"It takes strength and courage to admit the truth." ~Rick Riordan

• • •

The rest of the week passes with Abel not talking to me or giving me blunt answers.

I don't understand why he's acting like this. Did I do something wrong? Maybe he's lost feelings for me and is thinking of a way to let me down easy.

No ones even telling me what's going on. I know Raphael and Israel speak to him but there's radio silence on my end.

I don't really want to end this term on a bad note so I think I'll talk to Abel today.

I go about the rest of my day like usual except for the fact that it's Noah I walk with in between lessons instead of Abel.

"Is anything going on between you and Abel?" Noah Asks.

I'm torn between telling him about my feelings for Abel or being vague about it because of the way Abel is acting. I mean at this point, I don't even know what's going on.

"What do you mean?" I respond.

"He seems to be avoiding both you and I since we started hanging out. If I had to guess correctly, I'd say he's jealous."

I laugh at his incredulous thoughts.

"There's no way Noah, he doesn't like me enough for that."

"But he's interested?"

"I think so. He was before but I'm not so sure now."

"My advice for you is to talk to him.  But if that doesn't work out, I'll be waiting for you with open arms." He says with a wink.

I shake my head at him and loop my arm through his as we walk out of school.

I spot Abel standing by his car with Raphael, Israel and Rolo and decide to head over there with Noah in tow.

With my arm still locked with Noah's, I stop in front of Abel just as the other three decide to leave.

Abel glares at our arms making me think about what Noah said.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Noah detaches himself and says a quick goodbye before speeding out of here.

Abel finally relaxes a little bit and stares at me intensely.

"We need to talk." We both simultaneously.

Abel lets out a small chuckles while I fight the desire to smile. No way am I giving him that satisfaction.

Abel notices this and sighs while opening the car door for me.

I cross my arms and raise my eyebrows at him.

"Can you please get in the car? We need to talk and I don't want to do it here."

Rolling my eyes, I step into the car and shut the door myself. Abel runs his hands over his face and through his hair while mumbling about me being stubborn.

Me? Stubborn? As if he's not the one who has been avoiding me all week. Stubborn my ass.

Despite the fact that I have no idea where he's taking me, I refuse to say anything until he apologises. I know I said I was going to talk to him today but being in his presence just annoyed me. Stupid irritating sexy boy.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I realise that the car has stopped near the top of a cliff I have never seen before.

Abel steps out of the car clearly expecting me to follow behind.

We keep walking for a few minutes until he stops at the top of the cliff. I move closer to where he is and freeze from what I see.

These cliffs over look the rest of the town in such a beautiful way. Directly beneath is the large lake that is surrounded by several cabins. Looking further ahead, I see acres of greenery that circle the town. The fact that our school is called Avalon Forest makes a lot of sense right now.

"Wow." I say in awe.

We stand there for a few more minutes taking in the orange-red sunset slowly disappearing.

Abel sighs and sits down with his legs hanging off the edge.

I follow suit and wait for him to speak.

"I'm sorry Brown Eyes."

I don't respond.

"I shouldn't have ignored you all week, that was low of me."

"Then why did you?"

"Can you seriously not figure it out Keziah?" He asks with frustration.

"No Abel. I'm not a mind reader. If you'd just talk to me rather than shutting me out like a child, then maybe I would understand." I say with a raised voice.

Abel flinches at my tone and runs his hands through his hair. "What's going on with you and Noah?"

"Are you kidding me right now? I'm trying to talk to you about what's going on with us and you're bringing up Noah?" I scoff at him and shake my head.

"This is about us Keziah! Don't you get it yet? I. Was. Jealous. You bring Noah around and all of a sudden your touchy feely with him. How come you're never like that with me? You know I like you Keziah but if you don't feel the same, I'd rather you tell me than shove it in my face."

Instead of responding I start laughing. What starts as a small chuckle turns into a full on laugh.

Abel gives me a hurt look before facing away.

"So you were ignoring me all week because I made a new friend? Why couldn't you just tell me this Abel?"

"Because I didn't want to push you or make you feel as if I was pressuring you to reciprocate my feelings."

"Considering how confident you usually are, it's a shock to see your insecurities coming out." I take a deep breath. "You're so stupid Abel. I like you so much it hurts. I didn't tell you because I was scared. Noah and I are just friends Abe. It's you that I want." I end with a whisper.

Abel doesn't reply straight away so I pull at the strands of grass afraid to look in his direction.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that Brown Eyes."

He starts to move closer to me and lean downwards but instead of kissing him, I shove him away and slap his arm as hard as possible.

