Kai Langford - March 2121
Ethan continues pulling me down the corridor without saying a word, his fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist as he leads me away from the noise of the party. I have no idea where we're going, but judging by the way his jaw is clenched and the silence between us, he is definitely angry.
"Ethan," I call after him, trying to keep up with his pace. He doesn't even look back.
I sigh and squeeze his hand gently, hoping he'll at least acknowledge me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."
He flinches slightly at the words, and something about the reaction makes me realise I've got it completely wrong. Before I can ask what is actually bothering him, he turns down another corridor instead of heading towards the stairs that lead to our bedroom.
We move further into the abandoned part of the school, where the music from the party becomes nothing more than a distant vibration through the walls. Nobody ever comes down here anymore. The corridor is dimly lit, the old classrooms left untouched since the school closed, and Ethan finally stops in front of one of them.
He pushes the door open, pulls me inside and closes it behind us.
"Gerald and Monica made a bet," I begin, turning towards him. "I couldn't exactly say no. I tried, I just..."
I don't get to finish.
Ethan steps forward and pushes me back against an old desk, forcing me to sit on its edge before leaning down and kissing me.
For a second, I'm too surprised to react.
Then I feel his lips against mine and every thought disappears.
I reach for him instinctively, pulling him closer as the kiss deepens. There is something almost desperate about the way he kisses me, as though he has been holding himself back all evening and has finally run out of patience.
I shift my weight, pulling him towards me until he settles onto my lap, and Ethan immediately wraps his arms around my shoulders. I bury my fingers in his hair, holding him close while he kisses me again, and the familiar warmth of him makes me forget about the argument entirely.
There is something intoxicating about being wanted by him like this.
I have spent most of my life being afraid of what people might take from me, but with Ethan, there is never that fear. He gives himself to me completely, and I know without question that I can do the same with him.
His fingers move through my hair, tugging gently as I kiss him, while my hands slide beneath the edge of his shirt and rest against the warmth of his skin. He shivers beneath my touch, and the reaction sends a thrill through me.
I smile against his mouth.
I love knowing I can still affect him like this.
The kiss continues until Ethan finally pulls back to catch his breath. His cheeks are flushed, his hair slightly dishevelled from my fingers, and he looks down at me with an expression that makes my heart beat harder.
He bites his lower lip, and I can't help but stare.
God, I love him.
I love every little thing about him, even the things he probably doesn't realise I notice.
Before I can think better of it, I pull him back towards me and kiss him again.
He makes a quiet sound against my lips, and I move to the side of his neck, pressing a few lingering kisses against his skin. His fingers tighten in my hair, and I feel the tension leave his body as he leans into me.
I could stay like this for hours.
The rest of the school could disappear around us and I don't think I'd notice.
But just as I begin to kiss his neck again, Ethan gives my hair a gentle tug, forcing me to look up at him.
There is still something in his expression that tells me this isn't entirely about kissing.
I know that look.
He's still upset.
"I've been waiting for you all night," he says between breaths. "But you've been busy with everyone else."
His words catch me off guard. I had assumed he was angry about the drinking, but this isn't anger in the way I expected.
It's jealousy.
A smile slowly spreads across my face.
"Were you jealous?"
Ethan glares at me, although the colour rising in his cheeks gives him away.
"Of course I was jealous," he admits, his hand moving to my chin and gently tilting my face upwards. "You're my boyfriend, and I barely got to spend any time with you tonight."
Something warm and ridiculous flutters in my stomach.
I can't help smiling.
The idea that Ethan, who usually tries to be so reasonable about everything, has been sitting somewhere watching me talk to everyone else and wishing I would come back to him is almost unbearably adorable.
I lean closer, but he keeps his hand beneath my chin, stopping me from stealing another kiss.
"I'm sorry," I tell him, my voice softer now. "I really am. I didn't mean to make you feel ignored."
His expression softens.
"But at least we can spend some time together now."
He tries to hide his smile, but he isn't very good at it. The moment I see it, I know I've won.
I shift my weight and stand, lifting him with me. Ethan instinctively wraps his arms around my shoulders, and I turn us around before carefully setting him down on the old desk.
I take one of his hands in mine and turn it over, pressing a slow kiss against his palm while keeping my eyes on his.
His breathing catches.
"How can I make it up to you?"
He watches me for a moment, and the expression on his face tells me exactly what he is thinking.
"You know how you can make it up to me."
I smile against his palm.
"Here?"
His confidence doesn't falter.
"Here."
I glance towards the door, suddenly aware of how isolated this part of the school really is.
"What if someone walks by?"
I lean forward again, pressing another kiss against his neck as his fingers curl around my shoulder.
"No one comes down here," he whispers, although the slight hitch in his breathing tells me just how much the thought of being caught is getting to him.
I pull back enough to look into his eyes.
For all the teasing, all the jealousy and all the tension that brought us down here, there is something much simpler underneath it.
He just wants me.
Not the version of me everyone else gets at the party.
