Fun fact: I thought up of this story while I was in the supermarket. If you enjoyed it and you want me to write more stories like this, do review/pm :)
Give Me A Kiss
"Give me a kiss."
He whispers into my ear, his breath smelling like mint. I convulse a little, and gritting my teeth, I push him away forcefully. He totters backwards, looking rather surprised, before he grins playfully, his emerald green eyes twinkling with mischief.
The boy before me is Green Oak. The carnivorous wolf dressed in sheep's clothing. His soft brown hair stands up stylishly, his face sculpted to be one of the most seductive appearance ever known to mankind, his skin flawless, and his breath, just smells like mint.
"I thought all girls fall for that." He says, sounding disappointed. From his countenance, one might mistake him to be the perfect gentleman, the ladies' man, the man of all men.
But his behavior is a whole other matter.
"Then how about this, my strawberry?" He sings, his voice husky and alluring. He lifts my chin gently with one hand, his face inching closer to me. Meanwhile, I am forced to lean against the wall, as he makes his advances.
I push him, harder. He resists, and grabs my wrist with his free hand.
"Be gentle, you're a lady." He says softly.
I ignore him and swiftly kick him in the shin. He freezes, as the pain shocks him. In the short moment when he is immobilized, I wriggle out of the inconvenient position.
"How many times has it been since you've started trying to kiss me? I told you no, didn't I?" I fume, as I clench my fists. "There's no way I'll give you my first!"
"Oh, you're so cute when you're angry, Leaf." He teases, as he comes forward to me. I step back, wariness reaching a whole new level. He has me cornered, totally cornered, in this classroom.
"I say this once more, Green Oak. I'm not giving you any kisses in my lifetime, not ever!" I yell.
"Why? Because someone had reserved those lips?" He says, the corner of his lips still staying up.
"Yes!" I shout, my cheeks flushing pink.
He blinks, the perpetual smile on his face dying away.
Until it comes back on again, and he reaches his arms out, brings me into an embrace, his cologne giving off a sexy scent.
"Then I'll take that reservation." He says, his voice barely audible.
He holds me tight, one arm around my waist, the other tilting my face higher, the angle just right for him to land his lips onto mine. All strength left me the moment his velvety smooth lips meets mine, the contact electrifying and tingling. I try to budge my hands to pull away from him, but there is no use. I can't lift a finger towards him.
I feel utterly disgusted, a foul taste forming in my mouth, and when he finally breaks away from me, I charge at him, punching his solid chest with hate and resentment.
He stands there, as I continue to send him a barrage of punches that probably feels like cotton to him. He is a guy. Our biological difference is too big.
"I see, you hate it that much." He says indifferently.
I glare at him, my tears flowing out without reservation. I scream at him, rage at him, for he broke my heartfelt promise with that boy.
That boy from twelve years ago.
I can't remember how he looked like.
I don't know his name.
All I remember, is that he was the sweetest boy I've ever met.
He was in the hospital. In the same hospital when Dad was hospitalized due to an injury from a small road accident. I passed by his ward a couple of times, but never speaking to him, because the door was always closed. Always.
I remember my four-year old self knocking on that door a couple of times. But that door remained closed.
I remember that my four-year old self grew in curiosity and frustration towards that door. What was behind that door? Why won't it open?
Who was inside?
I pass by Perv. He smiles at me, and my stomach churns as I remember that horrible first kiss. Holding my books closer to my chest, I brush past him, as if he doesn't exist.
His repulsive hand sets itself on my shoulder, sending a burning chill down my spine.
"Whoa, whoa, what's the-"
I smack his hands, and turning around, I hiss, "Don't touch me."
"Hey, Leaf-" He begins.
"Don't talk to me, don't touch me, don't ever let me see your face! You hear me, Perv?" I snap, and I hurry off, not wanting to spend another second breathing in the same air as him.
I faintly heard one of his friends muttering, "You crossed the line, dude."
He definitely did.
"Hello?" She called out. "Yoohoo, anyone there?"
No one replied. It was as if nothing existed inside the room.
