The Wallflower and the Prankster

Chapter Seventeen: The Birthday Girl's Fool | Part 2

Alazne

The ‘date’ was priceless. In about two hours we played at least five random pranks. Some of them were mini tricks (as Josh calls them) like putting mint in a bottle and waiting for—no we were giving them out as free samples-- to big pranks with us as the main actors.

        I still remember that one prank where we were having a big dramatized break-up.  Literally, people circled around us with cameras and phones and the strange thing was I didn’t care at all.

        Something about Josh made me lively, and made me feel like I could do anything, be anyone. I wasn’t just a wallflower, I was one of the Them—the person people looked at with amazement and would smile. I was human…I had somewhere I belonged.

        I curled my fingers around Josh’s hand, they were big compared to mine, yet smooth and soft. His nails seemed freshly cut, unlike my long ones. My finger creased his slender one. Trying to ignore the sensation that was running through me, I went along with our plan. I matched my eyes with his. My lips widened a bit as I tried to get the words out.

        It was fake, I told myself. So I shouldn’t care too much. This is a just an act: a prank. It is supposed to be a little tease to brighten passerby’s’ day. I wasn’t doing anything illegal.

        Josh leaned in closer, a smirk on his face. His eyes twinkled with glee or it was the excitement on the moment. “What is it?” He asked me, but not as ‘Alana’ but a partner in this prank. It was the only way I could explain his loving look. The adorable look that stole my breath away and my heart quiver in happiness.

        It was your idea for this prank, I reminded myself. Just say it.  My hand absent-mindedly creased his hand for the courage of saying it.  Could I back out now, and claim this was a prank on him…to be closer to him?

        After all he was pulling a prank on me to pretend he liked liked me.

“Alana?” Josh’s eyes moved around me, scanning me. My heart tugged. I had to do this. This is fake.

        “Josh.” I cleared my pretend-clogged throat so it didn’t seem like I was stalling.

        The prank was simple, I break up with him. He tried to get me back—it’ll be a big show.

        “I…”  I tried again. “I think…”

We rehearsed this prank in the prank with only five people before, so this should come easy to me.

Josh leaned in closer, so close that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face. “Yeah?” His eyes urged me to follow through.

Follow through in what?

It was that second I did something that even till this day makes me dizzy just thinking about it.

        I, Alana Matina, a wallflower kissed THE Joshua Grey, the prankster. The guy that most girls fantasize about, most guys would admire—-probably the sweetest and strangest guy in the world.

My head dipped forward, and I found my lip on his full ones. I wish I could say that it was a small peck on the lips like the previous ones—no. I didn’t want that.

Josh began to kiss me back. His hands went to my head, drawing me forward. Our lips molded into one another. A shiver went down my spine, as I reeled him closer to me.

Without knowing, I got out of my seat and was guided by Josh onto his lap where our kiss deepened. His hand went around my back, and in respond my hands wrapped around his neck…