Alya sets out the ground rules, "We can go in reverse order from Never-Have-I-Ever. So Ivan starts, then Nathaniel and so on. Ready, Ivan?"
Ivan looks across the table towards Mylene. "Darling, I hope I get you, but if I don't, please forgive me."
Mylene giggles. "If someone else gets on your lips, I'll kiss you a hundred times to make up for it."
Their couple antics make me want to throw up in my mouth. Mercifully, they don't carry on, and Ivan makes a solid spin. It goes twice, three times… landing on Alix.
Alix smirks. "Come on, big guy."
They're several seats away, so Alix hops out of her seat to approach him. Ivan, with his large arms, picks her up from the ground and brings her up to eye level with him. I am surprised how fast they move. No hesitation. Alix said she had played spin-the-bottle before, and with her competitive nature she was ready to jump into most situations. And Ivan is in a relationship, which might make him feel more secure. I glance at Mylene, she does not seem distressed upon facing her boyfriend kiss another girl.
I wonder how I would feel if Nino kissed another boy. We were not dating, but I thought we had something. On the other hand, Nino has so far refused to acknowledge anything that happened. Even after we confessed everything. Did I deserve to be jealous?
Alix leans into Ivan and gives him a solid lip smack. The people around the table give an excited "Ooh," egging them on. As Ivan puts Alix back down, she wags a finger at us. "That's all you guys get."
Nathaniel spins next. The bottle slows down near me, and I start to sweat. Fortunately it continues… Towards Nino; I sweat again, but it continues… and lands, finally, on Adrien.
Adrien gives Nathaniel a gentle smile. He gets up before Nathaniel can say anything and approaches him. Is that how we are doing this? Whoever gets spun onto gets up? Or is Adrien just being considerate of Nathaniel, who is red as his hair and might not be able to walk two steps without tripping? Although Adrien is somewhat of an innocent boy, as he said in Never-Have-I-Ever, he has kissed people for modeling shoots. So long as he thinks about it like a photoshoot, he should not get too flustered with a person he does not have strong feelings for or against. That makes his strides towards Nathaniel confident. He cups Nathaniel's cheek in his palm, a definitively prince-like move. "May I?" Adrien asks softly.
I glance at Marinette, who is swooning at Adrien's kissing manners. Nathaniel whispers something too quiet for me to hear, but must have been affirmative considering what follows. He closes his eyes, and tilts his chin up. Adrien leans down and presses their lips together. The sight is almost like a painting, and I wonder why I did not pay more attention to Nathaniel before. Although he had that bright red hair, he was so quiet he rarely stood out. But he had a nice facial structure, and a cute nose…
Their lips part and I remind myself not to ogle my classmates. I glance around. Some people are making "Ooh" sounds again, and a few rib Adrien or Nathaniel, asking how the kiss was. This is definitely not what would happen at my old school. Then again, it was an all-boys school, where there was no way we would play spin-the-bottle with each other in the first place. But, based on their reactions to me, if anyone there saw two boys kissing…
I snap back to the room as Kim makes a spin. It lands on Ivan.
"Ivan you're so popular," Alya comments.
Kim grimaces. "I don't know… No offense Ivan, but I'm not-"
Alix yawns. "I guess you're just not as brave as me when it comes to kissing."
This causes Kim to leap across Nathaniel to grab Ivan and bring him in. Although Ivan looks surprised by the move, and Nathaniel leans back with a bit of fear in his eyes, neither stop the kiss. The kiss lasts for a long time, and I can see Kim's lips actually moving against Ivan's. This was beyond a peck. I start to blush just watching them, and as I look around the table I can see I'm not alone.
Finally, they part, Ivan red-faced and Kim looking triumphant. Kim asks, "Max, time?"
Max responds, "Three-point-two seconds. That's two-point-six seconds longer than Alix's kiss with Ivan."
Kim points at Alix, "Boom! In your face!"
Alix mutters, crossing her arms.
Max goes next. I'm reminded again that he has kissed a boy. Was he gay? Bi? Or was it a fluke occasion? Max spins, and lands on Juleka.
Max gets out of his seat to go to Juleka. Juleka starts to stand, but he waves her down. "If you sit, our heights will be more similar and optimal for kissing."
Juleka nods.
"I'll lean left, you lean right," He tells her, "So our noses don't crash."
She nods, and the two of them lean the same direction. "No, you go right," He tells her.
"I am!" She exclaims.
Rose taps Max's shoulder. "Your right is her left. You should both go left, or both go right."
"Oh," he realizes, "Sorry, Juleka."
"No biggie."
They lean again, but once again go in the same direction, and bump noses before lips.
Max takes a deep breath. "Both left?"
"Both left," Juleka repeats.
They finally meet lips, but only for a brief moment. Then they part, and both wipe their mouth.
As Max returns to his seat, Alix hops to spin the bottle. She gives in a vigorous spin, and it takes awhile to slow down. When it does, it's on Nathaniel.
"Prepare yourself, Nathaniel," She tells him, jumping out of her seat.
