Chapter Eleven – The Sleepover
~Alyssa~
“Jelly-Poo kill him! Bash him up!” I cried out, shifting closer to Jeremy and slapping his back furiously.
“I know I know stop screaming in my ear Alyssa! You’re pressurizing me!” Jeremy hurriedly used his free hand to swat me away.
“Haha! I won’t admit defeat so easily! Watch me bash up your dear boyfriend babe!” Cole smirked down at me and I frowned.
“Jeremy don’t show any mercy!”
“Go Cole you can do it! I believe in you!” Isabella squealed amongst the chaos.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
K.O. Winner: Jeremy Jones.
“Yes! You’re the best Jeremy!” I pounced onto him, knocking the breath out of him.
“Just using my brains, Ally. Nice job Cole, care for a rematch sometime?” Jeremy half-smirked, half-smiled.
“Aww its okay Cole, you can do better next time.” Isabella reassured with a soft smile and patted his back.
“Dammit.” Cole threw the game controller indignantly onto the sofa, pouting.
“Sore loser!” I stuck out my tongue and made a funny face at him.
“Shut up Alyssa, or I swear, I’ll crush your bones.” Cole spat back, cracking his knuckles.
“C’mon! Who’s scared of you? Mind you, I’m a black belt! “I taunted back, mouth full of nachos.
Cole rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth.
“Are you sure you two aren’t lovers from the past? Cause this really seems like a lovers’ spat! ” Isabella snapped, though there was a twinkle in her amused eyes.
“No way!”—“Never in my life…or the next!” Cole and I screamed out in unison, before glowering at each other.
“C’mon Ally, let’s go into the kitchen to get some OJ to calm you down.” Jeremy laughed it off, dragging me to the kitchen. I was of course, still glaring at Cole.
~*~*~
“Here, some juice for you, cool down Ally. Remember the whole motive for this sleepover?” Jeremy reminded gently.
I gulped down my orange juice, smacked my lips and sighed contentedly. “Right.” I scratched my head sheepishly.
So it was the day of the sleepover aka Mission: Get Cole and Isabella together.
We glanced at their direction; Cole and Isabella were sharing the bag of nachos that I had abandoned, Isabella switching channels, obviously bored, blowing her fringe out of her eyes, Cole stealing glances of her, a dreamy look written all over his face.
Matchmaking them together was going to be tough.
“Um, there are crumbs on your lips.” Jeremy’s voice broke me out of my trance.
“Oh really?” I frantically used the back of my hand to wipe my mouth.
“No, no. A little to your right.”
“Here?”
“A little bit more.”
“Where?” I let out an exasperated breath, feeling a little restless.
“I… I’ll get it for you.”
He reached out his hand to gently wipe the crumbs off. It was then when I realized how close we were. A little more and we would be touching each other. My face turned to the color of beetroot and my heart was pounding at an amazing speed.
Jeremy’s hand moved from my mouth to my chin, lightly lifting it up. We searched each other’s eyes and my legs turned jelly-like. “I...I got it.” He murmured, his breath touching my face. My legs turned jelly-like and I clutched my fists together, bracing myself for whatever was going to happen next.
“T..that’s good.” I managed to find my voice, my gaze still fixed in his.
My mind raced with wild thoughts. He’s going to kiss me. Any moment now. I can’t believe it; my best friend is taking away my first kiss. What if he’s a good kisser? What if I can’t kiss well?
As he leaned closer and bent down, I shut my eyes tight and broke out in cold sweat. He was coming closer…closer…so close…
“Wait!” I pushed myself away, panicking a little.
“What?” He gasped.
“Um…is your tongue supposed to go left, or right first?” My gaze fixated to the ground as I bit my lip shyly and secretly hoped the ground swallowed me up.
Jeremy chuckled slightly and ruffled my hair slightly. Oh gosh Alyssa, good job, you just ruined this perfect moment.
Then all of a sudden, Jeremy pulled my close and his lips met mine.
Tingles erupted all over my body and my stomach lurched. My heart skipped a beat as I widened my eyes in surprise. Not knowing where to put my hands, I clung onto his shirt.
The kiss was soft, and sweet. No tongue at all. My heart paced again, before breaking into many fragments of happiness.
“Alyssa! Can I have some OJ too?” Isabella called out, her eyes still glued to the TV.
We leaped apart immediately and my face felt so hot. I lowered my eyes, too shocked to look at Jeremy.