But the girl knew that there was someone inside. Her instincts told her so.
She went to the front of the door everyday. Sometimes, she stayed there till the nurse had to drag her away, telling her to go home. But she never failed to return the following day.
"Hello?" She called out for the umpteenth time. "Anyone there?"
She prodded at the door.
Her heart sped up when she realized that the door was unlocked.
With a hefty push, the door opened.
And that was the day when she met him.
"Hey, Leaf." Perv says again.
I ignore him as I quicken my pace.
He follows along, adamant about getting my attention. It has been two weeks since that... that sickening kiss, and I am not even close to forgiving him.
He grabs my hand. I wince from his steel grip, and upon seeing how much he is hurting me, Perv lets his hand go.
We stay silent for a while, before I finally utter,
"What do you want from me?"
His gaze softens.
"Give me a kiss."
I flare up immediately, feeling so cheated and angry that I give him an instant slap to the face.
He does not react, his tall figure standing still, his head facing to the right from the impact. His left cheek is red.
I glare at him, fully expecting him to return me with another one of his nauseating pick-up lines, completed with that cringe-worthy smirk.
Yet, the expression he divulges is that of a look of loss, pain, sadness and hurt.
At that moment, I am at a loss of words. I stare at him in wordless astonishment, wondering why is he giving me such an unpredictable expression.
And at that moment, I let my guard down.
He suddenly bends down, gently placing his right hand onto my neck.
He kisses me.
On the lips.
So sneakily, so softly that my heart stops.
He moves away, and unveils the same smirk that I despise so much.
I can't yell. I can't speak.
I just turn around and using all my remaining strength, I run towards the girl's toilet. My legs give way, and I barely managed to support myself using the edge of the sink, a hodge-podge of emotions mixing within me. I am furious, I am irritated, I am defenseless.
I am helpless in front of him.
I start rubbing my lips roughly with my sleeves, wanting to get rid of that horrible feeling. I rub harder, and harder, and soon, my lips felt sore, and yet the aftereffects of the kisses remain.
My heart has always been beating for that boy.
Yet now, because of Green Oak, my heart is changing tracks.
"Hello." She greeted cheerily at the boy that was slumped on the hospital bed.
He waved his tiny hand.
"Can I come in?"
He nodded.
"What's your name?"
He shook his head.
"What's that thing on your mouth?"
He mumbles, his voice muffled from the oxygen mask.
The girl did not understand him.
The boy reached out for the notepad that laid motionlessly on the bedside table. He scribbled weakly onto the paper.
Who are you?
"Oh? Me? I'm Leaf. Nice to meet you!" She replied joyfully as she grasped his tiny hands.
The boy smiled.
She thought that his smile was the brightest thing in the world.
"Oh my gosh! It's Green Oak!"
Clumps of girls squeal as the male's pheromones sweep them off their feet. They admire him from afar, for he has the looks, the smarts, the body and everything a girl could hope to have for a boyfriend.
Not me.
I coldly glare at him, as he walks down the corridor. He casts me multiple glances, then a smirk that sent all the other girls to heaven.
Not me.
He is a carnivorous monster. Most girls may adore him, but I don't.
He is a monster without a name.
I don't know why must he target me. There are girls everywhere free for him to choose, but I don't know is it Devil's Luck, or Lady Luck, or Shitty Luck, he just has to choose me.
He smiles.
That is the most repulsive smile I have seen in my sixteen years worth of life.
Everyday, she talked to him, from morning till night, until the nurse informed her that it was closing time.
Every time, she would be reluctant to leave. She would whine non-stop, and beg her mother to let her stay, while the boy would muse at her funny antics.
"Will you be here tomorrow?" She would always ask before she left.
The boy thought that it was weird for her to ask the question. It was as if she always took the words right out of his mouth.
But he always replied her with a smile and a nod of the head.
The evening sun is setting, night is approaching, and the classroom is devoid of people. I have been studying, although my efforts have been unfruitful, since nothing can enter my head.
This classroom is where my first kiss was stolen by the monster.
