Ivy
I sat amongst Janie, Fiona, Kyle, Roman, and other people who wanted to play the truth or dare game. I had been really excited to play before, but I lost that excitement the moment Ethan excused himself from the party.
I wasn't paying attention to how the game would go, because all I could think about was Ethan. Why he reacted that way towards me and why he just left?
Does he know? Does he know of my plans? Hadn't I been careful enough?
I played with my fingers nervously.
It had to be something. Something had to be really wrong with him, I mean why else would he stop me from touching him in public? Why else would he look at me like I was a disease he had to detach himself from?
God! Make me understand this!
I mean, he was fine earlier. Why did his mood suddenly change? Did something happen? Or was it just me?
"Ivy? Where's Trevor? I thought he would be playing with us?" Kyle asked.
Suddenly, I snapped out of my thinking state. "Uh... Um... He went outside to-"
"I'm here." His voice resounded behind me, cutting of my stuttering mess.
At the sound of his voice, my heart picked up a sudden unsteady pace.
Why? I don't freaking know.
Before I could look behind, he had made himself comfortable beside me. "Sorry I kept you all waiting, I had an important call to make... Did I miss anything?" He asked, his eyes not meeting mine.
Kyle had a scrawl on his face, but either way, he answered. "Not exactly, we weren't waiting for you, Ivy just didn't look too pleased. Someone had to make sure everything was okay." He said, his eyes boring into Ethan's.
Silence dragged at the circle.
When Ethan looked away, I noticed how hard he was holding on to the beer bottle, I was scared it was going to shatter.
To ease the tension, Janie took that time to explain how it would go.
With my heart attacking my chest so violently, I placed my palm gently against his strong arm. He stiffened underneath my touch, but his head turned towards me. "Yeah?" He asked.
"Are you okay? Earlier you-" I whispered.
"I'm fine." He cut me off with a reassuring smile. It didn't reach his eyes.
"Really? Are you sure? Did something happen?" I asked again, just to be sure.
"No, nothing happened, PT. I'm good." He said, placing his hand over mine, and taking it from his arm with a reassuring squeeze.
His hand felt really warm against mine, the warmth seemed to have found its way to my body and it felt as if I was being wrapped by a warm comfortable blanket.
His chip might be responsible for that, or maybe it was just him as a whole but- whatever, it just felt really good.
But then, he placed it back against my lap, detaching his hands from mine and looking away.
Immediately, the warmth left, just like a blanket being pulled forcefully from my body.
He doesn't want to touch me? Hold on a minute? Has he finally seen me for the girl everyone sees me for?
A small, unattractive, quiet nerdy girl whose best friend climbed up the social ladder before her. Had he heard rumors of how unpopular and un-social I was?
Of course, he was at Janie's party after all. He would have seen so many reasons to stop looking at me the way he usually did.
How? How did he look at you before?
Well... Like I was really pretty. I mean, I knew I was a little bit pretty and stuff, but he made it seem as if I was the prettiest girl ever, his look used to make me feel special, it used to make my heart sing, but right now, his look made me feel really self cautious and slightly insecure, and I hated the way my heart reacted to that. God, I felt like crying.
Wait.
What if that isn't the case?
What if he was just being like this because of that Lacy girl? What if he's pulling back because he felt as if he was getting too close and he'd probably hurt Lacy? What if that was the case?
Then again... You don't really know who Lacy was to him? Or is... Rather.
My heart felt really heavy at the moment, and my thoughts couldn't get itself into the game. But my half conscious mind knew they had started already.
Why the hell was I feeling this way? I mean, I knew I once thought it was okay to have feelings for him, since he was human, and I knew I had been scared of his response to my feelings. But that didn't mean I felt something for him, I mean- I find him attractive, really attractive, and so handsome. I found his eyes compelling and all- but that didn't mean I- I like like him, did it?
It did, otherwise you wouldn't feel this way.
No... No. It is normal to get attracted to a guy who's really attractive. I mean, every girl in the party had been throwing flirtatious stares at him.
But honestly, it wasn't his beauty that drew me to him... I mean, his beauty had a really big part to play, but- there was just this connection. This same connection that made me want to just reunite him with his real family. It made me want to free him from the evil clutches of his inc.
For some reason, I felt like it was my job to do that.
His eyes were so innocent, even though he tried to hide the innocence in them all the time, I knew there was a different side to him. Anytime we talked about family, it always appeared, like a flicker of light in the dark, it was always there.
And I didn't want it to just be a flicker, I wanted the light, I needed the light. I needed him to be happy, and I couldn't do that without breaking his trust.
