"So you're saying you now have feelings for the guy you hated only a few days ago?"
I nodded.
Clair and Justin stared at me utterly confused.
"How did that happen?" Justin asked.
I covered my face with my hands. "He saved me from those guys..."
"And?"
"I was so shaken up, but then he saved me? He comforted me? He... hugged me?"
That seemed to have really surprised Clair. "He hugged you?""
I nodded, face still covered. "He seemed human enough then. And today, I had detention because of another tardy. He ended up being there too."
"And?"
"I couldn't meet his eyes, because that's when I realized how I felt about him for him for saving me like that. But he didn't like it."
"Didn't like what?" Justin asked.
"He didn't like that I was ignoring him. So he demanded that I look at him and thank him for what he did. But I was scared."
"Why were you scared?"
"Because my heart was reacting to everything about him. And I knew for sure that if I looked at him, I'd fall for him like every other girl in school. I ended up cornered against the wall when I tried to get away, and then he made me look up at him. And when I did..."
They both waited for me to continue, but my heart was pounding so fast at the clear memory of it, that I felt like I needed encouragement.
"What happened?"
"He kissed me." I mumbled.
"What?" Both of them seemed to not have heard me well.
"He—" I removed my hands and looked up at them, raising my voice a little higher. "He kissed me."
They stared at me now really stunned.
"But it wasn't like a romantic kiss or anything. Once he started kissing me, it suddenly felt like he was set on cutting off all my breathing. I nearly suffocated. I didn't understand what he did at all. The kisses that I had come across between him and other girls, they were never that aggressive. Then something worse happened. Before he left, he told me to never come near him again. I guessed that's how he ends things with other girls too."
Justin and Clair looked at each other, as if they were talking telepathically. They both seemed to agree on something and smiled.
Justin came to sit next to me on the couch. He held my hand and said, "Most men are really simple minded Carly, but not to that point."
"Then why did he kiss me like that? Why did he get angry and tell me to never come near him again."
"Your second question, I'm not one hundred percent sure about it. As for the first, it's pretty simple. You see, out of all the girls in North Lake high, you were the only one who refused that guy, and it's a guy's natural instinct to chase what he can't have. Especially if it's worth it. He probably thought 'She's a hard one to get. I might never get this chance again'. It was probably as much of a goodbye kiss as it was your first."
"Meaning...?"
Justin shrugged. "It could mean anything really. I don't live inside his head, so I won't know for sure. But as far as what you feel for him, I could only advise you," to stay away from a player like him, is what I thought he would say, but instead he said. "to not give up. High school is all about taking a risk. So just follow your heart and have fun."
