Connor pressed the screen, and the bottle spun, eventually settling to point in Jude's direction.

"We don't have to kiss, do we?" Connor asked.

"Well, those are the rules." Chelsea replied, her tone unrelenting.

"Fine." Connor mumbled.

No! This is dumb. We should stop." Jude protested.

"No, it's cool. Let's just do it."

Jude squeezed his eyes shut and slowly leaned forward. His heart was beating out of his chest, his breathing was shallow and rapid. Kissing. Kissing Connor. That's what he was doing. It's not that Jude didn't want to kiss Connor. If he was honest, it was something he wanted to do very badly. What scared him was how it might change things between them. Possibly for the better. Likely for the worse.

Connor's lips met his, and Jude felt every movie and TV cliche come to life in a moment. He could hear the fireworks, he could feel the sparks fly, he sensed time standing still. He made no move to pull away from Connor, instead experimentally moving his lips against Connor's. Connor moved in closer, reaching his hand around Jude's neck and pulled Jude toward him. It was a perfect moment, everything that Jude had hoped his first kiss would be. Finally pulling away, gasping for air, Jude was reminded that he and Connor were not alone. His cheeks felt hot, his face the deepest shade of red physically possible.

"Ummm, my mom just texted me we gotta go Chelsea!" Maddie exclaimed, grabbing Chelsea and dragging her out of the room, making sure to close close the door behind them. Jude sat there, opening and closing his mouth, looking for the right words.

"Connor do you-"

Connor nodded quickly before Jude finished his statement. They were both leaning in to kiss again when the door burst opened, causing them to shoot apart.

"Connor, your dad's here." Callie explained.

"Oh my god, he cannot find me here!" Connor exclaimed, his face falling.

"Why not?" Jude asked, thoroughly confused.

"I snuck out." Connor answered sadly. Callie quickly herded Connor out of the room, and Jude scrambled into the bed, turning off the lights and pretending to be asleep. Connor's dad opened the door to Jude's room a short time later, quickly glancing in before shutting the door again. Once he was sure Adam was gone, Jude sat up, burying his head in his hands. Jude didn't want to put himself through this. Connor liked him, sure, but he wasn't going to stand up to his dad. They'd have to be a secret. Confused as he was, Jude knew that was the last thing he wanted. Connor would have to know that, Jude would have to tell him. Connor was just going to hurt him otherwise. Though he was pretty sure that was already guaranteed, he didn't want it to be a certainty. God, why did this have to be so hard, Jude thought.