Kiss Don't Tell

Chapter Two

I was sitting on my bed, idly flipping through my favorite magazine, lost in my thoughts about the incident with Colby earlier at school. It was a quiet Friday evening, and I had no plans other than indulge in a cozy night with a good book, exchanging messages with Jack using my phone to which apparently has a broken screen now.

Suddenly, there was a light tap coming from my bedroom window, followed by a familiar voice calling out my name. There was another tap.

"Hey. It's me. Open up!"

I recognized the voice instantly. It was my Jack. Curiosity piqued, I got up from my bed and made my way to the window and saw Jack using his parkour skills again as he held on tight to something outside my window pane. I opened it and let Jack in, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" I asked, puzzled by his unexpected visit.

"Surprise!" he said, hopping onto the floor and giving me a quick hug. "I have something exciting to tell you."

Jack walked into my room and sat on the edge of my bed, making himself at home as if he owned the room. He was always spontaneous and full of energy, so I knew his visit meant something interesting was going on. Otherwise, he would have just stayed home and messaged me.

"What's going on?" I inquired, closing the window behind me.

"Well," he began, grinning from ear to ear, "there's this fantastic party tonight that Sam told me about, and I thought you wouldn't want to miss it. It's going to be epic!"

I raised an eyebrow, not sure if I was up for a party tonight. I was more of an introvert, and the idea of stepping out on a whim made me a bit nervous. The idea of mingling with others, being surrounded by the intoxicating smell of alcohol, seeing people grind against each other-- really not my thing.

"A party, huh? I don't know, Jack. I was just planning on having a quiet night in," I said hesitantly, but Jack put on his best persuasive face, his eyes pleading.

"Come on, it'll be so much fun! You know we always have a blast together. Plus, you look adorable tonight, so why waste it on staying home?" he said, gesturing to my outfit.

I glanced down at myself. I had chosen a simple, comfy outfit – a loose-fitting sweater and knee-length shorts. Nothing fancy, but Jack had an optimistic way of making even the simplest things feel special.

With a sigh, I relented, knowing I couldn't resist Jack's infectious enthusiasm.

"Alright, fine. I'll go. But just for a little while," I said, giving in to his contagious excitement.

Jack clapped his hands in delight. "That's the spirit! You won't regret it, I promise."

"Yup. I bet," I muttered sarcastically with a sigh.

I quickly freshened up and grabbed my jacket, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement. Jack and I talked on the way to the party venue, catching up on the latest gossip and sharing inside jokes. My mother didn't really know I went out, and so did Jack's parents. They didn't even know he had taken the car with him. How he managed to take it without them noticing, that I don't know.

As we arrived at the party, the music and laughter filled the air, instantly turning my stomach upside down. Jack was right; it felt good to be out and about instead of just locking myself up in my bedroom, but he was also wrong. I don't think this party is going to be epic. Well, not for me, that is.

As Jack was going back and forth from the fruit punch, knowing quite well it wasn't just a literal fruit punch, I stood awkwardly at the edge of the party, my heart pounding against my chest. I felt alone in a sea of strangers despite the loud music, laughter, and dancing. Parties weren't my comfort zone; I was the shy girl who preferred the solace of books, video games, and quiet corners.

Jack, as I've said earlier, was the total opposite of me. I mean, if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have any friends other than him. He makes friends, and his friends become my friends. That's how my circle grew, but it didn't grow that much.

Trying to blend in while Jack was trying to hit on some freshman, I held onto my cup of soda like a lifeline. I scanned the room, looking for a familiar face to distract myself from being the awkward lonewolf that I am, or (if I get lucky) a peaceful corner to hide in. But then, among the crowd, I saw him. Charming, charismatic, confident, and always the center of attention-- Colby fuckin' Brenner.

As always, he seemed to be having a great time, surrounded by his friends and girls, hoping he'd bring one of them home and sleep with them after tonight. They were just there in a straight direction from where I was standing, and with zero luck, no one was near me or was huddled in front of me to hide my presence from his sight.

