Chapter 14: Things Went...Surprisingly Well

I stood in front of my mirror, gathering my makeup as I danced around. I had my shoulder length brown hair tied up in a bun while I stared at my plain, brown eyes in the mirror. I made a face, allowing my tongue to poke out from behind my small, pink lips. I wiggled my eyebrows, attempting to touch my small nose with my tongue as I put dots of primer on my face. I jumped quietly when someone knocked on my door.

"Come in," I called as I rubbed in the primer. I put some of my foundation on the back of my hand. Axel entered my room, closing the door behind him. He sat on my bed, watching me as I dipped my brush into the foundation I put on the back of my hand. "Yeah?"

"Are you almost ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just have to finish my makeup and then get dressed," I told him, nodding at the dress I laid out on my bed.

"So we'll be leaving in four hours?" Axel inquired with a playful grin.

"More like 30 minutes," I retorted, rolling my eyes.

"Are you nervous?" he questioned. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, noticing that he was slumped forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Yeah," I mumbled, dipping my eyeliner brush into the gel. I dragged it across my eyelid, examining it and fixing it up before going to the other side. I think my wings looked pretty even. Once I finished, I moved on to my waterline, dragging the pencil across it. I fanned my face as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

"Are you prepared?" he asked. Of course I am. Whenever Axel would see me in the halls at school this past week, he'd stop me and tell me to pretend to tell him I'm not interested in him. If I would have had to say it one more time, I'd probably believe it.

"More or less," I told him as I leaned closer to the mirror to apply my mascara. I made sure I brushed it through as cleanly as possible, avoiding clumps. Once I did one coat on one eye, I switched to the other eye, applying a first coat. After going back for a second coat on each eye, I capped up the tube and placed it down in a pile that'd be going with me.

"How attractive," he commented and I shook my head at him.

"I will be in just a moment," I responded, applying lip balm as my last step. I grabbed setting spray and misted it across my face.

"You are already," he responded and I smiled at him, feeling my face go red. If Axel wasn't generous with compliments in the past, I'd probably be dying on the floor. But because he's always called me pretty or told me I've looked nice, I shrugged it off, knowing it didn't have the meaning I wished it had behind it.

"Thanks, Axel," I muttered before turning around and approaching him. I leaned down so I was at his level and slowly swiveled my head. "How does it look?"

He stared at me. "Great," he responded and I nodded.

"You need to leave so I can change," I told him as I grabbed his hand and made a move to pull him up. He stood, towering over me again. I went behind him and began shoving him out of my room. He wasn't moving as much as I'd like and whatever progress that was being made was on his part. When he finally left, I called from behind the closed door. "See you in ten minutes!"

I picked up my dress, chewing on cinnamon gum as I did. I pulled on the blue garb I got when I went shopping with Axel. I dug my heels from their spot in the closet, wiping them off briefly before putting them on. I fixed my dress in the mirror, turning around slowly. My hair was up in a bun with ringlet curls falling from the sides. I did the best I could to mimic the girl in the video. I didn't think I looked too bad. I grabbed my purse, which I shoved my makeup in and made my way downstairs.

I reached the first floor to find my brothers friends all sitting in the living room, waiting for me. "Finally, you're ready," Dylan muttered as he stood up with the car keys in his hand.

"Awe, you look so pretty," Isaac announced as he looked at me, reaching out to pat my head.

"Don't touch my hair," I told him as I held out my hand as a guard. "But thank you, Isaac."

"Our little girl's growing up," Isaiah announced as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"They grow up so fast," Isaac nodded, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"You look great," Holden told me from his spot on the couch.

"Thanks, Holden," I smiled at him.

"Sam is a lucky guy," Isaac nodded. "I have nothing against him but he better hope he doesn't see me in a dark alley."

"You better hope you don't see him in a dark alley. He took karate for six years," I told Isaac, who stared at the wall behind me for a minute with a blank look on his face.

"I think we better get going. It starts in a half hour," Dylan announced. "If you guys want to get there on time, hurry up."

"You don't mind if we stay here, right?" Colton asked as he lay on the living room couch, watching television.

"Knock yourselves out. Do you guys want anything from McDonalds? I'm stopping there after I drop them off," Dylan announced as he stared at Miles and Colton.

"No," the guys said in unison. Holden was joining us only for the ride, putting on his shoes.

"Alright, well, let's go," Dylan spoke, ushering us outside towards the truck.

"You look really nice," Axel informed me as he walked beside me.

"Thanks," I smiled at him, listening to the sound of my heels clicking against the cement. "You're coming to drop us off?"

