"Detail me.  Now."

Instead of texting me back like a normal person, Kyla called me.  Was I surprised?  Not at all.  Text messaging would never provide a sufficient amount of information—at least, not in Kyla's eyes.  She needed to hear the sound of my voice, the way the words came out.  That way she could tell that I was kidding or not.

I leaned forward on my bed, resting my chin on my hand.  "Well," I murmured softly, "we were at his house."

"You were?" Kyla shrieked.  I blinked, for a moment not understanding.  Why did she sound so shocked that I was at Dannon's house?  Everyone else knew.  Oh, right.  I'd totally forgotten to tell her about Dannon's and my plans.

"Yeah."

My voice was so soft that it sickened me.  I sounded so out of it, so dazed.  It was like he had kissed me, even though he didn't.  And, what was wore, Kyla noticed this as well.  "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, her voice growing higher-pitched with each word.  "Did you guys kiss?"

"No," I murmured.  "I'm getting there, okay?"

"Damn, Bri, if you could only hear yourself right now.  You sound so out of it."

I did notice, Kyla.  Thank you for notifying me.  "I know."  I tried my best to laugh, but failed miserably.  "Anyway, we went to his house and worked on the project.  Then we went outside and played beer-pong, except it was with fruit punch."

Kyla laughed.  "Nice!  You know, I've always wanted to do that.  Maybe sometime we should—wait, wait, I shouldn't be talking.  Continue!"

I fell back in my bed, staring up at the ceiling.  I blinked, visualizing myself in Dannon's bedroom again, his eyes boring into mine like he could see right through me.  I could feel myself getting lost in them all over again—and he wasn't even here.

"Brianne?"

I blinked, my reverie slipping away.  "Sorry," I mumbled.  "Tom video-taped us while we played.  And then, when the game was over, he told us to go back inside and work."

Kyla sucked in a breath.  "You didn't work, did you?" she breathed, sounding like a child being told a horror story.

I shook my head, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't there.  "No, we didn't."

Kyla laughed giddily.  I could just imagine her sprawled out on her bed, her eyes wide as she spoke, feeling great about herself because she'd been correct.  She was probably ecstatic enough about this for the both of us.  I would have been excited, but this was so unlike me.  I just . . . I couldn't.

After a moment of silence, Kyla groaned.  "Lady, supply the information!  I'm dying here."

At this I laughed, and I actually managed to sound like my usual self.  "Sorry."

"Don't apologize!  Get on with it!"

Way to be impatient, Kyla.  "Okay, so we were just lying on his bed.  And then I looked over at him, and he was staring at me."

"Awwwww!" Kyla squealed.  "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!  I think I'm hyperventilating."

Choosing to ignore her, I continued on as I held my hand in front of my face.  I flexed my fingers, a distant smile on my face.  "Well, nothing happened, Ky," I mumbled, more than a little disappointed as the words slipped off my tongue.  "Tom walked in right as we were about to . . . kiss."

It took me a while to find the strength to say the word out loud.  Kissing was something that never really entered my mind before.  I didn't want to kiss anyone at school—well, I did now, but that wasn't the point—so why would I think about it?  Kyla used the word constantly, saying that she could kiss a good number of the school's population.  I'd never really said the word while thinking of me kissing someone.  But now?  All I could think about was what would have happened if Tom hadn't come into the room.

"Who's Tom?" Kyla demanded.  "I'm going to strangle him!"

"He's Dannon's dad," I said, my soft voice returning.

"Are you two, like, dating now?" Kyla asked excitedly, her anger at Tom already forgotten.  "Please tell me yes!"

"Sorry, but no," I murmured, my eyes darting to my bedroom window. I scared me how much I wanted to be Dannon's girl.  Was it even possible for a person's view on life to change within a single moment?

"Dammit," Kyla muttered.  "He's going to ask you out though, trust me."

My heart instantly contracted at her words.  I bit my lip, not understanding what was going on with me.  Just yesterday Kyla saying that Dannon was going to ask me out would have irritated me.  But now?  It was reassurance. 

Damn.  I'd turned into such a girl.

