Thanks to everyone for reading. Please read, recommend, vote, and comment. What do you guys think of Seth and Low so far? The song for this chapter is Colors by Barcelona. Enjoy:) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 13: Confessions and Romeo
Low
I am exhausted. I am afraid that at any moment my body will give out on me and I will fall to the floor. Last night when I got home, I couldn’t sleep. I stayed up all night thinking of stupid Seth, along with his stupid amazing kiss.
My mom asked me what was wrong when she saw my shocked face when I came running into the house and threw the door shut. My dad just stood there with a smug smile on his face. Ugh! It’s all his fault. He was the one who made me go and visit him in the first place.
When I got to school, I tried to avoid him in the parking lot. But seriously, that is a lot harder than it sounds. We are in several classes together and I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. How couldn’t I? His eyes were so clear and bright that I wouldn’t be surprised if he could see through walls.
Home ec. was more worse than normal. Every so often he would brush against me and it was like I was electrified. Ugh! He is so irritating. Plus, he helped in creating my new hatred of waffles. God, I can’t even think of the things now without shivering.
The rest of the day I focused all of my energy on avoiding Seth. Even during lunch I sat outside on the lawn rather than in the cafeteria with my friends. People looked at me like I was crazy, sitting alone on the grass. God I am pathetic.
Vi asked me what was wrong, but I just ignored her. She kept pestering me all day until she realized that I wan’t going to talk anymore.
After dinner I told my family I was tired and went up to take a shower. I did not really feel like listening to Lizard as she told me all about how a kid named Brian in her class ate glue today and had to go to the nurse’s office for an upset stomach.
So now I am laying on my bed, shuffling through old songs that I don’t want to listen to anymore while trying to find a song that I like.
When I get to Colors by Barcelona, I stop and place my phone down beside the bed. I sigh and close my eyes, trying to clear my mind and make myself relax.
Two seconds later there is a knock on my window. I look over, already preparing to scream bloody murder, but I catch myself before the scream leaves my lips.
Seth is sitting on the other side of the glass with a self satisfied smirk on his face. God I hate it when he does that. . . wait, what the fuck is he doing on my roof?! I jump out of my bed and run over to the window. Carefully, so that I don’t make any noise, I push the window up.
“It is the east,” he says in a low voice, “and Low is the sun.” He raises his hand up to my face and tries to look all dramatic but I can see the smile forming on the edge of his mouth.
“Oh, cut the crap Romeo.” I mumble and roll my eyes. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at Seth.
“Fine, but I’ve got to say, it would be a lot easier if you did have a balcony for me to stand on.” He stares at me for a minute like he is expecting something. Whatever it is, he is not going to get it. “So, can I come in?”
“What? No! This is my little sister’s room too! I’m not going to let you contaminate it with your Sethness.”
“My Sethness?” he asks amused.
“Yep,” I say and pop the p. Not even bothering to explain.
“Okay, then come out here.”
“Where? On the roof?”
“No, onto the empire state building. Yes on the fucking roof!”
I look at outside of the window to the ground below. I gulp when I see how far down that is.
“I don’t think . . .”
“Look, either I come in or you come out.”
By the stubborn look on his face I can tell that he is not going to budge. I sigh and walk over to my closet to grab a jacket and slip it on before inching my way out the window. When I get two feet on the roof I let out a little whimper and grab ahold of Seth’s arm. I jump when he flexes his arm, but still don’t let up on the death grip that I have his arm in.
“Are you scared of heights?” he asks. God I really don’t want him to know but when he tried to pull his arm away from me, I almost have a panic attack. Ugh!
“Well um, if they are open heights. I don’t mind an airplane, but falling off the roof scares the shit out of me,” I whisper. I keep looking at the ground so I don’t realize when he moves his hand up to touch my face. He puts two fingers under my chin and moves my head so that we are looking at each other.
“I won’t let you fall.” I keep looking at him, completely captured by his gaze, but when he moves quickly, I almost scream until I realize that he is laughing at me.
“Seriously! I just told you that I am scared of heights and then you pretend to throw me off a roof! You are such a fucking jerk!” I turn around to go back to my room but he stops me with a hand on my arm.
