Blooming Iris | ✓

-Blooming Iris Chapter 23-

(Not Edited)

***

Iris' POV

I stood there, staring at him, not knowing what to do. Did he really just said that? Maybe I just misheard him or something. There's no way Richard could like someone like me. 

After a few more minutes of silence I finally found my voice to speak. "Um... could you repeat what you just said?" 

His intense blue eyes locked on mine. "I like you Iris, a lot." 

Oh... so I wasn't hearing things. B-but I don't understand. Why does he like me? I'm nothing special.  He can have any girl he wants, so why me? 

"How...?" I managed to asked. 

He sighed, as he ran his hand through his hair a few times. "I'm not sure how it happened, but I just started liking you. Maybe I liked you from the very beginning, who knows? But I do know that I want you, and I'm not losing you to Shane. "

I blinked. He really does like me? And what does he mean by losing me to Shane? What does that mean... ? 

"Please say something," Richard whispered, begging me with his eyes. He took a step towards me, holding out his hand. "How do you feel about me?"

"I-I uh... um, I don't know..." I finally voiced out. 

His face fell, looking like a kicked puppy. "It's fine. I'm sorry I confessed," he said before turning around. He's hand dropped, going inside his pockets. 

I'm not sure why, but seeing Richard like that, broke my heart. Walking away from the bed, I grabbed his arm. As soon as he felt my hand, he moved his neck a bit, staring at me with hope filled eyes. 

"Don't say that," I found myself saying. "I-I'm not sure how I feel about you, but don't apologize."

He twisted fully around, pulling me towards him. My head laid on his chest, as he wrapped his arms around me, engulfing me in a hug. "Thank you Iris," he said his breath tickling my ear. "You can tell me when you're ready then." 

I nodded, feeling his strong heartbeat, as it kept beating faster and faster. I wonder if that's because of me? 

"Okay." 

He give me one last squeeze before he pulled away. "Wanna hang that picture up now?" he asked, giving me a big goofy smile.

I smiled back. "Of course." 

I was about to move forward when he held out his hand for me. I stared at it, wondering if I should grab it or not. Before I could even make a decision, his hand shot out, taking my hands in his.

"Come on, let's go." He winked, as his eyes dropped gazing at our entwined hands.

"A-alright."

We headed out the door, and across the hallway, into his room. Letting go of my hand, Richard headed towards his desk, and grabbed the picture I'd made him.

"So where should we hang this?" he asked. 

Thinking about it, my eyes wander around his room, as they searched for the perfect spot to hang his birthday present. They stopped at a blank area right above his bed.

"There!" I pointed at the spot.

He turned his head up towards my direction, his lips turning upwards into a grin. "Perfect," he said, as he nodded in approval. "Want to hang it up?" he asked giving me the picture frame.

"Um, no, you can," I said, giving it back to him. "It's your present." 

"I know, but I want you to Iris."

"You sure?" I probed.

"Of course."

"Well alright," I said, not wanting to argue about this. Taking my flats off, I climbed on Richard's bed, feeling the soft texture under my feet. I moved a bit until I was right next to the wall. Finding the hook on the wall, I placed the frame on top of it. I made sure it was straight before taking a seat on his bed.

"It looks great," he said, his eyes sparkling with an unknown emotion. He stared at it for a while before he looked away, glancing down at his outfit.

"Wait here," he said suddenly, "I really want to change out of this suit." Before I even had time to reply back, he was already dashing into the closet, as the door closed behind him.

Now that he mentioned it, I really needed to change too. I was still wearing the purple dress Sara had me wear this morning. I guess I'll just wait for Richard to come back before I go and change.

In the mean time, I'll just lay down and relax. As soon as my head hit the pillow, my eyes started closing. I let out a loud yawn, before my eyes started shutting again. All I remembered thinking was, the pillow smelling good before I blacked out.

Richard's POV~

I couldn't believe it; I told her. I didn't mean to though, it just came out when I heard his name. But for once she didn't ran away from me. Maybe that's a good thing. I just hope that she likes me back and not that idiot step-brother of mine. 

Taking a deep breath to calm down, I took my jacket, shirt, and tie off. Putting them back on the hangers, I stripped down to my boxers. Grabbing a new shirt and sweats, I slipped them on quickly. Glancing down at myself, I made sure everything was in order, before I headed out.

I was about to call Iris' name when I saw her sleeping. I guess today's events finally got to her.

I walked as quietly as I could up to her, taking a closer look. Her blond hair covered most of her face, as she slept peacefully. Overall she looked like an angel sleeping.

On impulse, my hand shot out to her, moving some of her hair away from her face. I'm not sure what happened, but in two seconds flat, my face was about two inches away from hers. My eyes slowly drifted down towards her lips, as they parted slightly. I wonder if they taste as soft as they look...

My lips almost met with hers when the door opened. I whipped around, facing Shane. At least it wasn't mother... she would have killed me.

"What?" 

He glared at me, probably because I almost kissed Iris. "Mother wants you to come downstairs to say goodbye."

"She's leaving now?" 

"Duh," he said shooting daggers at me. What's he's problem?

"Alright fine-"

"Don't try to kiss Iris ever again," Shane snapped suddenly, cutting me off.

My eyes hardened. "Who said I was going to kiss her?"

"Then why was your face so close to her face?" he asked crossing his arms across his chest as he waited for my answer. 

"That's none of your business."

"Whatever," he spat, "come on, she wants us down now."

"Fine," I said in an annoyed tone.

Making sure Iris was still asleep, I brushed passed him, bumping shoulders on the way. Once I heard the door shut, and his footsteps behind me, I knew it was safe to go downstairs. I didn't need him in the same room as Iris, especially since she's alone. One thing for sure, I'm winning this bet, and no one, especially Shane, is going to have Iris.

***

I'm so sorry for the really late update and for the short chapter! I had a major writer's block for a long time... that's why I couldn't write, and then school came up... so yeah. But I'm slowly getting my inspiration back on this story so yay!!