12 First Kisses

02 || Not A Fairytale

not•a•fairytale
by josephinebuseri

I listened to my best friend go on and on about how first kisses are magical. He talked about the sparks he felt, the butterflies in his tummy, the warmth and the passion he felt through the kiss. I just rolled my eyes and scrolled through my phone tuning him out.

This talk about kissing has been going on for days. I would tell him to shut up but he'll get mad and give me the cold shoulder. Jeremy is a hopeless romantic. He loves anything love. I, on the other hand, could care less about the act of pressing ones lips against another's and confessing unnecessary feelings.

It's just not my thing.

It was Friday, and each Friday on the first month of resumption, our school did a play. Jeremy always partook in them and this time he made me promise to do the play with him. For fifty dollars.

Instead of sleeping like I was supposed to be, I was stuck in the auditorium after school. The bright side was I'd be getting money out of it and I didn't have to be in the actual play. Unless something happens to Zara Dickson.

I was an understudy and as an understudy, you get to fill in for a character who isn't available. You had to learn the lines and lyrics to songs but it wasn't hard because the character doesn't even do much. All she does is smile like a lunatic and say  'and I you' in the end.

"Hey Lana!" Jeremy called out from the other side of the stage.

"Yeah," I looked up from my phone.

"The show starts in five minutes and I just wanna say that I'm glad I got to this with you." He smiled warmly at me.

"Me too!" I shot him a grin.

Five minutes later, the show started and everything was going well. Or so I thought. I wasn't really paying attention. I've seen the show one too many times. I was in the lounge area getting ready to take a nap when Miss Tina, the play instructor, came in calling my name. She looked relieved to see me which was alarming because I haven't spoken to her before.

"Lucy, right? Oh well come on," She said and I raised my brows. "Something happened to Zara and I need you to take her place," she supplied hurriedly, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me out of the lounge area. For a small woman, she sure had a strong grip.

"It's Lana, Miss Tina," I said and attempted to pry my arm from her grip. "And what happened to Zara? She was fine when I left."

She shoved a costume in my hand and the next thing you know, I was standing on the stage smiling and singing like a lunatic.

It was towards the end of the play when the male lead would confess his love to his mistress which was me. I clasped my hands together and plastered the most loving smile I could muster on my face. The male lead was Jensen Scolds, golden boy, star student. I don't like him very much, he's an absolute jerk but I have to endure the sight of him for a while longer then I can get out of this itchy costume.

He sang his love for my character and the last part caught my attention "My love, let's seal our love with a kiss." I was so confused, that isn't in the script, I thought. He looked at me expectantly while I just stared at him like he'd grown a tail.

"We're supposed to kiss now," he whispered harshly.

"What?! No, that isn't in the script dude!" I whispered back.

"It was added last minute. Now kiss me."

"No!" I tried to move away from him but he kept following me, repeating the last line over and over again. I looked to Miss Tina and she glared at me. I looked at Jeremy playing an oak tree and he mouthed 'do it'.

Help me someone.

I looked back at Jensen and cringed at how horrible it got.

"Close your eyes." I did as he said and puckered my lips waiting for all this to end. His lips hovered over mine before he lightly brushed them.

"Hurry up" I muttered annoyed at how long he was taking.

He pressed his lips on mine lightly, his hand cupping the back of my neck. I didn't move, he didn't move. I waited for the sparks, the butterflies, the warmth or the passion of a first kiss but I felt nothing. Nothing at all. The world didn't disappear around us like in the books, my knees didn't weaken, my heart didn't skip a beat.

It was ordinary. Mundane. Plain.

He pulled back and sang "I love you my dear" loudly. And just like the lunatic my character was, I turned to the crowd and said "And I you."

Jeremy was wrong.