Blissful Innocence

2: A Promise

My eyes widened as his soft lips melded against mine. His hands left my face and gripped me around the waist in an iron hold. I found myself sinking into the new sensation and kissed him back. The kiss was gentle at first but soon took a turn in the opposite direction.

We pulled away in need for air, he buried his face in the crook of my neck. My chest heaved up and down, I was sure he could hear the rapid beat of my heart. "Charlotte, you have no idea how much I've held myself back," he mumbled against my neck: I felt him gently kiss the sensitive area making me squirm in his grip. I gasped as his teeth grazed along the skin.

"Get a room." The moment was broken by a group of people walking past us. Ashton jumped away from me and scooted to the other side of the bench. His flushed face looked in the other direction.

I looked to the group, my own face bright red. The guy that spoke up snickered.

After a moment of awkward silence it was broken by Ashton, "lets go, I'll walk you home."

I was standing at my front porch watching Aston heading in the direction of his house. The entire walk back was filled with silence, both of us wrapped up in our own thoughts.

I fished out my keys and entered my dark home. All the rooms were dark and there was not a single sound. I let out a sigh of relief, my mother was asleep and wouldn't question my flustered face. I walked down the hall and silently entered my room.

After changing into comfy clothes I laid in bed and stated out the windows. I couldn't sleep, my thoughts kept replaying the moment at the park. My best friend had kissed me.

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I awoke to the blare of an alarm. I pushed myself out of bed. Looking to the clock on the wall I contemplated if I should crawl back into my safe haven of blankets and pillows. It was eight in the morning.

I decided to stay up since I was already out of bed. I heard the sounds of pots and pans from the kitchen. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and headed towards the ruckus. My mom stood at the stove flipping pancakes. She was still in her pajamas and her messy brown hair was slopped up into a bun. After placing a plate of pancakes in front of me, she sat down opposite of me with her own plate and started eating. "So what time is Ashton's flight?"

I cleared my throat as I cut one side of my pancake, "Uh, at eleven." I folded the piece over and stabbed it with my fork.

My mom looked at me with an arched brow. She must've noticed my face slightly flush. "Is everything okay?"

I pushed the pancake into my mouth and chewed. "Yea...why wouldn't it be?" I slightly squeaked out.

My mom just gave me a knowing smile, "Well, after you're done eating go get ready. We have to stop by some places before going to the airport."

I just nodded at her and finished my pancakes.

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We walked through the gates of the airport towards the departure area. I saw Ashton's parents standing near a couple of seats, yet there was no sign of Ashton. My eyebrows arched in confusion as we apporached them.

"Karen! John! Nice to see you! How have you guys been?" My mom greeted.

Ashton's mom smiled back at my mom and gave her a heartfelt embrace. "Doing wonderful," she had replied back. "Though a little upset that my little baby is finally grown up. It felt like I was just changing his diapers yesterday!"

My mom laughed and stated jokingly, "Don't get me started on Charlotte, I'm actually happy she's finally getting out of the house. She needs to be more social."

I slightly cringed at the crude joke. I looked pleadingly to Ashton's dad. He gave me an amused grin and pointed to a baggage check in line.

Making an escape, I made my way over to Ashton, who I quickly spotted in line. He had just finished checking in his luggage and was walking back. He was wearing his dark wash jeans with a simple hoodie. He ran his hand through his black hair making it stick up in random directions. He seemed tired.

I hesitated as flashbacks from yesterday sped through my mind, but nonetheless shot down my blush and walked up to him. If I acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, things wouldn't be as awkward.

"Hey asshole," I joked. "How you feeling? Nervous?" I grinned at him.

He avoided eye contact with me and replied with a clipped tone, "Fine."

Slightly taken aback, I remained quiet. We walked back to our parents in silence.

After joining our families, my mom walked up to Ashton, "Ashton! How's my favorite teenager doing? Excited for college in Europe?"

He just nodded towards her.

Sitting together at the table, our families were able to pick up on the emensly tense atmosphere surrounding the both of us. They decided not to say anything about it.

"All passengers on flight 213 to Birmingham, please make your way to security check. Once again, all passengers on flight 213 please make your way to security check.

We all got up in silence and stared at Ashton, he just stared back.

Karen suddenly burst into tears and embraced her son. "Oh honey," Karen sobbed, "I can't believe you're leaving. I'm going to miss you so much."

Ashton's face turned a slight shade of pink as he slowly snaked his arms around his mom. "Mom, don't worry. I'll visit during breaks and I'll call you and dad," he murmured reassuringly.

John clapped his son firmly on the shoulder. "Be safe son. We'll miss you." He gave a warm smile to his parents and gave them one last hug.

He turned making his way to the security line. Passing me, he just gave me a nod. "See you around Charlotte," he simply stated.

I stared at his retreating form. This was not at all the way I had saw our departure.

Before I could stop myself I ran towards him, catching him before he passed through the gate to the security line. "Ashton!" I yelled out. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his back. I felt him tense.

My heart beat rapidly, my brain wasn't thinking logically. "I-I" I mumbled. I closed my eyes and poured out all the thoughts running through my head. "I don't think I can go through college without you. Who the heck am I going to geek out to Supernatural and the Walking Dead with? Who's going to stay up with me as I angry bake? Who's going to wake me up in the morning blasting annoying songs? Who am I supposed freak out over new video games with? Most of all, what will I do without my best friend?" By now I felt tears well up in my eyes.

Ashton slowly unwrapped my arms from his torso and turned to face me. My arms fell limply to my sides and I looked away from him. "I-I know you really want to go to college abroad and I'm not going to prevent you from pursuing what you want. I wish you luck." I met his eyes, "But just promise me one thing. Promise you won't forget about me. That you'll visit me during breaks and tell me about all those crazy parties we would fantasize about junior year. Ashton, promise me that much, please?"

His arms engulfed my form. "I won't forget you, but I can't promise anything. You'll meet other people to replace me. I will try my best to come see you when I'm in town. Stay well Charlotte." He let go of me.

I watched him disappear amongst the crowd. Tears spilled from my eyes, staining my cheeks.

That was the last time I ever saw Ashton.

For four years at least.