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The ceiling was ugly.
And his bed was uncomfortable.
And the air smelled funny.
Everything sucked.
Erik had been lying down on his bed for the past 2 hours trying to forget.
Trying to forget that it was Friday night. Trying to forget that Christine was currently out on a date with De Chagny while he was here brooding. Alone. Trying to forget that surely by now that boy would have completely won her over and they would be planning their wedding. Trying to forget that he was destined to die alone.
The ceiling really was painted a horrendous colour.
Not like the house Christine and her boy would live in once married. He could probably afford glass ceilings or something equally ridiculous–
NO… no… he couldn’t keep agonizing over his Christine-less future. From this day forth he would officially ban any Christine-related thoughts!
He had conveniently decided to forget that the task would be completely impossible because: 1) She sat right next to him in English class and 2) He was deeply unconditionally and passionately in love with her.
Maybe he could simply change schools.
Or move to a deserted island.
Or—
His train of thought met an abrupt end as a distinctive ringtone reached his ear.
Erik bolted across the room to his cell phone and answered the call without even checking the caller ID.
“Christine?”
“Hey Erik! Um, I was wondering if you could give me a ride?”
“Where are you?“
“Raoul had to… well anyway I’d just like a ride if you don’t mind… No pressure tho—“
“Where are you, Christine?”
“At the intersection of Oak and Hillside, near that trashcan Meg puked in last time, remember?” She giggled.
He smiled.
“I’ll be there in 10”
********
Christine wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the road ahead and straining her eyes to discern approaching cars.
It wasn’t Raoul’s fault she had ended their date early. Not entirely anyway.
He had been a gentleman. He’d even held the door open for her at one point.
By all means, most girls would have been more than happy to go on a date with him.
Something was wrong though.
She hadn’t really been able to tell what it was until about halfway through the date.
Then it happened and she knew for sure that this couldn’t be right.
She couldn’t keep pretending once that she knew her heart so she told him the truth. The conversation went well, if not a little awkwardly and they agreed to stay friends… only friends. She certainly hadn’t expected her first date to end like this.
Of course, being a gentleman, Raoul had offered to drive her home but Christine had assured him she would much rather he stay and enjoy the rest of his night. After a bit of back and forth, Christine had finally escaped and called her best friend Meg for some much-needed girl talk.
Her older friend luckily had much more experience than she did and within minutes they were hatching out a plan.
Then Christine had hung up and immediately started dialing a different number.
********
They hadn’t been in the car for 5 minutes when-
“I kissed him.”
“Christine…” he interrupted, sounding almost pained.
“Or he kissed me. I can’t remember.”
“I really don’t—“
“Not that it matters, point is we kissed.” She drowned out his half-hearted protest.
At this, he simply sighed and resigned himself to staring at the road.
“It felt wrong.”
“Oh what did his nose get in the way…” he muttered to himself.
“Yes, actually, that wasn’t the problem though. First kisses are supposed to be awkward like that.”
“As if I would know,” he thought to himself
“But also thrilling, I think. You’re supposed to feel warm inside and maybe a little dizzy too, from the anxiety,” she added.
“Of course,” Erik murmured in response, feeling more than a little sick himself
“Your mind is definitely not supposed to wander off though,” she added quietly, looking away to hide her rapidly reddening cheeks.
Erik barely registered her words as he thought of ways to change the subject.
“You know what I thought about while kissing him?” She looked back at him.
“Christine, please can we talk about anything else—“
“I thought about you.”
A short moment of silence followed before a weak voice broke it.
“Christine, what game are you playing at…”
“Some adorable golden retriever of a guy kissed me and I couldn’t enjoy it because you were in my mind, Erik.” She fidgeted with her hands but kept her eyes on him.
“Do you want a written apology for my monstrously distracting existence?” Erik joked, trying to hide the way his heart was beating out of his chest, his eyes flickering back and forth between the girl to his right and the road ahead. Surely she couldn’t mean…
“Well maybe not written but I do think you should make it up to me,“ Christine said with a confidence she didn't feel.