She pulls him by the waist, locking their lips in an instant. And keeping them locked. Like Kim, she stays long and moves her lips. The two of them start to lean against the table, still kissing. Nathaniel has one table bracing himself against the table, and the other comes up to touch her neck. She brings a hand up to his hair, drawing him in closer. I wonder idly what it would feel like to run my fingers through Nathaniel's hair. Although Kim and Ivan's kiss was long, I do not need Max's watch to recognize this kiss is even longer. As I look around the table, I see other people are also glancing at each other as if to ask who will stop this.
Finally, Alix pulls herself off of Nathaniel and he slumps in his chair. She licks her lips and turns to Max. "Time?"
"Seven-point-eight seconds."
She smirks, and looks directly at Kim as she returns to her seat.
I wonder what would happen if her and Kim kissed.
"Felix, it's your turn," Alya states.
I almost jump. "Already?"
"Spin, spin, spin!" Rose cheers.
Although I don't look forward to it, I did agree to play. Marinette better thank me for this. I take a deep breath and spin the bottle. It spins a few times before landing on (of course,) Marinette.
Marinette looks at me with wide eyes. I stand up. Although Nino and I might have something, I might as well keep up the farce until Nino says I should stop. As I approach her seat, I wonder how I should play this. Although she said she had kissed a boy before, so it would not be her first kiss, I also felt wrong taking a kiss when I knew her feelings for my cousin. I give her a smile, wink, and outstretch my hand to her to grab. Still in her seat, she takes the hand hesitantly. When she does, I pull her out of the chair and into my arms. I take both hands, cup her cheeks, and give a solid kiss.
A stage-kiss.
My thumb on the side facing the table lies between our lips, a barrier between us. Hopefully no one here was a drama-club member and would recognize the move. When we part, her eyes are still wide, uncertain. I give her another wink, and let her go.
"Had you been hoping for that?" Alya asks me with narrowed eyes.
"There's an eight percent chance that is the case," I tell her.
I catch Adrien's face. It is red, and expressions dance in conflict. I grin, this could be a catalyst. As I take my seat, Nino takes the bottle. He gives it an easy spin. It spins, and spins, and spins, and spins…
And lands on Mylene. "Don't be jealous, bro," Nino warns Ivan.
Ivan puts up a hand to block the sight. However, he peeks through his fingers.
Nino leans over Adrien to reach Mylene, who leans as well. Their kiss is mercifully short.
Adrien is next. He spins… And lands on me.
"Thank god I thought of that rule," I intone, "Adrien, spin again."
Alya mumbles something, but Adrien spins again. He lands on Marinette.
I have to make an effort to not smile outwardly. Marinette absolutely must thank me later. Adrien stands and walks to her, smiling all along. Marinette is frozen, staring at him. He gives her a hand out of her seat, which she takes, but unlike me he also puts a hand around her waist. "May I?" He whispers to her.
She nods furiously, apparently wordless. I see Alya's face is positively thrilled, and she's taken out a phone for a photo. Adrien, then, swoops Marinette into a dip to kiss her.
Although it is no more than a peck, the dip makes it dramatic. There's a few whistles around the table. Adrien also gently leads her back to her seat. Once he's back, it is Mylene's turn next.
Mylene spins onto Ivan. "Oh my, I'm so lucky!" She squeals.
He wipes his brow, "Oh boy, am I ready to kiss such a cute girl?"
Their kiss, although longer than a peck, stops before it turns into a makeout, sparing all of us.
Juleka spins. Onto Nathaniel.
She goes to him. On the way, Alya comments, "Nathaniel is awfully popular." Nathaniel doesn't say a word, nor does Juleka. But she leans half-way into his face, allowing him to close the distance. He does so after a moments hesitation, and the two of them stay like that for, not an absurd length of time, but longer than I expected the two of them to.
Rose next. She spins onto Max. Rose says "Left!" before the kiss, and it goes without incident.
Marinette is still frozen in her seat, short-circuiting after her kiss with Adrien. Alya nudges her, bringing her back to reality. She barely is able to spin the bottle again, landing on Alix.
"Marinette, I know you're stuck between two boys at the moment," She looks significantly between Adrien and me, "But I'm going to show you how a girl can do it."
She swoops Marinette into her arms and locks lips. Like Nathaniel, Marinette has to lean against the table for support as Alix presses against her. Their kiss goes on for an uncomfortable amount of time.
Eventually, they part, Marinette a red mess, and Alix grinning as she goes back to her seat. She does not need to ask Max, as he says right away, "Ten-point-one seconds."
"Just you wait, Alix," Kim warns her.
Alya is next. She spins onto Mylene. "Watch out, Ivan, Imma steal yo girl."
"Oh no!" Ivan exclaims, grinning.
Alya and Mylene have an.. energetic kiss. While some of the kisses had movement beyond the peck, they also usually appeared to be led by one person. This was clearly both of them exploring each other. Fortunately, it remains shorter than a Kim or Alix kiss.
Alya grins. "I'm still having fun. One more round?"
