Yes, this from the same writer that brought you "Something's Wrong With You, Really", but post identity crisis. Thanks for all the support for my last one-shot! Hope this one doesn't disappoint. Aha.

1:43 AM.

Some days he wanted to shove a sock in her mouth. Some days he just wanted to kill her. Some days he wished she never existed. Then there were days that he remembered every little thing he loved about her...Those days pissed him off the most. // One-shot.

John Ryan Reyes didn't consider himself to be an asshole.

He never kicked a dog, he never cheated on a girl, and he never got in a fight with someone who didn't deserve it. He was actually a pretty nice guy when he tried.

Hell, if he actually put in the effort, Ghandi wouldn't have shit on him.

But, there was just something about Cori Dimpalis that rubbed him in all the wrong places.

Some days he wanted to shove a sock in her big, sarcastic mouth. Some days he wanted to throttle her skinny ass as far as he could. Some days he wanted to kill her on the spot just so she'd stop annoying the fuck out of him. Some days he simply wished she never even existed.

But, then there were the days that he remembered every stupid, little thing he loved about her...

Those were the days that that pissed him off the most.

"What the heck!" she yelled, breaking the silence of the night.

He frowned as he watched her stomp through his backyard in all of her furious glory.

Damn.

The whole point of getting away from the waging Sodom and Gomorrah inside the house was to avoid her... Yet, there she was.

The reflection of the full moon lit up her face, giving her the aura of an angel which in turn made him want to yell "bullshit!" at the top of his lungs.

Sure she had the "good Filipino girl" look going for her, but she was anything but an angel.

And at the moment, she looked so pissed off. So angry. So ready to beat him down if he said the wrong word.

So... completely and utterly vulnerable.

Damn.

He clenched his fists tightly when he realized just how much he wanted to be with her at that exact moment. He couldn't even stop himself as he started to walk toward her.

All he wanted to do was to soothe her. He wanted to caress those rosy cheeks of hers and watch her dark brown eyes light up as he pressed his lips against hers.

They'd be feather-soft, he imagined. And she'd taste of honey, sweet honey.

Or cheeseburgers, he mused with a sudden smirk.

No, she'd definitely taste of cheeseburgers.

"Gah! Jerk. A-hole! Giant piece of dung!" She suddenly paused, before letting out a loud growl. "ARGH! I can't believe I got unlimited text messaging for that loser!"

He instantly tensed knowing just who and what she was talking about

Damn..

As much as he wanted to just pull her close, say the right words, and hold her tight and never fucking let go. He knew that he couldn't. That's not how they functioned.

He could still remember the first time they met.

They were just kids. She was wearing one those stupid braces and looked like a complete loser in her bright green pants and orange Mickey Mouse shirt that her fashion inept mom had obviously dressed her up in.

The moment she smiled and revealed those damn dimples, though, his ten year old self wanted nothing more than to get onto her Path of Happiness.

But, her dark brown eyes had met his idiot brother's eyes first.

She never even gave him a chance.

He acted like a jerk to her ever since.

She would've never see him otherwise. Not with him around.

"Did you actually expect him to fall for this?" he said as closed the distance between them to play with the curls of her hair. He almost smiled at the fact that she was letting him get so close. Instead, he frowned as he took in her full appearance.

Damn.

She never tried to be beautiful. She never tried to stand out. It wasn't that she couldn't, it was just that she could care less.

But, tonight she actually dressed up for that bastard.

He could barely recognize her. The girl standing before him now was one who was begging for XY attention. She ditched her thick rimmed glasses and curled her pin-straight black hair. Added with her provocatively low neckline, skimpy red dress, and high heels, she should have been beautiful to him.

Drop dead gorgeous, in fact.

Yet, he found himself hating it.

He just wanted to wipe away the pounds of make up and give her a simple white t and a pair of jeans. He liked that down to earth quality about her. It always made him feel like he didn't have to pretend to be anything, but his (stupid ass) self.

"Maybe you need a 730 exam," he spat angrily.

Despite her tears, she managed to find her voice and slapped his hand away. The cold sting didn't bothering him one bit. What pissed him off was the fact that it didn't have the usual power behind it.

That bastard screwed her up really good this time, he thought angrily.

She suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him close. "I swear, to whatever you believe in, John Ryan, that if you ever mention this to anyone I promise I'll hurt you," she threatened weakly, not even bothering to mask her annoyance.

She was so close, if he had shifted even an inch forward he could have used his mouth to effectively shut her up.

God dammit, how he wanted to shut that pouty little mouth...

Damn.

He growled, unsteadily.

He hated the fact that she could affect him so viciously without ever knowing it.

He hated her stupid dimples that always sent him for a loop.

