Intertwined [Neteyam x OC]

Chapter 10

You'll always be the one that I wanna come home to
Boy let me love you and show you how special you are
I wanna be your baby, you'll always be my baby
Tell me what you want now
- 'Nobody's Business' by Rihanna 

Aliyah realized that she would have to talk to Neteyam eventually, so a few days after the party, she asked to speak to him in private. They walked along the beach, water just hitting their feet when it washed up against the sand. Neteyam scratched his throat nervously, "So, about what happened at the party..."
Aliyah felt panic rise in her body and rambled, "It was nothing! Just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing." She awkwardly laughed to try to bring humor into her sentence, "We were just all riled up, could have happened with anyone, right?"
Neteyam's eyes saddened, which she caught a glimpse of. Was she doing the right thing?
He sighed, "I don't know, Ali. I think it could have only happened with you. I'm not really interested in anyone else. I really felt something when we kissed" Her heart jumped. Did he just admit his feelings or was she imagining things? Probably the latter.
She apparently took too long to answer, since Neteyam continued, "I mean, if you didn't feel anything during our kiss, that's fine! I'm not going to force you or anything."
She shook her head, "No! Uhm, I did feel it. It's all I've been able to think about these past days..." They both stopped walking, and he stepped closer to her, smiling when he looked into her eyes. She felt the temperature in her body rise, and her head was pounding. She bit her lip, "I'm just confused, Neteyam. We've been friends forever. I don't want to ruin that."
He tilted her chin up, "We won't ruin it." Suddenly, he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her more softly this time.
Aliyah sunk into the kiss for one second, before pulling back, "I...I just said I was confused!"
Neteyam replied, "I'm sorry! I just thought that kissing you would help you know how you felt about me. About us."
He tried to take her hand, but she pulled it out of reach, "I can't, Neteyam. I need some time to think."
He sighed, "Okay, I understand..." He looked at her while his ears flattened, "Can we at least be friends until you figure it out?"
Her lips curved up into a polite smile, "Of course, we can." She looked at the setting sun, "I have to go now, Kiri wanted to talk to me before dinner." She hesitated but gave him a short hug, which he gladly accepted. When they separated, they smiled at each other, but it didn't quite reach their eyes.

She started walking back to the hut to meet Kiri, leaving her best friend behind. But it felt different now, every word spoken between them felt heavy, and she was scared this would tear their friendship apart. Now that she knew how he felt about her, she couldn't just ignore what happened. Her mind was spinning, and she doubted that their bond would ever be as uncomplicated again.

---

When she arrived at the hut, Kiri sat on the ground waiting for her. Her ears perked up as she heard Aliyah enter, "Ah! There you are. Come, I want to look at your wound again."
Aliyah rolled her eyes. The wound had been healing really well, and there was barely anything there anymore. However, she listened to her friend and sat down with her foot in front of Kiri. The younger girl started taking off the bandage and cleaned out the healing wound. A proud smile came over her face, "I healed you up really nice, didn't I?"
Aliyah smiled, "Yeah, you did." She leaned forward and gave the girl a tight squeeze, "I'm putting my faith in you to become the best Tsahik ever."
Kiri laughed. Aliyah raised her eyebrows, "I'm serious! You've got some serious skills."
Kiri smiled gratefully, before putting more healing balm on the wound.
"There, that should be enough to completely heal it." She then pulled out a tiny medicine pocket, almost identical to hers, "I've collected some stuff for you in here. Things to heal burns, cuts, bruises,... I figured you'd need it with the amount of trouble you get in."
Aliyah took the bag into her hand and inspected it, before tying it around her chest, so that it fell right next to her knife holster. "Even though I'll still always come to you, thank you, Kiri."
Kiri nodded, before a more serious look appeared on her face, "I've been wanting to ask you, what's going on lately? You've been quiet and your mind is always somewhere else. Ever since the party, it's like you have a secret."
Aliyah looked away from the girl and hugged her knees to her body. Kiri placed a hand on her knee, "You can tell me, Ali. You know I'm here for you."
Aliyah's eyes couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and she felt them flow over her cheeks, "Something happened... Between Neteyam and I."
Kirk's eyes widened and her eyes stood straight as she let her mouth fall open, "Wait, did you guys kiss?" Aliyah stayed silent, which confirmed Kiri's thought. "Oh Eywa, finally!" She was smiling, but saw Aliyah's face sadden. Kiri hesitated, "Was it not a good kiss? I mean, I don't think he's ever kissed anyone before so he'll probably get better with some practice..."
Aliyah shook her head, "No! It was... amazing actually. It felt so perfect. His touch meant everything to me."
Kiri scrunched up her nose, "Okay, let's not get into too much detail. He's still my brother. But then what's the matter? Shouldn't you be more excited?" She gasped, "Did he use you? Because I swear, I'll kill that skxawng!"
Aliyah laughed a little at Kiri's fierce protection over her, "No Kiri, he's been extremely honest with his feelings. He basically admitted that he likes me more than a friend. But I don't know if we should give it a shot. We've been friends ever since we were born! Maybe we shouldn't mess around with something that is already good."
Kiri sighed, "Ali, everyone kinda knew you guys were meant for each other. You've always been way closer to him than any other boy. Sometimes things just... work out! You don't have to overthink everything."
Aliyah groaned. She really wished she could talk to her parents for advice now. But maybe Kiri was right, she was always the one overthinking everything. Even her dad told her she should follow her heart when she talked to them before leaving the forest. "Maybe you're right, Kiri. I just need some time to process things."
Kiri smirked, "I mean, I am right about 99% of the time. But I understand, just don't listen to your head more than your heart."
Aliyah smiled and playfully pushed Kiri's shoulder, "You're such a poet! But, please don't tell anyone else about this?"
Kiri held out her pinky finger, which Aliyah hooked with her own, "I promise, Ali."