Erik scoffed.
“It’s very cruel to ruin a girl’s first kiss!“ she protested, hiding a smirk.
“I’m sure you can make it up on your next date,” Erik forced out, more than a little done with the current topic of conversation.
“I don’t think I can actually, I broke things off with Raoul,” Christine said casually all the while scanning Erik's face to gauge his response.
“You what?” Erik struggled to keep his focus on the road as his heart flopped around confusedly.
“We didn’t click” Christine shrugged.
Erik’s heart was racing. Stop dreaming you fool, this changes nothing for you…
“But, back to the task at hand, you ruined my first kiss,” she teased.
“I hardly see how—“
“So I think it’s only fair you make it up to me. Pull over,” she instructed.
“What?”
“Pull over please,”
Erik shot her a confused look. Christine simply nodded her head encouragingly
He surrendered with a sigh. “I can deny you nothing…” he thought as he found a suitable parking spot.
“What now?” Erik clenched his hands around the wheel one last time before letting go and turning to Christine
“Now you kiss me,” she said simply.
His heart skipped a beat before starting again like a galloping horse.
“What did you just say,” he breathed out.
Christine took a deep breath to steady herself, “Raoul kissed me, Erik. And all I could think about was how much I wanted to be kissing you instead. And I’m pretty sure you would also rather it be you I was kissing. So unless I’m incredibly wrong and you have no interest in me whatsoever I think we both deserve this,” she blurted in seconds.
“You will be the death of me,” Erik thought as his entire body froze.
Everything he had ever dreamed of was right there, being offered to him on a golden platter. But surely it was too good to be true? She couldn't actua—
“Please.” she squeaked.
And it was that touch of anxiety in her eyes that finally broke him.
Erik brought his hand to her face, only hesitating a second before caressing her cheek. Christine impatiently pulled at his collar until mere inches separated their faces. Only once their lips grazed each other and their lungs shared the same air did his insecurities catch up to him. Don’t kiss her you monster! Do you want her to die? How dare you taint such an angel!
A small whimper from said angel silenced the demons in his head.
Christine’s eyes had fluttered shut, dots of pink stained her cheeks, and her lips were shimmering slightly.
The sight took his breath away.
“Fuck it,” Erik thought before finally closing the gap between their mouths.
The kiss started off sweet. A simple caress that nonetheless left them both breathless. Erik would have been happy to bask in the moment for all of eternity if it wasn’t for Christine’s wicked hands pulling him closer and tangling themselves in the short hair at his nape.
Now this… this was more than he ever could have imagined. Heat met heat as Christine’s lips parted, encouraging him to do the same until he could finally taste the slight vanilla flavour of her shimmering gloss.
Suddenly, a single hand caressing her wasn’t enough and he lovingly cupped her face with both hands, softly tracing the curves of her ears, jaw, and neck as he angled his face to deepen the kiss further.
Finally, their lips locked together, fitting perfectly, as if carved from a single tree.
He was going to die. He was sure of it. His heart was racing and his chest was burning and surely this was what a heart attack felt like, right? Or maybe it was just what a good first kiss felt like… he certainly hoped Christine would think so.
Or maybe he really was going to die. If he didn’t breathe soon that is.
Christine's thoughts seemed to follow a similar trajectory as she pulled back slightly, though not far enough to completely separate them, their frantic breaths still sharing the same air.
Their eyes fluttered open as reality pulled them back down from the small slice of heaven they had found themselves in.
“Perfect,” Christine whispered breathlessly. Her dazed eyes suddenly focusing on his as she realized she’d spoken the word out loud.
The red of her cheeks darkened and she simply resorted to stuffing her face in his collar to hide her embarrassment.
Erik confusedly but happily accepted the hug, wrapping his arms around her small frame softly, making sure not to damage the precious glass angel snuggled against him.
He leaned down to bury his face in her hair. His mouth found her ear and he whispered to her as if sharing a secret.
“Perfect.”