Chereads / Fated Chaos / Chapter 64 - Chapter 64 – Camping (5)

Chapter 64 - Chapter 64 – Camping (5)

Rain is awoken by the faintest change in the light around him. His eyes open, trying to blink away the blurriness of sleep, as his mind focuses on the visuals in front of him. He's looking out the door of the small shelter, the area around him still mostly dark, but the first traces of orange light are now visible on the far horizon. It's almost sunrise. 

As these things come into focus, he also becomes aware of a heavy pressure on his chest. Glancing down slowly, wearily, his eyes rest on the source of the pressure...and he freezes. His mind is snapped alert as though cold water has been splashed on him. 

Tess is laying on him...extensively. Her face is on his chest, her dark, brown hair spilling across his shoulder. One of her arms is thrown all the way across his chest, latched onto his side, while the other hand is grasping at the collar of his shirt near her head. Worst of all, her breasts are pressed firmly against his side and part of his chest, while one of her legs is thrown across his own, her knee resting between his thighs.

His senses are assaulted by the smell of her hair, the softness of her breasts, the warmth of her body, and rhythmic changes in pressure from her breathing. In no time, Rain's heart is hammering in his chest, and his breathing becomes erratic. His eyes are naturally drawn to her delicate face, the way her hair is falling around her cheeks, and especially the way her lips are parted slightly as she sleeps.

The sights and sensations of her fill him with the urge to stroke her hair and face affectionately...to pull her closer against him. As that impulse first takes root, before he can address it, Tess begins to stir on his chest, as though his suddenly erratic heartbeat and breathing have woken her. 

She lifts her head slowly as her eyes open, and she looks around, blinking sleepily. Her confused gaze settles on Rain, and an affectionate smile finds its way to her face as her voice rings out, pleased. 

"Hmm...you're pretty comfy..."

However, Rain barely hears her words, and his own breath is too caught in his throat to respond anyway. Already saturated with the strong feelings from before she woke, he's also treated to the sight of her beautiful smile, mere inches from his face, and her lovely hair spilling carelessly into her eyes. The sweet experience causes Rain's chest to flood with affectionate warmth he's unprepared for, multiplying his urges to be closer to her...past the limit of Unhinged. 

Before he can consider the consequences of his actions, he leans forward and presses his lips against hers firmly as he moves his hand to her lower back, pulling her tightly against him. He feels a euphoric sensation wash over him as he tastes her lips for the first time, feeling her so close to him.

At the same time, he registers an alarmed squealing sound from somewhere nearby. Only a second later, a strong slap crashes into his cheek, interrupting the kiss and driving his face into the floor of the shelter, hard enough to lightly stun him. As he tries to gather his bearings after the blow, he hears a shrill voice ring out. 

"Rain, are you crazy!? Why would you do that!?"

It's in that moment that Rain's thoughts finally clear enough to bring his situation into focus, as he looks up at Tess's horrified face hovering above him. Caught by surprise, he'd obviously let Unhinged hijack his desire to kiss Tess, and she'd slapped him over the uncalled for assault.

'Oh gods...no, no...I...why didn't I...I fucked up...'

Realizing that his worst fear has come true, deep, unrestrained sorrow and terror grip Rain's heart as he processes Tess's shocked and horrified expression. Immediately, he begins frantically trying to explain himself, pained remorse heavy in his voice. However, Tess also begins speaking at that time, her face completely bewildered, her tone full of exasperation. The result is them yelling loudly at one another in unison. 

"Tess, wait...please let me explain! I'm really, really sorry, you have to believe me! I didn't mean to do that, I swear! My Quirk got triggered before I had a chance to stop it, and I..I.."

"Rain, what the hell!? You've ruined everything, dumbass! I wanted to brush my teeth before something like that! Haven't you heard of morning breath!? This is mortifying!"

As they both finish yelling at the other, each picking up fragments of the other's statements, they both fall promptly silent. Confused expressions slowly invade their faces, then they follow up with stupefied, quiet responses to one another. 

"Wait...that kiss was because of your Quirk?"

"Uhm...wait, why are we talking about your breath?"

As they once again process one another's statements, Tess's face becomes bright red as Rain stares back at her blankly. Her voice escapes her throat hurriedly, angry again. 

"Y-...you first, dumbass! Start explaining! What's this about your Quirk!?"

Faced with her enraged expression and tone, his own question quickly evaporates, as he tries to explain himself in a shrill voice. 

"I-...I have a Quirk that sometimes...makes me do things, so I wasn't in control of myself when I kissed you! I'm sorry, I was worried this would happen! That's why I warned you that I might do something awkward! I can't always control my Quirk!"

Tess studies his face in disbelief as she processes his words, her own expression becoming more despondent and her cheeks more red with each second. Eventually, she responds in a quiet voice, her eyes betraying a bit of...hurt.

"Rain...are you saying that...you didn't want to kiss me? It's just...some effect of your Quirk?"

