Ghost In The Snow

Chapter 23: Promises

I was still shocked, just sitting there as a statuette with an open mouth. I didn't know what to think or how to react. So what did I do? I laughed.

Gerard stared weirdly at me, smiled slightly in confusion. He looked like a living questionmark, starting to blush more. "I don't know!", I mumbled and giggled, scratching my neck and pressing my lips together.

Why the hell did I laugh, because obviously it was the worst thing I could've done.

I didn't even notice Gerard's reaction.

He lowered his eyes, his cheeks red from embarrassment, started to mess with his hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Oh no. Did he think I didn't like it? Did he think that he wasn't good enough for me?

"No no no no", I interrupted. His wide eyes instantly found mine. I didn't actually know what to say, so I stuttered: "I-I liked it...I just wasn't expecting it, that's all." I tried to make the mood better, but I'm not sure if it helped. He tried not to smile, but just ended up blushing a bit more. "Tess", he whispered. "I really like you."

It felt like my heart stopped, like I got a heart attack, like my whole world panicked. In a good way though? Warmth started spreading from my heart and out to my legs and arms and cheeks. Was this what I had waited for? Had I actually been in love with Gerard the whole time? Was this love?

He slowly moved his eyes from the carpet to my eyes. There was no gesture nor smile on his face, nothing to give me a hint.

So I guess I had to decide, what to say. To tell the truth. What I was really feeling.

"I really like you too."

The words hung in the room like a ghostly shadow for a moment, but then a shot of happiness went through Gerard's body. "Really?", he bursted out in excitement. "Wow", he mumbled to himself. He smiled uncontrollably, blushed slightly and scratched his neck. He looked up at me, his eyes were sparkling, his thin lips smiling and his nose was wrinkled from the big smile. I was so happy for seeing him like this. These were the feelings he deserved. Happiness, hope, excitement, and whatever he was feeling right now.

I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around me, and he rested his head on my shoulder. We were close, mentally and physically. We sat there and hugged each other in silence for some moments, until something came to my mind.

It was like 9am, and my family didn't knew anything about this. Holy shit, had they even noticed I was gone?

I gasped when I remembered it and jumped to my feet. "I have to go now", I said without focusing on Gerard's face. "Why?", he mumbled without understanding. He looked like a little kid. All the excitement had disappeared in less than two seconds. "My family- they don't know I'm here! Maybe they're worried.." I started walking around in his room. "I'll be back later. I promise, okay?", I said and glanced at him. I was already at the stairs, when he responded: "Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

I ran home, though one minute more or less wouldn't matter, when I've been away for several hours. I flung the door open and saw my mom eating breakfast in the kitchen. "Oh, hello", she said and looked weirdly at me, squinting her eyes. There could be many reasons why she looked at me like that. First reason; I just came from the outside? When would I be outside? Never. Second reason; I had been running? Well, only for a minute, but my cheeks were red anyway.

She glanced down at my clothes. Gerard's clothes.

Third reason; I wasn't wearing my own clothes.

"Uhm", she mumbled and kept staring at my clothes. "Where have you been?"

A bomb exploded in my head. What the hell was I going to say? 'Yeah, y'know, I woke up and decided to visit the neighbors, scream at their front porch at 2am and then sleep with their son.' I think that would make her ask more questions, than it could answer. "Uh", I glanced down and felt my hands get sweaty. I could feel her intense stare burning into my skin. I might as well just tell the truth.