blind-sided

chapter six

"I have an idea!" Owen perked up as he noticed that all of us were beginning to grow bored with his party. Stella and I looked at each other as we wondered what Owen could be thinking of. She shrugged, but worry sparked up inside of me.

Owen was a wild child. He had some of the craziest ideas I'd ever known and was the true daredevil of our class. He had gone to the hospital a record 23 times and we were only twelve.

"Now, I'm gonna need my right hand man for this. So, Jamie, will you join me?" There was a mischievous grin growing on Owen's face. It was changing the whole atmosphere of the room.

"I've decided that since we have some girls here that Jamie must kiss the prettiest girl in the room, but, none of us get to know who it is...but me."

It was silent. Jamie's face was as white as a ghost's and my heart was pounding. Jamie was only the boy whom I had been crushing on for years. Now that he was forced to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, well, I couldn't help but feel sick to my stomach. Owen was playing a cruel game. Every girl in our class liked Jamie, and Owen knew it.

I was afraid that this little game of his was going to expose my feelings for Jamie. I couldn't let that happen because Jamie and I weren't friends. We were well aquatinted, but that's as far as it went. I was terrified of this idea. Not only would it possibly expose me, but it was well out of my comfort zone, too.

After the god of mischief explained the rules and sent the other boys outside, he grabbed five blind-folds and tied them over our eyes. Then his voice rang out and reminded us, "If you're the lucky girl that gets kissed, you can't tell!"

It was quiet, the kind of awkward quiet that was full of tension where nobody wanted to be involved. Palms were sweating and hearts were pumping. I could hear the blood roaring through my ears and thought that my chest was going to burst open from the pain of my heart thumping so hard. I was shaking but then it stopped.

Lips were pressed onto mine for a split second and my mind went blank. My breathing slowed and my heart calmed down. I couldn't hear it and I thought it had stopped.

"Ladies, take your blindfolds off and enjoy the rest of your night!" Owen's sudden burst scared me, but I did as he said and took it off, letting my eyes see the wonderful world again.

But for the rest of that night I didn't talk to Jamie, let alone even glance his way.

Because I, Finnley James McGowan, do not kiss and tell.

I shot up in bed, sweating. The memory had felt so real I thought I was back at Owen's childhood home. It was Monday morning, and after not seeing Jamie for a whole day, I was a nervous wreck.

I didn't want to see him in AP calculus, but I guess I didn't have any control over that.

After the whole seven minutes thing, Monica had discovered me outside. She decided to take me home after that and I went straight to bed. Sunday I spent the whole day doing nothing, just thinking about what had almost happened. What Jamie and I almost did for the second time.

"Finnley? Hurry up!" My mom called from downstairs and I gritted my teeth before throwing the covers off of me.

I headed to the bathroom and brushed my hair out, putting it into a french braid and pulling out some pieces to frame my face. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, feeling refreshed.

I didn't know exactly what to wear so I just threw on a pair of ripped black jeans and a blue shirt, grabbing my gray, over-sized cardigan and rushing down the stairs where my sneakers were.