Surprise! ^^

And thanks to MyIndulgence1 for the review :)

I know you all loved the last chapter because it was sweet and everything...but let me just warn you, the rest of the story isn't going to be a bed of roses just yet. And since apparently the next chapter was perfect...it's gonna be hard to do better lol. No pressure at all! lol

Also, of course I love it when someone says that this story is awesome, amazing, etc... :D But if there happens to be something that you don't like don't hesitate to mention it. And if there's is something that you particularly like, then feel free to specify ^^ Because if I'm writing this story for my own pleasure in the first place, I'm also writing it for you. So I try to take what you say into consideration.


KRYPTONITE (3/3) Tasting the air you're breathing in

Kissing her was like being hit by lightening. A living electric current shot through the whole of me, so powerful that I pulled away almost instantly and my lips only touched hers for a second. It had been unintentional, but the sensation'd been like nothing I'd ever experienced before and I felt as shaken as if she'd tased me.

While I still held her with my right arm, I brought my left hand to my face and slightly shook my head. My mind was buzzing and my heart was running on overdrive. I suddenly felt light-headed and realised that my lungs had seized up. So I forced myself to breathe out.

Then the haze cleared a little, and I looked at her. She seemed stunned as well. Her lips were slightly parted and I could tell she was struggling to find her breath back, just like I had an instant before. In the tangle of our bodies I'd lost track of her left hand. But the other one I could see; and it was clenched tightly into my top. To pull me away? To pull me closer? Or was it just a reflex?

And what about after the initial shock? How was she going to react when she came to her senses again? Would she be angry? Would she reject me?

'Come on, Matt! Less worrying, more kissing!'

I wanted to lean closer again, but my body didn't seem to cooperate. My stomach felt like fire and ice, the feeling had spread through my entire body and all my muscles were taunt. I tried to will them to loosen but to no avail. So, unable to move, I resolved to wait for her- and for myself- to recover and to take it from there, whatever her reaction.

I noticed a peculiar detail at that moment. How her hair, which was partly spread out over my right forearm, felt dense and heavy. It'd looked so vaporous and light earlier, I hadn't expected it to be so full and thick. I gazed at the soft locks of hair caressing my skin right now, so silky they reflected the newborn moonlight, subconsciously trying really hard to focuse my attention on something, on anything else than her features, in the fear of reading my imminent rejection in them.

But all a of sudden I felt her fingers trail up my neck and my eyes flickered back to her face. And she looked... I couldn't think of any other word than fascinated.

The breath caught in my throat as I watched her gaze at my face with adoration, lightly touching it with the pads of her fingers as if she was afraid it would break.

She wasn't rejecting me. She wasn't rejecting me at all. Could it be possible? Jade staring at me with desire in her eyes without freaking out at her own feelings? The wealth of emotions that spilled forth from her feather like touch was overwhelming, my pulse quickened even more and I felt dizzy again. It was a good thing I was already sitting on the ground.

Her vivid green eyes, glistening with longing, eventually met mine. Her irises sucked me in and I would gladly have stared into them for ever, as mushy as it might sound. Drifting away for eternity in this emerald sea, forgetting about the ouside world. It didn't sound so bad...

My left hand went to her cheek of its own motion. I traced the outline of her jaw and then stroked my way down to her neck and chest, enjoying the satin feel of her skin. Truly she was like softness turned into a woman. Everything about her was smooth as sin. I didn't know if it was a trait shared by all natural blondes, or if it was a Jade-patented exclusivity...anyways, it was very pleasant.

Her own hand moved around to the back of my neck, making the hair on my nape stir, and she pulled me in. This time I didn't hesitate, the magic of her obviously wanting me as well got my body into motion again.

I bent down with half-closed eyes and lightly brushed my lips against hers, tasting the air she was breathing in. My nose rubbed against the skin of her cheek and her scent filled my lungs.

Wheat and wild roses. Exactly how I remembered.

Then I pressed my mouth against hers again. Just lightly at first, I took my time, planting soft kisses on her top and bottom lip, discovering their texture, their feel, their fineness, while she did the same with mine. Hers were supple yet firm, warm and velvety. Perfect. And each touch sent little jolts of electricity through me.

Then my eyes slid completely shut and we eased into a longer, heavier kiss. I tried to pull her even closer to me than she already was, and in response she snuck her left hand around my neck as well while the other flowed through my hair. Our bodies molded together in a searing embrace.

Heat suffused my body, creeping into my bones until they all felt like so many incandescent iron bars buried deep in my flesh. She just had a way of moving her lips against mine that was...just...so... Shit, I was going to melt on the spot if it kept going...

