The Story of Us

Ch. 24 Want U Back

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Ch. 24 Want U Back

                I stared.

                And stared.

                And stared.

                I wasn’t sure whether to slap the guy or kiss him.

                I frowned and shook my head inwardly. Cancel the second option. Go with the first instead.

                So I did.

                I slapped him, hard, across his left cheek. It hurt like heck but, hey, he kind of deserved it. Not that I remembered anything, of course, but hearing his story set me off.

                “Seriously?” I said, breathing heavily. “It seems like you’ve been a complete jerk to me these past few days! And you kissed me while you were dating Taylor!”

                “I’m sorry! I…I have a good reason for all of that. If you’d just let me explain—” he began.

                “No!” I yelled. “What were you thinking? You let all this freaking fame get to your head! And then you act so mean to me when I’m just trying to be your friend!”

                “But maybe I want to be more than just friends!” he blurted.

                Silence filled the room as my jaw literally hit the floor.

                Was this some kind of television prank or something? Were people going to pop out any moment and yell, “YOU JUST GOT PRANKED, SUCKER,”?

                All right, that last part was a bit outrageous.

                I pursed my lips. “What do you mean?” I said slowly.

                Liam took a deep breath and I met his heated gaze as he said, “I…I want to be more than friends. I want to wake up next to you, eat breakfast with you, watch movies with you, hold your hand, send you cute texts, and buy you gifts. I want to nap together, see you wear my hoodies when your cold, look in to your eyes for a long time, be with you at sunrise and sunset, cook for you, walk in the rain for you, snuggle with you in bed, and kiss you good night. I…I want to be with you, Keegan. I am so sorry for being such an ass to you throughout these past couple of days with no explanation. I just want a chance to explain.”

                There was a silence for a longest of time as I thought on his words. They seemed like sweet nothings, and I refused to believe a single word of any of them. Yet nevertheless, I was going to get an explanation for why he had been a jerk. I nodded slowly, ignoring the pain in my head, leant my back against the pillow, and watched Liam in silence.

                He took another deep breath again and his grip on my hand tightened. I was tempted to pull away, but thought better of it.

                “I acted like such a jerk to you because I was angry at you for…you know, rejecting me. Because you couldn’t look at me like I was more than a friend.” Liam said, looking uncomfortable. “And when I tried telling Taylor that I was dumping her, she somehow got it into my head that I was a movie star now. That you weren’t deserving of me and that she was. So I bought into it, and I tried to forget about you. But then you came to visit me…and, well, I decided to act cold and hostile because I refused to get rejected by you again. And also, by that point all of Taylor’s conceited words had gone to my head. I…I kissed you because I…I…” he swallowed. “I realized at that point I couldn’t stop loving you, no matter how hard I tried.”

                I stared off into the distance for a long time. Though his words were truly sweet, I thought about what would happen if I chose to forgive him. Would I end up kissing and being with him? Then what? He was a celebrity right now, constantly being hounded by the paparazzi. We would have to keep our relationship in secret or something. No, I didn’t need that type of cheesy romance novel crap.

                I sighed and shook my head. “I…I forgive you, Liam, for acting like such a jerk. But I still can’t be with you.”

                “Why?”

                I sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to, Liam. I’m just not sure of my feelings or what the consequences could be if I choose to be your girlfriend.”

                My words struck him hard, like a bell. He got up angrily, his chair falling backwards. Ferocious determination lit up in his eyes as he leaned forward. His hot breath brushed my cheeks as he whispered in my ear, “Then I’ll make you sure of your feelings.”

                He suddenly pulled away, grabbed me behind my neck, and pressed his lips on mine. It wasn’t exactly a kiss, but it seemed like a symbol of what could be more. Yet somehow it left me breathless. Tingles spread across my skin like wildfire, though I didn’t understand them. I stared at wide-eyed, and was about to scream at him when he strolled casually out the room.

                I gazed at the door, trying to grasp at what had just happened.

                And what the hell I had just gotten myself into.