In front of me stood a mood board composed of worn photographs, concert tickets, and now a warm letter from the boy next door.

I neatly tucked the plastic container full of silver tacks into my desk drawer. I had never received a hand written letter, and I had never expected one either. Luke's kind gesture was now push pinned into my mind. The soft emotion behind his scribbled words meant a great abundance to me. I always pinned him as reserved and shy and I was right. But his attitude resembles that of a 13 year old girl, which threw me off at first. Now it's admirable. Dare I even say cute.

The letter sat still on my bedside table for a few days. I only picked it up and highlighted in on my bulletin board as a result of my questionable giddy attitude. Today we were meant to join Michael and Kennedy at the fair. A day reserved for me and Ashton, but seemed to be meant for me and Luke.

While it was late September, the mornings were dewy and chilly and the afternoons were hot and sweaty. Nights were warm, sometimes brisk. Fall had just begun, but it felt that summer wasn't exactly gone yet.

A thin sweater clothed my shoulders and a stretched fit pair of jeans kept me comfortable. As well as worn, chunky boots that were patented for this kind of weather.

I was to carpool with Kennedy and meet the boys at the fairgrounds. A short ten minute drive awaited us in her newish Volkswagen. I could've repeated my history in asking Luke to take us there, but it felt too date-ish. I felt that the night was for friends and just a small group gathering in another place that wasn't my home. Or another night that wasn't dipped in liquor.

Kennedy had a surprising taste in music. Judging from her outside appearance, as well all do as humans, we would expect a more peppy pop melody melting from her speakers. Not 70s and 80s rock classics. Kennedy was a replica of her mother.

"Under Pressure" by Queen was one of our favorite songs. I think we had listened to it a million times throughout the course of our friendship, no hyperbole there. We both appreciated the art of music, but could never compose a song or sing perfectly in tune. We did love to harmonize with each other, no matter how horrible it sounded. It was a fun game for us.

"So, is this a date for you and Michael?" I yelled over the music. Kennedy still bobbed her head along to the tune, focusing her eyes solely on the road.

"I don't think so," she loudly replied.

"Okay," I paused in confusion. "Didn't you guys sleep together at my house?" I asked. The details were never made clear to me that night, and I never really asked because I assumed I knew what happened.

"No, oh my God," she quickly spoke. She reach for the knob and turned Queen down. "We just made out and it was stupid," She sighed.

I laughed. What an unexpected sentence from Kennedy, probably the most sought after girl in our grade. "What do you mean 'it was stupid'?"

She sighed as we pulled into the emptying parking lot. We all chose to come later in the night to avoid the huge crowds of crying kids and younger teenagers.

"We were drunk and stupid." She huffed, shaking her head. Her tone lightened as we parked. "We moved past the whole friendship thing and now we're talking, I guess? I hate that word." She groaned. "I genuinely like Michael as a person. And now I feel like drunk me has ruined any good thing that could've come. Not even dating wise, just friend wise."

"Kennedy," I chuckled. "Don't worry about that. From what I've learned about Michael, he seems like a really good and understanding. Just talk to him about it," I assured her as we climbed out from her car. "Also, you're amazing." I shut the door and made my way over to her, meeting her soft smile.

We both shivered under the crisp air. The stars were overwhelmingly visible tonight, even with the blinding red and blue lights emitting from the fair grounds. Kennedy is from a big city where stars very rarely visible and she is always captivated by the stars. Nights are mostly filled with clouds and rain here, so a chance to see the constellations floating above are a wonder to her. It's been her favorite part about moving out to the suburbs so far.

As we met up with the boys at the ticket booth, we all chatted about the cosmic game of connect the dots above us. Luke's voice filled most of the conversation as he spat facts and long technical terms. It was basically a 20 question game between us.

As the night progressed and our tickets ran out, we lost Michael and Kennedy somewhere in between a our hay ride and the funnel cake line me and Luke were standing in. His hand hovered over my lower back as we looked both ways for our friends, a piece of funnel cake making its way into my mouth.

