First Impressions

I wake up hazy and bleary eyed, sitting up to see my surroundings. Birds chirped annoyingly, bugs buzzed around and hitting trees, and I was in a sleeping bag alone. I run a hand through my gravity defying hair before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I think back to last night and feel a blush creep up my neck.

I like you, Autum.

I shiver involuntarily. What even happened after that? Did I go to sleep? Was it a dream?

I decide that it was a dream because Brad and I are just friends.

Well, I may like him and he may be wonderful eye-candy, but that's totally beside the point. Brad doesn't see me as anything else other than a friend. Period. I slide out of the sleeping bag and start looking around for him.

Maybe I'll just make sure it was a dream.

I start walking around, my bare feet hitting the grass and getting slightly wet from the morning dew. Yes, it was just that early in the morning. I'm surprised I woke up so early. I walk over to the tent and unzip it, peeking inside to see if he was in there.

Wrong.

Wrongwrongwrongwrong!

"Autum!"

"Ah!"

Then there is a fury of clothes and me stumbling back from the sight I have just witnessed. I run. I run because I'm sure that if either of them catch me after that I will never leave these woods. Ever. I run deeper into the woods, tripping over a tree trunk and landing in a bush.

"Ouch." I stand up and brush off any of the dirt, touching my face to make sure my eyes, nose, mouth, and eyebrows were still in order before cautiously circling around to get a wonderful view of the lake. I walk to the edge, dipping my feet into the nice coolness of the water before hearing a throat clearing.

"Hello?" I ask, whipping around to find the source. My eyes land on Brad, sitting on a log in pajama pants and no shirt. "Just the person I was looking for!"

I start walking back to him with a silly grin on my face before I step on something . . . that moves. I jump with a squeal, falling immediately into the water and thrashing around violently to make sure whatever I stepped on doesn't come near me. Then I run shakily out of the water with wide, kidish eyes. I suddenly feel stupid when I see a hermit crab waddling out of the water.

"Let's pretend that just didn't happen. Agreed?" I ask, turning back to face Brad. He lips twitch a little while his eyes sparkle from the early morning sun. I continue walking over to him, despite my clothes being drenched, and make a squishing sound when I sit beside him.

"Now, onto further business." I say, making him raise an eyebrow. "Can you tell me what happened last night? You see, I don't really know if it was a dream or if it actually happened and I just fell asleep."

He just stays silent, staring at me for a couple of moments. For once, I couldn't read him at all. I'm not sure if he is trying to comprehend what I had just said or if he is trying to not laugh at me.

"What?"

That concludes that he is obviously confused.

What a moron.

"Last night. Was it a dream or did it actually happen?" I ask in a simplified form.

"Autum, I really-"

"Autum Rene Flicka!" I jump and whirl around to see Shale and Trev stalking towards me determinedly, both of them with angry looks on their faces.

"Oh shit! Shit shit shitty shit shit!"

That's when I bolt. And, because I'm such a nice person, I drag Brad along with me so he doesn't have to endure the fury of the new founded couple that I caught having sex in the tent. I forcefully pull Brad behind me, running around the lake and into another part of the forest, hoping to lose the duo.

"What's going on?" Brad asks, looking behind us. I do the same and see that they are well on their way. I start zigzagging through trees and bushes, hoping to confuse them.

"Run now, talk later." I heave. When I look back again, they're well enough away that it gives us time to hide. I start climbing a nearby tree, Brad doing the same after I'm up. I hear breathing and cover Brad's mouth with my hand while he does the same to me, both of us looking down to see Trev and Shale go flying by in confusion.

We watch them keep going on and only remove our hands when we're sure that they are far away. I lean my head back against the main part of the tree, chest heaving, while Brad looks at me for an explanation. Just as I open my mouth, there's a crack. It doesn't help much that Brad and I are on the same branch.

I hurriedly get up, trying to move to another branch before it breaks, but I'm not fast enough. Instead, we go tumbling down ten or so feet to the ground painfully. It probably wouldn't have been so painful if I had just fallen, but it hurt more that Brad landed right on top of me, between my legs even!

"Ow, I think you bruised my vagina." I groan, arching my back a little because the branch is right underneath me.

"You'll live." Brad grunts, trying to not sound so hurt even though I'm sure he is. "What was that about anyway?"

"When I was looking for you, I checked the tent. You can probably predict what happened after that." I say, cringing when I touch a tender spot on my head. I tilt my head back completely to see if the terrible duo was coming near us. I sigh, thankful that they weren't.

When I put my head back to its normal position, Brad is still hovering over me.

"Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?" I ask, poking his forehead. He just continues looking at me.

"You said you wanted to know if last night was a dream or not, right?" He questions. I want to joke about it, but there's something about the way he said it. The way he is acting so serious that I just can't.

"Yeah." I reply quietly.

"It was real." He starts to slowly move his head down to mine. That's when I can feel the heat radiating off his body, where all of his weight is put on me, and where him being between my legs becomes more obvious to my body. But there is really only one thing bothering me at the moment.

"So I fell asleep after you told me that you liked me?!" I yelp, still in disbelief that I did such a thing. He groans and drops his head into the crook of my neck.

