The Tape Face Boy (Romance)

Chapter 7

I could hear someone from behind us calling out to see who was there, but my mind was focused on running away as I grabbed Tape Face's hand so that we wouldn't lose each other in the dark.  He held onto my hand tightly in response as we dashed into the woods a couple meters behind my house. I was giggling the entire time, adrenaline coursing through my veins. My guess was Tape Face could see in the dark, for when I began to lose confidence in where I was stepping, he led the way and started to pull me through the woods. 

     We ran for moments, though not too far in the woods.  I could still see the lights of the town through the trees, yet the two of us were far enough to be unseen and unheard.  I panted as I stood in front of Tape Face, and he breathed heavily through his nose. We both looked back towards each other, and I immediately started to laugh and untense.  It was dark, but I could see that Tape Face was laughing too, even if no voice could be heard. His shoulders shook and he was leaning forward slightly, eyes reflecting amusement as I too was hunched over from laughter, squeezing his hand that was still in mine as he held it tightly in response.  When we finally caught our breath, that's when I decided to say something.

     "That was amazing!" I let out breathily, looking up at Tape Face as I continued to giggle.  He looked down at me as well, a twinkle in his eyes. Our breaths finally began to calm down, and we both stared at each other for a few moments.  Time suddenly seemed to stand still, and I could hear my heart pounding. My giant smile began to fade, and I wondered why I all of a sudden felt nervous about how close we were.  I looked down, realizing we were still holding hands. Tape Face seemed to notice, and he too looked down at the way our fingers were interlaced. I felt my face heat up, and hoped that Tape Face couldn't see well enough in the dark to notice.  He didn't seem to mind either. He began to sway our hands back and forth, and my smile returned to my face at the childlike action.  

     I looked back up to him and chuckled, looking in the direction of the town, "I should probably head back now."  I looked back at Tape Face to find him staring at me. "Walk me home?" He raised his eyebrows, nodding a yes before presenting his arm to me.  I gladly took it, and let him lead me back in the direction of my house through the forest.

     It was a nice and calm walk back.  We enjoyed the silence of the night and each other's company.  As my confidence grew, I rested my head against his shoulder and felt him rest his cheek on the top of my head in return.  I smiled and blushed once more, taking the last step out of the woods and walking up to the back door of my house with Tape Face.

     We turned to face each other once more in front of my door, and Tape Face looked down at me.  I smiled up at him in return, "Thank you for walking me home." I added as a tease, "You're such a gentleman."  His eyes lit up, and he rolled his eyes in response to my comment. I chuckled softly, so as not to wake up my family, "I also really enjoyed your Endless Love act.  That was genius." Tape Face's eyebrows raised in response, and he made the kissing motion with his hands from the end of the song, his eyes closed and swaying back and forth.  I laughed at his disclosure of the act after having been cut short due to the awoken neighbor.

     When he opened his eyes once more, I began to say my goodbyes and told him goodnight.  Before I had the chance to go inside, he quickly did a kissing motion with his hands before presenting the side of his cheek to me and tapping it.  My eyes widened in response as my face heated up.

     "You… want me to kiss your cheek?" I asked, just to be sure.  He looked at me and quickly nodded, eyes sparkling. The way he looked at me made me think he meant the kiss to just be as friends.  Something about that word felt off in my head though, and I felt a pang in my gut. Did I want it to be more than just friends? I shook the feeling away.  I only knew Tape Face for a couple of weeks. It couldn't be that.

     I cleared my throat as a way to clear my thoughts, "Um. Okay."  He presented his cheek to me once more, his eyes closed as my heart and mind were rushing.  I began to move towards his cheek in slow motion, everything felt too surreal. Out of nerves, I squeezed my eyes shut and quickly closed the distance between our faces.  Though the feeling of skin on my lips that I was expecting was not there. Instead, it was something smooth and I opened my eyes in confusion as I continued to kiss at whatever my lips had made contact with.  When I opened my eyes, I was faced with Tape Face's own closed lids, the black eyeliner eminent. My eyes widened upon realizing what I was kissing, and I immediately jerked back to put my fingers to my lips, staring at the tape on his face that my lips had made contact with.  The little bastard had moved his head last second so that I kissed the tape that concealed his lips.

     Upon feeling me back up, Tape Face opened his eyes.  Though they weren't full of disappointment like I had feared after backing away so suddenly.  Instead, they reflected a mischievous yet innocent glow, and I knew that he was proud of himself for that.  It was only a split second before he jumped back, disappearing into the shadows and leaving me at the back doorstep of my house in complete shock at what had just happened.