T W E N T Y - T H R E E
Kiss Me Not

THE LAST TIME in which I had felt butterflies in my stomach was when Lucius asked me out back when we were in our junior year. It was a romantic little scene, where he had rose petals strewn across the floor and a guitar in his hands as he serenaded me in front of the entire student body. Before that, Lucius and I had been friends for about a year, acquaintances for many more others, but that day was the first time in which I had gone out on a date with him.

I didn't know how he could pull it off at that time. It wasn't just a normal date to the movies like any other teenage couple. Instead, Lucius had rented out a small speedboat to go round the creek surrounding our little town. We watched the sunset on that boat, along with a nice picnic basket that held our dinner and a little bit of sparkling delicious champagne.

Even till this day where our lives were no longer intertwined, I could still remember the scene so perfectly that it seemed like yesterday. The sun was a large bright orange yolk set upon the waves of the water, setting just slightly when Lucius had popped open the bottle, gently pouring the bubbly liquid into the champagne flutes before handing me one. When we clinked our glasses together, he had smiled so very charmingly, sipping on the drink.

"To us," he had said, and I could remember the younger version of me just gazing lovingly into his eyes. The words he had said back then had blessed me with many nights of insane joy. We were a few years strong, our relationship seemingly unbreakable before he hightailed and ran away. It was only now when I looked back had I realized that his cheer of victory was more of him toasting to himself rather than us. From the beginning, Lucius only cared for himself, putting his own safety and interests first. I was never close.

Thinking back, I couldn't help but feel bitter that Lucius decided all was better when he held Porsha in his arms instead of me. Fine by me. I don't need someone that doesn't need me. The only person I will ever need is myself. And yet, that didn't stop me from crying my heart out for a night, risking puffy eyes and runny noses. I did not cry anymore after that. That was only because a few days later, the party followed and here we are.

I had never expected myself to be so affected by Cassiel. We had met for barely a day, and even though he claimed to have known me for longer than I have known him, it still did not justify this attraction. You see, I don't believe in love at first sight, perhaps not since the very beginning of my life unless we're talking about a new outfit in the mall. "Love at first sight" is a fairy tale woven by lovesick romantics, spreading it to others that shared the same way of thinking. Other than a good pair of lacquered heels, or perhaps even a nice large pepperoni pizza, there was no such thing as love at first sight.

What I have with Cassiel is definitely not love. I don't even know the boy enough to declare it as something such as love. But this is definitely some sort of attraction, and mutual or not, I do not know.

As we made our way down the corridors once more, we were met with silence. There was the occasional crunching sound of when Bella bit into the apple, or Lucius snacking on small chocolate biscuits, but other than that, we walked in complete silence, not a single word spoken. Through this little return journey, I had already long devoured five green apples in an attempt to satisfy my hunger. It might have curbed it, but the heavens know that this would never be enough for me.

Cassiel walked right behind my steps, his presence ever constant as we curved another corner. From our minimal distance, I could smell a faint scent of cologne from him. A sort of perfect blend of the fragrances of peppermint, chrysanthemum, and aftershave. For a man, he smelt of flowers very strongly, but that wasn't necessarily bad. In fact, it coordinated perfectly with his personality. Someone so playful and bright, and yet mysterious. He was a concoction of variating differences.

By now, the presence of an unwanted creature could already be easily identified when the wind picks up a little too much than of natural circumstances. The frost and the chill will blow in after that, followed by a deadly silence that practically screamed louder than anything in one's mind. That was because silence creeps the heart far more than noise does the soul. And then, a bony looking shape will appear, all covered by a cloak that trailed along behind the actual ghoul itself.

So when all of these symptoms had occurred, followed by a rush of petrifying fear that rushed through my very bones, I knew that we were done for. Half an hour had already long past, leaving us no longer immune to the threats that those ghouls posted. This time, the projection that had appeared was one of pure white, blindingly shining as its torn and tattered cape reflected the light of the sun that came through the glass windows.

However, it did not travel alone.

