Mr. Popular and I

Chapter Forty-One - Ruined Friendship

River

"And I love you so fucking much," I whisper, before closing the gap between our faces and kissing her.

I guess she was expecting it, because she proceeded to kiss me back, her lips molding deeply and perfectly onto mine. But, all of a sudden, I feel her pulling away from my grip, shaking her head. Opening my eyes, I look into hers, confused.

Am I a bad kisser? Does she not want me to kiss her?

"What? What's wrong?" I ask, eyebrows furrowed at her sudden response.

She coughs, laughing, and places both palms of her hands on my chest, leaning her head as far away from mine as possible.

Why's she laughing?

"What?" I smile along to her giggles.

"You..." She chuckles, "your breath stinks of smoke. I cannot kiss you until you eat a mint or something." She finishes, pushing me backwards before covering her smiling mouth with her hand.

Slowly, I nod my head, my lips readjusting into a playful smirk.

"Oh really? You don't like the smell?" I purposely get close to her, and I watch amused as her eyes widen at what I'm doing.

"Oi! River, get away from me! I hate the smell of smoke!" She laughs, even more, trying but failing to break loose from my grip. I've got her pushed against the building wall, both my hands sturdy at her waist.

I just love her smile.

I can't help but laugh with her as she squirms. "No, River, I'm being serious!"

Our laughter continues to mix as she struggles to get away from me, and I continue to hold onto her.

At the vibration of my phone, I let go of her waist and hold up my hands in surrender. "Fine, fine," I chuckle, taking a step back from her body and digging into my coat pocket for my phone.

There's a text from Jake shining through the screen, which instantly slaps the smile off of my face and returns my mind to my harsh reality. I've completely forgotten about where I am, and why I'm here for these few moments with Lea. But now I have to face what I cannot avoid, no matter how much I wish this isn't happening to my sister.

The text reads: You should come back up, doctors are here. 

My heart races in anticipation, the doctors must know what's wrong with Emily, they must know by now.

I swear to God if anything has happened...

God, if you're up there, or something. Please let her be okay.

 "Lea," I say, quietly, my thoughts only focused on getting to my sister as fast as possible.

"Yeah?" She too has stopped laughing, realising my state of worry. Her tone is more serious now, but how much I loved it when her voice was so much more energetic and lively just a moment ago.

"We need to go back up," I state, burying my phone back in my pocket and meeting her eyes.

Without any further questions asked, she reaches for my hand and nods her head.

***

I clasp my fists together and bring them up to my face, biting my thumb with my teeth. I stare at the floor before me, everything around me silencing and turning into a blur. I can't concentrate, I'm hearing what they're saying, but I cannot and refuse to allow the words to form in my brain.