Her heart stilled as the rain kept pouring, she had opened herself into vulnerability.
There's no love for you.
No one will love you.
You'll die alone.
Her fears tore her apart, left her broken.
Who was she in this world?
The world that was against her?
Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe, struggled to stay.
She would end up all alone, that was the one thing she knew to be sure.
A clock ticked inside her head.
Her mind raced along her heartbeat, time painfully slowing down...
When,
Elena stopped walking and turned around,
With wide and unfocused eyes.
"What?" She whispered shakily, the confusion in her face said it all.
"I-I'm sorry" Isabela choked up unable to move.
Elena staggered back against a tree, her own breathing short and unsteady.
She stayed there for a few minutes soaking under the cold water while Isabela watched as everything crumbled apart.
Elena suddenly stood straighter, she had a different look in her eyes. Disgust perhaps...Isabela couldn't tell, but her brows were harshly furrowed which was very telling.
An abrupt hollow laugh escaped from Elena's mouth as she stared at her and Isabela recoiled ashamed, she had confessed her feelings to her and here she was laughing in her face.
By all means it was deemed a joke by many people...But they didn't matter, not in the way the girl standing in front of her did.
Isabela closed her eyes, prayed that the ground would welcome her in, keep her away from the truth.
The growing vines had tangled into each other instead of trapping her in.
She could make more grow, hopefully this time they would actually lock her in and hide her from the pain.
She imagined the comforting dullness of the inside instead of the outside's inevitable sentiments.
Until a soft hand against her cheek made her snap back to reality, Elena had closed the distance between them and their eyes locked for an eternity and more, and what she saw in them wasn't disgust but a million stars aligned.
Elena smiled timidly and then the unimaginable happened,
Elena leaned in, and desperately captured her lips with her own.
Isabela trembled against her, their bodies flushed together, heat rising through her body despite the weather, Elena pulled her closer by the waist and Isabela's hands instinctively reached for her face.
Glowing flower petals cascaded over them overshadowing the raindrops and creating a light-show.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach with every passing second as their lips became one and the world around them disappeared.
Isabela couldn't fully register what was going on, because it simply wasn't possible to be real.
Elena's lips tasted sweet like honeysuckle and strawberries, they were gentle and soft and it made Isabela feel alive.
She had read about first kisses in many books but none had quite described what she was experiencing right now.
Elena carefully parted Isabela's lips open with her tongue, excited and curious.
The newness of it all made Isabela's skin shiver with exhilaration.
Exploring something together without fears.
She was only afraid to let go and to realize this wasn't genuine.
But ultimately she had to part with the warmth to get air, panting heavily as she instantly felt overwhelmed with a crescendo of emotions and she couldn't stop herself from crying.
She frantically searched for Elena's eyes once again hoping to still find in them something, to confirm that she had meant it.
But Elena was staring blankly at the ground with a slight frown.
Isabela began to feel nervous and unsure of everything, the fuzzy and warm sensations she was feeling just seconds ago quickly died within her beating heart.
"I-I should go" She murmured small and heartbroken
"No" Elena held her hand firmly "I...I'm sorry I-feel..." She mumbled dazedly "Like I'm floating" A loving smile slowly spread through her face
"Um i-it was my first kiss" Elena hesitantly met her gaze
Isabela reeled feeling muddled, Elena's words echoed in her ears.
Had it truly been just a dream?
"It's your...F-first kiss?"
Isabela asked breathlessly, it didn't make sense...Had she not kissed her boyfriend before?
Her boyfriend...It suddenly dawned on her that Elena had a boyfriend.
She took a forceful step back prompting Elena to let go of her hand.
"Yes" Elena looked around trying to find the courage "Can we sit down?"
Isabela managed to nod
They walked away from the trees and into a sheltered area settling down onto the dry grass
Elena blinked back tears as she found her voice "There's something you should know" She paused to steady herself "The truth"
Isabela awaited patiently even though it was torturing
"Uh...Eduardo, he is not actually my boyfriend"
Isabela's body slightly shuddered, she was having trouble comprehending what it all meant "I don't understand" She muttered under her breath
"I-I...Well I don't like men" Elena exhaled anxiously
In that moment everything came out loud and clear.
"I've known since I was little" She began with a slight quaver
"I met Eduardo awhile ago when he visited Mexico and within some time we became good friends" She paused to keep her voice stable
"After I turned eighteen my family started to subtly pressure me into looking for a right man to date, my friends all had boyfriends so I was the odd one out...Apparently for them I was too old to still be single, which was absurd...But I was exhausted from all the insinuations and meddling from them...Well mostly from my own parents who were dead set on finding me a match.
So one day in a frenzy I confided in Eduardo who to my surprise took it extremely well and then offered to pretend to be my boyfriend, it turned out that his family was also pushing him into settling down with a girl but he just wasn't ready to commit to a real relationship...At the end it would benefit both of us. So we made a deal to fake date until the circumstances called for"
Isabela stared in shock at Elena after the revelation, it took a few minutes to throughly wrap her head around it.
And still then she couldn't believe this was happening...To hear that Elena was also like her made her chest tight in a sense of fulfilling thrill.
"I thought that everything would be simple...That I could just pretend all of my life and be happy with being alone ...But then I met you...And I began to imagine a different future"
Elena toyed with her hands clearly feeling vulnerable
Isabela reached for her bouncing hands at last, she couldn't express all of the intense emotions she was feeling with words, so she daringly leaped into her arms and kissed her earnestly and passionately, sealing every doubt in their hearts.
Their lips fit perfectly.
And for the first time in her life Isabela didn't feel like she was someone abnormal who had a rooted sickness that needed a cure.
She was just a girl, simply in love.
"Did you really mean what you said?" Elena looked at her nervously "That you're um...In love with me?"
"With all my heart" Isabela smiled in a whispered sincerity.
"I love you too" Elena rested her forehead against hers before kissing her one more time.