Chapter 26: Chapter 21-Ellie

*Beauty*

I looked absolutely horrible.

I groaned as I stared at my reflection in the cracked mirror of the public toilets.

My hair, slightly damp from rinsing out the remnants of Catherine's vomit, was tied up in a high ponytail. My make-up was gone, washed away by the vicious tap water.

I had completely humiliated myself in front of Will. Again.

Tips from Ellie Kent on making your seven year crush fall for you:

One - Fall asleep AND fail epically in a maths class and prove yourself to be horribly unintelligent.

Two - Fall during a cheer routine, humiliating yourself before the entire year.

Three - Fall asleep in his presence constantly.

Four - Make his mother hate you.

Five - Allow his beautiful talented and intelligent best friend to puke all over you and ruin your clothes.

Yay! I hit all five! He'll definitely fall for me now! And if you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic.

Today had OFFICALLY topped the list of the worst day ever. Standing before my crush first covered in lime green puke, then with all my make-up stripped. Just awesome.

I sighed.

If only I hadn't forgotten my bag in Justin's car. At least then, I could attempt to fix my appearance. Instead, I looked like I'd been run over. If Will really had any feelings for me, I was sure they were gone now. I think you stop liking a girl when you see pieces of vomit in her hair, on her top and on her skin.

Sigh.

The only redeeming factor was the shirt Will had given me.

Will's shirt was too big on me and hung loosely from my frame. I rolled up the sleeves, attempting to reveal my hands beneath the endless white cloth. Across the front, in black script, was a maths joke.

He was so unbelievably adorable.

Biting my lip, I brought the shirt up to my nose, taking in his scent.

Woah.

Just his scent knocked the breath out of me.

He was so completely perfect.

And so completely disgusted with me.

I sighed.

Taking a deep breath, I patted my face to gain some colour before clutching the bag with my soiled top and heading out of the toilets.

The toilet exited to a car park. Will's car was parked a few spaces over, rumbling quietly in the night air. I froze as my eyes latched on to him.

He stared out the front window, a perplexed expression on his face. I could see his jaw was clenched, a muscle by his jawbone flexing against his neck. His fingers tapped a rapid rhythm against the steering wheel.

He looked angry.

Maybe he really did hate me.

It felt as if someone was crushing my chest. I couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, he glanced up and his eyes locked on mine.

I jumped, surprised, then glanced away.

Will stepped out of the car, his movements quick and sleek as he walked over to the passenger side door, opening it for me.

For a moment, he paused, silenced. His eyes widened as he took in my clothes. Then rapidly, he turned away, not meeting my eyes.

Was he disappointed?

He inclined his chin towards the seat, "I'll take you home," he said softly, his voice low and husky.

My eyes glued to the floor, I shuffled into the car, only looking up when he shut the door behind me.

"Thank you," I murmured. But he didn't hear me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as he slid back into the driver's seat. I glanced away when he caught my gaze.

I didn't look at him as he pulled out of the parking lot, not even as the trees barring the festival faded, replaced by stretches of dark suburban streets.

Wow, Ellie, you really know how to ruin a day.

The fireworks had long since ended, and so had any chance of us becoming an 'eternal couple.'

What had I been thinking anyway? I had been so arrogant to think Will would want to kiss me under the fireworks.

I sunk into my chair, wishing I could disappear.

It seemed as if whenever Will and I were close to something, a confession, a revelation, anything, some force always managed to interrupt. Will tells me he likes me--Catherine and Gemma interrupt. I confront Will about our kiss--his mother walks in. I'm about to confess to Will beneath the festival's fireworks, a dream I've held for years--Catherine vomits all over me.

It was almost like a sign from the universe that we weren't meant to be together.

It is Ellie. You should give up already.

I shut my eyes, turning to face the window. An indescribable pain pressed on my chest.

And yet, despite my complete humiliation, I could still feel sparks of electricity dancing over my arms from his presence. The entire car held his scent. It almost felt as if we were touching, the way the air weighted down on me. The slightest movement from him, a shift of his hand on the wheel, or a lean either side, set off butterflies in my stomach and made my heart slam in my chest. Even now, I was strongly to breathe evenly. What if he heard my loud breathing and thought I was even more of a weirdo?

It didn't matter how hard I tried. I couldn't get him off my mind. I couldn't stop liking Will.

In that way, I was hopeless.

A grunt from the back interrupted my reverie. I glanced back, having almost forgotten Catherine's presence.

