2.3 | Notorious ✓

06 | rebellious

0 6

r e b e l l i o u s

I could feel Callum's surprise when my lips touched his with the slightest amount of friction, so light I could hardly feel it. He was unmoving, but his lips were soft, the heat seeping and rising between us.

But even then, his posture made me falter, and I opened my eyes before pulling back. It took him a brief second to open his eyes, and what I saw in them made me hesitant - they were blank, almost unreadable, but the depths and shades within them sent me second guessing.

Did he not feel it too, then - the sparks between us? Were we meant to be something more, was I meant to be something more? Or was I just someone frail, fragile, someone he felt the need to protect, like a little sister?

The thought of it made my toes curl. "I - uh," the words that left my lips were foreign to my ears, I could hardly look him in the eye. "I-I'm sorry - guess I shouldn't have done that - "

But I had barely finished my sentence when he reached up to touch my face. His palm flat against the curve and dip of my cheekbone, calloused thumb caressing my skin as he tilted my face up so I was looking at him.

And then I saw it - within the depths and shades of his eyes - I saw a glimmer of hope, of reciprocated feelings, of promise.

"Definitely don't apologise," he murmured, before closing the gap between us.

I didn't know what surprised me more - the fact that Callum was reciprocating my feelings for him, or the fact that he'd taken the initiative to kiss me. But it didn't matter, none of it did, not at all, especially when he threaded his fingers through my hair and pulled me closer, so that I was pressed against him, the gaps and distances diminished, obliterated.

His lips were smooth, languid against mine and I let my eyes flutter shut as I gave in to the sensations his touch caused, like a ripple effect, spreading through my entire body. He ran his tongue across my lips, eliciting a soft noise from me, something like a whimper, or a moan, but I could hardly tell as I let him in.

I let him in, because it wasn't a mere pushing of physical boundaries when you kissed someone. I was sure he could taste the insecurities on my tongue as I could taste his. Our tongues never fought for dominance, because between him and I, Callum and I, we were on par, there was no upper-hand or top-dog, we were just people.

There was no knowing how long we kissed for, maybe seconds, minutes, but when he pulled back, his eyes were glazed, a tiny smile playing on his lips.

"Scout - " he shut his eyes briefly, before opening them again. "I - "

Sometimes, you had to take the plunge. And I knew that for all his bravery, despite the fact that everyone said he was courageous, he was human, he had fears, and I figured he was terrified.

I pressed my lips against the dark bruise along the line of his jaw, the sole spot I now realised I'd missed earlier on when attending to his wounds. His breathing hitched as I let my lips linger there, and I wondered if the human touch could mend wounds no medication could ever heal.

And when I finally spoke, my voice was quiet. "I know."

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Callum left later that night. I offered to drive him back - since his car was still in school - but he refused, saying he'd take the bus home instead. I said goodbye to him on the porch, before reaching up to press my lips against his.