"Guys..." Bella trailed off, her eyes fixated on the additional figures as she backed slowly into Minnie's hold. Bella was still walking with a slight wobble, most likely from her sprained ankle from the night before.

Right behind the white cloaked creature were two others, decked in black and red respectively. Combined, they brought in a weather chill that would make winter shun its head in failure. In an instant, the walls started to freeze, some bits even breaking off due to the intense cold. Our breaths all froze, mists coming out when we exhaled even by the slightest.

"Run!"

I didn't need to be told twice, and neither did the others. In an instant, we were tearing down the hallway, curving and cutting corners as we hit around at the doors, attempting to find an empty room which we could barricade them away from. Their ear-splitting wails echoed from behind us, reverberating loudly through the air as it trailed after.

The only thing that ran through my mind at the moment was that we couldn't stay as one big group. No matter how they portrayed it back in those Hollywood horror movies, we cannot take down three killer creatures together. There was only one gun, and hence one group that can survive this; unless I manage to find the orb in time.

"Remind me again why didn't you wait for situations like this before you broke the orb?" There was a slight pant in Minnie's voice, her feet moving at great speeds as the group of us dashed down hallway after hallway. I could barely keep up, my muscles already starting to get sore from all the vigorous activity that we had been put through for the last few hours.

"We have to split up!" Cassiel yelled, taking a quick glance behind us before cursing under his breath. "If they corner all of us at once, we will all die. War is a dangerous factor here! He will tear us up before we can even blink."

"Bloody shoot the thing!" For once, Gabriel was exclaiming almost just as loudly, his face slightly red with panic. "Who's got the gun?"

"Damn it." Cursing once more, Cassiel stopped in his tracks, digging into his pockets before pulling out the white pistol. He shot three times in a row, missing all three times by about a hair's breadth. "Shit!"

Bella and Lucius were already out of sight, probably already safely hidden, which left the four of us to defend ourselves against three blood-thirsty otherworld creatures. Seven bullets left, and their effects could hit us even from an average distance away. As usual, the odds were against us.

I could practically hear the blood roaring in my veins, screaming at me to get somewhere safe as my chest heaved up and down erratically with each breath I took. The brown-haired boy was lagging behind due to the fact that he had stopped to pull the trigger. Not wanting to throw a group member under the bus, I stopped in my steps, turning back to look at Cassiel as he began to turn and run, realizing that perhaps he wasn't the best shooter out of all of us even though he had managed to save my life with that same gun less than 24 hours ago.

"Addison! Let's go!" Minnie yelled, tugging at my wrist as I shook her off.

I shook my head. "No. I am not leaving any single person behind. Gabriel, bring Minnie somewhere safe. I'll meet up with you guys later."

Gabriel nodded once, a fierce determination on his features before his hands glided down to secure Minnie's small hands in his own. He gave a light tug, and she barely even had time to cast me another worried glance before they were tearing down the corridor and out of my sight.

Once they were gone, Cassiel stepped in, right by my side as his hand latched onto my wrist, forcing me to break into an abrupt run just to keep up with him. "Come on!" He shouted, tearing down the corridor and taking a different turn as of Minnie and Gabriel when a fork in the road came in an attempt to throw the ghouls off our trail.

With each sharp corner we turned, I could feel my legs getting weaker and weaker in the knees as the energy got drained out of me. When curving past a particularly sharp corner, my feet slid against the moist wooden floorboards, causing me to tumble down onto the ground as my arms stretched out in an attempt to break my own fall. Cassiel's grip on my hand slipped, leaving my plummeting towards the floor in a thud as I cursed under my breath. Without another word, Cassiel flawlessly made his way over, picking me up by my arms and back onto my feet when we realized that the ghouls were catching up to us and drawing near.

"You alright?" He asked, breath filled with heavy pants as we sprinted down the hallway.

"Just wonderful." I forced out the words, ignoring the painful stinging sensation on the palms of my hands where I had focused the impact on.

