Kissing You And The Rest

By

Sparkling Acrobat

.

.

Life was such a pain.

I glanced around the forest-inspired place that was my room (mental note: I needed to pick up all those clothes laying around everywhere) to finally fix my eyes on the figure comfortably sprawled all over Blu, my green bean bag. I had to tell her if she was going to help me –and she was going to help me.

"So," I mumbled. And there died my pathetic attempt to start a conversation. "Um, what was your New Year's Resolution?"

Fantastic. That was a great way to bring the topic subtly in. Not.

"To graduate with high grades and all of that," she said off-handedly.

I sighed. So much for trying to talk to my best friend. What happened to the old 'and you?' everybody said even if they didn't care?

"Caroline," I tried again.

This time, she lifted her pretty brown eyes to meet my blue ones. "Yes, Clover?"

Dang it. She used my name –she knew I was up to something.

Nervous, I twirled a strand of my auburn hair around one of my fingers and started to play with it. "Well, um, I –you –well," I paused and breathed. This wasn't going so fabulously. "Do you want to go to the mall today?"

Caroline, with all the sense she usually had, put the magazine she was reading and sort of straightened herself on Blu. "Why?"

I smiled a little. "I need to go fulfill my New Year's Resolution?"

Ok, that wasn't supposed to be a question.

She squinted at me (probably because Caroline had the vision capabilities of an old bat) and folded her arms.

"And it has to be today?" She asked, brushing her black hair out of her face.

"Well, yes. It has a time limit." I twirled my hair some more –this wasn't going well.

"What is your New Year's Resolution?"

I heard my phone go off and dived for it somewhere among my many pillows. Great, a distraction.

What u up to 2day?

"Who's that?" I heard the object of my current mortification ask.

"Jack," I answered promptly.

And then I looked at her only in time to see her smirk. I rolled my eyes. Why was it that one couldn't have hot guy friends without everybody thinking it was something else?

Going 2 the mall. Hopefully :) I texted back.

I took a sharp breath; it was now or never. "To kiss every guy I see in the next," I checked my watch, barely seeing the numbers. "Fourteen hours."

Scared, I looked at Caroline, silently waiting for her angry lecture on being careless, stupid, and having babies before thirty-three. I must say I was less-than-amused to see my beloved friend doubled up and laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

I hoped she choked.

I glared at her, arms folded, patiently waiting for her to stop. After what I swear were three full minutes she looked up at me, face red and eyes watery.

Then she blinked five times. "You can't be serious."

"Yeah, I've heard that before," I answered. Truly, I had –from my Mom and Dad and Raoul.

"Why?" She asked eventually, her face bearing an expression I had only seen before in cartoon. It was pretty funny.

"I told you: New Year's Resolution," I answered flatly.

"I heard that. But why?"

I pouted. "Because I'm sick of this!" I exclaimed a little overly dramatic. "I'm sick of being a goody-two-shoes, I'm sick of carrying everyone's expectations on my shoulders, and I'm sick of being dateless all the time!"

Caroline looked skeptically at me. "And you think going around kissing every guy is going to get you a date?"

"No," I replied. So much for keeping up my cover.

"Then why?" I opened my mouth to give her a list of reasons why I felt so unappreciated and needed to prove to myself that I was worth it –but before I could start spitting out nonsense, she interrupted: "And don't give me all that self esteem crap again."

Shoot. She knew me too well.

This was my family's fault, really. It was a family tradition to choose a theme for our New Year Resolutions; this year the theme had been 'the craziest thing you think of'. Mom had decided to wear all red every Friday, Dad's was to eat meat only when Mom was hormonal (not that rare), and Raoul had said he would stay away from every Linda he knew –which was just a pitiful excuse to dump his current, clingy girlfriend. Guess what the craziest thing I could think of had been.

But I couldn't tell Caroline all of this –she'll think my family and I are nuts! Which we are, but there was no need to make it public.

I smiled brightly. "Because I want to," I said.

The look Caroline gave me was priceless, really. If only it weren't at me she was staring, life would be just peachy.

"Fine," she muttered after successfully drilling a hole in my head. "But we need to narrow down that resolution of yours. You can't just go around kissing every guy you see. We need some parameters."

I tilted my head to the side. Huh, I hadn't thought of that.

"Right." I thought for a second. "Black hair."

She nodded. "What about his eyes?"

"Green. I like guys with green eyes."

"And older than you, I suppose," Caroline said, smiling for a reason I couldn't quite discern.

