Kiss

She fell straight into his face, their breaths mingling. Their foreheads touched while their eyes locked, unblinking. Her breath hitched.

Instantly trying to rise, Emma hurriedly attempted to get to her knees but slipped again. This time, it wasn’t just their foreheads that touched.

Emma's eyes widened in unexpected horror. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined such an encounter with Xavier. The only thing separating their lips was the mask she wore. She could feel his presence so intensely that her heart felt too heavy to beat.

Xavier gazed into her eyes. Unlike Emma, who was shocked to her core, he wasn’t. In fact, he smiled, as if a doubt in his heart had been confirmed. He was surprised, but not by the incident itself—by his own feelings.

He had never been close to any girl before. Apart from his two childhood friends, he had never made new friends or enjoyed intimate contact, even with his own family. But the first time he touched her, it was new, and not once did he feel disgusted. In fact, he wanted more, just like today. He was surprised because he couldn’t understand his own feelings now that they had come to this point.

He couldn’t help but hold onto Emma's waist, which was trembling.

"EMMA!!"

A voice immediately brought both Emma and Xavier back to their senses. Emma hurriedly backed off, crawling away from Xavier, which instantly made him angry at the person who had caused her to retreat, away from him.

Emma looked up, horrified, recognizing the caller. "Kai. I... I..."

Xavier sat up, one knee folded upwards while he rested a hand on his knee, looking directly at Emma as Kai stood beside him. Mason and Albie were already standing and staring in shock at the couple who had almost kissed. They couldn’t help but feel surprised by the reactions.

Emma continued to stare at Kai with evident guilt, which Xavier noticed. His fist tightened. He could tell that Emma was worried of what Kai would think about her. But why? 'Because she likes him?' Xavier thought.

Kai walked toward Emma. "Get up." Extending his hand, he helped Emma to her feet. "We are leaving." He grabbed her bag from the table. Not letting go of Emma's hand, he pulled her with him, leaving the garden hand in hand, leaving everyone back there dumbstruck and annoyed.

The air around Xavier turned cold. He clenched the grass in his fist. He frustration immediately wanted to shout but.... For a moment, he stayed like this before rising from the ground.

"Are you all right?" Mason asked.

"Hmm." Xavier hummed in response.

Albie's lips twitched in sarcasm. "What is there to be not all right for him? In fact, we should be asking about his lips. Are they all right?" He asked loudly.

Mason's eyes widened. He said solemnly. "Albie, shut up,"

"Why would you ask me to shut up? He’s the one kissing without permission," Albie retorted in exasperation. He still had a proud completely unaware of the fire he is playing with.

"You—" Mason pursed his lips, feeling helpless in front of his friend. Why did Albie have to be so talkative? Why did he have to speak whatever came to his mind? Mason sometimes just doesn't understand his friend.

Albie pointed a finger at Xavier and yelled, "What? Did you see how he wasn’t even trying to move away? In fact, he held onto her waist! Mason, don’t you see the difference in him? There’s definitely something wrong with him! I’m sure! Is he even our friend? Should we do a test? I am highly doubting him."

'Just die.' Mason closed his eyes, seriously wanting to gag Albie. Of course, he saw the change in Xavier, but that didn’t mean he didn’t see what happened later as well. Xavier's demeanor had changed the moment Kai took Emma away from him. How could he not see how frustrated Xavier was at that moment? He genuinely feared for Albie's sanity at a moment.

"Xavier, tell me you liked it. Didn’t you?" Albie probed with a teasing smile.

Xavier, who had returned to his seat to gather his belongings, finally looked up at the nuisance. At that moment, he genuinely wanted to make new friends. Walking to his friend, Xavier placed a hand on Albie's shoulder and said,

"Sometimes, you really need to learn to keep your mouth shut, my friend."