Bonfire

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

Another kiss. It was weird. It wasn't perfect. It was another kiss. Not in sense that it was nothing special, it was very special. As Lyra shut her eyes (too awkward to look) only negativity ran through her mind: is our relationship changing? What does this mean? Is Tobias hiding something? Does Toby like me? It was all very confusing but she couldn't break Tobias' heart by showing what she thought. But what overcame TK? This kiss obviously wasn't six years of tension. It was sudden, fast.

The kiss was broken and Lyra's free hand was on Tobias' chest. Oh yeah he had a hot body. Damn. Why did he have to be shirtless? Okay okay! Calm down Lyra. She swallowed. "I-," oh come on Lyra! It was only in movies and books and not-real life situations where stuttering happened! In reality you knew- well, you didn't know what to say but something was spit out. "Why did you kiss me?" Lyra asked. He could retaliate with, "why did you kiss me?" and Lyra would have nothing to say. But in this moment, she swore they were infinite.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

Tobias released Lyra and moved back. He shook his head and controlled his breathing. The cool night air helped him clear his head. The fire diminished, he noticed. Tobias moved his eyes to Lyra as she spoke.

"It was impulse," Tobias responded. Friends. The word ran through TK's mind. "I-I'm sorry," he told Lyra, looking down. "We can pretend it never happened if you want."

Tobias slowly raised his eyes to gaze at Lyra's face. She was Lyra again. Regular Lyra. His friend since forever. "I'm sorry, Lyra," he apologized again.

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

"No!" Lyra shook her head and put her hands on Tobias' cheeks, almost pressing in on them so his lips made a fish face. "No no no!" she spoke hastily and shook her head at equal speed. "Don't be sorry, don't pretend that it never happened," Lyra said. She was on her knees, looking down at Tobias. "It was going to happen, sooner or later," Lyra said. Or maybe she was the only one who thought that. "I'm flattered, if anything," Lyra added. It was the truth, not just something that would hopefully make Tobias feel better.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

She's lying, Tobias thought as he watched Lyra speak and shake her head. He averted his eyes and let out a soft sigh. He was already regretting the kiss.

I'm so dumb. Tobias felt an emptiness now. His heartbeat was slow and unnoticeable. Each breath he took felt like a knife.

"We should probably go back to school. We have class in the morning," Tobias numbly remarked. He gently removed Lyra's hands and stood up, pulling her up with him. "The fire is almost dead anyway," he said with a sidelong glance at it.

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

"No!" Although Lyra was standing up next to Tobias, she wouldn't let him leave. She wasn't dumb, she knew when Tobias was down. He was taller than her. She looked up at him, her lips pouting. "You don't believe me, huh?" she tapped her foot against the sand and huffed. Ugh it wasn't fair they shared a kiss and he didn't believe her! Lyra looked off to the side, taking Tobias hand and gently scratched his arms, letting her fingers slide down his arm, gently scratching him. "Don't regret the kiss..." Lyra's voice was quiet, she looked up at Tobias, eyes watering once again. She didn't want him to regret a kiss with her, wishing it never happened! That was the worst insult. Not the worst, but an insult at that. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. "Look at me," Lyra grabbed his chin and moved it so they faced each other, "I love you, TK," okay- that might have slipped- but it was definitely not an "I'm in love with you" response. Tobias, or anyone for thatmatter, would know what an iminlovewithyou I love you would be. This was an, iminlikewithyou I love you. "Don't regret it," her voice was slightly stern, but she really didn't want Toby to be a downer.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

Tobias nodded at Lyra. He was tired and wanted to go sleep. Despite being unsure about how he felt, Tobias replicated Lyra's statement. "I love you, Lyra. Can we please go back and get some sleep?" he pleaded with her.

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

"Yes, of course Tobias. I'll see you in English, second thing in the morning," Lyra continued to hold Tobias' hand and she walked in the direction of the school. "It was a nice summer. Thank you for spending it with me," Lyra said. And as they walked, Lyra looked over at the shadow. Her lonely shadow, with nobody's hand to hold.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

"You're very welcome," Tobias replied. He felt numb. He looked at the hand that held his own as he walked with Lyra. It was smaller than his. Tobias sighed and let his mind wander.