My half conscious mind saw Janie spin the bottle with a big smile on her face.
Maybe I did like him, maybe it wasn't just the silly crush girls seemed to develop when they see a really cute guy, maybe it was way deeper than that... Maybe the connection wasn't just formed to make me help him, maybe I felt way more for him, maybe I really did Like him. But- when? When did it start?
In time, the mouth of the bottle pointed towards me.
Janie's eyes looked up at me in mischief. "Yes! I get to ask you the question. Truth or Dare, Ivy?"
I blinked, my thoughts vanishing. "What?"
"Truth or Dare?" She asked.
I opened my mouth to speak, shifting uncomfortably in my sitting position.
Truth or Dare? Let me weigh this quickly. Knowing Janie, if I picked truth, she'd definitely ask me a question about Ethan, and I didn't want to have to start explaining myself. I was pretty sure something would seem off to her, and it would make her ask questions. She was just as smart as I was... At least, she used to be... Right now I wasn't so sure, but I wouldn't want to risk it so...
"Dare." I said.
She was taken aback by my answer, and then I knew she had been hoping I would pick truth.
Not today, Janie... Not today.
She cleared her throat. "Okay then- well... I dare you to..." She waited, thinking of something.
Yeah, I knew it wouldn't be something too daring, I mean, this is Janie we're talking about... I know her, just as much as I know myself. And we had actually been at this point before, when we'd play truth and dare and each of us would pick truth every damn time cause we didn't know any good dares.
So I was safe.
"... To..." An evil smile pulled at her lips, and suddenly, she spoke up. "I dare you to kiss Trevor."
My heart stopped for a moment, causing my eyes to almost pop out of its socket.
"What kind of a dare is that?" Ethan spoke up in the most uninterested voice I'd ever heard.
"It's a normal dare." Kyle spoke up.
"What? I - I mean- he's my boyfriend, so we kiss all the time. Why would you want to- well- see-"
Janie rolled her eyes, cutting up my stuttering. "You both are dating, and we all are quite aware of that... But I can't help but wonder why we have never seen the public affection. I mean- I've literally never seen you both kiss on the lips... It's almost like, you both are not in a relationship, but pretending to be." She said.
I gulped.
Ethan just brought his beer bottle to his lips, taking a swig of it, as his eyes wandered about finding something interesting to look at, almost like he was sick of sitting and playing a stupid game meant for kids.
If that didn't hurt me more, I wonder what will.
"The dare doesn't really make sense." Roman spoke up. "I mean, not everyone likes publicizing their relationships. Not everyone is like you and Kyle."
Janie glared at him, and Kyle said nothing.
"Whatever, it's a dare, they have to do it, cause, I'm not the only one who's so curious as to Ivy's sudden relationship to someone like him... I mean, seriously? Isn't anyone a bit curious?"
"I am." A voice I recognized all too well, joined the circle. Caramel. "I'm so curious. It's really weird, someone like her with someone like him... I just don't really see a connection."
"Really? Cause I see a lot of it." Fiona snapped back.
"Maybe you should take those glasses off for a minute, and look closely." Caramel said.
Kyle frowned. "All this for a simple kiss? I mean, if you both are really dating, why would this turn into an argument?"
Ethan turned slowly towards Kyle.
"What?" Kyle snapped at him. "It shouldn't be that big of a deal, should it?"
A very tense silence drew around the circle.
I was so embarrassed, and due to the uncomfortable heat against my cheeks, I knew it showed.
What the hell am I still doing here?
I moved to stand up but Ethan's hand encircled against my wrist immediately, stopping me halfway through.
"Where are you going?" He asked, his eyes boring into mine. "Sit." He said, something soft flickered through his eyes, and somehow, managed to have an effect on my heart and stomach.
I swallowed, sitting back down.
The circle was really quiet, waiting for us to what? Kiss?
My very first kiss? They all wanted to witness it? Not like it was going to happen or anything- but, this was definitely not how I pictured it to be.
He looked around the circle, before his beautiful eyes settled on me. "They want a show Ivy... Why not give them one?" He asked.
What?
Why would he want to- he couldn't possibly really want to- What?
Before I could comprehend what happened next, he leaned in, his hot breath fanned my face, pulling me into a really crazy trance.
Just before he leaned closer, he whispered. "I'm sorry."
Then, his lips crashed against mine.
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Finally! A kiss?
Anyone cares to know what's running through Ethan's mind?
And Ivy?
Read on to find out!