"Yeah okay," I replied despite the feelings churning within me, shaking my head.

"He will."  She paused.  "Well, I have to go.  My mom is demanding that I clean the stupid hamster's cage.  He's not even my hamster, and I have to clean up his mess.  There's something wrong with this world, I tell you!"

I let out a small grin, shaking my head at my friend's dramatic-ness.  "All right.  Bye."

I hung up the phone and stood up.  I stretched my arms out, my eyes shooting to my doorway.  I wondered what my family was doing.  Did they notice my expression when I walked through the door?  It was impossible to tell.  I sighed, deciding that it was time to face them anyhow.  They were going to come up here wondering why I was being anti-social soon, anyway.  So why bother avoiding the inevitable?

Wasn't I so brave?  I thought so.

"Brianne, are you all right?" my mom asked anxiously as I made my way down the stairs.  She stood in the kitchen's doorway, a rag in her hand.  "You and Dannon didn't get into a fight, did you?"

I shook my head, smiling.  "No, we're good."

Garrett appeared from behind my mom.  His eyes narrowed, and I instantly knew that I was screwed.  "But something happened," he said slowly.

The next thing I knew Garrett was dragging me down the remaining stairs and slamming me into one of the kitchen chairs.  I winced as pain seared through my butt.  Ouch much?  I was really tempted to give him hell for making my butt hurt like that, but I decided not to.  Instead I settled with a, "What the hell are you doing, Garrett?"

Yep.  So much better.

"Brianne language!" my mom huffed as she stepped in, retreating back to the sink to finish off the dishes.  Notice how she didn't tell Garrett off for dragging his innocent baby sister to a chair?  I'd call her sexist, but that would mean she went against her own gender.  That would be kind of demented. 

"Sorry, Ma," I mumbled, not really feeling sorry at all.

Yay!  I was beginning to sound like myself again!  However, I had a feeling that once Garrett started forcing information out of me, I was going to retreat back to Scary Quiet Brianne. 

"Spill," Garrett demanded sternly, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood in front of me.  I bit my lip to keep from giggling at the outrageous expression on his face.  Sure, he was trying to pull off the  "I'm so serious" look, but it really wasn't working out for him.  In fact, I couldn't take him seriously at all.

I scoffed.  "There's no spill anywhere, nor is there anything to spill."

Garrett's eyebrows arched angrily as he scowled at me.  "Do not make me go get a piece of rope and tie you up."

I rolled my eyes.  "Ooh, are we going to play Cops and Robbers like we used to when we were younger?  I mean, it's been ages, so I may be a little rusty. . . ."

"You're being excessively sarcastic," Garrett pointed out, a triumphant expression spreading over his face.  "You're hiding something."

Damn.  Did I always do that when I had something to hide?  No one ever pointed that out to me!  "What do you want, Garrett?" I asked, slumping back in my chair.

"Aha!" Garrett shouted suddenly.  "So you are hiding something."

I didn't answer, deciding that sarcasm wasn't going to help me in this situation any longer.  I simply settled into the chair, getting as comfortable as I possibly could.  I was going to be there awhile, that was for sure.  I mean, I wasn't just going to tell my family that I had a crush (more like a crush on steroids) on Dannon.  A part of me just really didn't want them to know.

"Brianne Nichols!" Garrett hissed.  "Tell me what you're hiding right now."

"No," I said bluntly, crossing one of my legs over the other.  I placed my hands on my laps, shooting a smirk Garrett's way.  Leave it to him to turn me back into myself.  That sounded weird, didn't it?  Oh well.

"Bri, you're hiding something from your own family?" my mom asked, looking mortified.

I resisted the urge to snort.  "Mom, you have no right to talk.  You were hiding the fact that there was a growing being inside your body."

My mom huffed, setting a plate into the dishwasher.  "That's different!  I was waiting until Garrett got here to tell you."

Garrett, choosing to ignore my mom's outburst, continued to glare at me.  "We're going to play twenty questions," he said stiffly, regarding me with annoyance. 

"And what if I say no?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"Then I'll call Dannon and ask him."

