that would be an unfitting choice of word.

He narrows his eyes at her, throwing the chair down and gripping her hand. "Come here!"

"Blaze—"

He drags her out of the room with him, and she doesn't protest against it. She is in no position to, not after what he came and saw.

As soon as they are outside, he releases her and turns to face her. He looks a mixture of hurt and angry, and it breaks her heart.

It's not her fault.

She didn't want to hurt him.

She wouldn't hurt him.

He will believe her, right?

He trusts her.

"Blaze, it wasn't me..." she begins. "He was the one who—"

"Were you this fucking sneaky all along?"

Ouch.

A tear escapes and forms a new pathway next to the ones that are already staining her face.

"You like Kite, don't you?" He says.

She narrows her glossy eyes. "No. I told you who I like and I meant—"

"Go be with him then, Harmony!" He yells, and she flinches.

She didn't want to see this side of him again. She can't take it. His words are like daggers.

"You act like you're this innocent person but you're here kissing another guy in an enclosed room! You say you like me but that is all a trick to get close to Kite, isn't it?"

She shakes her head, too emotional to speak.

"I am sorry that I can't give you all you want, Harmony! Kite's healthy, he doesn't have a psychological issue as I do, so he's perfect; go fucking be with him and stop frigging confusing the shit out of me."

He gestures to turn away, and she takes a step forward.

"I like you, okay? You're who I like, Blaze! Why can't you see that?!"

"Because you don't convince me!" He shrieks. "You say that but there you were, kissing someone else!"

"You walked away with her," her voice quivers as she speaks, and the infuriated look in his eyes causes her to lower hers in distraught. It's too painful to look at them. "You walked away with her and I had to wait there for you. I am not mad at you for that, but you're here being like this when I clearly I told you that—"

"I didn't kiss her now, did I? She came on to me and I literally pushed her away. But now that I think about it, I probably should have just fucked her."

She looks up at him, and the hurt caused by those words is just too much for her to manage. Her heart is shattered.

"Your words hurt, okay?! Just stop it!" She screams at him.

She is surprised by her own self. She had no idea she could shout that loud.

"So is walking in to see you both kissing, Harmony! I already can't get you grinding on him at that party out of my mind but here is another thrilling sight to drive me crazy! Don't waste your time arguing with me! Go dress your lover boy's wound like the angel you pretend to be!"

She can't combat with Blaze because his words are enough to leave her wounded for a lifetime.

She gives up the fight, flattening her palms against her eyes as she cries softly. His gaze softens entirely at the sound of her sobs, just before his hard exterior returns.

"This is why I don't want relationships, Harmony. All of it fucking hurts and my head is already fucked up as is. We should just be friends and stop fucking kissing and touching each other."

He ruffles his hair and walks away, and she allows the tears to flow freely now that he's gone.