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Post by Amandine Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:11:31 GMT -5
"No one else is here yet, no," she said. Ama skipped a little into the room and smiled sweetly at Riley. "Did you see all the decorations Dad put up?" she said to Roland and Riley. "They're soo pretty!" she pointed upwards. Fortunatly, the pair were standing directly under a sprig of mistletoe. If Ama could smile wider, she would have.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:19:27 GMT -5
Roland had barely noticed the decorations. He glanced up carelessly, but nothing registered with him. "Yes, it's very nice," he said. "Mum and Dad always do a great job with the decorations."
He took a breath and smiled at Amandine. "You look very pretty today, Ama. I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to you earlier. Could you just give Riley and I another couple of minutes? We'll be right out, and then I'll give you your present."
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 4:22:34 GMT -5
Riley glanced up when Amandine pointed, and what escaped Roland registered with her nearly right away.
Her eyes snapped back to Ama and she shook her head slightly. The girl was young and probably thought it was cute, but she didn't know what was going on, and Riley wasn't about to explain it. She assumed the small head shake would be enough,,
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Post by Amandine Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:28:14 GMT -5
Ama spun around as Roland commented her outfit. "Thanks," she said. Roland hadn't noticed the mistletoe, figures. He could be absolutly CLUELESS sometimes. But Riley had, and the little head shake hadn't gone unnoticed but the 14 year old.
But really, what harm was a little kiss?
"Okay, I'll go," Ama said. "But it's my job to make sure we follow tradition in this house first," she pointed, again, to the mistletoe above their heads and smiled. "One kiss, that's all, then I'll go." Ama siad. "Has to be a real one too! Not like a kiss on the cheek...." Ama added, sounding strangely like her mother.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:36:42 GMT -5
Roland looked confused for a second before the mistletoe registered with him. Then he sighed and shook his head softly. "Ama... no... I'm sure Riley doesn't want me to kiss her."
After all, she'd already proven so once before. If he kissed her now, she would probably insist on leaving. "I'm sure we can let the tradition go, just this once... no one's looking."
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Post by Amandine Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:42:50 GMT -5
"No, Roland, it's tradition," Ama frowned, putting her foot down. "If you don't do it, and others find out and then THEY wont do it and then mum will go crazy because NO ONE is following holiday traditions..." she went on and on, over exagerating as much as possible and trying not to giggle. These two weren't getting out of this one easily, thats for sure. If Ama had to prove that if they didn't kiss under the mistletoe that the world would come to an end, she would.
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 4:47:28 GMT -5
Riley was going to protest as well, adding to whatever excuse Roland came up with, but his words silenced her.
I'm sure Riley doesn't want me to kiss her. But not that he didn't want to kiss her. Suddenly, it all clicked into place and she was an idiot for not seeing it before. It didn't help, and it didn't change things, but at least she understood.
She knew the look on Ama's face, and knew they would have to anyway. Roland would feel better if she initiated it.
She didn't give him much of a chance to say anything before she stepped forward, putting her hand on his cheek and turning his face so that he was looking at her. She once again realized how much taller than her he was, and she stood on her toes, pressing their lips together.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:55:15 GMT -5
Roland couldn't have been more surprised when Riley's lips touched his. He returned the kiss very softly, holding everything back. He wanted to pull her into his arms and lose himself in her kiss... but not now. Not knowing that she was only doing this to appease his little sister, who was standing right next to them.
Instead it was a gentle, almost sweet kiss, and he broke it all too soon. If he let it last much longer, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop.
He avoided Riley's eyes and looked instead at Amandine. "That good enough for you, Ama?" he asked, his voice sounding tight.
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 4:58:16 GMT -5
Riley's eyes didn't leave his face, and she wondered if he would notice that he was the one who broke the kiss, and not her, or if he would even recognize the tone in his voice. He sounded angry. She licked her lips, regretting it a moment later as she realized the taste of him lingered.
"Roland," she said softly. "It's fine." She was silently and subtly trying to tell him not to be angry at his sister.
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Post by Amandine Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 4:59:26 GMT -5
Ama waitched for a moment then turned to the door, she was about to leave unannounced when apperently the two were done. "Yes, wonderful, carry on," Ama said. Skipping out the door and smiling.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 5:04:17 GMT -5
He wasn't angry... more like terrified. He would never admit it, of course. But he was feeling things that he really didn't want to be feeling, and the kiss had magnified them.
At the sound of Riley's voice, he turned to her, his eyes connecting with hers. His expression was intense, but unreadable. He wasn't sure if he should be apologizing to her or thanking her.
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 5:28:26 GMT -5
What did it say about her that she wanted to kiss him again? It was just because she was angry, right? There were too many emotions running between them that kissing just seemed like the thing to do to get past it.
"Is this something we need to get out of our systems too?" She asked, her voice still soft, and she refused to break his gaze.
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Christine Montgomery
 
Seventh Year[M:10]
In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.
