Chapter 13
I opened the door to the Grill and stepped in gingerly. As always, the place was jam-packed with people of all ages hanging out here. It was like the favourite spot of people to hang out in Mystic Falls, and my friends were no exception.
Olivia and Emma had decided to have a little night out with friends and have begged me to come, given the fact that I was totally distant in school and hardly talked to anyone. It was not my fault, I was distracted and whenever anyone asked me why I was so distant, I could not put my thoughts into words. Anyways, what would have I told them anyways?
I gave Olivia some hints though, and made sure that she did not invite Kaleb. She kept asking me why, and I told her that I would tell her later tonight. She promised to not invite him if I promised to tell her what was going on, which I promised.
I scanned the whole Grill once I got inside and when I saw no signs of Kaleb, I went ahead to find my group; who had occupied the large table in the corner of the Grill. Some of them had already ordered drinks while the rest of them were still to order.
"Lily is here" Jackson exclaimed, I put on the best smile I could and joined them. I sat beside Emma, who said "Hi" to me, "Hey" I replied with a smile. I looked over at Olivia who was sitting with Scott and gave her an assuring smile. Everyone on the table were talking to each other about the fashion show which was a great hit in the school. Apparently, we had collected more funds than required and everyone was happy.
"Can I just say that all the girls sitting here were astounding at the show?" Keith said with a smile. "Let's just thank Jackson's mom for putting all this together" Olivia said as she gestured towards Jackson, who put his hand on his heart and bowed, we all chuckled.
"No, but guys seriously, who would have thought this would be such a huge success?" Jackson looked at everyone on the table. "They should make it an annual thing" Emma agreed, "You are saying this because all you had to do was dress up, we did all the work" Scott joked as he looked at all the boys who nodded in agreement. "Well, we did it for you guys" Olivia shrugged with a grin.
"Out of the three of us Lily, you were the best" Emma clapped her hands together as she said in a-matter-of-fact voice. "She had that model expressions and walk going on" Olivia agreed and I chuckled at them, "I was just hoping not to trip" I admitted, "I think you would have tripped gracefully" Keith said and everyone laughed. That would have been a sight.
"You are going to apply for Miss Mystic Falls right?" Emma asked me hopefully, "I still have time to think" I told her, "C'mon, you are applying" Olivia rolled her eyes at me, "I would need an escort" I raised my eyebrows, "I will be your escort, I really wanted to participate in one of these" Keith leaned forward, "You be my escort" Emma huffed, which made me chuckled. "Take Jackson" Keith gestured towards Jackson, "Dude, no" Jackson raised his hands in defence.
"You guys are so lame" Scott chuckled, "You are saying that because you will get to escort Olivia" Keith narrowed his eyes at Scott who stuck his tongue out and wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulder. "But then" Jackson started slowly, "Kaleb would escort Lily" he stated, and I immediately looked down. "That's right" Keith agreed, "Will you be my escort then?" Emma pleaded and Keith agreed.
They went on discussing about all the upcoming events but I stayed silent on it. Olivia kept glancing at me and kept gesturing with her face, asking me what was wrong and I kept shaking my head. All of us finally ordered a drink and some snacks, and in no time, we were munching on it.
Just then my glance shifted towards the entrance and I saw the face I had been avoiding all morning in school. Kaleb stood there as he scanned though the Grill. For a moment, I kept staring at Kaleb, hoping he would look my way, but just as he was about to I got up from my place.
"Where are you going?" Keith asked me, as he took another French fries from his plate. "I will get a drink" I mumbled, "But you have a drink?" Scott knitted his brows together and gestured towards my drink. "I will get another one" I mumbled before stealing a glance in Kaleb's direction who had seen me.
I quickly looked down at my feet as I started to walk towards the bar counter. "Hey Kaleb!" I heard Jackson's voice but I did not look up and continued walking towards the bar counter.
It was chock-full there and I was hoping Kaleb would lose me and just go away, so that I would not have to explain him anything or talk about anything. I stood near the bar counter and hoped that somehow, I would disappear.
"Lily" I heard Kaleb's voice from a distant and I turned around to look at him walking in my direction. He waved at me to stop but I looked away and walked towards the back exit of the Grill.
I made my way through the crowd and slipped out of the Grill, hoping Kaleb would not follow me here.
There were some stairs leading to an alley that would go around the Grill and towards the main entrance, from where I decided I would go in, say my goodbyes and then leave. I had to be quick so that Kaleb does not catch up to me.
I started descending the stairs towards the alley but I allowed myself to throw a glance behind me, just to see if Kaleb had followed me or given up.
I looked behind me and just as I was about to descend another step, my foot missed it. I wobbled and looked straight ahead, trying to balance myself I had my arms in the air. It all happened in slow motion, but then I was ready to fall. I was ready for the cold hard ground to hit me, maybe scrape my knee or something. I was hoping it would not hit me in the face but given the direction I was falling in, it was very much likely that I would hit my head.
Instead, I never hit the concrete floor. I was waiting for the impact to come but nothing came. For when I opened my eyes, I was inches away from the breath-taking face I had been avoiding for so long.