Lust was making me bold and I ran my hand down her side. This time my touch wasn't light at all, on the contrary I put as much pressure in it as I dared and it seemed to me that she was raising her stomach towards my hand. I let it travel further down and she pulled away just an inch with a sucked-in breath when it skimmed over her bare thigh.

As soon as she parted her lips under mine, I knew I wanted more. I tugged her bottom lip into my mouth, sucking gently and gliding my tongue across it, before letting it slowly slid out. Her taste spread in my mouth and I kept my lips only a hair's breadth away from hers while I savoured it.

The closest thing I could compare it to was Sidr honey. But even that didn't do her justice enough. There was something more to it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it... In all cases, the resulting taste was sweet beyond description. And strong. And unique. And exceedingly addictive.

The softest of sound escaped her throat when she felt my tongue on her lip, her hand curled in my hair, and a sharp stab of desire pooled low in my belly at her reaction. I took my hand off of her thigh, my fingers instinctively closed around her jaw, and I hungrily sealed my lips to hers again, determined to open her mouth with my own this time.

But before I could deepen the kiss we were sharply interrupted by some high peals of laughter which sounded from the staircase behind me.

My head snapped up and I almost snarled. I wished, with every fiber of my being, for the gates of Hell to open and swallow up the owners of those voices. I wanted them to disappear off the face of the planet before they drew nearer.

It wasn't that I worried about getting caught with her, that kind of thought was far too practical and down to earth for me right now. No, I was in quite another sort of mood.

Right now, my mood was murderous. I was an untamed wildcat which felt this raw animal instinct to protect and guard its mate against any other creature. I would have torn apart any rival or threat.

Jade seemed totally oblivious to the intruders' approach at first. She shifted into our embrace and snuggled her face into the crook of my neck, like a baby bird seeking warmth from its mother. I felt an immense sense of satisfaction having her writhing in my arms in frustration only because I'd withdrawn a few inches back.

My arms were wrapped around her possessively, holding her close while she kept kissing my neck. I shut my eyes and almost shuddered in delight, but the sound of chatting drifting towards us was getting louder and I started to worry for real.

I knew she'd heard them when she stopped chasing after my mouth for another kiss. She turned to stone and I could tell she was listening hard.

I opened my eyes again. "Jade," I murmured, trying to anticipate her reaction.

But then the rattling sound of feet climbing metal steps- the last flight of stairs leading to the rooftop- reached our ears and this time when she gasped and started wiggling, it was to get away, not to get closer. The sensual fog we'd wrapped ourselves in was brutally whisked away by the iciest of wind.

My arms reflexively tightened around her. "Wait."

There had been this slightly commanding tone in my voice, but she wasn't in a state of mind where she would listen to me right now. She kept on struggling and I let her go. What would it look like to outside observers? A guy restraining a girl... They wouldn't know that not a minute ago she'd been the one clinging to me.

But I probably wouldn't have been able to hold her in place even if I'd wanted to. I could feel myself grow weak. And when she disentangled herself from my lap, clumsily scrambled to her feet and took a few steps back, it was as if she was spiriting my vital force away from me. It wasn't sadness that I felt. Nor fear or pain. It really was just a sensation of great energy loss. Perhaps it was just the aftereffects of the burning consumption we'd just been engaged in... I closed my eyes and tried to gather my senses.

My eyes popped open again at the sound of the rooftop's heavy metal door grinding, closely followed by footsteps on the gravel floor. I cast a look to my right and saw two figures saunter over to the rooftop's edge. A couple, chatting quietly and holding hands. The girl giggled again and they seemed to be completely unaware of our presence. They'd walked straight to the roof's edge, perpendicularly to the wall I was still leaning against, and there was no reason for them to have seen us. They'd probably come here for a romantic session, thinking they'd be alone.

I shifted my gaze up to Jade's face, hopeful. Maybe now that she knew no one had caught us making out she wouldn't be mad. But she seemed pretty occupied right now. She had put her black mask back on and was smoothing her dress and combing her fingers through her blond strands. Her motions were jerky and nervous but I wasn't able to get a good look at her face to check her mood, because of the mask of course but also because she kept moving. Besides, a soft wind had risen and regularly blew through her hair, hiding her features from me.

I slightly jumped when I suddenly heard the same pattern than before: door creaking and pebbles clashing under somebody's feet. Again, I snuck a glance off to my right and this time I recognised the two newcomers at once, even in the dim light.

Kathy saw us first. When she did, she nudged Chris' arm and pointed in our direction.

I quickly turned my eyes away and stared at the void in front of me. I had to get a hold on myself before they reached us, or else I would be as easy to read as an open book. While the sound of their footsteps came closer and closer I worked on controlling the amount of air that flowed in and out of my lungs.

