Lion's Heart

Cotton candy.

Her kisses tasted like cotton candy and the trip to those candy drenched lips only caused more visits to the dentist to fill in the cavities. The sugar-rush they gave me felt better than sex and for a seventeen year old hormonal teenager, that statement said  a lot.

Kissing her felt like magic as crazy and cliche as it sounds. She made me feel invincible, better yet mortal with the ability to take on all the world's problems including my own. I gently gripped her face, feeling a tiny smile form on her lips. Kelly pulled me closer by the hem of my shirt and I couldn't help but lose control. She was all I ever wanted. All I ever needed.

My fingers lazily ran through the skin on her back and I grinned when I felt her shiver in the process. This girl is seriously going to be the death of me and for the first time ever, I realized how I wanted to pass on. With her. In my arms. Looking at me with the chestnut colored eyes that were my sole wonder. I started to slowly unclip her bra when she started to withdraw.

"Babe..." She mumbled, creating a far yet satisfying distance between us.

I pulled her back and kissed her again, I didn't want her away from me. Not even for one second. She pushed me again and smiled, revealing the pearly whites that hypnotized me the first time we met.

God, she is perfect.

"Study, Leo. We have to study."

"We are studying." I tell her, pulling her back to me. She landed softly on my chest and placed her hands on it. "It's never too late to catch up on human anatomy."

"Physics, Leo. We're studying for physics."

"Come on, we just stopped-"

"Ten minutes ago, we have to get back to studying."

I was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss and ravish her body yet everything around me was telling me to stop. She looked at me with the lustful eyes she normally gives me when she is deprived of my kisses even though she was saying no. I let her go before things got out of hand and she stood up, pulling her shirt down in the process.

"Want chocolate milk?" Kelly asked, while slipping on a pair of socks. She had a habit of gliding through the floor, pretending she was an ice-skater and I've seen her ice skate before. Let's just say Kelly and ice are not a good combo.

"I want something else." I tell her, licking my lips slowly.

She laughed and walked away, being sure to look over her shoulder to make sure my eyes were still on her. All I could do was lay down on her bed covered in looseleaf paper and pens and try to at least muster up the guts to tell her what I really am.

If I even knew what I was yet how can I be in such denial? Denial of what I was.. and what I can do. I didn't know how I could be such a fraud, a poor excuse of a human-being if I  even was human. If Kelly knew what I really was, she would hate me. The horrible and ego-busting names she would probably call me rings through my head uncontrollably and some days I couldn't shut them up, no matter how hard I tried. For example, today.

I am not human. Yes, I looked like any average human being from the outside but inside, I was different. The agonizing voices of people fill my head when I least expect it and if I try hard enough I can narrow it down to just a few voices but never one. My eyes would move things on their own or with just a thought. I can teleport from one place to another by just envisioning myself there. Cabo, Montreal, Reykjavik, Lagos, you name it, I'll be there in a flash.

I shook my head and right on cue, she walked in with two mugs in her hand.

"Here," she smiled, passing me a Finding Nemo mug, her favorite. I took it and slowly drank, looking at her every once in a while.

Losing her was not on my memo and if keeping my secret would keep it from happening, I would die with it.

"What's on your mind?"

I looked at her stunned by how well she knew me. I shook my head, trying to rid my head with all the nagging thoughts.

"I'm just thinking about practice and everything. I'm so stressed."

Kelly placed her mug down on her nightstand and put her hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry for pushing you, Leo."

'I just want you to be prepared for your regents. They're important.'

I listened to her thoughts and realized how worried she was for me. It made my heart melt.

"Babe, don't worry. I got this. This is all for the long run. Before you know it, we're going to be headed to UCLA."

'Im so sorry Leo' Her voice rang through my head, making me frown.

What is she talking about?

The words looped in my head and the slight frown that replaced her bright smile caused a million thoughts to cross mine. All bad ones.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, noticing the flip in her demeanor.

"It's nothing. I just.. This is good milk." She grabbed her mug again and started chugging away.

My eyes wander her worried face, trying my hardest to read her thoughts but there was no luck. Thought after thought, worry after worry, apologizes and sorries back to back. There was no way I could to listen to one because they were overpowering.

"You know Leo, you're a really special person." She told me once she finished with her drink. Kelly gently placed it back on her nightstand and turned towards me.

My eyebrows shot up, "How?"

"I don't know, there's just something about you. You're unique and I love that about you."

A nervous chuckle escaped my lips and she gave me a smug look, "What are you trying to say? You love me?"

"Ugh," she playfully shoved me and we both laughed, "Shut up, I hate you."

"You love me." I countered, watching her cheeks burn a bright shade of red. Her face stilled and she slowly swallowed, again her demeanor changed but this time I knew what was wrong. I knew exactly what she was thinking.

"You love me?" I questioned, my head swelling with her thoughts. Three words were ringing in my head wildly and although they caused a feeling of awe and the jitters, I loved it.

Kelly immediately recovered by brushing a hand through her hair, "I love a lot of things."

"Am I one of them?"

Her glittering eyes lingered on me for a few seconds then turned her head, "Leo...."

My lip twitched, forming the rare smile I only gave to a few. Without a second thought, I latched my lips with hers, embracing her in the process and savoring every single second of the kiss. Kelly instantly responded, grabbing my shirt with such force my shirt tightened. She kissed me passionately and effortlessly that my mind went to a place of tranquility and glee. A place I could only go to when I was with her. So when I heard her mind whispering "I love you", I promised myself I would never hurt her. Ever.

I pulled away and placed my forehead on hers, "Kelly Marie Romero, I love you too."