The Prince and His Pauper

Chapter 28: The Pauper Asks

Antonio is kissing me. He's kissing me! Am I dreaming? Because there's no way someone as handsome as Antonio would willingly give me a kiss just to shut me up. But he is. He's kissing me and I'm kissing back. My heart is practically soaring at this point while I wrap my arms around Antonio's neck and pull him closer to me.

This kiss is much better than the one I gave him on Halloween. At the time, I was only focused on how that day would have been my last chance to be with Antonio as his friend so I decided that if he's going to hate me for being gay, then he might as well know that I have a crush on him. I thought that by letting him know about my feelings for him, it wouldn't make me think about all those what if questions and maybe move on to someone else. That is, if I moved on from Antonio.

All too soon, Antonio broke our kiss and I felt my lips form a small pout which caused him to chuckle. "Adorable, Cassiel, but I needed to breathe." He says.

Oh, God! Did we really kiss for that long?! I thought as I feel my cheeks heat up. Another chuckle came out from Antonio and I bring my hands up to my face to hide my red face. I'm so embarrassed......

"Don't hide, Cassiel. Otherwise, I won't be able to see your face." Antonio states and felt his hands remove mine from my face where I see how close we are, our noses practically touching. "That's better."

"I..... Um.... Uh....." I struggle to say a decent sentence. He really caught me off guard with that! This has to mean that he likes me too..... Right?

"I hope you didn't mind me doing that. I thought it would be easier if I kissed you right then." Antonio replies with a soft smile.

"I don't mind. I did ask if we could kiss again but I kept on talking..... B-but what did you think about this kiss?" I ask. I don't care if he breaks my heart by saying he thought kissing me was a mistake, I can worry about that later. I just hope he doesn't break our friendship again.

"I like it." Antonio confesses but instead of looking as happy as I would be, he looks a bit sad. Almost like he didn't want to like kissing me.

"Duh. Why would this hunk fall in love with you? You're a walking grim reaper. Everyone you love dies. Remember Austin? The boyfriend you sent to a fucking coma?!" A familiar cold voice scolds. No way.....

Over Antonio's right shoulder stood my doppelgänger leaning against a wall with his blue eyes glaring daggers at me. I thought that I would never see him again after all those times I went to therapy! He can't be here..... He's supposed to be in my head..... He's not real!

"Oh, I am real, Cassiel. I'm you, remember?" Dark Me reminds me as he lifts himself up from the wall and walks towards me. He stands right next to Antonio and looks at him. "Yup. This one is definitely a dreamboat. Much better than Austin. We have great tastes. Too bad this one isn't going to fall for you. You're not exactly his type."

Immediately after he said that, I felt a big pang on my heart like one of the jocks' punch and my throat tightens. He's wrong..... I thought weakly. Antonio could like me that way..... He could...... But even if he is into guys, why would he want me? He could have anyone he wants. Anyone that's not me...... A lost cause.....

"Cassiel!" I heard someone yell. Oh, it's Antonio..... I forgot about he was here.....

"What?" I mumble as my eyes return to meet Antonio's cold grey eyes. There's worry inside them, but why? Why are they filled with worry?

"You're crying." Antonio points out.

Am I really crying? I ponder and bring my hand up to my cheek where I felt a tear trail on it. I was......