Marked

4|Laugh|4

I rung the doorbell and ran my fingers through my hair nervously, instantly regretting the decision because the semi formal wisp I had spent an hour concocting had surely fallen to raven black stings. I looked into the reflective window in an attempt to fix it when Ciel's father opened the door. He had a confused expression, as if he didn't know I was going to be picking up his son.

"Hello, I'm Seba, um, Sebastian. I'm here to pick up, uh, Ciel," I stutter. Pull it together, Michaelis. What the devil is happening to you? His father was probably the most intimidating man on the earth. He was at least an inch taller than me, but only slightly less lean. He looked frighteningly like Ciel. You could tell he trusted his sons decisions, which made my chest hurt. Going out with me was not a decision he should trust his son to make.

"Ciel!" he called up the stairs, "There's a boy here to see you!" I heard his heels click on the hardwood and marveled at the beauty that was Ciel Phantomhive. His dark blue were tight but not tight enough to leave out need for an imagination. He wore a burgundy polo which made his eyes, which I now clearly noticed were a sharp ocean blue, almost pop out of his head. God, he looked amazing. "I didn't know you had a date."

"It's not a date," he said, looking at him then staring daggers at my semi-formal get up, "It's not a date."

"It's not a date," I assure both him and his father. "I'm just taking Ciel out to dinner... as friends." His father gives me a kind smile, making me wish that that was the reason I was here, to treat Ciel the way he should be treated.

"Bro-friends," Ciel smiles. I'm only just not hysterically laughing. Ciel follows. His father looks from Ciel to myself and back again.

"What's funny?"

We make our way to my car and I open his door. I wouldn't usually do this for anyone my age but I always did it out of respect for my elders. Ciel had such a sophisticated class about him tonight that it was almost second nature. He looked surprised at my actions; I'm sure I did too.

"So what's with the fancy get up? Have a hot date after our not so hot date?" he jokes.

"Nope, tonight I'm all yours," I say, starting the car. We ride in silence for a little while before I make my first move. "You look really nice tonight."

"It's just what I wore to school today," he scoffs, "but thank you." That couldn't be right. I specifically remember him wearing grey t-shirt today.

"I must not have noticed."

"You must have been been to busy checking out all your other future targets."

"No other target would have looked this beautiful." I say, surprising myself for the second time tonight. I didn't say that to get into his pants. I said it because it was the truth. To be honest, I'd never really thought any boy, no... anyone, was beautiful before. Sure, some were hot. And some were sexy. Some were even cute or pretty. But somehow Ciel had captured being all four of those things and more. He was beautiful.

Our dinner went fairly well. I took him to this little pastry place where I had seen him once before high school had started. I had tried to talk to him but he'd brushed off my advances like they were flies. He had an aura about him that made sure you knew that he wasn't the easy type. Come to think of it, he just may have been the inspiration for the difficultly system. And come to think of it, I may have always wanted him.

The night was actually really fun. We made small talk and shared jokes. I really enjoyed his dry and witty sense of humor. His insults went from harsh to cleverly playful. He was always quick to retort, but his witticisms were always clever and precise, like it had taken him hours to fashion each sentence. And he never stuttered. Ciel was the embodiment of the books he so loved to read. But what I really loved was his laugh. Unlike most girls who would laugh then be embarrassed, he would laugh and enjoy it. I was utterly amazing at his ability to counter my witticisms with his own. But my favorite thing was when I would make a joke, then leave it alone. A few minutes later I'd look over and see him laughing again about the same thing. Most people would find that annoying, but the way I see it, the more I could watch Ciel laugh, the better.

The funny part was that I didn't remember the reason I took him out in the first place until we were on his doorstep.

"Are your parents home?" I asked, seeing that the driveway was missing a car. He hesitated before answering, causing me to realize how sexual the innuendo was. I had not at all meant it in that way.

"No," he whispered, looking at the ground.

Don't do it Michaelis. Don't ruin the little chance that you have right now.

Then, almost against my will, I pushed my lips against his own.