Wet, Bruised, and Glittery

A/N: This was my entry for the Glittery Challenge hosted by the FSOG Fanfic Obsessed Grou, and I am honored to have gotten 4th place. All the stories submitted were beautiful and amazing. Thank you to the ones who reviewd and enjoyed the story!

APOV

I'm frozen in my spot in the middle of the club Kate dragged me to, and I can't believe I ever let her talk me into this. The time is a little after midnight, and I'm standing in a skimpy red dress that is now glued to my body like a second skin, because according to Kate, this is THE CLUB to spend our last night before graduation at!

And why is this THE CLUB to spend our last night before graduation at, you ask? It's because they have this rule. Once the clock strikes midnight, the fire-sprinkles turn on, leaving you dancing, or in my case, standing, under a downpour of water. The kicker is, at 15 past midnight, the roof is supposed to open up again, but you can never guess what will fall on you next.

The mystery is supposed to be part of the excitement!

Well, at least that's what Kate said.

I still can't believe I let her talk me into this!

I quickly glance at the large digital clock hung behind the club's bar, and I see the time is 12:12. I have 3 minutes to make my escape before God-knows-what falls on me, and I do not want to make my way back home with, god-forbid, feathers on me!

I look around the dance floor, and I notice Kate attached to Elliot's hip as they dance, and I know she's too engrossed in her boyfriend to realize that I'll be leaving. I start making my way to the nearest exit, but as my luck would have it, my heel decides to break right at that minute, making me fall to my knees.

I wince at the pain that shoots through my leg, but I know it's nothing major. I do know that I will have a major bruise within minutes, though. I've always been easy to bruise, and being as clumsy as I am, I almost always have a fresh bruise on my body just as the one before it starts to fade.

As I get myself up to my feet, I look at the clock again, and inwardly wince.

It's 12:14. I won't be able to make it out of here in a minute.

I resolve to my destiny, and I simply pray that feathers will not fall down on us in a minute. As I look around the club again, my eyes find Kate and Elliot once more, and I feel my heart break a little at the sight.

I'm happy for Kate, really, I just wish I was as happy as she was. She and Elliot have been dating for the better part of 3 years, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be standing at her wedding as her maid of honor in the near future.

Kate and I have been friends since we were in high school, and we were both lucky to be able to go to the same university. We had our whole university life planned out even before we moved here; we would live in a dorm for the first year, then we would move out to our own apartment, cordially provided by her father. We would focus on our studies, but not losing ourselves in it either. We would have our fun, but not ignoring the ultimate goal of reaching our dream education.

Kate was able to keep up with this plan, until she met Elliot. I, on the other hand, was never able to have the fun I imagine I would have.

I always imagined that I would meet a nice guy, date for a while, maybe fall in love.

I never allowed myself to.

Why?

The simplest answer would be one-worded.

Christian.

I'm pulled out of my musings as I hear the whole club erupt in loud yells, and I look up, just in time to see the ceiling open up and a shit-ton load of glitter fall on us. I groan as I think of the hurdle of getting the glitter out of my hair and off my body, but then I sigh.

Feathers suddenly sound so much better!

Why did I let her talk me into this?

Because I wanted to get drunk and forget about Christian. However, here I am, sober as a proud recovering alcoholic, and images of grey eyes dancing around my head.

I met Christian on my first week here as we bumped into each other while walking into our psychology lecture.

I was hooked right then and there.

He wasn't.

The best way for me to describe Christian is otherworldly. The guy is unimaginably handsome, and the SOB knows it. His body is that of a Greek god, and he makes sure to maintain it. However, it was his eyes that caught my attention, and I found myself drowning in their grey depths as soon as he asked me if I were ok.

Luckily, I was able to pull myself together quickly. We happened to sit next to each other during that lecture. On our way out of the hall, he said that he hoped to see me around, and I just smiled at him and walked in the opposite direction.

We ran into each other more than once over the following weeks, but the damage had already been done. For the first time in my life, I was attracted to a guy, and I didn't know what to do about it.

When I finally broke down and told Kate about it, she was squealing with happiness and demanding that I ask him out.

I was mortified at the possibility, so she decided to take things in her own hands.

