An Accidental first kiss

The room was silent except for the faint scratching of Aurora's pen and the occasional rustling of paper. Kael sat beside her, the project paper spread out between them on the small desk. Aurora's head was still lightly resting on his shoulder, her shyness keeping her quiet.

Kael glanced sideways at her. She was so focused on the paper, her delicate features lit up by the soft glow of the desk lamp. He couldn't help but notice the way her eyes darted back and forth as she read over their notes.

"Does this part make sense?" he asked, pointing at a sentence about the final battle of the Heaven and Hell war.

Aurora blinked and turned slightly to look at where he was pointing. Their faces were suddenly much closer than either of them had anticipated.

"Um... y-yeah," Aurora stammered, her voice barely a whisper. Her cheeks were already turning pink as she tried to focus on the paper again.

Kael nodded and leaned forward to write something down. As he did, Aurora shifted closer to get a better view. Their movements were uncoordinated, both of them too wrapped up in their own thoughts to realize how close they were.

And then it happened.

Kael turned his head slightly at the exact moment Aurora leaned in closer. Their faces met in a brief, accidental kiss. It was so quick, so unintentional, that it took both of them a moment to process what had just happened.

Kael jerked back, his eyes wide. "Oh—uh, I'm so sorry!" he blurted out, his face burning with embarrassment.

Aurora, however, didn't move. She sat frozen in place, her notebook slipping from her hands and landing softly on the floor. Her eyes were wide, and her face was the color of a ripe strawberry. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of her chest.

"I didn't mean to," Kael continued, his words tumbling out in a panic. "I wasn't paying attention, and—"

Aurora still didn't respond. Her lips tingled from the accidental kiss, and her mind was a whirlwind of emotions. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Her first kiss. With Kael. And it wasn't even supposed to happen.

Kael ran a hand through his hair, glancing away. "I'm really sorry, Aurora. I wasn't trying to... you know..." He trailed off, his voice growing quieter.

Finally, Aurora managed to blink and take a shaky breath. Her hands clutched the edges of her skirt tightly as she tried to steady herself. Her heart refused to slow down, thundering in her chest like a drum.

"It's... it's okay," she whispered, barely audible. Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to speak. "I-I know it was an accident."

Kael nodded, his cheeks still burning. "Yeah, total accident."

Neither of them said anything for a long moment. The air between them felt heavy, charged with something they didn't quite understand. Aurora finally bent down to pick up her notebook, her hands trembling slightly.

Kael glanced at her, guilt gnawing at him. "We should, uh, get back to the project," he said awkwardly, trying to steer the moment back to normal.

Aurora nodded quickly, not trusting herself to speak again. She kept her eyes on the paper, but her mind was far away, replaying the accidental kiss over and over. Her heart wouldn't stop racing, and she wondered if Kael could hear it pounding in the quiet room.

As they resumed working, both of them were hyper-aware of the other. Every accidental brush of their hands, every glance, felt magnified. The project suddenly seemed a lot harder to focus on.

End of Chapter 40