Evergreen

Three

We sat on my bed, knees touching while I played with my fingers nervously, trying my hardest not to let it show.

You're supposed to be the teacher, here, right? Act like one, say something, do something... anything!

"So," I stated awkwardly, picking at my dark red fingernail polish so I'd have something to stare at besides her.

Wow, Sarah. I shook my head slightly at myself. Stellar like always.

"I really like your room," Claire said, looking at all of the different band posters scattered haphazardly along my walls. "I wouldn't have guessed you like Slipknot; they're a cool band, a little too dark for me, though."

I smiled, glad she changed the subject. "They grow on you,"

My room was one of the things that I actually spent time trying to prefect. I wanted the place where I spent most of my time to express me and who I am, not who everyone thinks I should be.

Every one of the walls, except what little you could see of the ceiling, is a deep, almost vibrant red- my favorite color- the ceiling and the trim are black. Photographs of every moment that has made me happy, sad, angry, or just worth remembering, are splattered over almost ever surface of the walls. Some are of my friends just goofing around and being stupid, and others are of things that I thought were beautiful and needed to be captured in that moment- that is one of my favorite things in the world, taking pictures of beautiful things then putting them on my walls to admire later.

Christmas lights, some colored and some not, lit up the entire room like Christmas morning. Paper Mache elephants, each one a different color, hung from different parts of the ceiling.

Overall, I loved my masterpiece of a room and so does everyone else who sees it. Additionally, that is a pretty great feeling in itself.

"Thanks," I said, poking at my lip ring with the tip of my tongue, admiring Claire's high cheekbones and the small dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose.

Hmm, I never noticed that before....

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence on my part and Claire looking at everything but me, I said, "Are we going to do this, or are we just going to sit here awkwardly for the next three hours?"

Confusion clouded her big green eyes, making her look absolutely adorable. I couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"How do we even start this? Like, do I just attack your face- which couldn't help either of us, I assume- or do we go slow and just let it..." she shrugged her slim shoulders, looking at me helplessly. "Flow?"

She's cute, that's for sure. This shouldn't be that hard. I thought with a smirk.

Raising my eyebrows suggestively, I said, "Well, attacking my face sounds kinky, and I'm all for it, but I think you'll like going slow better."

Claire laughed, the soft sound bouncing off the walls of the quiet room. "Okay, but I'm not, err, used to this... so, what, um, how-"

I put my hand on hers and she visibly relaxed, taking a deep breath to calm her restless nerves.

Maybe she's more anxious about this than she looks.

"Stop, okay? I'll do most of the work and you'll learn as we go. You've never done anything? With boys or girls?" when she shook her head, I smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Then we will start with the basics: kissing, and when you're ready we will work our way up. If you find you don't like it or it's too weird for you, tell me and we'll stop. I'll teach you everything I know and we'll do the whole lot, as long as you're comfortable. Are you okay with that?"