Not the person everyone has been dragging into games and conversations all night.
Me.
And if I'm honest, there is nowhere else I'd rather be.
____________________
We lean back against the wall, both of us taking a moment to catch our breath. I fasten the last button on my jeans while Ethan struggles with his shirt, somehow managing to get it caught around his head. I reach over and help pull it down properly, only to find his hair sticking up in every direction.
I can't help laughing.
"What?" he asks, looking at me suspiciously.
"Nothing."
He narrows his eyes, clearly unconvinced, but I can't stop smiling. He looks ridiculously cute, and seeing him like this makes the warmth in my chest spread even further.
I reach over and smooth his hair down with my fingers, although it immediately springs back into place. Ethan gives me an unimpressed look, which only makes me laugh again.
Before he can argue, I lean over and kiss him again. He immediately melts into it, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me closer until I end up half lying on top him. I smile against his lips before eventually pulling back, resting my forehead against his.
For a moment, neither of us says anything. The distant music from the party barely reaches this forgotten part of the school, leaving us surrounded by the quiet hum of the old building and the soft sound of our breathing. Ethan's fingers continue tracing absent-minded patterns against my back while I look at him, taking in his flushed cheeks, messy hair and that small smile he always gets when he's happy.
I don't say anything.
I just stay there with him, wishing I could somehow make this moment last a little longer.
Ethan reaches up and brushes his fingers through my hair, pushing a few strands away from my forehead. The gesture is so gentle that it makes something in my chest ache, especially after the way he dragged me down here earlier as though he couldn't get me away from everyone else quickly enough.
"You really were jealous," I say, unable to resist teasing him again.
His eyes narrow, although there is no real annoyance behind it now. "Don't make me regret admitting it."
I smile and take his hand, pressing another kiss into his palm before threading our fingers together. "I think it's cute."
"It's not cute."
"It is."
"It isn't."
I lean forward until our noses brush. "You're jealous because you love me."
His expression softens almost immediately, and the teasing disappears from his eyes.
"Obviously I love you."
There is something about the way he says it that makes my smile fade. Ethan has never been particularly afraid of saying those words, but hearing them now, in the quiet of this forgotten classroom, feels different. Maybe it's because the rest of the world has finally disappeared, leaving only the two of us.
"I love you too," I whisper.
He reaches up and cups my cheek, his thumb brushing gently beneath my eye. I turn my face slightly and kiss the centre of his palm, holding his gaze as I do.
"I know," he says softly.
I smile. "You sound very confident."
"I am."
I laugh quietly and lean down to kiss him again.
This kiss is different from the ones before it. There is no urgency to it now, no frustration or jealousy driving us together. It is slow and familiar, the kind of kiss that comes from knowing someone so completely that you don't need to think about where to put your hands or how long to stay there.
Ethan's arms settle around my neck, and I wrap mine around his waist, drawing him closer until there isn't any space left between us. He rests his forehead against mine when we finally part, and I close my eyes, simply enjoying the warmth of him.
"I missed you tonight," he murmurs.
"I was right there."
"You were surrounded by about fifty people."
"twenty-seven."
He gives me a look.
I grin. "I counted."
"You're impossible."
"And yet you love me."
"Unfortunately."
I laugh again, and Ethan smiles too. For a moment, everything feels ridiculously normal.
Just Ethan sitting in front of me, his fingers lazily tracing patterns against the back of my neck.
I reach up and tuck his hair behind his ear, studying his face. I know every part of it by now, every little expression and every tiny change in his eyes. I know the way he looks when he's trying not to laugh, the way his mouth twitches when he's annoyed, and the way his entire face softens when he looks at me.
I never thought I would have something like this.
Someone who knows every broken piece of me and stays anyway.
"You know you're beautiful, right?" I ask.
He gives me a doubtful look. "You're only saying that because you're trying to get out of trouble."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I can think you're beautiful and still be trying to get out of trouble."
He rolls his eyes, but he's smiling.
I brush my thumb across his cheek.
"I mean it."
His smile fades into something softer.
"I love you," he says again.
I lean forward and kiss his forehead, then his cheek, lingering there for a moment before kissing the corner of his mouth.
"I know."
He catches my face between his hands and kisses me properly this time, and I let myself sink into it. I don't think about the time. I don't think about what is waiting outside this room. I don't think about tomorrow.
I only think about him.
Eventually, Ethan rests his head against my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around him, holding him as close as I can. His fingers find mine again, and we sit there together in comfortable silence.
I close my eyes.
If I could keep one moment forever, it would be this one.
His breathing against my neck.
His fingers intertwined with mine.
The quiet weight of him in my arms.
For once, I don't feel like I have to protect anything. I don't feel like I have to fight. or have to be anything other than myself.
Ethan shifts slightly against me, and I press a kiss into his hair.
"Stay with me always," I murmur.
He lifts his head.
"I was planning to."
"Good."
He smiles and settles against me again and I simply hold the person I love, believing that when we eventually leave this room, tomorrow will still be waiting for us.