"Don't ever do that again, you had me thinking I'd done something awful. It was a childish way to act Abel."

Abel pouts his lips and widens his eyes to give me his puppy look. I have to admit, it's really cute.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

I stare at him for a second before he pushes his lips out even more.

"Fine."

"I knew you couldn't resist me."

"Don't push your luck boy."

Abel just chuckles at me. I've missed that sound. And his smell. His smell is one of my favourite things about him.

"You realise you're the one I kissed right? More than once in fact." I say to him.

"Like I could forget a kiss like that Brown Eyes. I'm pretty sure I have the hickeys to prove it."

I whip my head towards him immediately.

"No way. That's so embarrassing."

"Why is that embarrassing? I like the fact that you've left your mark on me. It's hot." He whispers seductively.

"Stop it." I say shyly before hiding behind my hair.

"Don't hide your face from me beautiful."

"You know the effect your comments have on me Abel."

"I do and I love it. Now back to those hickeys. I wouldn't mind you leaving some more on me." He states with a smirk.

"Maybe later." I tease.

Abel stares at me in shock before recovering. "Is that a promise?"

                           • • •

Abel and I stay at the cliff until night falls talking about absolutely everything. He keeps finding ways to touch me, whether it's by putting his arm around my shoulder or playing with my hair. Not that I'm objecting of course.

We're both laying on the ground staring at the stars while Abel points out the different constellations to me.

"Look over there." He says. "That's the Big Dipper."

"Where? I can't see it." I respond.

Abel shuffles  closer to me and gently grabs my arms to point to where the star is. "Right there." He whispers.

I turn my head to face him and realise how close we truly are.

Abel's eyes dart down towards my lips before looking back in my eyes as if looking for permission.

Slowly, we both lean forward until our lips finally touch. Unlike the other kisses, this one is more soft and tender yet equally as passionate. It's like Abel's a bit hesitant to act as he did before and I don't like it. So I kiss him harder and tug at his hair causing him to moan and kiss me back with just as much intensity.

Happy with how it turned out, I begin to move back with one more peck on his lips.

We stare at each other for a moment longer until Abel speaks. "You're so beautiful." He whispers.

I go to reply before I'm interrupted by the loud ring of my phone meaning I'm getting a call.

Checking the name, I realise it's my mum. I internally cringe knowing that it's 10pm and I didn't let her know where I'd be.

Preparing myself for the long lecture and punishment, I answer my phone.

"Hi mum..."

"KEZIAH YEMI CALLAYO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN! IT'S TEN ON A SCHOOL NIGHT AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN CALL OR TEXT TO LET US KNOW WHERE YOU ARE! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE YOUNG LADY! YOU'RE LUCKY YOUR-"

I pull my phone away from my ear to get away from the loudness and anger in her voice. I give Abel an apologetic look before bringing the phone closer to listen to the end of her rant.

"-COME HOME RIGHT NOW!" She Shouts extremely loudly.

I hang up the phone and gently place it on my lap as I sit up. Clearing my throat I speak up to Abel. "So, I have to go home as you probably heard."

"I did. Your mum sounds..intense." He replies.

"Oh you have no idea. Can you please drive me back? I really don't want to be skinned alive tonight."

Abel lets out a small chuckle probably believing that I'm kidding. I wish I was.

"I'm not gonna get you in trouble am I? I can talk to her if you want?"

"Worst idea ever Abel. She'd ban me from seeing you and I doubt that's something you want."

"That would be disastrous."

Abel stands up and dusts himself off before stretching out his hand for me. I grab it and he pulls me up bringing me close to him.

Despite the temptation to stand on my tiptoes and close the distance between us, I restrain myself and walk back to where he parked his car.

Strapping ourselves in, Abel begins the drive home.

"I'm glad you opened up to me Brown Eyes."

"Me too Abel. But knowing that you were jealous does make me feel wanted."

"Of course I want you Keziah. Only you." He says with a smile.

Abel then reaches over and interlocks our hands placing them on my right thigh. He starts rubbing small circles on the back of my hand making me sigh in contentment.

Even though this talk has happened, what does it mean for us? Are we together now or are we dating? He didn't exactly clarify so I'm guessing we're taking it slow, not that I mind.

Seems that only time will tell.

• • •
A/N:
I've always wanted a place where I could go to be alone with my thoughts. If we had cliffs and hills where I live, I'd be there all the time but sadly, I'm stuck in the confinement of my room.
Does anyone have that location that they love?

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