A Rose and A Phantom (Descendants of Classics Book 1)

Chapter 15: Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 15:
Practice Makes Perfect

The following days to that unexpected move were peaceful. Rosabella and Derik went about their normal routines with the only changes being that he now resided in the theatre's attic instead. It was during one of these practices that Rosabella posed a predicament to Derik.
"Derik, I'm nervous for the final scene with Ariel and Prince Eric," she voiced her concern to Derik.
"What about that scene has you nervous, meine Rose," Derik asked concerned for his precious Rose.
"Well, I'm nervous about the kiss in particular," Rosabella confessed. A blush crept into her cheeks as the words left her mouth. She knew it was silly to be nervous about a kiss but she couldn't help but feel so.
"Why does that worry you?" Derik found this hard to believe as such a beautiful girl should have been very well versed in the art of kissing.
"It worries me and makes me nervous because," she began but trailed off causing her to mutter her reason.
"Because of what?" Tension began to build within Derik as she put off answering his question.
"Because I don't want my first kiss to be with someone I'm acting opposite of," Rosabella exclaimed feeling even more embarrassed than she had been before. This shocked Derik very much. How could she have never been kissed before?! Have her past boyfriends been blind?!
"Have your past significant others not shown you proper affection," he asked so that he could better understand her predicament.
"I've never had a boyfriend before," she admitted shyly. Derik's surprise enhanced. He couldn't believe that his beautiful moon rose had never been courted before. This caused a long moment of silence as he thought of a way for them to solve this problem.
"Would it make you feel better if we practiced the scene to see how it makes you feel so as to ascertain whether or not a faked kiss would make you feel better," Derik suggested. To this Rosabella nodded.
They began the scene by having Frau Garrett read the part of King Triton and Mrs. Pamplin reading the part of Ursula and Grimsby. They slowly made it through the scene and the two women left the room after their parts were finished. They continued the scene and seemed to be fully in character as the emotions of the characters themselves. They soon reached the moment that the characters displayed their love for one another in a kiss. They hadn't realized it but they had embraced one another and had moved their faces close to one another. The joy in the characters' emotions at that moment was great and filled with love. Soon they grew closer and the nerves faded from their thoughts. Their eyes slowly closed and their lips met.
They pressed their lips to one another's tightly. Slowly their lips moved against one another's. Rosabella felt her instincts take over briefly as she moved her arms around Derik's neck. It was then that she realized what had happened. She slowly pulled away feeling her nerves enter her thoughts again. She stared at him in shock of her actions. Had she really just given him her first kiss? She touched her fingers to her lips as the touch of his lips still lingered on her lips. Sparks lingered on her lips as well from the kiss.
Derik had been shocked that they had kissed. It had been his first kiss as well and he couldn't feel any happier than in that moment at the fact that his precious Rose had been his first kiss. Joy surged through his body from the sensation of her lips pressed against his. He then looked to her face after she had pulled away from him to see that she had a shocked expression on her face. He instantly felt guilt surge through him at her expression. How could he just take her first kiss like that without taking her feelings into consideration? He was appalled with himself. He just took something from her that could not be returned once taken.
"Please forgive me, I didn't realize what was happening until just now," he apologized with his head down. To this Rosabella was confused.
"What do you mean? It's partially my fault; I got too into character and was caught in the moment," she admitted blushing. "I'm just happy my first kiss was with someone I trust and with a friend." This made Derik blush to hear. She didn't regret it and was happy about their kiss.
"I must admit, it was mine as well," he confessed. A blush entered his cheeks at that and he resumed looking down. This fact shocked Rosabella causing her to gape at him.
"Are you trying to tell me that I'm your first kiss?"
"Yes," was his one worded response.
Rosabella then wrap her arms around his torso in an embrace with a smile on her face. She kissed his cheek and thanked him for being her first kiss. They then began rehearsing her lines and practicing the songs she would sing as her character. They were both remembering the kiss, no matter how hard they tried and neither realizing that the other was doing the same. The kiss had lingered on their lips for too long resulting in their constant thoughts of it. Both had felt the sparks when their lips had touched and neither one realized that it was fate that caused it.