Kate and I were sitting on the grass one day, going over some of our work, when he passed by us. He waved at me and stopped to say hello, and that was when Kate made her move. She told him that she and I were going to grab a coffee, and she wondered if he would like to join us.

He simply shrugged and nodded, so we gathered our things and went to the small coffee shop on campus. As we were waiting in line to make our order, a stunning girl walked up to us, wrapped her arms around Christian's neck, and planted the mother of all kisses on his lips.

I still beat myself up at even thinking that a guy as handsome as Christian would be single.

And to add insult to injury, Sandra turned out to be one of the sweetest and kindest souls I have ever met in my life. I couldn't even bring myself to hate her!

So, I decided to settle on the next best thing.

Being his friend.

So, I put a lid on my feelings, and the four of us became friends. Then we met Jose, who was also amazingly handsome and amazingly gay, and our group of friends grew by one.

Then one day, Christian's brother came to visit him, and that was when we lost Kate from the real world. Elliot charmed Kate within minutes of meeting her, and the two of them hit it off right away. I still don't know how they managed a long-distance relationship, but they did, and they're still going strong until now.

For the whole second year of university, I settled with being Christian's friend, but that didn't mean that my feelings for him waned at all. The fact that he has an amazing personality didn't help matter at all, but he was taken, and I would never allow myself to break up a happy relationship.

However, one day, Sandra announced that she had been accepted in Julliard, and that she was moving to New York to pursue her dream of dancing. We were all very excited for her, even Christian, because we knew just how passionate about it she was. When I asked him about their relationship, he gave me a simple answer.

"If Elliot can do long-distance, then I sure as hell can."

Somehow, they managed to do that. Then one day 6 months later, Christian showed up on my doorstep, drunk as fuck, and with tears in his eyes.

Apparently, Sandra couldn't do the long-distance relationship thing anymore, and she had met someone else while there. Christian was heartbroken, and I was heartbroken over his pain. I cried with him, and calmed him down when he swore the roof down. I tried to soothe him as much as I could, and he ended up falling asleep in my arms, but not before asking a question that left me speechless.

"Why couldn't she have been more like you?"

After that night, Christian began to change and distance himself. We still hung out, but not as much as we did before. Still, I couldn't stop myself from continuing to have feelings for him. Whenever we met, I found myself falling more in love with him. Whenever he spoke passionately about starting up his own company, I wished he would speak as passionately about me. Whenever he described how he wanted to work on helping the poor and the hungry, I wished he would do something despicable to make me hate him.

But the guy was, is, as perfect as they come, and as each day passed, I found myself falling more in love with him.

I look around the club again, and I realize that people are laughing hysterically at the way they look, and I can't even bring myself to smile.

Christian didn't want to join us today because he was packing. He's flying out to LA right after graduation tomorrow, and I have a feeling that I will not be seeing him for quite a while.

If ever, again.

By now, everyone knows I have feelings for Christian.

Well, everyone but Christian.

Simply because I hide my feelings well around him. I don't want things to become awkward between us. I could've made a move after he and Sandra broke up, but it felt wrong. I saw firsthand just how heartbroken he was over her, and I didn't want to be a rebound.

Then after some time passed, I felt like he was still hung up on her, and I didn't want to be the one to help him forget her, only to have him realize that he could do so much better than me.

However, now as I stand here in the club, not even able to enjoy my time because I can't stop thinking about Christian, I have one question that I really need to find an answer to.

Do I want to just stand back and not tell him how I feel? How bad will I regret not telling him?

Ok, maybe 2 questions!

He's going to LA to start on a deal for his company, and knowing him, I know that he will be too dedicated to it that he will lose track of the real world. Do I want to look back, years from now, and wonder about what could have been?

What's the worse that could happen? It's not like we're going to be seeing each other around campus again and things would be too awkward.

He could tell me that he doesn't feel the same, which is most probably the case, but at least I will never regret not telling him.

I will know that I have at least tried.

If this is going to be the last night for us in the same town, I want us to spend it as more than just friends.

I want to have a memory of him that would last me a lifetime.

With my mind made up, I make my way through the dancing crowd towards Kate and Elliot, and I gently tap Elliot on the shoulder.

He turns to look at me with a wide smile on his face, but his smile falls when he sees the determined look on mine.

