Another chapter. Later than I might've wanted admittedly so sorry but I really hope you enjoy this one. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I don't do as many of these notes as some but I want to say this at least. I do read all the reviews and consider them carefully. Thank you so much for the support and please continue to tell me what you think. I need constructive criticism to make this story and future ones better than ever for you all. Anyway, enjoy xD
Chapter 34: Wake up call.
Humphrey's POV:
Sunday night quickly became Monday morning, the pleasant sounds of my alarm rousing me once more to the chilly morning. It was still Summer but the combination of the mountains and how far North Jasper city was located meant that the mornings were, at best, borderline frosty all year round. After going through my usual morning routine I was ready for school, heading out and starting up my car, a slight smile on my face as the cold start caused the v8 to roar to life. I let it get warmed up a little before reversing out of the garage and beginning the drive to school which, especially on Mondays, was fairly boring due to the traffic and allowed no room to open her up at all.
It was particularly bad that morning, meaning it took just shy of half an hour for me to arrive at school, pulling into an empty spot. I let the engine idle for a moment before silencing it and getting out, grabbing my bags from the trunk and heading towards the entrance where everyone was waiting. They'd seen me arrive and I could see them watching me as I approached, a few whispers passing between a few of them as I wondered if something had happened. 'Did I do something?' I thought to myself as I arrived at the group, giving them a grin as I said hello.
No sooner had the word left my mouth however than Kate grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the school as she said something about our lockers. I wore a bewildered look as I shrugged towards the others, letting her pull me into the school and through the crowded hallways. We finally arrived at our lockers and she turned to me, looking extremely nervous as she blushed hard, looking at the floor. I felt a little flush on my own face as I suddenly realised what this must be about, memories of what had happened at and after the party rushing to the fore of my mind.
"Kate, I..." I started to say but trailed off as she suddenly met my gaze, her expression difficult to read which made me worry about what she wanted to say and how she felt about it all.
"Humphrey... About what happened, I..." Kate trailed off as well and I realised that she had no idea what to say either. 'Well this is awkward.' I thought as silence fell, grinning a little inside.
"You're my friend Kate, and we were both pretty drunk. If you want we can just forget the whole thing ever happened." I said, just managing to force the words out coherently despite the fact that my chest was tightening as I spoke them. I knew what I'd just said was basically a lie, since I had no chance of forgetting what had happened any time soon but I also didn't want to lose Kate as a friend.
"But what if... I didn't want to forget it...?" Kate said slowly, sounding a little choked up as she very pointedly looked down at her shoes. My heart all but back flipped as she said the words, stunning me into silence as I almost couldn't believe she'd spoken them.
Kate's POV:
Kate was practically screaming in panic internally at this point. She'd all but confessed her feelings for Humphrey and now she could only wait for his response as she looked everywhere but his face. She settled on her own shoes as silence fell between them once more for what seemed like forever but was probably only a second or two at best. 'Oh god... why isn't he saying anything? He doesn't like me. He's gonna reject me.' Kate's thoughts were running along these lines at around a hundred miles an hour and eventually she could bare the silence no longer as she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.
"I'm sorry!" She yelled, glancing up at his face for a split second before turning to run. He'd had a totally shocked expression and she had no idea what to make of it, only knowing that her first ever time confessing to a boy had been a total failure as she ran away from him. She honestly had no idea where she was going but she kept running regardless, ignoring the tears on her face as she continued until she couldn't take another step and fell to her knees, continuing to bawl into her hands.
Eventually the tears ran out and after a few more sobs she wiped her face, looking around at where she was. As it happened she was in stairwell that almost never got used up near the gymnasium. She hadn't heard it but she figured that it must've sounded already which meant she was late for homeroom. Just the thought of homeroom, where she sat next to Humphrey, was enough to trigger a fresh wave of emotion and accompanying tears. She looked back down at the floor with a sniff, just about to begin crying once more as she lamented how much of an idiot she was when a gentle hand on her shoulder made her flinch.
She had a suspicion she knew who it was and sure enough she looked up to see Humphrey standing there, breathing heavily. 'Of course he's here. Even if he hated me he's such a nice guy that he'd probably try to comfort me.' She thought, a bitter-sweet feeling filling her chest and tears resuming their march down her cheeks as she realised, more than ever, how amazing Humphrey was and how much it hurt.
Humphrey's POV:
A few minutes prior.
I was racing through the thankfully now empty hallways, searching every corner for Kate. I'd been so stunned by everything that I'd been slow to chase after her and had lost her in the crowds of students. I cursed my idiocy as I ran down another hallway, checking every room that wasn't a classroom for her but finding no sign. Two somewhat panicked minutes of searching later I'd cleared the main school building and was heading towards the gym which was somewhat separate from the rest of the school. I had no idea what sort of conclusion she'd reached but it clearly wasn't a good one for her to run off crying like that so I had to find her.
Finally I found her alone in a stairwell, totally oblivious to my approach as she cried. I was breathing heavily as I walked over, gently placing my hand on her shoulder to get her attention as I caught my breath.
"Finally... Found you..." I said between breaths, smiling weakly at her. There were still tears streaming down her face as she looked up at me and gave a bitter little smile before looking back down at the floor and using the sleeve of her jumper to wipe her face a little. It was a mark of how upset she was that she couldn't even do that properly, almost completely missing her tears before giving up throwing her hands down in frustration.
