As he lets go of my lips, I take a few deep breaths to control my throbbing nerves as well as the soaring excitement. A blush creeps up to my cheeks, making me look away from his way.
I feel so flushed realizing that I wasn't the only one who felt the uncalled tension, the intense pull to break through.
He also felt the same way, and so why he kissed me.
But at the same time, it feels so unfair and illicit, like I've committed a grave crime, whose guilt I have to bear for the rest of my life.
The situation is like I've already took a leap off the cliff, both in figurative and literal sense, but now I'm regretting for not thinking beforehand of the consequences, it may follow.
"Umm...I ..uh," Eric starts speaking, scratching his neck. "Sorry. I..uh..got carried away. I should've keep it in check. I'm sorry."
As soon as those words left him, reality hits me harder than before.
Something shatters inside me. I can't exactly pinpoint what it is , or why I feel like this way. All I know is that I just do.
Now that he already regretted it, I feel so cheap and trashy that I kissed my best friend, and even enjoyed it for the whole time being.
Damnit! It's so embarrassing and so twisted.
Alright then. If he is going to act like this way, I'll do the same.
"Yeah, same for me. Sorry! Just forget that anything happened."
Eric laughs, nervousness drapes him around wholly.
"Yeah, definitely. Sure thing," He assures. "Besides, it's not like it's your first time. Right?"
Oh yes! How can I forget....it's my very first kiss?
And out of all people, it has to be with my own best friend!
Sweet creeps! Gosh!
My first kiss is my best friend.
I close my eyes, bite down on my lower lip in sheer embarrassment, and feel like face-palming myself over and over again.
Can't just the ground beneath me break apart and swallow me inside?
That would be at least better than standing in front of him all by myself.
Mustering up all the courage I got inside, I slowly open my eyes up and try to look at him with confidence, ready for a denial.
"Yeah... Yes! I've dated quite a few in the high school," I manage to speak. "It's not...you know... I mean...um....I'm used to. No big deal."
I end with a nervous chuckle.
I mean, it's a white lie. It means no harm to anyone.
Eric doesn't speak for a moment, as if trying to comprehend whether my reaction goes hand in hand with my words, to figure me out. It makes me even more giddy and I gulp down the lump forming at the back of my throat.
"No way!" Eric blurts out, being the same gobsmacked as me when I realized it first. "Holy guacamole! You gotta be kidding me! How come you never kissed a guy before?"
"Ugh! Are you deaf? I clearly told you I've got a few dates before, which usually lead to kissing," I try to reason.
But who am I kidding? I have been home-schooled for the most of my life except for kindergarten. Plus, I'm a forever loner. I've always considered guys as nothing but weird rock-head specimen. They creep me out, so I've always tried to keep them at bay. Of course except this one standing in front of me.
In our childhood, it was always him who first came up to strike a conversation between us, with his goofy toothless smile. He was the nagging clueless type and I had been the tougher one, always scaring him away. Despite that, he always came back. I guess, he was too persistent to give in so easily and I loved that about him.
"Okay, alright!" Eric puts his both hands up. "I'll just pretend I believe you."
"Ugh!" I groan, rubbing my temples with my thumb and index.
He abruptly breaks into a gush of laughter, making me annoyed to core.
"Stop it already. You're starting to get on my nerves."
"Oh am I?" He interprets as if being absolutely clueless. "I think so."
He starts laughing again.
This time I smack him a few times at the back of his head. But this even makes him laugh harder.
Ugh! He's the most annoying male specimen in this world.
---------------------
I unlock my room with Eric tailing behind me. He has already helped himself with Princetons' chocolate muffin and didn't even bother to listen to a word I said to him.
He saunters inside my room so sloppily as if he's a regular comer of my place, with his cheeks bulged on both sides and leftovers on the floor.
Mr. Frizzball who was previously enjoying his good night's sleep, has now woken up and is screeching and showing his teeth so aggressively at Eric, that he almost knocks himself out.
"Woah! Keep your kitty on leash. It's scary, you know? It's lookin' at me like it's bout to tear me out," Eric whines with his mouth full, which I decide to ignore anyway.
I take Mr Frizzball up and put him inside his basket so that he doesn't mess around for the time Eric's staying here.
"Ugh! You're gonna clean this mess. If I see any bit of leftovers of that ridiculous thing in your hand on my floor, consider yourself dead, 'cause I'm gonna kill you anyway," I growl at him as I pull out the white cover panels around the glass walls using my controller, so that no cams can see through here, and then swtich on the lights. "Why are you so clumsy?"
"I still don't understand, what's with your thing against anything chocolate," He jabbers with his mouth full.