"What are you up to, Steele?" He asks over the music as he wraps his arm around Kate's shoulder.

"I'm going to see Christian." I shout, and the two of them just stare at me in shock for a few seconds.

"Come again?" Kate finally asks.

"I said I'm going to see Christian. I need to tell him." I say and take a deep breath. "I don't know if I will ever see him again, and I don't want to regret never telling him how I feel."

"About fucking time!" Elliot shouts before he pulls me in for a bone-crushing hug. "Don't be nervous, Ana-Banana! You might be surprised."

"What do you mean?" I ask and pull out of the hug to look at him.

"He doesn't mean anything!" Kate yells and pulls me in for a hug as well. "Take my car. You're sober and you can drive. Elliot and I will take a cab back home."

"Are you sure? The glitter is going to be a bitch to remove."

"I'll have it dry-cleaned." She says, and I squeeze her a bit tighter, silently thanking her for her support. I then remove my shoes, simply because I don't need any more reason to fall on my ass, and I make my way to Kate's car.

20 minutes later, I'm standing in front of Christian's door, soaking wet, bruised, and covered in glitter.

Here goes nothing!

CPOV

I'm sitting in my almost bare living room, sipping on a bottle of beer. All my things are packed and boxed, and they will be shipped back to Seattle tomorrow while I'm at graduation. Then I'm taking a flight down to LA to meet with the owners of a medium telecommunication company that is on the edge of bankruptcy. My dad made good on his promise and gave me access to my trust fund to start my business, as soon as I finished my last final exam, and I'm going to use some of the money to buy out that company.

When I presented my dad with my business plan, he was so impressed he nearly allowed me to go ahead and drop out of university then, but he reasoned that I would make a better impression with a university degree than being a dropout.

I couldn't fault him his logic, but that was not the only reason I decided to stay.

The reason I stayed in university is out partying with my brother and his girlfriend right now, and the thought of her grinding her delectable body against some fucker makes me skin crawl.

When I first met Anastasia, I was still dating Sandra. We had started dating during our senior year, and by the time we started university, we were madly in love with each other.

Well, I guess I was more in love with her than she was ever in love with me, because as soon as she was in Julliard, she was banging her co-dancer.

However, that is beside the point. The point is, I was in love with someone else when I met Anastasia, and I did my damnest to never look at her as anything other than a friend. I knew she was interested in me from the first day we met, but being the amazing woman she is, she stepped back when she realized that I had a girlfriend, and I highly respected her for it.

Other girls wouldn't give a damn, and would throw themselves at me regardless.

God knows that happened more times than I would care to count.

So, we became friends, and I really enjoyed our friendship. The girl is so amazing and down-to-earth; one wouldn't believe she is actually friends with Katherine Kavanaugh. Not that there is anything wrong with Kate, far from it, but the two of them are as different as night and day.

I also think that along the lines of our friendship, she lost her interest in me.

When Sandra was accepted in Julliard, I was really thrilled for her, as were everyone else we knew. She always wanted to be a professional dancer, and I was so proud of her for being able to get in. We decided that we would stay together, that we would give long-distance a shot, and if it didn't work out, that I would drop out and move to New York, having had already started working on my business plan for my company.

Then one day, Sandra called and told me everything, and for the first time in my adult life, I cried. I really loved Sandra, and back then, I seriously thought that she was the one, and to have her admit that she met someone two weeks after she got to New York, and that she cheated on me for almost 6 months before summoning up the courage to tell me, really broke my heart.

That night I got so drunk, I barely remember anything. I know I woke up in Anastasia's bedroom with her arms wrapped around me, but I have little to no recollection of how I got to her apartment or what we talked about.

When I first realized that I was in her bedroom and that she was sleeping beside me, I was terrified that we slept together and that I had ruined our friendship. Then I realized that we were both still fully clothed, and I gave out a sigh of relief so loud I actually woke her up.

After that day, things started to change with Anastasia. It felt like she became more distant from me. Maybe because I put all my strength and efforts into working towards starting up my business, but I still tried to hang out with her as much as I could.

Somewhere along the line, my feelings for her started to change as well. She wasn't simply a friend any more. I began to see her as the attractive, sexy girl she is, but I couldn't bring myself to ask her out.

