Some Kind Of Wonderful

Chapter Eight: Fire of two Hearts.

Leila/Adrian/Chase


"Well?" he questioned.

Leila bit her bottom lip before dragging her eyes from the floor to meet his. "I'm ready." She said quietly.

"You're sure?" she nodded

"Yes, I'll marry you."

Adrian Fox grinned, his hazel eyes twinkling with joy. "You don’t know how long I have waited to hear you say that baby." he said cupping her face gently.

Leila let out the breath she never knew she had been holding. Adrian's lips brushed over hers sensually, drawing her into him further melding their mouths together in a hungry kiss.

Leila was timid at first but soon gave in to the kiss and let her fiancée take over and sought out her tongue.

Adrian ended the kiss and looked into his fiancé's blue eyes. "Come with me." he said pulling on her hand drawing her further into the apartment.

He took her into the bedroom, to the bed Leila spent many hours making out with him over the past six months. Adrian shuffled around the room and returned to stand before her again.

He smiled and before Leila could return it he had perched down on one knee, taking her hand into his gazing up at her. "I know I've done this before but, it makes sense to do it properly now that I know you won't freak out on Me." he said with a sheepish smile. "Leila Callaway, will you marry me?"

Leila blinked down at him and for a moment she saw Chase's handsome face staring back at her. "Yes." She uttered and forced a smile on her face while Adrian slid a diamond ring on her finger.

"I'll hold on to you and never let you go." Chase's voice echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Adrian's chest as he held her.

Adrian was talking softly in her ear but she barely heard two words he said, until she heard. "I love you." she squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

"Love you too." she mumbled and felt his arms tighten around her waist. Could she love Adrian? He was a decent guy that cared deeply for her. She did love him. She did! Right...?

Adrian and Leila had met the beginning of the year she started university. They went out on a few dates and got to know each other. Adrian was an only child, whose parents abandoned him when he was only five. He was left in custody of his only aunt, Lydia Fox. Leila met her three weeks after she and Adrian had met. Lydia fell in love with her instantly and vice versa.

Leila began dating Adrian, and decided to keep it a secret from her family. The last few times she had brought home a guy, her father, Dayne and Jaiden all chased them away or decided it was okay to do a little 'background research' and it turned out to be a catastrophe.

After five months of on and off dating and secret meetings Adrian popped the question. To say Leila was shocked was an understatement; she had begun choking on the wine she was sipping at the time.

*Flashback*

"What?" she had asked with wide blue eyes.

"Marry me, baby. I know we haven't known each other very long but, Leila you are everything I always wanted for future." he said his eyes showing his sincerity.

Leila gaped at him. "Adrian, I-I-I mean we've only been dating for six months. We don’t even know each other properly; you haven’t even met my family." She said

"Minor details, I can meet your family tomorrow if you wanted. Babe I'm not saying I want to get married right away. We can stay engaged for a few years while we finish our studies."

Leila let out a heavy breath which didn’t go unnoticed by Adrian. "I know this is a lot to take in. So I'm going to give you a week to think about it and make up your mind. Go to your camping trip with your family, but promise me you will think about it?" he asked pleading.

"I-I will, I promise."

*Flashback End*

Leila pulled away from Adrian's lips. "Um, Adrian I have to go." She mumbled breathlessly and watched as Adrian frowned, sitting up a little straighter on the couch letting her up.

"Why?"

"I have that Staind concert tonight. I need to get back and get ready." She said fixing her top.

"Oh right. Okay well we haven’t even discussed when we're going to tell everyone about the engagement." He said running his fingers over her lips.

"Well that's because we've been making out on your couch for the past hour." She said fixing up her dishevelled hair. Adrian grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist; he pulled her into his lap and attacked her with a very noticeable hickey.

"Adrian, I really do have to go." she said pulling away from his hungry lips.

Adrian nodded; he kissed her chastely on the lips. "Okay." He said kissing the palm of her hand. "I'll tell you what, I'll bring my aunt and we'll come and meet your parents tomorrow, tell them all the good news in one go." he said smiling.

