The long-awaited kiss has arrived! Enjoy!

Chapter 7: You're An Angel

Poor Adam, I wonder what's taking him so long. I just saw Tanya walk by a few minutes ago…and she didn't seem very happy. God, I hope they didn't have a fight or something worse because she saw me with Adam! But she knows that I'm Adam's best friend, and that's all we are. After all, Adam broke up with me so he could be with Tanya. Surely, she must understand all this. I wonder if Rocky's alright…

Elizabeth pondered, mulling over so many issues that her head was starting to pound. She stood up hesitantly, wondering if she should go after Adam and see if he was alright. But then, she wondered if she shouldn't, because if he and Tanya did have a fight or broke up, he needed time alone to sort everything out. Contemplating this dilemma, she was about to walk down to the lake when she heard a familiar ringing voice.

"Elizabeth!"

She turned and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth and her eyes starting to brim with exultant tears. She watched as Rocky grinned goofily and broke into a run. She felt her legs pick up as well, and she found herself flying towards her best friend with joy. All at once, she stopped and Rocky picked her up easily, spinning her round and round like they were children, giggling and laughing as though no one else was around. The world had stopped just for them, and for a brief, glimpsing minute, they weren't superheroes whose duty was to protect the fate of the world, and they weren't rising senior students merging on the road towards college and the future. For a fleeting, but truly glorious moment, they were just two best friends in love.

Rocky gradually stopped spinning his best friend, his smile still evident on his face. He set her down gently, beaming down at her as though she was an angel. Elizabeth's countenance was shining with tears of delight. They stared into each other's faces for the longest moment, as though memorizing the details of their faces, sketching the curves and edges of their friendship.

"Rocky," she started, but couldn't finish as she stared into Rocky's brown eyes. He was looking at her with an intensity of passion and affection that made her positively faint; his eyes penetrating hers with years of friendship and platonic love, now flickering with hints of quixotic stances.

Then, still leaning against him, he pulled her towards him by the hand holding her wrist. Surprised, she stumbled, and fell against him. And he kissed her. Later, Elizabeth would think that he had obviously put everything he had, every ounce of feeling for her, every vestige of passion and every shred of frustrated love, into that kiss. As if he were trying to burn whatever it was he felt out of him, exorcise it, and wring it dry. At the time though, she was only aware that her knees were buckling and there was a roaring sound in her ears as if someone were holding seashells over them. She shut her eyes and saw lightning dance across her inner lids.

His voice gave out and his face crumbled; he stared into her eyes for a few agonizing seconds, shaking his head. His gaze was filled with speechless disbelief, as if he'd never known himself until that moment. An ancient and decaying wall inside Elizabeth's heart collapsed with a mighty crash and she threw her arms around his neck with a cry, swallowing past the hoarse sobs that rose in her throat. He clutched her to his chest with panicky tightness, burying his face in her hair.

Her fingers dug into the flesh of his back but no matter how she tried she couldn't hold him any tighter. "Rocky, I don't..." she began, and then all at once found that she could not continue because his lips were in the way, pressing urgently against her own. For a shocked second Elizabeth wasn't sure what was happening, then she opened her eyes to find Rocky just staring at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face; her mouth was tingling from what had not been an imaginary kiss.

Did that just happen? She thought. Her mind was racing. She slid her hands around to the back of his neck to bring her lips to his, hesitantly; his arms encircled her with light pressure to draw her closer. Once the contact was made, however, all restraint vanished as if a switch had been thrown. He plunged his fingers into her hair and she melted against him, tightening her arms around his shoulders as they kissed, caught up in a tidal wave of passion so intense Elizabeth had to wonder where it had come from...or perhaps it had been there all along, just biding its time. Her neck arched, her head falling back so that she stared wonderingly at the bright blue sky as his mouth moved down the pale column of her neck, her hands tangled restlessly in his unruly mop of hair. He took a breath and seemed about to speak; she dragged his lips back to hers, cutting off his words. She angled her head towards him; both of them bound up by a strange urgency that made her pull him closer, small sounds escaping her throat, and made him kiss her harder so she could scarcely breathe.