I wanted to, God knows I did, but something always held me back.

Kate thought it's because I wasn't over Sandra, but I was. Elliot thought it's because I was afraid Anastasia would do to me the same that Sandra did, but I knew she would never. She's too pure hearted and sweet for that.

Now as I think about it, I think I never took that step because I always believed she deserves someone better, someone who can give her everything she would ever want, and until I have my business up and running, I can't be that.

I know for a fact that once I take the first step into starting up my company, I will barely have the time for anything else, and Anastasia deserves a guy who will give her his undivided attention.

I also know for a fact that a girl as beautiful as Anastasia will not be single for long, and I can not ask her to wait for me until my life is in order. However, I do hope that once that happens, that she would be single, and that I can step back into her life and sweep her off her feet.

But what if she wasn't?

I shake my head at the selfish voice in my mind. I can't do that to her. She deserves so much better than occasional phone calls and meeting up once or twice a month at the max. Anastasia might be a saint, but I don't think that even she would tolerate a constantly absent boyfriend.

However, I can't help but wonder how her lips would feel against mine, or how sweet it would be to hear her giggle on daily basis. I wish I could find it in me to just tell her about how I feel. I know she might not still be interested in me, I wouldn't blame her if she weren't, but I would love to know how she would react.

Hell, by now everyone knows how I feel about her.

Well, everyone but her.

Still, I can't bring myself to string her when I don't know how busy my life is going to be after tomorrow.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of frantic knocking on my door, and I wonder who would be stopping by at this hour. I know that it is not Elliot, because if he's not still out partying with Kate, then he's probably already balls deep in her back at her place.

I briefly wonder how it would feel to be balls deep inside Anastasia, but I quickly dismiss the idea as I walk towards the insistent knocking on the door.

"Hold your horses, damn it!" I yell as I yank the door open, and my jaw hits the floor at what I see. On the other side of my door, Anastasia is standing there; soaking wet, and covered in glitter. As my eyes study her body from head to toe, I notice that her knee is bruised, and I quickly recover from my shock to check her over.

"Are you ok?" I say as I pull her inside the apartment, only then noticing that she's also barefoot. "What happened?"

"I'm fine." She says, and I can feel her eyes on me as I try to make sure that there aren't any other bruises under all that god forsaken glitter.

Where the hell did all this glitter come from?

"You don't look fine." I say and move her to sit on the couch. "Where are your shoes?"

"My heel broke, so I took them off." She says, suddenly becoming shy and trying to pull on her dress that is clinging to her body like a second skin.

Is she even wearing a bra under that?

Pull it together, Grey!

"Was there a glitter factory explosion that I was not made aware of?" I try to joke once I'm sure that she's not harmed, aside from the bruise on her knee.

"Blame Kate." She says with a roll of her eyes. "She took us to this club that sprays you with water at midnight then showers you with glitter 15 minutes after."

I raise my eyebrow at her, but she just shakes her head, silently telling me not to ask.

And I know better. If Kate is involved, it must have been something extra wild and crazy.

She and my brother are just perfect for each other!

I shake my head again at the stray thought and bring my attention back to Anastasia, wondering why she's here instead of being at her apartment.

"I'm sorry I came here unannounced, but I wanted to talk to you, and I was worried that I wouldn't have the courage to say what I want to tell you if I waited until after graduation tomorrow, and you're leaving to LA tomorrow and I don't know when I will see you again, if ever." She says in one breath, and I instantly know that she's nervous.

She only blabbers when she is.

"Anastasia, calm down." I say and move to sit beside her. "How about you go and take a shower to rid yourself from all this glitter, and then we can talk."

"No." She says and strongly shakes her head, keeping her eyes downcast. "I don't want to lose my nerve, and if I wait longer I will."

"You're scaring me, Ana." I say and move my hand to rest on her shaking one.

What could be making her so nervous?

"I love you." She suddenly blurts, and my hand freezes over hers.

Did I hear that correctly?

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have said anything, but I had to tell you how I feel about you, how I've been feeling about you for years. I didn't want to move on in life and regret never telling you, and I don't expect anything in return, I just wanted to let you know…"

Her voice suddenly fades away as my body moves on its own volition, and before I even know what I'm doing, I'm kissing her into silence.