I tell myself, Leaf, leave this place, go to the library to do the studying instead.
However, my body doesn't listen.
I know that a part of me, is holding on to this place. I know that a part of me, is attracted to that guy.
But I won't let him get what he wants. Not ever.
I calm myself down, before I glance up at the clock.
In the end, I pack my things into my schoolbag, and slinging the strap up to my shoulder, I push the chair in and got ready to leave.
"Oh, Leaf."
My back becomes impossibly straight. That voice.
"You again." I sigh.
"Is my strawberry waiting for me?" He says.
I give him a piercing stare to his face which translates to a "no".
"Give me a kiss." He repeats the same phrase.
"No."
"Don't be so cold." He answers as he waltzes to my seat, standing right next to me.
I jab him accurately at the funny bone.
He retracts his arms, and tries to endure the pain.
"I had enough of you, Green Oak." I say sternly. "Enough is enough."
"You know I can't get enough." He grins.
"First you stole my first kiss, then my second!" I shout at him, infuriated. "You're not going to take my third-"
He kisses me again, smoothly, soundlessly.
A rush of adrenaline travels through my nerves, but it is short-lived. He tears away from me very quickly, leaving me stunned there for a few moments.
"Did you say something?" He smiles. Waving a goodbye, he saunters out of the classroom.
He comes in like a storm, then he leaves like a storm.
I slap my cheeks. They aren't blushing because of him.
They. Are. Not. Blushing.
"Leaf." Her mother cooed. "You're enjoying the visits, aren't you?"
The girl quickly agreed with a vigorous nod of the head as she hugged her doll close to her. She was enjoying the visits. Because that boy was there.
Her mother frowned as she squeezed her daughter's hands.
"Leaf, do you know why that boy is in the hospital?" She asked carefully.
"Because he is ill?" The girl replied.
"Yes, but do you know what illness he has?"
"Nope."
The light in her mother's eyes died down. The girl stopped walking, as her mother squatted down to meet her eyes.
"Leaf, stop going to his room."
"Why?"
"Because one day he'll hurt you. And I don't want to see you get hurt."
"He will never hurt me!" The girl says as she squeezed her doll. "He's my friend!"
"But one day he'll be gone-"
"He won't! One day he'll get out of the hospital and then he'll play with me at the playground!"
"Leaf..." Her mother's voice trailed off. She could not directly tell her child the truth, and she could never tell her child the forbidden word. Not when she was still a mere four year old.
"Missing me?" Perv says as he walks towards my desk. He places a hand on the top, and stands in a cool manner. I glance at him, and proceed to ignore him.
"Hey, Leaf, who is the guy you've wanted to give your first kiss to?" He asks casually, yet so suddenly that I drop my pen onto the ground in shock.
Recovering my reverie, I quickly bend down to pick it up. Yet, the moment I did, I accidentally bump heads with Perv. Our faces are impossibly close, close enough for him to kiss me.
He did not.
Instead, he place it onto my table and waits for me to answer. It seems as if he is keeping his tendencies in check today.
"You don't have to know." I dully answer, as I click the pen a few times out of habit.
"I have to." He insists."
"And why is it that the great Green Oak demands that I tell him who I like?" I retort as I write down the answer to the math question on my paper.
"Because it pains me that you're thinking of some other guy in front of me." He says as he gazes at me so intently that a fuzzy kind of warmth envelops my chest.
"I don't care." I say firmly. I'm not going to let him sway my heart anymore.
"I care." He affirms. "So, give me a kiss."
I look up, wanting to say something in return. Yet, he uses this chance to close the distance between us.
Instead of a kiss, he gives me a light peck to the cheek.
I clap the same spot in surprise, leaning backwards.
"You're mine, Leaf." He says endearingly.
"How pitiful."
"How pitiful."
"How pitiful."
The girl did not understand what the nurses and doctors are saying. What was pitiful?
"What's pitiful?" She asked the boy, whose eyes glazed over. He wrote down his reply on the notepad.
Me. They're talking about me.
The girl stood up abruptly, her small hands balling up into tiny fists.
