Healed

Chapter 18

Flame couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. It had been as soft as butterfly wings but so brief he sometimes swore it never happened. Its impact, however, had been anything but gentle. As soon as Umber's mouth had connected with his scales it had felt like a bolt of lightning striking him in the face while someone sucker punched him in the stomach IN ADDTION to being wacked over the head with a frying pan, leaving him stunned and speechless...in a good way. He had just sat at the door with a vacant expression for ten minutes before crawling into bed. He thought about the kiss until he fell asleep, then he dreamed of it, and when he woke up the next morning it was still on his mind.

So does that mean I was right? Does Umber think of me as more than a friend? Or was it a "friend kiss"...are those even a real thing? He buried his face in his talons and groaned. But do I like him back?

"Flame?" Starfish's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He had nearly forgotten he was currently in a session with his Healer.

"Did you hear a thing I said?" His Healer clasped his talons together with an expectant expression.

"Uh....nope."

Starfish sighed and placed his notebook down. "It seems you are rather distracted today, Flame. Is there something on your mind?"

Ugh, where do I begin?

Flame shifted around on his floor pillow awkwardly, trying to think of what to share with the SeaWing. After he reached semi-reclined position he decided it didn't fucking matter; the guy already knew everything about him to begin with. Besides, Starfish had a way of figuring out what was going on in Flame's head, an annoying trait he shared with Umber.

He might as well tell him.

"Uh...well, it's just that..." Flame struggled to put his thoughts into words. Have you ever had your best friend randomly kiss you before disappearing and now you feel like doing 100 back-flips in the air because you're so happy but also feel like jumping in bed and never coming out because you're so terrified?

Defeated and deflated, Flame decided to try for a different approach.

"So, Starf," he said using the new nickname he had given his Healer. He had begun using it a few days ago in an attempt to annoy the SeaWing but unsurprisingly Starfish hadn't minded. Instead he actually seemed to enjoy it. "Have you ever had a crush on someone?"

The SeaWing blinked and some pattern briefly flashed over his luminescent scales. "Uh...that's a rather interesting question but I suppose the answer is: yes." Starfish rubbed his gills nervously. "Is there a reason you wanted to know this information?"

"Well, yeah," Flame answered while shuffling down more into the pillow. "How did you KNOW you had a crush on someone? What did it feel like?"

Starfish's eyes widened with understanding and a small smile formed along his mouth. "Ah, I see. Do you have a crush on someone, Flame?"

"NO!" Flame instinctively responded but then bit his tongue. He folded his arms across his chest. "Well...maybe but I DON'T KNOW! That's why I'm asking you!"

The Healer folded his talons together and rested his chin on the knuckles. "Perhaps instead of me telling you what it's like to have a crush, you can tell me what you think it involves."

Flame pursed his lips. Leave it to Starf to turn my dumb questions into some sort of learning opportunity. Flame shuffled around on the pillow again to buy himself some time to think. He had never been involved in a romantic situation before, but he HAD read about them in his graphicolls. Usually there was always some sort of romantic sub-plot. Flame had always found them annoying but now he tried to recall them.