Bethany, a half-fictional girl, is trying to write a creative story. After recently discovering that Owen has written his own fanfiction, she started writing soon after her dad came back to live with her family, because she wanted to take a break from jumping into books after all the damage that happened with Nobody. She wrote some short adventure stories, friendship stories, and superhero stories. But she's never written a romance one. It's a very short story, maybe just a page long, but she wants to do a good job. The only way to do that is to kiss someone, because there isn't a romantic story without a kiss. She's read about kisses in books, but she hasn't witnessed any except between her dad and mom. Bethany knows deep in her heart that a romance story needs a kiss. It just does. The only problem is that she's never kissed anyone and the idea of kissing anyone scares her. She never opened up to anyone like that before. The only people she's ever had romantic feelings for were Gwen and Kiel. But her feelings for Gwen were dim in comparison to Kiel. She thought of Gwen more like a best friend that she once had a crush on. But her feelings for Kiel were stronger, much stronger. He was the best choice out of anyone she knew. She would ask Owen, but she is absolutely certain he would laugh at her. They only were best friends, so it would be kind of weird to kiss him. She thought of him as the brother she never had before. She wasn't that close with Kara or Charm so she'd never ask them to kiss her. She kind of still had that small crush on Gwen but it was very faded, and she only considered her as a best friend. And she definitely could NEVER kiss Orion. Orion was her dad's sidekick.
She didn't want to admit her crush on Kiel. He's always been annoying and charismatic and brave, and teaches her to take risks and "be more fictional". He cares about her so much. Kiel is the only person she would ever consider to kiss. She's really afraid of the idea to kiss him. But she has to if she wants to write this story. It's just a simple kiss, and it's for the purpose of her story.
She feels incredibly anxious that morning as she put her red hair into two braids and picks out some clothes to wear. She put on long, blue jeans and a striped t-shirt. Today at school, she will ask him in private. Obviously she needs to ask him in private! If she does it in front of her friends she will be so embarrassed. She will ask him if he'll kiss her, and if he isn't rude about it then he'll do it. It would happen outside or something, and it would thankfully be over in a second. But every time she thinks about the moment of kissing him, her heart beats so fast and she almost stops breathing. She is very sure she will have a panic attack for the entire day.
When she gets to school, Owen is already in the classroom, studying math for Mr. Barbarry's class. Bethany enters the room and sits at her desk, taking out her textbook. She tries to study, but she can't stop thinking about she is going to kiss Kiel in a few hours. It will be her first kiss. There is no way she can focus today. The moment Kiel enters the classroom and started talking to the teacher about math problems, Bethany mentally breaks down. She can never do this. It's Kiel! He won't kiss her. He'll only laugh at her!
Bethany struggles to think for the rest of class, but all she can do is stare at Kiel. She doesn't know how she manages to do math problems with him in front of her, sitting a few desks away. He doesn't notice her staring at all. At the end of class, Owen gives her a concerned look and drags her to the side of the room when the bell rings. "What's up with you? You seem really angry today."
She glares at Owen. "I'm not angry. Not at Kiel. Not at anyone."
"You're angry at Kiel? Why are you angry at Kiel? Yesterday we were at the library and everything was fine!" Owen says.
Bethany sighs loudly. "I'm...I'm just in a bad mood today I guess. I don't know why... I just am... And I'm not angry at Kiel."
"Yes you are! You stared at him this entire class!" Owen says. He gives her a long stare that says "I can read your mind." He adds: "You don't normally do that. I know that you're mad at him. Why?"
"No I'm not." Bethany says, feeling angry and embarrassed now. She starts to walk out of the classroom. "I'm just in a bad mood, ok? Sorry but I am. I'll see you at lunch or something." She walks away from a confused Owen, feeling guilty for being rude. But she's confused herself.
At lunch, she talks to Owen and Kara and Gwen, who all decided to enroll at her school. She loves having them here. Owen and Charm had dated for a few weeks, but they never actually kissed each other since they were only twelve at the time. Charm eventually stopped liking him, and Bethany felt so bad when they broke up because Owen was heartbroken. But now, him and Kara obviously like each other, and they have for a long time since they were in that Pick The Plot book. Bethany thinks that Kara and Owen definitely fit good together. They're now all teenagers, which Bethany believes is a much better age to have true feelings for anyone. And a good age to kiss someone, right?
Kiel sits at their table with a plate of food and begins eating. He sits next to Owen, across from Bethany, and again she can't stop staring at his black hair and dark eyes, and his black clothes that he refuses to stop wearing. His favorite color is black.
Everyone at their table just finished eating and now were deep in conversation. Well it's now or never. Bethany clears her throat. "Kiel." Her voice is so quiet from barely talking today. He doesn't hear her. "KIEL." He turns to look at her and immediately looks concerned.
"Are you ok."
Bethany nods nervously. She doesn't know if she has enough courage to kiss him, but she has to go through with this for her story. For her story, not because she has feelings for Kiel. She likes Kiel, but she doesn't want to kiss him yet. She doesn't even think he likes her back.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Can we talk?"
He nods. "Ok. What?"
She shakes her head. "No I mean by ourselves!"
"Oh. Ok." He winks at her.
They stand up and walk out of the loud cafeteria filled with kids. Bethany is panicking as they walk in silence to an empty hallway. Kiel turns to her and waits for her to say something, but she doesn't know how to explain her kiss.
"Um. Well. Kiel, I..."