"You're not pitiful! You're my friend, and you're not pitiful!" She shouted, causing the group of nurses outside the ward to flinch, and they hurriedly moved away.
Thanks.
The girl beamed at him, and he beamed back. The girl then held his hands.
"You know, my Mama says that when friends hold hands, they hold it normally like this." She pointed out as she demonstrated, four fingers grasping his palm, thumb interlocking his.
"But when people who are lovey-dovey hold hands, they hold it like this."
Her fingers slowly slid through the gaps of his, both hands interlocking. She then relaxed the grip.
She smiled at the boy, but the boy did not return with his own.
The girl realized something.
The boy was not letting go of her hand.
I drum the top of the desk, as I think long and hard about this particular physics question.
"If the plane is moving at a velocity of 850km/h..." I mumble under my breath.
"Then the answer is 4560."
"Geh."
"What's with that? I just helped you solve a question, strawberry." Perv says, as he gives me a puppy-dog expression. I snort, and start rereading the question. My pen remains still for a long while.
"Need help with the explanation?" He offers.
"No. Go away, perv."
"Well, if you insist. Using the formula-"
"I said, go away!" I shout.
"Do you want to improve your grades, or not?" He says, an unusual look in his eyes that silences me. I nod.
He starts elucidating, his minty breath diverging my attention. I listen halfheartedly at him, as his voice takes me in.
His lips suddenly plasters onto mine, our breaths mixing, my taste buds tasting the mint. I widen my eyes in shock and push him away.
"What the heck are you doing!?" I yell, mad at him for kissing me again without my permission.
"You weren't paying attention. So I asked you for a kiss and I took your silence as a yes." He answers, winking at me cheekily.
Vexed, I smack a book into his face, in which he blocks it with ease. He clasps his hands together, placing them on the table and leans forward.
"You're falling for me."
Those very words lit a fuse. I explode in a split second.
"I'm not!"
I throw my pens at him, and grabbing the rest of my belongings, I stuff them in my bag and flew out of the accursed classroom.
I am going to die, Leaf.
The girl gazed at the boy quizzically. She did not understand what did the word "die" meant.
It means that I'm going to be gone soon.
That was the first time the concept of death was introduced to Leaf.
I never spoke to Green after that day. He will try to approach me, but every single time, I'll do whatever it takes to escape from him.
I started staying in the library to study, giving him no chances to come near me.
This continued for quite some time.
Until that day.
"Bye Leaf!" My friends say to me. I return them a friendly wave, and walk towards the front door.
"Oh my gosh, it's Green Oak!"
Almost immediately, goosebumps appear on my skin, and I start panicking, looking to my left and my right as I try to find an escape route. The front door is jam-packed with female students scrambling to take a peek at the school's most popular guy, so my only option is the back door.
Surely, I will avoid him again.
"Where are you going, strawberry?" His voice rings next to my ear, and before I knew it, he is standing at the door, blocking my exit.
"Eh? Leaf?"
"He's talking to Leaf?"
"Why Leaf?"
Murmurs break out in the classroom, and soon, more students from the other classes are mingling in with the crowd. Sensing that something is going to go wrong, I struggle to move past him, but he stubbornly refuse to budge.
"Perv, you don't know me, I don't know you." I snarl just loud enough for him to hear.
"You know you know me." He says, as his arm snakes up to my waist. "Because right now, you'll give me a kiss."
"Wai-"
He shuts my words away with yet other lip-to-lip. My blood goes cold as I find myself in the worst predicament in my high school life. All eyes are on me, blood lust and jealousy seeping out from all the female students.
I fight to get out of this uncomfortable situation, but Green Oak holds me tighter, sinking me deeper and deeper. My remaining thoughts fly away, my mind a blank, as he kisses me, all the surrounding noise dissipating into nothingness.
After what seems to be an eternity, he finally releases me. I walk backwards unsteadily, and stumble. I expect myself to fall flat onto the ground, yet Green Oak catches me, and in my confused state of mind, I am unable to comprehend anything.
The only thing I managed to catch is Green Oak shouting towards the audience. The sentence that I never expected him to say.