Unconscious, she was slumped in the back seat. Her hair covered her face, fanning out in messy, but still attractive streaks. Covering her tall frame was the jacket Will had lain over her.

I snuck a glance at Will, wondering if he was also thinking about her, his best friend who had a crush on him. And who could blame her for liking him? If I was her, I would be in love with him.

Maybe that's what happened. Maybe she confessed to him after he told me he liked me. Maybe he changed his mind and chose Catherine. She was a more worthy candidate.

Will glanced over and I quickly looked away, my cheeks flushing red.

I heard the slightest sigh.

And any hope I had of fostering a relationship with him went down the drain.

"Do you mind if I drop off Catherine first?" I felt the heat of his gaze on me. "Her house is closer."

I shook my head. "Of course, I don't mind."

I would never mind anything he did. Even if he broke my heart, I wouldn't blame him, because I knew that me, of all people, receiving his affection was a long shot.

And then silence. A silence that confirmed that he was clearly disgusted after seeing me covered in vomit.

I just wish he would say something.

The car stopped a few minutes later. I watched as Will got out of the car, heading towards the back seat. My heart ached as he reached around Catherine's frame. His arms went around her back and behind her knees, until he was cradling her in his arms. Holding her carefully, as if she was a delicate creature he didn't want to injure, he walked up a lit front lawn and rang the bell of the house closest to us.

Pain pulsed in my chest.

They looked perfect together.

A short woman with long dark hair arrived at the door. Will spoke to her softly for a few minutes before she gestured for him to come in. Will nodded and followed her into the house. The door shut behind them.

I pressed my palms to my eyes, smothering any childish tears. Why did I even think I could compete? What was I thinking? Confessing? Was that some sort of joke? How absolutely ridiculous would I sound if I told him I'd liked him for seven years and was too much of a coward to admit it until now?

This was one of those days where I wished I was someone else. Someone who could be his equal.

It felt like an eternity before Will finally came out. I watched him, my eyes tracing his sweater and jeans as he walked, his gait calm and brisk. He glanced up at me once, before looking away rapidly.

Great, just great.

Will slipped into the car and started the ignition. As he pulled away, I stared at Catherine's house and wondered if that was where he wanted to be.

The silence stretched on as the car winded through more dark suburban streets.

Will's chin was still clenched and he would hardly look at me, his gaze glued to the road. His hands were tight around the steering wheel and his granite forearms were clenched where he'd rolled up the sleeves of his sweater.

I needed to know.

"Are you mad at me?" I finally blurted out. And, humiliatingly, my voice cracked.

Will's eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at me then quickly glanced away. "What?"

I'll take that as a yes.

I spun away from him, staring out the window. The pain in my chest flared. I blinked rapidly to clear the tears in my eyes. This wasn't happening, I was not going to act like a child. I sucked in my lips, going through the events of today, remembering how ecstatic I felt when I sent him a message.

What could I have done differently?

Will sighed heavily and I flinched.

Maybe today was a mistake.

Abruptly, the car came to a stop.

I blinked rapidly. Huh? We couldn't be at my house already?

I glanced around and frowned. We'd stopped outside a park, beneath the glow of a street light.

"Ellie, I'm not mad at you."

Will was lit by the street light, carefully painting his perfect features: his emerald eyes, his long lashes and the soaring cheekbones beneath his flawless skin. But those eyes still wouldn't look at me.

The ache in my chest grew.

Now or never Ellie.

I stared down at my hands.

"You won't even look at me," I mumbled. "Is it because Catherine was sick? Because you were talking to me, you couldn't look after her?" I wrung my wrists as any ounce of composure I had left shattered. Because I finally humiliated myself enough to put you off? "Is that why?"

Will's sigh filled the car. "That's not why Ellie."

I glanced up and blinked in surprise when I noticed his expression. Will had taken off his glasses, clenched in his fist. He dragged his other hand through his black locks, further dishevelling his hair. A sheen of red dusted his cheeks.

My heart stuttered.

"T-then why?" I implored, confused.

Finally he looked at me, his eyes meeting mine. Without his glasses, they sparkled even more than usual, despite the dim light. Billions of glittering facets pinned me to my chair, making it impossible to breathe, let alone think straight.

My heart thumped so loudly that I could barely register his words.

His cheeks reddened. "The shirt," he said softly.

"Huh?" I frowned. I glanced down at Will's shirt. My breath caught. "You think it looks bad on me?"