He hated her ridiculous laugh that sounded like she was dying.

He hated how smart she was.

He hated how much passion she had for life.

He hated how nice she was to everyone but him.

He hated how beautiful she looked without even trying.

He hated how God damn gorgeous she was when she tried.

He hated how harshly his heart drummed against his chest by the mere proximity of her.

He hated how much he wanted to touch her, to feel her skin against his, to just be near her.

He hated how much he just wanted to kiss her senseless.

He fucking hated how he could have any girl he wanted and yet he wanted her and only her.

But what hated the most-- what he really, really, fucking hated was the fact that she was deeply, madly, and stupidly in love with another guy. His stupid ass little brother.

"Dimples, I'd watch my mouth if I were you," he said, addressing her by his favorite term of endearment that, coincidentally, pissed her off the most.

"Good thing you aren't me then," she shot back scathingly, pushing him with a shove that lacked her usual strength. For a small, skinny Asian girl, she was pretty strong. But, right now she was weak and vulnerable. And it only added to his annoyance.

"Right, 'coz at least my heart wouldn't be breaking into a shit load of pieces for a fucking idiot who's head is so far up his own ass that he doesn't even realize that someone that he clearly doesn't deserve even exists," he answered before he could catch himself.

Damn.

"Gawd, you're such an asshole! I hope you catch syphilis from whatever whore you find tonight," she added with a menacing glare not even bothering to censor herself anymore.

Ignoring the comment, he grabbed her wrists to grab her complete and undivided attention.

"Look, Cori," he said in a softer voice.

As much as he loved cussing, she never did. Not completely anyway. She always censored herself. To actually hear her curse meant that she was hurting really bad.

"Just because your storybook fairytale ended tonight doesn't mean you need to be so vicious, okay?"

She just glared at him, not able to respond with a witty comeback.

So they stood there until the glares became long stares.

And, then the stares became a mask to hide the floodgate of emotions that she could have hidden from the world, but never from him.

"Damn it. Ry... c-couldn't you j-just. Just b-be wrong," she finally said, breaking the silence between them.

This time when she tried to pull away, he did something he never, ever imagined she'd let him do in the ten years they'd known each other.

He pulled her into his arms and let her soak his shirt in tears.

He could care less about the tears or the uncomfortable position they were in. It was that exact moment he knew that he couldn't stand by and let her get fucked up over and over again by his idiot brother.

Damn.

He held her until the tears subsided. Reveling in the smell of her strawberry lotion and the feel of her body pressed perfectly in his.

He always pictured what it would be like to hold her without having to worry about getting kneed in the family jewels.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into a lifetime.

And despite himself, he actually liked holding her. Cold tears and a seriously drenched $35 dollar shirt and all.

Damn.

She pulled her head away from his chest, but he didn't let go.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," she said with a slight laugh as she wiped off the rest of her tears.

When she looked up at him and smirked showing off one of her dimples, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from dipping a few inches and kissing her.

"Don't worry about it," he said as casually as he could muster before dropping his arms and shoving his hands in his pockets. Cutting off their contact completely.

At that, she frowned.

"What?"

"That's it?"

He raised an eyebrow at the question, trying to keep his nerves in check. "W-What the hell are you talking about?"

She threw her hands in the air out of frustration. "You're supposed to kiss me right about now, idiot."

He held back a snort. "Kiss you?"

"Yep."

"And, why the fuck would I do something as stupid as that?"

Her jaw dropped, obviously appalled at his statement. "Geez, Ryan, haven't you ever watched any of those stupid romance movies? I know you live in a testosterone filled house, but are you blind and stupid too? I'm weak, I'm vulnerable," she added, pointing to herself before shoving a finger in his face. "You're supposed be all manly and kiss me so that I'll forget about everything... Where are your cajones?"

This time he couldn't help, but let out a very unmanly snort.

"That's fucking ridiculous. If I kissed you right now, you'd probably shove those three inch heels down my throat, then call the police and try to get me arrested as a sex offender, again. And this time they just might arrest me because you'd actually have evidence," he said, noting the fact that he may have let her go, but they were still only a few inches apart. To anyone else, they may have looked like lovers.

Damn.

She narrowed her eyes at him as a smile spread across her lips.

This time she was the one to close the gap between them. He could almost taste that damn strawberry scent she loved to wear.

"Well, it wouldn't be considered sexual harassment," she said as she leaned into him seductively, "if I liked it."

His heart almost stopped at her words.

God damn.

"Ry, do I honestly have to spell it out for you--"

He grabbed her shoulders roughly to get her to shut up. "Could you just stop, shut up, and rewind. Didn't we just hate each other like, ten minutes ago?"