Yeah, like Dannon would tell him.  Or would he?  I bit my lip, suddenly nervous.  "No!" I hissed before I could stop myself, feeling my pockets for my cell phone.  I was the only one in the household who had Dannon's number, so if I had my phone I'd be safe.

I stifled a gasp as Garrett held up my cell phone with a devilish smile.  How had he gotten that?  I was just talking to Kyla.  I glared, reaching forward to snatch the phone from his grasp.  But, Garrett being Garrett, he pulled his hand away at the last moment and my hand caught nothing but air.  "Just tell us, Brianne," he said slowly, grinning meanly.

I scowled.  "You're such a jerk, you know that?"

Garrett flipped my phone open.  "I'm going to Contacts!" he announced loudly.

I scrambled up immediately, ripping the phone from Garrett's grasp.  "Cut it out!" I yelled.  Reacting like this wasn't going to help me at all, but what was I supposed to do about it?  It was natural for me.  Well, at least I thought it was.

Garrett stood there stunned for a moment, but quickly shook it off.  "What happened between you and Dannon?"

The question caught me off guard even though it probably shouldn't have.  I mean he was trying to get me to spill information from what happened at Dannon's house.  The question was bound to come up sooner or later, right?  "W-w-what?" I sputtered out, not knowing what else to say.

Garrett's eyebrows rose.  "So something did happen between you two, right?"

Dammit.  Why did I have to pull such a predictable stutter?  "I don't know what you're talking about," I forced out, knowing that I didn't sound convincing at all.  Way to dramatize it, Brianne.

"Oh, I think you do," Garrett mused, his lips pricking up at the sides.

Why did I suddenly feel like I was in a horror movie where someone was taken captive, strapped in a chair under a single ray of light, and then killed after divulging information?

"You think a lot of things," I said finally, glancing at the ceiling.  "That doesn't mean you're always right."

"You're avoiding eye contact!"

I sighed, letting my eyes settle on Garrett again.  I scowled. "Why do I have to tell you everything?"

"Because this is about Dannon," was his genius reply.  "And when it comes to you and Dannon we want to know everything."

That was disturbing on so many levels.  "Do you have any idea how creepy you sound?"

"Yes, and I really don't care.  Tell me or I'll call Kyla."

I stared at him blankly.  How did he know that Kyla knew already?  I was just about to ask Garrett that much, but he waved his hand dismissively before I could even get a word out.  "You always go to her first.  Now, tell me!"

"Fine!" I hissed, crossing my arms irritable cross my chest.  I directed my glare at the ceiling, not wanting to look at Garrett when I said the words.  I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to say.  "ImaykindasortalikeDannon," I muttered as quickly and as quietly as I could.

"Come again?"

I smiled, sliding my gaze to Garrett's confused one.  "Nope, I told you.  That's the best you're going to get."

Garrett stared at me for a long moment, appearing pissed that I got away with my information.  I grinned, shaking my head as his face contorted itself with irritation.  You'd think he'd learn by now.  But no, he didn't.  Because he was Garrett.  And Garrett never learned.

Then, all of a sudden, my phone was ripped from my grasp.  I gasped as Garrett pulled back, chuckling evilly.  "Now, Brianne," he drawled, waving the phone threateningly in front of my face, "you're going to tell me, or this phone is calling Dannon Barone!"

"Mom, Garrett's blackmailing me!" I cried.  Usually I'd be kidding, but this time I seriously didn't want him to go through with what he was threatening.  If he called Dannon—let's just say that would be beyond embarrassing.

"I'm not going to do anything about it," my mom answered, closing the dishwasher and turning to face me.  "You're hiding something from me.  I don't appreciate it."

I shrieked in dismay as Garrett pressed a button and brought the phone to his ear.  "Garrett, gosh dammit, shut the phone right now!" I shouted, from my spot in the chair.  I wanted to get up, to throw myself at him and grab the phone, but I couldn't.  It was like I was super-glued to the seat.

