Saving Grace

"No, I really am fine," I tried once again though I knew from the instant Nicholas and John had convinced me to participate in their scheme that kissing was inevitable.

"Boo. You act so innocent, Lia," Pat said, waltzing through the doorway and grabbing a cookie that had yet to be frosted and popping it in his mouth.

If this was awkward for me, this had to be ten times more awkward for John. He, after all, still thought that Nick and I were together.

We stared at each other as Jared stepped into the room, digging in the back pocket of his jeans. He pulled out his wallet and dug out a band-aid from inside the faux-leather wallet in his grip before holding it out to his friend. "There you go Johno. Patch her up and give her a smooch," he said with that silly grin that he was infamous for placed over his lips.

I glanced at the band-aid pinched between John's index finger and thumb, seeing that it was Hello Kitty. Why he was carrying a band-aid in his pocket, I had no clue much less the Hello Kitty kind.

John sighed, sounding agitated more than anything. I glanced at him when I felt his rather large hands fall on my hips in surprise. My eyes only grew when he lifted me to sit on the counter-top. I held back my protests as he bandaged my foot.

"Is that awkward for you?" Linnely asked, her eyes narrowing at me.

I glared at her, my expression saying what-do-you-think? and in return she simply smiled. When I turned back, John was standing close. I could feel his warm breath against my lips as my breath was taken away.

He reached up, running his fingers through my hair before pressing his lips to mine. I stayed frozen in shock, before I pinched my eyes shut and wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling weird otherwise.

His lips tasted like sugar cookies for obvious reasons as they pressed against mine with the most passion I had felt in a long time. I assumed that he was trying to make this good so we wouldn't have to redo this.

I felt like the couple in "The Proposal" at the moment.

I decided to go along with him much to my brain's pleads not to. It was only logical to pull away but instead, I tangled my fingers through his hair, my legs wrapping around his waist as if to pull him closer.

"Holy shit!" Ross cried suddenly. John and I pulled away at the interruption and looked to Ross who was looking at us skeptically. "What the hell? They wouldn't even look at each other this morning and now they're practically doing it on the kitchen counter?"

"Ew," Shane said, sauntering into the room, shoving Ross out of his way. He stole a cookie before taking his leave once again, presumably to go back to watch television.

"You two make no sense at all," Ross continued.

"We don't," John and I agreed in perfect unison. We paused, turning to look at one another with grim expressions, knowing exactly what each other meant.

Everyone glanced between the two of us but said nothing.

-----

That night I stared up at the ceiling though it was far too dark to see the textures making it unique. I cleared my throat, pulling the cool sheet further up. "So... I-It was an eventful day to say the least."

I heard John sigh and shift, more than likely rolling to his side. "Yes. Can we not talk about it?"

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," I whispered into the darkness.

There was a long moment of silence. "Nick is going to strangle me if he finds out what happened," John finally whispered.

"Why?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"I saw you today... naked. And kissed you."

Then it hit me. I managed to forget that John had no clue what happened between Nick and I. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "Nick and I broke up," I said, my voice barely audible, even to my own ears.

John leaned up from the floor, looking at me. The only thing I could see was his silhouette. "Did I just hear you correctly?" he asked.

I blinked back the tears in my eyes. I had thought I'd gotten over it but apparently I hadn't. I couldn't just forget about the past two years, much to my disappointment. I cleared my throat once again, nodding.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, sounding like he truly meant it.

"It's okay," I replied, my whisper sounding painful even to my ears.

I averted my attention back to the ceiling, hoping to draw my mind away from the fact that I was alone once again in my life.

I suddenly felt lean, muscular arms wrap around me. A gasp escaped my lips which were in dire need of chap stick. I hadn't even realized that John had climbed up on the mattress to offer some sort of comfort.

"Don't cry, Amelia," he whispered, brushing away my tears with his index finger.

I reached up and touched my finger tips to my cheek to find that I was, indeed, crying. I hadn't realized that either through my deep thinking session.

I tried to speak, to apologize for being a baby but the only sound that poured from my lips was a sob. My throat ached, turning raw and sore almost instantly, not use to this kind of crying.

I felt John's arms tighten around me, pulling me closer to his chest where my fingers tangled in the loose cotton of his shirt.

"I'm-I'm s-sorry," I said between my sobs.

He hushed me, running his long fingers down my back.

This was potentially bad territory to be stepping on- crying over a break up with my ex's best friend and such- but I didn't really care. I was being comforted and letting it out. It was something that I usually tried avoiding, but at the moment it felt okay.

Sometime between my sobs and tangling my fingers within the fabric of John's sleeping tee-shirt, I managed to fall asleep snuggled into my "boyfriend's" chest.