"You don't need to. Just do as I say," I snap with a natural scowl.
"Aye, aye captain!" Eric salutes.
Ignoring him the best I can, I press a black button beside the nightstand and at once it gets transformed into a much bigger little crawl-way, creating a crater, like a concave mirror. Punching a few numbers, I unlock its door, crawl inside and drag a black bin bag out of there.
"Mmm-hmm. That looks exceptionally queer...um murky, strangely spooky. Hmm, my instincts are getting far better. Well done, Eric Christhoff! You're better than those useless hounds," Eric boasts, again with his mouth full.
I was about to open the bag, but now I feel the need to give him a piece of my mind.
I turn my head to glower at him, my face blank, my eyes narrower than before.
Eric seems to pick on the notes quicker than I thought, so his smile drops and he gulps down nervously.
"Why are you giving me that kinda look?" He asks chuckling giddily.
"Do you even realize how annoying you are right now?" I ask, deadpanning him eeriely.
"Yeah, a bit," he replies, scratching the back of his head, smiling goofily.
Ugh! He's such a child!
I sigh and look away to resume what I was doing.
"How come you return becoming such a drama queen after all these years," I mutter to myself, as a subtle smile crosses my lips.
I try to dissolve the holo lock with the aid of my digi-top. Folding the tab neatly, I connect it with the lock of the bag. As I process through the lock, a stray of green laser pass through my right eye from a silver pointer on the tip of the leather bag. It indeed was for analyzing the DNA in my eyes.
The bag was designed like this way, and so that now only I can open it. And no one else.
"Why bother with the hassle?" Eric asks out of nowhere. I got startled when realize that he came closer in the meantime and is already hunching over me to see what I was doing.
"Just tear open the sack," he suggests nonchalantly, munching on his muffin.
I smack him on his forehead with my free hand. "First, you stay away from me."
"Ou!" He groans. "Quit hitting me already. Jeez! It hurts."
"Quit whining already!"
"I'm helping here. Try not to be so mean next time," he retorts.
"It's useless when the help only brings calamity," I speak calmly, open the bag wide open to show him the tiny cylindrical bomb inside.
"The moment this bag will get torn apart from outside without opening the lock, this thing will go off and within 5 minutes, BAAM! All ashes!" I try to reason with my point. "It's called MIED, Massive Improvised Explosive Device."
I smile as I explain.
And when I look at him, I don't see him around me anymore, but latching on my closet door.
And I facepalm myself mentally. How come he killed a Livonn all by himself?
"Come here straight away!" I glare at him. "Scaredy cat!"
"You said to stay away from you," Eric says chuckling weirdly. "I'm just listening."
"Stop chickening out," I mutter as I look at him dead in the eye and then look away with a sigh.
"You go on. I'm better off here."
Jeez! Jeepers!
What am I gonna do with this dork!
I drag out the stuff inside the bag, mostly weapons and mini explosives, and a letter. It's probably there for me and I'm supposed to open it the day I'll first use the stuff in there...as it's written on it.
But it's different from dad's handwriting, though it said: Open it before you use them...
"Woah! That's quite something," Eric exclaims with pretty excitement as he walks up to where I was sitting and settles himself beside me, to clearly ogle over the 'stuff'.
"Hands off. Don't touch anything. They're mine," I warn.
"I'll just pretend, I didn't hear you." He tries to act cool with his eyes fixed on the stuff.
Without another warning, I pull his ear and tug at it harshly. "What did you just say?"
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, okay. You got me," he yelps. "That stings! Now leave it already."
"Good boy." I leave his ear at once.
"Ouch!" He growls rubbing his ear. "Asshole!"
I scoff, rolling my eyes subsequently. I don't say anything, instead drag out the Snuggler and point it at him.
It is a two-mouthed shooter with a bow fixed on the top of it. The muzzle shoots button explosives, capable of going straight inside the body, piercing both flesh and metal, resulting in distortion of the body and awful blood splatter, whereas the bow shoots venom filled micro darts ensuring spot death.
Dad only told me this, though I'm not sure, how this actually works.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah! Take it easy. Take it super easy," he jabbers out as he tries to put the snuggler down.
I smirk playfully watching him like that way.
"It was dad's favorite," I state as I put it down on my own. "You know, dad used to say, little things carry along grave responsibilities. I still remember when he showed me this kinda stuff for the first time. He also said...'You have to earn it before you hold it'...But he never told me he was actually on it."
I take time to gulp down the lump in my throat. Besides, it's not like I can beat it overnight.
"Anyways...there's another buff, berserk, lethal homie," I announce, trying to cover up. "And here it is! Michigan's Virgun!"
