Afterwards, I waited around to congratulate her. People slowly left, trickling out to their cars, leaving me alone. I didn't mind much, though. I loved looking at the white wintery world, and the midnight sky above me with stars winking down as white fog puffed out my mouth.
She came outside wearing a light coat, and a serene smile on her face. When she saw me, that smile froze, before melting away.
"What are you still doing here?"
I shrugged slightly, before my eyes went back up to the stars. "I...wanted to tell you...that you did a good job tonight..."
"How would you know how I did?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm in a choir. You can't hear my voice amidst all the others."
I shrugged once again.
She sighed. "Well, whatever. You can go now."
I looked away from the stars, looking into her eyes. Their beauty...it never ceased to amaze me. They were like the scene around me, concentrated into two brilliant blue orbs.
"We should be getting back to our houses...it's freezing..." she said quietly. In spite of her words, she didn't move. Her eyes continued to look into mine.
I stepped forward slowly, testing her. She didn't move back. I raised a hand, gently stroking her hair. I felt the scar, and she shuddered.
"Sorry," I whispered, moving my hand away.
She bit her lip, closing her eyes. Then she spoke, her voice halting. "It's...strange...That wound refuses to heal..."
"Can I help?"
"No," she said bluntly.
Her eyes opened once more, the beauty washing over me. She breathed in and out three times, enough for the mint and cigarette smell to stroke my face, before we kissed.
It was slow.
Our mouths moved with - not against - each other's, and it was incredible. We had never done this. Never. The times before, with the chocolate, and the hate...there was nothing that could compare to this.
It was like a drug.
It was intoxicating.