Take A Step (unrestricted) (on hold)

Nine: Linger (Part Two)

A/N: This is the short extension. I'll be posting the next Chapter maybe tomorrow or around Saturday. <3

Sophie

            Unlike the ride on the way to the mall, Daniel held my hand all the time.

            We’d been quiet, but instead of Jet playing with my fingers, it was Daniel who did it this time. I felt so silly thinking about my fears earlier while we sat at the piano bench and I thought about letting him in on my secret. I felt so relieved but still a bit scared at the same time. I really did it now. I let him close enough to me in a way that I’m not sure what will happen next. I didn’t know what got into me when I told him about my tragic hell of a life, and it felt oddly comforting to have someone else to share it to, even better that he understood. I hoped so bad that I didn’t make a mistake.

            I felt Daniel put my hand against the side of his face, and he leaned his head onto my shoulder. I heard him yawn beside me, and I moved my fingers, scratching his skin gently. He contentedly sighed against my touch. I didn’t know but I was wide awake as I waited for us to arrive at the academies, and all I thought about were the events of the day.

            Daniel made a lot of things easier, and I really, really, really like him more than I thought I should. I mean, for all I knew, he might just be humoring me, or he just felt pity for me, that’s why he even did anything to make me feel better and slightly a little less sad. I felt guilty for thinking about him this way, but I couldn’t really help myself. My heart still held that space, inevitably thinking about people’s bad sides that I begin to wonder if Daniel even had any.

            --

            The time came for the boys and girls to part, but that didn’t stop Daniel and me from seeing each other again the next day. And the next. And the next. Until two weekends together at the mall became two, three, ten, fifteen. Until Jean met Bryce Burns, Daniel’s friend. Until Jet fancied Stitch, also Daniel’s friend. Until those four started dating. Until Holiday break came for all of us, and since then it’s probably been a thousand times that Daniel held my hand every chance he got, but not once did he ever try to kiss me, keeping his sworn oath.

            I was kind of hoping that that would change, though. I didn’t know if I was ready to take that step—to open my heart to a whole lot of new possibilities of maybe even getting hurt and such. With Daniel, I simply didn’t care. I could probably stand stark naked in front of him and he won’t try to molest me or anything.

            Everytime he laid his eyes on me, his gaze lingers and a bubbly feeling travels down my spine, and for those moments, I start thinking about what it might’ve been like if all the shit didn’t happen to me, and I would’ve never met this guy.