27.

                                    

                                          
Hours had passed since the both of us woke up at 1:39 PM, unusual for me as I was a morning person, but Aether made time very hard to track. Both warm and content in our position, we both just rolled around in bed all day. Starting when we woke up, till 3, then my phone died, leaving us both stranded in bed with no sense of time whatsoever. After our day out, the king sizes bed of mine became a refuge raft for Aether and I to lounge on all day, as if cast away in the middle of nowhere, tides of water surrounding us. We changed positions often, as it was the only form of movement we could perform at this stage. First, we spooned each other, switching every so often, but the more time passed, the weirder the positions. Heads dangling off the edge, legs and feet point and flat on the headboard, bodies awkwardly layered on top of each other like Jenga bricks. By the 5th hour, I was sitting upright, leaning against the headboard with Aether between my thighs, head resting comfortably on my stomach. We had been talking all day, it was baffling to me how much I could just talk to a person, and not even be bothered, no matter how long we had been sitting. My heart swelled knowing- or feeling- that Aether felt the same. As time passed, his questions and statements never faltered, just as enthusiastic as he was hours ago. It was mostly random silly things we saw on social media and a little bit of the time, the conversation steered into more serious topics. That was how the day went. Dull. Boring. Uneventful. Even so, it meant everything to me. We couldn't be like this at school, so I took and savored everything as best as I could. Sometimes, I'd stare off into space only to realise I had been staring intensely at Aether. I flush when he looked back, like a school girl madly in love with her classmate.
Love. 
Love. 
Was I in love with Aether?
I finally thought about that. Could I? Was it too soon? Would he feel the same? It was scary, loving someone, especially being without love for so long. I thought about him, the guy I loved once, but was so hurt by I forced myself to push him out of my mind so much that I forgot his name. Was it okay to love again, without being hurt? I thought about it, long and hard, the rest of the night, until Aether stood in front of me and told me he needed to leave. Walking him the short distance to the door, I wrapped my arms tightly around his broad shoulders, holding on just a little longer, the thoughts of my infectious feelings exploding in me like a radioactive bomb, spreading to every nerve, the deepest parts of my bones, and penetrating deep in my core. This contagious feeling of love consumed me by the slightest touch of this man. Leaning in, I silently kissed Aether's still lips, pushing every feeling I have ever experienced with him into the kiss. Funny, months ago, if you told me I was this smitten for Aether Andilet, I would have gagged and thought it would never happen, yet here we are. 
"Bye. I'll see you tomorrow." Deep eyes watched my every move as I hugged him tight just one more time, his eyes soft and fond, pressing one last, long kiss into my hair. I kept my head and eyes downcast to hide how wide my smile was. 
"I'll... miss you." Aether gave me a lovely close-lipped smile as he walked away. I watched until he disappeared into the elevator, not missing the glace he gave me as he stepped in. I eventually closed the door, locking and sliding down with a hand over my heart like I was in some shitty rom-com. 
I really was truly in love with Aether. It was simply undeniable. 


Walking onto campus with the sun in my eyes, I was surprised to hear a girl enthusiastically talking about a party tomorrow. The school being so big and holding most of the states rich kids, all students knew we had a reputation to withhold, so parties, drinking, basically everything fun was unacceptable, so students knew to keep anything of the sort outside of school grounds. For people to talk about an event at school meant it was going to be huge, with many people from all over and so many more illegal things going on. This was the biggest in a while, I knew this because I had learned everything I possibly could but just overhearing by the 3rd period. The kid hosting didn't go to this school, but the one a few lengths down, that was just as big and populated with the world's next politicians like us. His house was apparently just as big as a castle, and everyone was going there on Tuesday. The true reason everyone was buzzing about it was that a bunch of other people from schools around were going too, and everyone was excited to meet new people to do what they always did, get drunk, fuck, and repeat. I brought it up while sitting at lunch with everyone, and just like I suspected, thoughts were mixed.
"We should definitely go, I mean, this guy's bold for hosting on a school night." Gwen grinned, shoving her food in her mouth as usual. 
"Probably thinks he's the shit for that." Eternity is not as keen on parties as much as everyone else, but she goes anyway for free drinks and to make sure Gwen doesn't die. 
"Maybe let's not go to this one, there will be way too many people, and something will definitely happen." Aether nodded along, obviously thinking about this much harder than he needed to. 
"I mean, you and I both know the last party we went to..." I laughed and gasped dramatically, 
"Are you saying you regret kissing me?" My cheeks puffed as I held in my laughter as Aether's face changed to 5 different moods,
"I don't! But then again, I do. I mean, I don't regret it because it's what got us together, but what if I was sober and didn't kiss you? Maybe we wouldn't be dating, but we could have, and better, healthier. But what if I didn't have the balls to tell you? Then I would never be with you and-" I shook my head and laughed deafeningly into Aether's ear,
"It's okay! You don't need to worry so much. How about, we just stick together or at least linger near each other? That way, we know how we're doing from a distance." I could tell I convinced Aether, as his face changed from hard to soft, a gracing expression settled on his features. 
"Flawless plan, as expected from my wonderful boyfriend." I bit my lip hard, shooing Aether off before his friends got suspicious of his whereabouts. 
"I'll see you tomorrow then, beautiful."