“Look . . . I’m sorry. I just . . . just couldn’t help it,” he says when he is trying to gasp for air in between laughs.
“Just say what you wanted to say Seth. It’s cold and I want to go back inside.” I cross my arms over my chest and grumble impatiently.
He calms down enough to sit on the roof. He pats the spot next to him and I eye it wearily. He pats it again and I give up with a huff. I plop down on the spot next to him, bring my knees up to my chest, and wrap my arms around them. We both sit in silence, side by side. The music from my phone seeps through the open window and the soft music somewhat relaxes me.
“Why were you avoiding me all day?” he asks.
What was I supposed to say to that? ‘I’m sorry I was freaked out by last night and now all I want to do is kiss you?’ He would either laugh hysterically at me or be disgusted. So I go with the safest option. I shrug my shoulders and mumble “I donno” under my breath.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see him staring at me with a blank face. I avoid his eyes and trace patterns on the roof tiles with my finger. After a minute of silence, I can feel his hand go to the side of my face. He moves my head so that it is facing him. I know he wants me to look at him, but I keep my eyes down.
“Why were you ignoring me?”
I don’t say anything and sit completely still. I can feel electricity shooting from his palm to me face. God it feels amazing.
I try to keep my eyes down, but I can’t help myself, this time I look up into his striking green eyes that are staring back at me. I run my eyes over his nose, his hair, his scruffy jaw line, and finally rest on his lips which are directly across from my line of sight.
“Why did you ignore me today?” he prompts me again.
“I donno,” I say a little louder than I did the first time.
“That’s not an answer,” he says in a frustrated voice. That voice breaks me out of whatever weird Seth trance I was just stuck in. I narrow my eyes and move them away from his lips. I pull my head back so that I can think straight without the sparks clouding my thought process.
“Well, that’s the only one you’re going to get,” I say in an icy tone and cross my arms.
“Why do you have to be so damn stubborn all the time?” he asks and throws his hands up in the air in exasperation. He drops his head back and sighs.
“I’m stubborn?! Are you fucking kidding me! You are the most stubborn person I have ever met!”
“I told my mom we always fight,” he mumbles to himself.
“Your mom?”
He looks embarrassed but says, “I asked my mom what to do after last night. You are so confusing I was lost to do after what happened.”
“You talked to your mom about last night?!” I squeal with shock and horror.
“Yeah?”
“Seth, your mom used to like me. Now she probably thinks that I’m a slut!”
“Why would she think that?”
I look at the idiot in front of me with big eyes. I thump him upside the head. Hey right now it’s either that or punch him in the jaw.
“You told your mom that we made out in the garage after I came to see you! She probably thinks that I am a hooker!”
“She won’t think you are a hooker.”
“Why not, you did.”
“I didn’t mean it like that!” He says quickly, clearly frustrated. He’s suddenly stops his ranting and realization dawns on his face.
“You’re not really upset, are you?” he grumbles.
“Of course I’m upset that you told your mom,” a large smile breaks onto my face and I start laughing, “but it’s not that big of a deal. Oh, and Seth, thank you for saying I’m sorry . . . again.” I am laughing harder by the angry look on his face. He sits, glaring at me, as my laughing dies down.
“Are you done now?”
I nod as I wipe the tears from my eyes that leaked during my laughing fit.
We sit side by side. Probably only an inch between our shoulders and stare out into my neighborhood. Neither of us says a word for minutes until a question pops into my head.
“Seth?”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you here?”
Out of the corner of my eye I can see his face turning toward me. I keep looking down my street, trying to avoid his intense gaze.
“Can I kiss you?” he whispers barely loud enough for my to hear him.
I whip my head toward his and I’m sure that my eyes are the size of baseballs right now. That is definitely not what I thought he was going to say. I expected something more along the lines of, ‘I shouldn’t have kissed you last night. It was a mistake, let’s forget all about it.’ Not can I freaking kiss you!
“What?” I whisper.
While keeping the rest of his body still, he moves his head toward mine. He asses me like I am a scared animal, which I’ve got to say, I am freaking out a little right now. Seth doesn’t stop until out noses are nearly touching. His green eyes are boring into mine, making me feel slightly unnerved.