I'm not going to let her say anymore, because I might lose my nerves if she does.

She love me. This angel of a woman loves me, and I cannot be happier.

My hand sneaks behind her neck, pulling her even closer to me, and I run the tip of my tongue against her upper lip, silently seeking entrance, which she grants me as she whimpers into my mouth.

I run my tongue against hers gently, but soon, our kiss turns more heated, more passionate, and I force myself to pull away.

If I didn't, I would soon be pulling her dress off.

"Wow." She breathes after a second as she gently runs the tip of her fingers against her lips.

"Yeah, wow." I say as I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Suddenly, her whole body shivers, and I scold myself for not throwing her into the shower as soon as she stepped foot inside the apartment.

She must be freezing!

"How about that shower, now?" I ask, making her look at me with wide eyes. "You must be freezing, Ana. I don't want you getting sick."

"I don't know how I'll be able to remove all this glitter." She asks with a blush and a giggle, making my heart soar at the sound.

"How about you go get yourself ready for the shower and I'll google it?" I ask with an amused smile, and she simply smiles at me as she stands up.

"Thank you." She says before she disappears down the hall towards the guest-bedroom, and I find myself call out at her to use my bedroom. She simply looks at me with a mixture of surprise and lust in her eyes, and I just shrug back at her.

Something inside me demanded that she used my room, my bathroom, and I wouldn't mind if she even used my things.

The possessive fucker inside me is rearing his head!

Once she disappears into my room, I quickly pull out my phone and google "how to remove glitter from body". The easiest option I find is to rub baby oil or lotion against the glittered area before washing it with water, and I gulp as I imagine Anastasia's naked body slick with oil and under the shower stream.

Get it together, Grey! You know she's never had sex before and she will not be falling in bed with you just because she admitted that she loves you!

I take a deep breath, trying to tame down the bulge forming in my pants, and make my way to my room. Thinking that Anastasia must already be in the bathroom, I walk straight into the room, only to freeze in my tracks when I see her standing in front of my mirror in nothing but her red silk panties.

I suck in a deep breath at the sight, and I don't think there's any blood left in my limbs to allow me to make a single move. Our eyes meet in the mirror, and instead of trying to cover herself, like I imagined she would do, she just bites on her lip, almost making me cum in my pants.

"Anything?" She asks after we've basically fucked each other with our eyes through the mirror.

"Huh?" I ask, not really understanding what she is talking about.

Memo to body, please allow blood to move back to brain.

"Did you find anything on how to remove all this glitter?" She asks, but her eyes are still fixed on me.

"Uh… yes." I say, as I am finally able to take a step further inside the room. "The easiest option is baby oil or body lotion. I have some lotion still out in the bathroom."

"I might need some help." She says and now moves around to face me, making me gulp again at the sight of her perky breasts. "There's glitter on areas of my body that I might find hard to reach."

Ok. Who is this and what has she done with the shy Anastasia I've known for years?

Wait a minute, who gives a fuck?

Realizing that Anastasia is being as confident as she can ever be, I take quick steps towards her before I crash my lips to hers again. This time, our kiss is more urgent and passionate, mirroring the desire we both feel towards each other.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask once the need to breathe takes over.

"Yes." She says and bites on her lip again.

"I know you've never done this before, baby." I say, making her blush and look away, but I simply hold her head and force her to look me in the eyes. "Are you sure you want me to be your first?"

"There's only ever been you, Christian." She says, and the way my name falls off her lips sends shivers down my spine.

"There's no going back after this, Anastasia." I say, the words leaving my mouth without going through a filter. "You'll be mine, and only mine."

Fuck waiting until my company picks up! She loves me! I will not lose her!

"You leave tomorrow." She says with a small frown, and I move my fingers over her eyebrows, trying to smooth the frown away.

"I don't care if we're worlds apart, Anastasia." I say, and at that moment, I realize just how much I love her, and that I can never let her go. "We will figure it out, because I love you baby."

"You…" She stutters with wide eyes. "You love me?"

"I love you." I say with a soft smile, and before I know it, she launches herself at me, and again, our lips lock in a passionate embrace.

At that moment in time, I couldn't care less if the outside world crumbled around us, because I held my own world in my arms.

I love her just as she loves me, and I will never let her go.