Gold on your fingertips
                Fingertips against my cheek
                   Gold leaf across your lips
                  Kiss me until I can't speak.
                     - hostage; Billie Eilish

"I just love it! Everyone here, together again!" Mom's words ring in my ears as I stare down at the steak on my glass dish.

Mrs. Peters grins. "Oh, we're so happy to be here, Kat." Next to her, across from me, Austin lightly scoffs. Mrs. Peters gives him a subtle motherly glare and he returns her glare with a sarcastic smile.

I roll my eyes and grab my fork. "How are things in college, Julia?" I reach for my knife.

Julia smiles at me. "Amazing, I've met a lot of great people. I have amazing, intellectual professors and mentors that will definitely help me where I need be. Hopefully, along with business, I can continue to take my extra music courses. It is a lot, but in the end I'm pursuing my dream career, and its all that really matters."

I cut into my steak. "That is so cool- you pursuing your dream and all. I've really missed you! You'll have to tell me more details about your amazing adulthood journey, later on." I playfully wink at her as I slip a piece of meat into my mouth.

Julie laughs before taking in a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "What about you, though? How's senior year? Anything amazing happen to you? Any cute guys?" She looks for an answer as both my parents and Austin give me a warning glare.

I feel so attacked, right now.

I put my silver utensils down and wipe my mouth with the napkin on my lap. "We'll talk later." I tell her, exasperated, and give her a knowing look.

Dad clears his throat. "How about you, Austin? Getting any action? Besides the football kind, of course!" Dad chuckled as I flinched, cringing visibly.

How embarrassing!

Austin notices my reaction as he takes a bite of his meat and places his fork on his plate. "Well, you know my girlfriend, Lyla?"

Dad frowns. "Felds? Their kids are a bunch of spoiled brats and their father- at work he's such a pric-."

I hold my hand up. "Dad," I warn him.

Austin raises an eyebrow at me and I pick up my utensil again. "Well, Mr. Stone-."

"Call me Tom."

Austin nods.  "Tom, Lyla Felds became my girlfriend after I dated your daughter for a period of time," I furrowed my eyebrows.

Where the hell was he going with this?

Austin eats his potatoes and shrugs unenthusiastically. "Lyla and I broke up."

The dining room fell silent and Olivia mouthed the words: 'oh my god' from across the table.

The sound of forks clanking against plates filled the thick awkward silence.

Mom reached for her napkin and wiped her mouth delicately. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, dear."

I looked up from my plate. "When did this happen?"

His lips parted in surprise as if the mere thought of me saying a single word to him was shocking. "I don't know, two weeks ago. Why?"

I shrugged "Doesn't matter."

It did. That was when our last encounter occurred. It was when I had spilled strawberries all over the store's tile floors.

Dad looked puzzled. He sighed. "Can I speak to you before you leave, Austin?"

Austin nodded. "Okay, sure."

Silence embedded the room again as we all finished our meal. The adults chatted amongst themselves, effortlessly, while the young adults remained silent, hiding secrets in their awkward silence.

"Should we start with some never have I ever?" Landon pops the cap off of the beer easily.

We were all sat in a circle, in Landon's room. We finished dinner and were now deciding on what our entertainment should be.

I was picking at the loose threading on the guest room carpet, hating all of Landon's ideas. "Do we have to?" I whined.

"Don't be a pussy." Landon scoffed at me.

Julie rolled her eyes. "Language! Protect these innocent ears." She places her hands over Olivia's ears.

Olivia pushes Julia off of her and she lands on Austin. "Get off me, fatty!" Austin scowled.

Julia punched his arm roughly. "Don't call me fat! I'm the oldest, I can call you fat! It's not the other way around." Austin rolls his eyes as he rubs a sore spot on his arm.

Austin slyly smirks as he lifts his shirt to reveal a very toned abdomen. "There's nothing fat about this this, baby." He gestures to his body.

My eyes flit over to his toned abdomen and my cheeks turn red. Austin smirks pointedly at me as he puts his shirt down. "Does this bother you?" He asks, teasingly.

I let out a puff of air and scoff. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, baby." I mock him and his deep voice.

On my left, Landon groans. "Stop flirting, and take a sip." He shoves the bottle of beer into my hands. Some of it spills onto my sweater as my fingers clutch around the neck of the bottle.

