Perfect Promise

Charlie

Was it all just a dream? Or did I really go on a date with Rudy of all people? I felt like I had to pinch myself, but if this was a dream, I so didn't want to wake up.

I awoke to find Noah still in my bed. I smiled to myself. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled back at me. I curled up beside her, and we talked in low voices about our dates. After Rudy had brought me back to manion, not much had happened because of how I was feeling, but it still felt like a good date to me. Noah told me about her kiss with Gavyn and how excited she was about him. We continued to talk about how insane this all felt until I drifted back into sleep.

The next time I awoke, it was to Amber and Jordan jumping on the bed. Maia was at my bedside, hovering over me.

“Rise and shine,” the three girls harmonized.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” I groaned, feeling like a new headache was coming.

Noah stirred beside me. I supposed she had also fallen asleep again. I tried to coax her up, but she wouldn’t budge. I heard her stifle a cough underneath the sheets. Had I gotten her sick?

Before I could ask, the door burst open. In came Erys, Quinn, Hakim, Gavyn, and Rudy. They did their best to make the most noise possible as they joined Amber and Jordan on the bed one by one.

"Okay, I'm up!" Noah exclaimed as she shot up from the bed. 

I could tell her eyes were bloodshot. It wasn’t obvious, but I knew Noah well enough to realize she wasn’t her usual self. I felt guilty for persuading her to spend the night with me. This could have been easily avoided, but now my best friend was suffering because of me.

"Come on, let's go downstairs," Quinn beckoned me out of my thoughts, “We have lots of work ahead of us after breakfast.”

"Ugh, I don't feel like getting up. I'm tired," I complained. 

"I'll carry you," Rudy suggested.

He came to my side of the bed and picked me up bridal style. He had me cradled in his arms, and I swear if I were standing I would've fainted! I put my head on his chest to steady myself. Rudy carried me all the way to the dining room, where we ate quickly.

After breakfast, the ten of us headed back to the games room. Erys and Hakim set up the room so there was a circle of bean bag chairs for us to sit on. Even though we had enough seats for everyone, Noah chose to sit on Gavyn’s lap. I decided to follow her lead and sit on Rudy’s

Quinn and Hakim pulled out stacks of songs from a duffle bag in the corner of the room. They went around the circle, handing us each a few to look through. 

"The record label sent us these songs as suggestions for us to sing. Everyone, try to go through them, and pick a few favourites," Hakim said.

Picking songs was harder than it sounded, especially when they were all so good. While I had a few that I really enjoyed, none of them felt special to me. There was something missing, I just couldn’t quite place what it was.

After an hour or so of looking at songs, we all took a break. Everyone got up and left the room, except for Rudy and I. I stayed sitting on his lap. As Noah and Gavyn left the room, holding hands, I checked to make sure she was okay. She still seemed tired, but she also seemed better off than I was. My head was still pounding, even though I didn’t have a fever.

I turned back to see Rudy looking at me. I looked into his beautiful eyes. Even though we had only been in the same country for a few days, I felt so enthralled by him. I could feel his eyes pulling me into who he was- a guy I really wanted in my life.

"Kiss me," he whispered to me.

“Are you sure? I’m still sick.”

“Kiss me, please. I don’t care that you’re sick.”

"Gladly, then," I whispered in reply. 

We leaned into each other simultaneously, then our lips met. I didn’t even know how to kiss someone, but he led the way. His lips showed mine how to move. To kiss Rudy felt heavenly, and like a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it was even happening.

That’s when we heard a crash from the doorway.