Love Is in the air.

8. Yes.

"Are you sure?"

Clark nodded slightly still brushing her forehead against his, her voice barely coming out.
"Please, stay."

His hand gently cupped her cheek, his breath was hesitant as if making too much of a noise breathing would scare her away. Clark was laying her hands on his chest, slowly closing the space between their lips. The kiss was unlike the others, she could feel how nervous he was and how it was starting to slip away.
Pierce could also tell that she was not afraid, perhaps for the first time since meeting, she had finally let all reservations fade.

When they parted, which Clark pretended not to hate which he could see right through, Pierce stole her gaze and left her breathless. His steel unmoving eyes kept her still as he muttered,
"Your eyes are bluer than the ocean, with such depth I could drown...which for me, I don't fear for once."

Clark had no idea what to say, she had been told all her life most times by complete strangers that her eyes were beautiful for reasons she could never understand, they were just blue eyes like hundreds of others and yet she had been told even by the same eyes that hers were one of a kind.
But when Pierce described and locked her gaze it seemed completely new, like he was seeing beyond her.

"Everyone says that, I don't know why."
"They were beautiful when I first saw them but no, not like this. Your eyes right here, right now are unlike any other blue eyes I've seen...it's like I can see more of you, your emotions."

If he had said this at any time before now Clark would've probably run, in that moment she felt it. That rising feeling she had naively given out before in her chest that spread throughout her whole body like she wanted to jump from the sky. In the last year of walling her heart up away from the world and only releasing the world of emotions inside through her writing had suddenly been ripped down and undone within days, as much as it brought all the fear back she felt all the positives Clark had missed for so long.
"You okay?"

Pierce had watched her quietly for many minutes now, seeing something in her eyes shift as if she had come to a realization and eased into it. When finally asked she was brought back from her mind and her smile seemed lighter than before,

"Yes actually, it's been so long..."
"So long since what?"

Clark took a deep breath and gripped his shirt lightly, feeling the fabric and thankfully not feeling like her hands were on fire. Trying not to meet his eyes, she would tell him as much as she could but if their eyes met as she spoke she knew it would spill out completely and that was something she had not been prepared for.
So she prepared quickly for a quick truth,

"You've read my blog for a while now right?"
"For a bit yeah."
"Well it's been over a year since I wrote anything about my love life, I hint at it and give shorts about it but never go in depth."

She took a breath and relaxed a little while keeping her eyes closed so it stayed slightly bottled.

"It's been so long since I felt anything truly like this, happiness in small doses but never free, joy, hope, excitement, love..."
Clark lingered on the last word and played with the fabric of his shirt, continuing.

"I stopped myself from feeling those things because it never lasts, it always gets corroded by everything else so I walled up my heart and somehow, you brought it down."

Their eyes met once more and it took all her strength not to spill it, to keep it all in, and he tilted his head slightly.
"Is that a bad thing?"

She wanted to burst out with a laugh and question him but remembered he had never had his first kiss before now that probably meant he never had a girlfriend, never had a broken heart. For a moment she was jealous, Pierce had never felt the stabbing pain that kept you up at night and made you long for an endless sleep, then she softened and realized he'd never felt the bountiful joy and endless floating warmth of love. Never been intoxicated by it.

"Yes and no, it's wonderful because I get to feel all of the beautiful feelings I buried away...and I'm exposed to all the horrible ones too."

Clark shivered from just imagining the horrible feelings which made him pull her closer, his warmth radiating into her. It took a moment but she leaned back to look up at him, every touch felt electrified.

"I walled up my heart because the pain was unbearable, I've experienced so many of the horrors of love that overwhelmed any of the joy and gave up on it. I never want to go through it again."
Pierce rubbed her back soothingly, watching the sorrow fill her eyes which pinned on him.

"I am liking you Pierce and I am terrified of what that means, I am begging you now that if you are going to walk away, meet someone else, cheat, lie, or just...anything like that I am begging you to spare me the pain and leave now. I can't go through another broken heart, I just...can't."

For a moment he said nothing which filled her heart with anxiety and just as she was about to pull away from his arms, he squeezed her lightly and pressed his forehead against hers. Their noses touched and his voice was serious,
"I won't ever hurt you, I will always be honest and never lie except for when it's your birthday and I'm planning a party or I'm surprising you. That I promise and to never leave you or cheat I swear on my grandpa's grave I will never do...I like you too Clark."