Take Me Dancing - AJ Pritchard - I'm A Celeb 2020

The Kiss

Demi P.O.V

A pan of cuttlefish was left uneaten. Jordan never turned up for dinner.

"Is he alright?"

"What's wrong?"

"Have you spoken to him?"

I hear mutters all around camp.

Victoria found Jordan at the lookout. According to Vic, he was in tears. He overheard us in the shower - his footsteps were outside of the door. Victoria tried to speak to him, but all he wanted was to be left alone with his thoughts. Now he's gone to bed early and is flat-out asleep. I know that Jordan wasn't sure if I liked him. I wanted to have a conversation with him myself and explain how I'm feeling. Now I feel like I've lost a friend.

I lay in my sleeping bag and stare up at the cobwebbed ceiling. I don't know what to think.

"Hey," a soft voice calls.

Giovanna crouches down beside my bed. Her presence is warming - she is the one campmate who hasn't had an opinion throughout this whole saga. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." I'm on the edge of tears. "I'm just going to speak to Jordan tomorrow and see how he is."

"I'm not too sure why he's upset, or what's going on between you and him. But things will get better, okay?" She touches my head lightly. "Sleep well, Demi."

"You too, babe. Love you."

"Love you more."

One by one, all of the campmates retire to their beds. Nobody knows exactly what happened, except Victoria and I. Everyone knows that Jordan is upset, but no one understands the reason.

I stare at the ceiling for what seems like hours. The noises of the whirring wind through cracks in the windows; the shining light of the moon; the soft noises of chatting creatures outside; the bitterness of the cold air; the violent tones of Shane's snoring.

There's no way I can sleep.

I unzip my sleeping bag, trying to be as quiet as possible. Then I slip my shoes on, tie the laces, and stand up. Creeping past Beverly, Shane, Vernon and Jordan, I try and walk as quickly and silently as possible.

Once I reach the campfire, I fall onto a wooden log and catch my head in my hands.

How did I manage to mess it up so bad with Jordan? He's an incredible friend to me. We did the trials together. We cried, laughed, exercised together. Now he probably thinks that I've led him on.

And AJ? I think it's clear I have feelings for him. I mean, look at him. And he's so unbelievably sweet. He will find out about the Jordan situation and freak out. I bet he doesn't even like me anyway.

I'm a horrible person.

The thoughts are accelerating inside my head. I want them to slow so I can breathe but they won't. My breaths come in gasps. I need to be quiet so I don't wake anyone, but I could blackout at any moment. My heart is hammering inside my chest as it belongs to a rabbit running for its skin. The room spins. I feel so sick. I'm sweating. I can't cope. I can hear my name echoing around my head like a ghost. I'm scared.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grasps my own. I find the courage to lift my tear-stained face and spot one of my campmates crouched down in front of me. They look blurry.

"Take my hands, and breathe with me. Okay? Look me in the eyes, and don't look away."

I fix my eyes on AJ's.

"Deep breath in . . . Deep breath out."

I try and mimic his soft breathing. Whilst gripping his hands with strength, my breathing slowly regulates. My vision clears off the darkness. I feel less nauseous.

"It's just me." AJ smiles. "You're okay. You're okay."

It takes me a couple of minutes to recover from my panic attack. I used to have them when I was little, but I haven't experienced one in years.

"Have a sip of my water." AJ hands me his bottle. "Do you feel any better?"

I nod lightly. "I think so. I'm so sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"No, you didn't. I couldn't sleep. Shane was snoring so loud." He whispers. "But I saw your bed was empty so I come in here. I wasn't expecting to find you like this."

I put my head back into my hands. "I'm so embarrassed."

"Hey," AJ frowns. "No. Don't be embarrassed."

AJ P.O.V

I sit down beside Demi. When I got up and spotted Demi's bed was empty, I never expected to find her in this state.

When I walked into the living quarters and saw her, I knew exactly what was happening in a single second. I used to have panic attacks before dance shows. My brother was always the one to calm me down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask.

"Not right now. I just want to sit here."

"Do you want me to leave you?"

"No!" She whispers. Her hand reaches out for my arm. Her fingers trace across my skin lightly. "Please, stay here."

As if I was going anywhere. Why would I leave such a beautiful girl to cry by herself in the middle of the night?

Demi P.O.V

My head rests on his shoulder and our hands our laced in one another's. We've been sat here for ten minutes in complete silence, just enjoying each other's touch. I don't want to go back to bed. I could sit here with him for the whole night.

"Demi?"

His eyes are full of concern, but glistened over with hope.

"I think we should get some sleep."

Maybe some rest would do my mind some good. "Yeah. You're right."

AJ helps me up from the log and forces me to have another sip of his water. I wipe down the back of my trousers from any dirt, wipe away my tears, and take some deep breaths.

"If you need anything at all, let me know."

"I'm sure I'll be okay," I reassure him. "Thank you for helping me."

"It's not a problem." He smiles. "Come here."

AJ pulls me into his body and I am instantly comforted by his warmth. His heart is beating faster than usual and his breathing is a little heavier. The butterflies in my stomach spring from their cocoons flutter around my whole stomach; the feeling of AJ's fingers on my bare skin is enough to give me goosebumps. There's a comfortable silence with only the moonlight and the stars illuminating us.

"Demi?"

With my arms laced around AJ's shoulders, I stare up into his eyes. They're a roaring blue shade, shimmering with the reflection of the distant moon. His cheeks are flushed in a baby pink tone, the same way they are when he's nervous.

AJ's hands find their way to my waist, holding me against his chest. I'm not cold anymore. I watch closely as his teeth bite subtly on his lower lip, his eyes flicking between my own.

We exchange no words. All there is, is the sound of our breathing. His face is so close to mine I can feel his warm exhalations on my lips. I'm mesmerised by AJ's eyes. I can't look away from them. I'm caught.

There's an unbreakable sexual tension.

AJ's hand cups my jaw as our foreheads rest against one another's. His eyes flicker between my eyes and my lips.

He whispers my name softly.

"Demi,"

"AJ,"

He kisses me, and the world falls away. His lips are slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. AJ's hand rests below my ear, his thumb caressing my cheek as our breathing mingles. I lace my fingers into his hair, pulling him closer until there is no space left between us and I can hear his heart beating against my chest.

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This chapters shout out goes to softestlt . Your comments never fail to make me laugh! Xx