"Yeah," he nodded. Isaac, Isaiah, and I are the only ones actually attending homecoming. Demetri is, too, but he's driving with his girlfriend. The rest are just staying at my house.

"Good," I told him with a smile. "I could use your help."

"Need help going over your lines again?" he asked me as we packed into the car. Holden and Dylan got into the front seats, seeing as Holden called 'Shotgun!' The twins were seated in the two seats in the middle of the car. But the twins, the idiots they are, sat all the way at the edge of their seats, without their seatbelts on. Axel and I sat all the way in the back.

"Yeah," I told him.

After repeating the phrase, 'Look, I know you like me and all, but I'm just not into you that way. Hopefully, we can still be friends,' fifty times over, I finally got it memorized when we were five minutes away from the school.

"I got this," I told Axel.

"You got this," he nodded. I relaxed as I thought to myself, I can handle this. Suddenly, another thought rose to the front of my mind.

"What if he tries to kiss me?" I questioned Axel, whipping around to look at him. It's possible. I was told that it'd be best to break the news to him during the last few minutes of homecoming so I wouldn't ruin his night or make things awkward. What if he tries kissing me before that? Axel sat up and turned towards me. I don't like Sam like that, and, according to everyone, I've already used my first date on this boy; I don't want to lose my second kiss to this boy. I guess I was a bit louder than I should've been because the twins turned around in their seats.

"Pity kiss! Pity kiss!" they began to chant.

"I don't even know how to kiss someone!" I retorted in embarrassment. How can I pity kiss someone if I can't even kiss? My first kiss was the worst. I ended up bleeding from my tongue for ten minutes.

"I can teach you," Isaac winked before Dylan swore at him, gaining his attention again. Isaiah followed suit in turning around.

Axel stared at me, exhaled, and closed his eyes for a moment before he shook his head and looked at me. "Kissing is easy," he finally spoke.

"But-," I started before being cut off. I wanted to tell him that I didn't want to kiss Sam. I want him to teach me how to avoid kissing Sam without being too harsh, not how to be a professional lip locker.

"You just tilt your head," Axel explained. He slanted his head slightly. I mentally sighed. I might as well take notes. Okay, step one, tilt your head. "And then you move closer," he replied, moving so close that there wasn't much room left between us. My mind was racing as he stared down at me. Step two, freak out because what is he doing? "You've got to keep up, Alexis." His hand lifted my chin gently, shifting my head to the side. My heart was pounding in my chest and I stared at him, blinking rapidly to try to focus. It wasn't working. Is he going to kiss me? Is this really going to happen in the back of the truck right before homecoming? "And then, it just happens." He leaned down a bit and I allowed myself to sit up taller, pressing my lips to his in a flow of excitement. My hands reached out and grabbed the openings of his jacket, pulling him closer towards me. I tilted my head to the side more as I opened my mouth. My heart was beating like a drum as his hand slipped behind my neck, holding me to him. I'm kissing him, I thought to myself. This is real. This is happening. Why? Why is it happening? It feels nice. Maybe kissing isn't so bad.

I pulled away from him, biting his bottom lip as I did so. I was breathing heavily and I knew I probably was as red as the truck we were sitting in. I suddenly felt like I was being watched and I slowly turned to the side to see the guys staring at us in pure shock. Dylan was the first to speak, putting his hand over his mouth, uttering a blunt: "I think I'm going to be sick."

Isaiah furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at me. "I thought you said you didn't know how to kiss..."

"Think you can teach me some of that?" Isaac asked with a smirk. My brother reached back and thwacked him on the head.

"Called it," Holden announced as he looked between me and Axel.

I looked at Axel, slowly releasing his jacket, which I didn't even realize I was still holding. "I'm going to go," I blurted as I practically began attempting to rip off my seatbelt. After a minute of watching my shaking hands reach for the button but missing repeatedly, Axel decided to end my suffering as he moved his hand and clicked the button. I flung myself at the door, which Isaac pulled open for me. I didn't bother to close it seeing as the twins would be following me inside soon enough.

As I was walking away, I heard Isaiah's voice. "What the hell was that Axel?"

"I don't know," Axel answered in an honest, confused voice.

+++

I had to keep from telling my friends about what happened in the car only moments before my arrival because of Sam's presence. Upon my entrance to the school's event hall, Sam greeted me with a brief hug. I wasn't thinking about anything at that moment except for Axel and his mouth. My friends could tell I was preoccupied by the glazed over look in my eye (according to Cam) but I kept my mouth shut.