Kaleb's brows were knitted together as his piercing eyes looked into mine. I was so close that I could feel his cool breathe on my lips and it tasted like mint. His delicate lips were set in a straight line and then I realized I was staring into his eyes and my face was probably in an enthralled expression. I also realized that I was no longer standing on my feet, rather Kaleb had scooped me up in his arms and he was holding me firmly against his body.
One of my hand was on his shoulder while the other one hung lose to my side. It did not seem like he wanted to let me go, neither did I want him to let me go. I was perfectly fine the way we were and then he brought me out of my trance.
"What were you doing?" He asked me in a tight voice. I tried to find my voice but all that came out was a whisper, "I wanted some fresh air" I said. "Are you sure about that?" His voice and grip relaxed and I nodded my head, not looking away from his eyes. "From what I saw, you were running away from me" he raised his brows and I finally looked down.
He slowly let me stand on my own on a stair but kept his hands on my arms. It sent tingling sensations all over my hands and I was hoping my heart does not betray me and start beating loudly, which was exactly what happened next.
"I was not" I said in a wobbly voice, not because I was going to cry but I was nervous. Kaleb had never stood this close to me, or held me for so long. He always let go of me in a matter of seconds but today he held onto me and I was not expecting that.
"What is going on?" Kaleb asked and as I opened my mouth to say 'Nothing' he said, "And don't say nothing" now that was out of the question. I did not tear my eyes from him this time.
"I don't know" I sighed, that was the truth. I was unable to understand my feeling. I was jealous of my own best friend, I wanted something more from Kaleb, I was starting to scare myself.
"I cannot understand this" Kaleb closed his eyes tightly as his brows creased together. I was afraid to speak again, not sure if I would say the right thing. "What can't you understand?" I asked in a whisper and Kaleb opened his eyes immediately.
"I am doing things I am not supposed to do" he looked into my eyes again, "I should be staying away from you, I did not come here to put you in danger" he told me. "What danger would you put me in?" I asked him, "You being alone with me is danger in itself" he replied and this is the first straightforward answer I have gotten from him. "I don't think so" if he meant he could hurt me, I did not believe that.
"How did you get here so fast?" I asked after a long pause and Kaleb shut his eyes again in the same manner. "I was hoping to talk to you" he replied but that was not the answer I was looking for. "No, that is not what I meant" I said firmly and he let go of my hands. I immediately craved for his touch, the good thing was that he was still standing close to me.
"Lily, don't ask me questions I cannot answer" he pleaded, "Alright, but if I tell you something will you at least say yes or no?" I asked him and he nodded. "Are you a –?" I could not complete, I sighed and looked down. "Go on, ask me, say it" Kaleb encouraged me, I knew he still had his eyes on me. "Vampire" it was barely audible, I could not believe I had just said that.
When there was a long pause, I looked up at Kaleb, who was still looking at me keenly. I held my breath as he opened his mouth, "Are you afraid?" he asked and after a short pause I replied "No". It was the truth, I was not afraid of him.
I had finally got the confirmation, he was a vampire and yet my body could not get the appropriate reaction in this situation. I should be scared, running away, shouting; but here I was, standing so close to the apex predator, and neither did the goosebumps sneak up on my arms, nor did my heart sped up at the new revelation.
"Why?" Kaleb's voice was pleading. I wish I knew the answer, but I don't. "You would not hurt me" I stated, "You don't know that" he challenged and yet I was not scared. "I know it" I told him.
Kaleb stepped back a little, and this time I stepped back too. If he is holding back because he is a vampire than he is a fool. If he had to hurt me, he had a million chances, he could have done it by now.
"I will get you inside now" Kaleb said and I looked down, I could feel the tears forming at the base of my eyes and a lump forming in my throat but I fought it away. "I will go back myself" I told him with a smile.
As I started to walk away, Kaleb stretched out his hand to stop me. "You have to understand this, it is beyond my control" he told me. "What is beyond your control?" I asked, "I want to be with you, I have never wanted to be with anyone more than I want to be with you" and my heart skipped a beat. "What is stopping you?" I asked in a wobbly voice. "Lily things are not in my control" He dropped his hand to his side.
"What is going on Kaleb?" I threw my hands in the air. "Because you are giving me mixed hints" I continued, "One day you are this guy who looks at me like he would never look away" Kaleb chuckled and looked down, "But the other day, you would flinch from my touch" Kaleb looked up and his smile disappeared. "If you say that we are not supposed to be together because of whatever is controlling you, you should decide" my voice was barely audible by the end, and I looked down. I hoped that we would stay and stop walking away.
Kaleb stepped back and my heart dropped to my stomach but I pulled back my tears as I nodded. I was not going to stand here and wait for him to see me cry. I started to walk away when Kaleb called out "Lily" at first, I debated whether to stop or walk away but then stupidly enough I stopped.
I turned around slowly and looked at Kaleb, in the next second Kaleb had softly pinned me against the wall and my heart started pounding.
He held me by my arms and looked down at my lips, I knew what was coming; so, I closed my eyes and just when I thought it would not happen. Kaleb's lips touched mine ever so softly.
At first the kiss was nothing more than a peak on the lips. I opened my eyes to look at Kaleb, whose eyes were still closed. I slowly moved forward and closed my eyes again before I crashed my lips onto his, while I placed my hands on his abs and he deepened the kiss.
This was nothing short of a romantic movie. I felt my heart pounding the whole while and I was quite literally not expecting this.