Reliving life

Chapter 13

Alison unsurprisingly hadn't stuck around to talk to me after my swim practice the other day and I had barely seen her since. A few smiles in the hallway or questions relating to class in English, but other than that it was if we didn't know each other. I was coming to the realisation that she would never be open about her feelings to me.

As I turned the last corner before I got to my class I heard raised voices coming from the bathroom. One of the voices belonged to Alison and the other I was pretty sure belonged to Noel. The argument was becoming more heated by the second but I still couldn't make out full sentences, only the occasionally word from either side. Should I walk away? It was nothing to do with me.

I decided to head to my class, it wasn't my place to interrupt but before I had even taken two steps a shrill scream came from Alison. I ran into the bathroom slamming the door open and saw Noel forcing himself on Alison, one of his hands was on her jaw forcing her to look at him as his other was on her breast through her t-shirt. She looked scared and was visibly trembling, her eyes shot to mine as soon as I entered. I stormed over to Noel and grabbed him by the shoulders throwing him back against a stall door. It must have been the adrenaline mixed with my muscles from swimming that gave me the strength to pull him off of her so easily. I held a fist up to his face and glared at him without fear.

"Get out now!" I screamed at him. My voice was strong and loud.

He shrunk down and avoided eye contact with me. After quickly weighing up his options he shuffled out of the bathroom without so much of a word.

Alison had moved from standing to sat on the floor with her knees tucked into her chest. She wasn't crying but she was still trembling and her eyes were focused on the floor unblinking. I sat down beside her and pulled her into my chest, holding her tight as she then began to show emotion. The tears came thick and fast, her sobs getting louder and her breathing becoming more erratic. I ran one hand through her hair and the other made circles on top of her hand. It took awhile but eventually her breathing started to even out and she turned to face me. I took in all the details of her face, from the dimples that weren't as prominent as when she was smiling but you could still make them out, her pale skin in comparison to my tan skin, her blue eyes that made me feel as if I was looking into the ocean.

"You're beautiful" I whispered to her.

A slight smile appeared on her face and I moved one hand to her cheek and wiped a few of her tears away. She had started to blush from my compliment and the sight made me replicate her smile. Tilting her head upwards she moved closer to me and brought her lips to mine. I felt the electricity run through us from the simple touch. It was only an innocent kiss, her lips lingered on mine for only a few seconds before she looked back at the floor. I stood up and offered her my hand, helping her off the floor I wiped the last of her tears away and she reapplied her makeup before I let her walk out of the bathroom ahead of me.

"Skip the rest of school with me" she asked quietly.

Her lack of eye contact and feet shuffling on the floor showed her nerves more than she probably would have liked but seeing the vulnerable side of her made me fall for her even more. I'd tried closing off my feelings for her but every moment we spent together unravelled everything I had done and I was back to square one.

-----------

Alison led me through the woods behind our houses until we came to a clearing. There in the centre of the clearing was a lonely rock.

"Where are we?" I asked her nervously.

"This is the kissing rock Em" she replied.

I couldn't help but smile at her using my nickname. It brought a warmth through my entire body starting at my feet and making it's way to my face where a blush appeared.

"People have been sneaking off to the Kissing Rock for hundreds of years. You go there with somebody... and you can feel the ghosts of the other lovers spying on you, pushing you to do it. You know, you should never disappoint a ghost."

We sat next to each other on the rock, and she placed her hand timidly on top of mine. I had butterflies in my stomach and all the anger I had been feeling towards her dissipated at her touch. In this moment I didn't care if she couldn't properly acknowledge her feelings towards me, all that counted was the here and now. Me and her. Together.

Leaning over she put her hand behind my head and pulled me into a deep and passionate kiss. Our tongues swirled together, clashing and fighting for dominance. Our hands roamed each other's bodies, exploring slowly and softly. My hands went from being on top of her shirt to underneath and the skin on skin contact felt amazing. I moved my hand up her body with a confidence I'd never seen in myself before. As I palmed her breast through her bra a moan left her mouth and although it was muffled by my own mouth it still sounded so good. I was getting more and more turned on the longer we made out but yet again she pulled away from me and left me confused and panting heavily.

"We need to talk" she said so quietly I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking directly at her.

"I need to talk" she rephrased.

I looked away not sure if this conversation was going to end up going the way I wanted it to.

"I need to tell you how I feel" she continued.