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Once Maeve’s eyes had finished reading the letter Otis had written her, she ran quickly to her bedroom and retrieved the jumper he had let her borrow the night they had almost kissed for the first time. She tried not to dwell too much on that moment, but she still felt a smile creep onto her face as she exited the trailer and began to sprint up the hill and to where she knew the boy was at the moment. She felt her heart racing rapidly underneath the fabric of her t-shirt, but she still ran, determined to get to him before she missed her chance. Flashes of his awkward smile and things that he had done to make sure she was okay played like a movie on repeat inside of her jumbled brain but she still felt her legs gaining speed, carrying her all the way to the top of the stairs that led down to his house, and she paused for a brief moment to catch her breath, seeing the van approaching from the distance, the van she somehow knew belonged to Ola, and she fisted the jumper in her left hand while using her other to guide her down the railing, colliding straight into the boy in question at the very bottom of the stairs. His hands shot out to steady her, and she gripped the material of his shirt tightly in the same hand that was holding his item of clothing, which he looked at perplexed. She took a few gasping breaths before she moved a few inches away from him, now standing directly in front of him. Their height difference made have normally made her feel frustrated, but all she felt now was vulnerability as she peered up at him through her long eyelashes, still trying to find the right words she wanted to say to him.
“Are you alright Maeve?” He asked, stepping towards her with one hand outstretched towards her. She felt her muscles tense as his fingertips gingerly made contact with the side of her cheek, and she prayed he wouldn’t have felt her now rigid skin underneath his fingers. He brushed a piece of hair from her face and stepped back to where he had been standing previously, and she felt her heart tug at the fact. She still didn’t trust her voice so she just nodded, tucking her finger into her mouth so that she could chew on her fingernails to make herself less nervous. He noticed the gesture and raised an eyebrow, but she just slightly shook her head, looking out into the woods that surrounded his house.
“Well, Ola is waiting for me..” He said after a few minutes of blissful silence, and she felt the color drain from his face as he began to walk away from her. She was panicking and didn’t know what to do to make him stay with her, to choose her, so she blurted out her true feelings to him, not knowing just how much it would change things.
“Otis. You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met too and you’re awkward but you’re there for me and you smell odd but it’s a good kind of odd and to tell you the truth, I’ve been miserable without you these past few weeks. We’re good together, remember? I can’t permanently lose you, I don’t think I could bear that.” She finished, immediately chewing on her fingernail once more as she waited for him to say anything, or even look at her. Just when she thought she had royally fucked up by showing up to his house, he turned back to her and came right up to her, standing so close to her that she could feel his breath fanning against her hair. They didn’t speak for a long time, they just stared at each other, trying to see which one of them would make the first move.
“Maeve…” He started, but she just shook her head, pulling him down so that he was level with her mouth, and she finally kissed him, after so long of denying herself of this, of him. His hands went to her waist and her hands to the back of his neck, slightly pulling at the hairs that were at the nape of his neck, feeling his body jerk at the sudden contact. She smirked against his mouth and kissed him one last time before pulling back, resting her head on his chest, right where his heart was. She heard the rapid beating underneath her ear and she pulled back to rest her hand right where her head had been moments before. She looked at him, and he looked at her, and in the distance, Jean and Eric were watching the scene unfold between the two. Both members were happy at what had just occurred, and they escaped into the house to give them a tad bit of privacy, which the two teenagers were grateful for.
“I’m sorry.” She said softly, her eyes downcast and her facade beginning to crumble, but Otis just wrapped his arms around her, feeling comfortable enough to be so close to her now. He didn’t know what the future had in store for him and Maeve, but he only hoped that it was something good, and as she listened to his heartbeat hammering underneath her ear, she hoped that whatever was waiting for them was good too.