In This Country Act 01 Ch. 02

Raymond's eyes went wide for a moment before he scrambled away back towards the fundraiser. Once Grey couldn't see him anymore, he looked over his knuckles; the pain was almost gone already.

"I'm so sorry for my outburst," Grey apologized. "I don't think he was going to take no for an answer and that was just taking it too far."

"Come here," she simply ordered.

"I think I still have a little bit of a gangster in me somewhere," he said, holding out his hand to help her up.

Instead of using it to get up, she forced him back down on the bench, this time sitting in his lap like she's on a saddle. Before he could utter a word, she sealed his lips with her own again, this time in full control as she pinned him down with her entire body. Somehow, her hair cascaded over both of their heads blocking out some of the light like a curtain. But that wasn't the biggest surprise.

The biggest surprise was her using her tongue, being completely dominant and forcing his mouth open using only her mouth. Their tongues danced awkwardly, bumping and going against the groove at times, but it was a dance that promised more to come. They didn't stop when her hair wanted to join in on the fun. They didn't stop when one of their phones rang. They didn't even stop when someone tapped on Crystal's shoulder.

"Crystal!" Hyper's voice yelled through their reverie.

"Hyper?!" Crystal exclaimed, sitting up over a panting Grey.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Hyper demanded.

"Well uh . . . you see . . . the thing is," Crystal stammered.

"Raymond came over and told me that you were making out with your new boyfriend," Hyper pointed behind her to Raymond with a smug look on her face. "I thought he was lying until he brought me here . . . and here you are . . . making out with a guy I've never seen before."

"Hyper . . . the thing is . . .," Crystal continued to stutter.

"I only have one question," Hyper interrupted. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yes," Crystal said without missing a beat.

"Raymond, leave," Hyper demanded.

"She's lying!" Raymond hollered in despair.

"He forced us to prove our love to him for his own fetishlike purposes," Grey proclaimed.

"I DO NOT HAVE A FETISH!" Raymond yelled.

"Fetish or not," Hyper stated, "I know of no greater love than keeping it a secret from your best friend. Right, Crystal?"

"Right," Crystal agreed instantly.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Raymond yelled. "Fine, I'll prove that they're not in love!"

"Perfect," Hyper muttered to herself. "Now, tell me what is going here."

"Uh . . . the thing is -," Grey began.

"No, not you," Hyper interrupted. "I want to hear the story from Crystal."

"You said make up a lie to make him back off," Crystal reminded her.

"Yeah, make up a lie or something," Hyper emphasized. "Something would be like, 'I'm working at the fundraiser, so I'm too busy to hang out.' And then when he asks to help, send him off with a task that is long enough for you to find something else for him to do when he gets back. Or lie and say, 'I'm going to the bathroom and then sneak out the window. Or if neither of those options works out, you should've called me."

"But Hyper -," Crystal tried to explain.

"But Hyper nothing," Hyper cut her off. "You completely went way off course, jumping in his lap and disappearing in La La Land. And as for you Mr. Boyfriend, Raymond told me you punched him in the face! He could charge you with assault!"

"Well, he wanted Crystal to engage in a sexual act out in the open," Grey quickly explained. "Plus he was stalking us."

"Yeah, he was stalking us big time," Crystal agreed.

"I don't care how it happened," Hyper disregarded their explanations. "I'm just giving scenarios. Crystal, you're a heroine for crying out loud. This is not the way a heroine acts in public."

"So are you saying -," Grey began to smile.

"And you," Hyper said, turning her attention to Grey, "Raymond is powerful enough to make your life a living hell."

"I'm sorry, I did get a little carried away," Crystal finally realized.

"No, I actually applaud what you've done," Hyper replied. "You definitely hit the bastard where it hurts."

"So you're not mad?" Crystal asked.

"No, I was more concerned than anything," Hyper smiled as her attitude shifting from stern to giggly immediately, "but now I'm not, so I want to know everything. I need details like I need air."

"But it's late," Crystal said, looking at her phone. "Phooey, I just hope no one saw me."

"Did you just say 'phooey'?" Grey asked.

"Yes I did," Crystal nodded. "Come on, Hyper, we have to get back to Headquarters."

"Aw, fine," Hyper moaned. "Bye Mr. Boyfriend."

"His name is Grey . . . with an E," Crystal told her.

"Bye Grey," Hyper smirked.

As they left, Grey slumped back against the bench. All he could think about was Crystal. It was like he could still feel her. From the way her thighs felt in his hand, the way her back leaned again his arm, the way her arms hooked around his neck, the way she sat on his lap, the way her breast pushed against him (he just didn't acknowledge it, but they were), and the way she controlled him had been etched into his body.

And the way her beautiful, delicious, hot, tasty, erotic, sexy lips completely enveloped his mouth. He forgot all about breathing, only using the very breath she exhaled to breathe from. It was only monoxide (he knew he couldn't breathe that), but if that was all he had to breathe, then that's what he'll breathe.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out faster than he ever had before.

Sorry for getting you involved in that, Crystal texted.

No problem, that guy wasn't taking no for an answer, Grey replied.

I didn't mean to be rough with you either, came another text from Crystal.

Just think of it as smoothing over my rough edges, Grey responded.

I'm also sorry about the hair, Crystal texted next.

That was my favorite part, Grey responded.

Can we meet up later one day? Crystal asked.

Just send the word and I'll become an unstoppable force of nature, Grey agreed.

Night, I love you, came the final text.

Sleep tight, I love you too, he sent back.

"What the fuck just happened?" Grey whispered to himself.

*****Hello dear readers. I just wanted to send a special thanks to Decal_last for proofreading this story. I'm sorry to cut the chapter off right here, but I have to stop it somewhere. I already know there might be a few of you guys who'll start comparing both series to see how they differ and how they're the same (I know I am), so I'm going to try and point them out when the chapter is over. If you are comparing, then make no mistake, this would have been the official start of the story for the Crystal Series. Also, the Crystal Series was much faster, and more abrupt, so I'm going to change that. As you can tell, they've just met and only kissed in this second chapter, whereas in the Crystal Series, they just met and were banging later that day. Also, In This Country's (ITC) Crystal is wholly more refined than the original, who quickly initiated intercourse as a thank you. I know I wrote her that way, and I do apologize if you never liked that about her. As a result, I've decided to establish the characters a bit and made ITC's Crystal more serious and a profound lover of combat, yet hiding a wild side inside her due to her seriousness as we can see here. Also, I'm confirming that Grey is a replacement for Max and Raymond is a replacement for Cole, but I have no doubt you already knew that. Again, the chapters are told in a three week time jump, so anything from minutes to up to three weeks can happen in the next chapter according to the plot so look for cues and clues to tell the time in case you get lost. I plan on having five chapters per story arc, but should the need arise, then I can always make more. If you need a list of all the heroes and villains, I have a PowerPoint ready to send anyone who would like one (They won't cost you a dime!) as well as a map of the islands to show Cavalanchee's geography and where the cities are all located (But I'm just letting you know, it will slightly change after the second story arc so be prepared.). I think I've said enough, so if you have anything you want to say, go ahead and post it in the comments. I take criticism well. Till next time =) - DM23*****