Trouble ▸▸ Kellic

18.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked softly, becoming more nervous with every second that passed. Vic didn't reply at first, he only continued to smoke his cigarette and stare off into space. I was almost tempted to speak up again before he finally responded.

"Well I assumed you knew, but if you don't, then nothing in particular," Vic spoke with a little sigh. Confused; that's the only word I could use to explain myself in that particular moment. Retracing his words, I understood and closed my eyes, bringing my cigarette back to my lips.

"You mean the fight, right?" I asked quietly. Vic's eyes landed on me in a heartbeat as he nodded. "...Okay, let's talk," I insisted, pushing myself to sound firm and sure, but on the inside I felt unbelievably anxious and unsure.

"Firstly, where the hell did you get that much strength? I knew you could throw a punch, but damn," Vic almost complimented me with a dry chuckle. I frowned to myself, not expecting our conversation to start out with that statement. Before I could reply, though, Vic spoke again with, "And secondly, why were you so angry? I know I provoked you, but even I know well enough something else upset you, so endear me," he requested.

"You're right; it wasn't just you on that particular day. It was mix of you, well, any day and Justin and I's fight, and on top of all of that, it was just me. I guess I had a lot of pent up energy from the past few weeks and I just blacked out. That's all I can really say; I blacked out. I meant to punch and kick you maybe two or three times, not hit you until you had to visit the hospital. I genuinely hate myself for hurting you that badly, because even though I act like a bitch I do really li-" Stop. Silence. Vic smirked.

"Don't hate yourself, brat," Vic retaliated, ignoring most of my ramble. Maybe he didn't pick up on the last part. Don't humor yourself, Kellin. "I understand what you did, and I forgive you. Trust me it wasn't that detrimental," he added on with another smirk. Rolling my eyes, we simultaneously lowered the butts of our cigarettes to the dirt and twisted them until small, orange flames went out.

"Was it fun getting out of the academy, though?" I questioned out of mere curiosity. Vic's eyes closed as he held himself up with his arms before throwing his head back.

"Mmm," he hummed lightly, "Not necessarily; I was forced to stay home with my mom and dad on bed rest. It's much more fun being back here with you," he added on, brown eyes flickering open for just a moment to take in my expression before they closed yet again. "Don't feel too special," Vic noted after seeing my facial expression. I must've looked flushed because I sure felt flushed.

A moment of silence passed, and for once, it didn't feel nearly as awkward. It was comfortable, like we were both stuck in our own heads and each other's existences didn't really matter. We were alive, together almost, but breathing alone was all we cared about.

"Have you ever thought about the fact that with every second that passes, we're put closer to our deaths?" I hummed. I knew that was an odd question that came out of no where, but I couldn't help but to mention it. It was true, after all.

"I don't think about figurative shit like that," Vic chuckled. "I just appreciate the fact that I exist, do you not?" He added on, falling onto his back briefly before propping himself up on his elbows. I looked down at him, blushing as his eyes were already on mine.

"N-No, I do," I defended myself, mimicking his position before continuing with "I like living and everything, but I can't help but to wonder when we'll die and how we'll die, you know? I get it's figurative shit like you said, but it's also accurate," I explained with a shrug, closing my eyes.

I felt a tug on the bottom of my chin as I was forced to look upwards. Fluttering my eyes open, I saw nothing but brown. Chocolate locks of Vic's medium length hair which I could feel faintly brushing along my neck. Hazel brown eyes that stared into mine, though at that moment I wasn't worrying about how intimidating his presence was. In that moment I realized I had always viewed brown as such a boring and dull shade, but suddenly, brown became the most beautiful color in my eyes.

"U-Um..." I breathed, regretting it immediately as I realized I had basically just blew hot air in Vic's face. Fortunately, he didn't appear annoyed whatsoever. In fact, he laughed, letting go of my chin, but I didn't dare move a muscle. My stomach flipped as did my head it seemed. Everything felt blurry and hot, but that was mostly because of the sun shining directly on us and Vic being so close.

With a sigh, I watched Vic in momentary silence as he slid away from me and looked up to the sky. He squinted at the sun, scoffing as the shade of the tree we were under no longer helped us. 

"I can you read you like an open book, Kellin," Vic spoke softly, not meeting my eye, though I knew he had caught me staring at his features. My cheeks turned a dull pink shade before I pushed some hair out of my eyes and looked away from him. Something was different. Vic wasn't acting like himself, or at least the version of him I had previously known. Things almost felt intimate between us, but I knew well enough that was nothing but my pure imagination.

"No you can't," I finally retorted, pulling my shoulder blades back to relax the tension building in my muscles. "I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I'm fairly reserved, so I find it highly improbable that you would know that much about me."

"And that's exactly why I do," Vic spoke without hesitation, his proximity becoming rather close again. "I think I understand you better than anybody else at this academy does, maybe even outside of the academy as well. Sometimes the most complex people to others are the simplest people to me."

"What the hell have you been smoking besides cigarettes?" I joked, though in all honesty, it was just an excuse to mask my nervousness. Vic smirked, looking far beyond that mask.

"Nothing," he stated as if it was the easiest answer in the world. "Why are you so nervous?" Vic asked, raising his eyebrows as a smug look was plastered on his face.

"I-I'm not-"

My words were cut in half as I fell back from the pressure of Vic's chest colliding with my own. His lips met mine in a rather awkward and off guard kiss. The kiss didn't last for much longer than it had begun, but it was enough to shake my whole system. My body felt like a raging flame and Vic's was the icy water thrown on top of me.

That stupid smirk of his was still tainted on his lips as I opened my eyes, unable to breath as I played back what had just happened. Vic kissed me, again.

"Look at that, time flies, doesn't it?" Vic asked, obviously not waiting for an answer, either. His voice seemed rather cacophonous as it pulled me from my thoughts. I brought myself to look at him, still splayed out on top of me as he looked at his phone's screen. "We better head to next hour; see you around," Vic concluded, pressing his hands on the ground beside me and pushing away from my body before standing up and brushing himself off.

"H-Hey, wait!" I found myself shouting after him. "You can't just kiss me and then walk away as if nothing happened, you stupid jerk!" I yelled louder as the distance between us grew large. Faintly, I saw Vic's outline shift as he brought his hand up to wave goodbye one more time. Letting out an annoyed groan, I fell back onto the grass, cursing under my breath as my skull slammed into the dirt roughly.