Garrett shook his head, smiling.  "Oh, hey, Dannon!"  He paused.  "I'm great!"  Another pause.  "So, Brianne, is hiding something from me, and—"

Finally I was free of my invisible bindings and I flew forward, snatching the phone away from Garrett and placing it against my ear.  "Sorry, brother's being an asshole," I said simply.  "I'll call you later."

Before Dannon could reply, I shut the phone and shoved it into my butt pocket.  "Are you happy?" I demanded, glaring at him.

"None of this would be happening if you would just tell me."

I huffed and slammed myself back into the seat.  "Fine."

Garrett waited patiently, knowing that I was actually going to tell him this time.  He stared me down, waiting for me to open my mouth and finally explain to him in a way that he could understand.  I took a deep breath and just said it.  "I like Dannon, okay?  Are you happy now?  Satisfied?"

My mom and Garrett gasped simultaneously.  I sighed, resisting the urge to let my head fall in my hands.  Great.  I'd just damned myself to forever chatter and embarrassment. 

"OMG!" Garrett shrieked, practically jumping up and down with excitement.  "OMG, OMG, OMG!"

I opened my mouth, ready to make fun of him for his very uncreative use of a very uncreative not-even word, but my cell phone suddenly rang off, cutting off my non-existent reply.  I sighed deeply at the sound of Toybox singing their song about Barbie going to party.  I guess Dannon wasn't in the mood for waiting for me to call back then.  Dishing my phone out of my pocket, I flipped it open and pressed the Talk button before bringing it to my ear.  "Hey, Barone," I mused.

"Hey there!"

I cocked an eyebrow at my mom and Garrett.  They stood there, staring at me with intense—and frankly creepy—gazes.  With a shake of the head and a roll of the eyes I mouthed, "You guys are unbelievable!" before sauntering out of the kitchen without a single look back.  "Hello," I mumbled.

"Well, don't you sound cheerful this evening?"

I couldn't help but crack a smile as I flopped onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling.  I was so thankful that my sappy, dazed voice was gone, and my normal voice had returned.  If I'd talked to Dannon while my voice sounded like that—oh damn.  I'd be so embarrassed.  I probably wouldn't even open my mouth to speak at all.  "You can be cheerful enough for the both of us," I said simply, noting his elated tone.

"Nuh-uh," Dannon said, the cheerfulness all but pouring into his voice.  "I'm going to make my project buddy cheerful!"

It sickened me that I found the cute. "You just called me project buddy," I muttered. "That is not good."

Dannon huffed.  "And why not?"

"Because."  That was my amazing reply. Genius, right?

"That is the lame-est comeback I have ever heard."

"I don't care," I said with a snort.  "And didn't I say that I was going to call you later?"

Dannon didn't answer for a moment.  My eyebrows came together in confusion.  There wasn't any noise in the background, so he obviously wasn't talking to Tom.  So what else could it be?  I listened hard, trying to hear something.  But there was nothing.

And then, after a moment of waiting, I finally understood: he was just trying to think of a retort. 

"Would you like me to hang up?" he asked finally, feigning hurt.

"No," I said with a sigh.

"Aww Brianney wants to speak to me!"

"You're being creepy," I muttered. "You just called me Brianney. And why do you sound like a three-year-old?"

Dannon grinned. "I'm just in a really good mood."

Good mood my butt. He was in more than a good mood. I'd seen him in a good mood. This was significantly higher than that. "Uh-huh, okay."

Again it was quiet.  I strained my ears, curious when I heard what sounded like voices in the background.  Was he talking to Tom now?  It wouldn't surprise me.  Our conversations always seemed to end when Tom called to him.  But I was proven wrong when he spoke to me again.  "Hey, you wanna go somewhere?"

Yes, yes I do. "We already saw each other today."

"So?"

There is no so. I'll go anywhere with you. I was going to kill my inner thoughts. "So, won't your dad get a little suspicious?"

"Suspicious? Him? Nah!" Dannon chuckled. "Besides, it'll be for the project."

I craned my head to get a quick look at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall.  It was about four o'clock.  If I decided to go—which we all knew I would—I'd be able to get back home in time for supper.  At least I thought I would.  And, honestly, I didn't even know if I wanted to be home in time for supper.  Feelings for Dannon aside, I had a feeling my mom would be cooking tonight.  Blech.  "You just dropped me off a half-hour ago," I felt the need to point out.