Posts: 925
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Post by Christine Montgomery on Feb 16, 2009 6:42:31 GMT -5
Geoffrey hugged his sister tightly, his worry increasing by the second. How was it that his sister could survive falling overboard and nearly drowning without having so much as a single nightmare, but this... attack... should affect her so badly? He honestly couldn't even recall the last time she cried, and here she was, blinking back tears. It scared him more than any other dangerous situation she'd ever been in. She pulled away at the sound of their mother's voice calling for dad. He felt his own eyes welling up with tears of worry for his sister. "If you're sure," he said softly. "But you know you can talk to me any time, OK? Whatever you need, I'm here for you. And if you need to leave the party, of course I'll take you home. Just give me a sign, OK?" She certainly had her share of misfortunes, no one doubted that but this was the first time she had been faced with such ruthless killings of the people she knew, and her cousins had come so close, no she couldn't just walk away from this one. Nodding to her brother she spun around and continued walking forward getting to her room and changing into her dress. |
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Post by Lillian Montgomery on Feb 16, 2009 6:59:05 GMT -5
James was wearing a nice, tailored set of dress robes. He liked the Ferreras, but he still wanted to put forward a nice appearance for Lillian's family. He promised Edward they would come home early, and he knew his brother wasn't happy. Christian was off sailing somewhere, Anthony was God only knew where, and now James was leaving, too. That, coupled with the somber atmosphere in the house, was not making a nice Christmas. He came when his wife called, finding her in their closet putting on jewelry. She didn't even need to ask before he was behind her, doing up the zipper and kissing her shoulder. "How are you?" he asked. Lillian leaned into her husband, "Better now." she answered, it was of course true that whenever he was around it was hard to think of little else, though it had taken them a long road to get to this simple point. She sighed, "Thank you." she said in reference to his assistance as well as the simple calming presence he had. "Are the kids ready?" |
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 12:18:48 GMT -5
What did it say about her that she wanted to kiss him again? It was just because she was angry, right? There were too many emotions running between them that kissing just seemed like the thing to do to get past it. "Is this something we need to get out of our systems too?" She asked, her voice still soft, and she refused to break his gaze. He wanted to say yes. The emotions between them were running high and he wanted, for just a minute, to give into them and kiss her properly. But something held him back. Even though she had initiated the kiss, and he had been the one to break it, he still believed that she hated him, and that she had only done what she did because she wanted to be able to control the situation. There was something else as well, a fear that was buried deep inside, of what could happen if he gave in to the feelings he was having. It would be safer to let them pass. He stared at her, and she held his gaze almost defiantly. It unnerved him, to the point where he actually broke eye contact. No one else had ever been able to make him do that. "No," he said. "It's OK. Obviously, you were doing it to make my sister happy. And I thank you for it." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look... I probably should let you leave, if that's what you really want. It's just... I would feel terrible if you left because of me. It's Christmas and you shouldn't have to spend it alone. So... unless you have other plans, please stay." |
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 12:43:36 GMT -5
Riley bit the inside of her lip, then a moment later, nodded. "Right. And your sister definitely looked appeased."
Her eyes shifted to the wall just over his left shoulder when he broke eye contact. She didn't realize how rare this was, though if she was thinking clearly she would have. Her fingers gripped her arm, and she still thought it was something that they needed to get over. The only thing stopping her, actually, were thoughts of Fabian. But they weren't even really dating. They had just seen each other a handful of times.
Right?
But he was right about one thing... where would she go? Back to her apartment to bury herself in a book, or maybe a bath? That's not what Christmas was about. But this... was certainly not it either.
"Well I can't lie to you. You already know I've got nothing else going on."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 12:55:52 GMT -5
He took a breath before he turned back to meet her eyes again. He had no idea what was going through her head, but he thought he did. If he had known just how wrong he was, he probably would have taken her in his arms right then and there and kissed her until they both forgot that they'd ever been fighting in the first place.
Instead, he stood, his arms held stiffly at his sides, and nodded slowly. "Then please stay. It would make my mother happy. I'll try... I won't be such a jerk, OK?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 13:16:43 GMT -5
"Roland," Riley said, reaching out and putting her hand on his arm before he walked too far away. "Do me a favor. For just a moment, forget your mother, and your sister, and whoever else you're thinking about, and just look at me."
When she had his attention, she took her hand back and ran it through her hair, splitting some of the curls. "What would make *you* happy?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Feb 16, 2009 13:34:37 GMT -5
What would make him happy?
The odd thing was, although some people thought of Roland as arrogant or self-centered, he was exactly the opposite. He never really spent any time thinking about what would make him happy, because he was always trying to help others, particularly his family.
But in that moment, he knew exactly what would make him happy. And although he thought he would regret it later, the opportunity was right there in front of him. He had turned when she put her hand on his arm, and he stared at it for a moment until she pulled away.
"I want you to stay," he said quietly. Then he reached out and put his hand on her face, moving in until he was just a breath away from her. He wanted to kiss her so badly... that was what would make him happy. But the thought that she wouldn't want that was the only thing holding him back.
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Post by Riley Neves on Feb 16, 2009 13:42:21 GMT -5
Riley didn't know what she was doing. Well, she didn't know why.
She knew she should have pulled away from him. He paused and gave her the oppertunity, and she should have done it. Thoughts of Fabian were pushing into her head and she knew she would feel about as guilty as was possible, but she also thought that this would be a one time thing, that the chaste kisses were only making it worse, and all they really needed was one angry kiss to get it out of their system.
Fighting this, she turned her head away from him, trying to reason with herself before she turned back, putting her hands on either side of Roland's face. For the second time that day, she pressed their lips together.
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