Almost is Never Enough- IM5/Dalton Rapattoni Story (Wattys 2016)

Mad Cousins and More Kisses

   "Cole, don't-"
   "You want me to trust you, and then you do something like this? Luna, I can't believe you."
   "I kissed her," Will said.
   "And she let it happen," Cole countered, glaring at Will. "Do you have any idea what she's been through? She lost her family, her home. Everything she grew up with. And then you come in here and kiss her like it's no big deal."
   "Stop," I said to Cole. "Will didn't do anything wrong. And I don't believe I did either. If you're going to talk, do it calmly. And not when all of you're friends are watching." I looked at the guys and their girlfriends, all of whom avoided eye contact with me. All except Cassidy went downstairs. Dalton walked down last, looking at me sadly as he went.
   "Cole, she can kiss who she wants," Cassidy said. "You've been a bit overprotective ever since she got here."
   Cole looked at his girlfriend, obviously annoyed that she was defending me. "Am I wrong to want to protect my cousin?"
   "No, but you're wrong to hover over her and yell at her for things every other teenage girl does."
   "Luna isn't every other teenage girl."
   Cassidy looked at me, winked, then turned to Cole. "You know, we've done much worse than kiss, and Luna had never tried to stop you. I think we should leave her alone, don't you?"
   I laughed as Cole blushed. "Whatever," he huffed. "This is over. For now. But Will, if you ever disrespect her-"
   "He won't," Cassidy and I said at the same time.
   "Don't worry, Cole," I said. "I'll be fine. It was just a kiss."
   Cole turned around and stomped down the stairs. Cassidy looked at me. "Don't worry. He's just blowing off steam. Just stay out of his way for a little while."
   I smiled at her. "Thanks, Cass. It's great to know my cousin's girlfriend will alway defend me."
   Cassidy smiled and went downstairs with Cole, leaving me alone with Will.
   "I'm sorry, Luna. I really didn't-"
   Before Will finished talking, I slapped him across the face. "You should be sorry! That's the second time today that Cole has yelled at me for no reason! And this time, it was in front of everyone! I mean, did you see Dalton's face? He's already upset enough about Maddie. This probably put him over the edge."
   Will put on hand in my shoulder, rubbing his red cheek with the other. "Luna, I'm really sorry. I know you like Dalton, but I just-"
   "I don't like Dalton," I insisted.
   "Oh, come on, Lu. We all know you two have a thing for each other."
   "There's no thing! We're best friends, nothing more."
   "We both know that isn't true."
   "Maybe it is, maybe it's not! Either way, it's none of your business!"
   "Whatever you say," Will said, walking downstairs, leaving me completely alone. I decided to get out of my room, to leave the memories of fighting with Cole behind for a few minutes. But I couldn't go downstairs for fear of starting a fight with Dalton. So, if I don't go downstairs, how do I get out of my room?
   Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. The roof. I opened my window and, taking my own life in my hands, scaled the house and climbed to the roof. Sitting up there, looking down at the front yard, hearing little fragments of conversations from downstairs, I felt completely at peace. There was no fighting, no boys, no problems. I had found my escape.
   My phone started to ring, but when I went to answer it, I couldn't find it. I feared it might have fallen to the ground while I was climbing, but then I realized that it was back in my room. I thought about climbing down to get it, but I decided to just stay where I was. It was probably a telemarketer anyway. As I looked up at the beautiful blue sky, I felt my eyelids dip, and I found myself closing them. I heard my name being called in a very soft voice, but I didn't respond. The voice calling me got louder and louder, until finally it was screaming my name. I jolted up, almost losing my balance.
"Luna!"
I looked down to see Dalton at my window, looking up at me in horror. "Hi, Dalton!" I called, waving to him from my perch.
"What are you doing on the roof?" he asked.
"Just hanging out."
Dalton looked up at me, getting more agitated by the second. "Well, come down here."
"No, I'm good."
"Luna!" he demanded. "Get back in here before you fall to your death."
I sighed, climbing down the roof. When I reached my window, I jumped through, sliding into my room and landing easily on my feet.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" Dalton scolded. "I've been looking for you for half an hour! What was going through your mind when you climbed onto the roof?"
"I was thinking that I could escape the drama for a few minutes."
Dalton looked down, running a hand through his fluffy blond hair. "Why did you kiss Will?"
"He kissed me!"
"But you didn't stop him," Dalton whispered.
"Dalton-"
"No. Just tell me the truth, Luna. Did you ever care about me, or was I just a charity case?"
I smacked his arm. "Of course you weren't a charity case! That kiss with Will meant nothing to me. I love you. You're my best friend."
"Friend," Dalton repeated. "That's awesome."
"That's not what I-"
"Yeah, I think it was," Dalton interrupted. "I'm just your best friend. You don't want to be anything else. To you, I'm only a-"
   I couldn't take it anymore. I really did like Dalton, I just didn't want to admit it. Really, kissing Will was like kissing a wall. I didn't feel anything except guilt for crushing the one I really wanted: Dalton. Which is why I did something I had never done prior to that day.
   I kissed Dalton.