Why was I making excuses? It was so totally obvious that I was going to say yes.

"Why are you being so difficult?"  Dannon whined. "We both know you're going to say yes!"

I scowled. "You're in the car right now, aren't you?"

Dannon grinned.  "Yep! I'm two streets over."

That little—!  "Fine," I said, letting out a deep sigh.  "I'll get my shoes on."

I hung up the phone and stood up. As expected, Garrett and my mom were close by, obviously eavesdropping. I rolled my eyes at them before grabbing my shoes from near the door and shoving my feet into them. "I'm going out," I told them.

I headed up the stairs and entered my bedroom. I grabbed my camera and sweatshirt as swiftly as I could, and then I was hurrying down the stairs. Garrett was at the bottom of them, grinning like a total girl. "So, you're going out with Dannon, aren't you?"

"We're going to work on the project," I said, holding up my video camera for emphasis. "I don't need you and Mom getting all worked up over it, okay?"

Garrett smiled. "Me? Get worked up? Never!"

I scoffed, pushing past him and heading to the front door. "I should be home for supper, all right?"

"Have fun!" my mom called giddily.

I threw open the door and stepped outside.  I couldn't help but let a giddy grin slip onto my face as Dannon's car pulled into the driveway almost immediately.  Butterflies fluttering around in my stomach as Dannon waved, I trotted down the porch and started down the lawn.  Dannon rolled down his window, calling, "Heya!  You know, I am fully capable of walking up to your porch."

I smiled, jogging the rest of the way to his car and hopping inside.  "I know," I said simply, fixing my hair before buckling my seatbelt.  "But I didn't exactly know you were here yet."

"You were planning on waiting out here?" Dannon cocked an eyebrow. "So unlike you."

I bit my lip. It was, wasn't it?

Dannon grinned, pulling out of the driveway and starting down the road. "I was just kidding, Bri."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I know that."

I glanced at Dannon from the corner of my eye, hoping to see that spark. I didn't even care if it was tiny, distant, in the background. I just wanted to know that it was still there. I smiled when I saw that it was, and it wasn't tiny, distant, in the background. It was so obvious that I was ashamed to have not seen it before hand.

"What are you looking at?" Dannon asked suddenly, pulling me from my reverie. "Is there something on my face?"

I began to laugh uncontrollably as Dannon wiped his face frantically, trying to get the non-existent food off. "Dannon, there's nothing on your face!" I exclaimed, clutching my stomach as I became wracked with giggles. 

Dannon's hand instantly fell. He smiled, his eyes crinkling as he did. "Then why did you tell me I did?"

I scoffed. "I did no such thing!"

Dannon shoved me playfully, keeping one hand placed firmly on the wheel. "Did too!"

I shoved him back. "Liar!"

Dannon said something in retort, but I barely heard him.  I became acutely aware of the fact that I had no idea where we were going.  At all.  My eyebrows creased s I tried to think of all the possible places we could be going—I came up empty.  "Hey, where are we going?" I asked, my arm receding.

"I win!" Dannon called victoriously, apparently deciding to ignore my question.

I stared at him blankly. "Where are we going?" I repeated.

"We're going to a lovely park."

A park? I gave him a weird glance. He was bringing me to a park so we could work on our project?  I didn't really understand why we were going to a park of all places—but hey, this was Dannon we were talking about.  You never really knew what crazy idea he had up his sleeve. 

"What's the look for?" Dannon asked with a grin. "Parks are a lovely place to do homework!"

I shook my head, deciding not to fight him on it.  I leaned my head against the window, pondering what we were going to do while we were there.  Was Dannon going to climb more trees?  I almost giggled at the thought.  I picked at my sweatshirt placed in my lap, visualizing him at the top of the trees, all but reaching the top of the world.

Oh.  My.  Gosh.

Why was I starting to think of him as high and mighty?

Damn.  Crushes made girls crazy.