I groan. "You suck, Landon." I wipe the wet spot on my sweater furiously as Olivia chuckles from my right side.

"Never have I ever?" Landon, wide eyed, begs with his hands clasped.

Olivia laughs. "You're such a child."

I chew on my lip nervously. "Fine." I shrug.

Landon grins. "Olivia, get some plastic cups from downstairs so we can split this evenly." He refers to the beer.

Austin scoffs with a light chuckle. "Split what? We'll all get, at least, three sips each."

Landon smirks. "It's like our warmup. The beer runs out, spin the bottle begins."

Austin shakes his head, his brown hair falling over his eyes. "You're a smart man."

The bedroom door opens and we all freeze.

"Relax, it's only me." Olivia slips into the room and locks the guest room door behind her.

I roll my eyes. "For Christ's sake, if I get into to trouble, I'm blaming the two of you!" I point to Landon and Austin.

Austin scowls. "Me? What the hell did I do?!"

Julia gives him a look. "What didn't you do?"

Landon coughs into his obnoxious laughter. "Shit, I love your sister. I'll start." He says as Olivia takes the beer bottle from him and pours it's contents into the individual cups. I get up from my spot and grab a wooden tray to spin the bottle on. She places the bottle on the tray as we each grab a cup for ourselves.

I sigh. "And you're sure the door is locked?" I ask Olivia with a worried glance.

She nods. "We're in a safe zone." I nod and purse my lips.

Landon nudges me, rattling the liquid inside my cup. "Quit being such a prude." I glare at him.

"I'd like to stop being the bud of your jokes." I complained and Julia laughed as she swished around the alcohol in her cup.

"Never have I ever gotten high while my parents were home?" Olivia interrupted eagerly.

Austin chuckles. "So, we're just going to dive in, aren't we?" He mused.

Olivia huffed. "Well?" She pressed.

We all looked at each other before Austin, Julia, and Landon each took a sip.

Olivia giggled. "Who knew we were so innocent?" She wiggles her eyebrows at me as I rolled my eyes playfully at her.

I crossed my arms as I stared at Austin. "Since when did you get high?"

Julia laughed uncontrollably, tying her best to muffle her laughter behind her hands. "It was in my senior year. Jenna brought brownies to help me feel better over a breakup. I was watching Netflix while I was eating them. Austin came in, didn't even ask, and ate them. We both got high in my room together while our very own parents were in the living room downstairs."

I crack a smile. "Jenna Michels? She was always a druggie. I wonder where she ended up."

Austin chimes in. "I have a pretty good idea."

Landon laughs, shaking his head. "Okay, I have one. Never have I ever had sex?"

Everyone waits and watches. Landon is the first to down a sip confidently and smirk.
"Don't act so innocent, people."

I swore as I threw my head back with my sip.
Julia sipped from her cup and Austin sipped from his. He stared longingly at me for a while until I realized Olivia hadn't taken a sip from her cup.

Julia squeals. "Really? You're so fucking cute!" I grinned when I saw Olivia turn a bright shade of red. It was rare for her to feel embarrassed.

Olivia cleared her throat. "I-I want it to be with someone special. That I love- I'm not about to give it away to someone who will take it and walk away with it." She defended with a shrug while Landon rolled his eyes and silently mocked her.

I smiled at her and rubbed her back. "I respect that. It's amazing- I.. used to feel the same way." I confessed as I frowned and Austin's jaw clenched.

Suddenly, Julia stood up and raised her cup, downing every last drop. Landon's jaw dropped. "What about the game?" He whined.

"The game sucks." She winks knowingly at Olivia and I notice Olivia give her an appreciative grin.

Austin pours the rest of the drink down his throat. "Spin the bottle, then?" He ran a hand through his messy brown locks and laid down on the rug.

Landon grins lopsidedly. "I'm down."

I glared. "Let's just get it over with." I reach for the bottle but Austin reaches at the same time and our fingertips touch. I retract with a gasp.

I clutched my tingling hand in my other hand, holding it against my chest in shock.

"May I?" He raises an eyebrow.

I swallowed nervously, nodding shyly.
"Be my guest."

"What the hell was that?" Olivia hisses in my ear. I run a hand over my face.