Sam excused himself to go to the restroom at one point and I blurted out what had been on my mind for the last twenty minutes. "I kissed Axel."

"What?" Oliver and Cam asked at the same time. Sidney, on the other hand, asked "How was it?"

"Great," I nodded. "I wasn't expecting it." I want to do it again.

"Was he a good kisser?" Cam asked.

"Yeah, I mean, compared to Matthew from 8th grade." I shivered.

"How'd it happen?" Oliver asked and I rushed into the story, trying to finish before Sam returned from his bathroom break. It was convenient how he returned just as I finished the story. Though talking about it helped me to realize that it had actually happened, I was still in a trance when Sam returned.

As I was going to the bathroom after an hour of just talking (or a failed attempt at listening), I ran into Isaac, who grinned at me. "How's it making out?" he asked. "Oops, I mean, how are you doing?"

"Fine," I told him with slightly narrowed eyes. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great, not as good as you, but great," he told me. "So how's Sammy?"

"I don't know," I told Isaac.

"Aren't you here with him tonight?" Isaac inquired.

"Yeah but whenever he talks, all I hear are my own thoughts," I told him.

"And let me guess, those thoughts are about Axel?" Isaac inquired.

"You guessed it," I muttered.

"I don't know much about relationships but I think you should probably just call it a night, tell Sam you're just not that into him, and call someone to pick you up," Isaac informed me. "That's what I'd do."

"Yeah, I think you're right," I told him.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind going home either, or back to your house. Jennifer refused to dance with me and now she's not speaking to me," he sighed.

"What'd you do?" I asked him.

"I asked who the fine lady that dropped her off was. Apparently, it wasn't a lady. It was her dad. He has a man bun," Isaac shrugged.

"Oh..." I trailed, unsure of how to respond.

"But I'd understand if you'd ask Axel to pick you up alone. You probably want to finish what you started," Isaac smirked.

"Actually, I just want to go home and sleep," I told him, feeling my face heat up.

"I'm sure Dylan won't mind picking you up right now," he grinned, slapping my back lightly as he walked away.

Walking into the empty bathroom, I pulled out my cell phone and began to dial my brother's number. When he finally answered, he sighed. "What do you want?" he asked me.

"Can you come pick me up?" I asked.

"I literally just got home!" he retorted. "No, I'll come and pick you up when homecoming ends."

I glared at the phone after he hung up. I decided to just return to the event hall, stand beside Sam and listen to him talk. But this time, I was able to actually process the information being said and I was even able to say some things in return...for thirty minutes. "Are you alright?" he asked me when I started to stare into the distance again.

"Yeah," I nodded as I turned my attention back to him. "Just a bit distracted."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked me.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea," I told him. I pointed towards the hallway leading out of the event hall. "Can we step out there? My throat hurts a bit from yelling over the music." How does he still have his voice? He's been screaming for two hours.

"Tell me about it," he replied.

As we entered the hallway, I walked towards an emptier area and sighed. "I don't really know how else to say this but, uh, I'm just not into you in the way you're interested in me. Hopefully, we can still be friends."

I was surprised at how smoothly the words left my mouth. I was even more surprised when he chuckled. "Yeah, I kind of figured that when I heard you talking to Cam, Sid, and Oliver about how you kissed Axel."

"You heard that?" I asked him, a little surprised.

"Yeah..." he trailed as he stared at the floor.

"Look, it's nothing personal. I've liked him for a long time. I just thought we could hang out and stuff. You're really cool and you're super funny. I really do want to be friends with you," I told him and he nodded.

"Yeah, we can be friends," he answered, "as long as you dance with me at least once."

"Deal," I told him with a smile.

And though it was a bit awkward for the rest of the night seeing as the only songs that were playing were slow and romantic, I managed to get through it. We danced to one of the last songs playing and it was a slow dance. It felt weird to have his hands on my waist but I lived, trying not to make eye contact with him in fear of awkwardly having to reject a move he might try to make.

Isaiah eventually called me over and I left with him and his twin. Dylan didn't say anything when I got into the car. The twins didn't say much either, surprisingly. I wondered if the rest of the guys were still at the house, though, or if they'd left. Upon entering my home, I figured that if anyone was there, they were in the basement. I didn't bother checking and instead, went straight up to my room.

After I finished getting ready for bed, I held my phone in my hands, struggling to think of a text message to send to Axel. I decided with a simple, I finally did it. As soon as the message sent, I realized the double meaning to it. I finally kissed him and I finally told Sam how I felt. I contemplated telling him what I really meant but decided against it as I plugged my phone into the charger before turning on my side.