Feeling self-conscious, I tried to slip away unnoticed, but as fate would have it, we still managed to run into each other. I stumbled slightly, and my soda splashed over the rim of the cup, threatening to spill all over my hand.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," I muttered, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Colby turned towards me, and for a moment, I thought he might be annoyed. But his expression softened, and he smiled warmly, which was odd.

"Don't worry about it. Accidents happen," he said, taking a handkerchief from the back pocket of his jeans and offering it to me.

"Thanks," I replied, dabbing at the soda in my hand.

"Won't match what happened to your phone so it's fine. You can keep it too," he said, referring to the handkerchief he handed to me. To be honest, I was surprised that he remembered it was my phone that he accidentally dropped from my hand.

His eyes lingered on me for a moment longer than I expected, and it felt like he was genuinely interested in talking to me. Or maybe I'm just assuming stuff.

"Colby, let's dance," one of the girls with him nudged his arm. She was doing that weird pouty lips thing-- you know, those things people think would make you look cute if you did it.

"Yeah, why don't you go on ahead," he told her before facing back to me, "You wanna go somewhere quiter?" he told me.

Before I answered, I darted my eyes around the room again to check in on Jack but I couldn't find him, so I ended up saying yes to Colby.

We went through the backdoor and saw a small gazebo somewhere in the corner of the backyard. A couple were making out but seeing Colby standing in front of them with his pissed off face, they were forced to skedaddle off.

"So, I just realized you're in my math class, right?" he asked.

I nodded, surprised that he even knew who I was.

"Yeah, I am," I replied, my voice a bit shaky.

"I knew you looked familiar," he said, flashing another smile. "I'm sorry about our last encounter, by the way. I was just--" he paused for a deep sigh. "--pressured on something."

"Something?" I asked right away and was shocked that I even spoke.

He brushed his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Student council stuff. It's hard when you're school president and chief editor for the school newspaper. Plus, with my academics," he paused again to look at me.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't be babbling about this boring stuff," he added with a shy chuckle.

On the other hand, I was feeling nothing but flabberghast. I couldn't believe it. Colby was talking to me right now. Well, I could smell the vodka all around him but he didn't look wasted or even just a little bit drunk.

He eventually changed the topic and we pretty much talked about just anything random, and even ended up getting each other's phone numbers and social media handles.

As we continued to talk, the wind brushing against our faces, Colby started to quiet down. He stared at me, smiling, as if he was very much into whatever I was going to say.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I stared back at him. Butterflies swirled in my stomach, and my mind raced with a mixture of excitement and nerves. I pushed myself to continue talking to eradicate the sudden awkwardness I was feeling, but I couldn't stop the stutters. He just stared deeply into my eyes.

"You know," he began, scooting even closer towards me. "I've just noticed something... just now."

I gulped, my face turning pink as well (which I hoped the moonlight didn't give away). I was feeling more and more fidgety as I started picturing things in my head.

"I've just noticed how pretty you actually are," he smiled, gently reaching out and tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, making my heart flutter with the sudden gesture.

"W-what?" I was at a loss for words. Now it was obvious that he was drunk. And I probably got drunk as well without me noticing. That's the only explanation why I was having this delusion.

A soft smile played on his lips, and he gently lifted my chin to make our eyes meet. "C-can I do something?"

His hand cupped my cheek, and he leaned in, his lips hovering an inch closer to mine. I could feel his warm breath against my skin, and at that moment, time seemed to freeze. My heart started racing even faster. I coudln't move. I couldn't say anything.

However, before anything else could have happened (before our lips even touched), his friends called out his name, calling him back to the party. He smiled one last time, got up and ran towards his friends.

I sat there for a moment, my heart still racing. I couldn't believe that I, an average girl, had that kind of moment with Colby, the King of Newville High.

Maybe parties weren't so bad after all.