The Lunacy Fringe

Since Billie and Quinn ditched us after school, Felix and I walked home together. We walked hand-in-hand and didn't hurry. We took our time, stealing kisses whenever we could—much to the annoyance of whoever had to walk around us. Eventually, we made it to more secluded streets. He stopped by a yard with a fully blooming garden and reached out to pluck a flower from the fence. Then he tucked it gently behind my ear. I was blushing when he moved in to kiss my cheek.

"There aren't any bugs in it, right?" I asked.

"No."

"Good. I'm not a fan of having bugs in my hair."

"You're safe. But hey—since my mom isn't home and Quinn ditched us—Do you maybe want to come over?" I smiled as he retook my hands.

"Mr. Kanellis, what are your intentions with me?" He leaned in to kiss me just below the ear, making heat shoot through my body.

"I can assure you that they are not appropriate." I laughed.

"Then what are we waiting around here for?"

I grabbed his hand, and we ran the rest of the way home. Once we were inside, we hurried down the hall to his bedroom. He slammed the door shut with his foot, and we dropped our bags onto the floor, nearly tripping over them in our haste to get each other undressed.

We didn't waste much time. It wasn't long before I had my legs around his waist and his lips on my neck. I was getting there very quickly. But then something changed. One moment we were focused only on each other; the next, he was frozen, and his hand came over my mouth, preventing me from making another sound. I heard the front door close, and my eyes went wide.

"Shit," he said, jumping off of me. He gathered up my clothes, shoved them into my arms, and gently pushed me into the closet. "Stay quiet," he said. Then pop, the doors slid shut. I could see him through the slats.

I held my breath as he quickly yanked his jeans back on and reached for his guitar so he didn't look so guilty. I heard footsteps in the hall and pushed myself back as far as I could go. All I could do was clutch my clothes, naked, in my boyfriend's closet. There was a quick tap on the door before it opened.

"Hey, Mom. Home early?" he asked casually.

"Yeah, Dr. Mitchell wasn't feeling well, so he decided to close up shop for the rest of the day," she explained.

"That sucks."

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing. Just got home. Quinn ditched me, so I had to walk. It's hot out." I prayed that was enough to explain his lack of a shirt. And I hoped he didn't turn around where I could clearly see the red marks I'd left on his back. And shit, I left my book bag in his room. The flower had fallen out of my hair at some point.

"Did Ruby walk with you?" My heart jumped.

"No, she was doing something with Billie."

"Oh, I was just wondering if she and her dad wanted to come over for dinner tonight. I don't think he feeds her enough vegetables. She saw me carrying rhubarb in the other day and asked if it was celery."

Hey.

He just laughed. "I'll call her later and ask."

"Okay, just let me know. I'm going to try and get some more pruning done before spring sets in."

"Sure, Mom."

The door closed, and I waited until her footsteps faded down the hall again. When they did, I reached for the underwear I'd dropped in Felix's laundry. I was about to pull them back up when the door opened, and he looked in at me. But he reached out to take the clothes from my hands. He let them drop back to the floor, and then his lips took mine again.

"You really think we should keep going?" I asked. He reached down to pick me up and pressed me against the back wall of the closet. I held onto the bars above, hoping they didn't break from my weight. He shimmied his jeans back down.

"We didn't finish," he said.

"You really want to risk it?"

Apparently, he did because he wrapped his arms around my waist to hoist me up, and then we went for it again. I sighed and dropped my head back. He nibbled on my collarbone.

"We can be quiet," he said, already breathing hard. "I can anyway."

"Speak for yourself."

"We'll just—make it fast."

"We could just—go to my house." He shook his head.

"Too late."

He didn't stop, and I didn't ask him to. Even when I couldn't hold onto the bars anymore. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and we fell back against the sidewall, tumbling down onto the pile of clothes. I ended up on top of him, but we were far too gone to stop. So I gripped his shoulders and took over.

"Fuck, you're strong," he whispered, breathing hard when we finished. I laughed and leaned on his chest to catch my breath.

"I'm really not. I think my arms are dead." He lifted a leg to rest his foot on the wall. We were cramped and silly, tangled in each other and his laundry in the goddamn closet. "How the hell am I going to get out of here?" He put his hands on his chest as if he couldn't breathe.

"You ever climbed out of a window before?"

"Oh hell." I got up to disentangle us, and we got dressed again. He tried to work the screen off the window while I fixed my hair. "I'm going to fall and break my ass," I said when he popped the screen out and set it down in the flowerbox outside.

"It's not that far of a drop. But then again—it's you. If anyone could break a bone falling four feet, it would be you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He grinned, and I handed over my bookbag.

"You'll be fine."

"Won't your mom want to know why the screen is popped out?"

"I'll try to fix it before she even notices it. Otherwise—I guess we'll deal with that when we get to it. But I don't want you to be here when that happens."

I climbed onto the window sill and glared at him before moving myself around.

"I hope you know I love you. I'd never do this for anyone else." He smiled and helped me down to my feet. I thankfully made it without any major injuries. Just a new scrape from the metal window track. Then he handed my bag out and leaned out the window to kiss me. He tucked the flower back into my ear.

"It was worth it." I huffed and leaned up to kiss him again.

"You owe me," I said. Then I turned and hurried to my house.