I drag out a blue thick ruler shaped shooter and unlike the previous one, it shoots only deadly virus. If any passerby mistake it for a ruler, I won't be much surprised.
"Woah! Now what's it? I've never seen something like this before. I wonder how more cats are there in the sack," Eric exclaims with exhilaration.
"Dad told me, a friend of his invented this and before dying, he gave this to dad as a gift of gratitude for what dad did for him in their youth. I wonder if it's true at all," I tell him honestly. "This thing is a special type of virgun, that shoots bullets filled with Mk13 virus, a fatally deadly one for bots, causing distortion of body parts, disintegration of joints, gradually separation of limbs one by one and finally death within 5 minutes."
"I'm already in love. You realize, it's a masterpiece!" Eric almost squeals like a little kid seeing popsicle for the first time.
"Yeah, yeah! But it can also affect a human body, like seizure, paralysis and even death. It's designed like this way. It works both on humans and bots. That's what makes it different from any other virgun we have ever seen or heard."
"Woah!" Eric snatches it out of my hands to observe it keenly. "Does this thing really have virus bullets in it?"
"Yeah! I guess, five or six...perhaps," I reply after giving it a thought.
"But it has room for... fuck! How many are these?" Eric freaks out. He has already opened its cylinder. I really wonder, how on earth he did figure it out in the first place.
"One hundred," I reply as I snatch it back from his hand. "I guess, I made it clear to put your hands off them."
"I'm having short time amnesia from time to time...these days," he replies nonchalantly as I deadpan at him.
He snatches it back from my hands. "Where's the grip and the trigger anyway?"
I take it back from him and drag the grip out of the edge. "Woah! It's a fucking fold," Eric chirps with excitement.
"There's no trigger. It's a sorta smart gun. The moment you take it in your hand, from then on it'll only obey your orders. Like CUA, it also has a moderator," I explain and take a small box out of the bag.
Opening it, I show a lens to Eric. "Evil ! It's literally the name. You just have to think of your target and rest is its call."
I put it back inside the bag securely. "Jesus Christ! Fuck! I can't believe. We don't have a stuff like this in our lab. We have mainly distorting toys, explosives, ammunition and hacking stuff. But this thing...is the real time," he exasperates.
"Mmm-hmm. I see."
"Where's the rest of the bullets?"
"I guess, dad started growing this virus in the laboratory of his company. He mentioned once. Just for fun. That's exactly what he said to me," I answer after giving it a thought. "Now I'm sure, there's tons of those in the lab."
"Must be," Eric assures.
"But I wonder, how he did culture those in there. Is it even possible without using host bodies?" I mutter to myself.
"But Elly...Keeping arms is a severe crime offense. If those flying drones ever find out, you'll be in trouble. How did you even manage to hide these for all these years?"
"I pull out the panels. Besides, I've never took this out until now. Only 'cause I felt like I should tell you this," I reply honestly.
"I mean, you know the Princetons, right? How they can be, no? If they once find it out, they'll go to any extent to scratch you out of the picture," he speaks warily, concern filled in his tone.
"Don't worry!" I dangle an arm around his shoulder and mess up his hair a bit with my other hand. "They won't ever find out. I'll make sure of it. I've managed to keep it in for five years, so I guess I can do well this time as well."
"Hey! Don't mess with my hair," he yelps and slaps my hand away from his head.
"Plus, you mentioned that, you froze all the surveillance cam around the streets for the time you are out. So cut it out, okay?"
"Yeah. Guess so. But..." Eric pauses to take a look at his watch. "It's already half past three. I gotta leave soon."
"Okay. That's all! I'll take care of the rest," I assure as I put everything back to its previous place.
"Nope. There's one more thing I gotta do before I leave."
I look at him quizzically, at which he smiles broadly.
"You know, I'm getting a bad feeling 'bout this," I state while eyeing him skeptically.
"Ooh! My bad. I made you feel like that way," he quips amusingly.
"Button it! And tell me already what is it," I snap.
"Yeah okay. Why are you so mean to me? You know, I get it now. I really get it...You must be borne in Iceland, so you got such a heart, totally cold and brutal. Should I call you ice princess?"
"And you've got such a useless tongue, only spewing crap for a long time. It can bring trouble on ya, you know right? Should I help and cut it?"
Eric coughs suddenly, looking at me strangely as if he has seen a ghost.
I smirk mentally. I won again.
"No need. Thank you," he replies and clears his throat. "Anyways, we have to get you a makeover. This look won't do."
"Are you crazy?" I whisper-yell on his face. "Why would I need that anyway? I'm all good."