The whole night had been full of dizzy rides and messy hair, Luke talking about his fear of heights, and soft touches. A hand on my waist here, a brush of his hand there. The actions were mesmerizing, leaving me wanting just an extra second longer of the contact. His warms hands always fell so sweetly on me.

We were tired. Hours of squeezing through small crowds and releasing our energy through terrified screams from being whipped around on rides all night. We had lost our friends in the midst of it all. We mutually agreed to head towards the exit, tossing the now empty plate in the trash. We chuckled about the night and Michael's girlish scream throughout the duration of the rides. Those boys were truly something.

I melted as his hand intertwined with mine.

"I had fun," he told me as we followed the crowd towards the exit. He gently squeezed my hand as we squished close together to avoid walking into the people around us.

"Thanks for inviting me," I looked over to him on my right, a smile plastered on both of our faces. "And thank you for the letter."

He looked ahead, his cheeks now soft pink even under the changing colored lights.

"I thought it would be a nice gesture," he replied. I felt small under his lingering stare. His eyes examined every inch of my face and I looked ahead in a brief moment of insecurity.

I felt a pull as I began walking forward, looking over an realizing Luke wasn't walking with me anymore. While our hands were still attached, he stood as firm as stone in a rushing river of strangers.

"Audrey," he begins, but never ends. I let go of his hand and turn to him, my hair flipping over my shoulder. He steps closer to me and adrenaline races through me. We're bumped by the people around us together, now chest to chest. I see his head dip down towards me, and then he forces himself to halt.

I study him as his face turns blue. Then it's red. Orange, yellow, colors as warm as the feeling in my chest. In the middle of the brightest of purples, I reach for the nape of his neck and pull him to my lips. I weeded my fingers through his silky hair, tugging on it gently. He sinks into me and soon we're merging with the green lights.

Blue. Red. Orange. Yellow. Purple. A repetition to match a brand new and unknown action.

They repeat once before I slowly pull back away from him with parted lips. I nervously meet his stare. His normal ocean eyes have deepened to a rich sapphire.

I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. I've drowned out the children screaming on the coasters and the music blaring in the background. It's all hushed.

The left side of his mouth pulls into a soft, content smile. His hand reaches for the right side of my face, gently cupping my flushed cheek and leaning right back into me.

The energy he exerts into me in this very moment is enough to slow down the Earth for just one cherished minute. Kissing him felt like the crescent moon had pulled on every tide in that very second and each peak of each waves was crashing into my chest.

My body tensed as a pleasurable buzz electrocuted me. My hands tugged harder at his hair, pulling his chest closer to mine. He smiled into me, wrapping his arm securely around my waist. We tilted our heads the opposite way to feel this moment from every angle. His tongue gently nudged my bottom lip a few times, allowing me to discover him with a new sense.

We moved with each other more than the sea around us. He was warm in this weather, but his body temperature was becoming hotter by the minute. He tasted of sweet powdered sugar which only made me crave him more.

He pulled gently back from me and tugged me to him. I buried my face into his chest, peering up at him while he looked around the fair grounds with a half smile resting on his face. I felt that we were in an empty room, as the only sounds I heard were the rustling of his jacket as he rubbed my upper arms up and down slowly. His heart beat was in rhythm with mine.

He glanced down to me, catching my eye. He ran a finger over my forehead to push my hair off of my face. His head tilted to the side, studying his action as it were an upcoming test.

"Let's head on home," he whispered, peering down at me with the kindest eyes I've seen on him.

I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist, breathing in his now familiar scent. He broke my grip as he pulled my arms from around him, interlocking our fingers once more and leading us to the illuminated exit sign calling us.

-

A/N:

the chapter murdered me

THANK YOU to for being so patient and this holiday season has killed me. i work two other jobs outside of writing, and wanted to provide only the best for you guys!!

please keep commenting and voting, it means so much!!! I LOVE YOU