"Rocky," she whispered hoarsely, starting to break apart. She opened her eyes, finding him breathing hard, trying to unravel the past few minutes. She smiled slightly as she watched him straighten his hair; touch his lips, and quirk a bright smile that could have illuminated pure darkness.

"Did we do that?" He asked quietly, his voice light and feathery.

She was silent for a minute, contemplating. Rocky had kissed her before. Friendly peck on the cheek. Smacking and exaggerated (but innocuous) kiss hello. Chaste, closed-mouth smooch on New Year's Eve. She had hugged him as freely as she would a close female friend or a brother. He had changed clothes in front of her. She had cut his hair for him. He had seen her in nothing but a towel with her hair dripping water onto her shoulders.

There was no mystery left there, no idiosyncrasies left to be uncovered. At no time had there been any tension, because they'd had The Line and woe is to anyone who crossed it. They had certainly never kissed like this. The truth was that she'd never kissed anyone like this, and that included Adam. Her mind was spinning and spinning and her bones felt like they were liquefying inside her skin.

"Rocky, I…" Elizabeth paused, wondering.

"You're an angel," he murmured softly, staring into her bright eyes. Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat, amazed at what had happened. She felt her insides tingle with affection that was either never revealed before or was secretly buried beneath all her intimate feelings of friendship towards Rocky. She half-wondered when she began falling in love with him, speculating what would happen next. From the look in his eyes, she knew that he too, understood that they had crossed The Line and their relationship was stepping up.

Her smile turned soft and she locked eyes with Rocky. "You'll always be my best friend, Rocky, no matter what. No amount of distance- or stars can change that." Her voice was confident and reassuring.

"Same with me, Elizabeth," he replied. Hesitantly, he drew her into a tight embrace. He could hear her soft breathing and her heart racing. The sweet scent of strawberries and jasmine flowers enveloped him in a halo of paradise.

Am I in love with my best friend? He asked himself, watching Elizabeth trace her finger down his chest, attempting to tickle him. He chuckled to himself, his expression brightening as Elizabeth blushed and smiled too. Oh shit, you are so in love with your best friend, he thought furiously, as she rewarded him with another dazzling smile.

"Elizabeth, I'll always love you." He said honestly.

"I'll always love you too, Rocky." She replied. Then, she raised her head, her dark hair spilling across his chest. A flicker of wonderment and warmth glimmered in her eyes, and they both leaned forwards, without hesitation.

They savored a sweet, intoxicating kiss. She felt herself clutching at Rocky as if she might fall otherwise; felt him gripping her arms with a force that was painful. She would have bruises, but she didn't care. She couldn't breathe, but she didn't care. She could feel his heart beating wildly against hers and that was what mattered; that, and the pressure of his mouth on her and the yearning she felt from him as he kissed her.

"Elizabeth, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to tonight's dance?" He whispered as she rested her palms against his chest. He ran his hand through her hand and pressed his lips harder against hers.

"Absolutely, Mr. DeSantos," She whispered breathlessly.

"Thank you, Miss Watson." Rocky smirked, trailing kisses along her cheeks and lips. He broke apart unwillingly.

"What does this mean for us now?" Rocky asked, interlocking hands with his new girlfriend and steering her towards a nearby tree. They sat down, Elizabeth enveloped in his arms, leaning against his chest.

"Well, if my vocabulary serves me correctly, I believe we are dating, Mr. DeSantos." Elizabeth said in an air of blissfulness.

Rocky grinned, "But I just asked you to the dance tonight, Miss Watson. That does not mean that we are officially dating."

Elizabeth shifted in his arms to meet his eyes. She arched an eyebrow and whispered- "Should I convince you that we should date?"

Rocky knew she was challenging him, and he smiled, always ready for a challenge, especially one from the clever Elizabeth.

Smirking, Elizabeth tilted back her head and raised her lips to kiss him. It was like lightning striking with fireworks and stars hanging around them, stopping in their own time to look at them. Her hands clutched onto his arms and he placed his own on each side of her cheek.

He was very aware that her own tongue mixed with his and that she was giving him everything she had- everything she wanted to give him…every emotion spilling out of her like a cascade of rain. He tried to memorize everything around them-from the place they sat to the feel of the kiss that he was obtaining. Kissing Elizabeth was like coming home.