"Uh-uh. When it comes to looks, they admit it or not, but guys get a bit meticulous and picky and yes, they are bunch of pigs, foraging for truffles. It's called biology," Eric explains. "In short, looks matter a hell more lot than what you think."
"I don't think anything," I reply bluntly, making him facepalm himself. "Plus, I can't doll up for anyone, and I don't have time for that."
"Ugh! C'mon! It'll be so much fun. I even got my babies for it. I've learnt a thing or two from our base make-up guy," Eric pouts, making a puppy face with dewy-eyes. "Pretty please!"
I facepalm myself mentally at this childish act of his.
Looking at him being so miserable, I decide to give in finally.
"Yeah okay! Now drop the act already," I groan. "You sound so pathetic, you know?"
Then without any warning, he engulfs me in a tight hug. "You are the best! No, the bestest!"
"Hey! You're choking me. Let go. I said, let go!" I smack his back.
--------------------------
"Hmm... So what we should do with your face?" Eric mutters.
"I'm telling you, if you mess it up even once..."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Now pipe down for a bit and lemme concentrate."
He moves my face towards the mirror again.
I take a good look at my reflection. Water is still dripping off my hair on the bathroom floor and my white robe; I haven't dried it off that well after a quick wash, moreover Eric didn't cut any slack off. The circles around my eyes must have gotten more prominent and I'm sure, today's sleeplessness is gonna add some more.
I'm not sure, since I've got a face mask all over my face.
Ugh! It's itchy.
"Stay as I say, okay?" Eric asks as he takes out his equipments and lays them out on a display.
I facepalm myself mentally as I look at that through the mirror.
Honestly, who keeps tools on a screen!
"Let's do your hair first," he announces.
"Don't mess up," I warn, glaring at him through the mirror.
"Yeah, yeah. I got you," Eric assures and starts working on my hair, with scissors in one hand and comb in another.
After a few minutes, Eric asks me to pen my eyes and take a look in the mirror.
"What is it? What did you do to you my hair?" I panic as I look at myself. It's so much fluffy and I can't see properly because of the stray of hair in front of my eyes.
"Ugh! Flow with the time, gal. I got you a few layers and a cutesy fringe bangs," Eric explains. "Don't freak out. Guys love cute hairstyles."
"It feels...weird," I say honestly as I inspect my new hair, moving my head from side to side.
"Ugh! Stop moving," He orders, grabbing my head from both side to keep it still. "Now let's do your make-up."
After that, he goes on working on my face with several stuff I'm seeing for the first time.
"First primer!"
"It's refreshin', no?"
"Where's the foun-da-tion? Where is it? Yo, gotcha!"
"Mmm. Oh yeah!"
"Concealer."
"Beauty blender!"
"Where's the contour powder kit? It's like a ride-or-die for me!"
"Just stole my heart!"
"Ugh! I'm going nuts...Elle Carter!! Stay still. You're ruining it."
"Are those brows or tropical rainforest?"
"Ahhhh! Ou-ou-oww! Fuck! Knock it off, moron!!" I groan as Eric picks on my brows.
"Shut it! And stop chickening out!"
"Yes, perfect!"
"Now eye-crayon for the base."
"Ouch! Don't scratch my eyes out," I groan in the middle.
"Shh! Stop fussing."
"Now palette touch."
"Yeah, just as I thought! Bronze and peach look pretty on you."
"Brow pencil. It's exclusively brown. Don't worry."
"Again concealer!"
"Liner ? Mmm...that'd be too much I guess."
"False lashes!"
"Wait!" I interrupt. "I don't need that. It's a bit queasy."
"Mmm... Maybe you are right. Alright then. You've got plenty big lashes anyway. Now mascara!"
"Now it's time for final touch!"
"Where's the lipsticks!"
"Wait," I cut in again. "I use lip balms only."
"Don't worry bout it. I've got the lightest shades ever," Eric assures.
"But what I'm wandering is that..."
"What?" Eric glares down at me.
"Are you sure you are not..."
"I'm not...what?" He growls.
"... Gay?"
"I thought, you've got a better memory than mine. Did you really forget bout the kiss?"
My cheeks turn red at once as I think about the...kiss. I look away immediately.
"I guess, we decided to not bring it up," I complain calmly.
"Then stop talking nonsense!" Eric snaps. "And let me work."
"Yeah whatever."
After a couple of minutes, he finally let go of my face and let me look in the mirror.
Oh my freaking God!!!!
I can't believe it. Absolutely can't.
Holy crap! Is that really me? Or he did some cosmetic surgery on me?
I can't freaking believe this at all!!
"Now this is what I call a masterpiece!"
©Shena