#FinallyFian
~ Prologue ~
~☁☀☁~
"I order you to kiss my brother."
I knew what my best friend was going to say before the words left her mouth. I should have known she was planning something when we made our bet on the two boys with us. Reyna's brother and boyfriend were playing a fighting video game, so we thought it would be fun to stake on who would be the victor. The loser of the bet would have to follow through with one demand from the winner.
This is what I get for thinking her stupid brother could beat her genius boyfriend.
"What?!" Ian shouted, staring wide-eyed at his sister. "What is this about, Reyna?"
Reyna was dropping hints for quite a while that she knew about my feelings towards Ian, but I wasn't even sure how I truly felt about him anymore. A childhood crush was just that; nothing but a naive crush on a boy who never noticed me. I thought I had mostly grown out of it, but the opportunity to kiss the boy I had once been crazy about seemed too good to pass up.
"She lost a bet," Reyna told him. Then she looked at me and said, "It can be on the cheek or nose. Or just the back of his hand."
I couldn't figure out if she was challenging me or trying to take some of the pressure off. Knowing my best friend so well, it was probably a combination of the two.
"Reyns, stop. She doesn't have to--"
"Shut up," I cut him off. I was weighing the pros and cons in my head and he was making it difficult to concentrate.
It wasn't like he never kissed a girl before, so it wouldn't even mean anything to him. I've also had my fair share of kisses, so I could treat it the same way. Nothing would have to change between us. It was no big deal. Just one kiss. Right?
"I was only trying to help! It's just a stupid bet. You don't have to do it," he told me before turning back to Reyna. "Seriously, Reyns! Are you crazy?"
He couldn't just be quiet for two seconds! Without thinking, I gripped his collar and yanked him closer until we were only inches apart. "I said shut up! I am trying to think, you obnoxious idiot!"
His response was a weak, "Okay."
I closed my eyes as I reached a decision. I wasn't going to get another chance and I couldn't deny that I wanted to do it at least once in my life. So I opened my eyes and leaned in before I changed my mind. It was awkward because we kept our gazes locked on each other. I could see the flash of surprise when he realized my lips were on his, but it was gone as quickly as the kiss was over.
A moment lapsed between us. My fist tightened around the cotton fabric of his shirt as we both leaned in, neither of us fully comprehending what we were doing when our eyes closed and our lips met a second time. His were soft and warm against mine, but the kiss was chaste. I knew I was holding back, but it strangely seemed as if Ian was too. His hands barely grazed my waist as he hesitated to do more. That was when I broke the kiss and let go of his wrinkled shirt to shove him away.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed he was a little off balance from me shoving him. Or maybe because of me? I wondered as I quickly turned away from everyone to take a deep breath and compose myself.
I just kissed my best friend's brother in front of my best friend and her boyfriend. The very thought made my head spin, adding to my fluster. Only the determination to get revenge allowed me to face them again.
With a grin, I asked Reyna, "Why don't you tell your brother what you two," I gestured to her and Wesley, "get up to in that supply closet?"
The vengeance I sought not only got back at Reyna who was finding it all so amusing until now, but it also distracted Ian from what just happened between us. He was way overprotective of his little sister and I took full advantage of it for the situation.
The supply closet was more like a small chemistry lab and they mostly studied in there. They had to have made out once or twice though. I knew I would if I was in Reyna's neon shoes. Not with Wesley, of course. Ew. Maybe with someone like...
Just as I glanced at Ian, he released the shrillest tone I had ever heard. My six-year-old sister couldn't even hit that range.
"Supply closet?!"
Reyna inched behind Wesley to hide from her livid brother. I did enjoy watching him get all riled up because it was always entertaining, but I never failed to rescue my bestie. Wesley can fend for himself, I thought as I watched Reyna step in front of Wesley and make up an excuse for him to leave the room.
"You better run, you four-eyed casanova!" Ian shouted as Wesley ran upstairs.
For being a guest in Wesley's house, Ian wasn't treating him very well. They didn't really get along anyway because Ian was so concerned about his little sister and didn't want her to get hurt. Wesley appeared to have enough respect for Ian to put up with his dramatic behavior, but Ian couldn't see it.
The doorbell rang, so Reyna ran out of the room to answer it and get the pizza we ordered and left me all alone with the smoking beefcake. Really, I thought I saw smoke coming off of his blonde head from all of his fuming.
"Alright, loser. Let's vent some of that anger on the game. I'll even let you win," I said, patting his shoulder and sitting back down on the couch.
Ian looked at me then and blinked before he scanned the room, realizing it was just the two of us. He cleared his throat and sat beside me on the very edge of the seat.
I rolled my eyes and put my arm across his chest to push him back against the couch. Then I tossed a controller onto his lap and waited for him to choose a character. After a tentative glance my way, Ian picked up the controller and selected the character he created of himself. It looked just like him with blonde hair and green eyes, but the character was herculean and wielding giant mallet. I chose the one I created too; A slender girl with dirty blonde hair who's fighting style resembled dancing.
A minute into the match, he was struggling to stay alive as he muttered, "I thought you said you would let me win, Ferret."
I held back a smile at his nickname for me. Even though I typically hated him for still using the name that haunted me in elementary and middle school, it held a certain amount of normalcy that we both needed after our liplock.
"You're cheating!" Ian accused.
"How am I cheating, huh? Just because I don't button-mash like you does not make me a cheater."
He cursed when I did a special attack and knocked his character out of the ring.