Tess just stares at him from her position on his chest, apprehensive and expectant. Rain looks back at her, unaware of her inner turmoil, conflicted about his own thoughts. 

'Shit...I...what do I say to that? I mean, I certainly wouldn't have kissed her if not for my Quirk, but my Quirk also wouldn't have made me do it unless I wanted to...like a lot. Do I lie to her...blame it all on my Quirk? Or do I be honest with her...tell her how I've been feeling...'

On one hand, Rain is very opposed to lying to her...he worked so hard to gain her trust. On the other hand, though...what if admitting his feelings irrevocably damages their friendship? Both violating her trust and potentially losing her as a friend sound awful, but...the second one sounds plain unbearable right now, especially if he has to tell her how he feels first.

However, he doesn't know for sure that's what will happen, while lying to her is a definite breach of trust. She told him before that she wouldn't hold anything awkward from this camping trip against him, so...maybe the real question is, how much does he trust her to stand by that?

Eventually, he makes a decision, turning a guilt-ridden look towards Tess, who's still staring at him with a conflicted, intense expression. He struggles to meet her gaze as he starts to speak...and once he starts, he can't seem to stop. 

"Uhm...not exactly. I only kissed you because of my Quirk, but...my Quirk can't...well, it can't make me do anything unless I already wanted to. See, Tess, the truth is that I might...kind of...be into you...as more than a friend, I mean. I've had lots of confusing, romantic feelings about you lately...ones that I don't have for Nik or Ronin or Bright. 

"I've been trying to put those thoughts out of my mind, because our friendship is really important to me, and I didn't want to jeopardize it or make you feel like I only hang out with you because of how you look. But those feelings for you...they're still there. Because of that...the way you were looking at me this morning...I got a strong enough urge that my Quirk...well.

"Anyway, that's the truth. I can't blame that kiss entirely on my Quirk, though I never would have crossed a line like that on my own. Honestly, I'm sure it's not...pleasant...to hear this from someone you thought just valued you as a friend, and I'm sorry about that. But I hope you know that I really do want to keep being your friend...I don't expect you to make my feelings your problem. So, please don't let this little slip-up ruin my favorite friendship at this Academy."

As he finishes his plea, he feels a little too ashamed and embarrassed to meet her gaze, looking out the doorway of the shelter instead. However, as an awkward silence settles on them for too long, he forces himself to look back at Tess, his face heavy with dread. As his gaze falls on her, however, his eyes widen in shock.

She's just staring at him...smiling broadly. Her expression is warm, satisfied, and her eyes are filled with an intense...anticipation. Confusion washes over him as he stares back at her, trying to understand the unexpected reaction. He opens his mouth to ask her the first thing that comes to mind. 

"Tess...wh-"

However, he never gets to voice the question, because almost as soon as she registers his gaze, she rolls to sit on top of him fully. As he lets out a squeal of surprise, she's already leaning over on top of him, pressing her lips against his forcefully as her hands grab at the fabric on his chest tightly...desperately. 

Rain feels all conscious thought leave him as a warmth rushes through his body. He succumbs to Unhinged again, and he runs his hands up Tess's back, under her shirt, pulling her tightly against him. The action causes a satisfied sound to resound in the back of her throat, and he feels her tense against him. His head becomes fuzzy as the seconds tick by without his ability to breathe, his only perceptions the taste of Tess's lips and the warmth and softness of her body against him.

Eventually, he feels a sudden pressure on his chest as Tess forcefully pushes them apart, and they both gasp for breath as she sits back on top of him. She gazes down at him, a smug, pleased expression on her face. As the fuzziness slowly clears from Rain's thoughts, and he begins to process the situation rationally again, his confusion returns as he stares up at Tess. 

"Tess...wait...so, you..."

As he trails off, trying to decide how to phrase the question, Tess just rolls her eyes and nods impatiently. 

"For gods' sakes, you clueless dumbass...YES! You and I are on the same page...being more than friends sounds...perfect. Now...I have been waiting over a month for this, and the last thing I want to do right this minute is talk. We only have a couple hours until we have to be back here for class, and I have much better ideas about how to spend that time.

"So, in a second, I'm going to climb off you, grab my things, and head to my room to shower, change, and brush my teeth. Once I do that, you hurry your ass up and do the same. Then, meet me in my room fifteen minutes from now...do you understand?"

Rain looks up at her, his thoughts racing dangerously. 

"But wh-"

Tess's hand suddenly grabs him by the cheeks, stopping his speech, and she leans over until her face is right in front of his. Her eyes are burning intensely. 

"Fifteen...minutes...from now. Nod if you understand, dumbass."

After staring at her blankly for a moment, he just nods in bewilderment. Seeing the acknowledgement, Tess flashes him a wide smile. Then, she kisses him passionately for another few seconds, long enough to make them both dizzy again, before pulling away breathlessly. She gives him one last, affectionate stare, then rolls off of him, grabs her things, and exists the shelter in one smooth motion. Rain is left alone and confused.

He stares after her for several moments, trying to collect his thoughts.

"What...the fuck..."