AGE 12: Regina's first kiss.


Laying her head on the table, Regina let tears fall from her eyes.

It was seven o'clock on a saturday night and she was crying her eyes out at the abandoned picnic area that she and Robin had found the summer before. She'd thought about heading home at first but she knew her parents would be there and ask why she was back so early. The idea of facing them was unappealing to say the least. She'd practically begged them to go to this party - the first boy-girl party she'd ever been invited to - and if she came back in tears they'd never let her go to another.

She wished never gone at all now. If she hadn't been there maybe she wouldn't have heard what she heard.

She heard rhythmic click of bicycle wheels and immediately lifted her head, swiping away the evidence of her tears. Only one person could've followed her her.

Seconds later Robin stood next to her at the picnic table, a quizzical look on his face. "Hey, what happened? Why'd you leave?" he interrogated.

She swallowed the lump in her throat before looking up at him and shrugging. "I just wanted to go," she mumbled. "It wasn't fun anymore."

As if it was ever going to be anyway. When she'd gotten an invite Stephanie Silver's Valentine's Day party she'd been surprised to say the least. Stephanie was one of the popular kids. She'd never so much as looked in Regina's direction before last week. Still she'd happily accepted, eager to be included for once. She should've known it was too good to be true.

Robin sat next to her on the picnic table and frowned. "Is this because of what Joey said?"

Her eyes widened. "You heard that?"

Robin grimaced and nodded. Regina's cheeks went red as she threw her head into her hands.

There had been whispers around class that Stephanie's party would include a game of spin the bottle. The thought of it made Regina's palm sweaty but she was still excited. It wasn't long before thoughts of her first kiss started swirling in her head. Not that she'd checked but she was pretty sure she was the only girl in her grade who hadn't gotten one yet. She'd planned on changing that tonight but then she'd heard the boys talking about it in the kitchen.

As long as I don't have to kiss Regina. She's so weird.

The sound of Joey Nesbaum's words echoed in her head, it was like she'd been embarrassed all over again. She'd been out of the house within minutes, telling that she had a stomach ache before hiding in the woods to cry her eyes out.

"Don't listen to Joey. He's an idiot!" insisted Robin. "Seriously, I overheard one of the teacher's saying he might be held back next year!"

Regina just remained silent, uncomforted by what he said. She wishes she could just brush off what Joey said, but it hurt too much. It wasn't as if she didn't know what the kids at school thought of her. They all talked about how different she was with her thick glasses and curly hair.

"No one's ever gonna want to kiss me," she mumbled, her eyes falling down to the picnic table.

"That's not true," said Robin, softly. "Someone will kiss you."

"You're just saying that 'cause your my friend," she quietly argued. "Nobody wants to kiss me."

Robin looked at her sympathetically for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I'll kiss you."

Immediately, Regina rolled her eyes at him. "You're just saying that because I'm sad. Not because you actually want to."

"Will having a kiss make you feel better?" he asked, curiously.

Regina raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe… I don't know," she mumbled, growing a bit more intrigued.

"Then I want to kiss you," he said, with a firm nod of his head.

Twisting up her face, she thought it over. She knew it probably wouldn't be a big deal for Robin, he'd already gotten his first kiss from Iris Black last year. But did she really want her first kiss to be with Robin? He was her best friend. Wouldn't that make it weird? Maybe a little but maybe it would be better to just get it over with anyway. And it's not like she had any other options…

"Okay," she said, shrugging her shoulders and turning to him. "But only for a second."

Robin's dimples flashed as he grinned at her. "Okay. Close your eyes?"

"Why?" she whined.

"Because that's how you do it in movies," he pointed out. "You're supposed to close your eyes."

Regina rolled her eyes but did as she was told.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, holding her breath as she waited for him to kiss her. Not much later she felt Robin press his lips against hers, giving her a chaste kiss. Her very first.

It didn't last long. Five seconds if she was keeping track - she was.

He pulled away and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her expectantly.

"So…" he drawled. "Do you feel better?"

She shrugged her shoulders but couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "A little bit."

Robin smiled at her mischievously. "Am I good kisser?"

Giggles erupted from her throat as she jokingly punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up Robin."

He laughed along with her before tilting his head toward their bikes. "Can we leave now?"

"Sure," she sighed, standing from the picnic table. "But I don't want to go back to the party."

"Me neither," he agreed, shaking his head. "It was getting kind of lame."

"Movies at your house?" she suggested.

"Cool."

Together they rode off on their bikes to the video store, both of them certain of two things without even speaking. One, that they'd never mention what happened at the picnic table again. Two, that they'd never kiss one another again in their lives.

Twenty years later they'd be proven wrong on both counts.


I hope you liked this one! Happy late Valentine's Day! Please leave a review!