Desdemona

Chapter Twelve

Dessie's POV

I stepped under the spray of hot water, and took a deep, steadying breath. Nott was right. It wouldn't be the same this time, everything was different. And I had Nott to be my parachute, and keep me from falling. I smiled, and hummed The Only Exception by Paramore, singing the last line aloud to myself softly.

“Oh, and I'm on my way to believing.” I let the pounding hot water and steam relax me, and by the time I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, I was no longer all twisted up inside with fear and anger, but calm, even happy. I quickly got dressed and put on some light make up (I had the basics here at Nott's house since this was my second home) so I could see Nott again as soon as possible. I dried my short hair, which was actually getting longer because I hadn't cut it in several months. I appraised myself in the mirror, my black hair with fading purple tips almost three inches long. I'll let it grow out, I decided. I turned sharply away from the mirror, and opened the bathroom door. I was wearing a pair of gray skinny jeans, my black Edward Scissorhands t-shirt, and my Paramore sweatshirt. Nott wasn't there, the bed left unmade. Of course. I walked to the open door, and heard noises coming from downstairs. I headed towards the stairs, and sniffed appreciatively. I smelled bacon, sausage, and eggs cooking, and followed the delicious smell downstairs and into the kitchen. There was Nott standing at the stove, his back towards me. I grinned, and sneaked up behind him, going into silent mode. I sprung lightly onto his back, and kissed his neck.

“Gotcha.” I whispered. Nott chuckled softly, then pretended to be mad.

“You naughty girl, now your in trouble.” He said, his voice low. “And bad girls need to be punished.” He warned. I bit my lip- this should be fun. Suddenly, Nott shifted me so that I was resting on his hip, one of his arms hooked around my back. He grinned mischievously at me, then bent his head towards me. Nott's lips brushed my neck, and he worked his way down to my collar bone then back up to my jaw, trailing kisses slowly, tauntingly, across my skin. Nott felt me shudder, and laughed quietly. His free hand ran lightly down my side to rest on my hip, then he jumped up slightly to boost me up and keep me from falling, resulting in another shock jolting me. Nott's lips finally found mine, and with much need and relief, I kissed him passionately. Just as I was really getting into it, Nott pulled back, and suddenly began tickling me. I shrieked, and would've fallen out of Nott's arms if he hadn't been holding me as tightly as he was. I wriggled and squirmed, trying to escape, all the while laughing so hard that it hurt. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to hold onto me for much longer, Nott rushed to the couch in the living room only a few feet away, and dumped me onto it, still tickling me. I managed to pull him down on top of me, my whole body shaking with laughter, tears springing to my eyes. When Nott fell on top of me, I tried to roll him off of me, redoubling my efforts. I finally was able to roll over and roll the both of us off the couch, landing on top of Nott. I straddled him, and pinned his arms to his side. I was still laughing, and so was Nott. Suddenly, the fire alarm went off, and it was so loud and unexpected that I screamed really, really loudly. I whipped my head around, searching for the source of the piercing screech, my eyes wide. Then I understood what had happened, and stopped screaming and looking. I could feel Nott shaking under me with the force of his laughter, this time laughing at my reaction.

“It's not funny!” I protested, slapping his chest. This just made him laugh harder, and I tried really, really hard not to laugh too. His face was just too funny though, and I burst into another fit of laughter.

“Your, ha, expression, ha ha, was just, ha ha ha, too funny, ha ha ha ha!” Nott gasped out between laughs. I collapsed forwards onto him, my head resting on his chest, feeling his laughter vibrating through me. The feeling of just being absolutely happy all the way through exploded in me, and I couldn't stop grinning. Nott stood up, holding me to his side, and staggered into the kitchen, still laughing. I handed him a broom, and he poked the fire alarm, turning it off. Then he turned off the stove. Neither of us could stop laughing so hard that we couldn't breath, and we leaned against the wall, sliding down it, ending up sitting on the floor. I fell sideways onto Nott, leaning my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes, and just let myself be happy. Our laughter slowly subsided, and Nott wrapped his arms around me. I relaxed into him, eyes still closed, still smiling. We just sat there for awhile, content to simply hold each other in the comfortable silence. Eventually we got up. Nott rose first, then helped me to my feet. He put his hands on my waist, and I placed my hands on his shoulders. I gently stroked Nott's cheek with my thumb, and traced his smile lightly with my fingertips. I leaned forward so my lips were at Nott's ears, and then whispered,