2 4 1 Special

Part One

I knock on the door across the hall from mine and wait patiently for an answer. Usually it is my door that gets tapped on, but an occasion like this calls for changing up the roles. Mrs. Benson opens the door slowly, pausing it at just a crack at first.

"Uh, hi Mrs. Benson, I was hoping to see Freddie."

She finishes opening the door and looks at me sternly.

"That Sam girl has taken it too far this time, you know. He won't leave his room. I pretended to not see iCarly so I could play along that he is ill…"

"I'm really sorry. Do you think he'd let me visit?"

Mrs. Benson steps aside to allow me inside the apartment and points in the direction of the stairs that lead up to Freddie's room. I take that as an invitation and mumble a 'thanks' before disappearing to the second story. His door is shut when I arrive so I tap on it softly.

"I told you I don't need anything, mom," he calls from inside.

"I'm not your mom," I announce quickly.

He's sitting at his desk, tapping a pencil against a textbook. His eyes lock with mine briefly before he changes his attention to the screen saver on his lap top screen.

"Come in, I guess," he replies, motioning for me to sit on the bed behind him. I do exactly that and he turns around his chair so we can be facing each other.

"I'm sorry about school today…"

I kinda trail off, knowing it can't mean much coming from me. It's Sam who caused the damage.

"With all the abuse from Sam you'd thing I could handle the teasing by now, but having so many people judge me at once…"

"There is no way you are the ONLY fifteen-year-old at Ridgeway who hasn't had their first kiss. Fortunately for the others, they don't run a web show that Sam can blab their secrets on."

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal to everyone. Including you. If you hadn't asked me…"

So I do feel some guilt for being the initiator in the conversation Sam overheard, but it's still mostly her fault for needing to come out on top.

"You went into that prank knowing that Sam wouldn't lay idle about it."

"I was expecting physical harm though, not emotional humiliation."

"Sam wasn't going to let you pick her payback. She enjoys taking her victims by surprise."

"But now everyone is going to know me as 'Kissless Benson' until they see me kiss someone, which means I have to make sure it happens while at school."

"You don't have a girlfriend. How are you going to make that happen?"

"Well, I was hoping…"

I should have seen this coming.

"Freddie…"

"I know you won't do it."

"You should save your first kiss for someone special."

"Did you?"

"Not exactly."

"See, besides, I do consider you special."

Stuff like that should be significant to me, but it just doesn't seem like it coming from Freddie.

"That's really sweet, but I can't kiss you."

"We can practice before trying it at school," he suggests, refusing to give up.

I don't know what causes me to agree, maybe deep down I do feel it's my fault that he hasn't had his first kiss since I've turned down his obsessive crush for so long.

"Fine, I'll do it. But only because I don't want a friend's life to stay ruined."

He smiles brightly and gets up off the computer chair to join me on his bed.

"So, who should start?"

"What? You want to practice now?"

I thought we could delay it a bit longer.

"I can't miss much school or I'll get too behind in my classes…"

I lean in and let our lips connect solidly, cutting him off. Neither of us applies much pressure so it turns out feeling stiff. He is the one to pull back first and we just kind of look at each other afterward.

"Th…that's it?"

I shrug.

"It was lip contact."

"But it was so…"

"…dull? I told you it would be."

I give him an apologetic look.

"Can we try again?"

So much for getting it over with. I should have put more effort into it.

"Sure," I agree, hoping it will be the next to last time if you include when we take the action public.

I wait for him this time, hoping he'll believe the first one was like kissing a best friend will always feel if he has the control. His lips sneak up on mine and they meet with more force than I expected. I tumble off balance and land with my back against his Pear, Inc. comforter, his body managing to naturally follow and hover above me as we remain connected.