"No," he bit his lip, a move completely uncharacteristic for William Johnson, "you look really cute."

And that's the point at which my heart sputtered and came to a stop.

Did he just say I looked cute in his top?

And is he totally blushing right now?

Nope, I must have imagined it.

No guy would consider a girl who just got vomited on and is now wearing a baggy shirt and no make-up cute.

Nope.

No way.

This was a dream.

Wake up, Ellie!

But I couldn't wake up.

I glanced down, my face boiling at the sensation of his gaze on me. I inhaled sharply, trying to catch my breath. But the way my heart was beating—pounding as if it intended to slam right out of my ribcage—it was becoming even more difficult to catch my breath.

William Johnson just called me cute.

Seven year crush extraordinaire William Johnson couldn't look at me because he thought I was cute in his shirt.

My throat constricted and abruptly I couldn't breathe—at all.

Then he touched my face.

Electricity sparked all over my skin, sending heat waves all over my body, as, slowly, languidly, his fingers brushed a stray hair behind my ear. I struggled to catch my breath.

Unable to resist, I glanced up, and my eyes latched onto his.

Without his glasses, without his mask, I could see the emotions flashing through his eyes. Pieces of him, shards of his personality that he kept hidden behind that subtle glint in his gaze, flooded the tiny space and crushed my lungs.

This was what I had always dreamed of seeing. Who I had always dreamed of seeing. The real William Johnson.

His fingers traced a fiery line down my jaw before he dropped his hand, completely ignorant to the thunder storm he'd just set off in my chest. For a fleeting second, I thought his gaze dropped to my lips.

"I could never get mad at you," he said softly.

My heart sputtered, stopped, and restarted.

"I'm sorry about Catherine. She must have drank milk at the festival by accident. She doesn't have a good reaction to it, which was why she vomited." He sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. "You must have been so uncomfortable." He looked up at me from beneath his lashes, his voice pleading. "Forgive me?"

I was at a loss for words. I couldn't even drag in air to my lungs.

"D-don't apologize, you didn't do anything," I mumbled back.

A soft smile touched Will's lips. "Ever the saviour," he said, his voice nearly inaudible.

My eyes locked with his.

William Johnson was sitting here, in a car, with me, smiling at me as if I was his whole world. As if I was worth something to him.

My heart escalated in my chest, beating impossibly fast.

Before I could even imagine what I was doing, my hands were on his face, tentatively stroking his jaw the way he'd just done to me. I watched as red flared up beneath my fingers, leaving them burning from the blasts of electricity that ran down my arm.

Will, almost imperceptibly, leaned in to my palm, his piercing eyes never leaving mine. The hand in his hair relaxed, falling to his side as black locks fell back into their dishevelled positions. I reached up slowly, my fingers brushing his skin lightly as I shifted the hair so I could still see his eyes.

My heart in my throat, I slowly traced the contours of his face, leaving lines of red as he blushed.

William Johnson was blushing. Because of me.

My heart wouldn't stop sputtering.

My gaze fell to his lips.  My fingers trailed his face, coming to the side of his cheek, to the side of his mouth...

Will caught my hand, gently stopping my movement.

"I can't," he whispered softly.

My heart sunk as the arctic blast of rejection slammed into my chest.

For a second, I'd thought...

I looked away from him, staring down at my lap. "S-sorry." I tried to hide the quiver in my voice. Tried to hide the fact that my heart was breaking. "For a second, I thought..."

For a second, I'd thought he felt the same way.

Maybe I was right all along. He liked Catherine. Not me.

Will's fingers were light, gently nudging my chin, till I looked up at him. He had no idea how my heart spluttered  from that simple touch.

"There's nothing I want more," he said softly.

My lips parted in surprise.

He hesitated for a moment, shutting his eyes. Exhaling, he opened them again. When he opened them, he looked determined, as if he had made a decision. "You know how I feel."

Air vacated my lungs. I was so dizzy that my thoughts couldn't even register.

"H-how you feel?" I breathed.

Will's smile was soft, sweet. "I like you, Ellie Kent. I have for a long time. Nothing's going to change that. And yes, I do want to kiss you," his eyes dropped to my lips and I licked them nervously, "more than I've ever wanted anything before." His eyes met mine. "I don't want you to ever doubt yourself Ellie. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met, inside and out. And anyone would be lucky just to have you give them a second of your time."

