Chapter 4

Jack's PoV

'How can I ever face her again?' Jack thought. He was sat on his sofa the day after the kiss. "Jack, can I suggest you do something?" James asked. "You don't look in a good shape..."

"I don't feel like doing anything..." Jack said, taking a sip of his beer.

"Then don't drink," James said, taking the bottle off him. "Talk to me," he said, sitting next to Jack.

"Why the fuck did I kiss her?!" Jack shouted.

"You were very drunk..." James said.

"Well why couldn't I have kissed you?!" Jack shouted.

"Please don't take this out on me, you got yourself in this mess," James said.

"I can't see her again... I'm going to have to swap classes or something..." Jack said.

"Why do you care about this so much? Surely if it was just a drunk kiss, then it's meaningless?" James asked.

"It's not as simple as that!" Jack said.

"Why not?" James asked.

"Because... because I have feelings for her..." Jack said.

"Jack, mate..." James said, hugging him. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'll just ignore her as best as I can..." Jack said. "That way my feelings can settle, and hopefully we can forget about the kiss,"

"Whatever you think's best... although personally I think you're better off just talking to her..." James said. Jack lay down rested his head in James' lap.

"James...?" Jack asked.

"Yeah?" James asked, stroking his hair.

"I miss her..." Jack said. "I really miss her..." he said, tears falling from his cheeks.

"Then talk to her... why don't you tell her how you feel?" James suggested. "You've got her number, just call her,"

"I forced myself onto her, James. I can't then call her, and I definitely can't tell her I fancy her, because then the whole situation will become more complicated. It will become more than just a drunk kiss," Jack said.

"Well, if she thinks it was just a drunk kiss, then what's the harm in it?" James asked.

"Because I'm scared, James. I'm scared of what else I might do. I would happily have sex with her, and you know how insecure I am about my body... I've never kissed anyone like I kissed her last night..." Jack said. "I didn't even kiss you like that..."

"I know, mate," James said.

"It's all so stupid... I mean, I wouldn't be seeing her today anyway, but it feels like I should be... it feels like I've lost her... Christ, what am I talking about - it doesn't feel like I've lost her, I have lost her..."

"Only you can be the judge of that, Jack. If you block her out then you'll lose her," James said.

"But what's the alternative? I make up with her, we become friends again, I get stuck in a friend zone, and I spend every minute that I'm with her conscious of my feelings, and wanting to be closer to her... or, I make up with her, kiss her again, and get stuck in this same loophole... or, I try and make up with her, but she blocks me out, and we never speak to each other again?"

"Well, you'll never speak to each other again if you block her out yourself. Jack, don't you want to know how she feels? What if she likes you back? You could be perfect... okay, and say you make up and just stay friends. Your feelings may pass, and then you can spend your life with her as friends... wouldn't that be better than just having one drunk kiss and never speaking to each other again? Also, it would make class very uncomfortable, for both you guys, and the rest of the class," James said.

"I guess..." Jack said. "I'm going to give it a week or so, then try to speak to her..."

"Okay, that's a good idea," James said. "It gives you both some distance, to then ease back into your friendship,"

Lily's PoV

"Lincoln... please don't kill me..." Lily said, sitting down on her brother's bed. He turned round from his desk.

"What, why? What have you done?" Lincoln asked.

"Please don't kill Mr Harrison either..." Lily said.

"What happened? Is this about the kiss?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm sorry that I ran out last night, and what I said..." Lily said. "and yeah, about the kiss..."

"Lily, it's okay," Lincoln said. "I'm sorry for what I said last night too. You had every right to go off. That wasn't a kiss, that was barely a peck! He was drunk, and I get that. Sorry," Lincoln said. He clearly thought that Lily was talking about the kiss after the dance.

"No, it's okay... we good?" Lily asked, not being able to tell him about the actual kiss. It wasn't that she was scared to tell him, it was that he was so protective over her, that she was scared for her teacher.

"Of course we are," Lincoln said. Lily smiled.

***

"Leo, could I talk to you?" Lily asked, going downstairs.

"Sure," Leo said. They sat down.

"You know how last night Lincoln and I went to the pub together?"

"Yeah," Leo said.

"Well two of my teachers were there... we talked and stuff, and I'm really close to them both... and then as I was leaving, one of them, who was really drunk, kissed me..." Lily said.

"Do you have feelings for them?" Leo asked.

"He's like one of my friends..." Lily said. "I guess he's hot, and I have a slight crush on him, but I normally ignore that when I'm around him, so I don't know... I'm not obsessed with him or anything..."

"How did it feel when he kissed you?"

"Really good..." Lily admitted. "Really, really good..."

"Okay, what do you want to happen? Obviously nothing can happen between you two, but he's your teacher, so moving forward you're going to have to talk to him about it,"

"I don't want to talk about it... he might not even remember..." Lily said.

"Okay, on Monday, see if he's showing signs of being able to remember it - being embarrassed around you, et cetera. If he isn't, then try not to be awkward around him, and just pretend nothing happened. If he remembers it, then, again, try not to be awkward, and pretend nothing happened, but also try and give him some space, if it looks like he needs it, and only talk to him if you have to," Leo said. Lily nodded.

"Thanks, Leo," Lily said.

"Anytime. That's what I'm here for," Leo said. Lily smiled. They hugged.