Destined: 2 Be Continued

38. Now Kiss!

Alex and Penny sat next to each other on Penny's bed. Alex had his arm around her, and Penny had her arm around him. They had been talking to each other about their feelings or something. Alex couldn't really remember what they had been talking about.

"Only a half day until we can swat that giant mosquito," Alex reminded his childhood friend.

"Or rather, we get Jeremiah and Robo-August to swat it for us," Penny corrected.

"Anyway you slice it--or blow it up, in this regard--soon Muskrel will be dead. You'll finally stop being haunted by his awful buzzing."

"Yeah, then I can spend more time with you instead of my crossbow."

"That'll be great."

"Yup." The two fell backward onto the bed and laid in silence for a moment. After a while, Alex turned on his side to face Penny. Penny, seeing what he was doing, did the same, facing him. Alex wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. How about I really want to kiss you right now or I love you or something sappy? Maybe he could burst into song. Alex wasn't entirely sure, but he was almost certain that bursting into song would be the less favorable of the options. 

Alex wiggled closer to Penny. She seemed lost in space, as if she was thinking about future events or current events, or maybe she was remembering the sound of Muskrel's buzzing. Either way, Alex snapped her out of it with his movement. As Alex became closer to Penny, Wind decided to pipe in with some advice.

Kiss her, Alex. You may never get a chance like this after half a day, Wind told him.

Shut up, Wind, Alex thought angrily. He looked back at Penny, who seemed confused. "Wind is just talking to me," he explained. Penny understood, just like Alex thought she would.

This time, Penny wiggled a little closer. Come on, Alex, she's right there. You can do this, man, Wind hummed. 

What did I say? thought Alex.

Nothing, we're communicating telepathically.

Don't be such a smart-aleck. 

I'd stick my tongue out if I had one.

WOULD YOU SHUT UP? Penny was chuckling lightly at Alex's expressions as he argued with Wind, which could be so wise and powerful, was so childish and...admittedly funny, Alex had to say. The two involuntarily wiggled closer, their faces almost touching.

I'd be eating popcorn with suspense if I didn't already have such a rotund shape, Wind cut in again.

What does that even mean?

It's a reference to the shape of Earth's atmosphere. I'm round-ish, I think.

Shut up.

You know, I appreciate respectful gentlemen.

And I appreciate when disembodied, telepathic, omnipresent voices just quiet down and let me live my life.

How often does that situation happen? 

Alex just chose to ignore Wind. The disembodied voice was right, though. Penny was right there, they were sort of having a moment, he could just kiss her then and there, and it would be over with.

C'mon! She's RIGHT THERE! THIS COULD BE SO EASY! Wind shouted in Alex's brain. Alex turned back to Penny and obeyed Wind, finally. He began with trying to say things, which amused Penny. Alex felt a pit in his stomach begin to form and grow. Wind was right--no disagreements there. 

Fine, if it makes you happy, Alex thought to Wind as he kissed Penny right on the lips. She grunted in mild surprise, then put her arms around him as he did the same. Alex could hear Wind cheering quietly in the back of his mind, which nearly made him laugh. The two started getting a little into their kiss and accidentally rolled off the bed, which made them laugh and kiss again.

Life was good between the young Destined.

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"But seriously, have you seen the way Belle and August look at us?" Jeremiah asked Heather. They were sitting in wicker chairs across the room, chatting over some soothing tea. The subject at the moment was about how the others seemed to enjoy seeing the two together a little too much. The current agreement now was that the others were weird.

Now, it was to be said that Jeremiah was still in love with the beautiful blonde young woman, but that only made him feel uncomfortable around her. He kept wanting to tell her something about that, but he wasn't a master of the sky that was pestered and encouraged by a disembodied, telepathic, omnipresent voice that didn't eat popcorn because it was so rotund. He was just some normal master of hope, trying to be a normal master of hope.

"Yes, I have," Heather agreed. "I think they're a little overboard. I would not like to see what would happen if they caught us by surprise in a dark alley or something. That would go downhill fast." Jeremiah laughed nervously, ashamed that he kind of would like to see what would happen. He banished the thought immediately, in fact.

"But, you know, it might not be all bad," Heather continued. Jeremiah's eyes widened internally, and he paid more attention to what Heather was saying.

"I mean, doing...whatever we would be forced to while at gun(or sword, for that matter)point, couldn't be as bad as what happened back when I was in high school with...Tom." she shivered at the name, and Jeremiah set his tea down. "Tom?" he asked.

"It's a long, weird, and almost frightening story. I'll tell you if I ever remember."  She set down her tea as well.

Jeremiah frowned. He now wanted to learn more about the story, but that wasn't in Heather's best interest. He just went back to his tea. "Well, let's hope they don't catch us alone in a dark alley by surprise, or something weird will happen." They heard a rustling at the door, and Heather drew her bow immediately. Based on the conversation they had had for a few minutes, her reaction was excusable. Jeremiah would have drawn his weapon, but he didn't have one. He couldn't summon something out of the shadows, either; he wasn't a master of shadow either.

"WE HAVE REACHED MUSKREL'S FOREST!" August's voice came on through the ceiling. Jeremiah and Heather sighed with relief, and whatever had rustled cursed quietly. The thing that had rustled wouldn't get them today. On to the forest.