Leila looked into his eyes and saw how happy and excited he actually was about the engagement, she just didn’t have the heart to say no to him. "Sound's great, babe. You can come over to dinner in the evening." She said standing up from his lap.

Adrian smiled and walked her to the door. "That's perfect. I'll be around at six." Leila nodded.

"Great, I'll see you then." She said, kissing him quickly before rushing out. Adrian watched his fiancée walk away from him; he couldn’t suppress the content sigh that escaped his lips.

Chase's apartment...

Leila pulled out her keys to Chase's apartment from her pocket. Her fingers trembled as she held the key to the lock. She sighed dejectedly and knocked instead. If Nicole was still there she didn’t wanna walk in on them having sex on the couch or something.

The door opened after a moment, Chase stood in the doorway in nothing but a towel. His hair was wet, his gorgeous body glistening with droplets of water.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hi." She said less enthusiastically.

"Why didn’t you use your key?" he asked opening the door further to let her in.

Leila slid in and looked around for signs of Nicole, but it seemed like she was gone. "Well, I wasn’t sure if Nicole had left or not. I didn’t wanna walk in on something." She said fumbling with her fingers awkwardly.

"Oh." Chase mumbled closing the door behind him. "Nicole left a while ago." He said regarding her carefully.

Leila met his eyes and nodded. It didn’t take a genius to know they had sex. After all Nicole left her mark all over his chest. "Listen, Leila. I'm sorry about-"

"-Don’t worry about it. She's your girlfriend Chase; I understand you guys need some time alone." She shrugged.

"She shouldn’t have just showed up the way she did." He said with a heavy sigh. "Today was supposed to be about you and Me." he said walking closer to her.

Leila shook her head. "No Chase, it was supposed to be about you. After all it's your birthday. I'm not mad if that’s what you think." she said with a smile.

Chase laughed softly. "Come on Leila, give me some credit. I think I know you better than that." He said following her as she entered his bedroom. She stopped in the doorway when she saw the bed was unmade and his clothes were carelessly dropped around the room.

"Um," Leila froze. Her jaw had locked as images of Chase and Nicole having sex flooded her mind. Chase stopped behind her and noticed how stiff her posture had become. "I'm going to go and take a shower..." she said tearing her eyes away from his bed.

Chase caught her arm, he pulled her back to him before she could slip passed him. "What's wrong?" he asked gazing into her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm fine, I just need to shower. We have less than an hour to get ready. You know how I take my time." she tried to laugh but it proved to be too painful.

Chase narrowed his eyes; he reached up and pulled her hair away from her neck. There sat a red hickey. His heart thumped painfully in his chest as his eyes skimmed over her. "Where have you been?" he asked quietly.

Leila blinked; she swallowed hard and dropped her gaze from his. "What do you mean?" She asked with a frown.

"Exactly, what I said." He said coldly.

"I-I don't know what you mean. I told you I was going home."

Chase's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Really...?" he asked flatly. "So who gave you that love bite?"

Leila's eyes widened as her hand came up to cover her neck. "That’s none of your concern." She said trying to side step him. He blocked her way.

"Leila..." his tone was cold and intimidating.

"Chase, stop it." she said her blue eyes turning icy. "My whereabouts have nothing to do with you." she added. "You don't see me commenting on all the marks Nicole left on you." she said her eyes scanning his body.

Chase's jaw tightened. "That's different." He said stonily.

"How so...?" she inquired.

"Nicole's my girlfriend. She has a right to leave marks wherever she damn well pleases." He growled.

"Good for her Chase, I'm glad she's marking her territory. I wouldn’t be surprised if she peed all over you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a frown.

"Oh please, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what statement she's trying to make, Chase." She spat irritated.

"And what statement is that, Leila?"

"Take a look in the mirror Chase; you look like you've been attacked by harpies." She said then shook her head. "Then again, that is Nicole's style."

Chase's face tightened. "What is your problem?" he asked angrily.

Leila shook her head. "I don’t have a problem, Chase. I'm not the one trying to pick a fight about something that is none of my concern."

