When I'm with you

Chapter 27

Gab's expression changed. His determined eyes looked straight into mine as his head moved towards me. Closer and closer. My chest was pounding; my hands were sweating. I thought he just wanted to lean his forehead against mine just like he did a while ago, but much to my surprise his lips touched mine.

My eyes went wide when I felt Gab's chapped lips pressed against mine. I looked at him; his eyes were closed. He gently held my shoulders as if not wanting me to pull back. I only stared at him, dumbfounded, like the whole world stopped at that moment. My heart was beating like crazy as I slowly lost all of my strength. I wanted to move back. I wanted to ran away. But there was this weird feeling I felt as soon as our lips met: a strange electricity that calmed me down, but slowly turned my body numb. My mind went blank, and the only thing I knew was that Gabriel Clark kissed me.

Then he finally pulled back, wrapped his arms around me and rested his head over my shoulder. I could feel his breath around my neck and it tickled me a little. Then he slowly moved his head near my ears as he whispered: "I love you."

My eyes snapped open as I quickly sat up in bed. I sat up so fast I got a head rush. I looked around in a daze, searching for a particular guy. Then I touched my lips; they were dry. No hint of being kissed at all. That's when I realized it was just a dream.

Ever since my last visit to Gab's house, I kept having dreams of that sort.  It was always the same scene: Gab kissing me. But the weird thing was that instead of him whispering "Thank you", he would whisper "I love you." I didn't know why it changed but it made me feel uneasy. I still didn't know why Gab kissed me. I wasn't even sure if he remembered it since he had immediately fallen asleep after that. I didn't want to give any meaning to it, but no matter how hard I tried to get it off my head, it just kept coming back. Gab was like family to me so I felt uncomfortable each time I remembered that scene.

So I came up with the conclusion that it was probably the way of thanking someone in Canada. I knew it was silly, but it'd be better if I put it that way. Well, he thanked me after kissing me after all.

After what happened, I didn't know how to face Gab anymore. I would quickly get flustered every time I remembered his face: his green eyes; his perfect straight nose; his chapped lips; everything. It was very hard for my heart to calm down whenever all the memories came crashing down.

I quickly rushed downstairs when I heard Jane calling out for me. It made me wonder how she felt after Chad refused when she asked him out. It bothered me too since she hadn’t told me anything about it.

I immediately got into the car and sat in the passenger's seat. Much to my surprise, there was no hint of irritation on her face. She was strangely cheerful, and to be honest it scared me a little. I wanted to assume that everything was settled between her and Chad, because it would be bothersome if she suddenly exploded like a bomb.

"Morning, Anne!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Morning!" I greeted back.

Then she started the engine and drove to school. She quickly turned on the radio and let the music blast inside the car. Even though it hurt my ears to hear such loud sounds so early in the morning, I was kinda grateful since I forgot that weird dream I had, even just for a moment.  Jane was getting carried away with Nicki Minaj's song “Starships”, waving her hands in the air whenever possible and screeching (not singing) at the top of her lungs. I was glad we had our windows up. I would’ve hidden my face in my hands if anyone saw me with such a spirited, tone-deaf driver. Frankly, I was pretty relieved that she was so energetic since I was expecting her to complain about Chad.

The atmosphere inside the car was so full of energy until the song was changed. The soft strumming of the guitar echoed through the car. I had always liked this song, but this time it irritated me instead because it seemed to accurately describe my feelings. It was the song by Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran called “Everything Has Changed”.