"From today on, this girl here is my girlfriend!"
"What happens when you go away?" She asked, her hands shaking out of fright.
Nothing. I'm just gone.
The girl opened her mouth, and closed it again. She tried to stop the shaking. Meanwhile, the boy scribbled on the notepad, and when he was finally done, he gently nudged the girl's hand.
Leaf, I'm scared.
"I'm scared too." She muttered as she hugged her doll.
He scribbled, and scribbled, for a long while.
I want to live, but the adults say I can't. I want to grow up into adult, but the adults say I can't. I want to be normal, but the adults say I can't. I want to play in the playground, but the adults say I can't. I want to take off the mask and speak, but the adults say I can't. And most importantly...
"Most importantly?" The girl asked.
The boy flipped the page. The girl read the words.
Her cheeks reddened, tears threatening to come out of her eyes.
I want to love you, but I can't.
"Leaf, congratulations!" My whole class cheer, sparklers going off. I narrow my eyes, and taking a deep breath, I yell,
"I'm not dating anyone! I'm not dating Green Oak!"
The class turn to stone for a few seconds.
"Oh, don't be shy." My class chairman says as she grins.
"You don't have to worry about people being jealous!"
"Yeah, the whole school has accepted your relationship with the Prince!"
I cough violently. Prince? What the heck?
How did things went from bad to worse?
"Why, it's so romantic, don't you think?" One of my classmate chatters. "I mean, Green Oak never expressed his love to anyone openly before!"
"To think that the first person he kissed will be Leaf! Oh, I'm feeling faint from the fluff." Another pipes in.
"You're so lucky he chose you!"
I pause as I digest the information bombarded at me. First person? Openly?
My brain short-circuited, all impressions of Green Oak breaking into bits.
I thought he is a playboy.
He is not.
I thought he is frivolous.
He is not.
I thought he will kiss any girl he meets.
He won't.
I thought he is the most un-gentlemanly person in the whole planet.
He is not.
As the class goes into a festive mode, I am there thinking to myself,
He is serious.
"Eh, where are you going? Class is starting soon!"
I ignore my classmate's cries, and waste no time to dash to the next class.
"Is Green Oak here!?"
The people inside turn their focus to me.
"It's the girlfriend." Someone says. The urge to deny it rises in my chest, until a helpful person told me that he is ditching class, and is currently at the rooftop.
I mutter my thanks, and zoom past the many classes, even passing by my teacher, who roars gibberish at me. I climb the stairs, as fast as I can. Every flight is so exhausting, yet filled with anticipation, because I know that I am getting closer to the rooftop,
I am getting closer to him.
The moment I slam the door opened, Green Oak peeks over his shoulder and gives me a smile strikes a chord in my heartstrings.
"Heya, strawberry." He says. I clench my fists, and then the question bottled up in my mind emerges.
"Are you serious about me?"
"Why, of course."
"So do you love me?"
Green Oak falters at the question.
He gives me the same pained expression, the one I saw the day he kissed me the second time. He stands up, and walking towards me, he reveals a smile that is different from his usual ones.
He looks... unbearably sad.
"Give me a kiss, Leaf." He says, his voice brittle, no longer the husky and alluring voice that said that phrase the first time.
He is on the verge of crying.
My mind goes blank. I let my hands and lips do the work.
My arms rest on his shoulders, bringing him closer to me. I lock his lips with mine.
At that instant, I completely forgot about the boy from twelve years ago.
Leaf, I'm moving away tomorrow.
"Mama told me. You're going to the white building at the big city." The girl said. "She said you'll get better at that other building, is that true?"
Yeah.
"So you won't... die?" She said it, unaccustomed to the word.
Yeah.
"Then can you live?"
Yeah.
"Can you grow up into an adult?"
Yeah.
"Can I hear your voice?"
Yeah.
Green Oak never replied to me that morning.
He just cried. His sniffles and sobs etched in my mind. He was like a child, letting the tap open, letting his tears come out.
He cried himself to sleep.