"Are you sleeping with someone?" he asked without thinking. Leila's eyes widened.

"What the hell business is that of yours?" she spat crossing her arms over her chest.

"Leila-"

"No Chase, who and whether I slept with anyone is none of your concern. Let's just drop this and try and salvage what's left of your birthday," she said quietly and slid passed him.

Chase took a moment to recover; there was no doubting that he was angry. Who the hell put the hickey on her neck? Why didn’t she tell him she was seeing someone? That thought only angered him more; the thought of another mans hands all over her body.

"Come on Chase..." he whispered to himself. It seemed lately all they were doing was arguing. What the hell had changed over the past month?

After a while of contemplating this, he decided to go and apologise to her. He had no right to blow up at her the way he had. Even though he was crazy jealous, but what right did he have when he was sucking faces with Nicole in front of her.

Chase shook his head at the thoughts going through his mind, he decided to go and apologise because he hated it when they argued. He slowly made his way to the bathroom and listened for any signs that she was still in the shower.

Nothing, no running water, no humming, she was out. He knocked softly and entered when he heard her shuffling on the other side of the door.

Leila didn’t turn and look at Chase as he leaned on the door with one shoulder. She sighed inwardly, she was stood in the bathroom in nothing but a towel wrapped around her. Not that it mattered, Chase had seen her in a lot less but, it still made her nervous.

Chase pushed away from the doorframe; he moved over to stand directly behind her. Leila's eyes flickered and met his in the mirror. He was now dressed in only a pair of dark denim jeans. His top remained bare.

Leila resisted the urge to quiver when his arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her gently into his chest. He bent his head so his lips brushed against her ear as he spoke. "I'm sorry." he whispered tightening his arms around her.

"Yeah, me too," she said quietly looking back at him through the mirror.

"I hate that we've been arguing a lot lately." He told her, burying his nose into her damp hair which smelled like coconuts and vanilla.

"I know it seems we're always apologising." She said in response. Chase smiled and kissed her head.

"I don’t like that you keep things from me Leila." He said. "I care about you, I wanna protect you. But I can’t do that when you're hiding things from me."

"Chase I-" Chase turned her so she could face him. He quickly placed a finger to her lips silencing her.

"Just hear me out. You mean the world to me Leila, and I honestly don’t know what I would do if I lost you. Lately you've been pulling away from me, and it scares me. It scares me to think that one day you might not be there, when you’re all I've ever known." Leila bit her bottom lip.

"I'm not going to stop caring or being over protective. I'll always want to know what's going on in your life. I can't stop being that guy, Leila I won't." he explained tracing her lips with his thumbs sensually.

"I'm not asking you to stop Chase, but there are certain things in my life that don't concern you. Just as you, have things that don't concern Me." she explained taking his hands into hers.

"Now let's get ready, we have a concert and party to get to." she said with a smile.

After the two got ready they left for the concert. They managed to put aside their differences, at least for one night and enjoy each other.

Leila smiled as the band came up on stage and Chase's face lit up. The band greeted the crowd who in response erupted into deafening cheers and screams.

"Evening folks, I wanna start off by saying thank you to all of you who came to see us tonight. It really means a lot. The first two songs we'll be opening with have been dedicated to Chase Adams. Happy birthday, man this one's for you and Leila." Aaron Lewis said, Chase's eyes widened and looked at Leila who was grinning as the band began to play 'It's been a while'

"And it's been a while, since I could hold my head up high. And it's been a while since I first saw you. And it's been a while since I could stand on my own two feet again. And it's been a while since I could call you."

"And everything I can remember, as fucked up as they all may seem. The consequences that I've rendered, I've stretched myself beyond my means."

Leila and Chase sang along with the band. Chase was standing behind Leila, his arms wrapped securely around her waist as they swayed side to side to the rhythm of the song.

"And it's been awhile, since I can say that I wasn't addicted. And it's been awhile
since I can say I love myself as well. And it's been awhile since I've gone and fucked things up just like I always do. And it's been awhile, but all that shit seems to disappear when I'm with you" Chase sang into Leila's ear, his arms tightening around her waist. Leila's eyes filled with tears.

