Better Than I Know Myself

Qi Yue and Ahmon struggle to cope under the pressure of knowing they cannot become an item, given the prior arrangements their parents have of marrying one another. Lacking strength enough to tell their parents of what changed over time, the younger two continue loving one another in secret, until one day, all is revealed.

Evening rolled around fairly quickly that day, as soon as every student had packed away their books and left the grounds of the college. Qi Yue wandered the building one last time in search of her soon-to-be sibling, Jiang Meng, but was unable to find him anywhere. It had been a full, long day and she was incredibly tired, so stalking the corridors for that unruly guy was the last thing she expected to do at the end of the day. However, they had arranged that morning to travel home together, on his bike. Perhaps that would be an ideal spot to check first; she made her way toward the entrance and walked right around the side, to the parking lot at the rear.

Everywhere her eyes looked, there were no vehicles left in the lot and she muttered all manner of cruel things under her breath, in case anyone was walking by. As she stood there, not wanting to believe he had forgotten all about her, she began to pout. The girl was renowned for that infamous pout if ever she thought something was unfair and most would laugh at the sight of it. Only, this time, she really was upset that he had gone home without her. He must have realised at some point on his journey back that she was not on the bike with him, but no, that was too much to hope for.

Meng was a devil and one of a kind; such things seldom crossed his mind and even when they did, he didn't care enough to correct his mistakes. Some brother he would be — Yue was not looking forward to that day at all. Her mother's happiness meant more to her than anything in the world and for that, she would cope under the harsh living conditions that walked hand in hand with sharing a home with him. He was a plague, in her mind and nothing could convince her otherwise. Already, he had caused a rift between herself and her friends, as well as those around them and she didn't like him one bit. His evil went above and beyond anything she had ever known before and it made being polite difficult. But for others, she dealt with the trauma and hoped to make it successful, regardless.

“Qi Yue!” a voice called out from somewhere behind her, though she had not heard anyone approach.

“Shenme?” she answered, turning on her heel and losing the pout.

Of course, that pout soon returned when her eyes met with those of the guy she had been searching for all this time. It didn't help that he seemed unphased by the entire thing. He had obviously gone home and been told to come back and pick her up. There were not an ounce of concern in his expression; he was simply leaning against his bike with arms folded and staring in her direction. If looks could kill, he would be dead on the spot given the anger that took over her face as she stormed over to him. He barely even flinched when she rose one hand and swiped the side of his face. Her blood was boiling and she was in no mood for any of his tricks or taunts today and that was quite clear, to him. But, did he care? Of course he didn't. All he did was fix his gaze on her once more, grasping the back of her neck and pulling her forward until they were face to face. Yue, angry and confused — Meng, startled and pissed.

“Eh.. why did you slap me?” he asked, eyes searching hers for some kind of reasoning behind it.

Yue shoved his arm away and spun around with her back now facing him. She didn't even wish to look at him after what he had done and he knew full well what that was. But, being such a devil, he would not acknowledge his wrongdoings and act oblivious to the entire situation. This was one of the things she loathed most about him and he knew it. Apologies were not his thing, at all and he wasn't going to say he was sorry for this one, either.

Stepping forward, he dropped his chin down upon her shoulder and pulled a few locks of hair away from the side of her face, so that he was able to speak directly into her ear. Involuntarily, she shivered as his warm breath blew over her skin and buried itself within her hair. But his words had not been expected. It was as though he had been reading her mind all this time and wanted to make his every wrong, right. What if he wasn't as much of a devil as he made himself out to be? That was a possibility, but not one Yue was prepared to follow. It was dangerous territory with him and anything could change.

“Let you be the angel who converts the devil-” as he said this, her eyes closed momentarily and she thought about his words. Wanting desperately to believe in them, she slowly turned to face him and gave a hint of a smile, which he returned immediately before pulling her into an embrace. “Duibuqi.”

A full smile blossomed on the girls face as she returned his affection, wrapping her arms securely around his waist, her cheek resting on his shoulder as his chin rested atop her head. These moments were few and far between, but meant the world to her, as they probably did to him, too. It was as though time stood still, if just for a moment, and there was nothing wrong. In her heart of hearts, she knew he was not as bad as his devilish persona made him seem and with that knowledge, she allowed his cruelty to go by unnoticed. Or, it was forgotten as soon as it had occurred. Meng had the potential to be a lovable brother, but his devious ways would have to lessen around her, if she was to trust him completely.