"Autum, you just ruined the moment." He breathes onto my neck. I shrug, trying to let my brain tame my stomach.

"It's in my nature to do so. Mother Nature has made me special enough to be a moment ruiner." I start. "In fact, it is very rare to find such a-"

"Autum, shut up."

Zap.

Brad's lips are on mine less than a milli-second. I freeze up at the touch, much like all of the other times because I don't know how to kiss. I still think I have to learn how to do such a complex thing. But kissing has never really occurred to me throughout my entire life. Sure, I'd have to confront it on the usual couples making out in the hallway at school, but that doesn't mean that I've ever pictured myself in the position.

Great. Now I feel ten times as awkward as I did before.

"Brad." I mutter between our lips before pulling away. He looks a little disappointed, and I can't help but think that he looks so much like a little kid who got his favorite toy taken away when he mirrors this emotion. I've always seen him as the manly type, never as a boyish persona.

"What? What's wrong?" He asks, both of his eyes moving from either of mine. I really want to rub my head right now, but all I can do is do my wheezing nervous laugh while biting my lip. No, not awkward at all.

"Um, you know how you've had however many girlfriends you've ha- hey. How many girlfriends have you had?" I ask, completely trailing off the subject. He just shrugs on top of me.

"I lost count. What were you saying?" He asks, trying to get me back on course. I shake my head, an unbelievable expression on my face.

"Wait. You don't know how many girlfriends you've had? So, what? Am I just going to be another one of those girls that you can't remember?" I rant, a fire sizzling in the pit of my stomach. I am a natural debater. I like to argue, but there is a difference between arguing and being pissed.

I start shifting under him, trying to get away. I note his panicked expression while pins me down in the dirt to prevent me from doing anything. I glare at him.

"No, Autum. That's not it; it's just that I-"

"Do you even remember their names? Or how about how they felt when you probably screwed them and then left?" Then a conclusion dawns upon me. "Is that what you were going to do with me? Screw and leave? Well let me tell you something . . ."

I stick my face right into his, a nasty glare on my face.

"No man is getting any of this fineness until there is a ring on my finger."

He stares down at me with wide eyes, shocked eyes, before they get heated up. That's when we're glaring at each other with fury.

"Do you actually think I'd treat you like any other girl?"

That takes me by surprise.

"If I would, I wouldn't take time to notice your stupid fetishes and quirks, which I think are cute." Insert open mouth here. "And do you think you're like any other girl I've had? True, I'm not going to lie that I've basically fucked them all, but I wouldn't do that to you. Don't you realize how different you are, or do I have to repeat myself from last night?"

I look away from him, still pissed but not knowing what of.

"Autum." He whispers, taking a hand under my chin and gently making me turn towards him. "You're unlike any other. And as stupid as that sounds, it's true."

I purse my lips, still not sure.

"I love how you have such a big golden heart, and how you look for dumb arguments all the time. I love the way you start getting little eye-twitches when you're angry. I love the way you'll open up your mind to new things and how you're just always happy, not to mention the way it spreads around. You don't realize how lucky I even am to be with you right now." He says, a warmness showing in his sparkling eyes, making my stomach think it's a gymnast again.

"How so?" I question, trying to milk it for what it's worth. He lets out a chuckle before lowering his head so we're touching noses.

"You haven't seen the way guys look at you at school? It's ridiculous."

Zap.

We meet together in holy matrimony. Yes, we kiss tenderly. Well, he does. Which brings us back to our previous predicament.

"Brad." I mutter between our lips, pulling away. He groans and buries his head in my neck.

"What now?" He mumbles, placing some kisses on my neck.

Zap. Zap. Zap.

"Well, as I was saying before, you know how you've had your girlfriends?" I hear him mumble profanities at this. "Well, I haven't even had a real crush. At all."

He looks up at me with a surprised expression on his face, mouth open and eyes amused.

"At all?"

"At all." I conclude. "Well, did I not tell you about Bobby Delunquet?"

He snorts in laughter, making me giggle before we both settle down.

"Well, you like me at least, right? I mean, it'd be a shame if you didn't and my kisses didn't mean anything." Brad says, his eyes sparkling again. I let out a very unsophisticated snort.

"Someone must be really into me to say something like that." I smirk at him, allowing my hands to travel up his arms and biceps and into his hair, letting my fingers tangle in with the tresses. I notice him shiver and that only makes my smirk build.

"Yes, I like you. But, getting back on the main point, I have no idea how to kiss. Or even how couples are supposed to act." I reply business-like. My smirk disappears when a sinister smile crosses his face in an instant.

"We can work on that."

I yank slightly on his hair, making us connect together in a lip-lock.

Zap.

I feel a little easier knowing that he now knows that I don't know how to kiss. I think Brad sensed this too because he sighed and smirked into the kiss. He moves his lips around mine, and since he's doing it, I mimic him, except adding a little of my own style into it of course. I end up with his bottom lip between mine while my upper lip is between his.

Zap.

He removes his bottom lip from me and moves to start sucking on mine, tickling me a little. Okay, a lot. So much in fact that I full out belly laugh and shiver at the same time. He pulls back with an amused look on his face.

"The kissing's good, but we'll have to work on how not to laugh when you're doing it."