“Can I kiss you?” he asks again. His voice is deeper, more confident this time.
I cannot move. Literally, I am frozen. My mind is at war with itself. The logical part of my brain is practically flashing an alarm and screaming ‘Run away now!’ The emotional side of my brain is cheering ‘Yes!’ So, my body remains frozen while I try to think what to do.
“I need an answer Low.”
Him saying my name in that tone is what ultimately makes my decision.
“Yes,” I whisper. I expect him to smirk or say something stupid, but he doesn’t. Instead, he moves his head closer until his lips are brushing mine.
“You sure?” I don’t even have to think twice.
“Yeah,” I breathe and close my eyes. We stay frozen like that for about ten seconds before he lightly kisses me.
It’s slow at first, his lips are only lightly pressing against mine. He is waiting for me to make the first move. I slowly press my lips against mine a little harder. The kiss is slow, sweet, and short. Our lips pull away and I look up into Seth’s eyes that are staring back at me.
His eyes look as if they are asking ‘do you want to kiss me again?’ He isn’t going to make the first move like he did last night, but is letting me set the pace. He is giving me a choice. I don’t think that I have ever like him more than I do right now.
I kiss him again and this time I feel him relax a little more. He kisses me back.
His hand comes up and cups the side of my face. The tip of his tongue brushes against the seam of my lips and this time I waste no time in parting them. When my tongue brushes against his, he loses control. His hand moves around to cup the back of my head while his other hand rests on my waist.
Finally, I need air. I pull my lips away from his, gasping for breath. I close my eyes as my lungs flutter, trying to get oxygen. When my breathing calms down, I open my eyes to see Seth doing the exact same thing. We stare at each other until our breathing becomes normal.
Suddenly the logical side of my brain decides to catch up.
“Why did you do that?” I whisper.
Seth takes a deep breath and runs his fingers through his already messy hair, something that I’ve come to realize is a nervous tick of his.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I can’t get you out of my head.”
I’m pretty sure that my jaw just hit the floor. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about me?
“What?”
He takes a deep breath.
“Ever since I gave you that fucking ride home, I haven’t been able to hate you like I normally do. Trust me, I want to, but I can’t. Last night you were so pissed off that I just had enough,” he rambles. “I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you.
On my fucking god.
Seth is staring at the tiles on the roof, trying to avoid me while I am processing what he just said.
“Do you like me?” I whisper.
His eyes flash to mine.
“Yes,” he whispers before he looks away. If I didn’t know any better I would think that he is embarrassed.
So, I do the unthinkable.
Slowly I reach my hand out, the same way which he did to me earlier. I turn his face toward mine and lightly press my lips against his. He doesn’t move out of what I’m assuming is probably shock.
“Same here,” I whisper when I pull away. His face brightens and he moves up to kiss me again, but I place my palm against his forehead.
“Is that why you came over here?” I ask.
“Well, I came to talk to you. I had no idea that we would kiss, but hey bonus,” he says and shrugs. I shove him in the shoulder and he laughs at my annoyed expression.
“Sorry, couldn’t help it. My sarcastic mouth just won’t shut up sometimes.”
We sit in silence until Seth breaks it, “So can I ask you something? Two things actually.” I nod in agreement. “Okay, if you like me, then when did it start?”
God this is going to be embarrassing.
“Um well, I guess you gave me a ride home,” I say uncomfortably. “Next question.”
He rubs his hand through his hair again making me smile at just how nervous he is.
“Do you want to go out with me tomorrow night? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I mean, it’s fine if you-” I press my lips against his and the babbling stops. I laugh against his lips and he pulls away, confusion and annoyance evident on his face.
“What?”
“Since when do you get nervous when asking a girl out?” I ask.
I swear he blushes. That only makes me laugh harder.
“Can you just answer the question?” he asks irritably.
“Yes.”
“Yes, you can answer, or yes you will go?”
“Yes I will go.”
A wide grin splits across his face and I can see his shoulders relaxing with all of the tense moments behind us. Suddenly the door to my bedroom comes flying open and Lizard comes skipping into the room singing “Call Me Maybe.” Okay, I did not hate that song at first, but when your little sister sings it twenty four hours a day, it gets a little old.
