Not Exactly What it Seems

She could be such a different person when she wanted to be. I mean, the way she handled her little cousin was unbelievable and incredible. And the view? It was one of the most spectacular things I had ever seen in my life. But I could not hold everything in for too much longer and I planned on doing something about it. What I didn't know was what I was going to do.

He was speechless. I looked over to him for his reaction and all he could do was stare out into the starry sky. It was really beautiful, but I could not appreciate it because I was too busy watching him. I couldn’t help it.

“You’re the first person I’ve brought up here. I’m not even sure anyone else knows it’s here,” I whispered in his ear. Just as an excuse to be near him. And I liked the way he shivered as my warm breath touched his skin probably a little too much.

“Why’d you bring me here?” he asked softly, eyes still on the sky. It was as if he was entranced by the night.

“Because you mean more to me than anyone ever has.” I really did not like the fact that I was being so honest, but it just came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop it. “You’ve become my best friend, even though I tried so hard to push you away. Why did you stay?”

Finally, he pulled his eyes away from the sky only to have them bore right into my soul. I felt so naked and vulnerable. So I broke the gaze and sat on the edge of the roof, feet dangling off. He followed suit.

“I knew that there was something about you that was special and I wanted to know what that was. I knew that there was something you found it necessary to hide and I wanted to know what that was. I knew that there was something you were afraid of despite what you told others and I wanted to know what that was. You seemed so complex and lost that I couldn’t help but get to know you. You had this draw that I could not resist, I found myself gravitating toward you despite everything you said to me and all the times you told me to go away. I knew that you needed a friend despite everything you said about being alone and being strong. The truth is, I’d never had a friend before and you seemed like the only one at the school willing to accept me.” He looked down at the ground under our feet, seemingly ashamed of his confession.

“I’ve never had a real friend until you either,” I told him softly. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of Hayden. We both know that we’re just one of a kind.” But he still would not look at me so I gently grabbed his face and turned it in my direction, forcing him to look at me. “We’ve got each other now Hay, nothing else matters.”

By this time, we were both freezing cold and subconsciously moved closer together for heat. He seemed to be deep in thought so I let him sort out his mind.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear.

I searched his face for any sign of what he was sorry for. It was then that I noticed just how close we had become, but I could not bring myself to pull away. “Sorry for what?”

“For what I’m about to do.” And before I could get even one letter out of my mouth, his lips were crashing to mine in the best kiss I had ever experienced in my life. I was instantly warm, no longer able to feel the bitter cold of the Vermont winter. I’m pretty sure that if it was some cheesy romance novel or movie fireworks would have been going off in the background. Instead, we were greeted with a piercing scream along with much yelling coming from the kitchen which was right under where we were sitting.

With an apologetic, sheepish smile, I grabbed his hand and hurried to the kitchen to see what had happened.

Did that really just happen? Did I really just kiss him?

I had no time to dwell on that at the moment. It was bad timing, but I was glad for it in a way. He needed time to think over what he had done and really ask himself whether I was worth everything he would have to go through as my boyfriend. For all I knew, it could have been the view from the roof that made him act crazy. Maybe he did not want it at all.