"There you are." Chris sentence filled my ears, ringing slightly in my brain, and I knew I hadn't entirely recovered yet.

"Charlenne and Dom've been looking high and low for you," Kathy said.

It was Jade's voice which helped me shake the remaining haze off my mind. "Yeah, I know. I found Matt here myself not so long ago."

She had sounded so matter-of-factly. There had been no detectable emotion in her voice apart from a friendly, small-talk undertone.

I breathed out and glanced up at her again. Her 'social mask' was firmly screwed on in addition to the real mask. She was averting her eyes from me but except for that, she wasn't giving any indication about anything unusual that coud have happened before they arrived.

Such as the fact that we'd gladly have stuck our tongue in the other's mouth just a few moments ago.

How could she do that? How the hell could she appear so fucking calm? And lie to their faces like that... I, for my part, was still a living storm on legs. How was I supposed to think clearly and act casual when I'd just been spat out of a hurricane?

"It's half past ten, Bells," Chris informed me. "Most people have already sloped off to the tube station to go to the Spirit. We've got to go as well."

"Half past ten, already..." Jade mumbled, sounding upset. As if the time was the most important thing in the world right now. Unless she was upset because of something else entirely...

As she said that she joined Kathy, and the two of them headed for the staircase's door. I noticed that Jade's legs shook ever so slightly when she took her first couple of steps forwards. Thank you! At least one little detail that betrayed her and proved there were a few cracks in her armor.

"Matt?"

I shifted my eyes from Jade's receding figure to Chris, who was towering over me, waiting for me and frowning a bit.

"Are you alright, mate?" he asked me. He seemed to be a tinsy bit worried.

I stared at him for a few seconds, a bit at a loss for words as if my brain suddenly had difficulty in finding the commands of my voice. "I- I think, I think... I dunno, I- Well, it's- uh, y'know, like, I think, um..." my eyes widened as I took in the expanse of my own jabbering and I tried to slow down. "Whoa, wait. One, two." My tongue felt numb. My whole mouth felt numb actually.

Chris chuckled. "Are you pissed?" he asked as he bent forwards to pick up the Champagne bottle that was still standing on the gravel next to me. He examined the bottle, which was still half-full.

I huffed quite irritably. "Are you?" I threw back at him, even if this answer wasn't the most logical there was.

"Why? Because I didn't understand your oh-so-comprehensible previous sentence?" he wondered, clearly poking fun at me.

"Exactly!" I exclaimed. "It was pretty clear," I added. I couldn't help giggling with him this time. And I suddenly felt so thankful towards him, for making me laugh and helping me release some of the tension, even if he hadn't done it on purpose.

"Come on, mister pretty-clear, get up on your feet," he told me, still smiling, as he extended his hand to me.

I gladly took it and he lifted me up easily but my legs didn't hold me right away and I probably would've stumbled and fallen if he hadn't grabbed my arm.

"Jesus, Matt! You are pissed!" Chris chided me. "I thought you said you never wanted to get drunk before a gig again!"

I leaned on him for only a fraction of second, just enough to find my balance and to put some strength back in my limbs, and then I quickly pulled away, embarrassed. "Stop it," I grumbled. "I'm not pissed, I've only drunk like two glasses of Champagne!" I tried to justified myself as I followed after the girls. "Man, you're going to be such a mother hen..." I added as an afterthought.

"I won't need to be, my kids will be responsible," he stated as he tagged along beside me.

"Yeah, sure," I sniggered. "I can picture it already: 'Now listen kid, I'm a rockstar, I've lived the rockstar lifestyle. I've smoked and drunk and fucked and eaten weird stuff, but you, my boy-' or girl, it would be even funnier if it were a girl- 'you'll stay a virgin until you're married, you'll drink milk instead of vodka and you'll be an Oxford law graduate!'"

Fuck, I felt hyper all of a sudden. I burst out giggling but Chris mumped under his breath, too low for me to understand.

"And by the way," I went on, refusing to let go, "did you say kids? 'Cause now there's going to be more than one?"

"Well maybe..." he answered.

"How many, Daddy-o?" I titillated him, "Three? Four?"

"Will you just give me a break!" he complained. Then, before I could reply, he swiveled his head towards the couple leaning against the concrete fence that circled the rooftop. "Eddie!" he called. The guy turned in our direction and I actually recognized him: he was one of the sound engineer working at the studio. "We're hitting the road," Chris simply said. Eddie nodded, grabbed his girlfriend's hand, and they both left the fence behind.

Then we rounded the corner of the stairs' bulkhead and I saw Jade and Kathy, waiting for us near the door. And provoking Chris suddenly became the least of my problems again.