Yet it did not last long. The teachers of both of our classes arrived at the rooftop in less then thirty minutes. Oddly enough, they did not scold either of us. Instead, they woke Green up, and whispered some things to him, in which he nodded in compliance. Afterwards, they rushed me back to my class.
Green Oak was gone for the whole day.
"When can I see you? Tomorrow? Tomorrow tomorrow? Tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow?" She hiccuped. "Or never?"
The boy quickly wrote on the notepad, and passing the paper to her, he grabbed her hands, interlocking their fingers.
I promise I will come back. I will come back to love you. So promise me, that you will let me kiss you first.
"What is a kiss?" The girl asked.
The boy blinked, before he smiled charmingly, keeping his answer a secret.
"Give me a kiss." He says to me in the hallway, before the start of homeroom. He isn't wearing his uniform, and is only donning a pair of jeans and a pale grey shirt. From his outfit, I assumed that he will not be attending lessons. A few people are staring at us, but I ignore them as I stare at him with half-lidded eyes. I haven't seen him for one whole day, and this is the first thing he says to me.
"What happened to you yesterday?" I ask, out of concern.
"Give me a kiss, Leaf." He repeats.
"You were crying. Are you okay?" I ask, pushing his request aside.
"Give me a kiss."
"Then tell me what happened to you." I say willfully.
"Give me a kiss." He says again.
The bell rings.
"Uh, I need to go."
Green does not respond. I wave at him slowly, and sensing no reaction, I turn around, wanting to head off.
His hand grabs my wrist, and I wince from the sudden pressure placed on the area. I scrunch up my face from the pain, hoping that he can lessen the grip.
He doesn't.
"Green, what's wrong?" I ask slowly, gently. He is making that expression again. That heart-wrenching expression.
"Give me a kiss." He rasps.
The hallway is empty, and a subtle silence fell between us.
I pat his hand mildly and he lets go of my wrist obediently.
Time stands still, and my heart thumps loudly, so loud that I fear that it might be heard by everyone else in school.
I stroke his cheek, tenderly. I lift my head higher, my feet tip-toeing just this slightly, and I lightly kiss him.
I let go, but he doesn't.
Instead, he brings me into a fervent embrace, his hands digging at my back. My lips are sealed again and again, as he kisses me for ages. I can't tear away. He's holding me too tightly.
He lets go, finally allowing me to catch my breath. I wheeze, and then catches a glimpse of him.
A single tear drops down from the edge of his left eye.
"I'm sorry, Leaf." He says. "I'm so sorry."
The girl left. No, it was the other way round.
He left.
He gazed out of the window, his eyes following the tiny figure of the girl walking out of the hospital. She soon disappeared from his line of sight.
He sniffed. He rubbed his eyes.
He bawled.
A nurse frantically rushed to his side, coaxing him, wondering what had went wrong. She asked him repeatedly what happened, but the boy just continued to cry.
She did not know what to do with him.
No one knew what to do with him.
Because the pain he felt was not felt by anyone else.
The pain of lying was excruciating to the heart.
"Leaf! Pay attention!" My teacher karate chops my head with the thick history textbook, causing me to break out from my thoughts.
I flail my arms in shock, earning laughter from my classmates. Nodding my head, I prop up my textbook and stare at it. The teacher continues to drone on, while I go back into a state of blank thoughts.
"Leaf!"
"Leaf!"
"Leaf!"
My name has been called repeatedly over the past four days, and I was even called to the staff room twice. Every time I did, I will listen to their nagging for a while, and then shut down my hearing system, closing off all noise.
And over the past four days, Green Oak never came to school.
"Leaf, come to my office later." My homeroom teacher says to me sternly.
I nod my head, listless and lifeless.
My friends cast me worried looks. I give them a thumbs up, trying to show that I am okay.
Although I am not.
I trudge towards the staff room for the third time this week.
"Leaf." My teacher commands for my attention. I grunt back in reply.
"Green Oak is in the hospital."
I widen my eyes.
"He's been having some problems with his health, and the school has been trying to keep this information confidential. But seeing you like this, we have asked his parents for permission, and they decided that it is fit that you learn of his condition."