"And everything I can remember, as fucked up as they all may seem. The consequences that I've rendered, I've gone and fucked things up again. Why must I feel this way? Just make this go away, just one more peaceful day," The tears Leila had been holding fell freely from her eyes, as the memories of the past crept into her mind, the horrible past when she almost lost Chase.

Three hours later the two left the concert and made their way to the after party. After talking with the band and drinking a fair amount of alcohol they retired from the party at five am.

The next morning, or late afternoon, Chase awoke to an empty bed as well as an empty apartment. He found a note on his bedside table from Leila. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and read it.

'Afternoon Adonis, I had to take off, but come by to my place tonight at six. Don't be late! I'll see you then. P.s your recovery shake is in the refrigerator, love you x." Chase flopped back down on the bed with a groan as his hangover began to kick in.

Later that evening...

Leila sighed; she looked up and saw the time was 5.50pm. In ten minutes Adrian and Lydia would arrive and her engagement would be announced.

A knock on her door made her jump and snap out of her thoughts.

She cleared her throat. "Come in." she called out loudly, the door opened and Isabelle poked her head inside with a smile.

"Hey sweetie, it's almost six o'clock. The table is set and Chase just arrived." Isabelle frowned when she saw the look on her daughters face. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked concerned.

Leila smiled. "Nothing, I'm fine. Let's head downstairs." She told her mother who nodded. Isabelle watched Leila as she walked downstairs, she seemed nervous.

In the living room, Jordan was sitting with Chase and the boys talking about sports when the girls walked in. Chase smiled when he saw Leila walk in.

"Hey, Lei what's going on, what's with the sudden get together?" Jaiden asked curiously.

Leila opened her mouth to speak but the door bell rang interrupting her. "You're about to find out." she said with a sigh.

Footsteps were heard coming towards the living room; Leila's heart sped up when Lydia and Adrian walked in. Adrian was holding a bouquet of white roses in his hand.

Leila walked over to greet her fiancée and his aunt. Lydia hugged Leila tightly. "Oh dear it's so good to see you again," she said sweetly. Leila blushed and mumbled something polite in return.

Next Adrian held out the flowers to Leila. She took them and he kissed her on the forehead.

The room went eerie silent until Leila cleared her throat. "Um, Adrian, Lydia, I'd like you to meet my family. This is my father, Jordan Callaway, my mother Isabelle, my brothers Dayne and Jaiden. And um, my best friend, Chase Adams," She introduced. They all shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. "Everybody this is Adrian and Lydia Fox."

The maid announced dinner was ready. The group moved over to the dinning room and settled down to begin their meal. The Callaway family were still a little confused as to what was going on, and who these strangers were dining with them.

Adrian and Leila sat beside each other; Chase sat opposite Leila and kept looking at the couple with curiosity. Jaiden and Dayne exchanged looks and regarded Adrian with suspicion.

"So, Leila, would you like to explain what this dinner is in aid of?" Jordan asked sipping his wine. Isabelle cleared her throat, shooting her husband a warning look,

"Yeah, Leila, what's going on?" Jaiden asked looking at her expectantly. Leila looked over at Adrian who smiled and took her hand in his.

Chase's eyes darkened upon seeing the contact between the two. Jaiden and Dayne scowled. Jordan and Isabelle looked confused. Lydia was the only one smiling.

"Um, the reason why I called this dinner tonight is because I wanted you guys to meet Lydia and Adrian. See Adrian and I have some exciting news." She said with a nervous smile.

The room went deafeningly silent. "Adrian and I, we're getting married."

It seemed time had stopped, Jordan who was about to sip his drink stopped mid-air. Isabelle's eyes grew wide and unblinking. Jaiden and Dayne froze like statues. Chase however looked straight at Leila, his lips set in to a grim line. His jaw tense and eyes bulging with anger and hurt.

"Come again?" Jordan said once the initial shock was over. "Because it sounded like you said you're getting married?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"I am, Adrian proposed and I accepted." She said nervously. Adrian gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but did you not just meet this guy?" Jordan asked sternly.