Because Seth and I are sitting at a space that is directly visible from the window, I tackle him down onto the roof. Unfortunately I did not really think about the position that we would both be in when I did it. Our faces are millimeters away, our legs are intertwined, and the rest of us are pressed against each other. I am sprawled on top of him and I’ve got to say that this is a little awkward.
“What th-” Seth starts to say before I am able to clamp my hand over his mouth. He raises an eyebrow at me, but I just ignore him. Now is not the time for some perverted weird man jokes.
I raise my head above the edge of the window and watch to see when my little sister will leave. She goes into her drawers and pulls out practically all of the pajamas that she has, making a mess on the floor in the process. She tosses aside her Finding Nemo ones, One Direction matching set, and finally decides on a princess nightgown that I know for a fact was in the top of the drawer, seeing as how it was my job to put away the laundry earlier. God, I really need to show that kid how to put away her things.
My sister turns and is about to leave the room, so I start to ease myself off of Seth. However at the last minute she decides to turn around. I quickly plop down on top of Seth, causing him to make a big huffing sound.
“Sorry!” I whisper quietly.
He grunts and I realize that my hand is still over his mouth. I peel my fingers away only to see him scowling at me.
I raise my head slightly above the edge of the window pane again only to see my sister grab some of her water mermaid barbies that she has, along with the rubber lizard that I got her for her birthday. See, my sister likes to play barbies in the bath tub. She makes them swim around, and even gives them names like Coral and Starfish. Then she has her “Lexie Lizard” come in and eat all of them.
I know, my sister is weird.
Finally she runs out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I let out a deep breath and my heartbeat returns to normal. I know that if Lizard saw us she would tell our parents. She wouldn’t mean to, in fact she would probably only tell them because we were sitting on the roof and she probably wanted to do that too.
“Um, Low, not that I’m not enjoying this or anything, but could you get off? Your knee is crushing something rather important.” I look into his smirking face and feel my cheeks heat up. I quickly roll off of him and sit beside him. That was really embarrassing.
“Sorry, it’s kind of hard when I share a room with a six-year-old to get any peace and quiet, let alone privacy.” He just smiles at me.
“Low I have two brothers who think that I am their own personal punching bag. I understand lack of personal space.” I chuckle at the memory of his brothers tackling him at the beach while he was distracted with other . . . um . . . things.
We sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. When the street lamps start to brighten I know that time has passed and Lizard will probably come looking for me soon.
“I should go,” Seth whispers.
I know that I was thinking the same things only a few seconds earlier, but I cannot understand how far that is from what I really want. I nod, regretfully and start getting up from the roof. I pull my hoodie around me and stand, crossing my arms over my chest. He stands up too, but instead of making moves to turn away, he takes some steps toward me.
Both of his eyes capture mine and I might as well be lost. The amazing green color is amazing. He makes no moves to touch me, other than reaching down and placing a quick peck on my right cheek. The place where his lips just touched erupts with his fireworks and I have to keep myself from kissing him more tonight.
“Can I drive you to school tomorrow?” he asks me.
I think about it pretty hard for a moment, but really is there any need to. Betsy is in the shop and I don’t have a ride.
“Sure, that would be great.”
He gives me a grin and starts moving toward the edge of the roof.
“I’ll be here by seven thirty, okay?” I nod and he turns away. He pulls back and then shoots forward. I almost let out a scream but am able to smack my hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming. He grabs a tree branch and lowers himself onto the branch below him. He looks back up at me and gives me a small smirk.
“Scared for my life? Awe, Low, I’m touched.”
“Don’t do that again you jackass!”
He just laughs at me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning Low, and don’t forget our date tomorrow night!” With that he drops from the tree and runs to his car. His truck comes to life and takes off down the street. I watch it until it disappears around the corner.
So, Seth came all the way to talk to my house to talk to me and now we have a date tomorrow. Holy crap I have a date with Seth Ryker tomorrow. A small smile works onto my lips and I hate to admit it . . . but I’m excited.