Chapter 31: Surprise.
Kate's POV:
Kate and Humphrey chatted away about what they'd done during the day for a while and before Kate knew it Silas was pulling up out the front of Sam and Angel's house. She and Humphrey thanked Silas as they got out of the car and he reminded her of her curfew to which she promised she'd keep. The party was clearly already in full swing as she and Humphrey approached the front door, the muffled sounds of music and chatter reaching their ears.
"Around 7 or so huh?" Kate said as they got to the front door, she and Humphrey sharing a laugh as he knocked. For a moment or two there was no sign that anyone had heard the door but then the music dropped a little in volume, along with the chatter. Humphrey turned to her, raising an eyebrow as the door opened, revealing Sam, who smiled broadly when she saw them.
"Finally, come on in guys." She said after they had exchanged a round of greetings, stepping back and opening the door wider to allow them to enter the house. Humphrey stood aside to let Kate enter first but Sam grabbed her arm, holding her back and gesturing for Humphrey to go ahead.
"One sec Kate. You go ahead Humphrey, everyone is down the back of the house or outside." She said slyly, leaning over to whisper to Kate, "I need to talk to you later." Humphrey gave them an amused smile as he watched the two girls whispering before going on ahead as Sam had instructed, leading the way through to the back of the house.
"So I see you didn't wa-" Humphrey began to say something but was cut off by an eruption of cheering and clapping as they arrived in the living room at the back of the house. Kate grinned at the surprise they'd planned, knowing that Sam had intentionally given her and Humphrey a later time so that they'd arrive after everyone else for this. Humphrey looked stunned as Kate and Sam moved past him to join the others.
"What is this?" He asked incredulously as everyone began to disperse back to their various groups and Hutch, Kevin and a few others came over. They all laughed at Humphrey's question, Kevin forcing a drink into Humphrey's hand before throwing an arm around his shoulders and dragging him into the crowd along with the others.
"It was going to be kind of a welcome thing for you, but after you made that miracle shot, we figured it'd be for that too." Hutch said with a smile as they moved into the crowd and Kate smiled, wondering how they'd managed to keep all this a secret from her and Humphrey. After a moment she felt a tug on her sleeve, turning to see Angel standing there with a smile and a drink for her.
"How could you not tell me?" Kate asked her as she accepted the cup and took a sip, following Angel into the other room where the other girls were.
"It seemed more fun that way. Plus you would've given it away for sure." Angel said with a giggle.
Humphrey's POV:
I grinned as I took a drink, letting Kevin steer me through the crowds. 'I can't believe they did this for me.' I thought as I looked around and saw that everyone seemed to be having a good time.
"You guys didn't have to..." I began but was again cut off as they laughed, Hutch slapping my back.
"But we wanted to. Just accept it dude." He said. The party went on and I had to admit that it was a really good party, not that I had much to compare it to in terms of teenage parties but I could see why Kate was excited. There was music, dancing and plenty of chatter, all helped along by drinks that flowed freely. There was also some drama, as I girl I didn't know caught her boyfriend making out with someone else, leading to a screaming match and plenty of tears.
Towards the end of the night I was sitting out the back with Chris, Barry and Rob, chatting about various things like cars, work and girls. I was surprised to learn that most of the students at our school didn't have jobs due to either the work load or due to being in the sports teams. It had just ticked over midnight when Barry and Rob announced that they were leaving.
"Together?" I joked with a smile as they said goodbye and left Chris and I alone. Almost everyone had gone at that point and it was pretty quiet in the house. I was about to suggest that we should probably head off as well when Abby came out from inside the house, her grin and manner indicating that she had drunk quite a bit, as likely had the rest of the girls.
"Come inside you two, we want some company." She said in a sultry tone as she grabbed Chris' arm. He looked at me with a grin and a suggestive expression and I just shook my head with a laugh, following them into the living room where the girls had set up the sofas and armchairs in a circle. If the amount of cups around was any indication they'd certainly had a lot to drink as we entered and they all looked up. Abby and Chris took the remaining sofa and I took a seat on the floor, leaning back against the armchair Kate was sitting in.
"~Hey Humphrey~" Kate said in a sing-song voice as I sat down. I tilted my head back to look up at her with a grin, noticing that she, along with all the others except maybe Angel, was clearly drunk. As I returned my attention to the group I felt something on my head, moving to swap it away before I stopped, seeing that it was just Kate playing with my hair while she hummed away to herself.
"So who wants to play?" Brittany said after we'd all gotten comfortable, a sly grin on her face as she placed a bottle in the centre of the circle, everyone nodding in agreement.
"I don't get it?" I said tilting my head a bit as I looked at the bottle, wondering what was supposed to happen as they all laughed.
"It's truth or dare. You spin the bottle and ask whoever it lands on whether they want to tell the truth, in which case you ask them a question, or do a dare, and then you tell them to do something. Once they've done it, they get to spin the bottle and ask the next person." Brit explained to me.
"Oh so it's a bit like Russian Roulette?" I said, nodding my understanding. 'Sounds like fun. Probably won't hurt as much either.' I thought to myself as Sam announced that she would go first, crawling to the centre and giving the bottle a spin. Three rounds later it was Sam's turn to spin again, which she did and the bottle landed on me, making me hurriedly think of which option was better. Truth seemed easier so I went with that, realizing my mistake immediately from the looks I was getting from all the girls.
"Alright then Humphrey, truth. Do you currently have, or have you ever had a girlfriend?" She asked me, all of them leaning a little closer to hear my answer. 'That seems like two in one..." I thought to myself with a wry smile.
