now or never - charlie gillespie

chapter fifty four

My eyes went wide before slowly fluttering shut.

Suddenly I stopped panicking. Everything that seemed so terrifying a few seconds ago were drowned out by the sudden urge to get closer to him.

The intensity of the kiss had drowned out everything around us. Suddenly I had no idea where I was and I couldn't care less.

When he kissed me, everything went wearily silent. The loud cheers of the crowd were now white noise. The world could have turned upside down and I still wouldn't the able to move and process anything else. But it somehow made perfect sense. Realization had just slapped me in the face.

I felt the world wash away, and everything around us freeze, like time had stopped in that moment. And yet, I felt more helpless than ever.

I needed more.

At first it was soft. He kissed me gently, carefully, as if he was scared I would break beneath his hands. Everything in my body told me to jump and run, controlled by the sparks that I was currently feeling, but I was too afraid that if I moved, I would ruin everything.

I was afraid our little bubble would burst. And I did not want to leave the bubble any time soon.

Then I grew dizzy, feeling the world spin, feeling us spin, almost like we were floating on clouds, as the intensity of the kiss grew stronger.

Was this really happening?

I had never felt anything like this before.

I've never kissed a boy like this. To be fair there weren't that many kisses to compare this to, but I just knew this was different.

I won't even try to hide it. It was perfect. It was everything I never knew I needed. His soft lips pressed against mine ignited a spark inside of me.

It wasn't like butterflies. It was like.... cosmic, as Ava would say.

I couldn't bring myself to stop him. I didn't want to stop him.

The kiss was sending shivers throughout my entire body.

I felt him pull away. I whimpered, feeling the warmth disappear suddenly. My eyes remained shut as I tried to grasp what just happened.

Charlie had kissed me.

Me and Charlie just kissed.

It wasn't just a normal kiss. It was the kind of kiss that made me want to take a second to myself, just to catch my breath. It sent my body into shivers. Shivers that could make my entire body tremble.

I finally allowed myself to open my eyes and stare up at him. His eyes were yet as wide as mine. I quickly tried to study his face. Did he just feel what I felt?

"Wow," I managed to breathe out.

"Lake..." he croaked out before clearing this throat. "Are you feeling alright?" He said out of breath. So it wasn't just me.

I slowly nodded my head, still entranced by our kiss. I took this time to glance around. Owen and Carolynn were standing above us, staring down with shocked looks on their faces. Carolynn was trying her best to hide her grin. I looked back down at Charlie.

"Why did you-" I tried to ask but he shook his head.

"Lake, we don't have time. You have to go out there now," he said and I nodded my head, barely processing what he said. Once I processed it I started to shake my head. "Woah, woah, woah. It's okay. We're all here for you. Just go out there and sing a song. You'll be alright," he said nodding his head at me and grabbing my hands, lifting my up to my feet. "You've got this."