Chapter 27 - Will

    I didn't get to talk to Analise that day.

I wanted to talk to her about my feelings for her. I wanted to get them out in the open, but no sooner than I said that she got a call from someone and excused herself, saying she had to leave and it was urgent. And now, a week later, we were sitting on my couch and I still hadn't gotten to talk to her. Mallory, Toby, Justin, Toby's sister, Lacey, Analise and I were all in my living room with a bunch of food surrounding us. There were pizza boxes, bags of all different kinds of chips - like Cheetos, Doritos of all flavors and lays - popcorn, and even more snack type food.

Justin tried to convince me to throw a party since my mom was out of town for an important celebrity case, but I refused. Not only did I not like the party scene, but I for sure didn't want to be the one to clean it up. So instead I invited my friends over for a mini party and sleepover. Lacey, Toby's sister, was a freshman in college and visiting and so she asked if she could tag along. Justin had taken a liking to Lacey, no surprise there, and I was sat next to Analise while Toby was next to Mallory.

Lacey looked a lot like Toby, brown hair and brown eyes and though you could tell she was Asian, the caucasian was more prominent. She was gorgeous, of course, but there was only one girl for me and she was sitting next to me playing with one of her curls.

We were drinking, but since it was just us I didn't see the big deal. I trusted this group of people. I had comforters set up for makeshift beds in my room, which we would go into when we were ready to go to bed.

"Spin the bottle?" Lacey spoke up, wiggling her eyebrows. I raised mine in response. "Come on guys, it will be fun. No harm, no foul."

"I'm in," Justin piped up, smirking.

Lacey picked up the bottle, spinning it first. It spun until it landed on Mallory. We all laughed, and Mallory blushed bright red. "So siblings, huh, Mal?" Toby teased.

Mallory and Lacey crawled to one another, before briefly kissing. Lacey pulled her more into it, deepening the kiss which earned hoots and hollers from everyone but Toby. Even Analise joined in, laughing freely and I smiled at her. I really loved her laugh.

After that, it was Toby's turn. When he spun, it landed on Justin and he raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Come here big boy," Justin sang, wiggling his eyebrows and making us all laugh.

Toby violently shook his head. "No way."

"I had to do it," Lacey pouted. "Go ahead."

Justin and Toby walked chest to chest, sighing and grumbling to themselves. Toby pecked Justin on the lips before they both pulled away dramatically, wiping their mouths with their sleeves.

"My turn!" Mallory sang, taking the bottle and spinning it. It landed on herself, so she respun, and it landed on me. We both raised our eyebrows, and I looked at Analise who looked almost jealous before she masked it with a small smile. I looked at Toby who offered me a small smile as well. "It's just a game."

I got up and met Mallory in the middle of the circle. "We don't have to if you-"

I was cut off as Mallory grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into her. My lips met her and I tensed before relaxing and deciding to kiss back, for the sake of the game. Our lips moved against each other, and there were no sparks or anything it was just a kiss. She licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance and I declined. Even if it was just a game, she had a boyfriend and to me it felt like cheating. I wouldn't do that to Toby.

We pulled away and Mallory flushed red, smiling shyly at me. I gave her an awkward smile before taking my place next to Analise again. It was Analise's turn, and I hoped she got me. Not because I wanted to kiss her, but because I didn't want her first kiss to happen this way. Her words stuck with me, and this was far from special.

Analise spun the bottle, and it landed on Toby. My eyes widened, as did Toby's and Analise's. Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

Analise sauntered over towards Toby, landing a light kiss on his cheek which made him smile. "No one said cheek kisses didn't count."

"Come give me one!" Justin called with a smirk, making Annie shake her head and take her seat again. Now, it was my turn. I spun the bottle, watching as it spun around and landed very close to me. It landed on Analise. I smiled at her, and she returned it. I leaned in to kiss her cheek, and she looked unsure of something, so I whispered in her ear. "I wouldn't steal it, and especially not this way."

*

We played a couple more games, watched a movie and soon everyone but Analise and I were passed out on the makeshift beds. I decided I still needed to talk to her, about my feelings and about what happened earlier, so I pulled her to my backyard. We sat on the hammock that was situated between two trees, and both laid down, looking up at the stars.

"Annie-", "Rando-" We both started at the same time, making us laugh. "You go first," I told her.

"No, you," she insisted.

I sighed, nodding to myself. You can do it Will. "Look, about last week when I wanted to talk to you. I just-"

"You don't wanna be friends anymore, I get it, I-"

"No, Annie, that's not-"

"Rando, I get-"

"I like you!" I shouted, making her look over at me. "Sorry, for yelling but you wouldn't let me talk and I really like you. I don't want to jeopardize anything, but I can't stop thinking about you, Analise. I would really like to get a chance to show you how much you mean to me and take you on a date."

"Will, I can't."

"I know you said you're not the relationship type and I get it, but I know you have feelings for me too, Annie. There's no way you can't feel this pull between us too."

She got off the hammock, swinging it as she went, and I scrambled to follow her. "I don't," Annie said quietly and I knew she was lying because when she lied her left hand twitched.

"You're lying," I decided to call her bluff. I knew she had to have some kind of feelings for me, even if they were minuscule and I could work with that. I could get her to feel the same way about me as I do for her, if she gave me a chance.

"I'm not," Annie insisted, turning on her heel and pointing at me. "And you don't get to tell me how I feel, Will! I know how I feel."

"Then come here. Come stand right in front of me, toe to toe, and don't kiss me, or hug me or touch me."

She hesitated, hanging her head. "I can't."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, throwing up my hands in frustration. "Annie, sometimes I really don't get you. I know you like me too and you won't let yourself be happy! Why not?"