Leila let out a long breath. "No daddy, I've known Adrian for over six months, we've been dating for a while." She explained.

"Wait a second, you said you just met him, you lied to us?" Dayne questioned.

Leila licked her lips. "No, I didn’t lie. I just didn’t want anybody to know of my relationship with Adrian."

"So you lied?" Chase asked annoyed.

Leila looked at him. "No, I didn’t lie; I wasn’t ready to answer any questions you all might have had about him. I wanted to get to know him without having you guys interrogate and Chase him off." she said looking around the table.

"Mr. and Mrs. Callaway, I know this must come as a shock to you all. But I assure you my intentions with your daughter are sincere. I love her and want nothing more than to make her happy." Adrian said, his eyes darting from Jordan to Isabelle.

"Adrian, it is not a question of your love for our daughter. This seems a little sudden, that’s all." Isabelle told the young man before her. "But if Leila is absolutely sure this is what she wants then, you have our blessing, right Jordan?" Isabelle said casting a look at her husband.

Jordan stared at his soon to be son-in-law with reservation. "Yeah, if this is what Leila wants then there isn’t much we can do about it." Jordan said looking at said daughter.

"You guys can't be serious?" Jaiden asked with a frown. "They barely even know each other. We don’t even know him." he added angrily.

Leila scowled at her brother. "Then get to know him. We're not getting married tomorrow. We're gonna stay engaged for a while, at least until we finish Uni." Leila informed them.

The rest of the dinner went by with Jordan asking questions about Adrian and what he does and how he will support his only daughter.


Adrian and Lydia left half an hour later. Isabelle and Jordan excused themselves to 'discuss' things. Leila sat in the backyard on a swing set after arguing with Jaiden and Dayne for twenty minutes.

"You don't seem too happy for a girl who just got engaged to the man of her dreams." A deep voice said from beside Leila startling her.

She looked to her side and shrugged. "What do you expect me to do, bounce off the walls, screaming at the top of my lungs?" she asked incredulously.

Chase stopped her swing and stood directly in front of her, "You sound bitter?"

Leila sighed. "I'm not bitter Chase, what have I got to be bitter about?"

Chase shrugged. "Honestly Leila, I don't know. It seems as though lately I have no idea what's going on with you."

Leila looked up at him. "Why don't you stop beating around the bush and just say what you really wanna say Chase?" she said irritated.

Chase didn’t even seem fazed by what she said or the tone of her voice. He glared at her...hard. "Fine, are you pregnant?" he asked and Leila's eyes widened.

"What...?" She shrieked.

"Answer the damn question."

"How could you even ask me that, how could you think-" she asked in disbelief

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO THINK?" he roared red faced. Leila jumped up from the swing set and shoved him hard in the chest. "You don't even tell me you're dating this guy and suddenly you're engaged to be married; you don’t just marry someone after six months Leila!"

"You do if you love them" she spat angrily.

"And do you?"

"YES!"

Chase froze. His heart dropped to his feet and it showed in his face. His jaw clenched and unclenched with his growing anger. "I can see our friendship means a lot you Leila. After seventeen years, I would have thought you could have trusted me enough to tell me you were seeing someone let alone get engaged," he said indignantly.

"You mean like you trusted me to tell me you were screwing my ex-best friend?" she said hotly.

"That was completely different, and you said you were okay with it. Or was that just another lie?"

Leila's eyes flashed, "Goddamn you Chase, what the hell do you want from me?"

Chase gazed into her eyes which were hot with anger. It seemed in that moment he had lost control of every fibre in his body, when he took a step forward, cupping her face with his large hands and pressing his mouth to hers possessively...

&*&*&*

Mmm, interesting, I wonder what will happen next.

Well, well done to those who called that it was in fact Adrian she was engaged to. I hope you all liked this chapter.

The next chapter, I think will not have as much Leila and Chase. The next one will give you guys a look at Eyvah, Dayne and Jaiden.

Keep reviewing and thanks for the last chapters reviews.