"Yes. I don't want to go to jail for being a cougar or something." I shuddered –it was a possibility, you know.

She smiled a little wider and I smiled back, unsure of why we were smiling. I just hoped I hadn't gotten myself in more trouble, somehow.

*~*

Mental note: hiding behind trashcans is very unpleasant.

"Why are you being such a coward now, Clover? This was your idea!"

I looked up at Caroline, arms folded and the expression of a murderous dictator on her face. Ha ha ha. It wasn't funny. But I guess she was right. Grumbling, I stood up from behind my safe hiding place and looked around the mall.

The place was packed. Didn't people have things to do? Family to see? Dogs to feed?

I had already kissed three guys (two of which Caroline had spotted) and managed to make one of them the run away. What? I wasn't that ugly. I sighed (once again) and saw Caroline point to my right. I saw him instantly: black hair, green eyes, older than me. I was doomed. Maybe I could just say he didn't count like I had done with my brother (because, really, Raoul didn't count); but I knew my family would ask my only witness if I had done it and Caroline was terrible at lying.

So I straightened myself and solemnly marched toward the guy, who was staring at the RadioShack window like God himself was behind it. He didn't even notice that I was awkwardly standing beside him.

"Hi," I squeaked. He looked at me uncertain. "Yes, I'm talking to you," I said, trying not to sound like a bath duck again.

"Oh," he replied smartly.

"Say, is your hair really black or do you dye it?"

Hey, I had to be sure, right?

"It really is black," he stuttered, bringing his hand up to his head.

I frowned. That. Was. Not. Cool.

"Fine," I said. And without any further thought I stood on my toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek –because, now that I thought of it, I never said to my family that it would be on the lips. Ha! So there.

I jumped back as fast as I could. I was blushing, he was blushing, and then I walked away. I just hoped I never saw that poor dude again.

"Look at you! Christmas is over, dear," I heard Caroline's mocking tone to my left. Really? Did she have to mention I was blushing? Like I wouldn't know.

"Not funny. I think I gave that poor guy a heart attack," I mumbled.

She shrugged and pointed in another direction. She was having way too much fun with this. I grumbled and walked up to the black-haired guy sitting in the food court with his little group of friends.

"Hey," I said, tapping him on the shoulder so that he would turn.

He did, and his green eyes met my blue ones. He looked… arrogant.

"Hey," he replied giving me an (very) obnoxious once over.

I wasn't so nervous anymore. "Do you dye your hair black?" He looked at me in confusion and shook his head no. "How about your eyes? Are those contacts?"

"What? What's wrong with you?" He looked quite offended. I stared at him, the giggles of some of the people from his group as out romantic background. Ha, behold my sarcasm. "They are real, woman."

He did not just call me that. Determined, I bent down and gave him his kiss, retrieving as fast as I could in case whatever mental condition he had was contagious.

"Pig." I stuck my tongue out at his ridiculous face and, impersonating the best snob, walked away toward Caroline.

Caroline, my friend, who was cackling and scaring kids around. I didn't know I was so entertaining.

I heard my phone go off, the default ringtone filling my ears.

i see u ;)

That wasn't creepy. Not at all.

Still, I smiled at Jack's text, forcing myself not to look around like I was paranoid. Quickly, I texted him back and patiently waited for Caroline to pull herself together.

"Are you done there? I have many more assholes to kiss, if you don't mind," I said when she had lessened her cackles to a very graceless giggle.

"Oh, let's not make them wait." And that just came from the girl who thought boys might still have cooties.

We started walking again. Well, Caroline was walking; I was trying to show her every decent article of clothing I saw so that she got distracted and possibly stop spotting all those guys. Really.

Then, she halted to a stop. I looked at her confused and she smiled.

Then, I saw her malevolent finger point in front of us. "There's another one over there. I need to go to the bathroom, dear."

And with that she left me. Friends these days! I looked, trying to pinpoint whoever she had mentioned, but only managed to blush once I saw the black-haired guy coming toward me smiling –how cute was that?

"Hey," he said in that husky voice of his once he got close enough.

"Hey, Jack," I replied stupidly.

Wait, what just happened to all my neurons? They can't just all quit on me like that!

"You alone?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I shook my head, incapable of doing anything else. Ok, so I did have a little crush on him. "Are you okay, kid? You look like a thousand red bulbs lit up together." He smirked. "Is it my charm?"

