A/N: Okay, here it is! I made it slightly longer, as was asked! Please R&R! The order for upcoming chapters is Elliot and Chelsea, Vaughn and Chelsea, Anita and Lloyd, and Mark and Natalie. If you have suggestions about exactly what you would like to see, don't hesitate to ask! Remember, reviews are love!Oh, this chapter is for RainbowsNSmiles5!
Mary and Kai- Friends of Mineral Town
"What's wrong, Mary?" Kai asked me, sitting himself down next to me on the sand. "You've been even quieter than normal lately, and I haven't even seen you pick up a book in a wile."
"I've just got a lot on my mind," I sighed, looking out to the waves.
"Sharing is caring," He grinned, nudging me with his shoulder. I frowned.
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?" He asked, and I was no longer the only one frowning. I looked down and my cheeks flushed.
"Popuri," I mumbled. Kai looked shocked.
"You're upset because of Popuri?" He seemed incredulous. I nodded furiously, still not looking at him. "But she's such a nice girl, how did she make you upset?" He had no idea, and I wasn't sure if that made me glad, or disappointed.
"She kissed you," I said softly, and a tear fell down my face.
"But why would that…oh." He paused for a moment, speechless. But then he was back as his normal self, which almost bothered me as much as seeing Popuri kiss him had. "You were jealous, weren't you?" He laughed robustly as if this were all some big game. Of course it was, this was Kai. I should have known better than to fall for him. But it was like I had read in many of my romance novels, the girl somehow always feel for the guy that was all wrong for her. Kai studied my face a moment. "Awh, don't cry Mary," He smiled and then did something that truly surprised me. He wiped away a tear with his finger and wrapped an arm around me. "I would rather have you kiss me," He breathed into my ear. My heart stopped beating in my chest as I turned my face up to look at him. I got lost in his eyes, like I always did when I talked to him. They were big and brown and warm and so full of emotion all the time. As he leaned in I panicked and scrambled out of his grasp and up off the sand. Before he could say anything I ran back towards home, my head spinning. Kai had tried to kiss me! I hurried into my safe haven and shut the door before leaning against the frame to catch my breath. Why had I run? Was I really that shy that I couldn't let a guy I'd been crushing on kiss me? He had said he wanted to kiss me! But maybe he had only said that to make me feel better. He and Popuri had kissed just yesterday, after all. I ran up to my room past my disgruntled parents and grabbed a book off the shelf. Screw Kai, I was going to read, and I was going to forget about him! I curled up into an armchair and opened the familiar book, but I couldn't focus. Thoughts about Kai and what-ifs kept creeping across my mind until I was ready to throw the book across the room. This was so unlike me, and I was kind of worried. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door and my mother answered it.
"Kai!" I heard her say in surprise. My heart thudded in my chest. Why was he hear? What did he want?
"I came to see Mary, if that's alright," He said, playing the part of a gentleman perfectly. Part of me wanted him to come see me, but the other part wanted my parents to send him away.
"Sure, come in," My mother offered warmly, and my heart beat like a drum. "She's upstairs, but she seems to be a bit out of sorts."
"Thanks," Kai's voice drifted towards my room as his footsteps cam closer. I took a deep breath. I was not going to make a fool out of myself this time. The door creaked open and in stepped Kai, looking as handsome as ever in his purple bandanna. "Mary?" He asked tentatively. "Are you okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned, and I was touched.
"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I-I really did want to kiss you." I admitted, my face going scarlet, much to my embarrassment.
"Which is why I came to see you," He replied, coming to sit on the arm of my chair, his thigh brushing my arm. "I want to kiss you too."
"But why?" I squeaked, the close contact making me awfully nervous.
"Because you are amazing," He laughed loudly. "And because I don't want you to be jealous anymore." He leaned down and his lips brushed against mine for a fraction of a second before I pulled away.
"B-but what a-bout P-popuri?" I stuttered. His warm breath in my face was distracting, making it hard to think coherently.
"I never really liked her anyway." He shrugged, and leaned forward again.
"But-" I began, pulling back.
"Stop making this difficult, Mary," He smiled. I took a breath and this time it was me that closed the distance between us.