Enough people concur that others on the fence agree. Although I consider exiting, now that Adrien and Marinette have had a kiss, a part of me wants to stay. Unlike my old school, there have been several same-sex kisses and no expressions of disgust. Other than Kim's momentary hesitation, people seem ready to kiss anyone. If I had to kiss a girl, that would not be the worst. I would just keep it at a peck. And if it was Alix, I would push her off. And most the boys here were at least… a little cute. And if I could do some exploration without consequences, why should I not?
Ivan starts again, spinning onto Mylene. Another flurry of pretend-shyness and a happy kiss later, Nathaniel goes. His lands on me. Both of us get up at the same time. I am surprised Nathaniel stood up, maybe he was tired of always being the one approached. However, I am already up. I hover uncertainly.
"Are you sure you can kiss someone aside from Marinette?" Kim teases me.
I glare at him.
I wait by my seat until Nathaniel reaches me. He makes the first move, stretching his hands up to pull me towards him. I close my eyes and let it happen.
Our lips press. Then his move. My heart flutters a little, realizing he is not going to stop at a peck. I have not gone this far with even Nino. My stomach starts to do little flips, excited but uncertain about this partner.
I am pulled back abruptly. Nino has grabbed my arm. He tugs me back into my seat. "Aren't you embarrassed to make out with someone other than your crush?" He challenges me.
Nathaniel, realizing his mistake in making such a bold move with me, flushes red, and hurries back to his seat.
Alya groans. "Nino! Just when it was getting good!"
I stare at Nino, but he looks away from me. Although the rest of the classmates would interpret it as Nino knowing about my crush on Marinette, and trying to help me with that, I was unsure what Nino's true motivation was. I told him the whole Marinette thing was fake. But did he still believe somewhere inside that I liked her? But he was deliberately vague, saying 'your crush,' which could be a subtle way to refer to himself. Was he jealous?
Kim spins next. And of course, knowing my luck, he lands on me. He grimaces, but stands up anyway. I groan. "Felix, I'm gonna kiss you for awhile, but it's for the competition. Ideally I would kiss you zero seconds."
"I'll try to bear it," I tell him with a deadpan.
His kiss starts out stiffly. After a second or two, though, he seems to get bored and starts to move, tongue starting to run against my lips. Oh no way. I was not ready for a tongue kiss with Kim. I do not think I would ever be ready. I keep my lips sealed tight, so when he probes between them he cannot slip through. His tongue backs off and he begins to run my upper lip between his lips, gently sucking. The feeling is mostly gross. Maybe if I imagine Nino…
Nino pulls me away again.
"Ten-point-three seconds. Barely longer than Alix!" Max exclaims.
Nino glares at Kim. "Have you ever tried reading body language?"
Kim scoffs. "If I didn't know better, I would say you're just jealous, Nino."
Nino starts to turn red.
Ivan laughs. "Really, Kim? Felix and Nino? As if that would ever happen."
"Well what if I am jealous!" Nino exclaims, voice shaking, then pulling me against him for a kiss.
There is an audible gasp in the room, but it gets drowned out by my own shock. So that confession was not a fantasy. And Nino is, once again, kissing me. This time for longer. I gladly embrace him, letting his lips wash over mine and cleansing Kim off of them. When we part, we stay within an inch, staring at each other. His golden eyes are desperate. I put a hand against his cheek, wondering if I could wipe away that expression. "What are we, Nino?" I ask him in a whisper.
"I don't know!" He exclaims, "After Thursday, I thought we were something, but then at school you didn't say anything, and I thought maybe I imagined it, or you were playing games with me, or-"
"That's my line!" I cut in, "I thought since you said you hadn't been sure, maybe you changed your mind and decided to just be friends. And during Never-Have-I-Ever, you didn't put your finger down when Rose asked about kissing boys-"
"Wait, what happened on Thursday?" Adrien interrupts us.
I realize that I'm still surrounded by almost all my classmates. Sweat forms easily under their stares. I grab Nino's hand and pull him away. "We need to talk," I tell him, before turning to our classmates, "In private!"
I do not know Marinette's house well, but she did point out her bathroom earlier, so we retreat into there.
Nino starts to blubber. "Are we something? I could barely stand your kiss with Marinette, and then with Nathaniel, and Kim, it was just whack that-"
Ignoring my earlier promise to myself that I would not, I have to make a move. "Please be my boyfriend."
"Okay," He responds without hesitation.
He kisses me again. I pull him closer, enjoying the sensation. Why did I not just say that first thing Friday morning? 'Be my boyfriend.' Just three words. Instead, I avoided him, and tried to act like nothing had happened, because he was acting like nothing happened. And then I doubted something that obviously happened. Did I seriously entertain the thought of hallucinations? With him in my arms again, all those doubts seemed so ridiculous.
We parted again. "What do we tell them?" Nino asks me.
I shrug. "What do you want to tell them?"
"Don't you have that Marinette… thing?" He asks.
I hold his hand. "I don't think anyone is going to believe that after this."
He laughs.