“Sure!” Jeremy replied for me, pouring a glass of juice for Isabella.
“You do know that when you kiss, it’s natural to close your eyes right?” Jeremy pinched my red cheeks jokingly before walking back to the living room, leaving me still stunned and rooted to the ground.
~*~*~
After chasing wild thoughts away from my mind, I forced a smile and sat back next to Jeremy.
“Sh...Shall we watch a movie then?” I fumbled in my bag for the disk.
“How about we watch this movie then?” I picked out ‘My Sister’s Keeper’.
“BORING!” Jeremy and Cole chanted in unison.
“Why?” I protested meekly.
“How about this?” Cole took out a horror movie disk from behind his back and smirked. Ooh, Cole had planned this before didn’t he, even though he clearly knew that I was so damn scared of horror movies, I won’t be able to sleep a wink for weeks. He was sooooo dead.
“No!” I objected straightaway.
“Why, Alyssa? Don’t tell me, you’re a chicken?” He taunted, making bucking noises.
I gnashed my teeth together and I was seething with rage. No one, I repeat, No one, calls me a chicken. He wanted to challenge me isn’t it? He’s so on
“Who says? Let’s watch it then!” I retorted back, my unblinking eyes flashing with anger.
“You sure? I know you’re terribly scared of horror movies, don’t push yourself…”Jeremy shot me a worried look.
“It’s okay Jelly-Poo. I can take it!” I patted my chest reassuringly, even though I was trembling under my skin.
Pull yourself together Alyssa; you can’t lose to Cole now!
So after stacking up snacks and drinks, Cole dimmed the lights, making me yelp in surprise.
“Scared now?” He jested.
~*~*~
Ding-Dong!
“Oh, must be the pizza delivery guy, I’ll get the door!” The ignorant teenager clapped her hands together in surprise.
She reaches for the door, creak…
“NOOOOOOO!! Don’t open the door you idiot!” I ducked my head in Jeremy’s chest.
“Quit screaming, she won’t be able to hear you.” Cole yawned in disinterest.
“He’s behind you! Be careful!” Isabella wailed, and surprisingly Cole didn’t scold her or anything. Geez, biased much?
Isabella was huddled into a ball, curling herself up in one corner of the sofa.
“Don’t come near me! I…I’ve got a knife!” The girl waved her arms wildly.
The monster approaches closer to her, driving her to a corner as she races blindly ahead. She ran…and ran…and ran, till her face turned red and her legs went numb. “Help!” She whipped her head around and the creature was sweeping swiftly towards her, its scaly wings wide open in a welcoming embrace.
“It won’t hurt a bit…”It groaned as it continued in hot pursuit. The talon of the demon sank into her throat—
Suddenly, with a bright spark and a loud blast sound, the TV shut off and we were engulfed in darkness.
“AHHHHHHHHH!” I shrieked hysterically, the scream so heart-stopping and ear-piercing.
I was immobilized with fear and near hysteria, clinging onto the person next to me so tightly, digging my fingers into him/her. I didn’t even know who I was grabbing onto.
“Sheesh Alyssa, will you shut up! And will you please stop clinging onto my butt! Can’t you be a little like Isabella, see she’s so quiet and composed, unlike you.” Cole hollered, making me let go immediately.
“It’s okay, I’m here.”I felt Jeremy’s warm hand brush against me, and then intertwining into mine.
“I wouldn’t be screaming away, if we had watched my movie!” I snapped back.
“Admit it; you’re scared out of your wits!” Cole barked back.
I kept quiet, pursing my lips. He was right; I was scared out of my wits.
“Isabella, you okay?” I tried to change the topic, groping about in the darkness, although I didn’t once release my grasp on Jeremy’s hand.
After adjusting to the darkness, I called out for Isabella once more.
“Isabella?” I was greeted with silence.
“Oh my gosh!” I clasped a hand over my mouth when I saw Isabella unconscious on the floor.
Apparently, she was so frightened that she got startled by the sudden sound and blacked out.
Oh great, who’s the scaredy cat now, Cole?
“It looks like the electricity tripped, so I guess, we’re stuck in the dark for now.” Cole checked it out from the attic and shouted down.
“And we have to take care of Isabella too, isn’t it?” I rubbed at the creases of my forehead in frustration.
Oh, great, just great.
“Well, it’s still early, care for a game of Truth of Dare?” Jeremy tugged at my hand and flashed a knowing smile at me. When realization dawned upon me, I grinned.