I just stared at him, dumbstruck. This wasn't happening. This definitely wasn't happening. I was imagining it. I had to be.

"I'm not just going to stop feeling the way I do. But you are more than just a girl I want to kiss. And it's unfair for me to keep kissing you and taking advantage of your attention when I know you don't feel the same way I do." He paused. "I want to be more than a friend and more than an acquaintance. I want to be someone you can trust and depend on. I want to be there for you when you need someone. I want to protect you, and support you, and I..." he paused again. "I want to love you."

My heart just about stopped.

"And I want to be the one you love," he continued, his voice soft. His fingers stroked my face. "I like you, Ellie Kent. My feelings won't change." His fingers brushed my face. It was so light, like the touch of a feather, but it incited burning heat that made me feel like my whole body was on fire. "So I won't disrespect you like that."

Carefully, he dropped my hand, his fingers lingering just a second longer than needed. Long enough to make me wonder how in the world he could be here—talking to me, touching me, like I was valuable to him, like I was precious.

He said he wanted to love me.

Me. No one else.

I couldn't breathe.

He'd said it three times now. Once, last week. Twice, today.

That he liked me. That I was beautiful.

And now, that the only reason he wouldn't kiss me, the only reason he was keeping his distance, was because he was being a gentleman. Because he didn't want to disrespect me. Because he wanted to...

I couldn't even think the word without gasping for air.

I wanted to cry. Because this couldn't be real. He couldn't be real. I had to be dreaming. I was going to be so upset when I woke up. Because if this was a dream, it was just plain cruel.

Because you couldn't show me someone so completely and totally perfect and then take him away later.

It would just be too cruel.

Will abruptly looked alarmed. "Ellie?" One of his hands reached out, wiping a wayward tear that slid down my cheek. "Are you ok?" His voice became panicked. "Did I hurt your feelings?"

His eyes were wide, his cheeks red and he looked so confused.

And right then, I realised that he was the cutest, kindest, and most wonderful guy I would ever meet.

And I refused to lose him because I wasn't brave enough.

My heart started up again, pounding even harder than it had before.

Now or never.

Be brave.

"No, Will, you didn't do anything wrong," I blubbered. "The truth is I--"

The sound of blasts filled the air. I gasped as my eyes fell on the wind shield, gazing outside. An array of fireworks danced through the air, exploding in multiple colours against the moon lit sky and casting rainbow colours onto the dark street.

My fingers trembled.

They only ever blasted fireworks once at the festival. Never had they released them twice in one night.

I turned back to Will. His eyes watched me so intently, that I knew if he kept looking at me like that I would spontaneously combust. His fingers were still on my face, wiping at tears.

My heart quaked as I stared into those beautiful emerald gems and mentally murmured a silent prayer.

Then I whispered the words that would possibly change my life forever.

"Will, I like you."

I couldn't breathe.

"And I want to be more than friends."

Every second of silence dug a crater in my chest.

Will just stared at me, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted. Emotions flashed so quickly within his eyes that I could barely catch them.

Then his fingers slid across my face. They were careful, caressing, yet they left electric sparks in their wake. His eyes met mine, asking for permission.

"Yes," I murmured.

One hand stroked my jawline, while his other hand balanced on the slope of my back, so light, but firm, keeping me upright. My mind was on overload, taking in the electric pulses Will's touch sent to my entire frame, unable to order my lungs to take in air.

My hands lightly touched his chest, and for a second I thought I could feel the rapid pulse of his heart beating. But it was impossible. Because his heart was beating as hard as mine. He leaned closer to me and the taste of minty breath filled the minuscule space between us. My heart thudded relentlessly, pounding so loudly I'm sure he could hear it.

His eyes didn't leave mine. And I saw it, read the strong emotion pulsing behind his eyes, the one that mirrored the sensation flooding my chest. He didn't move, as if waiting for me to confirm that this was what I wanted. That he was who I wanted.

I don't know why he had to ask.

My chest couldn't take any more.

His lips hovered mere centimetres away.

So I bridged the gap.

I pressed my lips to Will's and, in the distance, I heard the sound of fireworks.

***

So, my sweeties, what do you think? Ellie finally confessed! What do you think will happen next? What do you want to happen next? Tell me, tell me XD

This chapter is dedicated to someone who has been voting relentlessly! *Hugs* Love you! Thanks to all of you guys as well, for your voting and support ;)

God bless

xxx

Yemi Everest