We were shouting at this point, and I had never been so grateful for having a room in the front of the house. The last thing I needed was to wake our friends up. "I'm in a gang!" She covered her mouth almost as soon as she said it, and her eyes widened.

My own eyes widened and I took a step back, shocked. Had she just said she was in a gang? She couldn't have... She was my Annie, adventurer extraordinaire, but she was no gang banger. She was the beautiful outspoken bad ass spitfire with long curly brown hair and amazing chocolatey brown eyes. Analise had a brother and she lived in a bad neighborhood, and she was kind of closed off a lot of the time but she opened up for me.

She couldn't be in a gang.

"No you're not."

Analise took a shaky breath in, hanging her head in shame. "I am, Will. I joined a couple weeks ago."

"When?" My voice was raspy, guarded, and I physically felt my walls going back up. Had she been lying to me this entire time? Here I was, saying everyone was wrong with the rumors about her and she just confirmed one of the biggest rumors there was.

"A couple days after you got here," she admitted, looking up at me. Tears were streaming down her face and she hastily wiped them away which only aided the new ones to spring from her eyes. She looked broken and I wanted to reach out and hold her and comfort her and tell her everything would be okay. "I needed to help my brother with money. It's not like I wanted to, but the gang was the easiest way to make money and I joined it. He doesn't know and he won't know."

I reached out and flinched when she took a step away. "We can work it out, Annie, but I've never felt the way I feel about you for anyone else. I think you and I deserve a chance."

She shook her head, her curls bouncing around her head. "You don't get it, Will. I can't be with you, I can't put you in danger and besides that I can't do a relationship. You know, I was there when they killed someone a couple weeks ago. I had a gun pointed to my head the other day when I excused myself before we were supposed to talk. They held a gun to my head, asking how loyal I was. I have gang members after me now, trying to get back at my gang and you know what? None of that scares me. But you? You fucking terrify me! The thought of you fucking scares me to death, because I've never felt this way about anyone. I've always done so good keeping it all bottled up, and then you come with your southern accent and your baby blue's and suddenly I'm feeling things I've never felt before!"

My breathing was ragged after her speech, and she was breathing heavily. She shook her head, continuing. "Earlier, I hesitated because I almost turned my head so you got my lips instead. I can't do these feelings, I can't. My life is too fucked up for this, I can't do it."

I felt something wet on my face, and we both looked up to see it snowing. I walked over towards her, and to my surprise she didn't back away. I looked into her eyes, and all I wanted to do was kiss her and show her how much she meant to me. "You don't think I'm scared?"

She raised an eyebrow, urging me to go on so I did. "I've never told anyone about my past. Ever. I felt comfortable enough with you to do that because I unconditionally trust you and it scares me, too. You've heard my story, we're both screwed up and that's okay because we don't have to be perfect to be perfect for each other."

Her breathing hitched, and she stared at me in silence. I wrapped my arms around her, looking into her eyes with the most sincerity I could muster. I wrapped one of her brown curls around my index finger, twisting it gently. The soft lock of hair felt like a cloud and signified how Analise was for me; wrapped around my finger. "You're perfect for me, Analise Loughty. You always have been, and there will never come a time when you aren't."

By this point it was snowing hard, and I really had to focus to see her through the falling snowflakes. Analise gripped the back of my head, letting out a shaky breath. "I don't know how to be the relationship type, Rando."

"It's a learning curve," I told her earnestly, offering a small smile. "Why don't we take it together?"

Almost as soon as I said it, she pulled my head to hers, closing the distance. I tensed at first, too shocked to do anything, but soon enough I returned her kiss with the intensity she was putting out. Fireworks went off in my head and a fire I'd never felt before lit up my veins, going from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. Almost hesitantly, Analise licked my bottom lip for entrance, and this time, I granted it. 

Our tongues met in a battle for dominance, only amplifying the warmth throughout my body. Analise got comfortable, wrapping her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her onto my lap and kissing her feverishly. We poured our emotions out through our kiss; all of our angst, fear, and memories.

Memories of our past surfaced while we kissed with all our might. Memories of the first time we met, at the bridge, making me smile into the kiss. Who would have thought after such an awkward meeting, we'd be here a year and a half later, making out with each other?

Memories of her telling me she wasn't the friendship or relationship type, arguing, the play and adventuring with her. It all led to this, an amazing kiss with snow falling all around us. Forget kissing in the rain, we were kissing in the snow. 

And damn, did I love kissing the girl on my lap.

After we pulled away, I rested my forehead against hers, keeping my eyes closed. "That," I pecked her nose. "Was," I pecked her forehead. "The," I pecked her right cheek. "Best," I pecked her left cheek. "Kiss," I pecked her right eyelid. "Of," I pecked her left eyelid. "My," I pecked the corner of her mouth. "Life," I finished, leaving a lingering chaste kiss on her lips.

I opened my eyes to meet her penetrating gaze. She had the biggest grin on her perfect pink lips and it took everything I had in me not to kiss her again. We were both catching our ragged breathing, seeming as though we had just run a marathon. When she finally caught hers, she nodded. "I'm not the relationship type," she started, making me look down in disappointment. "But I'm willing to learn how to be."

I looked up into her coffee colored eyes which were proving to be my new favorite color. I smiled the biggest smile I think I'd ever smiled, so hard my cheeks hurt and I squeezed her into a bone crushing hug. "Then I will be the best teacher you've ever had."

A/N: Yayyyy. 5 ish more chapters and an epilogue and this story will be complete. HOWEVER, there may be a sequel/spin off to this story, I have an idea but I'm not sure. I'll let you guys know! No promises though. Love you guys