Hey guys! Thanks so much for the back up. HTML you're a douche so suck it! Now that that's out of my system I want to apologize to my loyal fans. To me this chapter kind of came out funny and I don't like it too much so please bare with me. I might redo it.
{~Stay Puft~}
Hope stepped out from the room she had been led to so she could change into her uniform that Janine had rushed over with. She finished zipping it up and pulled the hair band out she had stuck in one of the many pockets on the suit. She suddenly tipped upside down and began pulling her hair together, holding the band in her mouth.
"Worried about your precious hair, Princess?" Peter asked as he walked passed her in his own suit. Hope gave a small laugh and tied her hair, flipping back up.
"Why of course. I'm only woman after all." She called after him as the Ray and Winston came down the hall. Hope looked at Ray with a smile, placing her hands on her hips, "I think I should get a haircut."
"Why? It looks fine." Ray spoke up and placed his hands into his pockets. Hope gave a shrug and looked behind him, seeing the empty hall. She looked back at the two, a question popping into her head.
"Where's Egon?" She asked suddenly, looking between the men. They gave a small shrug and looked at each other.
"Probably still in the room." Winston suggested and then walked passed her, Ray following.
"Go check on him, will you?" Ray called after her as he turned down another hall. Hope stood for a moment longer, expecting to see Egon walk out of his room. When he didn't she sighed heavily and trudge to the door, knocking twice.
"Egon?" She called softly, leaning her head against the door. She tapped her nails against the white wood, waiting for a reply. None came and so she walked in. The room was similar to how hers had been with a couch in the middle and a desk towards one side. She looked towards the windows and spotted Egon tugging on something in front of him. She gave a small laugh and closed the door, "What are you doing?"
Egon spun around to face her like a kid who had been caught with the cookie jar before supper. She gave a small laugh and realized what was wrong, seeing the zipper to is suit caught up with his shirt.
"Having some trouble?" She smiled and walked forward, pushing her sleeves back to her elbows.
"I've got it." Egon stated when Hope stood before him, staring up at him. She nodded her head with a gleam in her eyes.
"Uh huh. I can see that." Hope spoke softly and took the zipper in her hands. She gently tugged on it, pulling up and down to have it release his shirt, but it was stubborn. Without meaning to she stuck her tongue out a little as she concentrated on the zipper.
Egon stared down at her through his glasses, hands clenched by his sides. He was uncomfortable especially since this was the closest they had been near each other since the hug earlier and the 'kiss incident' several days ago. He swallowed hard as he thought back to that day and the way she had looked at him after he pulled back.
He knew he had hurt her and, though she would probably never believe him about it, it hurt him too. He wanted to kiss her, hold her, do everything a man can do to the woman he cares about, but he was afraid.
He wasn't confident or outspoken like she was or like the guys she dated were. He wasn't muscular or drop dead handsome like them either. He didn't play a sport or dance or do any of the things that guys like Evan or Clark did. He was the complete opposite.
He collected spores, molds, and fungi for a hobby and created knew inventions. He had an IQ over 160 and studied paranormal activity. He was tall and lanky and awkward. He wasn't who Hope wanted or even what she deserved. She deserved someone who could be everything she needed and then some.
"God..." Hope gave a small laugh as she continued to struggle with the zipper. Egon blinked several times, coming back from his thoughts, "What did you do?"
"I made a mistake." He replied. Hope gave another small laugh and shook her head, tugging the zipper to go down.
"Everyone makes mistakes Egon." She retorted and re-gripped his suit, trying to pull the zipper up. Egon thought over that sentence and then looked back down upon her.
"I'm sorry." Egon spoke gently as his eyes softened.
"Why? It's your suit. You could paint it purple and it wouldn't matter to me." Hope laughed again as she pulled the zipper down with all her might. The zipper caved and zipped down, releasing Egon's shirt, "There we go."
Hope smiled and pulled the zipper up slowly, careful not to get it caught on his shirt again. She zipped it all the way up and smiled brightly, flattening out the suit's shoulders on Egon's. Egon's hands caught hers and pulled them down to rest between them.
Hope's eyebrows knitted together as she stared at their hands a moment longer and then looked up at Egon, confused. Egon only stared back, feeling his chest tighten as she studied him. Hope looked back at their hands again and then passed them, thinking.
"You weren't...talking about the zipper...were you?" Hope asked softly, realizing what Egon had been trying to get at. Hope slowly slid her hands out of Egon's.
"No." Egon stated and kept his eyes glued to her. Hope gave a small scoff not wanting to talk about the subject. It had been all she had thought about for days and had finally just begun to forget about it. She headed for the door until Egon found his voice "Can we please discuss this?"
"Discuss what?" Hope snapped, turning back to look at him, "What's there to discuss Egon?"
She shook her head and looked to her right, trying to calm herself. She rubbed her forehead and then let her arm drop to her side.
"I thought you felt the same way that I feel about you, but I was wrong. You made that very clear when you rejected me." Hope remembered how she felt very well. The sadness, the rejection, the embarrassment...all of it came back to her. She looked back at him again, looking her eyes with his.