And there went my crush. "Don't flatter yourself, idiot. I'm not blushing because of you, I'm blushing because of," I stuttered, frantically looking around and finally spotting someone. "Him!"

Jack frowned and followed my motion. I swear I saw him tense under his red shirt.

"That guy? Why?"

"Because I need to go kiss him if that hair and those eyes are real," I replied, satisfied for no real reason.

Jack didn't look so smug anymore. Score.

"And why exactly do you need to go kiss him?"

"Well, you see," I started, adopting my best knowledgeable tone. "My New Years Resolution was to kiss every black-haired, green-eyed guy in the next," I checked my watch. "Eight hours. If they're older than me, of course."

I smiled. He smiled, too. Hold on right there –why was he looking so amused?

"Of all the stupid things you've done… So you've been kissing guys like that all day?" He asked, the smile dancing around in his handsome lips.

I did not just think that.

"Kinda," I said before any other thoughts could leak into my head.

"Well then," he said, arms opened. "Where's my kiss?"

"It's –wait. What?" I glared at him, dumbfounded. His green eyes bored into my blue ones. Oh, snap. "You don't count!" I exclaimed –ok, I squeaked.

"Yes I do," he said with the airs of someone who knew what he was doing. Did he really have to look so inviting?

"But –I," I started, but was rudely interrupted when Jack put his arms around me and kissed me.

Funny how kisses shut you up, isn't it?

I blinked, unable to fully close my eyes, and was still trying to process everything when he pulled away, a mischievous grin on his face. I opened my mouth ungracefully in an attempt to say something.

"Well, if you insist," he whispered before kissing me again.

Yes, I kissed back. I'm not a retard.

Some indefinable time later he pulled away. I managed to keep my mouth close this time –go me!

"Wait, wha– why, what just happened here?" I asked, composed. Right.

"It was my New Year Resolution," he chuckled out.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "To kiss every blue-eyed brunette? That's kinda unoriginal, you know."

"No, you idiot," he replied not looking the littlest bit angry. "To kiss you."

Wow. Anybody wants to tell me why the earth is spinning so fast?

"Good. You finally told her. Can we go eat now? I'm starving," I heard a familiar voice and, sure enough, there was my dearest, loveliest friend Caroline.

I looked at her, then at Jack (who was still holding me for some unexplainable reason), and a second later my internal light bulb just went 'Bing!' (Meaning it turned on. Don't judge)

I stared at Caroline. "You told him what I was going to be doing here!"

"I told you she'll figure it out," he said at an open-mouthed Caroline.

I was not stupid, people.

But then she recovered and all was good and perfect again. "Whatever, you two needed to get on with it already. If you keep that pace, babies won't come until you're forty-seven."

I blushed profusely, even more when I saw Jack's wide grin. I was not having babies with him.

"You like me?" I blurted out.

He rolled his pretty green eyes –they were way prettier than pig-boy's. "You were the only one who hadn't noticed."

"No, no," Caroline said. "I'm pretty sure Ms. Peterson didn't know either."

I frowned. And that would be because Ms. Peterson was almost as blind as Caroline, seriously needed hearing aids, and had been on sick leave half of the school year. Amusing.

"Let's go eat before you make her implode, C," Jack said.

Yes, let's do that.

We started walking around the food court trying to choose what we wanted to eat. Jack's arm was comfortably placed around my shoulders (which I didn't mind, really) when, out of nowhere, a blond kid jumped in front of us. I blinked a couple of times at his cute, smiling face; he must have been around thirteen.

"Hey. So I heard you were giving kisses for free. You're really hot, you know that? Can I get a kiss?"

There was the energizer bunny for you.

I was going to say something when Jack interrupted me –I really hoped this didn't develop into a habit. I may just have to kill him.

"Sorry, dude. She has a boyfriend now," he said, successfully dismissing the little guy.

I poked Jack on the side when little blond boy was gone. "I do not have a boyfriend."

"Yet, sweetheart," he said getting really close.

I looked away and blushed. I heard Caroline laugh and Jack pulled me a little closer to his body.

I smiled. As I said, life was such a pain.

.

.

N/A: Hello, doodles! How be everybody? :) This was my submission for SKOW's first prompt... contest... Thing. Anyway, you can find the guidelines on the SKOW page if you wish to dig on what inspired this madness. Although I doubt you do.

What did you think of it? Comments, anybody? You know they make me happy.

Btw, this was NOT meant to be deep of anything of the sort -any deep (possibly twisted) meaning you find in this story was totally accidental.

Lurves!

Sparks.