After a while, Amber pulled back, sighing as she slowly opened her eyes. She nodded once, then glanced toward the kitchen, unsure of what to say.
“Okay… Ready to make breakfast?” she breathed, drawing her eyes back to meet his.
The second she pulled away, William craved her lips again. He slowly opened his eyes to look into Amber’s, breathing softly.
“Yeah,” he ran a hand through his hair. “Is this really okay, Blue?”
Amber raised her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side slightly. “Breakfast? Or… us? Because breakfast is definitely okay. We, on the other hand… That’s a different story,” she sighed, looking away again.
“Us,” William answered quietly. “This whole… thing between us. It’s going to end poorly. Sure, you’re going to move out soon, probably, considering it’s the end of the semester, but…”
Amber tore her fingers through her hair, having to disentangle some stray hairs that came out attached to her. She picked them off her hand without looking at William.
“But we’ll most likely still see each other,” she murmured eventually. “I don’t know, William… I know it’ll only end in pain as long as even one of us continues to hate the other, but I do think it’s nice to have someone like this.”
“I don’t hate you,” William admitted, rubbing the back of her neck, casting his eyes away. “And It’s going to hurt more because it’s me you’re doing this with. I have issues, ones that can actually hurt people,” he paused, taking a deep breath, feeling anger bubble inside of him. “And you’re taking a huge risk by having me as ‘someone like this.’”
William didn’t hate her. That fact came out as a shock for him, too. She used to be infuriating—still is, but differently now. He’s been acting careful around her, making sure not to snap, not to yell, not to hit. That didn’t give him an excuse to let this continue.
“I think we should stop,” he breathed in deeply, searching for her eyes. “We should stop before there’s permanent damage.”
Amber’s eyes snapped up to meet his before darting away again. He didn’t hate her… Well, obviously. How had she not I noticed how much he’d changed since they’d first met? He was softer, now, gentler with her. It was odd yet… almost comforting? That didn’t seem like the right word, but what was? This was such an unknown feeling to her that she didn’t even know how to begin to describe it.
“Oh,” she breathed simply, her gaze firmly fixed to the floor beneath her. He was right. Of course he was. This would only end in pain for both of them. “Yeah. Yeah, no, you’re right. We should— we should definitely stop…”
William breathed deeply. She agreed. Of course she did. Why did he have to open his stupid mouth? He nodded mutely, trying to keep words in his mouth. He couldn’t let them escape—they’d get caught again and it would be harder to let go. It was like they were coming out straight from a romantic movie. They had no feelings for each other, though the physical attraction was there. It would have been a laughable situation.
And then he made the mistake of looking at her, eyes falling to her lips, and he couldn’t stop the words that came tumbling out of his mouth.
“Can I kiss you?” He breathed out, running a hand through his hair. “One last time, as a thank you.”
Wait… What?
Amber blinked in surprise, her eyes turning up to finally meet his once more. As if of their own accord, her feet slowly bright her one step closer. Two steps. Three… And now she was standing right in front of him.
“One last kiss,” she breathed, looking up into those enchanting eyes of his.
William dipped his head down, eyes closing as he claimed her lips, hands reaching up to cradle her face.
His lips burned at the contact, but William didn’t find it annoying. He welcomed the feeling of her lips pressed against him—her soft, warm lips. Why on Earth had Jace let go of something like this? Why on Earth was he even thinking like this? His mind was going crazy and he didn’t know what to think. All he knew was that he was kissing the girl he once hated and he didn’t hate the kiss. He didn’t dislike any of the ones he exchanged with her. Was he really that desperate to feel accepted that he’d lock lips with a girl going through heartbreak when he himself had his own issues to solve?
This was ridiculous. And stupid. And just flat out crazy.
But, gosh, it felt so good… Why did it feel good to be kissing the man who’d hated her not so long ago? The man who’d not only hurt her once, but had almost done so again…
This was wrong. This was so very wrong…
William pulled her towards him, moving his lips alongside hers slowly, softly. He didn’t want to stop, though he knew it was wrong. He knew he had to stop, but he didn’t want to. What was wrong with him?
Finally, William convinced himself to let go. His hands slowly loosened their hold on her face and his lips moved away from hers.
He missed the warmth.
Amber let out a soft breath when he pulled away. Her eyes stayed shut for a moment longer, as if she didn’t want to come back to reality. Which, if she was being honest, she sort of didn’t…
When she opened her eyes again, she looked straight into William’s. She blinked slowly, taking a step back from him.
“You’re welcome,” she breathed, her expression not showing the joke that she’d meant the words to be.
(WHAT NO GET BACK TOGETHER)
(😂 Sorry, T.)
(What no you can't actually let this happen NOOOOOOOO)
(Sorry, guys~)
Amber let out a soft breath when he pulled away. Her eyes stayed shut for a moment longer, as if she didn’t want to come back to reality. Which, if she was being honest, she sort of didn’t…
When she opened her eyes again, she looked straight into William’s. She blinked slowly, taking a step back from him.
