Nathaniel

Candy had imagined a lot of things when Nathaniel had invited her for a shopping trip. "Nothing fancy," he had added quickly, "I just need some new books and I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining me, since you asked if I had any recommendations?" Candy had to supress a tiny smile. Her asking Nathaniel for some book recommendations had been more of an excuse to talk to him, but she never imagined it would turn out like this. A date – sort of. Well, at least they would be spending time alone, in a quaint little book shop… The possibilities were endless, maybe she would finally find the courage to confess to Nathaniel how she really felt about him.

Standing soaking wet at the entrance of Nathaniel's apartment was something her imagination had not counted on.

"Boy," Candy shivered slightly, rubbing her hands over her arms, "that sudden downpour came as a surprise."

"It certainly did," Nathaniel replied. He handed her a towel, and she gratefully used it to dry her hair.

Nathaniel smiled gently as he signalled with his hand and guided her further into his apartment. "Come on in, I'll make us some hot cocoa. That'll warm us up."

While he made his way to the kitchen, she looked around the room nervously. It was her first time visiting a boy, but more importantly, it was the first time she visited Nathaniel since he started living alone. Alone. Candy's heart started to speed up at the thought of it and she could feel her face becoming flushed. What was she going to do? Was she ready to confess? She felt something suddenly stroke against her leg and woke up from her pondering.

"Hey there White," she greeted the cat, who graciously allowed Candy to pet her. "You're so lucky, living with Nathaniel, aren't you?" White purred, as if agreeing with her. "I guess it's just the two of us" – the cat shot her an annoyed glare – "I mean three of us for now." Satisfied by the petting, White made her way to the couch, taking place on it like it was a throne. But Candy was too nervous to sit. She was still soaked to the bone, her sweater sticking to her skin uncomfortably, and she didn't want to soak Nathaniel's furniture. The sweater really was annoying, so she decided to wrestle it off. A new chill ran down her spine when a draft of cold air hit her exposed arms, and Candy couldn't help but sneeze. She must've been colder than she thought, but the butterflies in her stomach had made her forget temporarily.

At that moment Nathaniel walked back in, two cups of piping hot chocolate in his hands. "That was quite a sneeze," he said a bit worriedly as he looked up from the cups, "Are you sure you are-" The blond stopped in the middle of his sentence and just stood there, taking Candy in.

"Nathaniel?" Candy asked, waving a hand in front of him. The boy came to his senses again, a hint of a blush covering his cheeks. He averted his eyes and looked back at the cups. "Uhm, maybe – maybe you should take a shower or something? Just – just so you won't catch a cold." He hurriedly put down the cocoa, still averting his gaze.

Why was Nathaniel acting so strange all of a sudden? Candy looked around, fearing she had done something wrong. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just that your clothes are really wet, so it would be better if I put them in the dryer and the shower will help you warm up. I'll bring you a change of clothes in the meantime." His eyes darted over her body, the blush not leaving his face.

"Okay then", Candy nodded shyly. Nathaniel's awkward behaviour seemed to be infectious. She entered the door Nathaniel had pointed towards, and was greeted by a tiny bathroom. There was a shower on the right and a long mirror on her left. Worriedly she glanced at the mirror. She must look like a mess, maybe that was why Nathaniel acted so weird. Her hair was indeed sticking up in some places, strands of hair plastered to her face, but it was still far from that girl in The Ring. Had she said something wrong, then? It was only when she looked at her white top she understood Nathaniel's reaction. Oh dear. The rain had reached even further than her sweater, and the top underneath was as wet as the rest. Of course it had to be a white top, or as it was now, completely see-through. Candy could see her reflection grow completely red. Still, she made a note of thanking Rosa later. If she hadn't pushed Candy to get some more 'mature' lingerie, she would've looked like a complete fool now. At least Nathaniel had reacted in a good way, right?

