Almost Kiss

"How do you feel today?" Mate turns to face me. His face really bright. His eyes sparkling like a thousand stars.

"Happy?" I shrug. I really don't want to attend school today, but Mate forced me to do that. He thinks every day in school is worth it.

Hearing him talk about this will make it seem as if he's serious about school. Had I not known him better, I'll think he's one hell of a serious student, one who loves attending schools, but that's not the case.

He only wants to go there to escape the orphanage. To him staying back at the orphanage is like asking for errands. Sister Carinda who hates it whenever we miss school will make sure you regret not going to sleep.

She'll frustrate your life like no man's business, and there's nothing you can do. Aside from secretly glaring and rolling your eyes at her, you've got nothing you can do to her.

"Why aren't you as happy as I am?" He Bends to gaze into my eyes. His tall frame towering over my petite one.

With him near, it made my heart race. My tongue sticking out to wet my dry lips. The action didn't escape Mate. His entire focus stayed on my lips, his eyes getting a really bit darker.

"Lat." He breathes out.

"Mate." I called to him. My body becoming real warm. My breathing becoming much more irregular based on the loud thumping of my heart.

I really hope he'll get to kiss me as am dying for his touch. I want to feel what my classmates felt when they had their first kiss. I want to feel the fire works, the toe curling sensation, the feeling of fulfilment and happiness. I want to fell them all.

With his face towards mine, he start bringing it closer. So close I would have felt the brush of his mouth on mine. He was close, but not as close as I want.

With his face to mine, his lips lightly touched mine, it felt like a sensual caress. It made wanting for more.

Blinking as if he's just understanding where he is, Mate nervously laugh. "You look cute with your face like that." With those words said, he hurried towards class without sparring me a look.

"What was that." I thought out loud. My hand going to my lips as I thought ok ln the feather like kiss I juts received.

Can that even be likened to a kiss? I highly doubt that. It's more like a lip peck, the only difference being the lightness of his lips on mine.

*

Mate have being avoiding me ever since that incident, wait should I even call it that? I don't think so.

I can't call the best day of my life am incident, can I?

I don't think so.

After classes, I start looking for Mate who only attended the first class. Since then, I've not seen him. It's as of he've vanished into thin air. An air so think he can't be found no matter how much I try.

And to think he never looked my way throughout the entire duration of the only class he attended. He acted as if I don't exist. Something that's so unlike him. The mate I've come to know isn't one to ignore me, he would have talked nonstop till the end of class.

"Mate?" I check our entire hiding out places, but he's still nowhere to be found. Why will he miss school when he was ecstatic to start a high school year?

At last, I decide to check on the alley close to school. Mate most times goes out there to hide whenever he did something bad at the orphanage. And when I said bad, it's really something extremely bad.

There was one time he put pepper on the panties of Sister Glop. He really didn't like the way she treated me, that was why she did so.

"Another time when I got flogged by the head sister, he sneaked into her room, and set fire on it. All this he did without feeling any remorse whatsoever with them. He felt right doing what he did. He believes it'll stop them from bullying me.

On both crimes, he wasn't caught, something am quite happy and grateful for. Had he being caught, I don't know what would have being done to him.

*

Like I suspected, he was hiding there. His face focused on the things behind him. He wasn't looking my way, and that made me perfectly sneak up on him.

"For how long will you hide out here?" I breathe into his ears.

Like a reflex action, he turned to push me off him, but stopped when he saw am the One.

" Damnit Lat. Don't sneak up to me like that. What if I unknowingly hurt you? Do you think I'll Live with that thought? " He tugs on his hair.

" Why did you miss class? " I darkly glare at him.

"I really wasn't in the mood for classes. i came out here to have a breathe of fresh air. " He says without smiling.

" Mate, what's wrong with you? Why have you being avoiding me? "

My heart aches at that thought. Could it be he's only doing so based on our almost kiss? Do I repulse him that much, so much he wants absolutely nothing to do with me?

"Avoiding you?" he nervously laughs. His eyes on anything other I. "How can you say such funny words?" He scoffed. "Am not avoiding you love. Avoiding and deliberately missing classes are not the same. "

" I really feel like you're lying. " My heart aches. Ever since we became friends, he've not lied to me. I don't know why he have to start now with it.

"Am not." He fully turns to me. His hand caressing my cheeks in a soft way. "It's just that I....."

"Fags!" I heard Snickers close to us.

Turning my focus to them, I saw they're five in Number. As I've not seen them before, it can only prove that they're not from our school.