Chapter seven: The Accident

"Annabel? Annabel, talk! Please!" I felt smooth fingers stroking my face and running through my hair. My eyelids opened to the familiar sound of Goth Guy's voice. His blue eyes cut and burned me but I loved it. Breath swept my face and I inhaled deeply, the smell of it driving my thoughts in wicked circles.

"You… saved me," my voice was way too cheesy. It whispered and floated like gauze and I nearly puked at the similarity to a fairy tale.

He raised one eyebrow, as if question my sanity. "Yes."

"Why? How?" Somewhere behind his head I heard the sound of a car door slamming and the sobs of Raven.

Goth Guy looked behind his shoulder quickly. "Shit," he murmured. "I knew I shouldn't have done it. I knew it… but I just had to anyway. So damn stupid," He looked back at me like he'd forgotten I was there. Suddenly, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me up. I allowed myself the privilege of leaning on him heavily as I squeezed my arms around his torso.

"Oh my fucking cookies!" I smiled at Raven's odd habit, but I couldn't bring myself to look away from Goth Guy's face for more than a few seconds. He still had his Korn hoodie on and his blue jeans were faded and torn. "Annabel! You're okay! I thought for sure you…. I'm sorry! Holy shit! I can't believe you're okay!" Raven threw herself at me, knocking out my breath and ripping my arms form their happy position around Goth Guy's waist.

Sadly I settled for Raven to hug. But it still felt great to be loved. Right now I could tell my shirt was covered in tears and probably snot, but I didn't care. My laugh was shaky and transparent but it felt like the right response to Raven's blubbering. "Rave, I'm alright. Goth Guy saved me! It's all cool. Calm down, Sis!" I kept repeating this into Raven's black hair until she finally looked up at me.

"Goth Guy?" she managed to whisper before I heard the sounds of my mom's alarmed cry and Alyce's familiar "Raven!"

I sighed when Raven automatically turned for Alyce. Slowly, I turned to face my mom. "It's all fine. I'm okay. Well, I almost got killed, but I'm fine," I bit back a laugh while my mom's eyes got wider and wider. She had eyes like a doe- large, brown and trusting. She hugged me to her chest tightly.

"Mom… can't… breath!" I gasped.

"I don't care," she said, but eased her grip.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the owner of the car, a silver ford from forever ago, hobble over to us. The man was seventy-something, and his voice creaked as he asked, "Is everyone alive? Sorry I didn't see her. I keep telling my daughter to buy me new glasses but she insists I can see fine!"

"Yes, everyone is alright. Go on. No harm done I suppose," my dad said stiffly. I struggled around in my mom's arms and looked at the old dude. He was about five feet tall and his back was curved so that it looked like he was in a perpetual bow. Old Dude's head was gigantic compared to his shriveled, skinny body. The few blonde hairs on his head were styled in the worst comb-over of the century. The pin-striped bright yellow shirt was tucked almost to his chest in a khaki pair of dress pants that was too short. I looked at his brown socks in their loafers and held back a hysterical laugh.

Then I remembered with a gasp. Goth Guy was not even getting recognized! I tore myself away from my mother's arms and spun wildly around. "Goth Guy?" I whispered quietly. A movement out of the corner of my caught me. Goth Guy had turned his head my way. He had pressed himself against the corner of my house and the small alleyway between out neighbor's house. Ignoring all around me, I walked over to him.

"Thanks," I said lamely. Idiot! All you can say is 'thanks'! Jeesh! You're a moron!

Goth Guy shrugged stiffly. "No problem…" he looked on edge and tense. I wondered why. "You're the girl on the bus," he said after a while.

I blushed. "Wish you hadn't said that. I really wasn't acting with my head then-"

"No," he interrupted, his gaze locking me in place yet again, "You were acting with your heart."

I didn't know how to react to his sudden intensity. My over taxed brain offered up a small subject, even though it had been used before and was totally over with. "If there's anything I can do to make it up. I mean, I sorta owe you my life…"

Now his blue eyes frightened me. His already intense look grew and darkened. "You want to make it up?" he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the alleyway. I gasped a bit when my back collided with the wall roughly. "Don't move. Just go along… and stop me if I lose it," his voice was rough but somehow still remained smooth and amazingly soft. The familiar scent of his breath washed over me again, now too near for me to think at all.

"Lose it?" I gasped.

Then his lips touched mine.

All was lost. Everything could have gone straight to Hell at that moment, and I really didn't care. I was going with it. Sparks jumped like lightning bolts between our lips, pulling us closer together. His fingers roughly grabbed my waist and pulled me closer right as my fingers clutched at his hair. Our lips moved in perfect synch as our bodies plastered themselves to each other.

I pulled back for air, but his lips never left me. Instead he started to kiss my bottom lip roughly. A slight frustrated groan escaped him and he captured my lips again. I could feel his body wishing for more and, sadly, I wanted more too.

"Ahemm!" someone cleared their throat. We pulled apart, but his tooth grazed my lip, drawing blood.

Then he wasn't pulling away anymore. He simply stood there, anguish twisting his face, as he stared at my bleeding lip. "I- I want…" then his beautiful eyes looked up at mine. He reached up to cup his hand around my cheek. "Goodbye," he turned and fled.

Only after I watched him turn around the corner, his hair disheveled, would I turn and look at who interrupted us. A blush painted my already feverish skin.

Raven and Alyce were standing at the beginning of the street, holding hands and biting back laughter.