 For the next few minutes I tried to squash down my thoughts about Dannon (unsuccessfully of course).  Saying that I was thankful when we finally reached the park and parked the car next to a curb was a complete understatement.  I threw on my sweatshirt as we headed down a pathway, not wanting to carry it anymore. The camera felt like dead weight in my hands. I had no motivation to take it out and start working.  Not when these stupid feelings were brewing inside me.

My thoughts were suddenly caught short as a hand suddenly grabbed onto mine.  I almost gasped out loud when I saw my hand intertwined with Dannon's.  My eyes shot to his.  They were filled with questioning, as though he was asking me with his eyes if what he was doing was okay.  I smiled, showing him that what he was doing was okay—more than okay, actually.  If he only knew how much I enjoyed his hand holding mine. . . .

 "Okay, so, we have some footage," Dannon murmured, "and we have some information on each other."

I nodded.  "Yes."

Dannon grinned. "But we don't have enough."

I cocked an eyebrow.  "It's quite obvious that we don't have enough footage."

Dannon stuck his tongue out at me.  "Enough information about each other, silly!"

I brought my free hand—well, my hand with my camera—to my heart with a gasp of mock horror.  "You don't know me?" I exclaimed, a giggle escaping from my lips.  "I'm hurt!"

Dannon smiled.  "I know you. Just not enough about you to put in context."

My eyebrow, which had just fallen down, went back up.  I found it seriously hard to believe that he didn't know enough about me to put into context.  He was with me all the time.  He knew my family, my habits, the way I acted in every mood. 

Damn.  He seriously did know me.

"Well then," I said, instead of pointing this out to him.  "Get on with the questioning."

Dannon began asking simple questions like "Where is your favorite place to be?" and "What is your least favorite place to be?" He also asked things about what I wanted to do when I grew up (which was being an editor by the way), what I hated doing the most, and every other thing that you could possibly imagine. He even asked me what my allergies were. Yes, because that was going to be important in our project. "This is Brianne and she's allergic to bees!" That was a killer right there. Literally. I got stung by a bee once and almost died.

"Okay, last question," Dannon said.

I sighed, ready for the stupid questionnaire to be over. "What is it?" I asked impatiently.

"Why did you really throw that apple across the cafeteria?"

I stopped walking.  Dannon stopped with me, turned, and smiled.  I stared at him blankly.  How—how in hell was I supposed to answer that question?  The answer all in itself . . . it could change everything between us.  Did I really want to risk what we had because of the stupid apple?  What if he didn't feel the same way?  What if—oh my gosh, did all teenage girls flip out like this when they were with the boy they liked?  This was ridiculous!  And to think I made fun of these people earlier this year . . . I sympathize greatly with them now.  "I told you," I muttered, my internal uproar coming to an end (sort of).  "Kyla told me to."

Dannon's smile grew.  "That's not the whole truth, and we both know it."

I started walking again, sighing.  There was really no point hiding an ulterior motive now.  "How did you know it wasn't the whole truth?"

Dannon grinned.  "She must have been really harassing you to throw it, or else you wouldn't have. We both know you don't enjoy getting in trouble at school. So, the question is, what could have possibly bugged you so much that you would chuck an apple, risking detention?"

I bit my lip.  "Kyla threatened to blame it on me."

"I know."  Dannon chuckled.  "You could have gotten out of that though. You just wanted her to shut up, right?"

Damn. He really knew me, didn't he?  "Yes," I muttered finally.

We continued walking silently for a moment.  I kept my eyes trained on the ground, tormented inside.  Should I tell him?  Should I not?  It seemed really pointless not telling him, seeing how I already had feelings for the guy anyway.  But, then again, did I really want him to know about them yet?  Part of me said yes, I really wanted him to know.  Another part of me, the rational part, told me that if he found out something bad could happen.  What kind of bad thing, I wasn't really sure.  The worst I could think of was that he wouldn't return my feelings and he'd never talk to me again.

Scary thoughts much?

Finally, after what felt like forever, I decided that I was going to tell him.  "Kyla wanted to see something," I muttered.

"And that something was?"