“You’re welcome,” she breathed, her expression not showing the joke that she’d meant the words to be.
William cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. He continued to stare into Amber’s eyes, trying to find any crack in the image she had built up. There wasn’t any. He hoped there was nothing in his, too. What they agreed to do was for the best. It wasn’t like he’d look at thank you’s the same, but there was nothing he could do about it.
“So…” William started in a raspy voice. “Breakfast?”
“Right. Breakfast,” Amber sighed, nodding before she burned around. She bit her lip — hard — as she made her way over to the fridge. This was ridiculous. That was the only word that came to mind in this whole situation. R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s.
William went over to grab the bowls and other necessities, scowling at his behavior. This was stupid. He was acting stupid. He was a twenty year old adult, for God’s sake. Why was he acting like a teenager after a failed relationship?
He needed to get his act together. Treat Amber normally, like he’d always done.
[Time skip — Saturday, December 23]
Amber sighed as she walked over to the vending machine. The guys' practice seemed to have gone well, but now she needed a snack. On her way there, though, she was intercepted by a cold and wet sensation trickling down her stomach. Someone had just splashed water all over her shirt…
"Oh, my bad… So sorry," a girl murmured in a flat voice, her face as empty of regretful emotion as the cup in her hand was empty of water.
Amber glared at the other woman before looking down at her soaked shirt and cursing. Of course, it just had to be on the day she chose to wear white…
William breathed heavily. He needed to get out of the field—it was getting suffocating, and he wanted a breather. He had his bottle in his hand and wa just about to drink when he saw a girl dump water on a very familiar girl. Amber. He was close enough to hear the empty apology and felt irritation bubble inside of his chest.
Though the both of them had barely looked at each other in the eyes, William couldn’t stand the sight. How dare that girl do that to Amber? Before he knew what he was doing, William was walking over to the group, tipped water over the girl’s head and cocked his head to the side.
“Ah, my bad,” he muttered in a sarcastic tone, his eyes narrowed dangerously. “I thought it was the trash.”
The girl gaped at William, her eyes alighting in shock and anger. Amber in the other hand, simply turned to the man and gave him a confused look. She wrapped her arms around her chest and stomach, both of which were now partially visible due to her waterlogged tshirt.
What in the world was that…?
William crushed the bottle in his hand, cold anger present in his eyes. It took everything out of him to not slam his fist in the girl’s face, and fortunately for her, he succeeded. William bent down to the level of the girl, locking eyes with her.
“Scram,” he muttered. “Before I ruin your pretty little face. Trust me, I wouldn’t even think twice.”
He straightened before shrugging off his jacket, sidestepping the girl and making his way towards Amber, never once looking away from her eyes. He gently wrapped the jacket around her, careful to cover her front properly. He held it together, cocking his head to the side. The more he looked at her soaked, shivering self, the more fury he felt. It was a good thing Amber was present. Somehow, she balanced out his anger.
“I have a spare shirt in my locker,” he said to her rather breathlessly, keeping his eyes on her face. “If you want.”
Amber looked straight up into his eyes, her own wide in curiosity and confusion. He was being strangely kind… Not that she minded, seeing as his kindness was the only thing keeping her warm in the cold at the moment.
"N-no… No, I'll be fine," she said softly, pulling his jacket tighter around her shoulders.
William stepped closer to her, breathing out harshly. He closed his eyes, took deep breaths before he opened them again.
“Are you sure?” He reached out to wipe a drop of water from her cheek. “You might catch a cold.”
Amber kept her eyes locked with his, and they filled with that almost frightening calm again. That was the mask she put on when she didn't want to show her true emotions. It was better to be a sea of calm than an ocean of raging emotion.
"What are you doing, William? You don't have to pretend to care. You may not hate me, but that doesn't mean that you have to pretend to care," she sighed, finally dropping her gaze to the ground.
There it was, the look in her eyes that he was too used to. The very look that prevented him from reading her, prevented him from knowing what she was thinking.
Her words were like a slap to the face, though William didn’t know why. She thought he was pretending? Perhaps the question he should be asking is, why did he care?
“You’ll catch a cold,” William repeated, stepping away from her slowly. His expression melted into nothingness. If she wanted to play that game, he could amuse her. “We share the same dorm. You get sick and I might, too.”
Lies.
Oh… Of course. That did make sense, more than her previous idea had…
Amber nodded once, unable to meet his gaze again once she'd dropped it. "Right… Sure, yeah. That'd be nice, then, I guess," she murmured
William sighed heavily, shaking his head. Why did she sound so dejected? Wasn’t that the answer she wanted?
“It wouldn’t be nice, Blue,” William rolled his eyes. “Getting sick is annoying.”