Falling, Fallen || Remus Lupin

Chapter Fourteen

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At first, Rosemary hadn't realized what happened, startled from the unfamiliar feeling of trembling lips on hers. She simply stood there, flustered, and unable to move an inch.

She couldn't control her breathing as she felt the air halt in her throat, making her wobble slightly from his spontaneous touch. For only a moment, Remus could feel hesitation, her hand that was caressing his only minutes ago had squeezed tightly from the initial shock, though after only a second, had soon relaxed and eventually laced her fingers in his.

Once their eyes slowly fell, closing gently as the room kept whirring around them, the world felt overwhelmingly small, as they melted together for only a brief moment. When he kissed her, it was more heart-stopping than he ever thought was possible, and once the space between them had closed, Remus felt his senses go completely numb from the touch of her lips moving with his ever so delicately.

Although the kiss was much quicker than Rosemary realized, she barely even thought of her own reaction, her mind going empty while the feeling of electricity crept its way from Remus' fingertips towards her jawline. She didn't know if it was the cold draft from the window next to them or the sudden realization that her best friend was kissing her, but all she could focus on was the goosebumps appearing all along her arms as they stayed together, perfectly intertwined.

Remus wondered when the right moment was to pull away, anxiety suddenly taking over him blindly. Although he never wanted to stop, feeling drunk on her taste, he quickly let go from her clutch, his fingers no longer brushing along her jawline, and took an anxious step back, surprised at his own actions.

Remus stayed looking down at Rosie, contemplating every decision he had ever made, studying her face, and wondering anxiously what she was thinking. Much to his dismay, she stayed completely still without a word.

He continued to stare into her deep brown eyes, concentrating on the rich colors with the light from the fireplace making her glow in the darkness, wishing he could take back what he had just done, her silence killing him slowly.

It happened so unexpectedly, she hadn't realized, not until his lips left hers in a jolt, that it was her first kiss.

He was her first kiss.

Remus, the boy that she felt the deepest connection to, the boy that could make all her worries wash away with just a simple a look, had made their friendship flash before her eyes so suddenly, being the first boy in her life to ever steal her breath away and leave her helplessly inflamed with just a simple kiss.

She always knew there was some attraction there lingering between them, from the very moment they met on the Hogwarts Express all those years ago, until now. Though, she would have never imagined that it would ever develop into something like this. She suddenly felt very exposed, somehow, the cold draft barely escaping through the window next to them had continued to pass through, grazing her skin as her stomach twisted into a rapid knot while she thought of what to say next.

However, Rosemary was never good at expressing her emotions the way she wanted to. Maybe she was too inexperienced to even understand her own feelings, she tried to convince herself, but no matter how many excuses she made for her lack of communication, in this moment she wanted to say everything she had always wondered about their friendship. All the unknowns, all the confusing feelings that liked to invade her mind when she caught him staring at her across the Great Hall, when she heard his gorgeous laughter echo through the library isles during their lazy study sessions, how it made her feel... all the moments she wondered if there was something more to their friendship at all, she wanted to ask him what it all meant.