Candy grinned as she hopped in the shower, softly humming a song from her favourite band to get rid of the remaining tension. Refreshed she left the shower, and found the clothes Nathaniel left for her. They were a size or two too big, so the trousers kept sliding down. Then a tempting thought pooped up. Candy could just envision a tiny Rosa on her shoulder, encouraging her to take some initiative: "You can't wait for guys to do all the work, dear. Boys can be so slow when it comes to things that have to do with emotions." She chuckled as she imagined the eye roll that would accompany Rosa's remark.

"Nathaniel?"

He could hear her voice coming from the hall, meaning she must've found the clothes he left at the door. He had felt conflicted about entering while she was showering, especially after the – certainly not unpleasant – image of Candy, beautiful Candy covered in drops of rain, her shirt tightly clinging to her tanned skin, accentuating her curves… Nathaniel quickly shook his head. That picture was something he would save for later, when he could indulge in his fantasy and there was no one around to see the embarrassment on his face.

"In the living room", he shouted back. In the time Candy spent showering, he had reheated the cocoa and calmed himself down a bit. He plopped on the sofa, scratching behind White's ears. She purred in delight, inching closer.

Mug in the other hand, he blew over the top before taking a sip. His timing could not have been more impeccable, because right at that moment Candy entered, and it took all of his strength not to spit his cocoa out when he saw her. Her hair was shiny and smooth, a light pink coloured her cheeks. Any other time he would have been entranced by the gentle smile she threw his way, but not now. There was something far more distracting in front of him. So distracting even that he stopped petting White, who slapped her paw against his hand before jumping off the sofa, looking very offended.

Before him stood Candy, wearing nothing more than the over-sized shirt he had prepared for her. The shirt barely covered anything, allowing him a good view of Candy's lean legs. She looked more beautiful than ever before. He nearly choked in his cocoa when he finally remembered how to swallow.

"Thanks for the clothes", she smiled, grabbing the other mug and settling down next to him. Nathaniel couldn't look away from those legs, how they moved towards him and came within reach.

"Yeah, n-no problem", he quickly answered back, whipping up his head to look anywhere but her exposed legs.

She giggled shyly, pointing at the shirt. "I hope you don't mind, but the trousers kept dropping, so I only put on the shirt."

Nathaniel hummed. "I should've thought about that. Sorry." Again his gaze went over her, and he feared Candy had awakened him to some weird kink. Or maybe his feelings had been cropped up for too long and he could no longer stop them from coming out. Either way, he was screwed. Here he was, alone with the girl he was in love with, and said girl was wearing one of his shirts, and if he didn't do something quickly, his stupid mouth would just ruin everything.

Candy blinked slowly, cosying up with the warm mug in both her hands. And then everything just clicked. This was it, this was the situation he would love to come home to. Candy in his sofa, in his shirt, cuddling up to him. That was all he ever wanted, and logic be damned. He would risk their entire friendship, he knew, but Nathaniel was no longer the boy that just put up with everything. He was no longer his dad's punching bag. It was Candy who made him realise. It had to be her and no one else.

"Candy," he started, shifting his body in her direction. She looked up from her mug.

"Hmm?"

"Don't freak out. What I'm going to say may surprise you, but I decided to act on my feelings, instead of ignoring them."

Her eyes grew a bit wider. She put down the cocoa, sensing that what was to come was of great importance.

"I like you", Nathaniel declared. "It has to be you. And I know you may not feel the same way about me, but I'm tired of just making excuses. I like you, Candy. I really, really like you."

He nervously looked down, afraid of her reaction, but then he felt arms wrap around his back and Candy's warm breath on his ear. "Me too," she sighed, "I really like you too!"

The next moment Nathaniel brought her face closer to his and their lips connected. It was a soft, gentle kiss that warmed his very bones. Candy fitted perfectly in his arms, and the way her lips moved against his…

After what seemed like hours their lips separated. Both were blushing furiously, but their eyes sparkled.

Candy giggled.

"What?" Nathaniel smiled against her forehead, dropping soft kisses on it.

"We've only been together for five minutes, and I'm already wearing the boyfriend shirt."

"You don't hear me complaining", Nathaniel laughed in return.

They both smiled at each other, and soon their lips connected again.