I lied to her.
The boy wrote on his notepad. His mother took it, and she ran through the many words he had written on it over the past two months.
His mother clutched her chest, when she finally understood what had happened.
I lied to her that I won't die.
"He has been coping with a terminal disease since young, and from what we are aware of, he will not live up till the age of seventeen. His parents had went around the country to find ways to cure him, but in the end it was all for naught. Mr and Mrs Oak told us that for the three years remaining in his life, Green had requested to come to this town to go to school, and according to them, the two of you knew each other when you two were four years old."
"Four years old?" I croak, my hands and legs shaking involuntarily.
"It'll be best for you to go to see him now. You have my permission."
I say nothing. I bite my lower lip, my brain still trying to process what I just heard.
I am going to die, Leaf.
I sprint out of the staff room, out of the hallway, out to the bicycle stands. Swinging myself onto the seat, I muster all the strength I have, and start pedaling.
It was no Devil's Luck, or Lady Luck or whatever kind of Luck.
Finally arriving at the hospital, I abandon my bicycle and rush to the reception counter.
"Green Oak. Please." I gasp.
"What's your relationship to him?" The receptionist inquires.
"Girlfriend." I reply.
The teenager sighs, his breath misting up the oxygen mask. On his arms, his legs, his chest, wires are poking at him, forcing him to lay completely still.
He's going to die.
He knows it very well. It's his body.
He has so many regrets. Too many, in fact.
Most of them revolve around a single girl. The girl he lied to twelve years ago.
I'm such a selfish human being, aren't I?
He closes his eyes.
First, he selfishly promised her. Second, he selfishly lied to her. Third, he selfishly kissed her. Fourth, he selfishly left her, twice.
Emotions well up inside him, and his eyes turn wet.
Ah, I want to see her.
Footsteps rang out from outside of his ward.
The door slams open.
He tilts his head, but his blurry vision prevents him from seeing anything.
But he knows.
God, is it alright if you let me be selfish? For one more time?
Leaf stands at his door, panting.
"Green Oak." I gasp. The sight of him melts everything away. My defenses, my heart, my whole self.
He stares at me. I stare at him.
I open my mouth, and he readies himself.
"Can you live?"
He blinks his eyes in incredulity.
He shakes his head.
"Can you grow up into an adult?"
He shakes his head.
"Can you take off your mask and let me hear your voice?" I say, my whole body shaking.
He pause.
He unstraps the oxygen mask.
"Yes." He replies weakly.
I clench my fist.
"T-Then, can you... love me?" I say, pronouncing each word clearly.
He says nothing. Again.
"You made me wait for twelve years for you to kiss me."
He stays silent.
"What is a kiss?"
He makes no response.
"What is a kiss?" I say again, as I walk closer to his bed. I am now right beside him, and he gasps feebly the moment I grab his hands.
I interlock our fingers together.
"What... is a kiss?" I swallow, trying to hold the lump in, but in the end, it was all futile, as tears pour out of my eyes. I snivel, and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to contain them in, but the liquid just travel through the gaps, making my cheeks wet, wet with tears.
A cool finger rubs my cheeks, softly, lovingly. I open my eyes, Green's face is unclear, but I can see him, even if it's through my wet tears.
"It's..." He sighs. "Proof that I love you."
I hold his hand tighter than ever.
"Is it alright, for me to be selfish again?"
"You should say, 'Give me a kiss', you dummy." I chuckle as I smile softly.
He returns me the smile. The same smile that I thought to be the brightest thing in the world.
It still is the brightest thing in the world.
"Give me a kiss." He says.
The female teenager joins the row of people clad in black, both hands holding onto a small white lily that is contrasted against her black dress. The many people before her spoke of short epitaphs, wishes, and soft prayers as they approach the open casket, one by one.
It is her turn.
She moves closer to the casket, and she sees him lying inside, looking at peace.
She presses two fingers against her lips.
She reaches out and presses the same two fingers onto his lips.
"Give me a kiss." She says.