We stumbled along the way, stumbling abruptly into a random room before Cassiel slammed the door shut, locking it in place. Dropping to the ground, our heavy breathing was the only noise in the otherwise quiet room. Even though the wind had stopped picking up and the room was silent other than the sound of our mixed heavy breathing, I could still feel my blood rushing through my veins and my heart thumping so quickly that it was nearly painful.

I combed a strand of stray golden blonde hair behind my ears, forcing my eyes shut and tucking my knees in so that I can bury my face in them. No matter how much I tried to ease my breathing and my heartbeat, I knew that it was not possible. The fear was still very much alive within me, unfortunately.

"He's not going to stop, is he?" Cassiel asked, leaning his head against the wood of the door as he shut his eyes, attempting to regulate his breathing. His words pulled me out of my little daydream as I looked up in confusion.

"He?" I asked.

"Death. It seems as though he isn't going to stop until he has you in his arms. He will pull every trick in the book to get to you. This means bad things for the rest of us, however. I don't know how much longer I can keep up."

I was just about to reply when the sting of the pain returned, causing me to let out a hiss as I examined my palms. On my left palm, a sharp red and bold line ran across my flesh, indicating that I had in fact injured myself during our grand escape a few seconds before. Though the cold air numbed the bits of skin around the wound, the actual cut itself felt as though someone had poured the fiery lava from the pits of hell straight onto my skin.

"Damn it." I gritted my teeth in pain, holding onto my wrist to keep it from trembling too intensely.

Cassiel's line of gaze trailed towards the cut on my hands, gently taking it into his hold and examining it thoroughly. He reached down at his shirt, pulling at the fabric to tear a strip away from the piece of clothing before placing it over my wound. With expert fingers, he began to wrap the bit of cloth around my injured hand before tying a secure knot over the cut.

"That will have to do for now. The cut is not serious, anyway." He muttered under his breath, talking more to himself than to me.

My blue-green eyes met with pure evergreen ones. It was only from our close proximity had I noticed that there were tiny golden specks in the irises of Cassiel's eyes. They gleamed brightly, standing out against its emerald background. His eyes themselves looked just like one of those beautiful orbs. It was the color of pale green that held so many different secrets, the color that resembled sour apples and green grapes freshly picked from the vine. It was the summer that I had always wanted, the soothing lull of nature and the bright reflection of leaves under the sun.

Cassiel as a whole was mysterious and alluring.

"Whatever Death does, whatever he throws at me," I panted, leaning my back against the door as my usually obnoxiously loud voice dropped to a hushed whisper, "I hope he kisses me not. Because if I manage to keep myself away from him, we might have a fighting chance at leaving this place in one piece."

"What if I did it, then?" He suddenly asked, gently letting go of my hand as I allowed it to fall into my lap.

"What?" My eyebrows scrunched in confusion, heartbeat going back up as Cassiel unconsciously licked the bottom of his lips. It was a small movement, almost unnoticeable had it not been for the fact that we were so close together. Just when I had thought that my heartbeat had cooled down, it was back up again, rushing at maximum speeds.

"What if I kissed you, then?" His cold palms rested against my burning cheeks, gently pushing me to face him slightly when I looked away. "Would the same rules still apply?"

Our faces were just inches away from each other, gazes colliding as Cassiel slowly dipped his head down. His eyelids fluttered closed, lips inches to mine as I started to close my eyes as well. However, just before our lips touched, I turned my head just the slightest, allowing Cassiel to peck the corner of jaw briefly before he looked up, almost disappointed.

"Sorry," I muttered, shuffling slightly away and out of his hold as his hands dropped down to his sides.

"There is nothing to apologize for, Addison." Forcing his own fake smile, Cassiel offered me one last glance before retreating further into the room, taking another corner as an air of tension settled between both of us.

No matter how much Cassiel attracted me towards him, I just couldn't see myself as a loose woman that went along with every boy that offered himself to me. If I were to die tomorrow, I wouldn't want to be remembered this way. The world was filled with complications, and I did not want to add fuel to the fire. After all, the best things come to those who wait.

Right?

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