Stolen

The Kiss (7)

Tam POV:

The Moonlark and I are in my room, jamming out to Drag me Down by One Direction and minding our own business when Keefe shows up in that overly cheerful way of his, asking what we're listening to and if he can join. I say no, of course, shooing him out as politely as I can and turning up to music to scream out the lyrics to with Moon – yes, that's my name for her, don't judge. How this jam session started, I don't know. I think we were on a heist to steal some money when I started humming a song, and we bonded over our amazing taste.

A few minutes later, we get tired, and sit on my bed to clear our throats, which are sore from singing too much.

"I've never sang that loud before," Moon laughs, taking a sip of water. "Wanna do On Top of The World next?"

"Sure, but only after you tell me something," I grin.

"What?" she asks suspiciously, scrunching up her nose in confusion. Back to the distrust.

"Tell me your real name," I challenge, smirking at her. She sighs and stares at me for a second, her gaze analyzing, and then stands up abruptly, moving the window in my room.

"Why do you care? It's just a name," she replies, looking out at the backyard. "And besides, I already told you you can give me a nickname."

"I'm kinda tired of calling you Moon," I retort. "But fine, if you don't want to tell me, don't." I stand up too, suddenly annoyed, and I don't know why.

"Whatever," she grumbles. I open the door to go get a snack from the kitchen, but she speaks up again. Softly, so I can barely hear her.

"It's Sophie. My name, I mean."

I turn around instantly. She's looking down, hiding behind her hair and kicking the rug with her toe. Sophie. Even her name is beautiful. I hate seeing her so sad, so I walk over to the radio station and turn up On Top of The World, like she requested. She looks up, a slight smile on her face. I start singing,

"If you love somebody

Better tell them why they're here 'cause

They just may run away from you

You'll never know what went well

Then again it just depends on

How long of time is left for you

I've had the highest mountains

I've had the deepest rivers

You can have it all but not til you move it"

She joins in, singing with me;

"Now take it in but don't look down

'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ey

I'm on top of the world, 'ey

Waiting on this for a while now

Paying my dues to the dirt

I've been waiting to smile, 'ey

Been holding it in for a while, 'ey

Take it with me if I can

Been dreaming of this since a child

I'm on top of the world

I've tried to cut these corners

Try to take the easy way out

I kept on falling short of something"

We sing the rest of the song and as it ends, she walks up to me, taking my hand. We don't speak, afraid that words will shatter the moment I can't help but think is happening right now. I lift her chin up with my finger, looking at her. I lean down towards her, hoping against hope that she leans back. She does. Our lips touch. A million thoughts fill my head. The butterflies in my stomach are dizzying and magical. I realize Sophie unexpectedly surprised me yet again. Maybe that's why I'd started off disliking her. Because I'd never liked the unexpected.

But as our lips met in another sweet, soft kiss in the privacy of my soundproof room, I wondered if I was getting soft. Sophie still made my stomach flip uneasily. She made my heart race, my hands sweat, my head spin. But I knew, with a blinding certainty, that Sophie didn't like surprises either. And yet here we were.