My eyes connected with Jade's. She was standing by the door, keeping it open for us, and I could tell she'd been gazing at me as soon as I'd come back into her sight. But her eyes darted away pretty quickly once she noticed I was looking back at her.

'Hmm, her lipstick did survive our kisses... Oh, no, no, no, don't think about her lips!'

Too late... I turned to my right, and was about to cross the threshold but as I walked in front of her, my feet slowed their movements- without being asked to- until I came to a complete halt.

It wasn't my fault! I swear, she was like a giant magnet, freezing me on the spot, trapping me into her aura.

I could almost feel her again. In my arms...under my fingers...on my skin. And her taste across my tongue. Her sweet, glorious, to-die-for taste.

My fingers twitched and I barely managed to stop myself from shoving her against the door behind her, pinning her there and kissing the life out of her. I wanted to feel the whole length of her body against mine. I wanted to hear her moan my name in the throes of passion...

I didn't know if she'd seen my fingers move or if my yearning was so great that she'd felt mental waves coming from me, but she suddenly pushed herself away from the door and entered the staircase. My hand reflexively flashed upwards and leaned flat against the door, so that it wouldn't smash into my face. My skin was burning again and the metal felt so icy in result that I winced.

Even though this whole little episode had felt painfully long to me, it'd lasted only a couple of seconds in reality. Kathy seemed to think that I was just being gallant and that I was holding the door for her. It came in handy, since it gave me some time to compose myself. Again.

Kathy went through the door. Eddie and his girl were next. I tried to smile back at them when they both beamed at me and wished me a 'happy birthday by the way'. Chris didn't seem determined to move so I started fowards myself. But just when I did he pushed the back of his hand against my chest and thus blocked my way.

"Are you listening?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Listening to what?" I returned him, irritated as well since I didn't like having anything keeping me away from her.

"To what I just said!" he exclaimed. "You didn't listen to a single word, did you?"

"I didn't hear."

I pushed his arm away- as gently as I could manage right now- and stepped forwards into the staircase.

"No. You didn't listen," he insisted.

'Since when has he become as a pain in the neck as Dom? !'

"Alright, I didn't hear, I didn't listen...whatever. What's your point?"

He trotted up to my side and we both started down the stairs.

"This has something to do with Jade, hasn't it?"

This time I was the one who held him back by grabbing his arm. I didn't want anyone to eavesdrop on that conversation. "It's none of your business, Chris," I hissed, keeping my voice low. "And what are you talking about anyway?"

"Oh please," he answered on the same tone, "did you think Dom wouldn't tell me?"

I drew back a bit in surprise and let go of his arm. Dom had told him? Dom had told him what exactly? And who else had he told?

'Dammit, Dom! Why do you have to be such a bloody blabbermouth!'

I cast a glance at Jade only to see her disappear from my sight further down the stairs. So I resumed downstairs. I didn't answer Chris, but apparently he guessed what I was thinking. Either that, or Dom had given him the how-to-read-Matt's-mind formula.

"Don't blame him," he said, "I grilled him until he spilled the beans. It's not his fault." I snorted but Chris wasn't done. "So now that you've indirectly answered my question and that I know that yes, it has something to do with Jade, will you tell me what's wrong?"

I sighed. What was wrong? What was right, he meant. Because, for once, something right had happened in the world. Something good.

What was wrong? I wanted to grab his shoulders, to make him face me, and to tell him that the most wonderful thing had happened.

I'd kissed Jade. I'd kissed Jade, for crying out loud! Not some random girl in a nightclub. And she'd kissed me back. And Jesus fucking Christ...she was a hell of a good kisser. Best I'd ever have. Even from the little she'd shown me, I knew it was true.

But I couldn't tell him that, not yet.

"It's nothing," I eventually lied when we reached the floor where the non-Dimies' (whatever that meant) apartment was. "And it has nothing to do with...y'know. I'm just nervous because of the gig."

I'd sounded pretty convincing, according to me, and I was always nervous before a gig so it was more than plausible. In fact...it was true. Especially now that I though about it, I was beginning to stress.

Chris scrutinized my face for an instant and seemed to swallow it this time. "Ah, don't worry. You know it'll all go away once we're onstage..."

"Yeah, I know..." I trailed off as I leaned against the threshold of Jade's apartment where Kathy and her had just gone to pick up a few things. All around me people were bustling about, getting ready to leave, and she was no exception.

I let my head fall back against the door frame and watched her from afar while I fiddled with my new silver necklace.

She wanted to act as if nothing had happened? We'd see about that. I'd pierced through her defences once, I knew I could do it again. And I intented to.

'Game on.'


title: 'Kryptonite' - 3 Doors Down + 'Falling Away With You'

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