"I'm sorry Humphrey. Please just... leave me alone." She muttered in a dejected tone as I walked around and knelt down on one knee next to the distraught girl, softly lifting her chin so that she was looking back at me.
"You really are hopeless aren't you?" I said softly, using my sleeve to wipe away her tears and clean up her face a little. There were more than a few tears and it left a wet patch on my sleeve but I couldn't have cared less as I smiled at her now that she was looking more like herself. There was a bit of a blush on her cheeks but when I took my hands away she held my gaze, staring into my eyes with what looked like a slightly hopeful expression.
"W-what do you mean?" She whispered, searching my eyes for answers. I leaned back a little, shrugging as I shook my head and grinned.
"You didn't give me a chance to say anything." I replied in a lighter tone, hoping to pick up her mood a little. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect as she adopted a glum expression and looked back down at the floor. 'This girl...' I thought to myself.
"There's nothing that needs to be said." She said, looking as blue as anyone I had ever seen.
"You're right. There's nothing I need to say." I replied, leaning in and planting a kiss on her lips.
Kate's POV:
Kate's eyes widened as Humphrey's lips connected with her own. 'Am I dreaming?' Was her only thought as her mind all but shut down and she closed her eyes, losing herself in the sea of sensations that accompanied the contact. She felt as though she was floating two inches off the floor, electricity racing up and down her spine as her heart stopped beating whilst simultaneously beating twice as fast as usual. This was the second time she'd kissed Humphrey but the first time she'd been too drunk to really remember what it was like, other than that it had happened and that she'd liked it. This time around however was completely different, she felt like she was acutely aware of everything happening; like she could see every detail of Humphrey even with her eyes closed.
After a bit she felt him begin to pull away a little and quickly grabbed the front of his shirt, leaning towards him as she pulled him in. 'If this is a dream then I don't want it to end.' She thought to herself as they continued kissing, Humphrey not seeming to mind that she wanted more as he complied with a smile.
Eventually however her lungs couldn't take it anymore and she had to pull away, the two of them breathing heavily as they looked into each other's eyes. Kate's lips somehow felt hot and cold at the same time in the spots where Humphrey's had been touching them.
"I didn't want to forget it either." Humphrey said quietly as he grinned at her. Kate was too giddy to speak and could only nod with a smile.
Humphrey's POV:
I smiled at Kate, staring into her beautiful amber eyes as I heard some music begin to play, my vision fading to black. What felt like a moment later I slowly opened my eyes once more, confused as the scene before me was disconnected from my expectation. I realized once I awoke fully that I had been dreaming, the slight panic I'd felt replaced with a sense of disappointment as I reflected on the vivid images in my mind. 'And it was going so well...' I thought to myself as I silenced my alarm and dragged myself from bed, a wry smile coming onto my face as I considered the credence of the saying about things being 'too good to be true'.
I had an intense feeling of déjà vu for the rest of the morning as I went through my usual routine for what seemed to be the second time that day. Eventually the dream I'd had was pushed from my mind however as I sat at the table, sipping at my coffee as I considered the week ahead.
"You okay Humphrey? You're looking a little spaced out." Charlie asked me, snapping me from my thoughts as I realized she'd just said goodbye and I hadn't even reacted. I laughed a little and nodded, finishing my coffee and standing as well.
"Yeah I'm fine, just didn't sleep well. Had a strange dream. Really vivid." I replied, placing my coffee cup in the sink and joining her as we headed out into the garage and towards our respective cars. I got into the mustang, rolling the window down so that I could hear what Charlie was saying as she did the same.
"Alright then. Just make sure you're awake by the time class starts." She said, a stern look coming onto her face as she went to add something further. I had a strong suspicion it was about exercising too much on top of everything else I had to do but I didn't really want to hear it again so I turned my car on, the roar of the Boss 429 as it came to life drowning out Charlie's voice. I grinned at her and she just smiled and shook her head as she started her own car and reversed from the garage.
Kate's POV:
Kate smiled and nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from Humphrey's even if she'd wanted to, his icy blue stare sending chills down her spine and filling her with warmth all at once.
"Time to wake up Miss Spencer." He said and she tilted her head in confusion, wondering why he'd say that to her. As she did so her vision began to fade, darkness seeping in from the corners of her eyes as Humphrey seemed to move further away with every moment. Kate began to panic as the wondrous moment disappeared before her eyes, replaced by the plain white paint of the ceiling above her head.
"You'll be late if you sleep in any longer Miss." Silas said in an amused tone as Kate sat up with a sigh and he placed the tray of breakfast on the bed before her. 'Just a dream?' She thought to herself as she contemplated the delicious meal before her that was a good attempt to but by no means replaced what she felt she'd just lost, even if it hadn't been real.
"Thanks Silas." She said, beginning to eat as he left her alone with her thoughts, all of which were concentrated on a certain boy with blue eyes and the vivid memory she had of the moment they'd shared which had never happened. Kate wasn't exactly sure how she felt about all of this since she'd only known Humphrey for two weeks or so but the dream was soon driven from her mind as the morning progressed and she got ready for and headed to school.