Blame Gravity

Chapter 4

I show up to Layla's party with a present under my arm. 

She opens the door and kisses me on both cheeks. 

"Happy birthday," I whisper.

"Come in, come in!" she shouts and gestures me the same thing.

When I walk in, my jaw drops. This was not what I expected at a 15-year-old girl's party.

There are boys, which is already an anomaly in terms of girls' parties.  Not only that, but I smell cigarette smoke. At Layla's? Where are her parents?

There are a bunch of teens on the floor, playing spin the bottle. To my annoyance, James is one of them, as well as Maud. 

I put the present down on the table for the gifts and grab a cup of apple juice. 

"Lucy! Come play!" Layla says as she settles down next to Maud. 

"No, I don't want to," I say.

"Come on, Canmore, are you scared?" James yells. At that, I put down my juice and sit down next to Layla. I hear "oooooh!"s all around me, but I don't care. I shoot a challenging look at James, and he smiles.

"Who goes first?" Layla asks. 

"The birthday girl, of course!" a boy says. Layla nods and spins the bottle. It lands on some guy I don't know. Layla smiles and gives him a quick peck on the mouth. She seems all flustered afterward. 

"Who's next?" she asks quietly. 

"I'll go!" Ace volunteers. Ace is also a guy from school. I haven't really talked to him, mostly because he's popular, and I'm not. He spins the bottle, and it lands on Maud. 

I try not to snicker as I look at James' disapproving face. 

"Who's next?"

"Lucy! Lucy should go!" Layla says. I love the girl, but sometimes, she can be insensitive. 

I shake my head, but a single look at James' challenging look changes my mind. I spin the bottle. It seems like an eternity until it finally slows down. And then...

James.

Fuck.

Everyone starts yelling.

"I'm not doing that," I say.

"Neither am I, " says James. 

"Come on, man! Just kiss!" a few guys exclaim. All of them start chanting "Kiss!". James shrugs and looks at me, grinning like an evil Disney villain. 

I finally roll my eyes and move closer. People start cheering already. For a few moments, everything seems quiet, and the world seems to stop. And then, when I think I can't take it anymore, his soft lips meet mine.

James kisses me.

I want to hate it. I want to puke over him out of disgust. But... some sort of strange feeling comes over me. Something I haven't ever felt. Butterflies flutter in my stomach and I feel all... warm? It's almost magical. 

Wait, no. That doesn't seem right. It's James. My worst enemy. I hate him. And yet.

And yet.

When he moves back, the world goes on, and I hear people cheering. I look at them in annoyance and try to play off the disgusted enemy, but I can sense it's not going well.

What the fuck was that?

I didn't feel that way with Mike. With Mike, it was nice, yeah, but it wasn't as nerve-wracking as this. This was... This was what I imagined when I talked about kissing. Something that drowns out the world's noises, something that makes time stop. 

No. I must be mistaken. I shouldn't even compare Mike and James. Mike is nice and kind and handsome and James is a psycho-maniac who broke a kid's leg over a better grade, or something. 

Now that I think about it, it wasn't even that magical. It was probably just the nerves. I'll forget about this. 

(I hope so.)

I don't even pay attention for the rest of the game. All I can think about is James' soft lips on mine and how comfortable I felt, even for just a moment. 

By the time I gain a sense of reality we've already moved on to the presents, and it's my turn. 

I give Layla the Fine Line CD that she's wanted since last year or something, and she squeals and hugs me and kisses me on both cheeks. 

Against my will, I catch a glimpse of James, just when he's looking at me. His cheeks turn red and he clears his throat while looking away.

Wait.

What was that?

Is he just as uncomfortable as me? I feel my cheeks heat just at the thought. Did he feel that too? 

Nevermind. I didn't feel anything. If this makes him fall in love with me, that just means I win, because that will distract him and I'll win the competition. 

A/N If u have any suggestions/ideas for how the story should continue, please drop a comment!