"Later, Olive." I scold her and she raises her hands up defensively.

The bottle spins at a nauseating speed, aiming at every person in the room. It slows down, pointing at Landon and I, before stopping at Julia.

Austin rubs his hands together. "Truth or dare, Jules?"

She hums, moving her long hair to the side. "Dare." Her eyes have the familiar Peters mischievous sparkle. It's a beautiful sight to see, but one that brings back old memories.

"I dare you to give Landon a kiss." Austin laughs loudly. Landon's eyes widen. I've never seen Landon not confident. To say I was surprised, was an understatement. I couldn't understand why he was so nervous.

Julia made a face before giving Austin a look. "You do realize that has to be the most cliche and ridiculous dare ever?"

Austin sheepishly shrugged before frowning. "I had better ideas. I thought it was going to land on someone else." He protested as gazed over at me. I shook my head and sighed.

Julia muttered under her breath. "I will do it." She crawls over to him and sits on his lap. "This is pretty gross, since you're only sixteen and I'm nineteen. But might as well make it worth your while, right?" She sighed and put her hands on both of his cheeks. Julia leaned in and connected their lips passionately, for a solid minute, before releasing him and his red lips.

Landon is stunned and frozen as she spins the bottle and wipes her lips. I laugh uncontrollably along with Olivia at our awkward cousin.

Austin scrunched his nose in disgust, shaking his head. "That has to be the most disgusting thing I've ever witnessed. I never want to see my sister making out with someone ever again."

I giggled and he made a gagging noise before grinning at me. When I saw his grin, I turned away and frowned at the floor. Olivia nudged me playfully and smiled comfortingly at me.

The bottle spins again and I watch Julia's eyes stare intently at the bottle, anticipating it's next move. The bottle slows down to a stop, pointing directly at Austin.

Julia does a little dance and cheers as he groans. "Karma's a bitch, little brother."

Olivia whispers in my ear. "This ought to be good." I nodded anxiously.

Austin drags both of his hands down his face. "Dare. God, what do you want me to do, Julia?"

Julia smirked and patted him on the back. "Since we are developing a pattern of cliche dares, I want you to spend seven minutes in heaven with Kimberly in her bedroom."

Austin stood to his feet, adjusting his button up shirt. "Alright, let's go."

I put my hands up. "What? No, there is no way in hell-."

Landon interrupts. "The Peters obviously got some game, that kiss was fire. Why not?" He aims all of this at Julia.

I look at him incredulously. "I know, he's my ex. Why the hell am I going to go in there? This is bull-."

"Because if you don't," Julia cuts me off with a smirk as she crossed her arms. She was devious. She almost looked as if she had a plan. "You'll have to streak down your street."

My eyes go wide as my body burns.
"You're fucking crazy." I shook my head vigorously.

Everyone's laughs were loud and slightly restricted. As if they felt bad, but they couldn't help but laugh at my expense.

"I wouldn't mind that." Austin gloated with a smirk.

"Because you're a pervert." Olivia said dryly.

I stood up and advanced to Austin's side. "You know what? Forget this. I'll do it, let's go. I don't give a damn."

Olivia whoops. "Go girl!"

"This is going to be great." I heard Julia whisper to Landon as Austin opened the bedroom the door and we exited Landon's room.

I cut Austin and led the way. I knew he knew his way around the house and to my room, but I felt the need to guard my space. I felt anxiety rise because I was letting him in, letting him into my space.

I opened my bedroom door, carefully peering over my shoulder, making sure our parents weren't aware of what was going on. Once the close was clear, I entered my room and wrapped my arms around myself.

Austin closed the door behind him slowly and locked the door. He sighed before leaning against the door and gazing into my eyes.

The beating of my heart became irregular and my breathing became jagged. "W-What do we do?"

Austin got off the door and stalked toward me. He placed his hands on my cheeks and ran his right hand through my hair. He trailed his hand down my cheek, to my shoulder, down my arm, and finally my hip. With a hand on my cheek and a hand on my hip, he smiled genuinely before drawing a shaky breath.
"I want you."

My mouth feels dry and I feel confused. I turn my head away from him and his hand falls as I push away from him. "No. You can't say things like that."

Austin reaches for my hand. "Why not? It's true." I step away from him and shake my head.

