Dark Valentine (Monster High; Book 1 of the DV Duology)

Chapter 16: All's Well

Jackson

"Yo, Jackson! I talked to Kieran yesterday. He does for sure like me...and if you want to know more than that, I really think you should talk to him yourself, man. And trust me, you'll be fine. I have a feeling you won't be disappointed."

Even as I listened to Holt's video message, my anxiety didn't lessen much. I wasn't a hundred percent sure whether or not Holt was just messing with me when he said that last part, but I hoped he wasn't.

When I really thought about it, though...Holt wouldn't really have a reason to do that to me, since this meant just as much to him as it did to me. Coming to that conclusion allowed me to calm myself down a lot, and I decided that I would talk to Kieran on Monday, when school started up again. I refused to let myself put it off any longer than that.

Holt was right. I wouldn't know for sure unless I gave it a shot.

Speaking of Holt, I noticed he'd recorded a reaction video on our phone of a game he'd bought yesterday. The game was still in the NES, but I hadn't played it yet. When I did, I would record my reaction to it for Holt. The reason I hadn't watched his yet was because I figured it would give too much away. I wanted to experience the game for myself first, and then I'd watch it.

Instead, I focused on the play for most of the weekend, thinking it necessary. I needed to get those songs memorized, and even though I had plenty of time, there were a lot of songs. In fact, I counted once and there were exactly 35 tracks on the concept album. I had to sing in twenty of them.

Well, really it was only eighteen since the prologue would be pre-recorded and 'The World Has Gone Insane' was being cut due to how long the play was already. But eighteen was still a lot of songs to memorize.

Thankfully, I was making decent progress, and impressively, so was Heath. I didn't think he'd be able to memorize Utterson's speaking lines as quickly as he did, but he had them all down. Now he just needed to memorize 'His Work and Nothing More' and he was all set.

According to Deuce, Cleo had memorized pretty much all of her songs already, as well as the majority of her speaking lines. She was incredibly committed to this role, and she wanted to make sure her performance was nothing less than perfect, he told me. Deuce himself was doing fairly well, too, and so was Bram. I didn't really know how everyone else was doing since I didn't talk to them much.

The weekend went by much quicker than I expected it to, and before I had time to blink it was Monday. As I walked to school, I was doing my best to keep my anxiety under control, as difficult as it was.

I took my usual route to Dead Languages, but I stopped at my locker first and glanced around to see if I could spot Kieran anywhere. And I did, causing my heart to skip a beat.

I hadn't bothered to try and figure out exactly what I was going to say to him—I knew I'd probably just mess it up anyway. The only thing I knew for certain was that he needed to know how I felt about him. Ultimately, I decided to go with Holt's tactic—the direct approach.

The minute I saw Kieran in the hallway I approached him, and before I could allow myself a moment's hesitation, I kissed him without a word.

When I pulled away, I half-expected a negative reaction from him, maybe anger or even just mild surprise, but he surprised me instead by smiling. "Took you long enough," he said.

"I...did Holt tell you?"

Kieran nodded. "He also told me how you were afraid I wouldn't accept both of you."

My next question was hesitant. "Would you?"

He smiled again. "Happily," he said, before bringing his lips to mine once more.

With that, all of my fears and anxieties vanished, and in their place was nothing but pure bliss. We were finally together, and I couldn't be happier. I guess I owed Holt a thank-you for encouraging me, and he'd definitely get one later, but for now, Kieran and I embraced each other in what was maybe the happiest moment of our lives so far.