Ignoring him, she pulled out her phone.

"Six."

"Excuse me?"

She showed off the time on her cellphone.

1:49AM.

"I hated you up until six minutes ago."

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"And that would be because...?"

"When you told me that I was in love with fucking idiot who's head is so far up his own ass that he doesn't even realize that I even exist. And that he doesn't deserve me..."

"What the hell? You fell for that? That wasn't even close to being romantic."

She threw her hands up in the air in resignation. "Wow! You're such an idiot, Ry... Did you know that was the sweetest thing you've ever said to me?"

At a loss for words, he couldn't stop himself from the words that spilled out of his mouth.

"You're defective. What about your lover boy? You know, the one that you've been in love with since high school? The one's that's kinda related to me. John Gabriel, you know, my perfect little brother?"

This time, when she glared at him, he knew that he stepped over some kind of invisible line.

Damn.

"You know what? Fine! Forget about it. Here I am literally telling you that I like you, and you're still being an a-hole. And you wonder why I've been in love with Gabe and not you for nearly a decade?!" she said in exasperation. "Did you know that every time I even remotely started liking you, you'd just shove it in my face and say something completely stupid!"

He glared at her.

"You've never liked me."

"Tenth grade."

"What about tenth grade?"

"You saved me from The B's. They nearly killed me, but you came out of nowhere and saved me like some kind of knight and shining armor. Then you drove me to the closest In-N-Out and paid for my food. I freaking hugged you like no tomorrow and you remember what you said?"

He paused, trying to recall his words but it was such a fucking long time he just couldn't.

"You called me a delusional, onion breath moron!"

At that, he had to frown.

He may not have remembered that day, but he remembered that moment.

He saved her ass from getting gang banged by the notorious Bitches and even drove her to In-N-Out to forget it all. It would've been a great night. Hell, he felt like a fucking hero, and she didn't even touch his radio whole drive.

They ended up playing a very civil game of twenty questions. And he was only inches away from kissing her when she effed it all up by telling him that The Bitches were after her because of Gabe.

He got pissed off and ignored her the rest of the night.

"Or how about eighth grade prom? That one time we were stuck doing that stupid senior project? Our high school graduation? First day of college? When we went on a road trip to Mexico? Or that night you saved me from some stupid ass at my first college party? Or when you dared me to watch that scary movie alone with you at my house in the freaking dark? Or... that day you helped me bury my dog?"

Damn. Damn. Damn.

"Jesus, Ryan. Are you even listening to me?"

He could only stare at her blankly.

How the fuck did he miss all of that? How the hell did he screw up that many times?

"You know what? Screw, j-just just forget it," she said before turning on her heels and trying to make a quick getaway.

This time he took a page out of every cheesy romance movie his mom ever made him watch because none of his other brothers ever dared.

He roughly grabbed her by the arm, spun her around and crushed his mouth against hers.

Fireworks. That was all he could think about when their lips met in a mind-numbing kiss.

Mother-effing-fireworks.

When she shifted slightly to give him better access, he knew he was lost.

He felt her hands go through his hair. He used his teeth on her lower lips and it didn't take long for his tongue to enter. She didn't stop him. She was kissing him back.

She had never had a boyfriend much less gone on a date. So he figured she wasn't exactly knowledgeable in the skill of kissing, but damn, was he ever wrong.

The initial kiss was forceful, then gentle, then harder.

He wanted more. He had to fucking make up for the ten years of idly standing by. The ten years of dreaming, wishing, wondering. The ten years of increasingly pent up sexual tension.

He pressed his body harder to hers, noting with a satisfied surprise just how well she fit perfectly against him. He could practically feel her heart beating fast, his was going just as fast.

Her fingers went through his hair and he could feel her lips moan out his name. A scraping of teeth and she opened her mouth to let him search and plunder.

He instantly regretted having to pull away from her just to start breathing in again.

Holy shit. Fuck. Damn.

He pressed his forehead against hers and smirked.

Cheeseburgers.

She faintly tasted like cheeseburgers.

"So. You gonna call the cops on me, Dimples?" he asked as they shared a tender Eskimo kiss..

The corner of her lips turned into a mischievous smirk.

"Hmm," she hummed as if toying with the idea. "I don't know, John Ryan. That one wasn't nearly long enough to press charges against... Maybe you should try it again."

He smirked at the challenge.

fin.

Oohlalah. I completely fail at writing for a purpose. And, so this is dedicated to annoyance, because I wrote this instead of writing for her Breaking Up, Making Up contest. Oh, and in case you're wondering if there was any reason for why I chose 1:43 AM it's because 143 stands for "I Love You". Hope you guys enjoyed. Thanks for reading!