Pulling away from the cuddle, he swiftly climbed onto his bike and patted the space behind him, a grin now present were prior annoyance sat only minutes ago. Yue, obedient as she was, held onto his shoulders as she climbed onto the back of the bike, her arms soon wrapping tightly around his middle as he revved it up and they went speeding around the corner. Laughter consumed them both as Meng continued to speed down the street toward their home, turning corners as though they weren't even there and each time, Yue would let out a girlish squeal as they went along. It was a sound that he had never heard before and one that seemed to bring him great joy, but he would never admit to such a thing. She was soon to be his older sister and any thoughts he had that didn't set well with that ideal, he pushed aside. Yet, there remained a problem whenever the two shared a more than platonic moment. Luckily, their parents had not been around and they could easily brush it off as nothing — at least, they tried to ignore it.

“Ahmon...” Yue spoke up as he pulled into the drive and straight into the garage around the back of the house. “Duibuqi.. I should never have hit you— can you forgive me?”

“I might be prepared to do that, under one condition” he replied, setting the bike against the garage wall as they both strolled out and up the steps. The back door was unlocked, always, so getting in was never a problem and they didn't have to wait for one or both parents to return home.
“Shi ba?” Yue asked, her head tilting to one side as he stood across from her in the kitchen area, intent on not letting her pass by until he was done with her. “What do you want, Meng?”

Opposing his usual method of using words to communicate his inner most thoughts, he tapped his lips gently and gave a little pout, indicating they were involved. He then moved his finger forward and tapped her own, his eyes sparkling with all the mischief that lay behind them. Yue flushed a pure pink as it dawned on her what he was after and she shook her head vigorously. There was absolutely no way that was going to happen — not now, not ever. They were soon to become related, siblings even, and that kind of thing would get them both into an awful lot of trouble, no matter the lack of blood ties.

“Are you crazy?!” she said, her voice raising above average as she tried and failed to push by him.

“Qi Yue — I won't forgive you, if you don't” he countered, knowing that would cease her struggle.

“...Canku” she pouted, admitting defeat as she understood he would probably always hold a grudge against her after such a violent smack across the face, if she didn't give him what he wanted. “This is between us, hao?”

Nodding his head, his grin widened, if that was possible and he waited patiently for the girl to make a move toward him. He would take advantage of the situation, as he so often did when he felt in control and blackmail was evident. This would be something he had been wanting for months and it was high time he received it. Yue, to him, was something of an angelic being and he could not fathom how he might be able to ignore his feelings from now on. When the two first met, it was easy as anything to play around and cause her grief, but now that they had gotten to know one another a little better, he couldn't hurt her as much as he used to. She had softened that stone cold heart of his and he hated it, but he also loved it. In a way, she brought him peace through the worst of times and settled the storm always churning inside him. He had a lot to be thankful for, having Yue and her mother around.

It kept his dad off his back and gave him something to look forward to. Though he had a younger brother earlier in life, the two had been separated for many, many years and so, he missed the company a sibling could offer. Naturally, when he was told the woman his father would be marrying had a daughter, he turned into someone unlike himself; so much so, it frightened his father. The old man was used to seeing his son in a foul, ungrateful mood, so that was something unique to his eyes.

Meng allowed his thoughts to capture his full attention, albeit briefly, but he soon snapped out of his trance as his lips were met with her own. It was warm, a little damp and ridiculously pleasant to his senses. His eyes remained open as she kissed him, yet hers were tightly closed as though it was the worst thing in the world. Struggling to hold back amusement, he slowly closed his eyes and wrapped both arms around her, drawing her close against his chest. He deepened the kiss, though locked his tongue in his own mouth so as not to startle her. This was something he had been longing for — there couldn't have been a better time for it, as far as he was concerned. Yue also began to relax as he returned the kiss and soon enough, they were both in their own little world, aware only of themselves as the minutes ticked on by.