Killer

Chapter 8: A Kiss Before Lying

I stepped into the harsh lighting that shone overhead, and the smell of pizza filled the air. I raced down the hallway in my high heels, looking for Jace, the one who got away. I stopped in my tracks around the corner when I heard two loud voices talking in the empty halls from a distance. I peeked through to see two figures talking to one another. I could clearly make out that it was Rachel and Mila.

"What are you about to do? Huh?" Rachel said, and her voice ran cold and bitter through my spine. "Are you going to puke again?"

Mila brushed the small strands of hair out of her sweaty face as I watched from behind the wall. "God, Rachel. You're so fucking awful."

"I know, and I love every second of it!" Rachel stepped closer into Mila's personal space as if she were a strict parent disciplining their child for doing something very wrong. "I love seeing you squirm like the little shit that you are. I control you, Mila. I live inside your head."

"Fuck off, Rachel," Mila said, shoulder-bumping her friend out of the way. "Leave me alone."

She reached out and pulled Mila's arm in haste. "You're nothing without me. Let's not forget you were once an ugly and fat lame who wanted to be my friend so badly."

"You know what, Rachel? I am fucking done with your shit. We all are. How about once you clean up your shit and stop worrying about mine?"

"You think you're so bold now; since when did you grow a dick?"

"I am done. I am not about to go back and forth with you. This is so stupid."

Mila jerked her arm out of Rachel's grip and stomped down the hallway as I hid away from their sight behind the wall. I nearly let out a gasp when Rachel's screams bounced off the walls in the hallway. It was clear that their friendship was crumbling, and I had to say that I was so pleased that Mila finally stood up to Rachel for once about how ungenuine she was toward her friends.

I pressed my hands on the double doors to feel the cool air on my warm skin. I didn't realize that the sky was now black all around me as I walked down the path, feeling the heavy music making its way outside. I spotted Jace sitting on a bench near the courtyards with his head down. It looked like the perfect moment, but it wasn't, quite frankly.

"Jace?" I softly said his name.

He lifted his head up and made a face when he knew it was me. "What do you want?"

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm great." He rubbed his face and shouted. "Now that you have your answer, you can go back to the gym and dance with your boyfriend!"

What? Was this what he was mad about the entire time? He thought Tre was my boyfriend. That was ridiculous and incredulous of him to believe that. I couldn't help but blurt. "He's not my boyfriend."

"If he's not your boyfriend, then why were you grinding on him?" Venom came out of his voice as he was speaking to me. I didn't appreciate his tone, not one bit. If I had known he was here, I would've danced with him instead of Tre.

"You sound jealous, and I don't like it."

"I am not jealous." Jace let out a small laugh, not looking at me.

"Yes, you are." I protested. It was so obvious, and I wasn't sure how to deal with it. I had never been in this kind of position where a guy was this jealous of another guy for dancing with me.

"You know what? Maybe I am." He smacked his palms on his lap while slightly yelling. He then revealed, "I was the one who wrote that poem for you, not him! Happy now!"

My heart stopped as I looked at him. Jace wrote that sweet and small poem for me. It was starting to make me feel complete and protected in a weird way. The gentle gestures, the car rides, the sweet conversations, our same tastes for music—all were bubbling up. He had a thing for me this whole time, and I didn't believe it was real until this moment. I thought I was the one who had a thing for him. It indicated that we both liked each other.

I took a seat next to him. "Jace, don't be like that. I am trying to figure all of this out." I sighed. "Talk to me. What's on your heart?"

I waited for a few minutes for his response. "I haven't felt this good in a long time," Jace said in a soft-spoken voice that made me want to touch him. "And it has been that way ever since I met you." I continued to listen. "I wouldn't say that I am in love, but I am infatuated. If that makes sense."

"But it does, Jace," I said.

For another quiet moment, we heard voices drift past near the parking lots. The DJ started another roar of music. All there was left to add to it was the heavy night wind blowing my hair. I guessed Jace wasn't this unemotional and closed-off guy anymore now that he was removing his layers for me.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter," he groaned. "I saw how happy you were with him, dancing and smiling. I don't think your bright sunlight could ever match my dark clouds. And it's ironic because your name is Sunny, which fits so perfectly for you."

"What are you trying to say?" I pushed it further.

"Don't you get it, Sunny! For fuck sakes," Jace raised his voice again. "I like you a whole lot! I didn't know how to bring it to you until now."

Jace was showing some sense of emotion to me for the first time. He was usually an apathetic person, but there was something in the air tonight, and I honestly knew what it was. I loved his intensity toward me, which surprisingly turned me on. Forget about Tre right now—Jace was literally in front of me, expressing how he felt. Should I do it?

"You're so hot when you're like this," I whispered. "I like people who are emotional."

Jace chuckled a little. I could feel his sweaty hands slowly gripping both sides of my face as he muttered. "Fuck it."

Blood Cultures — Beneath the Moon & Me

He leaned in and suddenly pressed his lips against my mouth. I stayed still as his tongue tried to force my lips to open. I couldn't do much but kiss him back. The two of us were kissing each other outside of Tanglewood's gymnasium. I liked him, but I wasn't sure what feeling I wanted to express to describe this moment.

"God, your mouth is so good." His hot mouth was what I was feeling. He kept kissing and pulling my bottom lip a bit aggressively.

I pulled back in shock. "Jace, stop."

His green eyes looked sad as he asked. "Why?"

I panted. My lips felt sore from the tingly sensation. This kiss was way different from my first one with Tre. He was gentle, unlike Jace, who was kind of rough. "I-I would like to kiss you all night," I told him. "But I have to go back into the gym with Tre and his friends."

He scoffed. "With him? The guy you danced with?"

"Yeah, his name is Tre."

"Why are you doing this, Sunny?" He demanded. "Are you dating him?"

"Why is that your concern? We didn't come here as a couple. I came here with him and his friends, nothing more."

"Okay, can I go with you?"

"Yeah, let's go back into the gym. Maybe you can stay at the afterparty with us?"

"Who's us?" He questioned.

"Me, Mila, Quinn, and Tre are just a bunch of people you don't really know." I quickly told him.

He smiled and rubbed my bare thigh. "I would like to meet them then."

"Okay, then let's go."

Jace briskly leaned in and placed a wet kiss on the side of my mouth. I wasn't expecting that or either liked it, but I didn't say anything as we walked back into the gymnasium.