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The young boy swore he could’ve mumbled the phrase under his breath. His heart stopped when his friend suddenly turned her head, an innocent look of curiosity on her face.
“Oh? Do ya want me to?” she asked, a rush of light pink beginning to dust her cheeks.
He froze, feeling his face turn red. Bede was usually good at keeping his thoughts and secrets locked up tightly. Today, however, he was suddenly not.
“Wh-What?” he managed to ask, snapping up in shock.
“Y... Ya said you were wonderin’ why I hadn’t kissed you yet,” Marnie said, her voice growing quiet towards the end as she put a hand up to her mouth.
Bede mentally smacked himself for being so unaware. No one in their right mind would say that about their friend they just so happened to really like. They would say that about someone they were romantically interested in, someone they loved. Bede only happened to like Marnie a lot, but she was just his friend, nothing more than that in his eyes. Even if he thought she was...no, no use in embarrassing himself. She was just a friend.
“I was just...thinking about something I had seen earlier,” he muttered as he glanced to the side. He pulled up the collar of his jacket a bit to hide his face, feeling how red it was. Marnie nodded, but said nothing more for a while, merely keeping her eyes on him as she pondered over something. She looked a bit troubled, her lips tight as she struggled to speak out.
“M-Maybe...we could try it...if ya want,” she murmured, her voice nearly at a whisper. The room was so quiet, you could hear a Joltik scuttling across the floor.
Bede felt his face burning now. He could only manage to squeak out a small “wh-what?” in response.
“I-I mean-! Just to see what it’s like...” Marnie mumbled, wringing her hands as a blush slowly overtook her face.
“I... R-Right.” Bede gave a sigh of relief. Of course she wasn’t asking because she actually wanted to kiss him. It was just out of curiosity. Just to see what it’s like, as she said in her own words. His heart wasn’t currently rushing because he was ecstatic at what this could mean, no, of course not. He had already told himself that there were no romantic feelings here. The blush on his face, the fluttering of his heart, the joyful feeling currently flowing through his very being...nope, all coincidental.
Marnie cleared her throat a bit before fully turning towards Bede, her eyes still fixed on the ground. Though she hesitated for a moment, she slowly raised her hands and held his face. His heart jolted at how gentle her touch was, but he still said nothing, praying that she wouldn’t notice the unnatural warmth of his face.
Marnie closed her eyes for a moment before forcing herself to make eye contact with Bede. She took a deep breath, attempting to clear away the blush settled on her face. It suddenly felt hard for her to look at him, she couldn’t help but notice how his eyes were a much more vivid violet than she initially thought, or how his face felt so soft even with the cold detached look he usually had on, or how his soft white curls lovingly framed his face, giving it an almost angelic quality...she really did need to stop distracting herself so much.
“Okay...this will just be a simple, quick thing. Just...only for a second,” she said, almost like an attempt to reassure herself. Bede only nodded, his words would only stay caught in his throat and refused to be vocalized.
Marnie quickly shut her eyes, lowering her eyebrows in quiet determination. She took yet another deep breath, she had been feeling unusually unsteady in these last few minutes. She couldn’t back out now, her curiosity implored her to just get on with it.
The moment went as quickly as it had come. Her lips may have lingered on his for only a very short moment, but it was merely just a quick peck. She pulled away almost as quickly as she had leaned in, looking down at the ground immediately afterwards. It felt sweet, soft...she now knew she wouldn’t mind doing it again. She almost had to stifle a small giggle as her heart continued fluttering in her chest and her face was overcome with a shade of pink.
Bede, on the other hand, was a mess. His face felt like it was on fire now, he desperately wished to shake off the feeling. He felt lightheaded, a joyful sort of daze overcame him as he kept remembering the quick feeling of her soft lips on his. He held onto her arms for support, feeling like he could pass out at any moment now. His heart was melting in his chest, and worst of all, he could barely stop staring at her. Would he mind doing that again? Of course not, but he wouldn’t dare tell her that. He kept his mouth shut in an effort to keep himself from saying anything embarrassing, though his vocal cords felt like they were seldom working anyways.
Realizing she still had her hands on his face, Marnie pulled them away and put her arms behind her back. Her gaze stayed fixed on the ground; she just couldn’t bear to look at the boy in front of her right now. She continued replaying the moment in her head, having to hide her face with a hand as the blush on her face grew brighter.
“S-So, um...th-that’s what it feels like, yeah?” she managed to stammer out. Why was she so nervous? She had never felt like this, not until she had held Bede’s face in her hands and... but he was just a friend, wasn’t he?
She glanced over at him, barely noticing his reddened face that he was hiding with his pulled-up collar. He was having a very hard time keeping himself steady, but he was managing. Marnie nearly giggled at the sight, thinking it was cute... she shook her head quickly to get that thought away.
She spoke her next words almost impulsively, unable to stop herself once she realized what she was saying and catching the boy incredibly off-guard.
“...Do ya maybe want to do that again?”