Never Fall For You

-Kat-

I have no clue what was going on between Tyler and Jason, but I can tell you this: The next few days that passed were so awkward, you could practically grab handfuls of the tension that hung in the air. The two refused to talk to each other, and it even got to the point that Tyler started sleeping on the couch in the living room. It kind of hit me later on, that Tyler probably hadn’t just slipped and fell that one day, but that they had been, in fact, fighting. But I never asked them. There never seemed to be the right moment.

By the beginning of the next week, the roads were almost completely cleared out, and our power finally got turned back on, so we all packed our things, said goodbye, then headed back to our house. They still hadn’t cleared it for us to all go back to school yet; apparently the parking lot was still covered in snow, and it wasn’t safe for the buses to travel. But they were expecting full clearance by the next Monday.

So, naturally, Phee had to throw another ’back to school’ party. And naturally, Hunter’s home was the hot spot.

“Please, please, can I go?”

I rolled my eyes, and stared at my younger sister. I forget how much we look alike, until I really look at her. She’s three years younger, but about two inches taller. She had dark brown, almost black hair, identical to mine, except she kept it in a perfectly straight shoulder-length bob, and her brown eyes were a little lighter than mine. And we had the same small, pointy nose, that we get from our mother.

It was later Saturday evening, and Phee was helping me, once again, pick out an outfit. Lydia stood in my doorway, her brown eyes pleading, as she watched Phee and I get ready. She’d been begging to go to the party since Phee arrived.

“Lydia” I frowned, pulling on a dark purple top, and looking at my completed outfit in the mirror. “You’re only fourteen. Mom and Dad won’t let you, and if I help you sneak out, they will murder me in my sleep.”

She frowned, leaning against the frame of the door. “You just don’t want me to go” she mumbled.

I sighed, pulling my boots on, and looking at Phee, who smiled as she pulled her leather jacket on.

“I’m just looking out for you” I said, ruffling Lydia’s hair as Phee and I passed by her, and made our way to the front door. Lydia sighed dramatically, but I ignored her, saying goodbye to my parents, then heading out.

Hunter’s house wasn’t nearly as crowded this time as it was during Phee’s birthday, but that’s not to say that there weren’t a lot of people there. There was just room to move around this time.

Hunter met us at the door, led us to the kitchen, handed us both beers, then led the way back into the living room where people were dancing. And slowly, but surely, more and more people started showing up, filling the large house.

Two shots, and three beers later, Phee and I had a good buzz on, and we were dancing all over each other, and shouting the words to the song that filled the house. Once Hunter was done playing host, he met Phee and I, and wrapped his long arms around her thin body, pulling her close just as a slow song started playing. I took that as my cue to go find something else to drink, and I weaved through the couples whose bodies were entwined with each other.

I grabbed another beer from the fridge, popping it open, when I sensed someone standing closely behind me.

“Is that for me?” a familiar voice said into my ear, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up, sending chills down my spine.

I collected myself, before turning around on my heel and smirking.

“Get it yourself” I said, gasping slightly as I realized how close I actually was to Tyler. He was peering down at me, a smiling playing across his lips slowly, and he reached around me, pressing his body against mine, as he grabbed himself a drink.

He popped the top off of it smoothly, then took a long swig, before smiling down at me, then brushing hair out of my eyes. I shivered at his touch, and broke eye contact immediately, which sent a soft chuckle rumbling through his tall, thin body.

Then, he leaned down close to me, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered “Wanna dance?”

I caught my breath, finding myself suddenly incapable of forming words. So I simply nodded, and he took my hand in his, and lead the way from the kitchen to living room, where everyone was bumping and grinding on each other.

I chugged my beer, hoping that the alcohol would get rid of the butterflies that had suddenly started making my stomach turn. Tyler pulled me close to him, and we both started dancing, our bodies bumping into each other rhythmically. It was then that I really started feeling the alcohol, and I closed my eyes, focusing only on the music, and the feeling of Tyler against me.

I hadn’t even realized that the song had changed, and that another slow one was playing until I felt Tyler wrap his long arms around my waist. I opened my eyes and looked into his. He was smiling, and he grabbed my wrists lightly, then fixed my hands so that they were clasped around his neck.

“Smooth” I mouthed, and he laughed, which made me smile.

We swayed back and forth, and Tyler’s eyes never left my face. When the song was finished, I dropped my arms, then pulled away, claiming I needed a drink. I headed straight for the kitchen, with Tyler on my heels.

Much to my surprise, there was absolutely no one in the kitchen. I assumed everyone was either dancing, or outside in Hunter’s huge backyard where they had a fire pit going. I grabbed a glass out of the top cabinet, then filled it full of water, drinking like I’d been denied water for years. When I turned around, Tyler was standing over me, just as close as he had been when we were dancing.

I looked up at him, surprised, and his mouth curved up into a small, crooked smile. He took the glass out of my hand, placing it on the counter, next to the sink behind me. Then he stepped closer to me, wedging me between his body and the counter.

“Kat” he said, lifting my chin with his long index finger, so that I’d look him in the eyes. “I’ve been wanting to do this since the first day I saw you.”

I raised my eyebrows, and opened my mouth to ask him what he was talking about, but suddenly his lips were on mine. I was taken by surprise, but I pulled him closer, and slowly began kissing him back. He pulled me tight against his body with one hand, then ran his other hand through my hair, as our lips moved together rhythmically.

And then, I broke the kiss, and looked up into Tyler’s confused expression.

“I need to go to the bathroom” I said, then quickly ran out of the kitchen, and down the hallway to the first bathroom I spotted.

It was a lie, of course. I didn’t really need to go to the bathroom. But as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, only one thought came to mind: If I really liked Tyler, then why, when I was kissing him, was Jason’s face the first thing that popped into my head?