"See?" I grinned at him before the second round started, "I never cheat. I'm just really good at kicking your ass."
He turned to me then and said under his breath, "You're cheating right now with that smile."
The controller dropped from my hands and I hurried to pick it back up when I saw him crushing my idle character.
"Now that is cheating," I muttered, dancing around him and fighting back with all of my tricks.
I was curious if things were in fact back to normal because of his typical shameless flirting. Then when I won the second battle, he started sulking in his poor loser ways and I took it as a good sign.
In the short silence before the final match, we heard Wesley and Reyna talking to someone and the front door close. Since they would be back any minute, I tried to draw out the fight so we wouldn't have an awkward silence to fill.
"They're being too quiet," he stated as I continued to dodge or block him.
"Maybe they're making out." I smirked because that was most likely what they were doing in the entryway, but the timing of my comment was bad because I delivered the final blow right after I said it.
My smile fell when I realized Ian was staring at me with the expression of a deer caught in the headlights. He glanced at my lips, causing my brows to raise at the subtle action and his to drop as he quickly looked away.
I jumped when he yelled to Wesley, "Black! I demand a rematch. And if you're making out with my sister, I'll go buy a real mallet."
I snorted at his threat and stood up when they came into the room. Stepping over to Reyna after Wesley sat down at a safe distance from Ian, I whispered to her, "Sorry, I tried to keep him busy. It just didn't take long for me to beat him."
Reyna laughed and thanked me. I was going to keep the thought of them making out that I planted in Ian's mind a secret. There was no need to start a revenge war with my best friend, and I knew she would come up with something to pay me back if she found out about it. It would undoubtedly involve Ian too.
Ian cheerfully welcomed him back into the living room. "Now let's have a talk about that supply closet, shall we?"
"Seriously?" Wesley pointed at me and said, "She just kissed you and you're going to forget it?"
He was making a second enemy out of me.
"You can interrogate me anytime. I assume Ferra kissing you doesn't happen every day."
I bit the inside of lip to keep my jaw from dropping as he dug a deeper grave for himself. I fixed him with my best glare and he was smart enough to look nervous.
"No, I'm not going to forget it!" My attention snapped to Ian and he looked at me. "Not that it meant anything...?" I didn't respond and kept a blank face, making him more desperate to get it right. "Or maybe it did?"
I loved that I had the ability to unnerve him so much. No matter how he felt about me, he was affected by our kiss in some way and that alone made it worth losing the bet. I felt powerful. It was like learning about him owning a pair of sparkly vampire boxers all over again, only this was even better. I could tease him in an entirely different way now.
I sighed lightly, making myself comfortable on the floor. I leaned back on my hands and tilted my head, watching him squirm. Ian jumped to his feet and announced that he was going to get some water from the kitchen. Reyna laughed hysterically, so I reached my foot out and kicked her.
It wasn't until much later that the four of us settled in to watch a movie. Ian and I were back on the couch, forcing the cuddling couple to lay on the floor in front of us. For me, it was wanting to curl up on the comfortable cushions. For Ian, it was to ensure all hands remained in sight during the movie. Wesley and Reyna didn't care in the slightest because they just ignored him.
Ian was being more awkward with me than before, if that was even possible. I was starting to get tired of my little game and just wanted the adorable idiot to be himself again. At least it didn't take long for us to get absorbed in the plot of what we were watching and I pushed the events of our evening to the back of my mind.
Towards the middle of the movie, I stretched my legs out over Ian's lap. It was something I had done for years whenever we shared a couch, so I thought nothing of it in my distracted state. Ian choking on some popcorn caught my attention. He was fine after a drink of water, but I suddenly became self-conscious of my habit. My heart sank at the thought of him not being comfortable with it anymore.
"Sorry." I started to pull my legs back to my own space on the couch.
Keeping his eyes on the screen, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around my ankles to stop me from moving farther away. "It's fine," he mumbled and pulled them back over his lap.
I smiled, curling my toes when his hands stayed where they were and returned my focus to the movie.
By the time the movie was over, Ian was acting much more like himself. He perked up at the mention of a waterpark in Reyna's and my discussion of our summer plans. The season was coming up in a couple of weeks, so we were excited to start it off in a big way.
"Why am I hearing about this for the first time?" Ian asked me when Wesley and Reyna started talking.
"Because not all of our plans involve you."
"Well, now that I know about it, I'm going with you guys," he crossed his arms.
"No. Your germs will contaminate the pools."
He scoffed in offense, "My germs will only improve the quality of the water. Everyone can swim in my sexiness."
I slapped my forehead with my palm. "Do you hear yourself when you speak?"
"It will be like the Fountain of Youth except it's the Pool of Ian. With a water slide."
I covered my ears. "Oh, my god. Shut up!"
He spoke loud enough for me to hear, "Not until you say I can go!"
"Fine!" I conceded. "Just take a shower before we leave."
"Why bother when I'm going to a water park? I can get a free shower there."
"You can get a free shower at home too!"
"Not true," he held a finger up. "There is such a thing as a water bill, you know."
I groaned into my hands, wondering why I had any semblance of feelings for Ian Winters at any point in my life.
It's going to be a long summer.
~☁☀☁~
What are your summer plans? -->
A/N: Hey, Sweeties! Gonna be honest, I have major new story nerves because it's been so long. Legit shaking over the 'Publish' button. XD I hope you like what I have in store for Ferra and Ian. Since this is a novella, it will be shorter than S&S but still just as funny and maybe a little more swoonworthy; Ian might surprise you. ;)