Strings (1 of 2)

Chapter 33 - Pigtails

She doesn't care that no other girls did their hair like that. She doesn't care that she stands out. If she likes her hair like that, she wears it like that for weeks. 

She beats to her own drum. I love that about her.

My chest tightens as I see who she's talking to. She smiles giddily up to a red head named John. He's on the football team with Matt and I, a year below us and a year above Em.

She twirls her long blonde hair in her fingers, grinning up to the lucky bastard. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem as interested in her as she is in him. Is he crazy? Has he seen her?

A girl with long straight black hair and a bunch of makeup walks closer to them, her low V-neck top revealing her cleavage grabs John's attention instantly. He turns to watch her as she passes by and Emily's face falls as she realizes what's happening.

I frown as I watch her walk away quickly towards the staircase.

"Excuse me," I say politely to the girl still talking in my ear. She frowns but nods, finally shutting up as I head for the stairs before I can think about what I'm doing.

I climb them quickly and stop in the doorway of her room. She sits cross legged in her pretty pink top and jeans that Matt made her wear so she wouldn't show her ass off to his friends. I was silently thankful to him for that, not that I would tell him why.

Her face is hidden in her hands, her golden pigtails falling forward over her hands. I hear her sniffle and take another step in the doorway. I knock lightly on her door, making her jump slightly. She lifts her head, her tear-ridden eyes finding me instantly, making my heart clench. 

I take a few steps into her room and shut the door behind me. The music from downstairs is much lower now with the door closed, I can actually hear myself think now.

"What are you doing here, Dean?" She asks with a confused look, wiping her tears off her cheek.

"What happened?" I ask softly, ignoring her question. What am I doing here? Helping a friend? No. It's more than that deep down, she just doesn't know that.

She laughs humorlessly and scooches over on her bed to make room for me to sit beside her. I take the opportunity to move closer and sit, facing her, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm so dumb." She says with another fake laugh, wiping her tear. What? How could she think that?

"No you aren't. Why would you think that?" I reply.

"He doesn't want me. He doesn't want this." She moves her hands over her body like it is the most obvious thing in the world what she is saying, but I'm more confused than ever. "He wants someone like her." Ah, now I get it.

"He's an idiot." I tell her sincerely. Her big blue eyes blink at me silently with a small smile. "Seriously, he's stupid. You deserve better than that loser. He can't even get his football uniform on right without help." I roll my eyes dramatically, joking with her. It pays off when her eyes start to brighten up again.

She giggles, music to my ears, and I smile, chuckling with her. She moves closer, almost touching me with her leg, and my heart starts racing. She doesn't even have to do anything t make it race, she just looks at me and I can't breathe. Like always...

"I was planning on kissing him." She says suddenly and my laughter fades instantly. "My first kiss." She says sadly and looks away at the carpet beside her bed.

Part of me is extremely happy she has never been kissed by someone else, still the innocent girl I grew up with. But I don't want her to be sad, either.

Emily wraps her arms around me, breaking me from my thoughts. She squeezes tightly for a second and I smile as I hug her back, my hands lightly on the middle of her back. I can faintly smell the lavender scent from her shampoo and I lean my cheek into her hair.

"Thanks," she simply says into my chest. I don't reply.

She starts to lean back, her hands unwrapping from behind me. Before I can stop myself I move my right hand to her cheek, keeping her face an inch from mine. Her blue questioning eyes stare into mine, unsure what I'm doing. I'm not sure either.

I look from her eyes to her lips, keeping her head still in my hand. She could move if she wanted to, I'm not holding her tight enough to force her. The fact that she doesn't gives me the courage I need.

I lean forward, closing my eyes, and press my lips gently against hers. She remains still, hesitating against my mouth and I almost pull back before she starts to kiss me back.

I feel her hands hold the sides of my waist tightly as she matches my movements, opening her mouth to give me access. I pull her face closer to mine, deepening the kiss as my thoughts race.

I can't believe this is happening right now!

After a few seconds, I reluctantly pull back and open my eyes. She takes her hands off me, much to my dismay, as I let go of her face. She blushes immediately as she puts her fingers to her swollen lips trying to hide her smile. I rub the back of my neck, not sure what to say... 

Did I really just do that? Kiss my best friend's sister?

Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe she didn't like it.

"Sorry, I shouldn't..." I say, feeling uncomfortable in the dead silence between us.

She cuts me off. "No. Don't be sorry. It was... nice..." She says and giggles, making my heart soar.

She looks around the room, unsure what to do next. I decide to take the pressure off her despite how much I don't want to end this with just a kiss.

"So, um, there you go. First kiss done." I say and tug lightly on her right pigtail teasingly and smile at her, which she returns. "No pressure for the next one now." I add and her grin widens. She knows what I'm doing.

"Thanks, Dean." She says and I nod, getting up from her bed.

"Let's not tell your brother about this, agreed?" I ask and she laughs. "He would kill me." I joke, although it's probably true. He's never said it directly but I know his sister is off limits for his friends.

Oops.

But I'm not sorry. At all.

"Sure." She replies and lays back down on her bed with a smile.

I walk out of her room and close the door behind me, silently praying she stays there the rest of the night and doesn't find a next guy to kiss like I stupidly mentioned.

I run my fingers through my hair, unable to wipe the huge grin from my face as I descend the stairs and rejoin the party to find Matt.

Author's Note:

This is kind of a cute bonus chapter! I wanted to do another Dean's POV and a flashback to them as kids... hopefully this works and flows okay!

Back to the real story in the next chapter...

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