My Promise To you: a Kian Lawley and Bethany Mota fanfic

Chapter 9

I wake up before everyone else does. The sun is just coming up, the birds are chirping and chirping. Almost like they're saying good morning.

Kian's arm is still around me, and my head is still on his chest. I don't want to get up. But, I do, because if I don't, I'll never want to leave.

I remove his arm gently, and I carefully push myself off of his chest. The absense of his warmth makes me sad, and leaves me wanting more.

Another mental slap.

I walk over to the kitchen, and jump when I see Jc standing there. He's eating a bowl of cereal, but his back is turned towards me.

"Good morning," I say. He turns around and smiles.

"Hi," he says. We walk to each other and hug, we haven't seen each other in forever. His crazy curls tickle my forehead, and it brings me a sense of familiarity. It weirdly feels like home. We talk a little bit while he makes me a cup of tea.

Then, Eva walks in the room, her eyes droopy and her hair still perfect. "Morning," she mumbles, yawning.

We both greet her, and we start making pancakes. Eva and I mix the batter, and Jc tries flipping them on a pan. He fails miserably, and ends up dropping one on the ground. We all laugh as he keeps trying.

Kian walks in. I notice his lip didn't get any better, and that I needed to put some ointment on it. I mean, he did... His hair was messy. But it was perfectly messy. I push that thought out of my head, and pour more batter onto the pan.

"Hi, Kian," I say and hand him a plate. He takes it with his injured hand and winks. I almost trip.

"What happened last night?" Jc asks, as he sees Kian's lip and notices his bandaged hand.

I let Eva explain all that, since she's a talker. And since last night wasn't really a good night. For any of us. Besides the part where you and Kian cuddled. That's what made it a good night, a voice in my head says. I smack my mental self, once again.

Jc nods along, and clenches his jaw at the parts with Nick in it, and I could tell he isn't very fond of him either. I know something happened with Kian and Jc in the past that made them hate Nick, but I'll never know what. And after what he did to my best friend, I'm hating him too.

I finish my pancakes, and so does everyone else. They all sit on the couch, but I escape to Kian's room, wanting to talk to Meredith. I open the door, then close it when I get in. Meredith is still sound asleep. I don't want to wake her up, since she'll probably be so hungover, but I need to talk to her about what happened.

I'm about to open the blinds of the window, so I could let some sunlight in when the door opens. It's Kiki. I get up, and realize I went in his own room without asking.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that t−" I apoligize.

"Stop. It's not a big deal, I just came in to get something," Kian says gently. I nod and step aside. I open the blinds as Kian grabs something out of his drawers. The room brightens up.

"Listen," Kiki says. "I'm truly sorry I brought you into this mess. Nick and I don't have a good past, obviously. But that shouldn't have affected you, or your friends. I let it all happen when I should've been there to stop it."

He cares. He truly cares, and that's what pulls me in. I turn around and he's running his fingers through his hair. He looks at me and his hand falls. The light hits his tattoos perfectly, and they glisten, just like his eyes. Mine fall to the ground, and I clear my throat.

"Hey, it's not your fault. None of us knew this was going to happen," I assure him. He nods, and I see his adam's apple move up and down as he swallows. I look down again, but I feel his brown eyes on me. I don't see him move closer, I feel him. I feel his hand reach for mine. My heart beat starts to quicken, so I take a deep breath.

And I step back. "Well, better get going," I say. His hand drops against his jeans. His bites his lip, his injured lip. I reach for it, then catch myself and pull back. "I'll try to wake up Mere. And we'll be out of here." I look at her, still knocked out on Kian's bed.

"Why do you do that, Bethany Mota?" Kian asks. My mind wandered to when I said his full name last night, and he said he liked it. I can see why now. Something about his perfect voice saying my name makes me tingle.

Mental slap.

I look at him, but he is avoiding my eyes. "Do what?"

"You just..." He trails off and he runs his fingers through his hair again. I look away. I feel guilty, but I know what I'm doing. But then I don't, at the same time.

"I'm sorry..." I whisper. I'm not sure if he hears me though. He walks over to the door, but doesn't open it, like I expect him to. He just stands there, like he's waiting.

After I rinally manage to wake Meredith up, and after she apologizes a million times, we all walk out of Kian's room. He insists on being the last one out. Something a gentleman would do, right?

Kian's POV
I walk Meredith, Eva, and Bethany out. Eva chatters, and Meredith laughs occasionally, but Bethany is silent. Something about her silence makes me want to grab her and hold her, and never let go.

We get to the front door. "Do you girls want to be walked?" I ask.

Eva and Meredith giggle and nod. Beth stays quiet.

I walk them anyway, and Bethany falls behind. I stay back too, waiting for her to catch up.

The short walk goes fast, and silent. When we get to their place, Eva and Mere barge in and the door shuts before Beth could get in.

She doesn't seem to notice, and reaches for the handle as soon as I do. Our hands touch as they meet in the middle. Electricity.

We look at each other, and her big brown eyes seem to glow in the early sunlight. We look for a long time, and I grow more and more nervous each second. She finally looks away, and I pull my hand back from the handle. I wonder what's going through that mind of hers. That beautiful mind.

"I'll see you later," I say. I want to say more, but I'm sure she doesn't want to hear any of it. I reach for the door handle again, but Beth grabs my wrist. She pulls my hand closer, and slips hers into mine. I look at her, and she looks back. Her hand is so soft, so gentle.

Beth's POV
I have no idea what I'm doing. My hand does it all, it's like I'm not in control. I move my hand up, and my fingers trace every curve and every edge of the ink on his skin. I've always wanted to do this. His tattoos are so beautiful, and it makes him so much more. His eyes are on me, on my fingers, and my heart is beating out of my chest. I am sure he can hear it.

I stop at the last tattoo on his arm, where his shirt sleeve covers the rest. I trace my hand all the way back down to his hand, and hold it again. His hands are so huge compared to mine, but they fit like a jigsaw puzzle. My breath comes out shaky. Before I know what I'm doing, I am on my toes, and I kiss Kian's cheek. I tingle as I feel his skin against my lips, and I pull back.

He stares at me, and I never knew how beautiful his brown eyes are until now. He reaches for the handle and I step inside as he opens the door. His hand doesn't leave mine.

"See you, Kian Lawley," I say. He squeezes my hand, and I stare at it. My hair falls into my face again. I reach up to pull it back as soon as Kian does, but he's too fast. I smile as he moves the piece of hair.

"See you, Bethany Mota," Kiki says, and my stomach lurches. My heart lurches. Like I want to jump back into his arms. I let go of his hand, slowly. I reach for the door, and I see his glistening eyes, his sweet smile, and I close it.

I don't give myself any more mental slaps. I just lean against the door, and think. Why do you want to drive me crazy, Kian Lawley?