"Well... not exactly." I said slowly, trying to explain the situation in an understandable way. I knew that wouldn't be an acceptable answer and held up a hand to stall the question Brit had been about to ask, an indignant look on her face.
"I stayed with a family near New Orleans a while back and they had a daughter, maybe a year older than me. It was a small town with not much to do and when we were bored she would... teach me things." I explained, a blush on my face that grew stronger the more I spoke. The others looked a little shocked as the girls giggled amongst themselves and Chris gave me a look of... jealousy? I wasn't sure.
"My turn then." I said, wanted to move off the topic as soon as possible as I leaned forward, giving the bottle a spin. It landed on Abby and I looked over at her, sitting next to Chris on the sofa.
"Short straw Abby, truth or dare?" I asked her with a grin.
"Truth." She said confidently. I had a good idea of what topics were 'acceptable' by this point and played it safe, just asking if there was anyone at school that she had crush on since I knew she wasn't currently seeing anyone. She nodded with a bit of a blush and I couldn't help but glance between her and Chris, wondering if there was something there since they'd been a lot closer recently. I noticed Angel doing the same and exchanged a glance with her, both of us laughing quietly as she gave me a knowing look and a nod.
We played another few rounds before Chris and Abby excused themselves, saying they were getting more drinks and disappearing off somewhere. It was clearly a lie as they didn't come back for the rest of the night. It was Sam's turn again and as she spun the bottle I hoped it wouldn't land on me, since I'd noticed that Sam's questions were always the most embarrassing. We hadn't had a dare yet and I got the feeling that her dares would be more extreme as well. The bottle landed on Kate, who was back to playing with my hair, which I didn't really mind but she wasn't paying much attention to the game, off in her own world as Sam asked her the question.
"Hmmm... Truth or dare. Dare, dare, dare..." She said. After a moment of silence she looked up, noticing that we were all looking at her in shock.
"Wait, what?" She asked, a confused then horrified look on her face as she figured out what she'd done. The other three were all grinning but I really didn't like the feeling I was getting from the look in Sam's eyes as she looked between Kate and I. I was now the only male present and I got the sudden feeling of being ganged up on as Sam spoke.
"Then I. Dare. You... To kiss Humphrey." Everyone was silent as the words seemed to hang in the air.
"What!?" Kate and I both spoke simultaneously, looking shocked as we started at Sam. I leaned away from the armchair a little, turning to look up at Kate to see what she was thinking. I caught her eye and we looked at each other for a moment before we both blushed heavily and looked away once more. It wasn't like it would be the first time I'd kissed a girl and for any of the others I probably wouldn't have been so concerned, after all it was just a dare for a silly game but Kate was different; it had been years since I had been so close with someone and I was worried what might come of it, even if she was too drunk to remember any of this tomorrow.
Kate's POV:
Kate held Humphrey's gaze for a second, the heat in her cheeks rising steadily as she looked away at the others, hoping one of them would help. Sam was obviously out of the question, which meant Brittany was as well. Abby and Chris had disappeared somewhere meaning that Angel was the only one left and Kate looked at her best friend, a silent plea in her eyes. Angel just smiled and shook her head, looking between Kate and Humphrey with expectant eyes. Best friend or no she and Kate still enjoyed watching the other suffer in awkward situations like this.
"Come on Sam, isn't that a little..." Humphrey said, his tone similar to a friend mediating an argument as he tried to make them see reason. The others just laughed however, seeming to sense that they had all the advantage in this one.
"Do you not want to do it Humphrey? Or maybe it's because you do." Brittany said, her grin widening when Humphrey just fell silent and looked down, blushing even more than before and Kate looked at him, honestly wondering which it was.
"Come on Kate, the clock's ticking. You have to do it, or suffer the consequences." Sam said to her, gesturing to Humphrey in a 'hurry up' manner. The consequences had never really been established but in her alcohol afflicted state it really did seem like she had no other choice but to do it, despite the worries flying through her mind at a mile a minute. 'What if things get awkward. Does he like me? Does he not? Can we still be friends if he doesn't? Do I like him?'
Kate continued to fret as these thoughts passed through her mind, looking down at Humphrey who was returning her gaze whilst wearing a 'I tried, it's on you now' expression. Kate had realized yesterday after he'd dropped her home that she had a major crush on him and it had been easy to see why: he was kind, funny, smart and one of the most physically attractive people she'd ever seen, in real-life or otherwise. This had only made her more confused however since it was the first way she'd felt about someone like this. Plus they were close friends and that only made it worse since she didn't want to admit it, get rejected and then lose a good friend.
Despite all of this, looking down at Humphrey now, Kate knew she wanted to kiss him. A lot. Ideally it probably wouldn't have been under these circumstances but as she looked at him, his lips practically begging her to lean in, which she started to do. Kate felt as though everything else was beginning to disappear as she got closer to Humphrey, looking into his eyes. She continued inching closer to him, leaning further off the armchair as she half expected him to stop her and say he didn't want to but Humphrey didn't move at all, just returned her gaze.
"Ah-" Kate's hand suddenly slipped off the chair as she leaned too far, falling forwards into Humphrey. Here yelp was almost immediately cut off as their lips collided softly. As she'd slipped Kate had expected it to hurt but somehow Humphrey had seen it coming, catching her shoulders at the last second and holding her up as they kissed. After a moment the tension of the fall left her and Kate closed her eyes, relaxing into the kiss as she felt like she was melting.