"Hope, I didn't-"
"I felt foolish Egon!" Hope yelled, cutting Egon off. She closed her mouth again, feeling tears in her eyes, "I felt like a fool for actually believing that you felt something for me! I took a leap, believing that someone would be there to catch me!"
"I promised I would catch you but-"
"Then why didn't you!?" Hope asked exasperatedly, her voice sad. She wiped her cheeks, feeling the warm wet tears that had fallen down them. She looked down at her feet a moment and then lifted her gaze to him, "I liked you a lot. I feel more for you then I ever did Evan. After all the laughs and smiles and heart to hearts we've had, do you even feel the same way about me? Even a little?"
Hope stared at him, hoping he would say something to erase what had happened.
"I like you..." Egon responded, his tone soft and unsure. Hope crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. That was not the answer she had been looking for.
"Then why didn't you kiss me?" She asked, feeling a hiccup surfacing in her throat from her tears. Egon looked down at the floor, thinking over his answer. Hope waited a moment and then another, quickly believing that he was never going to answer her back, "Fine. Keep your secrets."
Hope gave him one last look, their eyes meeting and then turned towards the door.
"I've never kissed a girl before." Egon's voice was soft, almost a whisper. Hope froze before the door and then looked back at him, her tears stopped and face disbelieving.
"What?" She asked slowly, taking a step away from the door. Egon swallowed the lump in his throat and looked anywhere but at her.
"I've never...kissed anyone...before." He repeated, quickly becoming less confident in his reveal. Hope's expression softened and went indifferent, unsure if he was jesting with her.
"Egon...this is cruel if you're trying to joke with me right now." Hope spoke up, recrossing her arms over her chest. Egon met her eyes for a single moment and she saw it in his eyes. He wasn't joking at all.
"You're serious..." Hope whispered and licked her lips, "Oh..."
She moved towards the couch in the room and sat down on it. She leaned her right arm on her legs and let her chin rest in her palm, looking out across the room. She licked her lips again and sat up straighter, looking towards Egon.
"You didn't want me to be your first kiss?" Hope asked, still confused by why he didn't kiss her, why he still wasn't making a move. Egon looked over at her and shook his head.
"No, I just..." Egon fell silent, completely uncomfortable with the situation he had started. Hope watched him and saw the familiar look of inner struggle on his face.
"Egon, look at me." Hope piped up. Egon didn't and so she stood from her seat, moving closer to him, "Look at me."
She placed a hand against his cheek and made him look at her.
"What is it?" She asked softly, letting her hand fall.
"What if it wasn't...what you thought it would be?" Egon asked carefully, swallowing another lump that had formed in his throat.
"What?" Hope's eyebrows knitted together as she stared up at him.
"What if it was bad?" Egon clarified, his heart beating faster. Hope stared at him as she tried to pull everything together inside her head.
"You were worried about...giving me a bad...kiss?" She asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around the idea. It's Egon- she thought and gave a small half laugh. This was the first time she had ever witnessed Egon worry about something so trivial, something so...unimportant. It's important to him obviously- Hope corrected herself as she continued to stare at him, "How do you know?"
Egon looked back at her, face contorting somewhat as he took his turn to look confused.
"How do you know you're a bad kisser if you've never tried?" Hope clarified. This was one of those times Egon didn't have an answer. Hope knew she had beat him fair and square and there was nothing he could do.
"I just didn't want it to be a deciding factor is I am bad." Egon looked down at the floor and Hope couldn't help her stern look from softening into a small smile. She dropped her arms from across her chest, feeling a little better.
"Do you want to kiss me?" Hope asked, knowing she was pushing his uncomfortable button.
"...yes." Egon replied after a moment, looking back at her. Hope was a little happier. At least she now knew that he did indeed want to kiss her, but was afraid.
"If I forgive you..." Hope began slowly moving closer to him. Egon watched her as his chest tightened all over again and his heart sped up like a fast beating drum. Hope stopped a foot before him and stared up at him, "...would you be willing to try?"
She bit her lip, feeling a small blush creep across her cheeks. The butterflies slowly flapped in her stomach as she waited for him to answer. He looked down at her, a little shocked by what she was asking of him or more implying what she wanted him to do. Hope tried to hold back the grin threatening to spread across her lips.
She slowly placed her arms on his shoulder, her right hand brushing against the bottom of his hair. Egon swallowed hard, feeling the same feelings he had the last time they almost kissed. Hope leaned up closer to him and as she inched forward towards his lips she closed her eyes.
"Hey! Beauty and the geek, come on!" Peter's voice surfaced from the hall outside the room, drawing their attention to the door. Hope cursed Peter's existence in her head and looked back at Egon with a small smile.
"We'll continue later?" She asked softly as she let her arms drop. Egon gave a small nod, seeing as he couldn't find his voice to say yes. Hope gave him a gentle smile and walked to the door. He followed her and they met the others down the hall.