𝚄𝙽𝐻𝑂𝐿𝑌 | spencer white. hbh '22.

𝐌𝐀𝐏 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 , 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈.

Underage drinking wasn't permitted in their town, let alone Australia, but more often than not that certainly didn't stop the kids doing so, so parties at the cemetery was frequent and more often than not broken up by the local cops after word had made it's way to them. Despite having left the gathering early, tucking arms around herself as she trekked home, which wasn't all that far away to be truthful, the almost speeding cop cars that passed her on the way were a clue of what was to come next.

kitty cat 🐱

incoming. cops, better scatter.

the text was sent hurriedly in their little group chat, but it wasn't until she heard a siren that she realised it was a little too late, the message remained on delivered as she heard loud laughter and shrieking from her friends, she'd barely even made it a block, it's a wonder that the cops hadn't slowed to get her, but running in her direction soon enough was a tall and lanky familiar face.

"Heads up woulda been nice." he teased, hand latching hers without a second thought as his feet propelled them further away from the scene of the crime. The male didn't release his grip on her as he weaved through parked cars on the suburban street, ducking around corners that her legs couldn't seem to keep up with.

Of course the cops were relentless, they often were, and they could hear to sirens coming closer. Her heart rattling in it's boney cage as he pulled them down a small side street, pulling her close,  back to a brick wall as their chests collided with each and every breath, ragged and filled with a thrill that neither could explain.

"I tried, wasn't fast enough." She whispered in the darkness, swallowing thickly. Even as breath slowed and a calmness washed over them, her heart was frantic. She'd only day dreamed of being this close to him, as pathetic as it sounded. His hand pressed by her head, into the red bricks, the other pressed into the skin of her waist, her shirt twisted and raised higher than meant to be. Her own hands now curled in his shirt and the other resting against the wall, as if to steady herself.

"Sure, sure." Spider jokes, making no effort to move from their position, but still listening as the sirens fade to nothing, silence settling over the street. "Come on Kits, I'll walk ya home." And with that, he's separating from her and everything feels cold, even despite the jacket wrapped around her, but with a peak of tongue against her lips she nods, still a block away from her home.

"So, met some guy over the summer did you?" He tries to make conversation and like that, the airy feeling in her chest from their encounter was squashed down, realisation settling in that she wasn't who he wanted.

"I mean, yeah not really." Not a lie, she didn't meet anyone over the summer. She spent most of the time with the girls or occasionally at family events, and by family events she meant with her older brother and his girlfriend. 

"How can it be not really, you and Dusty were talking about it?" The blonde pushes slightly. Curiosity getting the best of him. 

"It doesn't matter, as I told Dusty, he doesn't like me like that, and that's okay." She shrugs, as if unaffected by the thought of it all, but the niggling in her chest said otherwise, the tears Dusty had spotted earlier that night, also said otherwise.

"Who was it?"

"I don't really wanna throw him under the bus" She denied, she couldn't bring herself to say such a thing, to mention a random name when it was the boy who stood in front of her. "Perhaps it was the virgin thing, tends to scare people off." She tried to joke. Because unlike majority of the school, Kitty didn't care that the worst part of the map for her was that she wasn't connected to anyone.

"So it's true?" There was no denying that Spider hadn't thought about the truth behind the wall, after all, there were things written that he knew weren't true, but Kitty he didn't know.

"Yeah, I mean, not that big of a deal, everyone has to start somewhere." She admits. Shoulders lifting and falling almost gracefully as she glanced at him. "Wasn't really a big issue back home." Considering the small country town she grew up in was filled with boy that were practically family, and girls as much as she thought it to be easier, they just weren't for her. "I went to a pretty small school, if the boys weren't already dating high school sweethearts, then they were too busy on the gear." she shrugs again, tucking hands tightly into pockets.

"You've been at Hartley for half a year now, you've not met someone you're interested in?" The conversation felt oddly invasive, as if he was searching for answers, and she couldn't quite understand why. 

"You're all interesting people, but I've never really thought about it." She lies boldly, hoping that as her eyes focus on the gravel below their feet, that'll he'll simply leave it alone, because she had thought about it, with him, she'd thought about what it could be like, she'd seen a softer side of him that wasn't often seen, or perhaps it was only the weed at the time. "But I mean, maybe I'm just not people's type?"

There's a scrunch in Spiders features as if he can't believe the words out of the blonde's mouth, blue eyes watch her as she keeps eye contact with the road in front, not game enough to meet his eyes. "Trust me, that's not true."

As confused as Spider was, Kitty was equally as confused by his comment, her foot steps falter for a moment before she's turning towards him, no longer walking and in seconds Spider's stilled as well. "What do you mean?"

The pair now stood in the middle of the deserted street, just metres from their awaiting destination, and their fork in the road perhaps, where Kitty knew that once they walked away, whatever was discussed, whatever was shared in this moment would stay within the moment.

"I just mean, you're beautiful." The rattling in her ribcage is back, rapidly beating and pounding to escape her chest at his words and her breaths cause a dryness on her lips that she's trying to chase away with her tongue. 

"Beautiful doesn't mean I'm someone's, or anyone's type." Her voice is barely but a whisper, and shoulders begin to deflate, body ready to curl in on itself and hide away from the raw intensity of this moment. But even as they stood still, barely even close enough to touch, she swears she can feel the crackle of electricity between them.

"Fuck it."

Before she has a chance to question his words, his large hand is cupping the back of her neck, pulling her closer into him, the other arm winding around her back to keep her steady. With the height difference, his back bowed low, lips sliding over her own teeth catching her lower lip unintentionally.

Stunned, it takes a moment, just a small one, before body reacts and timid hands reach around his neck, a slight awkward tangle of limbs as her toes push into the soles of her shoes pushing her mouth closer to his and allowing him to straighten slightly. It's not like the movies where her mind explodes with fireworks, but her skin burns where he touches her and there's a warmth spread throughout her as lips move in tandem with his.

Her first kiss.