I took a deep breath. Just go for it, Bri, I thought. "Who my future love is."

Dannon's face remained blank. That could not be a good sign.  "Come again?"

Oh. He was just deaf.  "She wanted to see who my future love is," I repeated, louder this time.

Dannon's eyes lit up in shock.  I watched him nervously, hoping that I hadn't just made a huge mistake.  He wasn't one to mock people when he knew they weren't kidding, but I still remained anxious.  My internal nightmares of rejection returned, and I had to resist the urge to let our hands fall so I could bolt.  In the back of my mind I prayed to God that my hand hadn't started sweating.  It didn't feel sweaty . . . but, then again, my mind was pretty much trained on his reaction.

And then Dannon broke into a smile. "So, did it work?"

I looked at him, and even without replying, I knew that he realized that the apple experiment had in fact proven to be successful. Dannon smiled brightly, squeezing my hand slightly. My eyes widened. What the hell did he mean by that?

All of a sudden, Dannon let go of my hand.  "Race ya!" he hollered.

I stood there, dumbfounded as Dannon jogged off.  "Dannon, you little brat!" I yelled, beginning to run after him. "I have a camera you know!"

I didn't even know where the crap he was going. But, me being me, I ran after him, wanting to at least catch up to him. We weren't even running for that long and I was heaving. That just showed you how much I work out. Yep, every single week.

Dannon stopped in front of a tree. I ran up to him, punching his chest lightly.  "That wasn't nice!" I teased.  "I hate running!"

Dannon grinned, grabbing my arm and twisting us around so that I was the one pressing against the tree's bark.  "Dannon, what the—?"

I looked up at Dannon and stopped speaking immediately. He was staring at me again, so intently. I glanced down at my camera, knowing that the thing was just going to be dead weight and was going to seriously get in the way. So, being as discreet as possible, I bent down slightly, allowing the camera to fall lightly to the ground. Dannon glance down at the fallen camera and looked back at me. A smile idled on his lips.

I bit my lip, wondering if I had read the moment wrong. Could you really blame me? I was new at this, geez!

And then Dannon did something I didn't expect: he brought a hand to my hair, pushing the stray strands behind my ear. My breath caught. His hand moved hesitantly down to my cheek, so soft and warm against my skin. "Bri," he whispered.

Time legitimately froze.  People stopped walking.  Birds stopped chirping.  The wind stopped blowing.  Everything seemed to freeze, even Dannon and I as we stared each other down.  I couldn't breathe.  Was this what romance was like?  Feeling like you were going to suffocate all the time?  That was incredibly stupid.  Yet, there was a part of me—an irritating part of me—that loved the feeling.

Then, he closed the space between us instantly, his lips pressing against mine.

I don't know how to describe what I felt. The only thing I could concentrate was the fact that Dannon's lips were on mine, moving in sync. Don't be mistaken. It wasn't one of those heated, passionate kisses. And I was glad about that. I never wanted my first kiss to be like that. As corny as it sounds, I wanted a kiss exactly like this.

As we kissed I could feel Dannon's free hand idling my waist.  I brought a hand up to his cheek, caressing it.  His skin was so freaking soft! He must have used some sort of body lotion.  Wow, Brianne.  Your first kiss and you're thinking about what body lotion he used?  Nice.

Dannon pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.  "So that's what a kiss feels like?" he mused softly.

I laughed quietly.  "I suppose it does."

"No wonder people do it all the time," Dannon continued cheerfully.

I smacked his arm lightly. "You're so weird."

Dannon nodded solemnly. "I am weird. It's true."

I sighed, leaning back on the tree. It was amazing that I was able to, seeing how I was pressed against it already.  "So," I murmured, "what does this make us?"

Dannon smiled, closing the distance between us for another, quick kiss. He sighed slightly, pulling away again. "Brianne Nichols, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

I grinned, shrugging lazily, mocking nonchalance even though on the inside I was screaming, Yes! Yes! Yes!  But, the rational side that I was fighting this entire time took over, and I forced myself to stay calm.  I smiled, taking his hand in mine. "Well then, I guess I'll do."