"You're normally not this nervous! Is it because you finally admit I'm so charming?" Kiel laughs. She doesn't laugh at all. "What's wrong?" He asks. "Are you ok? You're shaking. Is Nobody back?"
He gently grabs her hand and she looks away to the wall. "No. Nobody isn't back..."
"What's eating you?" Bethany looks at him again and she realizes how handsome he looks. His black hair, and his eyes, and his lips that she thinks she will have a chance to kiss. But maybe not.
"I..." Bethany can't seem finish her sentence. "Ok, Kiel. I'll tell you what's eating me. I'm trying to write a story."
"Ok. Well you've been writing a lot of stories lately. You're a good writer and it shouldn't be a problem for you."
"I'm trying to write a romance story and...I...okay, as a favor for a friend I need you to kiss me."
"What? Kiss you?" He looks very surprised, but he looks like he's trying to hide a smile. Finally he smiles so happily. "I have no problem with it."
"What? You have no problem?" Bethany says.
"No. Beth, I really don't. If you need a favor, I can help you. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll try to do my best to be a great kisser."
"Ok...thanks, Kiel. I appreciate it. This would help my writing so much. I can't progress into this romance story without the characters sharing a kiss. I can't write about it yet because I have no idea what it feels like." Bethany says. She can't stop blushing and feels even more embarrassed saying this in front of him.
"Do you want me to kiss you now?" Kiel asks. He nervously licked his lips. "Are you okay with me kissing you?"
Bethany laughs at seeing him so nervous. "It's a favor Kiel! I'm sure you've kissed other girls before too."
Kiel awkwardly winked. This was when Bethany realized that she would be Kiel's first kiss too! She feels so much better about it now. The idea of kissing him still scares her but she feels better to know he's scared too.
"You don't have to" Bethany adds. "I'm only asking you. If you don't want to, you don't have to..." She sees he's reluctant about it and starts to march away but he grabs her hand.
"Wait. Bethany." Kiel says quietly. She stops and turns around. "Is it just a favor as a friend? Or is it anything else?"
"I don't know. We're friends Kiel, so it would be a huge favor. But..."
"But what?"
"Nothing. Ok just meet me at the library after school. I'm confused I think. Would you be willing to kiss after school?"
Kiel laughs. "Oh I see what this is. You're only making up an excuse to kiss me!"
"It's only for my story. Not for...fun."
Kiel looks disappointed. "Oh. Well like you said. It's a favor. So you can finish your story. Do you have any idea about what you're going to write?"
Bethany nods and smiles at him. "I'll have plenty of ideas by then. Thank you, Kiel. I'll see you after school."
After school, Bethany is hanging out with Owen at the library when Kiel walks in. It's Friday night, so they don't need to do their homework right away. He looks nervous but smiles at them anyway.
"Hey Kiel ready to do homework?" Owen asks.
"No it's Friday remember?"
"Yeah I know but I still want to get my homework finished."
"You start." Kiel says. He gestured for Bethany to follow him and she does without Owen seeing. They walk into the children's section and she picks out a random picture book. She flips through the pages until she finds the perfect scene: a field of flowers.
Kiel looks at the picture. "We're jumping into there? But why?"
She rolls her eyes. "For the scenery. Kisses need the best scenery. And with me writing my story, we need to be able to do this perfectly."
He looks very serious. "Ok, Beth. I don't think there's any perfect way to do it though."
She jumps them into the book. They land in a stunning meadow with flowers, with an amazing smell of flowers in the air and blue sky with clouds. They sit down in the grass and face each other.
"Ok." Bethany says. "Kiss me."
Kiel slowly leans forward and Bethany does too. He kisses her for two seconds. Her heart beats so fast. Kiel pulls away slowly and they open their eyes. He smiles. "Was that okay?"
More than okay. It is her first kiss after all. "It was good." Bethany says. Her face is so red and she looks down. "Ok now can you kiss me for longer? The characters need to have longer kisses too."
"Longer?" Kiel says nervously. She nods and starts leaning forward.
He kisses her again and she immediately feels relaxed. He brings a hand to her face and holds it there. "Um." Bethany says. Both of them are red. "Ok now a...kiss on the cheek?" He quickly kisses her on the cheek.
"Now you kiss me first." Kiel says jokingly. Bethany laughs and kisses him on the lips. When they stopped Bethany knew that she needs to confess to him. "Kiel. I need to tell you. It's not only about me writing romance stories. I've wanted to kiss you for a while. And I've liked you for a while."
"You have? Bethany, I've liked you since we met."
"You mean it?"
"Of course but I never thought you would like me too." Kiel says. Kiel doesn't only like her, but he loves her. He doesn't want to tell her that yet because he thinks it could be too early.
"Why wouldn't I." Bethany says quietly. "You're perfect for me. You push me out of my comfort zone and make me feel better when I'm afraid. I really like you Kiel."
Kiel smiles. "Can we kiss for real now? But not for the romance story. For us. You're really bossy when you order me to kiss you."
"I'm not bossy. You're just obnoxious, Kiel!" Bethany says, but she nods. They kiss for longer now. She runs her hand through his hair and he gently touches her face. When they pull away he keeps his hand on her face.
"Are we dating now?" Kiel asks.
"Do you want to date?" Bethany asks.
"If it involves being like this with you then yes." Kiel says happily. They smile.
"Ok." Bethany says. They stand up and interlock their hands together. Bethany tugs on his hand and jumps them out of the book. They walk back over to Owen, still holding hands. Except now, they don't stop holding hands until they go their separate ways to their houses.