"No, Austin, I can't do this again. I know that I made a mistake. I have to live with it every single day. I cheated on you because I thought you were the cheater! I was stupid. But you didn't give me any reason for me to believe you-."

Austin's lips are parted in shock. "What? What is that supposed to mean, exactly, Kimberly?" He uses my full name as he expresses his anger.

"It means, you went right ahead and date that-that popular Barbie slut!" I blurted and gasped, once it came out of my mouth.

Austin's jaw drops and he laughs bitterly. "That's not fair, you fucked my best friend and didn't even tell me. You know, I think that's better than dating the most popular girl in school."

I sat down on my bed and scowled. "She knew you were taken and she still pined after you, Austin!"

"Kimberly, that didn't even matter! I didn't love her, I loved you!" Austin ran his hands through his hair, stressing out.

I licked my chapped lips and looked down at my white carpet. I heard his footsteps come closer and soon enough, his black Converse were in front of my own fuzzy sock covered feet. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

With only two fingers he lifts my chin, gently. "I want this. I want us. I want you, Kims. God, I want you." Austin's confident facade shatters as his voice shakes and the hand holding my chin trembles slightly.

I feel my eyes water. "Do you really? Do you promise?" I close my eyes, scared of his answer and of my own tears falling.

I feel his hot breath hit my lips as he exhales. "I do. I love you, Kimberly. I miss you, terribly. I miss everything about us. Our midnight runs to Taco Bell, our 2 A.M. phone calls- even the days where we just hung out and did nothing. Because I was with you, Kimberly. You're my everything. You were a part of my life, a part of me. I've been depressed, searching for that part of me. Looking for it in all the wrong things and people, including Lyla. I'm sorry, just please forgive me, Kims." He croaks and strokes both of my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

My eyes are still closed and hot tears run down my face. "I love you, I forgive you." I keep my eyes closed as I cry harder.

"Open your beautiful eyes, Kimberly." Austin coaxes me. I swallow my pride and open them slowly, to find a pair of dark brown ones, staring into my own.

Austin laughs breathily. "Hi."

I sigh with relief and smile. "Hey."

He places a hand behind my neck. "Did you know that I'm in love with you?" His thumb still drew circles on my cheek.

I grinned. "Maybe?" I pretended, while my eyes fell to his lips, that looked so inviting.

Austin's swallowed and his mouth twitched upward. "Well, you should. Always..." He said slowly and trailed off as he pulled my head closer to his own.

My lips brushed against his own. "I should?"
I replied, almost out of breath. My breathing became short and my heart raced inside my chest.

Austin's eyes closed and he sighed against my mouth. "Forever-yes, you should." Austin lost his patience and finally pressed his lips against mine. I moved my lips against his and laid back on my bed. He continued to kiss me, his soft lips against mine, in a passionate manner. This kiss was for real. He showed his raw emotion. His love for me, his pain, his longing, it was all there. Austin ran his hands down to my hips, squeezing them he dipped his head beneath my chin and kissed the hollow base of my throat. I sighed and let an embarrassing moan slip out.

"I love you-." Austin was interrupted as the door slammed opened and I propped myself on my elbows.

In my doorway, Landon, Olivia, and Julia stood shocked and amused at the compromising position we were in.

Julia smirked. "Times up, guys."

3000+ WORDS

WHAAAAAA
LOOK AT DIS. AN ON TIME UPDATE AND AN EXTRAAA LONGGG CHAPTER!
I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT! KIMBERLY AND AUSTIN ARE GOING TO GIVE ANOTHER TRY 😍😭 I LOVED THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE AS I WAS WRITING THE KISS SCENE, PERFECT BY ED SHEERAN CAME ON. SO IT WAS PRETTY SPECIAL(:

THANK YOU ALL FOR UR PATIENCE! I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER!

QOTC
IS KIMBERLY AND AUSTIN GETTING HACK TOGETHER A GOOD THING?!

SOTC
hostage - Billie Elish

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PS IF MY FONT CHANGES IN THE AUTHORS NOTE ITS BECAUSE I AM SUDDENLY HAVE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES 👀 ALSO WE MIGHT HAVE 2-3 CHAPTERS LEFT IN THIS BOOK

(Unedited)